Teaching Batman

Another awesome week as a missionary in Central America!

Monday:  P-day - We washed our clothes, went to the internet cafe to write home, bought groceries for the week--the normal p-day routine--and even got to take a nap!  That night we met with J.C. who wants to be baptized and do the work of salvation for his brother, who was killed. He just needs to get married, but his wife isn't too sold on the idea. We watched, "Finding Faith in Christ" and also talked about how faith is necessary in marriage because we don't know for sure what will come but we take it step by step and trust in our spouse and in God that everything will work out well.

Video: "Finding Faith in Christ"

Thomas, who had doubted, saw the power, majesty, and love of Jesus Christ. 

Faith in Christ will help people to face their challenges.

Tuesday:  We went with a member in a little moto-taxi through 45 minutes of sugarcane fields to visit a family that he wanted us to visit and teach in a little village. It was pretty crazy zooming through ominous cane fields in a fragile little moto-taxi at 7 pm at night when it is dark. 

Wednesday:  Did divisions with a joven (youth) from the ward and had an awesome lesson with Captain Ahab about the plan of salvation and what we need to do to return to our heavenly father. We challenged the family to be baptized on the 13 of September. They accepted. Yep! While walking from appointment to appointment, I helped my young companion understand better the law of chastity and how to repent, and helped him memorize 2 Nefi 4: 27-28 from the Book of Mormon, which helped me a lot to overcome all temptations of the flesh:

 27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?

 28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.

Thursday:  Normal day of proselyting. Preaching 'da word.

Friday:  We went to the internet cafe and made a map/chart about how to receive and recognize answers to your prayers. By answering yes or no to a series of questions you can find out what you still need to do to receive an answer to your prayer. I will attach it. We went in the afternoon to visit a 17 year old guy who has come to church a few times and, using our new map, he himself realized that he had received an answer to his prayers. He actually ended up challenging himself to be baptized the next Saturday. We were like, Wow, that worked really well.  haha. The only problem is getting his parents to give him permission because he is under age. The don't even let us on their property; we have to teach him in the house of a member friend. Hopefully the Lord will soften their hearts.

Saturday:  A family that I found and taught in the Satelite zone of San Pedro Sula got married and baptized!!!!!  I couldn't go to the baptism because I am too far away, but now the entire family of 5 is working together to make it to the temple! Such a testimony of faith because before they struggled just to make the sacrifice to go to church on a Sunday.  I called and talked to them earlier this week. They said that they didn't have the money to pay for their house and were getting kicked out but they were going to travel to the capital, 5 hours away, and pay for their papers and wedding to get married so that they could follow God's laws to be married and get baptized! They know that God will watch over them and bless them for this. It is so cool to see the growth of their faith and hear their testimonies so much stronger now. Pictures to come later... 

We also walked 45 minutes to visit Captain Ahab (remember, the harpoon fisherman)! The lights went out during our lesson but we enjoyed a super powerful lesson about repentance.  It was awesome because the time before we talked about a specific problem that he had and, when we got to his home, he told us that he had completely eliminated every temptation that he had in his house before and that he was now clean. It was so awesome! Such real repentance. We walked back 45 minutes in the night and in the rain and watched an incredible lightning show across the heavens and sang "How Great Thou Art" while walking in the storm. 

Oh yeah, and that night we were sitting outside our house in our yard when a kamikaze vampire bat soared down and ran into my rock hard abdominals and skidded into the house, stunned. We took a sweet photo-shoot and taught him the missionary lessons but he didn't want to get baptized, so we let him go. :)  Can't obligate them you know. Dang bats. 

Elder Brimley checks out the bat!

Sunday:  Captain Ahab and his family came to church!!! We had 10 investigators at church today, 3 of which will be baptized this coming Saturday. 

We were prompted that day to contact a house where we met a 14 and 15 year old that really wanted to learn about God and had a bunch of awesome questions. At the end of the lesson, they asked if they could get baptized. Of course you can.

 Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and washaway thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Overall, it was a really great week--full of fasting and prayer, seeing the miracles as the people here prepare themselves for the word of God, and seeing the blessings in their lives from obedience to God's commandments. So grateful to be serving the Lord here. Never understood the principle and power of faith like I do now.

Great news:  I'm not getting transferred--I'm staying in Santa Rita with Elder Novas!!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Moffitt

The best missionaries ever!
Reunited at a mission conference: 9 of the "12 apostles"
(our self given nickname because there are indeed 12 of us)
who all were at the Mission Training Center together and arrived here in Honduras the same day!
Spending their days in service and teaching the word of God, Satan has nightmares of these guys.

Always time for a little dramatization: My imitation of Moroni burying the plates of gold.

Practicing our Spanish on the Colonel with Elder Brimley!

Yep, he's getting it.

Just like the package.  Using food packets from mom to improve my cooking.
Here is some mutant Hollandaise sauce sandwich creation. With hot dog buns haha!

These chicken fajitas were SOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOODDDD!
It was literally the best thing ever! Thanks so much mom!
Really a genius idea, mom, because these spice/sauce packets make me buy VEGETABLES
and learn how to cook!

And another "Elder Moffitt" pinata pic haha!

Fishing with a harpoon gun: "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men"

Pretty cool week. A lot of our awesome plans and goals fell through but hey, it's mission life!

Cool story of the week is we got a reference for a guy in a town we hadn't ever been to. We went to visit with him and started talking to him and he pretty much explained to us all about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Chris and how he felt it was true. He was totally on to how Satan, as the father of lies, is obviously going to attack all truth with a horde of some really obvious and other really subtle lies. They killed the Christ because they turned the people against Him by lying and bearing false witness. Why wouldn't they do the same against the true and living church of Jesus Christ on the earth today and against His prophets? 

So we went back a few days later for a second visit and our new friend was sitting outside of his house with his folleto and the book of Mormon waiting for us! He told us that several people had commented to him about our visit-- how the sinister "mormones" had visited him and told him all types of goofy stuff about the church and he asked them the following: 

"Have you ever gone to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?" 

"No."

"Have you ever let the missionaries into your house to share a message with you?" 

"No."

"Have you ever read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it?" 

"No" 

"Then why on earth are you pretending to know something about what they believe? Let me find out for myself if their church is the true church--and it would be wise for you to do the same!"

He is such a boss. Add to the fact that he is super buff--like his arm is the size of my waist. And he is a fisherman. I asked him how he fishes, like from a boat or from the shore?  And he said, "No, I go in." I was like "What? What do you mean?" And so he goes inside the house a bit, and then comes out with this old beat up scuba mask and a HARPOON GUN! Like a legit harpoon gun! So apparently he just takes a really deep breath, and then goes under the water and hides and waits for a big fish to come up and get curious and then he shoots it with his harpoon gun and wrestles it to the surface and kills it by biting the jugular with his teeth.

WHAT?!

Okay maybe he doesn't bite the jugular with his teeth (to be honest I didn't verify that detail so let's not cross it off the list just yet) but still isn't that the coolest thing ever? Pretty much we are teaching Captain Ahab. I promised him that after my mission I am coming back and he is going to teach me how to underwater harpoon fish. That harpoon gun may also come in handy ...  in trying to get a date when I get back ...

Even cooler, is that he understands completely our message about the restoration of the original church of Jesus Christ to the earth today and the importance of having a modern day prophet. He understands the importance and necessity of priesthood authority in the church and in ordinances like baptism, and he wants to be baptized in the church with his family. Such a cool guy. I mean, come on guys, HARPOON GUN FISHING!?!?!

So yeah, it was a cool week and we continue working on changing the world one person at a time. Our message is faith, repentance, baptism, receive the gift of the holy ghost, and endure to the end. So go to mormon.org to find and talk to the missionary nearest you!

Shout out to Matt Dickens who wrote me an email! First communication from my school friends since Christmas--and he even sent me a letter! I'd sure love some more letters-- at least let me know you are alive and your address so I can write you guys! 

But love you anyway!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Moffitt

Rony's awesome baptism!

P-day hike in the Honduran jungle with Elder Navas