Week Twenty: Done being locked in! WOHOOO!

Hey! I hope this letter finds you all doing great! I miss you guys a ton still and continue to pensar en ustedes cada dia!  I know that your all haciendo bueno cosas. Keep up the good work. Love you guys all so much. The love and support drives me and keeps me going! Love ya’ll.

Entonces, Electiones are over and The National party called Nationalistas won. So all the other parties are mad and upset... but it’s over! It sucked being locked in the house por los tres dias. Muy aburrido! But, all good now! We really did have a lot of fun with Ben-the guy we live behind. We did a lot of stuff! Had a good time. I built a weight bar that es muy mas grande! Es muy bueno! Terminaron ayer! So can’t wait to use it this week and don’t worry somehow I  am going to drag it to all my areas. LOL! We’ll see!

Mi nuevo companero es de Peru and is pretty cool, Elder N. He is a very hard worker y tambien tiene un bueno testimony. He is a good dude. We are very different and come from such different backgrounds, but the gospel unites you and brings you together. Somehow, those differences become less visible with the gospel of Jesus Christ. So its good. We get a long and are doing our thing, teaching people about Christ. Helping all the people that we can. So just desfrutando mi tiempo here! Time is really flying by!

My zone is legit! Elder W.and I  get to see each other every week so that’s great! He is a bro! He will play ball after the mission on the black tops in Chicago. Sorry he told me to say that! HAHA. But our zone is legit. We have a lot of good guys so that’s great.

We have two baptisms planned for this upcoming weekend- we are having a lot of success here and las personas son muy receptiva para escuchar la palabra de dios. Many people are very willing to listen so that’s very nice!

Well Thanksgiving is pretty much here y navidad muy cerca! Enjoy this time of year and all that we have... I wish I could really express in words how thankful we really are. We are blessed more than we will ever know. It has been an eye opener to come to another country and realize how much we have been given. Be thankful for the little things! These little things are the things that we really need to be SOSO thankful for! So, thank our heavenly father for the little things that we have... every day and don’t go a day without forgetting!

It’s kinda crazy here... wanna know why? it’s November casi diciembre y es muy caliente! No fall or winter weather…  todavia sweating my toosh off!  Talvez un dia i will get used to it! We’ll see!

I am doing good! I feel great! I have lost some weight but that’s okay! I will put it back on when I get back to the Promise Land and hit the weight room!

hhmm...considering we were locked up for a few days I don’t have a ton to say besides this week we are going to be super duper busy hitting up all the houses we couldn’t visit durante la tiemp no pueden salir la casa! But it’s all good!

I finished the Book of Mormon from cover to cover - that was good!  What a spirit that the Book of Mormon and The Bible bring- it es muy especial! The Book of Mormon and The Bible really are direct inspiration from our Heavenly Father and can help any person in the world... I see it help people on a daily basis. Never forget what our Heavenly Father does for us every day! Always pray and show your thankfulness por nuestro senor.

Entonces, we are going to go play dodge ball so I need to go. I am about to light people up. But, make it a great week! Put your best foot forward, always be thankful, serve others, and aim high in all that you do! I love you each so much and hope that you guys are enjoying the states.... live it up! I would die  for some basic cheeseburger or hot water... but its all good!!!!!!! It’s the experience, right! I’m living it up like I am in a five star hotel :))))))))))))) Well, have a good one guys! I love each of you. Make it a good one! Enjoy the thanksgiving season and the Christmas stuff- lights and all that good stuff!

LOVESLOVESLOVESLOVESLOVESLOVES

LOVESLOVESLOVESLOVES!

CON MUCHO AMOR!

Elder Long!

Goodbye to Elder H. and Welcome Elder N.

Hola! I hope that this email finds you guys all doing great. Yo siempre am thinking about all of you guys. You guys are all the rock in my life! Muchisimo Gracias por todo su apollo y amor. You guys are the bomb! Keep up the good work.

So this week was nuts. First, I got my new companion- that was on Wednesday. It was sad to leave my other companion. We had our ups and downs pero uno persona puede learn from everyone that they are surounded by. So it’s always hard to say goodbye to someone. Pero, recibi mi nuevo companero  - he is from Peru. He knows ZERO English so that is fun! Doing my thing and rolling my tongue trying to learn as much as I can in my short time here in Honduras- so that’s good! He comes from the jungles of Peru so it’s been interesting to hear stories... we will leave it at that... he’s lived quite the different life. So just adjusting to a new companion and all but its all good.

Elder W. - mi favorito amigo de la CCM y aqui en la mision is in my zone! I am so pumped so I will get to see him every Monday and sometimes Viernes! Eso es muy bueno! Muy emocionado! So that is amazing!

It’s actually getting pretty chilly aqui durante la noche! Eso es muy bueno! So that is something to look forward to en la noche! So, the weather is kind of cooling off- that’s a plus!

The political stuff here is still pretty intense. We will leave it at that... They are not civil about the way that they go about political cosas perso eso es un bueno experience. I won’t forget the political stuff, that is for sure. It has been fun to be a part of it and watch from a distance. Every place just runs differently and it is good to see your eyes opened to new things and new experiences. We are not able to leave our houses next Saturday, Sunday, y Monday. Because of this I will be emailing next Tuesday- just so you guys all know! The elections are on Sunday here this week so that is why we can’t leave... por security razones. Pero, It’ll be all good! Yesterday was the last day they could ¨do parades , rallies, gatherins¨ but really they still are doing them. But two parties were right next to each other and campagning and stuff and they all love us and were yelling, gringos and stuff -soooooooooooo many people and we were right in the action... only here in Honduras… so that was kind of nuts, but a great experience! I know the mayor and the family are members so we got right in there! I wanted that experience - leave it to me. HAHA! So… all good!

Nosotros estamos todovia haciendo los clases de Engles! They are a blast and are so much fun! We have anywhere from 40-60 students each week! So much fun! So the kids are great and all! Entonces, we do that every Sabado y es muy divertido! I am really enjoying teaching English. It has been a very good experience for me.

I bought a machetti! We do a lot of service with it and all! So that’s good!

Entonces mis amigos y familia. I think about you guys a lot. You are always on my mind. You guys are great! You are really the rock in my life. I enjoy your letters, e-mails and everything that you guys do for me and my family. Family and friends truly are the most importante cosa nosotros tenemos aqui on the earth. Value our relationships and families that demonstrate love and care. Todos los personas no tienen eso.... So cherish it! Always try and make the right decision! Always be honest. Always make the honest decision in life even when it will make it harder on yourself. That’s one GRANDE leccion I have learned aqui... ALWAYS BE HONEST. You guys are all the best and I know that you guys can be the examples to everyone we know and are around. Solo, put your best foot forward and always serve others. I love my family so much and my friends.... you guys mean the world to me. Keep up the good work. I cannot wait to hear from you guys next week! I love you guys tons!!

Con mucho amor,
Elder Long!

Week Eighteen: Welcoming my new companion this week!

HOLA TO MY FRIENDS & FAMILY,

Well another week down! It was a good one. Every week good and bad things happen but the experience is one that I will never forget! Cada semana es mucho mejor!

This week I say good-bye to my first companion. He trained me well, we’ve worked very hard together and I appreciate his wisdom in teaching me more about gospel truths and doctrines. Thank you Elder H.

Entonces, I had intercambios with Elder M. - The leader de zona. He’s from Guatamala and very cool! So that was a good to spend time with him. I am so emocionado to train! I am so so so excited to get my new companion and help a new guy! So that starts miercoles, so that will be exciting! I get that new companion wed morning!

We are killing it here! Tuvimos 13 non-members in the church this past Sunday! We’re doing our thing that’s for sure! It’s so good to help people that really need some direction in their life. It really brings true joy! Serve others and good things will happen. Always look for the good en las personas… yes it is muy dificil a veces but really it’s the best way to go about every day. The days really are much better when you are helping others.

WE are truly blessed to come from such a great country... and on top of eso nosotros somos very blessed to come from loving families. Family and friends are the backbones to our lives. We need to be the best brothers, sisters, sons, daughters and amigos a todos las personas nosotros conocemos! Many people here lack strong families. Not all, but some y eso es muy dificil para ver each day… just be the best person that you can be always! People take for granted great friends y familia en los estados. Some people here would die for that... just be sososo thankful for the LITLLE THINGS!

Spanish is coming along! I love it! I absolutely love the language. Each day I feel more comfortable. Tengo mucho amor por todos las personas y nuestro familias! I will never forget some of the experiences that I am having. So every day I am trying to learn more and more. Soak in the time here! Loving it!

 It’s starting to cool off which is nice, at least my aread cause we are in the mountains, still sosos hott in teguc. But, cools of poquito during the night. So that’s great. But walking 5-10 miles a day sometimes doesn’t help to stay cool. But doing good! I just look like a string bean cause I have lost some weight... but that will stop next week! :) I purchased piping and concrete para construir pesas. So that’s my project next week con mi nuevo companero!

We had a baptism this past weekend and that was great! They are an amazing familia! They are so happy and are doing so well. I am so proud of their accomplishments and working hard towards a goal. So feliz to see ellos muy muy feliz y contento! Fue un bueno dia!

I am so thankful for great family and friends! I am truly blessed. We MUST be so thankful every day for the little things that we have. I can’t emphasize it enough. I am grateful for great examples in my life, we all need that. I saw something this week that I really never want to really see again, but it was a learning experience - nothing happened to me at all but I was there to help. It is so important to RESPECT everyone. Respect nuestro amigos y familia. Especially nuestro friends, spouses and family. We need to treat people with the utmost respecto. Always be there for others. You never know when someone needs YOU. So press on and always be the best you can be every day. I experience things every day that reassure this.

Thanks for all the love and support always! You guys are the rock in my life! You all mean so much to me! Press forward always with faith! Gi, Mom, Dad, family and friends- I love you very much. Ustedes son en mi oraciones cada dia! Gracias por todo! Make it a great week! You guys rock!

Con Mucho Amor!

Elder Long!

Week Seventeen

Hola!!!

So this week started off right away... once we were done writing we had an activity as a zone. We carved pumpkins for Halloween! Well, we didn’t think that this would cause trouble to say the least haha. Entonces, we carved pumpkins, when we were done there were 8 of us missionaries and 2 sets de hermanas. Mi companero y yo were the only ones walking with our pumpkins not in a plastic bag (we were one bag short) so no problem right? haha no… so I now know that they really believe in witches and all... so this guy saw our pumpkins and went nuts! He was screaming and yelling at us and all the people in the streets were looking at us! They were either riendio at nosortos o really scared! It was quite the experience to say the least.... so never carve pumpkins here again and have them out in the open. LOL!

My love for the people, culture, and kids grows cada dia! I truly love la gente! Ellos son muy amable! Everything here is going good! Lots of work and service to be done! We are getting more missionaries on the 13^th (when the transfers happen), that’s when I will be getting my new companion that I will be training! So I am muy emocionado para entrenador! That will be great! But, I truly love the people... their amazing!

This past week I had intercambios con dos differente companeros! Elder O. was one of  them, and Elder  M. One is from Mexico and otro es de Guatamala! They are studs! I love them both! The friends that I am making are amazing! I miss my friends so much from back home, but its good to have the guys and girls here that are my friends as well. Friends and family are so so importante! We all need examples in our lives, amigos y familia are the best thing to influence us in our lives! How do you want people to remember you? Be the best friend ever! Cherish relationships that we have! Some people don’t have that.... make each day count.

I met a family that loves baseball! It was great! I have only heard people talk about soccer por the past tres meses, entonces muy bueno hablar con un persona cerca de beisbol! It was great! They gave me the lowdown on the World Series, so that was great!

So... something happened that was pretty funny this week... I was walking (getting a little dark out) and we were going down un hill. So I stepped into a hole and tripped and fell face forward... LOL… but it gets better! I fell in horse crap... I smelled soo bad… and tenia mucho lodo en mi pantelones... it was terrible. HAHA… but looking back pretty funny!

So we always pass by the posto, police station, and say hello! But that’s about it. So un dia nosotros estamos pasando by the police station and they stopped us. We ended up teaching them. It was cool. They love us. They told us they had our back if we ever need them. So that was good to know. But they son buenos hombres, solo a little different to teach people in a police station. LOL!

So this past week I spent a lot of time in the morning studying prayer. It was something that I felt that I needed to study in order to help the people we serve and teach more. The power of prayer is real. When we pray with a sincere corazon con fe nostoros tenemos la oportunidad para recieve answers! We all need to pray every day. We need to give thanks for the little things that we all have in the states... this mision es un humbing experiencia to say the least. It’s so sad to see some of the people. BUT, they are so grateful. So what does that mean? We MUST thank the lord every day for the things that we have. When we wake up and before we go to bed we must pray and demonstrar nuestro appreciacion.  God hears our prayers. He answers nuestro oraciones tambien! We just need to ask con fe. Prayer is one of the mucho maneras nosotros podemos hacer para invitar el espiritu in our lives. When we pray daily we have the spirit with us. Prayer can change lives. I urge ustedes cada dia pray in the morning and en la noche tambien.

Service... how powerful service really is. Service is one way to demonstar amor. Hay mucho maneras to serve. Our strengths are all diferente and nosotros podemos utalize our strengths to help others. Just because your busy doesn’t mean that you cant serve others. It we use the excuse that nosotros son muy ocupado-we’re lying to ourselves. There is always time to serve others. Blessings will come after. Sometimes one needs to sacrifice to gain. I see it cada semana, actualmente cada dia! What are you going to do to serve others this week? Find a way to serve someone. Think, pray and ponder to help the right person at the right time!

I love you guys all! Family and friends... you mean the world to me. I apppreciate all the amor! You guys rock! I am kicking butt here in Honduras and enjoying the ride. It’s one heck of a ride! Make the most of each day! Yo tengo mucho amor por la idioma! It is great! It’s hard for me to think in English. LOL! I am in spanish mode all the time now! I re-read my carta and realizar that there is a lot of espanol! I am sorry! I really don’t mean to! It just happens!

Make it a great week! Love you guys so much! Can’t wait to hear from you all next week!

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Long