Some pics Feb 18 2013

Feb 18, 2013

Things here are definitely different than back home. There´s trash everywhere, but it´s all good. The church is surrounded by 10 or 15 foot metal gates with barbed wire on top, but boy is it beautiful. The dogs belong to the people who own the house. We live in the house behind the main house.It´s kind of like a pool house? I think . Anyway, the owners are living in the US right now, but they´ll be back at the end of this month. We got another dog this week for added protection. hahaa He´s supposed to be un perro bravo, but he cries more than a 5 year old girl and he´s afraid of the rain. hahahahahaha. He is scary looking though. We have a small fridge and a double hot plate. Thus is the life. BTW if you could send a few simple recipes that I can make on a hot plate, that would be awesome. We don´t boil our water before we use it because we can´t use the water. We have to buy it. the only thing the faucet water is good for is bathroom stuff. Other than that, you don´t use it much. I´m required to teach my compa English, so that´s on the up and up, but we´re struggling to understand each other.haha we really like each other, though and we keep each other laughing. we found 21 new investigators this week and invited 3 to be baptized. They accepted, but none of them came to church, so we´re going to have to have stern words with them. My ward has a ward goal of baptizing 8 people a month,and they got 7 last  month, but with the excitement for the temple, they´ve been a little distracted from missionary work. However, we´re working on that. My zone was the celestial zone last month, meaning that we got the most baptisms of all, and this month we hope to do even better. We´ve set a goal as a zone that will make history if we achieve. The most baptisms ever in one month was 76 and that was a long time ago. For the month of March, my zone has a goal of baptizing 80 people with 10 families. We´re hoping that if we achieve this, maybe President will let our zone go to the temple, but it´s a long shot. We´re hoping for it,though. ç
As far as my feet go, you can almost see my ankle bone again, so things are looking up. Sometimes  I worry that maybe I have elephantitis, but then I remember I´m no elephant, just a missionary. Cheers for that.
The spirit has been a big help this week, but sadly he´s been telling my comp and I slightly different things, so we´re going to work on that haha. I feel like we might be breaking a lot of rules, but she always tells me, no this is how we do it here, and I´m never sure if by we she means she or the mission president. I´m hoping to clear a few things up soon. My pres in the MTC always said obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles. I definitely believe that,and I´m not looking for blessings; my blessing is being on a mission. I´m looking for miracles,and I intend to see them. We´re a good companionship, and we´re doing good work, but I feel like we could be a better companionship and  do better work. ;) Welcome to the American Dream Latin style. hahha The Latinos are awesome, and they´re very powerful missionaries, but they tend to be more lax withthe rules and more relaxed in their efforts. I´m hoping to change that upa bit.
I´m definitely glad for the internet. I don´t think libraries exist here, but it´s not too bad paying for internet. Did I ever tell you about the money here? They´re called lempiras, and 20 lempiras equals 1 dollar. Cheers. haha
When I say beating our laundry on a rock, we actually have a very nice cement basin thing (as seen in pictures). I was under the impression it would be more rock y as we helped a sister do her laundry last week and it was literally beating stuff on a rock. Our is more like beating it on cement. I´ll tell you what, it´s hard work. haha I love it. The frogs sit and croak at me as they stare at me with their huge googly eyes and I try not to make eye contact because my comp and I have a theory that they´re out to get us. Every night when we cross over rivers, we joke that they´re saying  ATACAMOS LAS HERMANAS! It´s pretty much true.
Did I mention that Honduras has lots of lightning bugs? It does. I´ve never seen them before, and now they´re everywhere, even in my front yard. They´re one of my favorite things, because they don´t bite, they don´t ooze, they don´t slime, they don´t carry disease, and they don´t attack. They´re just nice. :) They make me smile every night.
I´m glad to hear you´ve been having sunny days. I always forget how saddening overcast skies are. It´s my least favorite part of winter in Utah, and the sun is one of my favorite things about Honduras. People always complain about the sun here, but I love it.

Recognizing the spirit is one of my favorite topics in the gospel, and a very important one, too. In fact, there´s a whole chapter in Preach my Gospel about it. So good.

OK, the rest of this is going to have to be fairly fast, cause I´m almost out of time. I had to email my pres in the middle, so i´ve got only a few minutes left. Things of note: I held a white rat (like Mrs Brisbee) this week and it peed on me. Totally saw that coming. I saw more green birds. I went to the beach. I saw my first banana spider. Lauren, close your eyes for the next few sentences. It was bigger than my whole hand, and it´s legs were about as thick as a pencil or maybe a sharpie. You know, the kind of creepy hairy legs that you can just picture snatching you in a scary movie. ewwww. I´m pretty sure they´re indestructible, but that´s just a theory. See, if you step on them, it would be like stepping on a lizard or frog (which is a definite possibility here); they don´t squash, you just break their bones. Or in this case, exoskeleton. It was so huge and so gross. It was awesome. I couldn´t stop looking, but then we had to run away because it was going to eat us. There are lizards everywhere. Also frogs. Also vultures. Who knew? They just roam the street, waiting for the scroungy dogs to drop dead so they can eat them. I wouldn´t put it past my ability to imagine. I made tortillas by hand this week for Hna. Yolanda. She was making Baleadas, the Honduran special. As it turns out, I´m not very good at making tortillas. You could see her daughter through the holes in my tortillas, and they looked strangely like George Washington´s head. Or maybe a Jellyfish. Needless to say, I need more practice. She just laughed and laughed and laughed. She loves laughing at me. Every time I speak, look at her, walk in her house, make tortillas, or talk to her children. hhhaa She loves it. I get laughed at and looked at a lot here, but I´m freakishly tall in the US, which makes me like Godzilla here. Add to that the fact that I´m like a walking disco ball because of my whiteness and you´ve got a side show at the circus. hahaha. ON the plus side, people talk to us just so they can stare at me. Sadly, most people think I´m some sort of goddess and that I´m the most beautiful (and huge) creature they´ve ever seen. I say sadly because it´s only because I´m white, not because of who I am or how I actually look. hahaha. But all the time they say oh look how white she is. yup. hadn´t noticed. Thanks for pointing it out. hahaha Muy Chistoso. Ummmmm This week the rain started. Apparently the streets flood up to our waists. I haven´t seen it yet, but it got up to mid shin on me, which is like knee for Catrachas. When it rains, the streets flood and turtles go swimming down the side of the road. hahahaha. How awesome, right? We were so soaked. My companion was like this is the worst ever! and I was just laughing and laughing. Sister Hinckley once siad something to the effect of I can either laugh about it or cry about it, and crying gives me a headache. I do a lot of laughing here. hahahah. Even with my rain jacket and an umbrella, I was still so soaked, but at least it wasn´t so hot. That´s not normal, but it was nice. :) Also, we were crossing the street, and we decided to sprint in front of a semi to avoid getting splashed, but when I stepped off the median, I hit mud and went flat out in the road. My companion was like AAAAAAAUGH but I just jumped up and sprinted faster. She forgets that I´m tall and have long legs, so I can run faster than she thinks. hahaha We made it just before the semi zoomed past. She was freaking out, but I just laughed and laughed and laughed. I was so muddy and wet. HAHAHAHAHA. Also, we would try to talk to people, but the rain was so loud that we were standing there, the only two people in the street, screaming at some lady who was sitting warm a dn cozy in her house. She invited us back for when it wasn´t rainig. Then she laughed really hard. hahaha. Houses are either cement or wood and usually have corrugated tin roofs. Sometimes they have a layer of plaster underneath. The windows all have metal bars made into scrolly designs over them. The windows themselves are slats that rotate up when they´re closed so they lay flat, but can open horizontally when they´re open.

Oh, you don´t knock doors here. You don´t snap doors here. You don´t clap doors here. You stand at the gate and shout BUENAS as loud as you can. Then someone comes and lets you in, but when you step on their property, you have to say permisso. And you say it again when you enter their house, aagian when you see other people int e house, and again when you sit down. They´ll respond with propio or pasen.
When the bus wants to know if you want to get on, it honks at you as you´re waiting. If you don´t want to get on, you shake your head no or, my favorite, you hold up one finger and waggle it back and forth with a stern look on your face. It reminds me of moms grandpa Andrew story and makes me laugh every time. hahahaha.
For Greg, you know how there´s the district 1 and 2? I´m going to be in the district 3 (Spanish). I don´t think it´s official, but it´s something we´re doing as a mission, and my zone has been chosen to be the missionaries in the videos, which means we lug cameras around to every lesson and video tape it.

I´ve really gotta go now, but know the church is true, and that no matter how hard things get, the answer is always to go closer to the church. God loves His children, and sends them miracles every day. Open your eyes and see what the Lord has done for you today. You´ll be amazed at what you see. ç
Love you all tons and tons. Hopefully I´ll be able to send more investigator stories next week. I know I said that last week, but I´m for real this time. One quick one before I go. We were teaching two delightful Abuelos. They said they´d been married for 33 years, but we always have to play games to figure out if they mean married or living together, so we were like, oh, do you have pictures of your wedding? They were like, no we´re not married legally. Then we asked them why and the wife was like well I want to get married, but he doesn´t. Ask him why. So we did. He was like, whenever my friends get married, things fall apart, and I want to stay with her forever. Then he said. Ask her why she won´t marry me. So we did. And she said she wouldn´t marry him because he didn´t want to marry her. hahahahaha Crazies. They´re gonna get sealed int he temple some day, mark my word. We´ve only met them once, but it´s gonna happen, and I´m so excited for them.
Lovesies lovesies lovesies.
Hna Bayles

Arrived!

HONDURAS!!!! Honduras is just about as good as it gets. Im currently serving in a very safe area (nicknamed tranquillo for its calmness). I{m in Puerto Cortes, but we mosee on over to Barrio de Mangos, Buenos Aires, Nuevas Horizontes, etc. pretty much every day. We have the largest area in our mission, and it{s just me and my comp. We just got back from Choloma today where we were playing futbol with our zone. Que divertido! It is very green very humid and very hot here, but I{m enjoying the blue skies and the wild life. Waking up on the first morning was honestly like being in the tropical bird enclosure at the zoo (from the sounds of it anyway). So far the craziest bird I{ve seen were 2 wild parroty things. The bright green ones, you know. There are stray dogs and trash everywhere, but its beautiful here. There are metal gates around everything and guards with guns at every shop entrance, but its really quite safe for us missionaries. I certainly wouldnt take a whole bus of rich privileged americans and set them loose, but things are really very safe. We live in a largish house with no AC (no surprise) and we have two dogs as our friends and guards. One is huge and extrememly friendly if youre wearing a skirt and a nametag. However hes a beast if youre not us. The other is rather like a walking mop. I have yet to see his eyes or hear his bark, but I can tell he{s ferocious by the way he snoozes his days away. Their names are Leron and Gio. Theyre Latinos. We have a papaya treee, meaning I ate my first papaya this week. Other things of note that I ate this week Baleadas (yum! a Honduran special), green bannaas fried, plantains, lots of banana soda, about a pound of margerine and oil (boy do they fry it up here), and my personal favorite CHICKEN FEET. Thats right Eileen, remember those chicken feet you brought back from China. Well. I ate 3 of them. I was so repulsed at first, because you just bite them and pull them apart knuckle by knuckle until you reach the actual foot, and then you have to get past the pad of the food, but I knew it would be offensive it I didnt eat it, so I chomped them down. I think I also ate the spine, but one can never quite be sure with these kinds of things.... Anyway. Thats checked off my bucket list. Said nobody ever. hahaha. Eating those feet made me wish I had never taken anatomy... I know every tendon sheath, every joint, every bit of cartilage, every muscle, etc that I was gnawing on, and it was all I could do to keep it in my mouth. It was actually pretty tasty in the end, it was just the getting there that was tricky. Other things that will repulse Lauren you cant flush toilet paper here. Entonces, you wipe whatever youve got and chuck it in the trash. Happily, Ive not yet had intestinal problems. There are mosquiteos galore (and I think fleas in Nuevas Horizontes). I currently have 68 bites on my right leg, 62 on my left, 5 on my right arm, 4 on my left, and 1 on my collar bone. Happily, I dont have dengue fever. The Lord protects His missionaries, eh! Not even the locals drink the water, so all is well on that front. We just buy a lot of water. We live down the street from a large lake. Its a 3 minute walk, and rumor has it that there are crocodrillos in the lake. Wicked!!! We have Sapos (toads) in our yard. They are literally the size of my head (and we all know that{s saying something... I mean, have you SEEN my head... its huge). My feet are about two sizes bigger from walking so much in the humidity. Theylll go down just fineand they dont really hurt ever, but Im excited for the day I have feminine ankles again. That whole no holding babies rule apparently doesnt apply here. People practically throw their children at me. I try to have them sit next to me instead, but Illl admit, Ive held a baby. She had a cute fuzzy head, and she reminded me of Elise. Smiley face. Im definitely not endorsing breaking rules, but holy cow it would be SO RUDE not to break that one. And presidente knows, so all is well. Oh, right. Rules. If Honduras has any, no one follows them. Somenoe told me that my first night and I thought they  }were exhaggerating. Nope. No rules. Anything goes as long as you either say Permisso or honk your horn. Yup. Driving here is crazy. First day. 160 kmh on a residential street, weaving in and out of spaces too small for the car. Welcone to Honduras. hahahaha. I havent seen any accidents yet though. People do just fine with that. Good thing too, cause no one wears seat belts. I seen exactly one speed limit sign per day. No one follows it. Everything here is fried or soda. Those are the 2 food groups. If any of you thought I was going to lose weight here, you were very wrong. If I don{t gain 50 pounds, it will mean I failed to get into peoples homes and teach. Everyone loves feeding us. So mch. I drank coconut water straight from a coconut that someone macheted. Yup David, everyone{s got machetes and everyone points with their lips. Even me. The showers are not just cold but freezing. Helps you get ready faster in the morning. The other night, a bug flew into my face. It was literally the size of a gluestick. There are lizards everywhere, but I havent seen an iguana yet. The people are wonderful and so is the mission. We{ve already seen miracles and blessaed so many lives. Oh, we{re a port city, so the ocean is like... right there. I see huge boats every day. Buses here are tricked out school buses that crank the Latino musica. Its like a moving party at all times. Its very hot and very sunny. The people are very freindly. So. many. kisses. (from the sisters of course!). Hermana Carpenter (who I got to see today... shes in my district!) is breaking out from it. hahaha. Ummmm I may have slide tackled her playing futbol today. I also took a ball to the knee, leaving a huge bruise. Lets just say my legs are gorgeous, what with the soccer abrasions, the bruise, and the MANY bites. hahaha The people here are beautiful and faithful. We arrived at one woman{s house to find out that she had been wondering why God had abandoned her. Boy did we have a message for her. Another man was wondering why there are so many churches and why none of them has the proper authority. We had a message for him too. Another wondered why bad things happened to good people. We had }a message for her. Another wanted to find a church with the power of God. We had a message for him. The people here are prepared and willing to hear the gospel and we are prepared and willing to share it.

Apparently we arrived 2 weeks early. There were 4 of us from Provo, then 8 elders from the Guat CCM I believe. We{ll be getting about 20 more in 2 weeks. sister Carpenter definitely stands out, but so do I. Im just about as white as they come, and people definitely notice me. haha. I realized within about two seconds of being in Honduras that I had way too much stuff (and way too expensive). Its probably best taht you dont send me things unless I really need them or unless theyre disposable. Thanks for thhe package by the way. The raisins andnutter butters have been awesome.  I{m pretty sure the hondurans have never seen snow as my El Salvadorian comp has never seen it and shes from a much colder climate.

Honduras smells like a very moist pet shop when you first step off the plane, but now its sweeter than strawberry lemonade (as long as you dont walk past garbage... or smelly mutts... or human waste all three of which are everywhere. hahahah) Just kidding. Its gorgeous here. Say hola to the new missionaries for me seeing as I don{t speak this english business anymore. We dont have a mamasita as we are women and are our own mamasitas, but we do have emmebers who feed us lunch practically every day. Cheers for that.

By the way, my comp is Hermana Espinoza (you can see her in the cambios pics on the Veirs blog). Shes from El Salvador and doesnt speak english. Im in over my head with spanish, but surprisingly im not the worst theres ever been. hahaha. Shes great. I{ve gotta go now, but hopefully I can tell more inspiring stories next week. Theres just so much more different here that I felt obligated to tell you about it. Oh, by the way, we do beat our laundry on rocks to wash it. Cheers. Love you all oodles. Hola and nos vemos from Honduras!!!

Hna Bayles