Catracho for Life

2 years already? There's a word that people use to respond to someone's greeting. "bendiciones" or in English, "blessings". I've been blessed to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. Through me He's blessed His children and I've been blessed to be able to see those miracles. I've grown to love Honduras and it's people. They're my familia. Hondurans have taught me so much and have helped me to desire to be more like Christ. Their selfless love and sacrifices that they have made for me. Having nothing, they give everything. Having nothing they are happy. They have taught me how to really find true happiness. They've taught me Spanish. They've taught me how to make baleadas. They've taught me how to endure with patience,  love, serve, and so much more. They've taught me how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I love Honduras. I love Hondurans. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Most of all I love my Heavenly Father.

"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." 

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith"

Hasta pronto,

Elder Beardall 

El Catracho

Smiles Made Bigger

We had some good stuff happen this week! Here's some of them:

Divisions 2.0 on Thursday which also meant smelly river 2.0! But mah boy Elder Jacobson was a good guy and we only had to cross it once. But yes it still reeks! We were able to visit a lot of their progressing investigators and even one that basically there but just needs to get the paperwork so he can get married (which is a massive headache here). We also visited a widow which was awesome. She was talking 100 mph but it was great! Haha she was talking so much that 2 hours flew but without us knowing. Such a good lady. Oh also after we visited her we walked by a small water park that's out of business supposedly because a drug dealing problem or something like that. But it looked cool and it's something that's really needed here with this heat! 

This last week and the week before we were working hard with a family to get all their paperwork in for their marriage and Wednesday they were official. Husband and wife! We're so pumped for them! But that's not even the best part. The mom got baptized on Saturday!!! A little more than a year after their daughters and lots of missionaries it finally happened! It was such an awesome day because she was smiling the whole time and after the baptism it was even bigger! The ordinances and covenants we make with our Heavenly Father really do bring us happiness! 

This week we had the opportunity to read Come, follow me with some families and I really like it! In the reading there were some scriptures that well I'll let you read them too:

John 13:15-17

15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

John 14:18, 27

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid

I love that as we follow the Savior's example in loving others we will have leave and comfort in the hard times. 

Elder Beardall 

ps-next week will be my last letter because my fam can't handle me being gone any longer ;)

Forces of Nature and Acting

So this week we've been getting some rain which has been a blessing. It's cooled things down.... Well not for a long time but it still helps. Yesterday it started to pour like hardcore jungle rain and lighting striking so close you could feel the houses rumble. It was AWESOME! Nature, you gotta love it! 

We had my last Zone Conference this last week which was weird. President Carlisle talked about improving the way we find people to help more people enter the waters of baptism. He put emphasis on finding through the help of members and teaching with them as well. Him and Sister Carlisle also got kinda emotional because it's their last conference with us and they shared some great heartfelt words. It was good. Oh also here they have the people going home that transfer share their last testimony so I gotta go up and share. That means I gotta share with 2 others that were there. It was weird to accept that I'm going home because I still feel like I've got lots of time left and lots of people to help. His work isn't finished until everyone has had a chance to hear the good news. Lots of work to do! 

This week we were practicing for a "play" that we did as a zone. I don't remember if I shared about the activity about the apostasy and restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We acted all that out with costumes that the Stake President had custom made for us. It was awesome and there was a good turnout. President was so content that he is planning on doing it again in the coming months. It was a good way to let people know about the truths and to help people understand more about Christ's restored church. I'm so glad to be apart of His church and to be able to have guidance and blessings through obedience to His commandments. 

With a couple that we are helping get married, so they can be baptized, we are reading the Book of Mormon every week. This week we read Moroni chapter 7. I loved a lot of what we read but verses 18 & 19 stood out to me:

18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.

19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ

I love how we need to judge people how we would like to be judged. Sometimes we criticize people for what they do or for what they don't do. But as we forgive and judge how we'd like to be judged, we will become more forgiving and more understanding of the trials others are going through. This motive to look for the good is the Light of Christ and like it mentions in verse 19, as we rely on this gift God has blessed us with we will be more like Christ. Judge like you'd like to be judged. Forgive. Serve. Love.

Elder Beardall

Goodbye Sense of Smell

Week number 99 down in the books (not sure if that's true or not but it's close) and we hit the grind and we saw some fruits of our work. 

First off shout out to mah sista for graduating from high school. Knew you could do it. Love you Ken! 

We had exchanges Thursday which was pretty fun. I went to the other area with Elder Bidó whose from the D.R. and we hit the grind. It was was weird cuz it was the first time I was with a Latino that was taller than me. We're basically the same height but yeah. Someone called us the twin towers which was pretty funny. That day we basically visited all of the widows in their area. OK not all but we visited a good amount. But it was fun because they were so nice and happy for us to pass by and share something. Oh also part of their area you have to cross a bridge that crosses a canal that's pure sewage. The "water" is black with floating substances and man did that smell delicious! In winter the saying is that the cold freezes you nose hairs, but this did the opposite. My nose felt like it was burning and my lunch wanted to take a peak at what was going on and come out but we hauled out of there. By the end of the day we had crossed about 4 times but the last 3 we did one of those deep breaths and then haul across. We got some funny looks because it was a good sized bridge and by the end we were kinda running. Good times haha

Saturday night the lady that normally gives us dinner was at the ward mothers day activity so she cancelled. Another family offered for us to come over and we could cook with their kids. That morning I had the idea to make some good ole Breakfast for Dinner. I wanted to make some French Toast cuz its been about 2 years since I've had some so we bought the ingredients and we made it with them. Their faces were kinda funny because they kinda looked scared to try it. They tried it and let's just say I'll be opening my own breakfast Café when I get home ;) but they liked it and I also made homemade maple syrup with the mapleine that mom and dad hooked me up with so shout out to them. While we were cleaning up they went to the freezer and grabbed the little ice that accumulates on the edges, and threw it at me while I was washing the dishes. We had a little water fight and ended with some good towel flicking. It was a good time and we had some good laughs. The awesome thing is their parents aren't members and yesterday their mom came to church so we were pumped about that. Speaking of people coming to church we had 7 people come. Yes that's right 7 investigators came and we were pumped out of our minds! Although there have been some big challenges for me lately, as I have used them to make me focus in,  miracles have happened this changes. I love being a missionary! 

This week one of the lady's that gives us dinner is going through and hard trial in her life and she was sharing as we were eating. A scripture came into my mind that when we finished sharing she asked for us to frame it in big letters so she can read it tons. That scripture is one of my favorites and is found in Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-9,

7  My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

8  And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

9  Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands

This life is hard. Trials and challenges come. Heavenly Father and Jesus are there to comfort you. The good thing about life is the hard times pass by. Endure with a positive attitude and patience. You can do this! You're not alone! Turn to Him and find comfort and hope.

Elder Beardall

Hambre & Milagros

Pretty sure that's the first Spanish title I've done so pull out your dictionaries.

So this week we got a call Monday night saying that President Carlisle wanted to do a mission-wide fast Tuesday to Wednesday. The purpose was to be able to see miracles in this month and to be able to baptize those that are prepared. That explains the "hambre" part and the miracle part I was gonna share but I got my homecoming talk subject and its perfect for the subject so of you wanna know about the miracle we saw this week, Sunday June 23rd 9:00 :)

Wednesday morning we had a service project but we went in church clothes because 1. We had interviews at noon and 2. It was a lesson then a service so we brought shirts to put over our clothes. We read the Book of Mormon with her and she's finishing up almost but we were able to read and learn in Ether so it was good. After we went out back and picked a gnarly smelling fruit called "nonis" (sounds like "naw nees") I sent a pic when I was back in Calpules but they're gross. Supposedly they're used for medicines but they're gross. I don't like them. We actually had our lunch canceled that day and we were fasting and we still hadn't gotten lunch figured out when the lady offered to make us lunch after our interviews. The Lord blesses us when we serve and do what He would if He were here.

My comp went to get his residency Friday morning with one of the ZLs that share the ward with us so I stayed with the other for the morning. All we did was practice for a mission activity we have planned as a stake for this week. We did it last year when I was in Pineda (around October). I'll let you know how that goes next week. 

So we had interviews Wednesday morning and it was awesome. President is doing his last interviews with most of the missionaries because he finishes at the end of June. Luckily I'll get one more as I'm heading out. But it was a good interview. It was probably the most relaxed I've ever seen him and we were joking around about each other working hard to the end and we had some good laughs. I loved the message he shared that comes from Elder Uchtdorf from this last conference. 

Elder Beardall

Photos: so it's kinda dangerous to pull cameras out here and I just got my camera charger, so next week I'll get some good shots. Next Week will be better! 

The Oven

Well round 2 here in San Pedro might actually kill me! The powers gone out in the middle of the night with a bed that you can feel the heat coming out. But we've been working hard.

First off my new comp is Elder Catu from Guatemala. He speaks a native tongue from there which sounds kinda like a mixture of Spanish and Chinese and like Native American all together. It's pretty cool. He has 3 brothers and 1 sister so their fam is basically opposite from mine. He's been out 6 months and actually started where I did which is kinda cool. We talk about members and the good ole stuff in Mezapa. 

Also from now on I'll be writing at 8 here cuz they assign writing times and if you don't show up you lose your time to write so it's pretty intense.

So this week I've been meeting everybody in the area and not that many names are sticking but we do have some awesome investigators. One is a couple that their daughters got baptized last year but they didn't due to not being married but now they're gonna get married! This last week we put them on date for the end of May. We'll see tomorrow how the papers and everything is going. Other than that we don't really have any progressing investigators. But yesterday two less active members came that we visited so we were pumped. All in all it was a good week!

I came across a scripture this week that was a good one. 2 Nephi 33:6

"I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell"

Sometimes the plain or simple is what's best. Keep it simple. Keep it true and keep it real. Doing the simple things will allow us to do what the last line says redeem our souls from hell. Choose the right. Do the small things. Enjoy the blessings of life!

Elder Beardall 

San Pedro Sula Round 2

Well summer has officially hit it's peak here in Honduras! The fans aren't really worth it because all they do is blow hot air. It's like using a blow dryer but with more air.

So we got changes last night and sadly I have changes. I'm pretty bummed even mad because I really have loved being here in Trujillo 1. It's a beautiful paradise 2. I have really come to love the people here. They're part of my growing family here in Honduras and they'll be truly missed. I'm headed out to San Pedro one last time in a part called Planes. Funny thing is its up against one of my old areas (Calpules) so I'll be able to visit some of the members there which will be cool. I imagined Trujillo would be my last area but I guess the Lord has other plans. We'll see how San Pedro Round 2 works out.

On Saturday we helped the Elders quorum clean the Church. I almost used the edger(weed whacker) to clean up the grass but the blades weren't working. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but here nobody uses lawn mowers. People just let the weeds grow and say that's their lawn. But it'd damage a lawn mower to cut the weeds because they let them grow tall and then use the weed whacker or a machete to clean It up. But there was a member that sent someone to cut the weeds so we cleaned the inside. It brought me back to the good ole janitor days because o was put on bathroom duty. I was OK with it because I've cleaned bathrooms and have cleaned nastier looking bathrooms before so it wasn't that bad. But we left the chapel sparkling when we left so I was content.

This week we were visiting one of our investigators that's a PF (part-member family). We've really been able to connect with this family and there's not a time where we are joking around (OK during lessons we're about 99% serious). This last Thursday we taught about baptism and invited the mom (who's not member) to follow Christ's example and be baptized. She didn't accept but we're gonna keep teaching her but the funny thing was on Sunday during Sunday school the teacher and members were talking about baptism and how you can't return to live with Heavenly Father if you're not baptized and my comp and I are sitting close to her and as they say it we do a little "heh" and she just laughs and hits us. Hopefully that was a help for her hearing that not only from us but the members. Hopefully she progresses.

So spiritual thought real quick. I was reading in Mark 5 this week and part of the chapter it was talking about when Christ was asked by a man to go and heal his daughter that was dying. On the way there was a lady in the crowd that had faith and touched his clothes and was healed and this made Christ stop and talk. With the little delay there was a messenger that came to report that his daughter had passed away and to bother Jesus no more. I love what he says in verse 36

 "As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe." I love the part that I bolded because we should not be afraid. Jesus and our Heavenly Father can work miracles in our lives if we only believe. Believe that he can help. Believe that he can work miracles. Believe that he can heal.

Elder Beardall

Work Hard Being All In

Mah famiry and friends how are we? So yesterday the power was out all day till late so we're writing today! 

Also shout-out to my nephew Koa for being born yesterday! That's right ladies and gentlemen I'm an uncle!

This week we were back in business and the first day or two we were basically going around visiting and setting appointments with people that we couldn't visit the last week. It was a lot of walking.

Tuesday we did exchanges with the Elders here in Trujillo. Elder White came here with me and it was good. A lot of the appointments fell through and Elder White kept saying it was his fault for having bad luck. The funny thing is that's normally me when I'm on exchanges in other areas. But it was good and we were able to find some good people. We'll see if they'll progress in these next few weeks.

On Wednesday we had an interesting experience. So it was hour for dinner so we get to the Bishop's house (that's were we eat on Wednesday in case you were wondering) and his wife opens the door, looks at us for 5 seconds and tells us she forgot it was Wednesday haha. She tells us she'll make something quick but we told he we could come back in a little bit so she could have time to prepare something so she wasn't rushed. We start out and we contact a house with a lady outside and we start talking to her and she tells us "I don't like your religion. I don't like the Mormon's religion." We quickly tell her that we aren't Mormons and say we're from The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. She then accepts us to talk to her because we weren't "Mormons". We talked to her a little and she liked what we had to share. It was kinda funny because after she kinda started to bash on the church and later on she realized that the Church is the same and then was making excuses for when she was available and all that jazz. It's interesting how people judge us right off the bat. But as my companion and I have been following the prophet, doors have been opened and we've been able to help more people understand about the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a return appointment this week so we'll see. Oh and the dinner that night was delicious :)

On Friday we went to go help Jerson cut down weeds on a property they have. We went as a district (only 4 of us but still haha) because they told us it was pretty big. We get there and we find a JUNGLE! They hadn't gone to clean it up since January so there were some big plants. Some of them were even taller than me! They also were the type of weed that has thorns all the way down the stem and the leaves have little thorns. When we finished my knuckles were bleeding haha. Oh yeah It was because we were using machetes to cut all of it down so that's why my hands got shredded. But we got it done in about 2ish hours. It was hard work and after my forearms were SORE! If you wanna workout your forearms go swing a machete around for a while haha but remember to be safe kiddos!

Oh that same day we were contacting and we contacted a Gringo and his family. We were there for 2 hours and my comp just chilling there wishing the Gift of Tongues would work a lot more than it did because they were speaking English. Their daughter is in the school here and she's been learning Spanish so what she could say she was talking to my comp and the were playing haha. It was interesting and in the end the lesson didn't go as well as I thought it would. He basically said that we weren't Christians and we had lots of fundamentally wrong principles and said he and his wife had already been saved because the spirit changed their hearts. It was interesting but frustrating. I don't think we'll be returning.

In my studies this week I came across a talk titled "Stand up Inside and Be All In" by Elder Gary B. Sabin of the Seventy. Something I loved was this: "We don’t hold back to see what the minimum is we can get by with. The Lord requires the heart and a willing mind." Are we going through life just doing the minimum to float on by? My mom would frequently say "go the extra mile" when I was growing up and it has been maintained in my mind all this time. The extra mile brings miracles. The extra mile brings extra blessings. If you're doing what you've been told, great job! But there's more to do. Commit today to not hold back and be All In. There are many people with needs that we can help. Be committed. Be all in.

Elder Beardall

Semana Santa

I am so grateful for the sacrifice Christ suffered for us. Our older brother giving us the greatest gift a man could give. I love him so much. This week was such a blessing to be able to really focus on Him.

In the Catholic culture Easter season isn't just a weekend of a bunny coming (although shout-out to the Easter Bunny for hooking my comp and I up!) and then Sunday remember the sacrifice Christ did for us. The week of the events leading up to His crucifixion are reenacted every year to remember all that He did. It's a national "holiday" so everyone (except for people in touristic places like here) have vacations. It's basically like spring break. Although it's time for people to be home and enjoy vacation, NOBODY was home this week. Better said everybody was here but on the beach and HOLY MOLY there were a ton of people. Lots of tourists and traffic. We also live like 3 blocks from central park here so people drive by and all the parties and events that were happening we could hear and man it was CRAZY! Makes me glad that I don't live in a touristic place at home! We tried to find people but we didn't find anyone. Luckily on Tuesday and Wednesday we had exchanges with the Zone Leaders so we were able to go to Olanchito where there were people who received us but let me tell you, that place is an oven. All of Honduras is but there it was 40 degrees Celsius which is about 105 Fahrenheit with humidity which is GNARLY! But we're blessed to he here on the coast with the ocean which brings the breeze. We're blessed.

So for Semana Santa we were with members and we looked for service. Friday we helped Hna. Thomas move A TON of sand that was left over from building their house. We could've filled an entire sandbox with all that we moved. We basically made a sandbox but they won't be using as one. Good exercise. 

Sorry that was just a long blurb but other than all that not much happened. We weren't able to visit any of our investigators which stunk. Nobody came to church so it was a rough week. Awesome if we were tourists but as missionaries it's one of the hardest here. But with all that happening I read a cool talk this week that helped me a lot titled "The Ministry of Angels" by Elder Holland. I loved it because it talked about how God never leaves alone. He sends angels to comfort and protect us. He talks about how even the Savior was comforted by angels during the Atonement. Heavenly angels as well as earthly angels are sent by our loving Heavenly Father so we never are alone. While reading about earthly angels I sat there reflecting on my life and all the angels Heavenly Father has sent to comfort and protect me. Although some are visible and others not so much I have been very blessed. If only I could thank every single one of them because they really have helped me in this life. They help all. The trick is open our eyes to see them blessing our lives. Ask Heavenly Father in prayer to have him open your eyes and I promise you'll be able to recognize blessing your lives. God loves you. He will never leave you alone.

Elder Beardall

The Beginning of New Lives

Many big things happened this week. We were so busy that time flew by rápidamente! (quickly)

Wednesday we went to the hospital to visit a member that was in intensive care due to her heart. We weren't able to talk with her because she was sedated but we talked to her mom and it was a good experience. It made me appreciate my health. The sad thing is her condition didn't improve and late Friday night she passed away. Saturday we went to her funeral which was super quick! Apparently they don't normally prepare the body's so they do the funeral super quick. There were a lot of people to support the family in their lost. My comp was asked to give a spiritual thought and I liked what he said. He shared the idea that when we die we are heading out of the dark and headed to the light of a new world if we do what's right. Also another member shared that death is just another step in the journey on the steps of life. Although death is sad and is hard it's a good time to ponder on where we are in life and what we can improve on.

Friday we had Zone Conference which was good. President talked about 7 habits of a highly successful missionary. I feel like I've heard of something like that but it was good. I felt inspired. Here's some of the things he shared: 

Habit 1: Be Proactive- evaluate and improve situatuons

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind- Don't get lost in NOT doing the small things

Habit 3: Do the most important things first

Those are just 3 habits but they're good advice. They can be applied to normal life too so you can apply them too ;)

Thursday we had the Zone Leaders come to help is with a baptismal interview. Saturday mah boy Jerson got baptized. We've been working with this guy for the whole time I've been here so it was awesome to see him progress and finally be baptized. We put so many baptismal dates with him but sometimes the Lord has different plans in mind. He knows us and the timing in which we need things so we just need to be patient and trust in Him. It was an interesting baptismal service and he had us stressing yesterday because he didn't show up at first to church and we called him so many times asking if he was coming and he kept saying he was on his way. It took him 1 hour to walk a 20 min distance. But we love our buddy Jerson :)

My sister shared a talk with me titled "Notwithstanding My Weakness" by Elder Neal A. Maxwell. It's super good. Here's 2 reasons why:

1) "Feet are made to move forward- not backward!"

2) "The spirit can drive the flesh beyond where the body first agrees to go."

We all have our weaknesses and maybe sometimes we feel like these weaknesses make us a failure. Our feet were made to help us move forward. To keep going. When we are weak, if we keep moving forward,  God will help us transform our weaknesses to strengths. We may feel like we are physically limited but our spirit allows us to push those limits and become like our Heavenly Father. So don't give up. He's there for you. Just keep trying!

Elder Beardall

Do Better, Be Better

First item of business..... SAN PEDRO SULA IS GETTING A TEMPLE!! Hahaha my buddy Elder White and I were watching in English in the ward secretary's office and although it was asked of us to not burst out..... We couldn't help it haha. We were so pumped. If you've seen the movie The Best Two Years (if not go watch it) we had a moment like when Elder Rogers and Calhoun have their investigator say he wants to be baptized. The part right as the guy leaves their apartment they shut the door and do that freak out and then the really weird hug haha Yeah Elder White and I did something like that. I'm so pumped for the members here because they sacrifice so much (lots of money and 8 hours in bus one way) to go to the temple. I kept telling the members that they were gonna announce a temple in San Pedro last conference and they didn't so I said this conf and now ITS TRUE! Man I love the temple so much. It's been a while since I've been and I feel partially empty. Imagine that. Not going to the temple can make us feel empty. Take advantage of the temple because they really do have an impact on your life. It brings peace and happiness and lots of blessings in your lives!

This week we've been working hard to find more people like last week. We've been looking for part member families and asking for references. One day we asked a member for a house to go contact and they give us a house so we go to see what's up. We get to the house and they answer through the window and say they're busy and to come the next day. We ask for his name and he says Barry. My comp looks at me with a big grin on his face and says "Barry happy". Hahahaha I was trying so hard not to laugh! My comp even wrote in his agenda for the appointment "very happy" at the time that he said to come back. My comp is a goon but I love the guy! 

We also find people through their little kids. Normally the kids are out playing in the street and we talk to them and usually ask if they can bring their parents. Kids never reject/lie to us and their parents are now "obligated" to come out. We did it with this awesome family that the missionaries were teaching but they moved so they stopped for a while. But this family is awesome and they like hearing. It's a single mom with four boys so my respect goes to this lady! She has a cute little kid. He's like a mini Maui from Moana. I'll send a pic so you can see haha.

So conference was delicious. I feel full (obviously on the spiritually side). I didn't go in with a set question but came out with a few questions answered. Crazy huh? Conference is such a great time of year! I love hearing about the gems you have found and I'd like to share some that I found :)

"Don't give up, people change." "No one is too far gone" -Elder Waddell

"All Heavenly Father asks of us is to do our very best everyday." "Let's not complicate things." -Elder Ballard 

"Convenience rarely leads to things that matter." "Stay out of the spiritual 'death zone'." "Proceed with trust." -Elder Homer

"Great coaches know the strengths and weaknesses of their players." "Do you feel weak? Congratulations! You made the lineup." -Elder Stevenson

"I've prayed for you.... And I know everything will work out." -Elder Eyring 

AND MY FAVORITES: "Repentance is a change of mind." "Do better, Be better." "Make it easy for her to want to be yours" (SO GOOD!) "Be the MAN the Lord wants you to be." -President Russell M. Nelson 

Man I loved the whole Priesthood session because there was many good reminders of how I as a Son of God need to improve. The Prophet and Apostles are truly guided by our loving Heavenly Father. Study their councils. Live Happier.

Elder Beardall