Updates from Zambrano

HI! 

Well I hope everyone had a great week, and that your lesson went well Mom. I know it did! :) 

This week we are still working with M who is prepping for the priesthood, and working with his friend who keeps telling us he is waiting for his baptismal date! YAY! Its awesome seeing them both progress and seeing them learn more about this gospel.  The office finally got us our triples for them, because they are excited to have The Doctrine and Covenants, because on Sundays in classes they didn't have one to look up the other scriptures.  H is getting baptized this Saturday, but we are worried because he is working on cutting out the coffee.  Its a big addiction here in Honduras.  So if all goes well, this Saturday will be his baptism! :) 

Mom, if you could send me some more white shirts, size small and medium Mens that would be great.  There is no where here to buy.  We have some that we rounded up from the elders haha.

Well not much too new.  Finding new people to work with, and trying to help them commit to baptism, even though many do not like the word commit.. or compromiso here.  I am grateful for the scriptures and for this gospel.  I know my understanding of the simple principles we teach is what has helped me to try to be a better person. This week we had a lot of lessons with new people about the Restoration and specifically Joseph Smith.  We bore testimony about him being a true prophet and that he was the instument in restoring the gospel.  Even though after we explain, many people just can't get over that God restored his gospel through a prophet and think we don't believe in Christ.  Well after all we have tried to explain and testify, my testimony grows stronger that through Joseph Smith we have the gospel restored on earth today.  There are so MANY churches here and the more I hear about their doctrines I KNOW that the Book of Mormon was inpired of God to help us in these confusing times to know which church is true. 

This week for our weekly missionary activity in the church,  we are celebrating the anniversay of the Pioneers! :) We are asking 3 or 4 members to dress up in pioneer clothing and be one of the pioneers and explain about their life on journey. :) haha hoping more people show up this time! :) Super excited. 

Miss you and love you all! :) 

Hermana Nichols 

Meeting Presidente Ferman and Family

Hey, well this week we met with Presidente Ferman and his family.  They are
great!  And their kids are all older, but their youngest who is 17 is with
them.  She is super cute, and applying to BYU.  We got to meet him in a
reunion this week, and later had interviews with him.  It was super awesome
to get to know him a little bit in interviews, and I could feel the spirit
SO strong with him.  A little weird without the Fortunas, I miss them, but
the Fermans also are really great.
He talked a lot about the Retention of converts.  I think that will be one
of our big focuses which is really good, because I feel like that is what
we lack a little bit of.

Also this week we had a baptism! WHOO HOO! M who is 20 got baptized this
Saturday.  He is super awesome, and was super prepared.  He got his answer
from Heavenly Father that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that the Book
of Mormon is true pretty fast, but we are now teaching with his friend who
is going to get baptized this month, too.  Super awesome, I know the Lord
is preparing hearts here. I was wondering how was it that M was so prepared
to accept the gospel, but later he told us that a year ago he had gone to
church and had met with the missionaries before.  That definitely made more
sense.  I know that the Lord prepares his children in his own due time, and
that none of our efforts in sharing the gospel is wasted.  I know that over
time he was prepared to now accept the gospel in his life.  We had an
awesome lesson with him and his friend and his family Sunday with some of
the youth who helped us give parts of the lesson.  The spirit was strong
and the youth shared with these 2 other young men how faith, repentance,
and enduring to the end has helped shape their lives.


Miss you all!! Zambrano is great!

Love,
Hermana Nichols

in this first pic I'm with Hermana Ferman and their daughter B :)
Presidente Ferman is on the ground with the elders... haha cracking me up.

Updates from Zambrano

HEY! :) I hope everyone had an awesome 4th of July! I kinda forgot that it was 4th of July, until I saw the date in my agenda... haha but I hope you all had a great one, eating that awesome cake with blueberries and strawberries! Super yum :) 

Well last week we said goodbye to Presidente and Hermana Fortuna in changes briefly. :( He didn't want a party or anything to take away from our time working, so I was actually super grateful that I had changes so I could say goodbye to them briefly, before we all got on our busses with the suitcases.  But I will always be super grateful for Presidente and Hermana Fortuna, who always looked after us, and led us.  Presidente Fortuna with his last words told us to build our foundation on Christ, try to be a better person every day, and that the goal is for all of us to meet again in this next life together.  Super nice, everyone was crying.  

But with Presidente Ferman, I hear he is awesome, too.  I hear he is pretty funny, and super cool that he is a convert, so he never served a mission.  We get to meet him in an activity Tuesday! Whoo hoo !

Well in Zambrano, even though everyone loves to tell us that they can't listen to us because they already have their religion, the Lord still helps us find people with broken hearts and contrite spirits. :) 

Hermana H and I were so blessed this last Sunday.  We went with a member Saturday to visit some investigators who live SUPER far.. and we usually take a mototaxi to get there because it is really far.  Well thankfully we went with a member there who pretty much all of her long distant cousins live there, so that helped us out big time.  I was thinking that this would be our last time going to this neighborhood because it is super far, and it takes a lot of time just to get there, and a lot of money to go in mototaxi, but I know now that the Lord has answered our prayers.  We met the member's sister-in-law who just moved to Zambrano from Tegucigalpa, who is a member and who is having a hard time adjusting in a new place.  But she told us she would help us bring our investigators to church this Sunday.  Last Sunday when we went to get everyone not one person who had said they would come, came.  My companion was SUPER SAD. but well this week this member walked with our investigators from El Espino (where they live) to church with them.  IT is one hour and a half walking to the church! WOW, we were super grateful for her and her help, and am super impressed for our investigators who sacrificed! Not one of them complained, either.   I know that Heavenly Father answered our prayers this week, becuause we didn't know if it was worth it to keep working in this area, but I know now that we stil have work to do there :) 

Time is almost up and I want to send pics... 

But I love you all! And hope you can keep in your prayers S and D and Sa.  They are who we will be working with to accept a date for baptism who walked so far. 

Love you! 

Hermana Nichols

Hello Zambrano

I have returned back to the pueblos! :) Well, I asked my companion if this was called a pueblo, Zambrano, and she told me that it is actually called an Aldea... haha which is smaller than a pueblo.  :) 

I am with Hermana H, who is from El Salvador, and we knew/lived togehter in Talanga! She is super cute. 

Zambrano is like 45 minutes from Tegucigalpa... and is on the way to La Paz.  It is still like an hour away from La Paz, but the roads and busses are almost the same as we took when I was in La Paz, so I'm having flashbacks :) 

 I'm so sad that I don't have my camera cord to send more pics... but I am going to go try to buy one after we write :) 

Highlight of the week was that I got to go back to Loarque to be at the baptism with the R family!! :) So awesome, and Hermana Q also got permission! It was super weird being back, and staying in our old house again... but I am so grateful that Presidente gave us permission to go to their baptism because normally he doesn't!  

Even though when I left Loarque, I was so sad, I know that this is where I need to be right now.  I know that our Heavenly Father knows us better than we do ourselves, and am grateful He answers our prayers in ways we cannot imagine.  

Love you! 

Hermana Nichols