Well, this has been one of the craziest, most adventurous, interesting weeks of my life. Scratch that, I think it is THE craziest, most adventurous, interesting weeks of my life. It was so wonderful to be able to talk to you guys for a little bit, thank you for being available for me to talk to you all. Cool Story: I placed a Book of Mormon while on the plane! This random guy gave me a wallet he had made out of paper. Hna Robertson asked him to show us how to make them, and then I gave him a Book of Mormon and got his address so someone can go talk to him. :) YAY!
At the airport, we met President and Sister Dester. I LOVE THEM! They are so sweet and kind, and I felt like I was at home with them. we went outside to discover a bus. The elders and driver proceeded to take all of our suitcases and tie them to the roof of the bus, and we drove to a stake center. The churches here are beautiful. They all have tile floor instead of carpet in every room. We had a little bit of training with President Dester, orientations, and more, and then we drove to the President's house. They live in a high rise, and they have the entire 20th floor to themselves. Entonces, it was beautiful. I felt like I was in a super nice hotel. We ate dinner there, and the best part was I was one of the sisters that got to sleep at their house! (Three of us got to do that.) Also, I got to sleep in a queen bed in a room all by myself after taking what was probably my last hot shower for 16.5 months. Oh, I was in heaven, and I enjoyed every minute of that, haha! :)
Wednesday, we had transfers and I met my companion for the first time! Hermana Vasquez is from El Salvador and doesn't speak english. Well, she knows some things, but she feels she cannot speak well. That has been quite the adventure. Three-quarters of me is so grateful because I am going to learn Spanish so well and probably very quickly, and in lessons, she knows how to express herself in Spanish. The other one-quarter has been struggling a little bit. Every day though, it gets better and better! I understand more every day, but it is definitely an uphill journey. She is a sweetheart and very patient with me as I am learning spanish.
I am trying to decide what has been the greatest adventure. I will make a list and you can choose your favorite:
-Seeing my appartment for the first time. It is probably 5ft wide or so and about 20ft long (I think)
-Learning to cross the street without crosswalks
-Hopping into a random crowded van that I later discovered was a bus
-Seeing chickens and roosters walking around everywhere
-Having one brother draw a map for us in the dirt with a machete
- Having the humidity hit me like a wave
-Eating Burger King in Honduras
-Having people stare at me because I am so tall/am a gringa
-Watching General Conference in Spanish
-Feeling like a deer in headlights when people ask me questions
They have all been wonderful though. I feel such a love for this country. It is incredibly beautiful, and all the people are very kind and loving. I KNOW I am supposed to be here. I can feel it! As soon as the plane landed, I KNEW this is where I am supposed to be and supposed to serve.
We always eat a very big lunch, so I often don't eat dinner, but all the members are generous, and the food is fabulous! We don't have air conditioning, but we do have fans, so we are good :) Also, we don't have hot water. That's okay though, I just remind myself that I won't be this cold any other time while I am Honduras :)
Oh, a funny story! Okay, back in Winter Semester I went to the Bishop's office to work on my mission papers, and I sat next to a young man who was waiting for an interview for a temple reccomend. He told me he was going on a mission to Honduras San Pedro Sula. I thought, oh how interesting! I think I even thought "Nope, definitely not going there! I don't even know where Honduras is!"... Life is funny, isn't it? Anyways, I wanted to look for him while I was here, but all I could remember was the name Harrison, and I thought that was his last name. Also, I didn't know if he was going East or west (I don't think he knew at the time). Well, Harrison is his first name, his last name is Nichols, and he is in my zone! That was awesome. :)
Today, for P-day, our zone went hiking to a waterfall! It was awesome y muy bonita! Unfortunately, on the way back, I fell in the stream/river thing and my camera got soaked! I am trying to dry it out, but I don't know if it will. Entonces, I don't have pictures this week. The waterfall was beautiful though, and it was so fun to hike! I really do love hiking, and I hope to hike more. Every day is an adventure. I think I have had more adventure in the past week than I would have had back home, and that is wonderful.
The people here are incredible! We don't really have investigators right now, but we visit recent converts and members and I learn more each day!
I LOVE YOU!!
Love,
Hermana Lauren Grondel
P.S., I almost forgot! Most people here cannot pronounce my name. Instead, they usually say either Hermana Grande or Hermana Del. It is so fun! :)
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