Living the vida loca! 2-1-2010

I don't think I could have been happier as the first person got up to speak on Sunday. Everything was finally in order. My investigators were here in the chapel, feeling of the spirit. I had been up all night because the dance club down the street had a raging party till 4 in the morning. I had called dozens of members firming plans, and arrived to church an hour early to open it and set up the chapel. As 2nd counselor in the ward, I had to make sure everything was ready, then leave to go invite my investigators, and make it back just in time for sacrament to start. I then blessed the sacrament, lead the hymns, passed over my notes and appointments for the afternoon and had to compare them to the bus schedule and plan out how we could get to our outer appointments (2 hours walking), and after that I was counting the number of people in the chapel for attendance when Lucito came up to me and motioned to the piece of cloth he was holding, which I eventually realized was his tie. As I sat there on the back row of the five rows in the sacrament hall fixing this 7 year old's shirt, and tying his tie I had the most powerful feeling.
Even though I don't get any free time, even though I walk miles every day, have feet covered in blisters, a tarantula hiding in my house (more on that later), no investigators and a ward that we are currently preforming CPR on, I was just given a moment to be filled with a spirit of Joy. That even though between me and my companion we were literally carrying this ward on are back, that God was happy with us. From blessing the sacrament, to doing tithing, to being fathers to the fatherless children, this small branch of God is built on the sweat and blood of missionaries carrying it day by day. So it doesn't matter if I have 7 callings in one branch, or that we start sacrament with 8 or 10 people present. Its the church of God, and I will do what ever it takes to keep this part of the Lord's vineyard alive.
Official statement on my callings:
2nd counselor
Librarian
Secretary
Young Mens President (I would like to apologize to dad for having given him so much crap in this same position, cause now I´m dealing with a group of Honduran 12 to 14 year old brats, and I finally am seeing how hard that was dad. Sorry...)
Home Teacher
Activities Coordinator
Missionary

So as you maybe can tell, things are a little different where I am at now. I am in the breathtakingly beautiful Campamiento, Orlancho, Honduras. Actually right now I am two hours out of Campamiento to use Internet, but I live in Campamiento. It is the most beautiful place I have been in my life. It's a valley covered in green, with mountains as far as you can see covered in a combination of pine, banana, and coffee trees. Just in my back yard are 3 banana trees, 1 avocado tree, and a mango tree. Also realize my back yard is smaller than our patio.

Remember when I opened that letter that said I would serve in Honduras and we imagined that little village tucked in the hills covered by trees and jungle? Well I'm totally there.

Elder Stone said it best when as we left the Tegucialpa bus station "you realize your going from hell to heaven right?"
The comp and the area are nothing short of celestial. I don't think I have ever been happier!!!

However its not all perfect in heaven.
So to say it nicely, the missionaries here for the last 6 months have let things slip. When I got here we literally did not have an investigator. My comp was just super down, and frustrated, and the elders before him were straight up lazy. So now I have to come and help him preform a miracle here. By the way, the miracle is happening. The whole district is busting their butts to get some success. Already in one week, we went from no investigators to 20, and one with a baptismal date. The ward attendance is up 25 percent (which literally translates to 12 more people showed up then last week cause we went and visited them). It's literally gone from hopeless here, to a column of light just shinning the way. The miracles are constant, and everything is working for are good. Gracias a Dios.
I never knew a human could be this busy. Every moment is filled with something to do. Like on the bus here I planned my lesson for Aaronic priesthood, and on the way back I am going to write my talk for Sunday. It's really hard, but with the hard comes the blessings. However the true trial of my soul right now was one night I had to pee so bad!!!! Forever ago I made a list called "American pride!!! the list of things Elder Morris will never do in Honduras" numero uno is never pee in the street. So I almost peed my pants getting home. I booked it into the bath room, lifted the toilet seat, and there it was!!! Like Aragog from Harry Potter it was just chilling in the toilet. The biggest spider I had ever seen!!! Now I'm not really scared of spiders any more, but I am scared of anything just as big as my hand. I flipped!!! But not Scott Morris run for the hills, I Elder Morris flipped and got my camera. I leaned over and got a few pictures of it and ran back to put a way my camera and ran back to the toilet to kill it with my two shoes. However in the 30 seconds I left, it left. IT WAS GONE!!!!! Right after that I went to dinner next door where a member fed us a huge piece of the 6 foot snake he had killed that day. Snakes, Spiders, and Fleas Oh MY!

Know everything is great. Stressed but great. I have to go, but I hope this letter gave some insight.

Adios, From the Pueblos,
Elder Steve Morris Erwin