HEY FAMILY!!!!!
HOY SI voy a escribirles de miedo. (translation: ok for real I will write to everyone a ton!! haha)
Love you all dearly. Okay..
First of all, now in the mission I have been in every part of the mission Tegcugialpa- In the City in my first area called Santa Lucia where it was pretty much like a mini Honduras version of Mercer Island- the people had a fair a mount of bills, were a lot more educated, and asked us a lot of doctrinal questions which always freaked me out because starting my mission I didn`t know squat let alone in Spanish
Next phase of my mission I was in Marcovia- in Southern Honduras which is STRAIGHT UP HONDURAS where it`s suuuper hot, there are always naked kids running around in the dirt little roads, and the closest market is a 20 minute bus ride away. There I really really grew in my testimony of the Restauration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I learned to teach in a simpler way, and I had some of my hardest times teaching the Restauration, and learned a lot about how blessed we are with how developed the church is in the United States because in that branch the missionaries do EVERYTHING. Nobody shows up to give a talk? the missionaries. Nobody shows up to give the sunday school class? The missionaries. 3 hermanas showed up in relief society? yay!! the missionaries are hermanas, they can do it!!
Next phase was when I went to Mongollanos, one change after finishing my training, and I became trainer! That was when I really started to fall in love with the people here, with this work, with being a missionary, everything. Mongollanos reminds me kind of of Marysville, a little townish like place. That ward was full of love, a ton of youth got involved with misisonary work, and one of those we baptized I like to picture as Dad when he was 16, this guys was golden, andreparing to serve his mission.
Just after one change they moved me to here in La Concepcion in Danli, Honduras. Danli is East of Tegucigalpa, it`s ^the cold part of Honduras^^ and here it rains a lot and its my first area that is closest to being city-like. However, walking 10 minutes in one direction you will find people in some of the most humble homes, like the picture I sent a couple weeks ago. To help you picture it there are about five people with cars in the Ward. So its a pretty wide spread of education and wealth.
In my mission I have gone through some pretty funny phases but I have developed in a couple of areas in specific
Learning to be myself- In the beginning of my mission, I took a little too seriously the title of "being a representative of Jesus Christ" in my efforts to do that I thought I had to leave behind my personality and be all holy 100% of the time and not speak about things that dont pertain to the church, I had a companion that was super disobedient (my second trainer) and I was shocked that not all missionaries are angels like I had always thought they were. In this process and especially training Hermana Posso, I realized that there is no ONE type of good missionary, there is no perfect missionary, there is no perfect ward, there is no perfect nothing. I came to realize that I could have success as long as I strived to develop my personal talents, and help my companions see the blessings of being obedient. That was my mistake from before- I would take note of what my senior companion would do and assumed that knowing more than me, what she did is the best way to do things. But more and more on my mission, I realize the only example that we can ever use to strive to become is Jesus Christ. Very often those who seem like angels in the mission, are not... and vice versa.
I have learned and grown a ton in my testimony of the Restauration. Before the mission my only testimony of the Restauration has been from what I have read in the Book of Mormon, but I have come to realize that the true message of the Restauration is that God is the same God yesterday, today, and forever, and that His order has always been given through his prophets that help us see in a world that is so blind. I have had some great moments, seeing as other people have come to know of the truth of this plan.
I have also learned a lot about how to stand up for what is right. This week especially was a huge step for me, as in this ward the bishop has worked some major mischief (as the church is starting to develop here, not everything is beautifully neat and in order all the time). Recently the bishopric has been using sacrament talks as a way to lecture the members of the ward for things that they are doing wrong. The moment most depressing was when there was a talk about the responsibility of fulfilling responsibilities with the church cleaning. I seriously was so depressed to hear this talk, at the thought that the most sacred meeting of Sunday was used in this way. In Correlation my companion and I spoke with love but with truth that the sacrament meeting is to talk about the welfare of our souls as it is said in Moroni, to talk about how we can better follow the example of Jesus Christ. As we stand at the pulpit we speak to what we believe Jesus Christ would say in that moment, not about things like the aseo of the capilla.... Anyways he understood, and we are moving forward. A lot of people here just aren`t sure how to fulfull their callings really.
Well thats all for today, I love you all tons, I actually promise with all my heart I will write good emails from now on,
I just ask one thing........... money for a good camera for my birthday?? I LOVE YOU!!!!!
Hermana Bernal
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