The Hammock Report, Ed 15 June 2015

Well adoring fan club,

This week was actually the best of times and the worst of times. Confusing I know but you all will understand by the end of the email. But before we get into that we have to give out the award for getting the Ronaldo reference from last week's report. And the award goes to...John! All the rest of you either didn't know or care or ignored. Thanks for playing this last week.

So this week started off with yet again more divisions. This time I was with the other set of elders in my district, Elder Ordonez (Canadian actually) and Elder Televario (Chapin (from Guatemala)). So it was pretty great to see their area and try to help them out. Elder Ordonez is a total workhorse too. But when I was with him we had a bunch of lessons fall through so we got to go and contact and found a bunch of really promising people for them to teach. It was a good time with him and we also had some good lessons also capacitating some families on the new area plan to get the work moving. It's really not new so to speak but not a whole lot of people here in Central America have done before. It's more member oriented instead of everyone just waiting on the missionaries to do everything.

After ending divisions we got back to work in our area for a day but then de Nuevo we had a meeting. Well I did. President Dester had a leadership meeting with all leaders in the mission and so my companion was on divisions with Elder Ordonez and Televario while I headed to San Pedro with the zone leaders. It was a great meeting where we were capacitated on how to better help those in our districts and zones be better motivated and keep the good work moving strong. Let's just say that I have a crap tone of notes from that meeting. Then we headed back to the coast. And that is when the week turned sour. So turns out that my comp just planched out while I was gone with a certain Chapin (name withheld in this part of the email) and then has been a complete pain in the butt since the "come to Jesus" meeting that came as the result of breaking a whole bunch of rules. And now I think that this week we might have to go to San Pedro again for someone to have some forced reflection time with a certain mission pres. But yea that is what I will have to deal with this week. The way he is acting is more like a certain soccer player from Portugal that was in last week's email.

Shut up Ronaldo! We all know you flop and are horrible with shots under pressure!

Well back on track again, thanks for all the love and support and I can't wait to hear from all your adventures this next week. Well I love you all and will hear from you soon.

Mike

The Hammock Report, Ed 8 June 2015

Well folks this week was a fun one!

So first we started out on Tuesday with our very normal district meeting. But this was no ordinary meeting this time...oh not it wasn't. So right as I was capacitating and right as the spirit comes into the room and we all are feeling and thinking of ways to make ourselves better this week... BOOOMMM! This little elder from Guatemala just hurls all over! I mean projectile vomiting! Yeah at first I was kinda upset but then it changed into a feeling of being impressed because he went for a minute solid and had some distance on it. If there was an Olympics for vomiting, I got a champ in my district.

Well after a good mopping and a lot of laughing we were back off to good ole Puerto. Tuesday also was a surprise visit from the APs who came to do divisions with us. And you all know what that means when they come for divisions. So we took them on a good walk around for a bit. As in the hardest parts of our area to try and gas them. It was also made better by getting them to eat a huge lunch right before taking them up some big ole hills all day. MWAHAHAHAHAHA! I know, only slightly evil but they'll live.

After Tuesday, all was good up until I had to go do divisions with one companionship in my district. So I spent Friday with a fellow Idaho boy from Poky. His name is Elder Fackrell and he is a total stud. He has about 10 months in the mission now and he is a hard worker. It's always good to see that the Idaho boys like to work hard. Now if I could just implant that in a few Mexicans, Chapines, and a Peruvian or two my life would be better. So the whole day we went and contacted a new part in their area that they had never visited. There we found a whole bunch of new families and even a dairy. The best part was that the guy gave us some free milk and we had a pack of cookies as a snack. Yeah, yeah finally a glass of cold, whole milk and cookies...priceless!

Then on Sunday we had a good time with fast and testimony meeting. Yeah it was set back one Sunday since last week was Stake Conference. So it was really good to get to share my testimony and hear some strong ones from the ward members here. Great times. Then after church we had the ward council meeting, which lasted forever! I about fell asleep five times cause it was hot and they all just talk in circles until finally we just decided to get up and leave and that is when they finally decided to get something done. So we had to sit back down and help them help us with the obra misional.

Then we get to today. So we started bright and early helping hno Juan Hernandez with his house again. It is progressing a lot actually. Then after that we went and played soccer at the church with a bunch of the neighborhood. It's a pain in the butt to get anyone to come to church for their eternal salvation but as soon as you bring soccer into the mix they show up by the droves. I mean it is its own religion here. As in on Sunday the whole town basically shuts down for a couple hours due to the Barcelona game. Crazy but hey they enjoy it. Personally it's more fun to watch futbol from the Northern European teams because they play faster paced but here it's one of two teams; Barcelona or Real Madrid. I am a fan of Barcelona due to the fact that Madrid has possibly THE person I would like to punch in the face the most on its roster...Cristiano Ronaldo! I mean just look at the little girl...

 

...I think I just threw up a bit in my mouth. You might also recall this little worm from the National selection de Portugal en el mundial en Brazil. Yeah, he is the little worm who last minute robbed the U.S.'s win. Cherry picking little...

 

...wow...I think this place is finally getting to me. Well anywho I think that is all for this week's report. I love you all and can't wait to see you soon.

 

Mike



The Hammock Report, Ed 1 June 2015

So this week the trend was a lot of meetings...let's talk about that.

So to start we had a whole lot of meetings this week. So first like every Tuesday we had our district meeting at which we had some capacitación to better ourselves...this is a normal one so it really shouldn't count. But then we had a multi-zone meeting on Wednesday. Here is where President Dester talked to us and we were capacitated on what are some of the things that we need to work on as a mission. The highlight of that meeting was that Mommy Dester brought us all brownies! Yeah, she is the greatest. It's been a long while since I saw, let alone ate, a brownie and boy was it delicious!

So after the meeting on Wednesday, we came back to Puerto Cortes and got right back to work. So the work here is going a wee bit slower than we would like but we have been attacking strong and trying to get the ward really involved in helping in the process. Well as that was happening we also had to try and help plan the Stake Conference that was going to be held in our ward building. Yeah it was kinda hard to get that done since we really didn't have time nor was it our job to do. But it all ran well in the end. But as with those two days of more meetings...it was just a long week to be in meetings. But the good news is that after the whole bunch of meetings we have a great plan of attack with the local leaders here and we are expecting a bunch of success coming real soon.

Also on another different front, we have been helping a member here build his house and it's coming along very well. I don't have a picture right now so I will have to get that to you guys because it's been nice to do some service and help around with the members. Well sorry that there isn't much to report, just trying to get the good work going here. Well I guess I will see you guys later,

Mike

The Hammock Report, Ed 25 May 2015

Well this week was a really good one...well sorta. So to begin with last Monday we played some soccer as some of you might recall. And due to that my comp got all banged up with his ankle. Personally I think he is just a giant faker but we had to go to San Pedro to a doctor's appointment. Yeah it was pretty great. Just tons of fun. What have I learned from all of this? If you whine to the right people things happen. Yeah so I had to drag my comp to San Pedro and then he had the address of the doc office. Only problem is that this kid has no sense of direction. As in I, the kid with less than two weeks in the area, has to remind the elder who has more than 18 weeks in the area where things are. Yeah just a wee bit sad. Well after finally wrestling the directions from Elder Rodriguez, I came to realize that he had been leading us in the completely opposite direction. We quickly turned around and headed back to where we should have been. That is when we found some cool graffiti of Star Wars stuff. Then we came back and my comp had two days of rest to recover his ankle a bit. Then we got right back at it.

So one day this week when all of our lessons just fell through we decided to go contact an entire street until we got to the end of it. Well after a long afternoon teaching we found something at the end of the road...the ocean. Yeah so this area is really beautiful. There are just a whole lot of different stuff to see every day. Well it would be more beautiful if it wasn't in the 100s almost every day but eh...that's the life I guess. Well I will make sure to update you all next week as to more adventures but until then I love you all and can't wait to hear from you all.

Mike

Photo Dump

Well I am now officially out of Copan...and on the beach!

The Hammock Report, Ed 18 May 2015

Well as you may have guessed from the name, I did get transferred. I went from the jungles and mountains of Copan to the beach of Puerto Cortes! I have been moved from one side of the mission to the other. Yeah it has been a really big difference. Just look at the pictures and you will be able to see. (The first is Copan and the second, my new area.)

Well it was a big surprise to me when we got word last Monday about the changes that were coming but hey that's the way the cookie crumbles, just got to get a glass of milk and eat it anyway. But "el colmo" as they say here, is that I have been put back on "helping elders ADJUST how they are" duties for my last change. Well might as well go out with boots on right?

Well today was a really good day. So first, for all you history buffs out there, what is old, made of stone, filled with cool cannons and helped a European power dominate an indigenous people? ...That's right! (Dora reference) it's an old Spanish fort. So we went to see Fortaleza San Fernando VI de Omoa this morning. It was built under orders of King Fernando VI of Spain 1759 and was completed later in 1775 and was used to protect the Spanish gold ships harbored in Omoa for English pirates. So we got to go in and look around and realize that the Spanish were very efficient at robbing a whole bunch of Mayan/Aztec/Incan/(insert ancient American culture here) gold and valuables and then when it's all dried up they just take off. The fort is pretty small but built with the same design that was used at Fort McHenry only just a really, REALLY smaller version.

Well in other news I am getting more tan and it will get worse this week with the LOW being only 71 and the highs all week at about 97. Got to love Honduras sun right? Well I love you all and can't wait to hear from you guys,

Mike

The Jungle Report, Ed 11 May 2015

So friends and family and enemies kept close for your unexpected demise,

This week...hmmm where to begin? Well it is hot...again like always. But this week was a little longer than normal. So my companion was sick for most of this week with the locally spreading chiconguña (no idea how to spell it) which is just this really really really stronger version of dengue. So that started on Tuesday night and last until about Saturday. So I was the nurse this week. I was so bored. We were just stuck in the house until he felt good enough to go out again. During my free time I cleaned our house a lot. Which sounds like it takes a lot of time but we only live in a two tiny roomed apartment and so that took about five minutes. Yeah so after cleaning the house about 4000 times and reading the Book of Mormon a whole lot more than usual I had to find other things to do; doodling, trying to cook new things with the stuff we had in the house, carving ducks out of soap, chopping wood for the neighbors...it got real creative. Interpretive dance practice. Using the pila as a cool tub to chill out in for a bit. Can't really explain how much craziness went on but yeah a whole lot. Well then we had Mother's Day which was always a crazy spectacle. So first after trying for like two hours to fix technical issues got to talk to the family and yeah that was all fun and games like always. Shenanigans would be a better word. Yeah that is about all that has happened so far this week. Sorry for the crappy adventure time in this week's report. I will work on making it better for next week's edition. Oh we have changes this Wednesday so I will find out tonight if I am being changed or am getting a new comp. So I will update you all on that one. Well love you all and can't wait to hear from you guys.

Mike