Week 22: "Gratitude is like a muscle, we need to exercise it"

Lots of Blessings this week.

(Due to the Honduras elections…all missionaries were told to stay in their apartments for a few days)  Well the 3 day prison was long and very uneventful. whew! we went and bought food on Friday in the morning, and guess what I found the 2 bag special of honey bunches of oats!! So ya needless to say it was awesome! Also I found peanut butter and jelly and wheat bread!!!! So my daily Schedule went like this, wake up at 6:30 do my exercises, shower get ready, eat my cereal!!, study, study, study, study, eat lunch (peanut butter and jelly!!!) study, study spanish, watch a Disney movie, study, pace around the house, study, accidently fall asleep on my scriptures, wake up, study, eat dinner (cup of noodles!!) study, write in my journal. ya that’s about it, we did play some Little games like ask random scripture chase questions to the other áreas and stuff like that.

and Peanut Butter and Jelly:)

So glad, Kaden found his favorite cereal

.

Hola!!! Que tal chiqies? Everything is going really well in Buenos Aires!! Before I start I will answer your questions. Everything went well this past week and has been very uneventful. It was very boring and I am very grateful to be out! Crazy how you and Hermanas Despain’s mom ate together. I talked with her today during our zone activity (we are making a movie for the Christmas program, and I did a little interview where I acted like a new gringo that had no idea what was going on, haha, I hope you guys will be able to see it!!) and she thought it was so cool that you guys were able to go eat together. I am looking forward to a normal week next week!!  As for thanksgiving, Honduras doesn’t celebrate thanksgiving, at least I don’t think. 

The past couple days here, it has been raining a ton!! I love the rain, but yesterday it rained a little too much. It’s like eating your favorite food too much that you don’t like it anymore. Yesterday we had some pretty crazy experiences where we were walking through knee deep water as we were walking down the street. The best and worst thing about my shoes is that they are waterproof, outside and inside. When water gets inside its not getting out! It was wet and actually cold yesterday. Yes I was cold!! Last night was pretty cool too and one thing that I wish I would have brought with me would be a hoodie or something to keep me warm. I got really cold last night and with only a sheet it’s a little difficult to get warm. So if you guys are planning to send something off, maybe send a hoodie and a blanket or something, if not maybe I could buy one. 

As for this week we really had a great week and a half! On Friday, all 6 people that we had planned on got baptized and confirmed. It went extremely well and was a very spiritual meeting. We spent a lot of time planning and talking with the bishop, calling the members, finding people to bring different things, and it all paid off. We had members in the halls because there wasn’t enough room inside. We even had some members bring their nonmember friends, so we got some great references from that. All in all, it was a success! The joy and peace I felt during that meeting was indescribable. I remember when we were taking pictures that I felt that overwhelming joy as I looked at all of these people dressed in white just before their baptisms. It is something that words can’t express. Also it was really great to see the kind of member support that was in this baptism. It really brought the ward a lot closer. We got a new bishop 2 weeks ago and he is wanting to work hard. The ward is making those changes and has started becoming more involved which has come as answers to prayers. Everything was uneventful those days that we were stuck inside. I was extremely happy to leave the house to work on Tuesday. It was a little difficult to get back into the routine of things but right now everything is good. We have a lot of stuff that we need to do so these next couple of days, and next week will be filled full of people that we need to visit, so it’s going to be busy!! But I learned a lot during those couple days in the house. I studied a lot and my testimony of the Book of Mormon and of the Gospel of Jesus Christ grew immensely. It was a miracle for me and helped me recommit myself to the Work of Salvation. Elder Ampie is working hard and giving his all. He has been such a great example to me these past couple of days from the kind of spiritual knowledge and strength he has. I find myself many times with the investigators, learning and listening to everything he is saying. He is a bold missionary. As for our investigators, we baptized all of them! haha! The majority of our investigators got baptized on Friday so we are kind of restarting trying to have more people progress in the gospel along with teaching all of our recent converts. So ya we have a bunch of good problems:) haha

Elder Neuberger and Elder Ampie with Gonzalo, Claudia, and Sarai (Gonzalo is the husband of Esperanza who just got baptized about 4 weeks ago, Claudia and Sarai are two of their grandchildren) This family is so pilas!!

with Cristhian,

Cindy (16 year old) read all of the phamplets and about 5 chapters in the Book of Mormon in two days before her baptism. She's basicially the definition of pilas!!

Johana...always asking to read more things in the Book of Mormon.

Hermana Esperanza and Gonzalo...already have plans to go to the temple in a year

Yesterday we had a lot of fun as we trudged through water, slip and slided down muddy hills and visited people and felt their warm love. The language has been coming along. I am talking more and trying to push myself to use words I haven’t used. Also in our lessons I have been trying to teach more simply and more clearly. Sounds like you guys have some busy weeks coming up! Hope you guys have a great thankgiving today and good luck dad on the Turkey!! How was the turkey trot today? Crazy that was a year ago!! I am so thankful for you guys and what a blessing you guys have been in my life. There really arent a lot of people that have what we have, both phsyical and spiritual blessings. Let us be grateful for the things we have and show our gratefulness. I am going to try to do more of that. Like President Uchtdorf said, gratitude is like a muscle we need to exercise it. Thanks for everything. I just what to let you know that even though you guys aren’t here in person you guys are here in spirit. Your prayers and your faith uphold me and help me, my comp, the ward, and our investigators. I love you guys so much and I am going to send some pictures right now of a ton of stuff so get ready!!  I love you guys and hope you guys have a good couple of days until Monday!!

Love your elder, 

Elder Neuberger

Family Padilla...celebrating Carlos's birthday.

Carlos's birthday...turned 20 "plans to serve a mission"

p-day with Kaden's zone