New news from Elana

Not very many missionaries have the opportunity to hear form a member of the twelve apostles during their mission. this past saturday however, we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Anderson and Elder Clark and Elder Clayton. i think the last two are from the quorum of the 70. it was a really wonderful experience. did you know that Elder Anderson was a stake president in Tampa Florida in like 1992 or a date close to it?! cool huh? we all got to pass by and shake his hand, when i told him i was from Sarasota Florida he was like, "Oh really?" the world can seem so small sometimes. this thursday he will united with President Monson to report on how his visit to the Quetzaltenango mission went. i was actually surprised at the message that he shared with us. he spoke more about our life after the mission than what we should do in the mission. "thank you for the baptisms", he said. "but what we really need is more young men to go on missions, more returned missionaries to stay in the church, more education in the wards, more youth activities, your labor, your work is a lot bigger than just to baptize, it is to uplift the Saints". then he asked, "how many of you can name the Bishops children by name? and all the children in the primary? and all of the young men that will be leaving on missions soon? and the most recent returned missionaries?" Elder Anderson speaks french (due to his mission there) and later returned there as a Mission President. He also spent 3 years on church related business in Brazil and hence speaks Portuguez, but his Spanish is a little rough and most of the time he used a translator. Next, he spoke while to those "South of Mexico" and later to those "North of Mexico". he was very blunt in what he said. To the latins he stated that their opportunities for education are not as great and hence they needed to work harder. the Perpetual Education Fund was created by Gordon B Hinckley especially for you, returned missionaries. take advantage of it", he said. it was really cool to hear him say that. i have encouraged all of my companions to go to BYU and study. i just know that it would be a great experience for them. i know it is not for everyone and i doubt that my current companion will go. but it is such a wonderful program. then he spoke to us gringos. "Many returned missionaries lose their way, make a list right now of the habits you have created in your mission, and if in one year after you get home you are still completing them, then you have been a successful missionary. make a list of what you want out of your life! too many young men get home from the mission and return to video games...use this time to change and stay that way." i really enjoyed his message. we have now heard that the new Mission President is a friend of Pres Lorenzana and is also from Honduras. im sure he´s happy about that. the new mission will be up and running in May. Crazy fast. we should be having interviews this week, so i will mention the 12 step program, i know that there is AA here, but a church focused program would be really wonderful. this past Saturday, Esdry was baptized. dispite the opposition from her family, she has progressed so much and it was a wonderful experience to be her teacher and friend. we dyed her hair (which was red) in preparation for the baptism and it looks so much better now. we are going to teach her older and married sister the first lesson this week, so im pretty excited. as for other investigators, we pretty much dont have anything, so we continue searching. we are working a lot with the Bishopbrick to get the members animated and i gave a talk yesterday about missionary work. its interesting how much less nervous i am talking in front of people, but i still have a lot of growing space. i am constantly grateful for the gospel in my life. i find myself waking up extra early just so that i will have more time to study the scriptures. i got my hands on the complete set of study manuals and i am learning sooo much more. i also hope that my Spanish is improving. i am seriously considering going to a Spanish ward when i get home. thank you for all your support. send my love to everyone. Elana