Elder Martinez, Mountains, and Conference

Hola,

I'm glad that my letters got through last week.  I don't like leaving you in the dark like that, but what can you do when the internet breaks.  Still, hopefully things will work from now on.

As far as my companion, yes that was him.  He is a veteran in the mission.  He litterally has been out longer than this mission has existed, and I feel like I've learned a ton from him these past few weeks.  He is a bit crazy, but we all are, so that's OK.  (The quote I feel best describes missionaries is from Alice in Wonderland, "We're all mad here.")  He likes K-pop, which is unfortunate, but he doesn't make me listen to it, so that's OK.  He's from Honduras, but everyone here thinks he is from somewhere in Mexico.  I think I've mentioned it, but his name is Elder Martinez.  He likes Piña Coladas and getting lost in the rain, etc.  Ultimately he is a great missionary, and I'm really glad to have had this opportunity to be his companion.

Mexican Independence Day was pretty crazy.  I was glad that we were going to be inside when I saw somebody setting up for a party with about 50 liter cup with beer brands on them.  There were a ton of fireworks lasting for most of the night.  We had a wild party, which involved eating popcorn and bread with nutella and bananas, which apparently is a foreign concept to Honduranians.  We watched a couple church movies, then tried to sleep while the streets were being bombarded.  Nothing celebrates independence like the reenaction of a war I guess.  Still, everyone seemed to have fun, and nobody I know died, so I guess things went pretty well.

The weather has been calming down a bit I feel.  We still get some pretty good rain storms, but they don't seem to last as long or come as frequently as before.  As far as hurricanes go, there's no need to worry.  Apparently this area is to high up to get hit with anything more than some good rain.  So no going out to watch a hurricane for me, not that I would ever have the desire to do that.  Still, if one does blow in we might get some flooding, but that's the only worry we have here.  

And as far as the mountains, I'm this close:  

The mountain on the left is named Iztaccihuatl, but it is usually refered to as the sleeping woman.  It has about as much resemblance to a woman as Mount Timpanogas.  On the right is Popocatepetl, and yes that is smoke.  I've been told that the way the crater points that any lava will flow towards Puebla though, so don't worry about that.  This was the first time I had been able to seem them both.  Usually the peak of at least on of them is covered by clouds.  They are different from the mountains at home, but they're mountains, so I'm not going to complain.

The conference went really well.  One of the members of our ward helped us practice, and it really helped our sound.  Unfortunately, the Hermanas got caught in some traffic and didn't make it in time to sing, so it was just the Elders.  Still, it went pretty well, and the Hermanas showed up eventually.  Elder Miron of the Seventies spoke.  He spoke on a couple different topics.  He started out talking about overcoming trials in the mission field.  He said one of the best things to do is to ask yourself, what is your reason for being a missionary.  I really liked this idea, because it focuses your mind on the possitive parts of a mission.  He also talked about the progression of the work of salvation, including the creation of many new missions, like this one.  He also talked about involving the members more in the work.  It was a pretty good talk, and it was the first time I've heard a talk from a general authority in Spanish.  After his talk we heard from some of the zone leaders and the assitants to the president.  They talked about improving the small acts of obedience throughout the day, how to recognize people who the Lord has prepared, and the importance of service.  The conference finished with President Crickmore, who talked about receiving revelation.  All in all it was a pretty good conference, and I feel like I learned some things that will be able to help me in the future.

That's about it for me.  I'm doing great, and feel really good health wise.  I'm glad to hear you guys are doing good.  I love you, and I'll write you next week.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long