Mason's letter -- June 7, 2010

Hey family, whats up?

Thanks for all the pictures that you sent. I loved to see everyone, and everyone looks way older! But I like the buzzed head look with Brock and Trevin this week. It's a coincidence that I went to the barber the other day and he straight up buzzed my head too!! haha So my hair is super short, the barbers here are pretty bad and when he took out the buzzer and just went straight to the top of my head I figured it was already too late...So I let him to go town. oh well haha I kinda like it. and Dad, Kylie is lying, she ran the car into the garage...

Well this week was really good. It stopped raining and was just so hot. Every day amazes me at how hot this place can get. It sure makes it hard to fast haha. but at least we got a lot of stuff done and a lot of lessons taught and new people. The only bad thing this week is that we had a litte infestation of scorpions in the house. Yeah, scorpions. haha We killed a few and put them in a container, but not before one of them stung my companion... and apparently it hurts really bad cause he screamed for a while. haha I guess they were in his clothes because a few fell out of his pants too. But we got the problem figured out now, so I think we are scorpion free for awhile. So don't worry. I now check every pair of pants before putting them on. lesson learned.

On Tuesday we had interviews with the President, the last interviews with Pres Cruz. At the end of this month the new Pres comes in so we will see what happens with that. But Pres Cruz was really happy with the work that we have done here and how the area has turned around. Also on Thursday we had a special meeting with Pres Cruz and Elder Martino (a 70) and Pres Ochoa (general presidency of young men) and Pres Osguthorpe (general Sunday School Pres). Pres Osguthorpe tried to give a talk in Spanish and it was really hard to understand. But I give him props for trying, he seemed really nervous. But it was a really spiritual meeting and a great experience. I was glad to be here in the city because only the missionaries close to the city were allowed to come.

Also this week the Martinez family from La Ceiba called me. I'm pretty sure it's against the rules, but somehow they got my number and wanted to say hi. So I talked to each one of them for a bit and we said hi. They are so awesome, but I guess they said Elder Brown is struggling in La Ceiba for baptisms. They are pretty dry, I think it's because his companion is really disobedient. They also said that they will be in the city this next week and that they were going to bring my a package haha. They are so tight, and it was great to hear from them and regain my focus on the kind of people I am looking for here in Honduras. I'm so lucky to be a part of the work with all of the weaknesses that I have. I want to find more people like them here in my new area.

Also this week my testimony really grew a ton. on Tuesday my district leader wanted me to go back and visit a Jehovah's Witness that he had found while on divisions in my area. So we went back to this guy to teach him. He gladly welcomed us in and at first was asking a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon and he seemed interested. But then he started going off on how he couldn't believe in such a crazy story about Joe Smith and the gold plates. I explained that he needed to pray, but somehow he wouldn't accept my challenge. We then started going off into other things and basically he was questioning me a ton. My companion was absolutely no help as he just sat in silence on the couch. So I did all the talking. At one point he got really offended by the Doctrine of Adam and Eve and started getting really contentious. So I finally stopped talking and told him that I was not here to contend, and that we were going to leave, but first I wanted to bear him my testimony.

So I started to bear my testimony and he tried to stop me and say something, but something told me to keep testifying. I testified of the Book of Mormon and the prophet Joseph Smith, and suddenly I felt something fill my whole entire body and I felt as if my voice was not really my own. Like the Holy Ghost was speaking right through me. My voice seemed to fill every square and corner of the house and I looked him square in the eyes and told him that I knew he was feeling the Spirit and that I knew he felt the truthfulness of my testimony. We then grabbed our things and left. He had nothing left to say. On the way out the door he stopped us and said he had one more thing to tell us. I thought, "oh great what more is he going to say?", but he just told us how much he admired us and respected us. He said we were different and that everyone really looks up to us. We thanked him and left. It was the most powerful testimony I have ever given and I felt like light and truth was just flowing out of my body. It was a great experience. That man will have that witness at the last day. I'm so thankful to know what I know and have such a testimony. What a blessing it is to be a part of the Savior's church.

But that's about all for this week. It should be another scorcher here! Have fun with the family and count your blessings!

love elder mason cardon