Week 97

Hey FAM BAM, it's your friendly neighborhood Elder Hironaka!! This week has been awesome, just full of blessings! The mission this weekend was able to have more than 80 baptisms in one day!!! I was excited to hear the awesome news from home this week as well. This week was just awesome!!

During this week we visited a lot of zones! Before we have baptisms here the APs sometimes like to visit and give animo packets. Animo means like excitement in Spanish.  We came home late very night because we had such a good time speaking with all the investigators around the mission. The missionaries have worked very hard and we are now seeing the fruits from it!!!

This week as well we were able to baptize Luis!! I met Luis about 4 weeks ago when I was visiting his cousin. He started reading the stuff we gave his cousin and ended up stealing most of it because he like it so much! Yesterday he was baptized and it was an awesome experience to see how much he has changed in these last weeks!! That’s pretty much all that happened this last week for me!!

A shout out to Elder Stott who will be making his way out here!!! He is going to kill it here. The other AP is super excited to meet him. Parker well bless the lives of others here in Nicaragua. President Russell And Hermana Russell would have loved to be his mission Presidents. They have taught me so much as a person and I have learned things here on my mission that I know I would have never learned if I didn’t serve. I’m very grateful. (Note from Susan: Parker, a friend from home just got called to the same mission. Their paths will not pass in the mission field however as Parker will leave just as Eric returns home. But all are excited! :)

I LOVE YOU!

ELDER HIRONAKA

Week 96

Hey it's your friendly neighborhood Elder Hironaka from Nicaragua!!!! I'm excited and grateful to the opportunity I have to have wonderful supporting family. This week was full once again of more trainings. We had 3 straight days teaching the sisters in the mission how to be bolder when they are committing. It was a pretty good week. 

So like I was saying we spent most of the week traveling around the mission visiting the sisters. In the mission we have a ton of sisters in fact when I first arrived in the mission 60% of the mission was sisters. Now it's more like 40% but it is s rising back up. The sisters work really hard and have a lot of love for their investigators. However it for that same reason it's hard sometimes for them to drop an investigator after they’re not progressing. To have the training we went to other locations in Nicaragua. We visited Granada, Masaya, and San Juan. All the 3 of these places are awesome.

A part from all the training this week I also went to Jinotepe to visit people who will be getting baptized the 16th. There they have around 30 people they are looking to baptize in one day. That's crazy for one zone. Right? I'm proud of them!!! One investigator I interviewed was a big time surfer, and his first interaction with the church was in Hawaii at the Polynesian cultural center. He thought it was interesting but felt he was too poor to join the church there so he didn't. Later when he was surfing at none other than Ventura beach (yes, same beach we always go to) he talked to the missionaries!! Now living in Nicaragua he is preparing to be baptized this next week!! The world is small sometimes.

Another miracle we had this week was two baptisms. Their names are Julie and Emburto. Julie's mom was baptized a long time ago and we have been reactivating her. She gave the prayer for her daughter’s baptism. So, that was something cool!

Just wanted to say I miss you guys and that I love you guys very much!! Be safe! I love you!

Week 95

Well family!!!!!!! Is your friendly Neighborhood Elder Hironaka. I’m excited to have the chance to write my wonderful family. I would like to say I'm very very sorry for not being able to write this last week. I have been very busy as of lately and the load isn't getting any smaller, which means really I'm just much happier and grateful for the opportunity to be here in the mission. 

This last week was a great week because we were able to have a baptism. It was with an old time boxer named José, or whom the neighbors call Gato. Yes, he goes by "Cat" in Spanish. He is a cool guy and at the age of 87 I still think he could beat me up.

Last week was mainly filled with multi-zone meetings. I rather enjoyed watching the missionaries practice and better their teaching. I was also pleased to see that the the way we teach has gotten so much better  since I first entered the mission. In the multi-zone the APs don't really have a practice or a training we need to give, that part is done by the ZLs. We however have the fun part of the day by leading the zones in a game. This time I made a cool family feud game that was based around the church! It was pretty fun and I think the Elders and Sisters really enjoyed it.

This week was pretty cool as well as last week. It was the ZL council. I have been to many ZL councils as a ZL but as an AP only 4 times. In this meeting we talk how we can help the mission more. I like the meeting because the spirit works through us in a different way. The ideas that come to us in that council are, as I believe directly from God so that we can better our selves and the mission.  

This week as well me and my other companion who I work with had a good spiritual moment. We were contacting in a little more dangerous part of our area when we passed by a house. Elder Penalba looked at me and said can we please go back and talk to her. I thought it was a little strange at first because usually older women don't seem to like to listen to us and usually tell us that they are Catholic or that they are too sick to listen. As we first introduced our selves as missionaries we found out that her name was Katherine. Inspired I told Katherine we were there because we felt to come and knock on her door and that, “we know Our Father In Heaven loves you and that many special blessings are prepared for you. Katherine if you were able to receive any special blessing from him, what would you desire to receive?” As I asked the question she replied, “I want my two little children.”  We later found out that her two little children are not with her and that she has been living with the empty felling for a long time. We taught that Our Father In Heaven has given his Son and that through that sacrifice we can be together forever as a family. We promised her if she followed the path of our loving brother Jesus Christ she would be reunited with her children.  Today she was able to come to church with us and is progressing to be baptized. 

I know and bear testimony that the plan of our loving Father In Heaven and Jesus Christ is that we can be together forever. We will be given obstacles, challenges, and at times hardships.  We need to remember that like the scriptures teach us any obstacle that is given to us is for us to show our faith, and that in the last day we will be honored for our faith. (1 Peter 1:5-7)  As I have been given the great opportunity to represent the Son of our loving Father In Heaven and my family here in Nicaragua, I have come to learn that the scripture in 1 Corinthians 10:13 is true. Every problem or every hard thing we pass in this life can be overcome. Our Father In Heaven loves us and doesn't give us challenges that we can’t over come. He'll help us and will provide the way for us to be on His path.  In this life we at times forget the importance of struggling.  When our loving brother Jesus Christ was sent here He was an example in everything. He was perfect and He himself had obstacles, challenges, and had to feel the worst any of us could ever feel. I know if it was hard for Jesus Christ and I believe that life will be hard for us too. I testify that what President Uchtdorf said today is true. Like a beautiful building was constructed over the span of 20 years that has fallen in the matters of hours and then later was put back together we too can rise again and that we can and will conquer obstacles. I know these things are true in the name of Jesus Christ.

I love you all please. I pray for you each day.

Week 94

Hey Mom!!!

I want you to know I’m all right!!! I don’t have any time to write this week due to a lot of up coming events. I LOVE YOU!!!

ELDER HIRONAKA

Week 93

Hey fam bam! As always it’s your friendly neighborhood Elder, Elder Hironaka!!

I would like to start out by writing to express my love and gratitude to family and friends who have wrote me during this great journey. I have rather enjoyed receiving emails and being able to hear the great things that are happening to each and everyone of you. 

The past week was a good week, not anything super big or special but was nice and a bit more relaxed. This week we had one multi- zone. When I was a Zone leader I had to teach 4, 45min classes. Now as an assistant I really just have to supervise and make sure everything is going smooth. I'm also in charge of the game we play at the very end. For this multi-zone we made a fun Family Feud game.  The zones loved it and it was a success.

We were given the opportunity to work a little more in our area this past week. We are teaching a man that is super funny named Burto. Burto was a big time boxer in his day for Nicaragua. Now at the age of 87 he is still is always jumping around wanting to fight, haha. He is planning to be baptized this next week!!!! Also, did you guys know that Nicaragua has like a world champion boxer right now?!

This week started Semana Santa!!! In Nicaragua, it is a week off from everything; I mean no school, no work, and nothing is open at all. Even the police have the week off. So, you can just think how many bad things can happen during this time. I remember last year I was in Las Palmas and no one wanted to talk to us... Also it is super super hot here during this week as well. I mean it's like AZ heat, crazy right?

Well, I love you family a lot and hope all is well. Be safe and finish up school strong!!!! Love you!!!

Love you 

Elder Hironaka

Side note from Mom: “Semana Santa”, is a traditional Holy Week celebration. It has been around for more than 470 years. The week commemorates Jesus Christ's death resurrection.

Week 92

Hey fam!!!!!  Well let me tell ya, I haven’t slept less in my life than this week!  Everyday this week we had something going on in the morning.  And not like at 8 in the morning like 4 in the morning!! It is getting easier not sleeping however. This week was the week of changes.

So, first off, I didn't have changes!!!  This change there wasn't a ton of changes in the mission. We did receive a lot more sisters to the mission. We received 8 this last change and all were from the states. It's fun to see how American Elders and Sisters act right when they get here. Almost all of them say, " Wow, I thought it was going to be a lot worse here." I remember when I came and I thought I was going to be sleeping on the ground, cooking on a fire everyday, and have to boil my water. I feel like this 3rd world county is a little bit better than what people think. Anyway, it was fun receiving new missionaries. They all are going to do great!

Something fun my companion and I do when new missionaries arrive, is to train them how to contact and how to make baptism dates. It's funny to hear what they say when they listen to our “normal” for the day and that we make baptism dates during every first lesson.

This week we have also been preparing for the multi zone that is coming up this next week. Holy cow, there is a lot of planning when it comes to the multi-zone. We have to plan everything. It's crazy. 

This week we were also blessed to have another baptism! His name is Cesar and he has a strong testimony of the church. Our goal for this month is to have 7 baptisms, so we are working hard to help our investigators. I can't wait to see the blessings of these next couple of weeks. 

Week 91

Hey everyone! It's your friendly neighborhood Elder, Elder Hironaka. I have been excited to write this week. This week has been full of blessings and happiness. The weeks are just flying by now:( 

For starters this week we had a conference in all of Central America. When we have a conference it means unfortunately we can't baptize. For that reason my companion and I worked a ton in are personal area to prepare for the end of this month to baptize a lot. I love working in my area it's the best. When we work, we work with another companionship. The other companionship we work with is Elder Barrios and Elder Penalba. Cool story: Elder Penalba’s family is from here. When his father was 19 he moved to the USA and met his wife and married here and had 2 sons in America. Elder Penalba never visited Nicaragua, so when he was called here he was very excited. His family that lives here are not members. We went and found his family and have made a baptism date with them and they have attended church. It is my hope that Elder Penalba will one day get to baptize them. Wouldn't that be a cool blessing?

Big news!  My comp. passed his drivers test! Yeah, so now that he passed I kind of have to keep teaching him, haha. Yes, it’s funny and is way different teaching someone how to drive in a 3rd world country! Don’t worry; he is good, so, I won’t be getting into any crashes anytime soon;)