10/6/14 - General Conference!

Another interesting week in Honduras. For a matter of fact, my companion just received his plane tickets for the 30th of October. So that is really exciting.

This past weekend, as all of you (mormones) know was General Conference. Luckily enough the Church building that I regularly attend is a stake center. And as far as I know only stake centers offer it in English as well. That was really cool, having 30 gringos all crammed into the high council room. But when there were speakers that spoke in their native tongue of Spanish, we would quickly change it to the Spanish channel and listen to the speaker without the translator. For the most part I understood the speakers. I mean I kind of knew the general idea, topic, of their talk. I would've thought that more people would show up at the church building to watch General Conference, but a lot of people here have computers and they would just watch/listen it on that.

I think that the new change in General Conference is one of the best decisions they have made. Now even more speakers can talk and not worry if they will be understood or worry about learning a ton of English. And even here it was awesome for the people to listen to speakers without translators. To actually here the person's actual voice is a whole lot better. I love how the Church is true. With every single decision, I know that it is from divine revelation, Revelation from God. He directs the Church through the prophet and apostles. 

Remember: Pray always, read the scriptures, and go to church!

-Elder Keller

9/29/14 - Real Popcorn and Super Contacting

This week was filled with a lot of activities. My ward (Miramar) put on some mission activities. One that we did was a movie night. I had no idea what movie it was before hand so when I talked to my investigators about it, I told them that it was going to be like Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks or something of that sort. When the movie night rolled around it turned out to be a movie called Courageous. I have seen it before, actually in Camp Helaman. It’s like a Christian neutral film with a great message. A good amount of investigators showed up for that, and also they provided a bag of popcorn and a glass of punch. The popcorn was freshly popped, so it was the real stuff. It was pretty good, but at the same time a portion of it was burnt and another portion of it half popped. But who am I to complain when I am having POPCORN in Honduras. Probably one of the only chances I will have.

The other activity was a cultural night. Imagine pioneer day in the church, but for Honduras. So a lot of people were dressed up in authentic dresses and brought all different kinds of food. They even had a real band playing authentic Honduran music. The entire stake participated and there was a lot, a lot, a lot of people there all stuffed in not such a big room. All in all, we had a blast.

Another activity we did, this time as an entire Zone, was a super contacting. The entire Zone focuses only on one district and we all go around contacting. We ran into quite a few people and taught some great lessons with people. You really have to trust the Spirit when you are contacting because the Spirit knows what we don't know. And after several hours of straight up contacting you definitely develop a stronger relationship and sensitivity to the Holy Ghost. Moroni 10:5.

I feel like my Spanish has been significantly improving. Considering that my investigators can actually, for the most part, understand me. And I can understand about 85% of their words. Lately we have been having a lot of progress with our investigators and Elder Itza and I have been pumped about that.

-Elder Keller

9/22/14 - Gathering the Sheep and Bee Stings!

Attention: as of today my streak of never being stung by a bee has ended.

Not this past Sunday, but two Sundays ago, Elder ITza and I did not bring any investigators to Church. It was really depressing and to add on top of it we were late to Sacrament service. It was a little miserable. Every new investigator that we contacted either had some excuse or did not answer. 

So this last Sunday, we started out the day with what I like to call "Gathering the sheep". We go all around and get as many investigators as we can. The same thing we did last week. The day started the same, door after door no one was coming with us. But this time I told myself that I needed to have more faith in the Lord. He knows His children perfectly and He helps prepare them. We need to trust His judgment and planning. The second to last house on our list we went to, she said that she would come! But now it was like 10 minutes until church started. So Elder Itza and I hurry off to our last investigator. We get there and guess what, she is all ready, walks out the door and comes with us. By the time we get to the church building it was already 10 minutes past 9. I am thinking to myself, great now we missed sacrament again...but I reminded myself that to have faith and not to worry.  Sure enough they just are in the middle of the sacrament hymn. So we made it and we had an investigator. And the icing on the cake is that another investigator of ours showed up out of the blue. We were really happy that day.

It goes to show that faith is important and that the Lord will not leave you hanging. As long as we always try our best and trust in Him, then He will pick up the rest and everything, everything, will work out in the end. It’s all according to His time, not ours.

Today for preparation day we went to Pico Bonito. Apparently it is a tourist attraction around here. Basically you literally hike up for about an hour and a half and you arrive at this waterfall. Unfortunately I was not able to see the waterfall...well that´s not true, I didn't get to go to the waterfall. You can see the water fall from a long distance away. Anyway, right at the end of the trail is this bend and we all stopped for a bit for a break and let the rest of the group catch up. So we are waiting and all of a sudden Hermana Bennet and Hermana Sherman start to scream and one by one everyone in the group starts screaming and hit everything. Apparently we stopped right next to a nest of hornets on steroids. And the group got split into two as we went two different directions. Our group went back because one of the other sisters with us is allergic to bees. But Hermana Sherman got stung 8 times and I am not sure about Hermana Bennet, but I got stung once in my leg. I guess that first-aid merit badge finally came in handy with bee stings. 

Here are some pictures from the hike:

That’s about all.

Elder Keller

9/15/14 - Life is Like ...Butterflies and Cocoons

I have been here officially one month! I have had wonderful experiences and other where I would probably not choose to experience again.

Surprisingly it has been pretty dry this week. That is nice because when it rains the bottom of my pants get covered in mud. But at the same time I enjoy it when it rains because it is a lot cooler and our shower will have water. Today my companion went to take a shower and a couple drips came out. SO we had to go to the District Leaders house and take a shower. While we were there we played Risk the board game. That was really fun. And yes I totally kicked everyone’s butts, and I did not throw the board over in slight frustration. No, I seriously didn't.

                                 Usually this river is crystal clear but it is brown after it is rains

 We ran into our first "bible bash" yesterday. It was really weird because she was standing on her balcony on the second floor and we on the street with a ton of cars and buses going by. We could barely hear her and she was also a Jehovah Witness. So basically all we could do was bear our testimony and go on our way.

We are contacting a lot of families that seem really interested, so that has been really awesome to experience. I can just imagine them dressed in all in white and taking upon them the name of Christ and be forever blessed. That is why I am here. To bring all other unto Christ so that they can be saved, receive eternal happiness, and live with God and their families after this life.

Elder Itza is a horse. Elder Itza said to say that, I don’t know why, but he can be really weird sometimes. Alright, a lot of the time.

It is really sad when we are teaching people and we feel the spirit and we know they feel the spirit. But they choose for some reason not to continue lessons with us. But everyone has agency, everyone has the right to choose.

I was reading in the Liahona the other day and I can’t remember which apostle said it, but he talked about how the action of a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon is necessary. Because without the action and experience then the butterfly could not fly and survive in the world. I thought that was a really good point and how we all need opposition in life. Because through those experiences we can grow, and be better people. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can stand back up when we have fallen and continue on the path.

Always Choose the Right!

-Elder Keller

9/8/2014 La Ceiba, Honduras - Math, Dodgeball & Iguanas

This past Sunday was my first fast Sunday in the field. I started right after lunch on Saturday and I fasted until lunch on Sunday. I was able to endure to the end and all is good. I don't know if it is just me or not but it seems that whatever food I eat after fasting is always 10x better. For lunch a member made Chinese for us. So that tasted a lot different than I was accustomed to the last several weeks. But it was really good, and she made a lot of it, so we were able to stuff ourselves full.

Every Sunday so far we are able to bring at least one investigator to church. This week we hoped a family, the Herandez family, that we have been teaching would come. Sacrament meeting already started and everyone was singing the opening hymn, and I look at Elder Itza and was like, where is everyone? Then the Herandez family came around the corner and we leapt for joy! The other night with this same family, I attempted to help their son with his math homework. But the thing is I dont know the vocabulary for this situtation and his math book was all in English! That was good for me but through a painful 15 minutes of broken Spanish and much paper, I think I helped him...I am still not sure. But todo bien, Elder Itza showed them a few karate moves because the son is also taking some karate classes. So I now know some moves, cuidado Honduras, cuidado!

So when Elder Itza and I are contacting one of four things happen:
1. They listen to us and accept a folleto
2. They answer the door and tell us to come back another dia
3. They answer the door but they send one of their children to talk to us
4. they ignore us or we see the door slowly close

Actually this one time we were going to pay a surprise visit to an investigator who has been kinda dodging us lately. We were about 30 or so feet from her house when we saw another investigator, across the street, and we said hi. And when we came to her house, all I saw was a rocking chair moving rapidly. My companion said he saw her ( since he was a little ahead of me) bolt into her house. I thought that was more funny than anything. Of course I was disappointed but I still chuckle a bit when I think about that.

For the most part our area is going strong. Considering we are opening a brand new area, we are making a lot of headway. We have a lot of investigators and some that are on the brink of baptism.

One last thing is that you have got to watch out for the Iguanas here. We have one that keeps getting in our apartment. We taped this big hole up, but it keeps breaking through, it's crazy. So we stuck some rocks in the hole taped it up more, we will see what happens know. 

I love you all and always remember who you are and Choose The Right.


-Elder Keller

9/1/2014 La Ceiba, Honduras - Snakes & Blessings

My Second week in Honduras and I am doing all right!

So far I have run into to a couple of snakes, vicious goats and really aggressive dogs (and chickens). 

My companion and I were visiting a member and Elder Itza was looking in their washing machine, full of clothes (So real quick, everyone here as only a washing machine for their clothes. They hang dry it afterwards) and I thought I saw something orange. So I picked up the lid again, thinking it was a caterpillar or some kind of bug, then I realized it was a snake! So I calmly put stepped back...just kidding, I gave a yep and jumped back. And Elder Itza was looking at me weird. So I tried to explain that there was a snake in there using body language and examples of sounds (since I didn’t know the word for snake). Long story short, there really was a snake and the member's neighbor took care of it for us. The Sister was really grateful that I saw that because she was going to finish the laundry that night and she wouldn’t have seen it. That could have led to a very serious situation because of the poisonous snake.

Was it a coincidence that we stopped by her house and I just happened to see that snake? I honestly don’t think so and that family was blessed with health and safety because of it. After that whole snake ordeal we shared with them our message. I shared with them Helaman 5:12 and explained that I know that with Jesus Christ as our foundation, having faith in Him, we will never fail. We will always, always overcome our own trials in life and whatever Satan throws at us. We will not falter. For instance, the snake; they were not harmed and their family was blessed. I know that God works through us to bring to pass the salvation of His children, for we are the instruments of God. 


It is starting into the rainy season here and we experienced a little taste of it this past couple of days. First off when it rains you have about a 20 second warning. So we were going to by some water from a local pulperia and my companion looks at me says, what is that? I didn’t notice anything but then I heard a soft pounding noise. It sounded just like a car on the dirt road but a little ways off. Then I looked at my companion and he had the same thought and we booked it back to our apartment. We would’ve have made it inside without getting wet it were not for the fact that we have like 20 locks on our door. So needless to say we got a little wet...

Alright, also when it rains it pours like now other. So a great investment is an umbrella and good pair of boots that are about to the mid-calf. I have an umbrella, but boots down here are super cheap so that’s not a problem.

Now being in Honduras for two weeks, the weather is not that bad. The freezing cold shower in the morning really wakes you up and feels kind of refreshing.

But it’s a really great place. we have gotten quite a few investigators. Some are progressing so that is really cool. In lessons I am starting to talk more and more as I get comfortable with this language that they call Spanish. It’s still really hard for me to understand what everyone is saying. Some words I can catch like, gringo, Americano, Washington DC, no habla español. Stuff like that.

Well I know that I am here for a reason and that I was called here to Honduras through divine revelation of God through His prophets and apostles today.

Take care and buenas.

-Elder Keller

A bridge cars cross everyday

A river right near my apartment

Coast off of La Ceiba

Me and Elder Itza

Real Fresh Sugar Cane!

Look what I found in the shower!

8/25/2014 La Ceiba, Honduras - Man, Is it hot!

Well I am in Honduras!! and dang is it hot! I was not able to write last week since transfers were on my p-day.

So it looks like I have two weeks to cover. For starters I have to mention is that the dinner before the group of missionaries that leave the CCM depart, the cooks brought out a couple chocolate fondue fountains and strawberries, marshmallows, doughnuts, and other fruit. That was pretty good.

My district minus Elder Adams who had to leave early. 
You can see him in the picture when I left that morning 
next to Elder Gibbons. But from left to right is 
Elder Aldrich, Elder Shepherd, Elder Lessard, me, 
Elder Gibbons, and Elder Saunders. 

Pictures of the morning of  
my departure and the 
flight over El Salvador

I had to take two flights, one to El Salvador and another to Honduras. I had to get up at 2 in the morning then we all departed.


President Klein, his wife, and a couple of other missionaries met us all at the gate. Then we left for a local church building in La Lima for orientation and going over safety and procedures. Luckily the church building had air conditioning because when I first stepped out in Honduras, I was in an instant sweat and it is harder to breathe from the humidity.

On arrival to Honduras with President and Sis. Klein

Afterwards we got together with a local zone and went contacting, walking around the streets talking to people. That was pretty fun except for the part of me not understanding 90% of what they were saying. I stayed a night in Lima in local housing for missionaries. Our room had 14 beds with triple decker bunk beds.

The room I stayed in the first night in Honduras, 
yep those are triple decker bunk beds

Following that I found out who my trainer was, it is Elder Itza. Elder Itza is from Mexico and speaks very little English. But he is awesome! He definitely knows what he is doing and I just love being his companion. Elder Itza has 2 months left in his mission so he has a ton of experience. With his experience and my enthusiasm we are going to do be very successful.

My companion Elder Itza. I caught him sleeping on the job

After that we left in buses to our areas. My area is....La Ceiba! That was a 4 hour bus ride from Lima.

Our apartment is a three room apartment. 1 bathroom, 1 bedroom, 1 living room, and another bedroom for our ropas. and yes we have a legit shower and toilet, a small refrigerator and microwave.




The people here are amazing and very loving. At first we went around all day contacting (going to houses or people on the street). Everyone treats you very nice, I have not met one person yet who has been mean or rude in anyway.

This one time my companion and I were sitting on a bench waiting for a bus and this guy came up to us on a bike with a 5ft long snake in his basket. He said that he found it when he was working and was taking it home. He was showing us the snake and motioning as if he was going to throw it on us, he thought he was hilarious. But my companion was freaking out just a little, and not me of course :).

So my district is brand new and that means no area book (history of the area) or a list of the members. we were and still are starting from scratch. Anyway we already have a baptismal date with someone out here so that is fantastic. The 20th of next month is the planned date. I am very excited.

Hows my Spanish? Well at first I couldn't understand the people at all here and barely my companion. now I still can't understand the people except for some words here and there and I can mostly understand my companion with the help of a dictionary. So it is coming along slowly but surely.

Random picture in Honduras. Notice all of the wires.

A lot of the kids down here that are going to school are learning English in there classes. I can somewhat talk to them in English and my companion always offers my services to help them in learning their English. I did meet this one guy that grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and is bilingual. So I was able to explain to him the restoration, that was cool and a treat to speak in English for so long and have someone understand me. Usually when we are contacting I give my testimony on prayer or whatever principle of the gospel we are talking about.

Sunday in church was different but very much enjoyable. The local church building here has air conditioning so that is a blessing and three of our investigators made it to church. We invited around ten and 1 came with us and two others arrived a little later. It is fun trying to talk to the members in Spanish as they are smiling at me as I try to form my sentences in Spanish. Most of the time I look at my companion and he either answers for me or attempts to explain further their question.

Here in Honduras is very awesome especially here in La Ceiba because it a slightly cooler than everywhere else in Honduras due to the ocean breeze. Yes I can see the ocean, its about a mile from my apartment. So that is really nice.
Food here is great, a lot of beans tortillas and eggs. And if we are lucky, bread. We have a member across the street from us that makes us almuerzo and washes our clothes for us and occasionally makes us cena.

 The hermana in my ward that cooks us dinner 
and is now washing our clothes!! She is the best!!

The grandson of the sister earlier, he is my bud! even though I cannot really communicate with him!

It is very green here because of all the rain, there isn't much yet but we are entering the rainy season. So recap Honduras: Hot, Constant sweat for two years, full of love, and did I mention hot?

-Elder Keller

A shower buddy that I found the next morning.
It is a crab that crawled up from the drain.