HUMP WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Selfie with Josue! =)

My famous cat friend! He's always hangin' around the church.

Do you like the glasses look?

HELLO EVERYBODY!

This is an exciting week. It feels like New Years! Or the end of a school year... Just missing the summer break hahaha. Tomorrow is my birthday, and Thursday is my hump day! 1 whole year being Elder Henry :)

It's pretty wild to think. Seriously wild haha. When you're in your mission it feels like you've always been there and you'll always be there, but there's a few strange moments where you realize that it's something that really does end at some point. It's put me to think a lot about what I've learned in this year, how the Lord has blessed me, and what lies ahead this year. and it makes me really happy!

Here on this earth, we're free to do what we want. But we're also accountable! (don't boo me out!) It's not a very popular style of thinking nowadays, but it's the truth. We have to be accountable to many people, but most importantly, to God for what we've done! And there is nothing better than sending a good report.

I'm not perfect. And, I'm not a perfect missionary, either! But as I've really thought about what I've done and what I've been able to accomplish in this year, I feel really happy with the results. I may not have the coolest stories or the biggest or most obvious changes, but I am really happy with what I've been able to do this year.

And I know that I can do a whole lot better this coming year! I've only got one year left to dedicate every moment to missionary work, and I'm gonna take advantage of it.

Honestly, these days, God has just blessed me greatly. Everything has just gone well. :) and I feel so lucky. I truly do feel God's love in my life.

Yesterday we had an interesting experience. We got to meet a man who had a lot of material things, and has lost it all, and is struggling with a lot of feelings of depression manifested in anger. and, as we testified that God really could help him feel at peace and that he really could overcome his shortcomings, I felt and still feel grateful to know this truth and have been able to apply it so many times in my own life.

I'm excited to see everyone again in a year, but I'm also really really excited to spend this year in the Lord's service. I love you all, I hope you all enjoyed the 4th of July, and that you can have a great week. Be grateful for what god gives you. Look for the good in everything. Love life!

-Elder Henry

The sisters had a wedding/baptism!

Many tears and much joy

Don't forget, Elder Henry's birthday is next week on the 7th (and one year mark in the mission). Address below =)

104 Me with the kids :')  (the two missionaries he has trained/is training)

 
105 Everybody saying bye, to each other and to President & Sister Wilkinson.

106 Hasta luego, Elder Acuña! (assigned to the East Mission)

108 Some MTC comp action & a group photo of (most) of our MTC group

113 Cat action! In a members house. (Funny story: It was laying on top of a bunch of freshly ironed clothes on top of a chair. Reminded me of Autumn)

115 Fathers day activity! Free mustaches!

116 Father-Father and Father-son!

Zone photo

 Full mission photo! You can't really see Spence, he's in the back about 1/3 from the right behind someone

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Helloooo! I once had a zone leader who always answered the phone like that.

This week has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. It feels like time multiplied and the week lasted like a month or something.

Well we started the week off with sending President Wilkinson off :( Tomorrow he goes, but on Tuesday we had the goodbye conference. Lots of crying. Loots of crying haha. And, because the mission is splitting. lots of saying goodbye to good friends.)

But the good news is, lots of pictures! haha.

From there we hit the pavement and got working, and didn't really see many results. But we put in a lot of effort, and had the opportunity to start making some really great plans to work with the ward (I sure do love this ward, Mom). Both projects to reactivate and projects to strengthen the active members.

I won't bother telling about which streets we walked this week, especially since they're the same ones we walked last week haha, but something really funny has been happening lately. I've been here for 2 months and  I'm starting to recognize everyone. From former investigators to pastors from other churches, I've also gotten to know which street-people (drunks/drug abusers) are my friends and which ones don't like me, You throw that in with the people that we simply see on a daily basis, and it's starting to stop being "say hi to every person you see" and started being saying hi because, well, I know them! haha. It's pretty funny really.

We've had a lot of struggles with the two people we wanted to baptize this month. On Wednesday we went and had a super! spiritual lesson with one, but she said that she just doesn't want to get baptized. So, that was a bit of a bummer. 

But on the bright side, God is smiling on our reactivating efforts. This week we were able to contact and bring to church 2 more elders, who had more than 10 years of being inactive. That was a really sweet treat :) After having problems with smoking and drinking, he had been changing his life piece by piece for about a year so when we got there, we was all good and prepared to come back and enjoy the blessing he's missed for so long.

All in all, it was a pretty crazy week, but a pretty normal week too haha. Ups, downs, happy, sad, miracles and disappointments. All in the life of your average missionary! :) But more than anything happiness, because it's tough to be sad when you're in the Lord's service.

I love you all. Have a great week! Make an impact on someone else's life.

-Elder Henry

(It does not have to be in all caps btw) Postage is $1.15

MISION COSTA RICA SAN JOSE
ELDER SPENCER HENRY
APARTADO POSTAL 249-2010
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA
CENTRO AMERICO

Transfers! Getting a new kid! Costa Rica San Jose West Mission (he thinks!)

 11 Hno Salas (he's not a member but all his family is, and he's super nice and friendly). He's like a Tico Grandpa Henry! Seriously! Personality and everything haha.

 15 I think that horseback missionaries might find success here in Costa Rica, I'm going to suggest it to president

 31 Picture with the baby sister, Khaterine!

 46 I don't know why, but this dog seems to think that she's a cat hahaha sitting on the roof

47 Picture with Djanko, our ward mission leader (and one of my 3 father-figures here).

My companion, Elder Ortiz, had to head back home for a surgery that he needs to do (he'll be back in a few months), and I was advised yesterday that I'm going to be training again! But I don't pick up my "kid" until Wednesday.

Ever since I trained the first time, I've just wanted to train again. It's such a great experience, to help show the ropes to a new missionary! 

There's a member in our ward who has mentioned a few times how the darkest moment of the night is right before the dawn.

It's just been a testimony builder to me to see that God always delivers us, and often shows us tender mercies, whenever it's possible.

Honestly, I can't even think about what happened this week, I'm just so excited for what lies ahead! it's feels like Christmas Eve haha.

I hope you all have a great week, and can look forward to the grand blessings that God has promised you all as well.

-Elder Henry