Monday, April 17 to Sunday, April 23, 2017

Monday, April 17, 2017

We went to the hospital twice and to the office twice today. We started at the hospital with an ingrown toenail. Sister Bell went in with the missionary and held his hand while his toe was worked on. She said he about squashed her hand off. We took them to Burger King for lunch, then we went to the office (the first time) for the office meeting, dropping them off at the bus station on our way. We then rushed back to the hospital to meet another set of missionaries, one of which was having severe body aches and a rash. We then went back to the office to talk with President and Sister Poncio.  

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

We had new missionary training this morning, for those missionaries and their companions that have been here for less than 2 changes (12 weeks). Sister Bell taught a presentation called the umbrella of comfort. She invited Elder Cook and Orellena to come up and pull items out of her purse, such as comb, toothbrush, bug spring, etc. Then we sang 8 vasa de agua.

During lunch,  another missionary showed sister Bell his ingrown toenail. There are a lot of ingrown toenails in the mission now. So in this weeks newsletter we sent a diagram how to cut toenails... again. We ended up taking him to the Emergency room. But the doctor gave him some medicine and told him to see another doctor in a week to have it fixed. We then stayed for another doctor appointment with another Elder. So we stayed at the hospital all afternoon.

We hosted the senior missionary dinner tonight with the Lees and Helbergs. Elder Quinonez and Elder Vogt were our special guests.  We had beef stroganoff. Then we had a FHE with the Elders giving the lesson about prayer. We must have been a good audience because Elder Vogt asked one question and we talked for 20 minutes to answer it. We ended the night playing golf. I then took the Elders to the Assistants house.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

We went to Matagalpa to talk about cleaning apartments at the Matagalpa zone meeting. We left at 8am so we could stop at La Colonia and buy donuts, but they were out so we bought Hostess type cupcakes instead. The traffic was terrible. We expected to be in Matagalpa at 10:30 but arrived 11:30. We still talked with the missionaries. I approached the subject a little different this time. I talked about the difference between Priesthood Authority and Priesthood Power and how a clean apartment (among other things) helps us prepare to have Priesthood Power.

After the meeting, we went to the Santa Fe Hospital in Matagalpa. This is one of the better medical facilities in central Nicaragua. It is a private facility. Now when missionaries go to this hospital, we have had to pay in cash. This is sometimes difficult because the missionaries don’t have a lot of money and the office staff, including Sister Bell and I have had to drive to Matagalpa to pay the bill, otherwise they won't let the missionaries leave. Sister Bell has felt impressed to talk to the administrators and ask if they would accept our insurance. We arrived there about 1:30 and offered a prayer in the car before we went in. The administrator was out to lunch, so we waited about 45 minutes for her to come back. To our joy, she was very receptive. We got her contact information and sent it to our contact with AETNA. AETNA responded and assured us it would be a top priority. Now we have to wait and pray.

Thursday, April 20, 2017

We spent most of the day in the hospital.

Friday, April 21, 2017

Today was a day of serving the one… well actually two. We started by picking Elder and Sister Lee up at Casa Pellas. They dropped off their car to be serviced. Then the four of us went to the distribution Center where we purchased garments, hymnbooks, and manuals for various missionaries and members.

We then went to the office where Sister Bell helped an Elder with a plugged ear. She gave them the equipment necessary to remove the ear plug. Then we worked alittle at the office after having lunch at Tip Top (a chicken place). We spent the afternoon at the hospital playing UNO. 

Saturday, April 22, 2017

We took Elder Vogt to San Ramon, about 15 km outside of Matagalpa. We stopped in Sebaco for lunch. We invited Sister Ingram and Knowlton to eat with us. We eat at the Buffet at the local gas station we normally stop at. The cook is one of their investigators.

San Ramon is a beautiful little town. The streets are mostly paved with pavers and it is very clean (a lot like Pueblo Nuevo). The Elders live in a little house. 

The other big event that occurred today is that we crossed the 100,000-km mark on our car.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Sister Bell and I crossed over this morning. That is, we went to a Sacrament Meeting in the South Mission because it was closest to our house. Afterward, I repented and attended the Reparto Shick Ward (which is in our mission) with Elder Vogt. When Elder Vogt and I walked into the Chapel, we were asked to share our testimonies, which we did. Elder Vogt had served in this ward for 4 months about 2 months ago. The ward members were glad to see him. We then attended the Gospel Principles class and then headed back to the hospital.

We spent the afternoon in our air-conditioned rooms (at home), getting caught up and preparing for next week’s zone conferences. I needed a day like today. We are on the go so much, that it is difficult to keep up with the paper work.