Monday, May 15, 2017
We have become friends with a young mother who lives a few
houses up the street from us. Her name is Gabriela and she has a puppy named
Princesa. When we see her, we take a few minutes to visit with her. She lives
with her daughter and her grandfather. This morning she was telling us that she
was practicing singing for a program she was in. We asked her to sing us a song,
which she did. We were amazed at how beautiful her voice was. Not very many
Nicas can carry a tune, but she has a beautiful voice. In our conversation, she
expressed interest in learning to play the piano. Sister Bell volunteered to
teach her. She needs to get a piano in her home so she can practice and Sister
Bell will begin teaching her.
The mission then bought Pizza Hut Pizza for lunch. Good
times….
Sister Bell gave Jocelyn a piano lesson. We came home a
little early. I continued to work on things while Sister Bell took a nap. Celebrating
your birthday is hard work….
We had dinner at the Lee’s with the Helbergs…
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
We worked from home most of the day, other than a few hours
when we ran a few errands.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Happy Birthday to Sister Bell….
We are spending the afternoon and night at the Barcelo
Montelimar Resort west of Managua. We have a beach front bungaloo, but
unfortunately, there are so many bushes and trees we can’t see the beach. However,
there were iguanas in the trees and plenty of birds. We have a hammock on the
front porch, which we were in long enough to take pictures (I actually laid in
the Hammock Thursday morning reading. It was very comfortable). We walked along
the beach picking up shells and watched the sunset. It was beautiful. We eat dinner
at resort buffet, which is closer to the beach than our beach front bungaloo
was. Most of the kids have skyped with Michelle. She also had to take care of
sick missionaries, in fact one had to go to the hospital. They had to go
without us and they survived it.
Thursday, May 18, 2017
We enjoyed our evening and morning at the beach. It was very
relaxing. We feel refreshed and ready to get back to work. We only had 3 calls
from sick missionaries, so that wasn’t so bad.
Friday, May 19, 2017
We had a change planning meeting this morning. Monday is
changes. We have 7 missionaries leaving and 6 coming.
We had a missionary in the hospital with cellulitis. We
spent the afternoon with them. While Sister Bell stayed with him in
the hospital, I took his companion to their apartment so he could get some
clothes and other supplies they will need while in the hospital. He expects to
be in the hospital for 2-3 days.
While out, we stopped by the bank to get our monthly
withdrawal. Michelle, the teller that usually helps us, was helping someone
else when we walked in. When she saw us, she sent the man to the next teller so
she could help us. During our conversation, she expressed an interest to attend
Church with us. She found out that her house is close to the Waspan Church,
which is in our mission (Usually our referrals are in the south mission). We
will find a week-end when we can stay in Managua over the week-end and take her
and her fiancé to church. I would like to go by her house before they attend
Church to explain a little about the restoration. I believe this would help
them understand the meetings better.
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Sister Bell taught Maria Clara and Karol Linneth piano today
in Trinidad. Karol Linneth is progressing very fast for having had only 3
lessons.
We then dropped off a few things in Ocotal and then drove to
Somoto. We had scheduled a temple Prep. Class with President Alaniz at his
house, but he had to work. So we sat and visited with his wife, Cristian and
their son. He is 23, married and lives close. He is very friendly and knows all
the missionaries. I believe he would be interested in the Church, except he
works out of town. He is a truck driver.
We then took Cristian to the church. She held the first YW
mutual activity today. She had 4 young women attend. These are sweet girls.
Three of the four come from abusive homes. They are being
helped by Azaria Perez, who was recently baptized last Tuesday. We visited with
her while Cristian was having her meeting. Azaria is a remarkable young woman.
She helps abusive girls. She has one living with her now and several others
come by her house every day. She feeds them, helps them with their homework and
counsels them. She lives with her mother, who also has health problems and
needs care. She has no income, but somehow, they have money to feed all these
people. The sad thing, is that she says there are 58 other young girls that
need her help, that are being abused physically, emotionally and/or sexually. Azaria is an angel.
The girls practiced a hymn to sing in Church tomorrow and
Sister Bell gave them a lesson in how to lead music.
Sunday, May 21, 2017
We picked up President Alaniz at this home in Somoto and passed
by the Church to say good-bye to Elder Tax. Elder Tax is going to Puerto
Cabeza. President Alaniz and Elder Tax both had tears in their eyes as they
talked and hugged. Elder Tax is a wonderful missionary. He is very humble but
is very willing to help in any way possible. He is always volunteering and
going the extra mile. He is a very accomplished musician. He plays the piano
very well. We will miss him terribly. After President Alaniz said good-bye, we took
him to Pueblo Nuevo. PN is a group under the direction of President Alaniz. He called
Sister Nubia and Dania as teachers in the Relief Society and Sunday School,
respectively. They both accepted. They were sustained in Sacrament Meeting and
President Alaniz set them apart after the meetings. I was glad we were there so
I could mentor President Alaniz and Elder Meneses, who conducted the meeting
and sustained them. Elder Meneses had a busy day, he conducted the meeting,
taught SS and Priesthood. Elder Wight also talked in church and then taught Primary. I don't know which had the busiest day.
We then went to Condega and taught another leadership
meeting. Noe, Suyapa, Freddy and Rosa were all there with the missionaries.
Elder Russell will be leaving Condega tomorrow. He started here and has been
here for several changes. We have seen him grow a lot as a missionary. His
Spanish is really good now and he smiles much more now than when he first got
here. The people love him and he loves them.
We had a birthday dinner at the Koellikers. Sister Koelliker
served burritos and cake with ice cream. Dinner was really good. The Lees were
there also. Sister Bell got her birthday cookie from Sister Koelliker.
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