Monday, August 7, 2017
We had a lot of things to do today and we were not sure if
we could get them all done… but we did. We first had our staff meeting at the
Presidents House. He was preparing to host the Leon Zone for lunch at this
house. He invites various zone to come to his house monthly to celebrate those
who meet their goals. They play and eat. The missionaries love it and it gives
them a reward for meeting their goals.
Sister Ingram (2nd from L) will be going home this week. She is a wonderful
missionary, works hard and loves being here. Sister Menendez, her companion is of the same caliber of missionary. We love our missionaries.
Sister Galbraith (2nd from R) from Jackson Hole,
WY is going home next week after serving faithfully for 18 months. She has
served as the Lead Sister Trainer for the past several months. We have loved
serving with her. She is always happy and smiling. Sister Fersola (r) will be
the new Sister Trainer.
We then went to the bank, Pricesmart, found a place to fix
our tire, helped three sets of missionaries with doctor appointments, bought
items at Distribution, went to dinner with the Lees and Helbergs at Pricesmart
and ended up at the Mayasa Volacano at night. What a day…. The volcano is more
impressive at night, than it is during the day.
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Today is was a day of highs and lows. We woke up to the news
that Grandpa Thomas passed away at 12:40am. Jamie and Roxanne were with him as
he took his last breath. They said he slipped away peacefully. He is now with
Grandma, LaVoy and many other love ones and friends. When Michelle woke up this
morning about 5am, her first thought was “Dad is with Mom”. She had a warm,
peaceful feeling come over her as the Holy Ghost comforted her. Roxanne called
about 6am with the news. Grandpa was a wonderful example of someone without
guile. He loved everyone and had tremendous patience. I don’t ever remember
seeing him mad, even when Grandma got after him for something. We will miss him,
but know that we are an eternal family and will be together again.
We drove 4 hours to Somoto today to be at the baptism of
Hermana Sadia Alaniz (President Alaniz’s wife) and Yanelis Lira, daughters of
Hermana Zaida. We bought Hermana Alaniz a white dress because the Elders did
not have baptismal clothes that fit her. The dress we bought her can also be
used as a temple dress. The family has a goal of going to the temple in a year
to be sealed. She looked beautiful and it fit perfectly.
Elder Diaz, one of the assistants, performed the baptism for Hermana Alaniz and Yanelis, the daughter of Hermana Zaida. She has been attending Church with her mother for almost 2 years and finally received a testimony. Elder Diaz served in Somoto at the beginning of his mission, taught and baptized President
Alaniz, Cristin, Hermana Zaida and Catalina. He was able to come back and spend
the day working with Elder Alfaro and then perform the baptism. President and
Sister Poncio also participated. There were at least 25 people in attendance.
The service was beautiful and the spirit was strong. Hermana Sadia and Yanelis
radiated with the spirit. It was wonderful to see how happy they were.
President Alaniz was very happy that his wife is now a member of the Church. We
brought a cake and served refreshments afterward. It was definitely worth the
trip. We drove home (back to Managua) after the service, getting back home
about 11:30pm.
L to r: President
Alaniz, Elder Asplund, Elder Alfaro, Sadia Alaniz, Elder Diaz, Yanelis,
Elder Gharring,
Elder Garcia
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
We didn’t get much sleep as we got up at 4:00 am, in
order to get a missionary to the hospital. We spent the morning there.
We spent the afternoon in the house, preparing for zone
conferences. Sister Fersola, the new sister trainer, will need to give the
presentation (on back pain) in Puerto Cabeza. She will also need to give the 10
commandments of good health to the new missionaries on Tuesday, of next week
(assuming we will be in Idaho for Dad’s funeral).
Thursday, August 10, 2017
We brought the recuperating missionary to our house to rest for a few days. We spent a few hours at the office and then took our
Nicaragua ID, Passport and itinerary to Betty Castro. She will get our exit
visa tomorrow (we got approval to go to grandpas funeral).
We got a call from a missionary in Tipitapa. We met him at the hospital and spent a few hours with him there.
We cooked spaghetti for the boys tonight and played a
round of 5 Crowns.
Friday, August 11, 2017
We had our change planning meeting this morning. Sister
Bell and I actually had a change in our area. Every companionship is assigned an area. We were Maximo Jerez 3 and are
now Maximo Jerez 2. We moved up because the Lees are leaving, they were
Maximo Jerez 2. This is only a name change; we are still doing what we
have always done.
Sister Bell instructed Sister Fersola and Hermana Poncio
on how to teach the new missionaries, zone conference in Puerto Cabeza and what
to do when a sick missionary calls.
We took crutches to Tipitapa and then
came home.
Saturday, August 12, 2017
I taught Elder Soares how to cook pancakes. They turned
out pretty good. We then picked up the Lees and took them to Huembas.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
We went to Church at the Ruben Dario Ward that meets in
the Waspan building. Elder Baxter served in this area for several months. The
members were excited to see him. After Sacrament Meeting, we attended a baptism
in the La Primavera Ward. Elder Simpson and Najera baptized a man (Victor). His
girlfriend is a member (we think a returned missionary). It was a sweet
baptism. Elder Simpson was excited to hear all the news from Somoto, where he
served for several months at the beginning of his mission. He was especially
excited to hear about Sadia Alaniz and Yanelis Lira getting baptized this week.
There are scorpions here, but this is the first time we
saw a metal scorpion in the Church.
We went to the Helbergs for brunch with the Lees. We will
miss the Lees.
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