Monday, October 24 to Sunday, October 29, 2017

Monday, October 24, 2017

We went by the Sisters house to pick up a frig for La Fuente and then took Sister Fersola with us to the office. Today was Sister Gunn’s birthday, so we sang happy birthday to her. Her companions, Fersola and Perez had already celebrated her birthday. Sister Fersola got up early and cooked a wonderful breakfast.

We attended our morning staff meeting. Everyone was concerned that Sister Bell was in a sling but were glad when they found out that there were no broken bones. After the meeting I took the frig to Las Fuente while Sister Bell stayed at the office making doctor appointments. After lunch at the office (popcorn chicken from Tip Top), we picked up two Sisters and took them to a doctors appointment at the Hospital. 

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

We went early to pick up Sister Perez and Romero and took them out for breakfast. 

L to R: Sister Perez, Sister Romero and Sister Bell

Sister Romero is going home tomorrow. She has been a wonderful missionary and will be missed.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

We started this morning taking a sister to the Dentist. We met two other Sisters at the Hospital for another doctor appointment. 

We worked from home this afternoon. Sister Bell did laundry today, so we had some ironing to do. I helped with that because Michelle’s arm was still hurting her. The Helbergs came over tonight and we went to Asado al Patio for a Gator (top sirloin). The restaurant had moved to a new location and are still renovating, but the Gator was as good as ever. We then came back to the house for a game of 5 Crowns. The final score was Scott-48, Ray-49, Michelle 118, Anna -129. It was a man’s night tonight…. Steak and winning scores…. Life doesn’t get much better than this.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

We slept in until 6:30 am this morning. It felt good to sleep alittle longer. I got a haircut this morning. After the initial cut, they wash your hair. The girl that washed my hair today, gave me a head massage. It felt good, I almost went to sleep. We then went to the President’s house to give Jocelyn a piano lesson. Then home for lunch. The rain, which we had all yesterday and last night, created an internet outage for a good part of the country. Our internet was affected. David called Claro for us but they said they are working on the problem. After waiting for several hours without results, we were getting frustrated because we have things we needed to do on the internet. We had David call Claro again and this time, a young woman spent about an hour on the phone working on a solution. At the end of the hour, we had renamed our internet account, put in a new password, and updated all of our devises. We are back in business, thanks to Sister Bell’s persistence, David’s patience and the technical help of a young lady from Claro, our internet provider. I provided support and encouragement.

Friday, October 27, 2017

More errands.

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Maria Clara called and cancelled our piano lesson. She had a school activity. So we didn’t get up quite so early. We stopped at the office to pick up a few packages, letters and make copies for this week-end. Then we stopped in San Benito to give a new pillow to Elder Cuesta. He has been having neck and back problems and Sister Bell thought that a memory foam contour pillow, like she uses would help him. They live in the upstairs of a big house and have a lot of room. 

We then drove to Somoto. We met Elder Davidson and Gharring. Elder Davidson, who is the Secretary of the Branch and I wanted to make up an agenda for today’s Council meeting and see if we can get the calendar function to work (we couldn’t). When President Alaniz and the other missionaries (Elder Alfaro y Silva) came we started the branch council. We discussed the temple trip, patriarchal blessings, HT and a schedule for PEC and Branch Councils. 

We then went to Pueblo Nuevo in a rain storm and taught a Temple Prep class. Hermana Nubia and Hilario came. 

We stopped in Condega to eat. We passed Elder Espinosa and Bassett on our way to the restaurant and picked them up and took them with us. Missionaries are always hungry.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

We made a quick trip to Ocotal to deliver tables, chairs, mirror and fans to the Zone Leaders, Elder Ward and McCord. These items are needed in Jalapa. We then went to Church in Somoto. I talked and Sister Bell played the piano. Everyone was concerned about Sister Bell's arm but were relieved to know she didn’t break anything. I talked about tithing. I told them that Heavenly Father wants to bless his children. I then read D&C 130: 20-21 which states that if you want a blessing, one needs to obey the commandment that the blessing it tied to. I then talked about tithing, what it is and Malachi’s promise of blessings. I related the story of Mary Fielding Smith, who when she wanted to pay her tithing, even though she was very poor, was told by the Bishop that she didn’t need to pay. She scolded him and said she needed to pay to receive the blessings. I then related the story of Elijah and the widow in Zarephath in 1 Kings. And how she was blessed only after the trial of her faith. I promised them that if they paid their tithing, they would receive great blessings as promised by Malachi.

Sister Bell helped with the music in Primary. She was teaching them “Give said the little stream”. Of course, in Spanish.

We took President Alaniz with us to Esteli so he could attend a District Leadership Meeting. We then went to Trinidad and taught a Temple Prep class to Dania and Wendy. Karen was not there. Then we went to teach Yasser and Marilyn a family relations class, but Yasser went with President Cruz to Esteli. We visited with Marilyn for a few minutes and left for home. 

We drove home in a rain storm and drove through several places where water was flowing over the road. But we made it home without incident.