Monday, February 19 to Sunday, February 25, 2018

Monday, February 19, 2018

We divided and conquered today. We both attended the office meeting. Then while Sister Bell stayed at the office to train Sister Poncio and Sister Joyce, I went to the hospital to be with a couple of Elders. I took them to Pricesmart for lunch, then I took them to the bus station. I went back to the office, picked up Sister Bell, stopped at the store and we went home.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

We spent some time at the office, picked up 2 refrigerators from Jonathan (old ones that had been repaired) and then home. Sister Bell finished getting an updated list of the doctors we have used. I updated our housing spreadsheet and information about every missionary house to hand off to Elder Vaides.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

We left the house at 7:30 and returned at 5pm. We dropped off a refrigerator, mop, smoke alarm and checked for bed bugs at La Paz Central which is about 1 hour from Managua.  We didn’t find any. We determined that one of our sister missionaries was getting chigger bites, not bed bug bites. Then we delivered a chair and letter to the Elders in Sebaco (1.5 hours from La Paz Central). They were at an investigators house doing service by helping to dig a hole for the outhouse. The ZL’s and the whole district were there (Elder McCord, Elder Menezes. Elder Guerra, Elder Gonzalez, Elder Espinosa, Elder Nunley, Sister Curtis and Sister Flores). We took the sisters with us as we were going to their house in Dario. We ate lunch in Sebaco, then we delivered a debit card and a new phone to Elders Morrison and Smith in Matagalpa (1.5 hr. round trip). We then went to Dario to deliver a frig, a mirror, a phone and a package and letter for Sister Curtis (45 minutes from Sebaco). They enjoyed riding in an air-conditioned car that has shocks. Apparently, the taxis don’t have shocks and are very rough riding. We dropped the sisters off and came home (2 hr. drive from Ciudad Dario). We drove almost 500 kms today. While we were driving, Sister Bell had 8 consultations. Busy day.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

We started by going to a pharmacy to get medicine for a couple of missionaries. While Sister Bell was buying medicine, I got a haircut. I will miss the haircuts here, especially the washing and massaging of my hair and scalp. It is like having therapy for only $9. We went to the office. Sister Bell needed nursey money and I needed to update Elder Vaides with the deliveries I made yesterday. We went to lunch at Ajua Mexican Grill, made a quick stop at the store and then took the medicine to the Elders in Reparto Shick. We then picked up Sisters Joyce and Puac and went to the President's house. We received a new missionary today, Sister Sanchez from the Republic Dominican. She had visa problems and couldn’t come in with the last bunch of missionaries that arrived about 3 weeks ago.  Under Sister Bell's tutelage, Sister Joyce gave her the 10 commandments of good health. I took Sisters Fersola and Puac to their area. I returned to the Presidents house and after Sister Bell was done with the training, we took Sisters Joyce and Sanchez back to Ducuali. We got home about 7:30pm. We dined on homemade grilled cheese sandwiches.

Friday, February 23, 2018

We went to the sister leaders house to pick up a bed frame, a table, a chair, and a fan for Sister Sanchez. She has been assigned to Las Mercedes with Hermanas Arauz and Hawkins. They will be in a three-some. We took the three sisters back to their house and helped set up the bunk beds. We then stopped at the store and then home for lunch. We hosted the Helbergs tonight for dinner. We had spinach lasagna, salad, garlic bread and cake for desert. We played golf afterwards. Sister Bell came up with a different golf game. Instead of getting matches, we played for runs. The first person who got a full run of six (we were playing with 6 cards) won. It was fun to have a little variety.

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Maria Clara’s lesson went well. We then had lunch at Rosti Pollo in Esteli then we drove to Somoto. We gave a package and deposit slip to Elder Charette and Elder Rodriquez. Then we met up with Elder Coxaj and Garcia to pay a fridge repair bill. Then we went to Pueblo Nuevo to teach a temple prep class. Javier, Arelys and Jose Alexander attended with the missionaries. That went well. We taught about the plan of Salvation and how the temple ordinances allow progression within the Celestial Kingdom. We stayed at the Hex.

Freddy and Virginia

Sunday, February 25, 2018

We went to Church in Condega. This will be our last visit to their Sunday meetings. We hope to teach one more temple preparation lesson to Freddy and Virginia next week. They are still planning on going to the temple in April. 

There were 17 people at Church today. Two were investigators. We took our keyboard, so Sister Bell played the piano for the meetings. Sister Bell and I talked. Sister Bell related a story told by Elder Alonso in the October General Conference. He told the story of how his friend's 4-year-old son was killed when he was hit by a car and how he and his wife forgave the young man who hit him. Sister Bell talked about the importance of forgiving. I had Christopher Ramirez, read the story of the 10 virgins. I then explained how we need to keep acquiring oil for our lamps and how to do it. I explained that we acquire more oil when we pray, attend church, pay tithing, serve, study the gospel, etc. This is a topic that I have talked about for the past several months, the importance of person spiritual preparation.

Elder Carico taught the Sunday School lesson about repentance, which related very well with Sister Bell’s talk. We gave the group the photo of Christ and a picture of the Honduran temple. Elder Ponce taught Primary. They only have two meetings, Sacrament meeting and SS/Primary.

We challenged the Ramirez family to prepare to go to the temple in October. We told them we are planning on being in Honduras October 9-11 if all goes well to attend the sealing of President and Sister Alaniz from Somoto. We told them it would be wonderful if they went at that same time, so we could witness their sealing as well. They accepted this goal. They have been members for about 5 years but have had a difficult time paying tithing.

We love the people in Condega and will miss them terribly. Our week-ends are a most enjoyable part of our mission.