WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

In five minutes we will reach the reef where we will drift with the tide while we gaze down into the crystal clear water at the brightly colored fish and the dazzling coral.  We have enjoyed kayaking while here at Lawson rock.  The beauty of the ocean here is almost beyond description and it gives us a chance to get away from the sand flies because they don't seem to go out over the water.  We have spent quite a bit of time around the beach and the water.  We would spend far more if it weren't for the flies.  Their bites iritate so badly that we can't sleep for the itching.  However, if we spray ourselves with OFF and wear clothes we don't get too badly bitten.

 

 

We eat a lot that comes from the sea.  The coconut shrimp is wonderful here upon the island.  The dish above was served at Banana-rama.  The owner there, Louis St. Louis allows the missionaries to eat there for free on Mondays.  We have only gone there twice, but the elders go there every single Monday.  We purchased the lobsters from a fisherman in Punta Gorda who was just coming in for the night in his little wooden rowboat.  LaRae cut them up and cleaned them and cooked them for our dinner.  They were wonderful and cost us only $4.00 each.  We know that we could have gotten them cheaper, but we paid the "gringo" price this time.  These people have to make money somehow.

There are so many beautiful sights to see here, but they seem to all revolve around the sea.  The water is so calming, the beaches so inviting and the air so clean.  There is no polution here.  There isn't much noise.  There is no roar of ocean waves as they break over the reef and only then slowly meander to the beach.  The tide is never more than a few inches.  People live in homes built on stilts only two or three feet above the water.  They have never been flooded.

The sun sets in a bed of fire each night.  Sadly it sets quickly.  The skies are completely dark each night by 6:00 p.m. year around.  We love the twenty minutes of dusk here on the island.  It deepens the colors and softens the harshness of the poverty that drapes the land. 

We have come to love the ocean and the people who live by its waters.  It's odd to us that they take it for granted.  We rarely see any local people swimming.  They can't afford to go to the resorts and their groomed beaches, but they don't go to the local beaches either.  I believe that we all tend to take those beauties that constantly surround us for granted.  We hope that you will all take just a moment today to smell a flower or gaze at the snow capped peaks, or the flowing fields of corn.  They each have their own beauty.

 
This is Lawson Rock.  Our condominium is just past these homes.  You can see our beach at the very left of the picture.  This photo was taken from the Lawson Rock dock.  Our time here is now very limited.  We won't be here forever, but we believe that the ocean and these people of the island will stay in our hearts long after we are asked to leave. 

THE GLORIOUS HYMNS OF ZION

One of the greatest blessings that has come our way from this mission is the privilege of being able to sing the songs of Zion with people who love to sing.  They sing their hearts out!  Many of them can't sing on tune, but it doesn't matter to them.  They sing anyway - and they sing loudly.  The chapel actually resounds with the joy of their praises.  Every ward and branch in the Church could learn a lesson from the humble Saints of Roatan.  We thought that today we would include a couple of our favorite hymns in hopes that it will stir your souls as they have stirred ours.

 

A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief

Hath often crossed me on my way

Who sued so humbly for relief

That I could never answer nay

I had not power to ask his name

Where to he went or whence he came

But there was something in his eye

That won my love, I knew not why

 

(Men carrying massive loads of wood for home fires or wares to sell is a very common sight)

I am a Child of God

And He has sent me here

Has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me; help me find the way

Teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday

 

(Camilla Flores - named after Pres. Kimball's wife - runs from person to person during Church and we all love her)

Because I have been given Much I Too Must Give

Because of Thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live

I shall divide my gifts from Thee with every brother that I see

That he too made be comforted

 

 

(The Alvarado family lives in this one-room shack where the floor has rotted away.  There are eight people) 

Earth With Her Ten Thousand Flowers

Air with all its beams and showers

Heaven's infinite expanse

Sea's resplendent countenance

All around and all above

Bear this record: God is love!

 

(The Lawson Rock condominium grounds are incredibly beautiful)

 Called To Serve Him, Heavenly King of Glory

Chose e'er to witness for His name

Far and wide we tell the Father's story;

Far and wide His love proclaim

 

(Elder Barba and Elder Dever are faithful missionaries always ready to spread the word)

 How Firm a Foundation

Ye Saints of the Lord is laid for His work in His excellent word

 

(The chapel in Coxen Hole)

 Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?

Have I helped anyone in need?  Have I cheered up that sad?

And made somebody glad? If not, have failed indeed.

 

(Olga Barrios de Fernandez was baptized on October 14, 2012)

 Love At Home

There is beauty all around when there's love at home.

Hate and envy ne'er annoy, when there's love at home.

 

(Belkis Madrid rocks her tiny baby in the sweltering heat of her one-room bunker)

 Oh, How Lovely Was the Morning

Radiant beamed the sun above.

Bees were humming, sweet birds singing

Music ringing through the grove.

(Early morning looking over Mahogony Bay Resort.  This is a private bay for Carnival Cruise lines)

 

Secret Prayer

There is an hour of peace and rest unmarred by earthly care

Where there before the Lord I go to kneel in secret prayer
 

(Sister Sorto, our Relief Society president, bows her head before sacrament meeting begins)

 Sweet Hour of Prayer

Sweet hour of prayer, that calls me from my world of care

 

(Roatan Branch.  October 21, 2012)

Shall the Youth of Zion Falter

In defending truth and right

While the enemy assaileth shall we shrink or shun the fight?

NO!

(The youth of Roatan)

We hope that this little blog brought a bit of joy into your lives like it has done for us.  These hymns are precious little sermons and prayers that have the power because of their melody to remain with us nearly forever.  We hope they stay with you today.

A STROLL DOWN MAINSTREET

We actually don't do much shopping here in Roatan, but when we do we typically don't go downtown.  This is where the people come to shop and to supply their daily needs.  These markets are open seven days per week from dawn until dusk and the streets are typically crowded.  Driving through this market is a pretty precarious affair. 

These little stores sell basically everything that a person could need.  Some stores carry only new things, but most of them sell things that are already used.  The shopkeepers are friendly, and welcoming.  Bartering here is a way of life.  There are two prices for every item - the one gringos pay and the one the locals pay.  And, there is a huge difference between the two.

Food, of course, is the main reason people come to the market.  The staples of life here are rice, eggs, beans, bananas and tortillas.  However, they do have wonderful fruit if you can afford to purchase it.  The green oranges are actually quite tasty.  We very often finish our day with a fruit smoothie of pineapple, papaya, bananas and orange juice.  It doesn't even need sugar it is so sweet. 

Ninety percent of all clothing on this island is used clothing from the USA.  They purchase it by the 1000 pound bale.  Sometimes you will see it all nicely hung up like the one above.  Other times you will simply see an open bale with a sign advertising that every piece of clothing costs 10 lempira = 50 cents.  There are actually only a few stores on the island that carry new clothing. 

In the middle of the market there is an outdoor, public laundrymat.  For just a few cents you can do your laundry at one of the cement pilas.  They actually do quite a business here.  They wash everything here, their food, their clothes and even themselves at these pilas. 

Trinkets abound!  For a couple of bucks you can buy almost anything.  There are no Walmarts or Costcos on the island, but the people get by because they know which stores to go to.  We needed fabric, they told us which store to go to.  We needed a battery for LaRae's watch and sure enough, they knew exactly where to go.  It is an amazing little maze of shops. 

What they can't buy at these little corner shops they send away for from the "big city" - La Ceiba.  A phone call to Ceiba can get  you delivered just about anything by way of The Galaxy Wave - the local ferry boat.  Boxes, bales, letters, suitcases... anything, comes to Roatan for a couple of dollars each.  This is how we get our mission supplies.  We haven't decided what to give each other for Christmas yet, but when we do... well, this is where we will shop.  

FIND A NEED AND FILL IT

A couple of days ago we were driving to an appointment.  It had rained most of the morning, as it has done quite often lately.  As we turned down a dirt road we saw children at play in the ocean.  Then we saw... needs that needed to be met. 

There is so much saddness here.  There is so much poverty.  When we saw this scene it overwhelmed us how great a need there is in this land for the basic necessities of life.  The children play and wear smiles on their faces.  We wanted to reach out and rescue them.  But this is the only life they know and they are happy.  Mother Theresa once said, "If you can't feed a hundred, then feed one."  That is kind of what we have been doing here.  We are looking for a need, and then doing whatever we can to fill it.  Here are a few of the things that we have been doing.

After two months of piano lessons and waiting a month to get keyboards from Salt Lake City, we have finally reached the point where the kids are able to play some simple songs.  This is Oliver Flores.  He actually accompanied our hymn in the opening exercises of Mutual.  He was so proud of himself.  I was there to assist a little bit with the left hand, but he basically did it.  The kids were so thrilled that they insisted on singing all three verses and the room was so charged with positive feelings that they almost broke out into applause.  These opening exericises have become a wonderful thing.  This is the first time that the young men and young women have ever held opening exercises together.  They used to have Mutual on different days.  They are loving it.  Christian Zea is  doing his best to direct the music... well, we still have a lot to learn. 

The Young Women's organization is up and running full steam ahead now that LaRae has spent two months training them every week.  She decided to add a few "finishing touches" by making little table cloths in each of the value colors and paper flowers that they can use both as a decoration and in their upcoming Night of Excellence.  The women leaders feel so special! They have never had anything beautiful like this in their classroom before.  They are grateful and constantly express their appreciation. 

LaRae has made binders for the President and her Counselors and Secretary.  These binders have pictures of each of the girls, maps to their houses, the handbook of instructions, agendas and much more.  This has been a great help in showing these women how to organize the program better.  They are now working harder to  implement the Young Women's Personal Progress program.

Wayne has spent many hours creating this branch directory.  A need that we realized existed here was that no one knew where anyone else lived.  There are no addresses or street names.  President Sanchez frequently didn't know who we were talking about in our Presidency meetings.  This book has filled a great need.  Our Elder's Quorum president used it this past week to make home teaching assignments so he could assign families that lived close together.  The missionaries will try to keep it updated after we leave.  It is so easy for members to get "lost" on this island.  This will help fulfill the need to keep track of them. 

Several women in the branch try to make ends meet by running little bakery shops or food stands.  They squeak by, but since the tourists aren't coming yet they are struggling.  LaRae noticed that they really liked Rice Krispie squares.  Our Elder's Quorum President, Dustin Mitchell, came up with the idea of having them sell these in their stores.  The problem is that EVERY food stand sells the exact same thing.  No one has a special nitch.  LaRae translated the recipe, made some samples, gave them to the ladies and is hoping that several in the branch might make a bit more money by selling these treats.

The greatest need is to strengthen the families of our members through marriage.  Today we witnessed our third such wedding since arriving in Roatan.  Kabir and Ohdina Mejia were married today after months of effort obtaining the necessary documents and overcoming concerns.  Now she and her children can be baptized - he already was a member - and they can begin their life as a happy family.  They are looking towards the temple, and we are proud of them. 


It has been an unbelievable privilege to serve here in Roatan.  We have met so many wonderful members and people.  We have learned the truth of a statement made by Albert Schweitzer.  He said,
"Even if it's a little thing, do something for those who have need of a man's help, something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it. For, remember, you don't live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too."