MOMENTS OF GREAT JOY

A mission is a lot like life.  We have moments of boredom and well as times where we are so busy that we can't get everything done.  There are times when we plan and other times that we play.  We love and we are loved in return.  We have seen ugly selfishness and unbounded selflessness.  It seems like we get to experience the bookends of every emotion.  And just like our life before the mission, we have moments of great sorrow and of great joy.

 We saw great compassion and selflessness in the arrival of the Bascom family from the Atlanta area.  They arrived on Wednesday aboard Carnival Cruise lines and came bearing gifts.  These precious people had arranged for a young women's project to bring materials and gifts to the  members of the church here in Roatan.  Their's was quite a sacrifice and we were amazed at how much thought they put into the things they brought with them.  One of the things they brought was a whole bunch of geneological materials including four generation sheets.  When we gave them to President Castro, our branch president, he was thrilled.  Yesterday afternoon, Sunday, the ward was invited to a 
fireside dealing with family history.  He literally beamed when he was able to hold these materials up and show them what they had to work with. 

The young women from Georgia were excited about the gifts that they had brought.  They very generously brought ten young women's necklaces and torch medallions.  Not one of our group has ever received their torch necklace.  Our Young Women have their Night of Excellence planned for December 1st and the girls will receive their necklaces at that time.   These necklaces were accompanied by each girl's testimony on a paper with their photographs in front of the Atlanta temple.  We cried with gratitude as we sat around the table and read these precious letters.  We will display all of these letters next Saturday night at the night of Excellence.  Thank you, sweet young sisters.  Your example of selflessness will long be remembered by both us and the precious young women of Roatan. Thank you!

Our table full of the materials and gifts donated by the Young Women from Georgia

As part of the Young Women's Night in Excellence the young Aaronic Priesthood holders of the branch decided to make a tribute video for the girls.  On Tuesday I drove around and picked them up and brought them back to our home to do the filming.  We had a blast!  It took me most of the day, Wednesday, to edit and combine all the movie clips.  But, finally we had a pretty good little video.  It isn't professional - I don't have that kind of computer skills.  We will include a link to our video in next week's blog.  It made us laugh so hard to watch these special young men have so much fun.

We were saddenned this week with the leaving of our dear friends, the Mitchells.  They have played such a big role in our lives these past five months.  It was them that took us in when we were scared to go back into our first home.  They generously invited us into their home for nearly countless dinners.  They loved us and we loved them right back.  The day before they left we went with them to the West End to take a glass-bottom boat tour of the reef.  We paid, boarded the boat, and waited.  Finally, they told us the boat wouldn't start.  So our hopes to see the reef vanished.  But, we did enjoy spending these last hours with them.



Saturday was busy from dawn to dark, as usual.  Piano lessons, seminary, Mutual activities and presidency planning meetings take up much of our time.  However, we did get a couple hours to witness the full circle of success as missionaries.

 
Several of us from the branch drove out to a very private and beautiful beach to witness the baptism of Kabir Mejia.  He was baptized by his father, Kabir David Mejia.  Seeing this was a sweet testimony of how the gospel changes lives.  When we arrived five months ago Kabir was a very different man than he is today.  In these five months we were able to witness his marriage, the baptism of his wife, his ordination to the priesthood, his acceptance of the laws of the gospel and now the baptism of his own son - performed by him.   We are proud of him. 
   This beach was one that LaRae and I stumbled across on P-day long ago.  When we first saw it, it was spotlessly clean.  However, the rainy season brings with it storms that wash the decaying turtle grass up onto the beach.  In a couple of weeks it will dry up and blow away, again leaving the beach perfectly white - just the way these two men were this past Saturday.