LIFTING IS HEAVY WORK

Lifting is heavy work!  However, it is what makes life worth living.  The members of the branch in Roatan have had placed upon their shoulders the heavy burden of raising enough money to get to the temple open house in February.  They have two options: either they can go by boat and bus and take three days, or they can take the plane and make the trip in one fairly comfortable day.  The boat/bus option would cost them about $125.00 each; the plane would cost them about $175.00 each.  Because of the difficulty of getting days off work or from school, we believe that they are hoping to go by plane.  But, making that kind of money in such a short time is quite a heavy burden.

 

The Young Women have come up with the idea of make jewelry and selling them to friends and tourists.  It's actually working quite well.  They have met together a couple of times and made earrings, bracelets and necklaces and have made about $100 in sales so far.  It's just a beginning, but it is something. 

 



The Young Men haven't got a clue how they are going to make this money.  They are more concerned right now with constructing this Foosball table that the branch received awhile ago.  Why we got it is a wonder to me.  I believe that the Church has the vision that one way of holding the youth together is to give them things to do together.  I have been hesitant to put this table together because there have been so many other things to do that I felt were more important.  But, I'm sure this will get done soon after we leave.

 

Another burden was placed upon the shoulders of the young men this past week.  For the very first time they were asked to go to the homes of the members and collect fast offerings.  They were all excited about the opportunity to serve the Lord in this small way.  Members were also anxious to fast and then offer what little they had saved in food to help those who had less.  The program of the Lord never ceases to amaze us.  So much good is done both in the lives of those that serve and those who for a season need to be served. 

 

The Young Women held their very first Night of Excellence this Saturday.  Several weeks of planning and effort went into to making this a success.  The Young Women's group from Georgia that came down to Roatan last week with several bags of supplies, in our opinion, made this a very special night for the girls.  Each young woman received her torch necklace.  They beamed with joy as their leaders placed the necklace around their necks.  They also were thrilled as they individually stood and explained their projects.  LaRae had worked so hard to get these girls to get started on their personal progress programs.  To see the fruit of these last five months of labor was, indeed, a sweet thing for all of us.  It wasn't the grand, glorious program that you might see in an old established, long-traditioned ward, but it was beautiful.  Papers covered the walls with the photo and testimony of the young women from Georgia.  The tables were covered with table cloths in each of the Young Women colors.  Projects of art work, poetry and writing were paraded proudly upon the tables.  It truly was a "Night of Excellence."  I doubt that any of these girls will ever forget the pride and joy that they felt this night.  A huge "thank-you" goes out to all those who sacrificed their time, talents and money to make this a night to remember: President Rafael Castro, President Marlon Orellana, Sisters Zulema Zelaya, Aminda Garay, Karla Zea, LaRae and, of course, our sweet group from Georgia. 

 

 Yesi Padilla proudly wears her Young Women's torch necklace.  She is the only young women in the group who has been working on her personal Progress program for the past several years.  We are proud of her .  She, just like the others, has completely won over our hearts.  She was so proud of her project and to finally be able to wear the necklace.  Isn't she beautiful?

 

(Aminda Garay places the necklace on Ariana Aguilar)

 

The night ended on a high note!  The young men of the branch had been working on a tribute video for a couple of weeks.  We took this idea from a similar video that had been made by a Young Men's group from Utah.  We aren't professional, and I don't have the editing skills to make it perfectly, but it was received with raving reviews.  Everyone laughed so hard that they couldn't contain it.  The young men were both embarrassed and proud!  Of course, everyone wanted a copy.  We had to play it three times. 

 

(Lauritza Santos and Ariana Aguilar are brought to tears while watching the video)

 For those who are curious, we have included the link to the video.  Please enjoy.  We did.

http://s1287.photobucket.com/albums/a622/wjohnfamily/

 

 

 Our work here in Roatan is coming to a close.  We are loved more deeply than we supposed we would be.  We are frequently mentioned as being "angels."  Dozens freely impart to anyone that will listen of how "The Johns" changed their life.  We won't soon be forgotten.  There is still more lifting to do... but, from here on out, most of our lifting will be done elsewhere.