I LOVE MY COMPANION

When I met LaRae I had very little to offer.  I was young, inexperienced, uneducated and still had three and one-half years of a four-year US Army commitment left before I could even start my college education.  The war in Vietnam had reached its apex and there was an uncertainty in the air.  I was just over a year returned from my LDS mission to Chile and in the middle of a year long language training program at the Presidio of Monterey, California. LaRae was home for the summer from BYU.  We were from completely different states and status.  However, we both went to church.  That is where we met.  And it has been our common feelings about the Church and the gospel that have bound us together for the past many years.  In the truest sense of the word, she is my companion. This week she celebrated her birthday.

As you can tell from the candles, LaRae turned the big 6-0.  She has never worried much about her age.  She takes it all in stride, just like she does with any "challenge."  Little things like age, location and wealth aren't the things that matter most to her.  She focuses her energies on family, faith and friends.  The rest can take care of itself.
    She has never been one that demanded pricey gifts.  A dandelion picked by a child would brighten her day.  She loves all things that are beautiful.  Before coming here to Honduras she would spend hours and hours in our yard planting and cultivating her flowers. More than going to a movie, she enjoyed just sitting on the back deck and gazing out over the beauty that she had helped to create.  When a coven of quail decided to take up there abode in our backyard, she would marvel at them each time they trotted across the yard to feed upon the birdseed she had left for them.  Very simple things bring my companion great joy.  Happy birthday, sweetheart!  I'm glad you are my companion.

After talking with our son this week we found out that you could plant pineapple by just placing the top in the ground.  So, we decided to give it a try.  The pineapple down here is delicious and if we can grow one it will even make it sweeter.

Zone conferences were held this week.  President and Sister Dester, along with our Assistants to the President, Elders Hebert and Polendo, were kept quite busy.  The message they taught was one of the importance of obedience.  Obedience really does bring down the blessings of heaven.  The vast majority of these young men and women follow the rules with exactness.  They are down here serving for the right reasons.  Wayne made a powerpoint presentation about houses and the problems we encounter.  The missionaries got a good laugh at the weird things we have seen.
   Zone conferences provide the missionaries a chance to see old friends, get re-energized and even to get the occasional toe problem fixed.  Sister Tolliver, our mission nurse, always has her hands full at these functions.  Health concerns are a real issue.  With 150 missionaries - and growing fast - there seems to always be someone who is sick. 
 

We are always receiving supplies.  Sometimes they take longer to arrive than we would like, but eventually they get here.  114 boxes of Book of Mormon, pamphlets, Bibles and more.  Hauling them around from place to place is about all the exercise we get.  It has now been six weeks since the San Pedro Sula Mission split into two.  It has taken us that long to get the new mission up and running efficiently.  There were just so many things that had to be done.  We have made a half dozen trips to Office Depot for supplies.  We have had to obtain a new post office box, get new letter head, set up new bank accounts and new checks, create a new mission seal for official documents, replace all of the old contacts in our email account and much more.  It has been a busy month.  Time has flown by. 
    What a privilege it is to serve! Everyday another opportunity.  We can hardly wait to find out what next week will bring.