VERY PERSONAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE MISSIONARY PROGRAM

   This blog will be different than any other blog we have written.  It doesn't reflect official church policy or the opinion of anyone other than ourselves, but these thoughts come from deep within us.
   There are four tiers of service within the program we call "missionary work."  Each is separate although they have great influence upon each other.  Each associates almost exclusively within their own group, only briefly touching the other groups. Each has a job to do, and by and large, they all do their job extremely well despite great sacrifice.

   The first group are the decision makers.  These include the General and Area Authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the mission presidencies and their wives.  They don't baptize anyone.  They don't walk the dangerous streets or sleep in the sweltering heat of some tiny apartment.  But, they carry an incredibly heavy burden.  The decisions they make affect the lives of each of the other three groups.  What they decree is humbly followed by all of the others.  The weight of such responsibility lays gravely upon their minds.  We have only briefly, and from the sidelines, seen the personal price they must pay to stand in these positions, but in those brief moments we have seen great anguish as they strive to know the will of Heavenly Father for each of those over whom they have charge. In exchange for their role in the missionary program they receive the majority of the fame - if you could call it that.  They will be the ones that speak in front of thousands.  They will be the ones who have their names and faces in the newspapers and Church magazines.  Every day there will be thousands upon thousands of people who mention them in their prayers.  "Bless our mission president" is a regular part of our prayers, and we imagine the prayers of most who belong in some way to this great missionary program.



Two of the army of 80,000.

   The second group are the ones we typically see as the "missionaries." They are the massive army of 80,000 young men and women who offer the sacrifice of two years of their lives. They follow the directions of group #1 and bear the brunt of the danger.  If anyone is going to lose their life in missionary service, they will almost always come from the ranks of this group. They are the ones who will climb onto the slick and leaky roof of an investigator to nail down a piece of plastic to temporarily provide some comfort for the widow within.  These are the ones who eat whatever is offered and wear down the soles of their shoes from pounding the rocky and muddy streets of the tiny pueblos to which they are assigned.  In exchange for their sweat and sacrifice they get the lion's share of the joy.  It will be their photograph that will forever hang upon the wall of a convert.  They will also receive the greatest level of personal growth, because in exchange for the countless witnesses they bear of the Savior, they will receive the outpouring of the Holy Ghost which will sanctify them.  Every member of the Church has seen what they call the "glow" of a recently returned missionary.  That, and a lifetime of wonderful memories and life-altering experiences, is their reward.  And it makes it all worthwhile.

   The third group is the office staff and those others who work behind the scenes.  They are the blue collar workers - the truck drivers, the moving company, the rental agency and the accounting firms. 
They sit for hours upon hours in hospital waiting rooms just for emotional support.  They carry boxes up and down flights of stairs.  They selflessly sit at a desk hour after hour entering into the computer the results of group #2's efforts... and so much more.  Like group #1, they baptize no one, but unlike them, they also make no real decisions. They work to increase the effectiveness of groups #1 and #2, but they receive none of the applause. They are just the name on the cancelled check or the expired housing contract.  They are the purchaser of the products, the suppliers of the stock and the managers of the mundane.  They are necessary, but they are almost invisible.  Some members of this group are paid employees; others are unpaid missionaries just like group #2 but with special assignments.  Their rewards come in the opportunity it is to serve.  Just knowing that you answered the call is its own reward.



LaRae and Elder Rangel at the immigration office

Group #3 has one very integral participant that deserves special mention. They are a part of group #1, but most of what they do is behind the scenes. It is the mission president's wife.  Her efforts to keep her family intact while they are away for three years and to keep her husband healthy and happy cannot be overstated. She will sit silently and alone for hours on end waiting in the hallways of chapels while her husband interviews and instructs.  His schedule becomes her schedule.  Both of those we have known personally haven't spoken the language of the people, so they have served only through love.  The reward for them is that they are loved and remembered in return.
 
 Group four is comprised of the faithful families who go without vacations or new tires so they can scrape together the $400 per month necessary to keep groups #1, #2 and #3 out in the field.  They are the group who lay fearfully awake at night wondering how their "missionary" is doing because the letters they receive are usually short and sketchy.  They are the power that drives this whole program.  Without their money, their prayers and their lifelong diligent efforts to prepare their child to serve, nothing could ever be accomplished.  But, they pay such a price!  For two years they will sit at the football game alone.  For two years they will cry at night because of how deeply they miss their son's or daughter's smile. They are the "pray-ers" - not the "prayed-for."
   Today we are asking ourselves, if we were God, who would we bless the most?  We've been active participants in groups #2, #3, and #4. Admittedly, we know very little of the challenges faced by group #1. However, we think that if we were God, we would choose group #4 - the parents and families of the missionaries.  In our opinion they offer the greatest sacrifice. The offering of their child is so symbolic in our minds of Another who offered His Child so that the world could be blessed.

  May God bless the righteous fathers and mothers whose sacrifice goes largely unnoticed.  May He recognize and sanctify their part in this massive machine that we simply call the missionary program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

SAYING "SO LONG" TO GIANTS

Eight battle tested, experienced and weary missionaries went home this week.  Between them they combined for sixteen years of missionary service away from home, family and friends.  Between them they combined for more than eight years of time as senior companions, trainers, zone and district leaders, mission secretaries and APs.  These eight have left their imprint upon this land and this people.  They also left their mark upon us.  They have become our friends.

From left: Elder Christensen, Elder Salcido, Elder Rangel, Sister Fernandez, Elder Anderson, Elder Hansen, Elder Sullivan and Elder Polendo.

It never is hard to get a smile out of a missionary who is about to return home.  Of course, they are excited to see their families again.  But, Wednesday night as we gathered in the home of President and Sister Dester for one last time together they were asked to share a particular lesson that they had learned from their sacrifice and service over these past two years.  They spoke of having learned patience and acceptance of others and their agency. They spoke of a deepened appreciation for the atonement of Jesus Christ and for an awakening friendship with Him.  They spoke of learning how to learn, of coming to an appreciation of the scriptures as a source of truth and answers.  They spoke of coming to love a new land and people.  Elder Hansen perhaps said it best.  He said, "I never knew how happy I could be.  I had never experienced happiness to this level before."  They repeatedly used words like, "grateful," or "opportunity," or "privilege."  We offer an open challenge to the world to show us any other group of 21 year olds who know any better these incredibly important truths.  What is more, they haven't only come to know these truths, they have come to live them, apply them and allow themselves to be governed by them.  You could do nothing better for yourself or for your future family than to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We are so grateful for this opportunity and privilege in our lives right now to be counted amongst this group. 
    Others missionaries also arrived this week.  That is the cycle of this inspired program.  The experienced are replaced by the inexperienced - the proven by the unproven.  The miracle of this missionary program is that two years from now some other blogger will post pictures of these new ones. Just like these eight, they will have shirts and shoes that are worn and ragged and will have become powerful and devoted witnesses for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
 

   Each one of these new missionaries has done the best they could to prepare themselves spiritually and emotionally for this time of service.  The sacrifice asked of them will be equal to the sacrifice that was required of the eight that left.  In offering that sacrifice they will be blessed.
   So, what begins must also end.  Suitcases that were once shiny and new are now tossed for the last time on top of the bus.  Their time is now over.  However, what they have learned will stay with them for a lifetime.  They will speak of their mission at nearly every opportunity forever.  So, for awhile, we say "Goodbye, our friends."

The words of a favorite Mormon hymn seem a fitting end to this blog.  "God be with you 'till we meet again; keep love's banner floating o'er you; smite death's threatening wave before you;  God be with you till we meet again."

THE SIGHTS, SOUNDS AND COLORS OF HONDURAS

This is such a beautiful land; God-blessed in so many ways!  When we first arrived we noticed so many things that were not like the land we had left behind.  Some of those things bothered us; some of those things made us laugh.  Today, we see this land differently.  It is the home of a people that we have come to love very much.  In our eyes, both they and their land have grown in their beauty.  For a brief moment, come join with us on a tour of the sights, sounds and colors of Honduras.

One sound heard nearly every day from August through December is the booming roll of thunder.  Rain is a part of life here.  It fills the streets and turns them into running rivers.  Every missionary has tales of wading through knee-deep streams of water in order to get to their next appointment.  Almost miraculously as quickly as the streets fill with water, they will be dry again.  We love this about Honduras.

Hondurans love color! Their homes and bedrooms are often painted in mustard yellow or brilliant shades of red or green.  This roadside pottery shop along the road to Tegucigalpa is one of many places where color is given a front-row seat to the world. 

We love the quaintness of this country.  We found this little rope bridge on our way to Copan.  The river runs brown with the eroding soil of a recent rainstorm.  This little bridge probably provides the only crossing point for many miles for the families that live on the other side of the river. 

We couldn't help but wonder how many people would want to have their hair styled at this beauty shop in Chamelecon.  We thought that the pink bars over the windows were a good touch.  Homemade signs such as this adorn many of the businesses in town. 
    Oh, so many wonderful and different things form a part of our days.  Where else in the world would you see things such as these?

Mushrooms the size of dinner plates, warning signs to all scorpions who dare to enter the homes of the missionaries, (The sign says, "This is what is going to happen to all scorpions who enter our house) and banana trees that grow wild.  It is an untamed and wonderful land.  Can you honestly do anything other than look upon these sights with a sense of appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us.

Soldier guards the statue of President Morazán, Roadside fruit stand, and tiny stand selling bottles of honey.

All of these things are beautiful.  But, without a doubt the most beautiful things we see are the smiles upon the faces of our incredible missionaries.  It would be difficult to live in this land and not be amazed at the beauty it offers, but it is impossible to meet these young men and women and not be impressed by their goodness, their drive and motivation and the excitement they feel to share the message of the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days. 

Top row, left to right:  Elder Polendo, Elder Birt, Sister Andrade and Sister Lopez, Elder Rangel and us.  Second row: Elder Bingham and Elder Lindsay, Sister Marroquin and Sister Cifuentes, Sister Pickett, Sister Bahr, Sister Rodas and Sister Escalante. Bottom row: Elder Pineda, Elder Chub, Elder Gobea, Elder Perez, Elder Dean, Elder Limon, Elder Nichols and Elder Martinez.
    Today we finish 16 months as senior missionaries - seven more to go!  We have been involved with a thousand different duties and responsibilities.  We have walked the streets of nearly every town in our mission that presently has missionaries.  We have rubbed shoulders, shared meals and learned a thousand lessons from amazing, spiritual men and their wives - our mission presidents.  We have enjoyed our service.  Indeed, we have been blessed.

CASTING OUR SEEDS OUT A LITTLE FURTHER

In May of this year we received a letter from Elder Kevin Duncan of the Quorum of the Seventy asking us if we would be willing to travel to some of the other missions here in Latin America and to teach them the things that we were doing in the office that had benefited our mission.  Of course, we were willing to do whatever was asked of us.  This week we made the first of those training trips.  We visited the two missions in Tegucigalpa - the Tegucigalpa and the Comayaguela Missions.  It was a wonderful experience and very productive.  We shared what we knew and learned a lot from them at the same time.  Some of the changes that we initiated in our mission are now being implemented in three other missions.  The seeds of our efforts are spreading out a little further.  It is really quite an honor.

This was the view from our room on the 11th floor of the Marriot Hotel where we stayed the night.  It was conveniently located near the offices of these two missions and it was extremely comfortable.  We both commented in the morning that we felt more rested than any other day of our mission.  That's what a king sized bed and good air conditioning can do for you.



Tegucigalpa is just a huge city built on mountains.  Thousands and thousands of red roofed homes continue to build ever higher on the mountains that form this land. We drove down into the city center, but didn't like it very much.

While we were there we were blessed to be able to spend time with both President Fortuna of the Comayaguela Mission and President Hernandez of the Tegucigalpa Mission and with their office staffs. President Fortuna was from Santa Domingo: President Hernandez was from El Salvador.  Both were extremely gracious and appreciative for what we were trying to do.  Our experience was very positive.  We hope that the reports we send to these missions and to Elder Duncan will reflect adequately what we observed and propose.

After we were finished we took the opportunity to do a bit of sight seeing on the way home.  This is the Basilica of Suyapa and is, perhaps, the most famous building in Honduras.  It was extremely beautiful. 

One of many altars in the basilica, a stained glass window of the coronation of Mary, and the great hall.

This basilica is famous for its stain glass windows that line both sides of the massive general hall.  Each window was, at least 30 feet tall by 15 feet wide. The Virgen de Suyapa, who is believed by many to have performed hundreds of miracles, is a tiny wooden statue, measuring only 2 1/2 inches tall. She is brought to the large basilica on holidays, especially for the annual Feria de la Virgen de Suyapa beginning in February.  People from all over Latin America come to worship here in hopes of obtaining miracles.  Except for these special occasions, the wooden statue is kept in the much more simple Church of Suyapa which is only 50 yards behind this basilica.

The Cathedral of Suyapa directly behind the Basilica. 

Most Hondurans believe the statue was miraculously discovered in 1747 by a common laborer by the name of Alejandro Colindres.  After spending the day clearing some corn fields east of Tegucigalpa he grew tired and stopped in a field to spend the night.  Colindres was awakened in the night by a sharp pain in his side and discovered that he was sleeping on something.  The next morning he discovered that he had been sleeping on a tiny statue of this virgin.  He took it home and put it on his family's altar.  Sometime later miracles began to occur.  It was then that this church was constructed to honor her.


Candles burning for requested miracles, Suyapa, and the altar where the tiny statue is placed.  It is in the gold circle.

We couldn't stay much later in Tegucigalpa because we wanted to stop in a city named Comayagua (which means land of abundant water). They are famous for having the world's second oldest working clock.  It was built in 1100 AD and has worked continuously since.  It was brought over to Honduras from Spain in 1756.

The Cathedral of Comayagua.  The clock is the second oldest working clock in the world.

We paid a fellow a few dollars to take us inside the cathedral and up into the bell and clock tower.  By Comayagua law there cannot be any building in town that is taller than this cathedral, so we had a great view of the city. 

Comayagua was the first capital of Honduras and remains today a very lovely city.  The cathedral was beautiful.  As is typical there are three separate altars in this cathedral.  The one shown in the picture is the center of the three, but all are gold covered, massive and ornate.  After this brief tour the same man walked with us through several blocks of the city showing us the first Treasury Building, the first Presidential Palace, the first University and more.  We saw the house where one of their presidents was assassinated in 1865, an ancient water system, a guarded statue of President Morazán - the man who put Honduras on the map and a lot more.  It was a lovely, historically important city. 

Us in front of the first Presidential Palace

 

This mission has enriched our lives in so many ways.  We've had opportunities that few retired couples will ever have.  We've lived among and learned to love another people and culture.  We've seen great wonders of historical value.  We've learned new skills and had the privilege of spending our days together.  A mission as a senior couple is a wonderful way to spend your golden years.

AN UNEXPECTED TRIP TO THE TEGUCIGALPA TEMPLE

Very unexpectedly this week President Dester asked us if we would like to go to Tegucigalpa.  One of our missionaries had received permission to travel to the temple to be sealed to his parents and he wondered if we would accompany him and his companion.  Well... duh... YES!  We have wanted to go to the temple since it opened in March. 

It was an amazing experience and it has left us with a renewed energy and excitement for the missionary work we are doing.  When we arrived in Tegucigalpa we kind of got lost for awhile and so by the time we arrived at the temple it was already getting dark.  We spent about an hour just walking around the grounds and basking in the peace of this spectacularly beautiful setting.

I know... I know... it looks like a postcard, but this is a real photograph! I took it! It shows where we spent the night. It is called the Guest House and was built so people who traveled to the temple from a great distance would be able to have a nice place to stay that didn't cost much.  It is set up for families and each room has three sets of bunk beds. You couldn't beat the view from our bedroom window.  We were excited to get up the next morning and to spend some time in the temple.

When we arrived the temple presidency was just about ready to begin their weekly Family Home Evening and they invited us to join with them.  Right now there are four couples from the United States serving in this temple. One of them, Brother and Sister Cazier, serve in the temple presidency.  The other three couples serve as ordinance workers.  They all live in the Guest House. One couple was on their 5th mission!  They were both 80 years old, spoke only enough Spanish to do the ordinances, and they were as happy as any couple we've ever seen.  For us it was quite a privilege to be there with them this night.

The next morning we searched for the parents of Elder Miranda so that we could establish the schedule for the day.  It was a pleasure meeting with them.  They had arrived after midnight and so they had to spend the night sleeping in the bus that had brought them from Nicaragua. It was decided that they would be sealed together as a family at 4:00 p.m. that afternoon.  That left our morning free to attend the temple.  Listening to the temple sessions in Spanish was a good experience for us both.  We understood almost all of it, only occasionally getting lost when the speaking got too fast.  The temple was so beautiful that I just longed to take a couple pictures so you could all see it.  But, you'll have to be content with seeing the outside.

Other than seeing and attending the temple we really weren't too impressed with Tegucigalpa.  We are glad that we were blessed to have the opportunity to see it, but it is just a big city with a lot of houses.  While we were lost we drove right by the most famous building in the city - the Catholic cathedral.  But, most of our time was spent in bumper to bumper traffic. It wasn't all that impressive.

Not every aspect of the trip went smoothly, but we had a great time and are extremely grateful for the opportunity that was given to us.  We were happy for Elder Miranda and his parents.  Their stake had traveled through the night from Bello Horizante, Nicaragua in order to be there.  They will stay for a couple of days in the Guest House and attend the temple while they are there.  What a blessing it is for them to have a temple closer to their home. 
    It was quite late by the time we got home that night and we were physically tired, but we were happy.  The temple and the ordinances that are found therein are the greatest blessing found upon the earth at this time.  If you would like to know more about the temple and the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints, please go to ldschurch.org.  We have missed being able to attend the temple while we have been serving here in Honduras.  We look forward to being able to spend many wonderful days within the walls of these sacred buildings after we return home.

MIXING WORK WITH PLEASURE

It has been an incredible blessing to serve with President and Sister Dester since the mission split.  They are so fun to be around.  This past weekend we got the chance to drive out to Copan Ruinas with them.  It was a "business-mixed-with-pleasure" type of trip.  They needed to meet the branch presidency and see the missionaries, and we needed to do house inspections.  So, we decided to make a weekend of it. 

Copan Ruinas is the furthest outpost of missionaries we have in the mission.  It is a four-hour drive over winding and potholed roads from San Pedro Sula.  It is considerably cooler than where we live because it is high in the mountains.  We loved the city. 

All the streets were paved with a rough stone.  There were hills everywhere.  We definitely felt bad for Elder Duff and Elder Vermont who serve here as we looked at the hundreds of hills they have to climb everyday.  But, the people were friendly, the feeling of the city was one of safety.  We wouldn't mind going back there someday.
    We stayed overnight in a cute little hotel.  There were only four rooms and we got the two rooms with the balconies that hung out over the road.  It was awesome!  After dinner at "Twisted Tanyas" we got together in the Dester's room and played games until late into the night.  Amazingly, none of our phones rang the entire night.  It was like the missionaries all knew that we needed a little vacation.

We had seen the ruins before but this time we hired a guide to show us around and we think that it made the experience even better.  These ruins date back to 400 AD.  The Mayan culture flourished for about 300 years and ended sometime during the eighth century.  The guide told us that it was a society built around very strong religious beliefs which included human sacrifice.  The temple was placed in the center of the city and only the rulers of the city were allowed to enter.  Their gods were represented by the sun, the wind, the water and the earth. 

I don't know if we will ever see this part of the world again, but we truly enjoyed our time this weekend.  They are excavating more and more ruins each year, so if we do ever make it back this way again, there will be more to see.  

 

VISIT FROM OUR AREA AUTHORITY

From time to time we are blessed to have a visiting authority.  This past week Elder Kevin Duncan of the First Quorum of the Seventy and his wife were with us for three days of training.  Half of the mission was with him the first day; the other have the second, and the zone leaders the third.  He encouraged better use of time and daily study of the scriptures.  He told them to teach the "blessings of the gospel" rather than focusing on the all of the "shoulds." He emphasized that they weren't going to give them a rule for every situation.  They needed to govern themselves to a great degree.  It was a good experience for all.  

The zone of Villanueva
Front: Zelada, Ugarte, Desters, Duncans, Jimenez, Neibaur, Pons, Morales.
Back: Bailey, Alonso, Pace, Bryce, Sibrian, Esperanza, Roberts, Eulogio, Amezcua , Estevez, Hernandez, Figueroa, Pacheco, DeGrissels, Mower, Ramirez
Not shown: Castro, Velasquez

The zone of Copan
Front: Young, Bautista, Desters, Duncans, Gomorah, Curtis, Arcia, Williams
Back: Aiono, Giron, Vargas, Coc, Arnold, Hansen, Garcia, Guevara  Ro, Cochran ,Rodriguez, Duff, Vermont, Lane.

The zone of Merendon
Front: Perez, Rodriguez, Desters, Duncan, Jordan, Chanchavac, Espinosa    .
Back: Juarez, Limon, Larsen, Permann, Chub, Pineda, Crisostomo, Dean.
Not shown: Morales

The zone of Cofradia
Front: Rodriguez, Salcido, Desters, Duncans, Porter, Lopez
Back: Fitgerald, Lorenzo, Stutzman, Navas, Daniels, Williams, Martinez, Rivera, Castillo, Valdez, Sullivan, Moreno

The zone of San Pedro Sula
Front: Tanner, Toliver, Fernandez, Desters, Duncans, Vance, Ramirez, Aguilar
Middle: Cardova, Bayles, Moreno, Reyes
Back: 'Itaehau, McRae, Chavarria, Funez, Fetzer, Palma, Camacho, Underwood, Lui, Anderson, Dawson, Jimenez, Ramirez, Cani, VanNeck, Hernandez 

The zone of Choloma
Front: Pickett, Escalante, Bahr, Rodas, Desters, Duncans, Andrade, Lopez, Marroquin, Cifuentes
Back: Madsen, Palma, Remington, Birt, Rangel, King, Polendo, Bingham, Taafua, Lindsay, Dorrough, Reyes, Zura, Novoa

The zone of Fesitranh
Front: McQuistion, Vasquez, Desters, Duncans, Alvarez, Marley
Back: Nichols, Ramirez, Pablo, Martinez, Merlos, Zitting, Shuga, West, Garcia, Barba, Christensen, Guaran 

The zone of Valle De Sula
Front: Parada, Miranda, Desters, Duncans, Contreras, Santiago
Back: Cruz, Gomez, Jimenez, Melendez, Vasquez, Lucas, Garcia, Cortez Ruiz



The office staff
Front: Loyo, Desters, Duncans, Hebert
Bergquist, Coronel, LaRae and Wayne John

 

Right now we have 156 missionaries, but more are coming.  We expect to have about 250 missionaries by the middle of next year.