OUR LAST HONDURAS CHRISTMAS

We are old enough now that we feel we can say with a high degree of certainty that some of our Christmas traditions are never going to change.

 For us it just wouldn't be Christmas without our salami and cheese hoagie sandwiches and our nachos.  A&W root beer isn't available everywhere, we're sure, but we were able to get a couple of cans of it this year which added even more to our Christmas eve's traditional meal.  LaRae's homemade candy filled the house with Christmas smells and filled our tummies as well as those of many missionaries.  We had to search far and wide to find cookie cutters, but LaRae's cookies were delightful and were enjoyed by all who were lucky enough to get one.

Our most special holiday tradition is to get together with family and that is what we did this year as well.  President and Sister Dester and President and Sister Klein have become like family to us.  Sister Klein wasn't with us for this Christmas dinner because she has flown home to her daughter's wedding reception.  Our time here was so sweet.  There was some "shop talk" that went on around the table as one would expect, but most of the time we just talked and laughed about family and former things.  After dinner there was time to sit out on the patio and relax in our 85 degree temperatures.

 

Gift giving is, of course, a tradition for us.  We kept our Christmas tree from last year and reused it with an equal amount of appreciation.  This year we gave chocolates to all of our guards (eight of them) and LDS Christmas DVDs to our eight neighboring townhouses.  In some cases it was the first time we had met them.  We had wonderful chats with them and look forward to getting to know them better.  LaRae and I exchanged tiny gifts - fridge magnets, necklace, nuts, candy and a tortilla saver.  We received a wooden countdown marker from Jennifer.  "Ninety-six days until we Return With Honor."  It was sweet.  We'll get the rest of our gifts sometime in January.  Oh, the "snail-mail" in Honduras!

The highlight for us was the privilege of being able to talk to family.  We spent from early morning until late at night talking with each of our children, and our Dad and brothers and sisters.  Skype is a modern miracle and makes serving a senior mission far easier.  We were able to see a portion of the joy each family was experiencing.  For this  blessing we are particularly grateful. It was nice to see that many of our Christmas traditions are being continued into the next generation. 

Otherwise, Christmas down here is just about the same as it was back home.  We didn't see Santa very often but we did see him once in the streets as we drove by.  The real question is...who is that "green man?"  The big malls were decorated with trees and ornaments and school choirs sang Christmas carols in both English and Spanish. The local Walmart (Diunsa) was almost completely emptied out of merchandise with the rush of their version of Black Friday. 

 So, from all of us down here in Honduras who are doing our best to offer the gift of the true gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, we wish you a Merry Christmas.

A MISSIONARY CHRISTMAS

 

Most of our missionaries would agree that the two hardest days of their missions are the two Christmas days that they miss being with their families. They dream of the Christmas days of the past whether they were white like the ones at our home, or hot and balmy like the one we will have this year.  At Christmas time there is nowhere like home!  We do our best to ease the loneliness of their situation and spread a little cheer.

Several times we have stuffed our car to the brim delivering Christmas packages that have come from families.  Back and forth to the post office, and up and down our office stairs we have gone in order to bring a smile to the faces of those who receive them.  Very few packages arrive for those missionaries who serve here from Latin America, but they often get to enjoy the treats that their companions receive.

This week we had a Christmas party for all of our missionaries.  We met in the chapel for a brief devotional thought by President and Sister Dester, then sang Christmas carols for about thirty minutes.  After that we had a very nice luncheon and topped it all off with a showing of "It's A Wonderful Life."  LaRae and Sister Dester made brownies and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream topped it all off.

Brother and Sister Kemish and Ana Martinez did the catering of our luncheon.  They always do a great job.  This time we had chicken cordon bleu, rice, potatoes, carrots, beans and rolls.

We joined with the Desters for an evening to tie ribbons around a special message for each missionary - green was in Spanish and red in English.  A candy cane went with each.

Zone pictures are a favorites souvenir of missionaries.  So we took photos of each zone.

Zona San Pedro Sula

Top left: Elders Hernandez, Baird, Ramirez, West, Woods, Hernandez, Roberts, Lui, Shuga, Zitting, Coronel, Alonso, Cani, Camacho, Cochran, Chajon, Lane, Alonso, Martinez, Jordan Garcia, Castillo.

Seated from left: Sisters Curtis, Marroquin, Escalante, McCuistion, President and Sister Dester, Sisters Morales, Joaquin, Vance and Bayles.

Zona Valle de Sula

From left back: Elders Fitzgerald, Palma, Contreras, Jaurez, Rios, Chuquisala

Seated left: Elders Novoa, Gomez, Garcia, President and Sister Dester, Elders Esperanza, Cortez, Galarza.

Zona Cofradia

From top left: Elders Erickson, Parada, Soto, Amescua, Maradiaga, Gonzalez, Valdez, Ollis, Reyes, Madsen, Scott, Cantarero, Duff, Shumway.

Seated from left: Elder Navas, Pineda, Lindsay, Rodriguez, President and Sister Dester, Sisters Moron, Pons, Elders Mower, Loyo.

Zona Merendon

Top left: Elders Dorrough, Estrada, Chub, Vermont, Stutzman, Cabrera

Seated left: Elders Cruz, Jimenez, Estevez, President and Sister Dester, Elders Zura, Lorenzo, Chanchavac

Zona Choloma

From top left: Elders Rodriquez, Guevara, Roldan, Lopez, Arnold, Morales, Jimenez,Williams, Pace, Hernandez, Quispe, Ramirez, Bailey, Best

Seated left: Sisters Johnson, Reyes, Harmon, Pickett, Gardner, President and Sister Dester, Sisters Vasquez, Castaneda, Jimenez, Tercero

Zona Yojoa

Top left: Elders Remington, Chapeton, Ramirez, Bryce, King, Marrero, Gutierrez, Monge, Rodriguez, Martinez, Passow, Itaehau

Seated left: Sisters Lopez, Marley, Luna, Alvarez, President and Sister Dester, Sisters Ramirez, Lopez

 

Zona Villanueva

Top left: Elders Van Neck, Ayala, Fetzer, Figueroa, Taafua, McRae, Ro

Seated left: Elders Chrisostomo, Merlos, Paredes, President and Sister Dester, Elders Santiago, Pacheco

Zona Fesitranh

Top left; Elders Sibrian, Castro, Moreno, Palma, Chavarria, Dawson, Holmes, Daniels, Espinosa, Meono, Miranda, Eulogio

Seated left: Sisters Porter, Grondel, Andrade, Dominguez, President and Sister Dester, Sister John, Elder John, Sisters Bahr, Whittle.

 

Zona Copan

 Back Left: Elders Vasquez, Loyo, Avalos, Coc, Dean, Aiono, Moes, Bingham, Larsen, Permann, DeGriselle, Young, Lyon, Mower, Nichols, Wing, Pablo, Giron, Melendez, Vargas.

Second row from left: Sisters Neibaur, Cumatz, Cardona, Miller, Robertson, Zelada, Arcia and Gisseman.

Seated: President and Sister Dester

 

From the 177 missionaries presently serving in the Honduras San Pedro Sula West Mission we send our love and greetings to all the families of missionaries who follow this blog.  We wish you a Merry Christmas.  We, of course, would love to be home with you, but for this short time we are grateful to be in the service of Him whose birth we celebrate at this season. 

STAYING SAFE IN HONDURAS

Much is made of the fact that Honduras - and specifically San Pedro Sula - is the murder capital of the world.  You can't dispute the facts.  Day after day the headlines of the newspapers announce another tragedy.  However, our missionaries are safe!  They are protected in a hundred different ways.  For example: health. 

Some people fear for their health when coming to Honduras.  We are careful with what we eat, and have never had much problem.  However, health issues are a part of mission life.  Beside the normal bouts with stomach problems we deal with a lot of ingrown toenails, athlete's foot, sun burn and heat rashes, mosquito bites and more.  We provide medicine every week to those in need.  Occasionally, someone has a serious problem.  This week Elder Rivera had to have his appendix removed and we were able to spend some time with him as he recovered.  The hospital was clean and orderly and the surgery went off without a hiccup.  President Dester stayed with Elder Rivera until he came out of surgery and was sleeping soundly.  We were there the next morning so he wouldn't be alone.  Elder Palma had a problem of a different kind.  He got bit by a rat.  We were positive that he would need rabies shots and so he was taken to a rabies clinic to begin the process.  They insisted that a tetanus shot would suffice.  So our nurse, Sister Bayles, purchased the injection and that is what he got.  Our whole office got a great laugh watching him squirm.  We love these missionaries.  P.S. He is fine!

Secondly... where the missionaries live. 

More and more, the communities here in San Pedro Sula are placing security guards and gates around their homes.  There are literally hundreds of such gates and entrances.  They check your identification when you enter, and call ahead to the family you intend to visit.  Inside of these places it is pretty safe.  The majority of our missionaries live behind some sort of security gate.

These security gates come in all shapes and sizes - the determining factor is how much money the tenants behind the gates have.

 

Thirdly... they (we) are protected by the people - most of whom are wonderful, kind and loving.

This week a hardened gang member stopped at the home of two of our missionaries and warned them that a rival gang was going to be there that night dressed in white shirts.  "To avoid being hurt," he warned, "you need to stay off the streets tonight."  Every single day people watch out for the missionaries of this Church.  A complete stranger walked up to us after we had just taken money out of an ATM that is visible from the street and warned us that we should never use any ATM that is so easily observed by those who pass by.  He added, "You need to always go inside of the bank." He then told us that his father had been killed doing exactly what we had just done. The lesson was learned.  Taxi drivers warn us of areas that are too dangerous to enter.  Members of the Church call frequently warning that a missionary was late getting home that night.  The local people know the dangers and they keep us safe.

Fourth... we are protected from above.

We are going to speak of this factor very reverently.  We recognize that there may be some who read this blog who are not of our faith and may not fully understand these words.  But, all we say is true.  God protects these young missionaries - often in very mysterious ways.  Elder Williams told of a time he missed his normal bus and had to wait for the next one.  He fretted for the fifteen minutes that he waited because he knew it would make him late.  However, only five minutes down the road they passed the former bus which had been hijacked.  People were both robbed and shot.  Elder Shuga left his backpack on a crowded bus. It contained information that he needed for the work.  Three hours later he saw a bus that he thought looked the same; he flagged it down; and there it was - his backpack!  A simple phone call was what got us out of our house the night thieves broke into our home.  Quick words of counsel, when heeded, have protected these missionaries for thirty-eight years!  No LDS missionary has ever been killed in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.  We believe that God guides this work and those incredible men and women who are called to preside over these missions.

These eight wonderful missionaries are living proof of all we have said.  From left: Elder Guaran, Elder Barba, Elder Funes, Sister Tolliver, Sister Lopez, Sister Cifuentes, Elder Lucas and Elder Garcia.  President and Sister Dester are seated.  They leave their very successful missions healthy and happy, having met every challenge with courage and safety. We are so proud of them.  Goodbye, our friends.

WALKING THROUGH HONDURAS

The public streets of Honduras are literally strewn with garbage.  The problem has grown to the stage where no one even seems to notice it anymore.  Wherever you are is where you drop your garbage.  Some gets eaten by the goats and sheep that graze the road sides freely.  However, that which is uneaten continues to mound up until it obscures the natural beauty of this land.

It's not very often that we get home from the office before dark.  On those days when we do get home early enough, we leave the safety of our housing compound and get a tiny bit of exercise by walking.  We stay within the confines of the guarded colony which surrounds our housing complex.  The streets we walk don't look like the streets pictured above.  We thought you might enjoy accompanying us today on our walk.



Our walk is about two miles long and will take us about 30 minutes.

There aren't many sidewalks, but there are manicured roadways, flowers in bloom and roads that have been swept clean of the normal dust and grime for us to enjoy.  This area is called Bosques del Merendon.  There are a number of homes being built further up the road, and some fences that for now stand guard over empty fields.  This area is the home of the most wealthy of families here in San Pedro Sula.  Most of the lots are still undeveloped, but there is lots of room to grow.  Most of the homes that are built have private security guards in addition to the guards that watch over this private colony's entry. 
   The birds that we hear sound more wild than the birds we have known before. Trees soar more that a hundred feet into the blue sky above us.  Occasionally we will see an animal scurry across the road in front of us - usually it is a rat-like animal called a taper (we think).

It provides a peaceful atmosphere for us to unwind from the stress of the mission office.  Sadly, even here we don't dare be outside once the sun sets.  So, we don't pause long to admire the sights.  We have to keep walking.

Any area that is not trimmed and manicured soon grows into a dense, impenetrable jungle.

We do see a few things that we have never seen before.  This nest used to house either ants, wasps or termites; we just don't know.  We didn't dare disturb it for fear that it wasn't completely uninhabited.

Sometimes the beauty is breathtaking.

We pass no one on the streets; and no one passes us. The air is muggy and the temperature is hot. We talk about our day - the sad and the funny.  We talk about our future plans.  And, of course, we talk about family.  It's a wonderful part of our day.  But, now it is time to turn around and head for home.

The San Pedro Sula valley lies below us.  It will very soon disappear into the darkness as year round the sun sets by 6:00 p.m.  It seems to transition from light to dark extremely quickly here.  So, for today our walk is over.  We hope that you enjoyed it. 



 

THANKSGIVING DAY

Thanksgiving isn't celebrated as a holiday in Honduras. There is no great rush on the purchase of turkeys or pumpkin pie.  Stores don't close and families don't gather together.  Work goes on as normal - both for the people of Honduras and for our missionaries.  But, we were amongst the fortunate few who found a way to make this day special. For us, Thursday was quite a milestone.  It not only was Thanksgiving, but it marked our 18th month as missionaries in Honduras.

It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without pie.  It is funny how certain things forge themselves into being more than just pleasant traditions.  Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie are more than just food; they are the anchors that hold us firmly to our roots as Americans. Partaking of them on this day is as emotionally important to us as it is delicious. 

And it just isn't Thanksgiving without family!  We missed our children and grandchildren today.  But, the people we have met here in Honduras and who have now served by our side in this mighty work have become more like family than just friends.  What a blessing it has been to be with the Desters and the Kleins.  This Thanksgiving we also had President Dester's brother and sister-in-law, John and Debbie Dester, with us.  Together we ate, talked and laughed until the day had passed.  Some of the chatter was business, but most of the day was passed just enjoying the blessing of getting to know each other. 

John and Debbie Dester were kind enough to bring us a special gift from LaRae's brother.  The airport custom official really gave them a hard time bringing it into the country, but these seasoned travelers were able to squeeze it through.  What a nice way to end a Thanksgiving day - a little Ghirardelli's chocolate.  Thank you, Rodney and Mischel.  Your thoughtfulness made our day even sweeter.

HONDURAS VOTES

The fate of this wonderful nation hangs upon the decisions that will be made this weekend by the people of this country. Candidates from eight political parties are running in the election that will take place this Sunday morning.  However, the actual struggle appears likely to be between the conservative ruling party's candidate, Juan Orlando, of what they call the National Party and the left-wing candidate, Xiomara Castro of the "Libre" party (Freedom).  She is the wife of former President Mel Zelaya who was ousted from his office in 2009 and is widely blamed for the economic collapse of Honduras.  His name still carries a lot of power, but there are definitely more people who hate him than that admire him.  A third party (the Liberal Party) is also expected to make a lot of noise.  Their candidate is Mauricio Villeda.  You can't turn your head without seeing a poster of his face.  He apparently has a reputation of being an honest man. A huge amount of money has been spent during this campaign by all three of these parties which contrasts with the impoverished lifestyles of millions of Hondurans who can barely survive. 

 

The streets are flooded with posters of the Honduras presidential candidates hanging from every single possible post; from street lamps to electricity posts to trees… you name it.  We are counseled to stay completely politically neutral as missionaries and to avoid, whenever possible, political discussions.  For the most part we have done that. But, the election is in the forefront of the minds of every Honduranian.  The few conversations we have had have been divided.  Our dentists strongly feels one way; our security guard feels the other way.  We really don't know.

 

A political poll was taken a few months ago wherein the people were asked what are the most important issues facing them at this time.  The response was direct and overwhelming: security and unemployment.  A second question asked which they would prefer: a corrupt leader who would fix the problems, or an honest leader who would probably not be able to fix the problems.  The answer was nearly unanimous - give us someone who will fix the problems regardless of how they accomplish it!

For safety reasons, and as a precaution, all missionaries throughout all of Honduras have been ordered to stay inside of their apartments for the next three days.  All were told to gather enough purified water and food to last these three days and perhaps a little bit longer if necessary.  We are permitted to attend sacrament meeting this Sunday but then are to return immediately back to our apartments.  There is a great deal of uneasiness and anticipation.  Being "locked-up" in an apartment for three days is viewed by most of our missionaries as a prison sentence.  "What will we do?" "We'll go crazy!"  However, as a whole, these young men and women are incredibly obedient and will do as they have been asked to do.  It is important to know that we are not expecting any incidents of violence.  These efforts are precautionary only.  Actually, we are excited about this because we hope they will take the time to clean their apartments. The two of us are looking at these three days as a much needed vacation!

 

No effort to woo voters has been left undone.  The National Party has made a sudden, last second push of public projects in hopes of gaining favor.  A bridge that was ignored for years suddenly is fixed and painted, several streets now are adorned by walking and exercise paths.  Of course, all of these projects appear in the richest areas of San Pedro Sula.

We won't know for a couple of days who won this election.  And we probably won't know for several months what impact this election is going to have upon the wonderful people of Honduras.  But, small choices often bring about huge consequences.  This election will shape the future of Honduras. We are praying that the people will be guided to make wise decisions this Sunday.