BIDDING FAREWELL

Saying goodbye to a land and a people and a service to which you have given your heart and soul unto for two years is a difficult task.  We have found out that it takes place in stages.  First, we find ourselves preparing others to take over after we are gone.

Elder William King and Elder Daicro Vasquez are the two that have been chosen to take over for us in the office.  We have now spent three weeks training them every day, and we will stay here in Honduras for one more week in an advisory role.  They are capable, happy young missionaries who both have the computer skills and temperament to do the job well.
    Each month President and Sister Dester meet with all the mission leadership for a few hours of leadership training.  These young men and women are the cream of the crop.  From time to time we have been asked to take part in the training.  This week we were asked to share our testimonies of the work in which we have been involved.  These are the ones that set the tone for the mission.  They are all time-tested and proven.  We have no doubts but that they will all return home to become leaders in their wards and branches.  The greatest miracle of all is that there are dozens more just like them lining up in the wings to take their place when it becomes their turn.  The Missionary Program of the Church is one of today's greatest miracles.

Standing from left: Sisters Morales and Bayles, Elders Lindsay, Arnold, Ramirez, Lorenzo, Williams, Rivera, Camacho, Permann, the Desters, Van Neck, Young, Castro, and Sisters McQuistion and Escalante.  Kneeling from left: Elder Juarez, Bailey, Bryce, Shuga, Sibrian, Lui, Ro, Mower and Melendez

This was the week for changes.  Twenty-three new missionaries arrived, and three great ones left, which swelled our mission numbers up to 205. With the leaving of Elder Rivera, Sister Escalante and Elder Lui, we now find ourselves as the longest tenured missionaries here!  We are next to leave.  Changes were made in companionships and as is the custom here in our mission, those who are finishing their missions are given the opportunity to bear a final testimony.  We were included into that group.  Incredibly kind and generous words were spoken about our service here. Following the changes, President Dester announced that there was going to be a little goodbye reception in the cultural hall for us.  Sister Dester and the secretaries had gone to Pricemart and picked up a bunch of doughnuts.  For the next two hours we stood off to the side receiving hugs, taking photographs, and writing short but sincere loving words in journals, hymnbooks and agendas.  It was an extremely tender and rewarding day!  Sister Dester had gathered letters from many others who weren't in attendance and presented them to us with couple lovely gifts.  We now have 205 more Facebook friends ... at least, we would if we had a Facebook account.  We do, however, have hundreds of email addresses in our contact list and intend on staying in touch with many of these wonderful servants of the Lord.

Clockwise: The farewell reception table, us with Elder Crisostomo, Elder Baird, Sister Bayles, Elder Sibrian, Sister Grondel, Elder Young and Sister Jimenez

There is still more to do, but our time is getting short.  We pledge to stay busy until the end!

WHY WE ARE MORMON MISSIONARIES

Last week we met in the home of the Andino family.  They are both dentists here in San Pedro Sula. We had met them while arranging for some dental work on a few of our missionaries.  They agreed to allow us to come to their home and share with them the reason why we were here in Honduras.  It is a good question, really!  Why would a couple leave their family and their darling grandchildren, and completely at their own expense come to a foreign land where they don't know the language or the customs?  What could possibly be so important that they would voluntarily offer to stay for two years?  The answer: we came because we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - the "Mormons."

We believe that God is our actual Father- that we are literally His spiritually begotten children.  We believe that He knows us perfectly and that He loves us!  We believe that He is an actual being, with body, parts and passions and that He authored a "plan" for us, His children, to develop, to grow, and to progress until some day we could actually become just like Him.  We believe that this "plan" consisted of three great events: the creation, the fall of Adam and the atonement of Jesus Christ.

The Creation of this earth was a divine act of love.  It did not come about by accident, but rather, it was designed and formed by a loving God for the sole purpose of creating a home for mankind to dwell upon while they learned to be obedient to the laws of conduct that govern the life of God.  Upon this earth God placed Adam and Eve.

 Adam and Eve were created in the express image of God and were placed upon this earth as the first step in God's plan for them to eventually become as He is.  Wherein, previous to this great event, they had only existed as spirits, they now possessed a body. The fall of Adam is so misunderstood by this world.  Adam knowingly chose to fall so that mankind might exist.  It was not an act of shame, but an incredible leap of faith. It was a step forward in the great plan of God, for by means of the fall of Adam they gained knowledge which is a necessary characteristic of God.  However, in so doing they also placed themselves outside of the presence of their God, for no unclean thing can dwell in His presence.  In the partaking of this fruit, they not only provided the way for mankind to come into the world, but they also put their entire trust in the One who had been chosen to come into the world to redeem them and all of mankind from their failures to obey the laws of God.  They put their faith in Jesus Christ.


The atonement of Jesus Christ was prepared from before the foundation of this world to pay the price for sin.  It was not designed as an afterthought, but as an incalculable act of love by a Father who had perfect pre-knowledge of all that His children would do while they were learning to obey His laws upon this earth.  Mankind needs a Savior.  And the firstborn spirit child of God was chosen to fulfill that role upon this earth.  Jesus, who pre-mortally was known as Jehovah, came to earth to break the chains of death and hell.  Because of His life and His perfect sacrifice, death no longer has its sting.  And, by obedience to His commandments and by repentance of those things we must change in our lives, his atonement opens up the way that we might fully be forgiven of our sins, and again come back into His presence and into the presence of our Heavenly Father.  Our return into their presence will not be as our leaving.  We will return having gained a body because of the creation, knowledge because of the fall, and perfection because of the atonement.  We will have become like our Heavenly Father is.  And that is exactly what a perfectly loving Father wanted!!

The way back to God's presence requires us learning how to overcome our weaknesses.  Satan is real, and desires that all mankind be miserable as he is.  God knew that this journey would be fraught with challenges and difficulties, and thus He provided help for us.  Throughout the ages He communicated His will and His counsel to the world through special witnesses known as prophets.  These prophets have given counsel to the world according to the times in which they lived.  A few of their many words have been preserved and passed down through the ages.  Their advice is as timely today as it was in the former years.  But, God has not ceased to love His children, and He has not ceased to speak to prophets either. 

Following the death of Jesus Christ and martyrdom of His apostles, the world entered into a long period of dark apostasy from the truth.  Mankind tried to find God, but confusion reigned.  Finally, after nearly two millennium of dark apostasy, God again spoke to man.  In 1820 a young man by the name of Joseph Smith, confused by the myriad of different interpretations of the Bible, chose to follow the counsel of James who had promised "if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.  But, let him ask in faith, nothing wavering...."  Joseph simply asked!  And in response to that humble prayer, God our Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, appeared and opened up this final dispensation of time.  Commandments were given, priesthood authority was again restored, and ordinances were revealed that would again open up the way for God's children to know what they must do to return to Him.  Following the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, other prophets have been called.  God is directly His work!

So, Sister Andino, in answer to your sincere query, "Why did we come on this mission?" we answer, "We came because we know these things to be true!  We came because we value you and all others as our brothers and sisters, and we want you to know the things that we know."  It is really just that simple.  We came on this mission because we believe this message.  Through personal and very diligent prayer and scripture study we have come to know these things are true.  So, in coming to Honduras, we offer you not only our time and our life's experience, but we offer you the testimony we have of this incredibly important message.

Now... the great news!  You can know if these things are true for yourself.  We are not alone in knowing this.  God answers all honest seekers.  He keeps His promises, and he has promised that if you will ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Jesus Christ, He (God) will manifest the truth of this message unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And, this is why we are Mormon missionaries.   To know more, go to lds.org

A FEW OF THE FACES WE HAVE LOVED

It would be impossible for us to show all those people that have had an impact on our lives these past (nearly) two years and showing only a portion of them hardly seems fair.  Some have been members of the Church, others have not.  Some we have seen often, while others only briefly were with us.  The two things each of these photos have in common are that they are the people we have known here in Honduras and we have loved them all.

Looking at these pictures as if you were reading a book:

 

President Veirs - our first mission president.  A dear friend who worked hard and love us all.

Elder McRae - His desire to fight through challenges and be an example to us all really impressed us.

Our favorite beggar - Oh! How she would smile when we gave her a sucker. Money isn't everything.

Brother and Sister Paulino - The first one in Church every Sunday.  Sat by the doors to greet all.

Sister Dempke - A great humanitarian.  We and all of Roatan were blessed by her charitable acts.

Sister Dester - Our second mission mom quickly became a dear friend to us and all the missionaries.

The Starkeys - This senior missionary couple served in the temple and were such a good example.

Elders Hebert and Chen - two of the finest APs we knew.  They served with all their hearts.

Elder Ordonez and David Hernandez - A fine missionary and Wayne's area financial director.

Sisters Lopez and Castaneda - Sweet Latin sisters who always greeted us with love and a smile.

The Mitchells - This family took us in when we were homeless in Roatan.  We owe them a lot. 

Elder Josue Garcia - LaRae's first trainer and one of our very favorite missionaries.

Sisters Pickett, Bahr, Rodas and Escalante - You can't help but love these hard working sisters.

A sweet member family from El Carmen - they shared their home evening and their children with us.

Our happy security guard - He stood daily in the blazing sun, but greeted us each day with a smile.

Sister Gardner and Johnson - two of the first group of younger sister missionaries to arrive in our mission.

 

The Petersons - This wonderful couple serves in the temple and spent the Christmas season with us.
Elder Rangel - A tender immigration secretary didn't dare ask for money from Wayne.  We love him.
Aminda Garay - Served in the Young Women's Presidency with LaRae in Roatan.
Our apartment's handyman - We called upon him when we had leaks, burned out bulbs and more.
Jose Brennes - Oldest active member in Roatan.  Always was there to prepare the sacrament.
Elder Cannon - Served faithfully to the end, even though he was so, so sick.  Our computer mentor.
President Dester - Our second mission president and dear, humble friend. 
Elder Jimenez - Panama elder who always treated us with great love and respect.  Great example.
Sisters Fernandez and Tolliver - Sister Training leader with our stalwart mission nurse.
Elders Barba and Dever - Our Roatan elders.  We shared many a meal and a laugh with them.
Our Post Office Sweetie -  While we laughed with her we licked stamps and postmarked 1000 letters.
Elder Sibrian - A great zone leader.  An amazing example of what the gospel can do for someone.
An ever present beggar - She cracked her plaster face covering when we handed her a sucker.
The Valle de Sula zone - This zone was our favorite zone to visit with the ruta for many months.
Elder Palma - What a loveable character!  Here he is reading our wife-selection-catalogue.
Sister Ramirez - As good a person as she is beautiful.

Oliver Flores - Piano student, truly faithful youth. Never missed a meeting and was always happy.
Christian Zea - The 16 year old spiritual leader of his family.  A gentle giant.
Laritza Santos - Had to travel further than any other in order to get to church, but incredibly faithful.
Joshua Zea - This little fellow reactivated his family, got the priesthood and made me laugh!
Daniel Garay - Priest first assistant, took care of his mother, and is now filling out mission papers.
Ariana Aguilar - Flirty, fun, and dependable.  First Mia Maid president in Roatan's history.
Daniel Aguilar - Learned how to play the piano in four months.  Future G. A. material. 
Alejando Webster and us - Baptized a second time because his records were lost.  So many wonderful experiences with this young man and this entire group of young people.

Sister Tercero - Came from horrible circumstances to become a diligent and delightful missionary.
Elder Coronel - Served in the office as the immigration secretary.  A faithful friend and leader.
Elder Castro - Zone leader.  Spoke such perfect Spanish we didn't know he was from the USA.
Elder Juarez - AP.  This fine young man did a lot to bring order and correctness to the office.
Elder Bryce - Zone leader.  He changed the overall effectiveness of an entire zone.
Elder Duff - Every mission needs an Elder Duff.  Got a problem?  Call Elder Duff!
Elder Lorenzo - "Don't be mad, Sister John.  I'll have all the baptismal records next week."
Elder Vasquez - Sister John's replacement as the mission secretary.  They don't come any happier.
Elder Novoa - Some thought he was hard, but Elder John knew he had a tender heart and loved him.
Elder Pacheco - the "Bishop."  A title given to him by all of his peers.  His future is bright.
Sister Grondel - The every smiling, energetic and enthusiastic sweetheart.
Elder West - This picture is worth a 1000 words. Great, great young missionary.
Elder Zitting - General mission secretary.  "Got a back tone on your phone?  I'll take care of that!"
Elder Shuga - One of 100 that lost his girlfriend while serving.  Watch out girls... he's home soon.
Elder Figueroa - Took over the difficult job of immigration secretary and does a great job.
Elder Mower - An amazing AP whose integrity and obedience blessed this mission.

Elder Hansen - Fun, ZL, great leader. He made missionary work fun for everyone he was around.
Elder Lui - His Tongan hugs and contagious smile and personality made him one of our favorites.
Elder Mackay - Trained Wayne as financial secretary before the mission split.  Later served as AP.
Elder McNeil - Longest serving ZL in mission history.  He changed people and blessed lives.

These three pairs of mission presidents and their wives (Desters, Veirs and Kleins) have been our most constant and cherished friends as we have served on this mission.  They worked with us, ate with us, traveled and played with us.  We learned a lot as we watched their dedicated and loving service. 

As we look back at these last two years we realize that the sample of faces we have shown in this blog is not nearly sufficient or complete.  However, many others have appeared on former blog pages and have been very influential and important to us.  We have loved being a part of this great work with so many of these dedicated, loving fellow servants and friends.  No one can replace family, but these people have helped make these two years a wonderful experience.

NEWS FROM THE JOHNS

DON'T WORRY.  WE HAVEN'T FINISHED OUR MISSION YET, AND WE ARE STILL ALIVE.  WE JUST HAVE BEEN BUSY.  STAY TUNED FOR MORE BLOGGING.

26 DAYS TO GO!

WE LOVE YOU ALL. 

THE JOHNS.

OCUPADO! MUY OCUPADO!!

Each Monday morning we get our week started with an office staff meeting. This week, however, we didn't have time for one.  Some weeks and periods of our mission service are so busy that they become a blur.  These past two weeks have been such for us.  It began with three more multi zone meetings. We traveled with President and Sister Dester to four different locations to participate in these conferences.  We didn't play a major role in these conferences, but we did each teach a portion each time. We started in the Copan zone on Friday of last week.  Elder Lui, one of my former seminary students and one of the very finest missionaries that we have is a zone leader there.  Then Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we  had zone conferences in the other areas.   Following our presentations we would hustle back to the office to try to get our regular work done.  On the days we are required to be out of the office to do extra things like these conferences, our work just piles up.  It doesn't go away.  So when we get back to the office we have to work hard.

On one of the days of conferences LaRae surprised me with this birthday cake.  Elders Bryce and Lorenzo called Elder Erickson and me out of the audience.  They then sang to us, and everyone enjoyed a piece of my birthday cake.

 

Keeping up with the house inspections is nearly a full time job for us.  This week we spent a full morning seeing some of the houses in the Choloma zone.  This is the house in Choloma 2 where we presently have Sister Vasquez and Sister Casteneda living.  This house is one of the good ones and they do a good job keeping it clean.  Others - not so much.

 

Wayne got a surprise call from the Area Offices in Tegucigalpa who announced that David Hernandez would be dropping by to do an audit of the financial records.  Even though Wayne has everything in excellent shape, these are always stressful moments.  He is very thorough and checks everything.  After six hours he announced that there wasn't any further need for review.  "Bien, hecho, Elder John," he said.  (Well done, Elder John).  It wasn't terrible, but it did add to the pressure of a week that was already too full. 

On Friday we spent the entire day driving to Tegucigalpa with Elders Rodriguez and Guevara.  Elder Rodriguez had arrived in the mission field with out having been through the temple.  President Dester asked if we could accompany him and his companion.  It is always a joyful experience, but it did take a full day.  While we were there we dropped into the Distribution Center where LaRae met with Hermano Bonilla.  He has been such a great help and support for LaRae in keeping our proselyting materials stocked.  He was sad to know that very soon we will be on our way home.  He has loved having a mission secretary with whom he could that was organized and got all of her reports in to him in a timely manner. 

While all of this was going on LaRae was busy trying to finish up the history of our mission since it was divided in June 2013.  (43 pages) She had only recently completed the 134 page history for the San Pedro Sula Mission for 2012 to give to the Area Offices in Guatemala.  Now, they wanted this one!  Finding all of the pictures and statistics was no easy task, however, she got it done in time for President Dester to hand it over to Elder Duncan at a training meeting on Saturday. 

 



We had to bid farewell this week to two very special missionaries.  Elder Larsen and Elder Cluff have been the financial and general secretaries in the San Pedro Sula East Mission for the past six months or so and have now been sent back out into the field with different assignments.  They have worked side-by-side with us to get these two missions running smoothly.  In our opinion, they are two of the very finest missionaries we have known.  And we are going to miss them!



Elder Cluff and Elder Larsen

On top of everything else we normally do in a week (the delivery run, the mail services, picking up name tags, paying the bills, getting two houses painted and several windows repaired, filling out reports, inputting baptismal records, doing inventory, making orders for more materials, and a myriad of phone calls and challenges) these extra things made for a busy but happy time. 



WITH ALL OUR HEARTS, MIGHT, MIND AND STRENGTH

As we have written this blog over the past, nearly, two years we have been aware that many of those who see these words, either by accident or design, are not members of our faith.  Some have relatively little knowledge of the Church we represent and do not understand why we would offer such a large chunk of our lives to this service. We answer, sincerely, that we believe that we were called by the Lord Jesus Christ through a living prophet upon this earth to offer this service.  And we have made every effort to serve Him with all of our hearts, might, mind and strength. This week has given us many opportunities to serve Him in each of these four ways:

OUR HEARTS:

From back left: Elder Rodriguez (ZL Cofradia), Elder Contreras (ZL Valle de Sula), Elder Esperanza, Elder Zura, (ZL Merendon).  Front from left: Elder DeGriselle, Elder McRae, Elder Loyo (AP), and Sister Ramirez

On Wednesday of this week we bid farewell to nine amazing young men and one sweet young lady.  We have grown to love them with all of our hearts.  Elder McRae, shown with me on the left, holds a very special place in our hearts.  The way that he served and the example he showed for all of the other missionaries, will always be special to us.  Sister Anna Ramirez, shown on the right with LaRae, truly was one of the sweetest sister missionaries we have known.  We will miss them all.  With every group that goes, another arrives, and relationships of love are quickly formed.

 

 

Twenty-two new ones arrived from a myriad of different countries to spend the next two years of their lives here in Honduras.   We received three missionaries from the USA (one, Elder Lund, is from LaRae's old home town), others came from Panama, Guatemala, Paraguay, Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador and even from a different location here in Honduras.  Here they sit, anxiously waiting their assignment to a companion and to an area of service for the next six months or so.  They are nervous, but eager at the same time.  Sister Virula (shown here with Sister Zelada) is one of these new missionaries.  Her new companion is Sister Zelada.  Immediately, their new companions take them under their wings, accept them, make them feel comfortable and loved.  Sister Zelada is truly one of our very best!

 

From left: Elder Loyo, Elder Mower, Us, Sister and President Dester, Elder Coronel and Elder Zitting

With this week's changes our old office staff was disbanded.  Elder Loyo left us for his home in Mexico, and Elder Coronel was reassigned to another area.  This group has worked together really well and we have come to love them all.

 

MIGHT: 

Elder Mower and Elder Zitting with Wayne hauling boxes on their P-day.

Hauling boxes around is a part of our weekly task.  This week was no different.  Fifty two boxes of pamphlets, Bibles, Book of Mormons, and other materials arrived on Tuesday.  The building manager won't let us use the elevator to left these boxes, so we haul them by hand up three big flights of stairs.  Wayne isn't as fit as he used to be and this is an increasingly difficult part of the job. 

 

MIND:

 

We have learned so many things while serving on this mission.  This week Wayne stood in utter amazement as he watched LaRae manipulate formulas in her Excel Spreadsheet. This may seem so simple to many, but these are things that we "old dogs" have had to learn since we arrived. 

 

 

Our minds are stretched every day by our work, and we have had to devote all that we had mentally to this great cause.  On Friday we began the series of multi-zone conferences throughout the mission.  This first of four conferences was held in La Entrada, Copan.  We both had a presentation to teach. Wayne taught about cleaning their apartments; LaRae taught about how to correctly fill out baptismal records.  We used PowerPoint presentations to add to the effectiveness of our teaching. Of course, all that we teach and all that we write has to be done in Spanish. 

 



Every day we answer dozens of questions from these young missionaries.  Learning to understand them has been one of the great challenges of this mission.  We've used every little bit of our minds.

 

STRENGTH:

Home inspection in Monterrey.  Elders Best, Vermont and Arnold

Our days are long.  There always seems to be a deadline that we have to meet.  LaRae had to have the mission's 2013 history completed by Friday; six new apartments had to be furnished by Tuesday; the presentations had to be ready by Thursday; all the financial deposits had to be approved by Monday; Wayne had to be ready for an audit of his books by Thursday.  We work every day with all of our strength.  We spent four hours driving around doing home inspections with President and Sister Dester.  Office staff meetings are held each Monday.  We delivered both breakfast and lunch to the 22 arriving missionaries on Tuesday and do a training session with them that afternoon.  LaRae had to have all of January's baptismal records submitted to the area offices in Guatemala by Wednesday.  Honestly, we get home every day about 6:00 p.m., drag ourselves upstairs, do another hour or so of work on our home computer, try to eat a bit of dinner and then crawl into bed - exhausted. 

 

SO IN CONCLUSION:

Is being a senior missionary hard work? Yes!  Are we tired? Yes!  But, it is a good kind of "tired." This has truly been a remarkable experience for us.  We have probably never been happier than we are now.  We have learned all kinds of things; our minds are sharp and clear; we have done things that we would never would have done had we not come here to serve.  We have met and loved hundreds of wonderful missionaries and Hondurans.  Having served these two years here in this foreign land and having done the things that we have been asked to do, would we be afraid to do it all over again?  No!  This service has been a privilege and a blessing.


One last sweet thought: Every missionary loves a candy bar! However, they are way too expensive for them to purchase.  We decided to bring them a special treat this week to eat during a break in their zone conference at Copan.  OH!  How they shouted for glee!  Sweet is the work!

QUAINT: STRANGE IN AN INTERESTING OR PLEASANT WAY

The definition of "quaint" is something that is unusual, but is rather pleasant.  Honduras is full of such things and people.

Men who walk the streets selling brightly colored cotton candy, signs that make you chuckle, horses occupying the main streets side by side with the cars.   These are some of the things that make Honduras quaint.

Stores filled with carved wooden boxes - always priced differently dependent upon where they are being sold.  Three wheeled taxis called moto-taxis by the missionaries, and fruit stands selling the fruits of this abundant land.  There is always something in season.

Phone lines that resemble a tangled ball of twine and the traditional Honduras breakfast of beans, eggs, tortillas, cream, and fried bananas add to the quaintness of this land.  We have grown accustomed to its many differences.  In fact, we hardly notice them anymore. 

 

 

This picture that we have "borrowed" from President and Sister Klein's blog from the Honduras San Pedro Sula East Mission perfectly illustrates the tiny differences in this land from where we call home.  Yes, they are quaintly unusual, but you have to admit they are pretty cool!

 

 

Honestly, the most unusually quaint thing you can find here in Honduras is a senior missionary couple from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We've been the only ones in all of Honduras for the entire two years we have been here. There are mission presidents and their wives, and there are couples who serve inside of the LDS temple in Tegucigalpa, but we are the only ones who do what we do.  We sure could use some more senior missionaries here in Honduras.