Honduras
San Pedro Sula East Mission
2013 - 2016

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Gracias a Él . . .

At our recent Multi-Zone Conferences we have taken the opportunity to include the widely seen video created by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entitled . . .

Gracias a Él . . .
(click here)


We want to point to a link where each missionary can download for themselves this wonderful video to use in their teachings.  This links to the video in Spanish.

Gracias a Él . . .

Jesus is the Son of God, our Savior and Redeemer.  Because of him,
death is not the end, and life takes on new meaning.  We can change we can start
over - - and we can live again with God.  

Celebrate his life, and discover all that is possible
Because of Him.


Gracias a Él . . .

We are reminded that the Savior not only lived
and died for us but that he also rose from the dead.

Because Jesus Christ is the Savior of
all mankind it's possible for each of 
us to live again with God.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

What does Baseball have to do with Missionaries?

Good question?!!

A glimpse into our recent Mission Leadership Coucils . . .

What is Mission Leadership Council?

In 2013 a few changes were made in the way the mission leadership is organized.  A wonderful principle about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that it is governed through councils on every level.  Meaning a group of council members meet together on a regular basis where each has an opportunity to express their opinion, and share inspiration associated with their stewardship.  Full participation is encouraged from both men and women in the council system in the church.

For a mission, that means we currently have a Missionary Leadership Council that meets monthly where both the Elders and the Sisters (Hermanas) participate and share their input over which they have stewardship.  It is really a wonderful thing . . . I'm so grateful that we have this opportunity to meet together monthly and "council" amongst each other.



(An assortment of photos from some of our recent Mission Leadership Councils)




Who Attends Mission Leadership Council?

The Mission Leadership Council is made up of the Mission President, and the Mission President's wife, the Assistants to the President, the Zone Leaders and the Sister Training Leaders.  The Mission Leadership Council also has many purposes.  It is a perfect experience each month for the leadership composed of the zone leaders and sister training leaders to receive instruction in leadership skills and accountability from the mission president, the president's wife and the assistants to the president.

If all goes as planned, the zone leaders receive their focus for the month at the mission leader council.  They in turn take the message back to their zones and share the message from the Mission President the following week at the Zone meetings which are held once each month, with all the members of their zones.  Then each District Leader has the responsibility to continue to review the focus of the month with each of the missionaries in their district at their weekly district meetings.

At the next Mission Leadership Council, the Zone Leaders will return and report the results of their labors. They share what ideas are working well for their zones and what needs to be improved.  We all have the opportunity to council together as we find improved ways to invite others to come unto Christ.






And now . . .


Missionaries and Baseball . . .

Recently President Klein and his assistants likened missionary work to Baseball!  It was fun to show each missionary how the goal for their investigators is to progress!  Not just stay on first base forever!

The goal is to progress around the bases until they arrive at home plate and follow the example of the Savior and choose to be baptized by one who has the authority.





By asking the question "Who's on First?" The missionaries are encouraged to focus on the names of all their investigators and know exactly which base they are on, and what they need to continue around the bases to baptism.

The missionaries can take a look at the "bench" . . . and know who is up next?  Do you have anyone on the bench?  If not . . . you have a lot of work to do!  Our bench should constantly have players (investigators) waiting in the wings.








Learning English can be Fun!

We recently enjoyed a fun activity prepared by the Sister Trainer Leaders to help us learn and teach English!  They used the modules contained in the English books provided at the MTC to show us some fun ways to do the lessons!





Bring on the Miracles . . .

In conclusion . . . we'll share a small miracle . . . we were on our way home from the far reaches of the mission after concluding the quarterly interviews for the missionaries in that zone.   It is about the same as driving from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City . . . so we knew we were in for a long drive home that day.  We had two secretaries from the mission office accompanying us as they had been in that area doing missionary house inspections.

Normally we take the main highway that passes all along the Eastern coast of Honduras then cuts inland to arrive in San Pedro Sula.  There is a dirt road that passes through several small villages and one large city that is currently not assigned missionaries.  It's only possible to travel in this direction on a good day as any rainy weather makes the dirt road through these mountains impassable.  We opted for the dirt road through the mountains that day . . .





When we were about four hours into our journey and approaching the area where we had missionaries located in the far southwest corner of the mission . . . we received a phone call from the mission nurse saying that one of our sisters located in a small town in the middle of nowhere, had seen a doctor in her town and she needed an urgent surgical consult for possible appendicitis.  We speculated for a few minutes on how to get her into San Pedro Sula before we realized that our route would take us nearby her town in about 15 minutes.

Our gracious office elders elected to disembark and finish their journey in the bus so we could pick up the sister with the abdominal problems and her companion and continue with them into San Pedro Sula.  The reality of our miracle is that if we had not been inspired to take the dirt road through the mountains it would have meant delaying an urgent treatment for an additional two to three hours for this sister.

Yes . . . we can truly testify that Heavenly Father knows, loves and blesses each of his children.


 “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Brothers and sisters, the most powerful Being in the universe is the Father of your spirit. He knows you. He loves you with a perfect love.
God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him".  -- President Deiter F. Uchtdorf 

(Enjoying lunch together before they all return to their areas)


Okay . . . Missionaries . . .
Now go . . . and do . . . and teach . . . and testify!




Sunday, May 4, 2014

Let Him Ask of God . . .

One of the most important messages we share as missionaries is . . 


(Satellite Zone)
That each can do as Joseph Smith did, and ask of God.  This truly is the essence of missionary work.  To share a message that the missing principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have once again been restored to the earth. 
And the only want to know for a certainty that these are true gospel principles is to do as the young boy prophet Joseph Smith did and ask of God.  
If any of you lack bwisdom, let him ask of God, that cgiveth to all men liberally, anddupbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  --James 1:5

In this we find the pattern to know the truth of all things.




(La Lima, Pineda and Santa Rita zones)






The Book of Mormon provides it's own witness that each man can know of a certainly who seeks to know the truth of all things

.


Behold, I would exhort
t you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God 
that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. 
-- Moroni 10:3-5


Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge of the Seventy reaffirmed the basic gospel principles restored by the prophet Joseph Smith in his most recent conference address.  Each of these principles is a message shared by the missionaries around the world as they invite others to come unto Christ by helping them to receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ, and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  

His counsel is an amazing topic and focuses on the principles shared in missionary work!
(Whew!  It's been a busy time here in the mission . . . here's a little glimpse of the goings on . . . March and April were specialized training months with each of the 10 zones (sadly, I don't have a photo of the La Ceiba zone or Miramar to share :(  April and May are interviews months with each of our 232 missionaries, and May will also bring our upcoming Multi Zone Conferences.  We're also sharing a little glimpse from our last arrival of new missionaries and the transfer day in April.)

(Progreso North, Progreso South, Tocoa and Olanchito Zones)


Elder Corbridge - 
The revelations poured out upon Joseph Smith affirm that he was a prophet of God. Let’s just look at some of them—just look at some of the light and truth revealed through him that shines in stark contrast to the common beliefs of his day and ours:
  • • God is a personal, exalted being, an Eternal Father. He is our Father.
  • • God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are separate beings.5
  • • You are more than human. You are a child of God the Eternal Father and may become like Him6 if you will have faith in His Son, repent, receive ordinances, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end.

  • (We were also blessed to enjoy a visit from our Area Medical Authority
  • Dr. Cragun and his wife.  Once a month we enjoy P-day with a zone who did well
  • in achieving our mission goals - this is Zone Miramar for March)

  • • The Church of Jesus Christ today is fundamentally the same Church He organized during His mortal ministry, with prophets and apostles, Melchizedek and Levitical Priesthoods, elders, high priests, deacons, teachers, bishops, and the seventy, all as described in the Bible.
  • • Priesthood authority was withheld from the earth following the deaths of the Savior and His Apostles and was restored again in our day.
  • • Revelation has not ceased, and the heavens are not closed. God speaks to prophets today, and He will speak to you and me as well.

  • (Our new arrivals for April being greeted at the airport and at the
  • Stake Center.  Two sisters joined the mission on dates other than the primary
  • arrival date)
  • • There is more after this life than only heaven and hell. There are degrees of glory, and it matters a great deal what we do in this life.9
  • • More than having a mere passive belief in Christ, we should “look unto [Him] in every thought,”10 “do all that [we do] in the name of the Son,”11 and “always remember him and keep his commandments … that [we] may always have his Spirit to be with [us].”12
  • • The billions who live and die without the gospel and the ordinances necessary for salvation are not lost. “Through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel,”13 administered for both the living and the dead.14

(Transfer meeting was probably our largest meeting yet in April, it
was quite the scramble.  As well as the chaos that begins after the meeting as all
missionaries scramble for taxis and buses to all parts of the mission)

  • • Everything did not begin at birth. You lived before in the presence of God as His son or daughter and prepared for this mortal life.15
  • • Marriage and family are not conventions of men until only death do us part. They are intended to be made eternal through covenants we make with God. The family is the pattern of heaven.16
And this is only a part of the flood of revelation poured out upon Joseph Smith. Where did it all come from, these revelations which give light to darkness, clarity to doubt, and which have inspired, blessed, and improved millions of people? Which is more likely, that he dreamed it all up on his own or that he had the help of heaven? Do the scriptures he produced sound like the words of man or the words of God?

(We are always sad to see our most experienced missionaries and leaders
head for home.  We miss them a great deal.  These missionaries were Assistants,
Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders.)

Conclusion

There is no dispute about what Joseph Smith accomplished, only how he did what he did and why. And there are not many options. He was either pretender or prophet. Either he did what he did alone, or he had the help of heaven. Look at the evidence, but look at all of the evidence, the entire mosaic of his life, not any single piece. Most importantly, do as young Joseph and “ask … God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given [you].”17 This is not only how you may learn the truth about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith; it is also the pattern to know the truth of all things.18
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, as is Thomas S. Monson today. Through Joseph Smith, “the keys of the kingdom of God are [again] committed unto man on the earth, and … the gospel [will] roll forth … as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands … , until it has filled the whole earth.”19
God is our Eternal Father, and Jesus is the Christ. 
We worship Them. 
Nothing compares with Their creations, the plan of salvation, and the atoning sacrifice 
of the Lamb of God. 

As missionaries - 
Along with the prophets, we are happy to declare this glad message.






Click for more information 
and a lovely video
on a message of hope . . . for all the world,
and our Savior,
Jesus Christ
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