The Things that Matter Most . . .

Imagine Yourself as a Living House - 

Serving as Mission Presidents is a very humbling experience . . .

You may be familiar with the CS Lewis quote that begins -

“Imagine yourself as a living house” . . . 

It's very painful to say I think I was a little prideful in my life before the mission, but yep, um, i think I was prideful.  I was quite proud of the little house I had built, I was very content with my life . . . I  had no idea of the major remodel that my Heavenly Father had in store for me, or how painful it might be. 

And at first I resisted that remodel quite . . .  insistently . . .

But as I let Honduras, and each missionary, and each little starfish on the vast number of beaches that our Heavenly Father has out there . . . and more importantly, the fervent fervent message that filled my heart of our Heavenly Father’s love for all of His children change my heart -

I began to experience this extensive remodulation take place, until I can truly say I am hardly the same person that I was three years ago when we said farewell to family and friends and got on an airplane to Honduras.

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Nothing But Photos . . .

I'm very far behind on blog posts  . . . and I have a bunch of photos to share -

So here is a BONUS photo post -

Nothing But Photos

(lots of missionaries!)

(An inside look to the sisters home)

(departing missionaries)

(Cultural Garifuna lunch)

(new arriving missionaries and training)

(a visit from some returned missionaries!)

(my wonderful kitchen helpers!)

(in the airport) 

 (outside my window)

(new missionaries and training)

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The Mission Experience & Photos

Time for an Update - 

Oh my goodness, it has been a LONG time since I have been able to compose a new blog post.   Every single day, week, and month is so filled to the brim . . . we are not sure if it's just us trying to finish everything up in the last few months of our mission, or if we're just getting older, with a lot less energy than we began 34 months ago!  Most likely both!

I have been working on Part II of a previous Post - 

MISSIONARIES . . . ARE YOU THE BEST YOU CAN BE?

It has been longer in coming together than I had hoped.  I have so many thoughts to share, and trying to get them all organized and presented in succinct blog post hasn't quite happened yet.  Yet, it is in the works and I do anticipate finishing it before too much longer.

In the meanwhile, I have many photos from the last several weeks in the San Pedro Sula East Mission to share, and some tender missionary experiences.  

There's no doubt President Klein and I are inspired daily by our missionaries, through their challenges and growth that we see occur on almost a daily basis. We are certainly so proud of them in all they are able to accomplish, and the many testimonies they share to bring other to a greater light and knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

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Are YOU the BEST you can BE?

What is Required?

As missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we believe that our Heavenly Father is always preparing people to receive His message of the restored gospel.  The challenge of each missionary is to reach out and find those prepared to receive this special message.  It delights a missionary's heart when almost immediately their message is well received.  We call these contacts “golden” investigators.  In many instances they have been waiting and waiting for the missionaries to come into their lives.  

Perhaps, they have heard the missionaries message before, but were not at the proper place and time in their lives where they needed to be, to make the important changes necessary to embrace the gospel message and move forward.  

An Exercise in Faith!

But we do believe through exercising our faith in our Heavenly Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ, as missionaries we will be led to those who are seeking a message that can bring great joy, peace and comfort into their lives.  

One of the most important ways missionaries can find those who are seeking the gospel is to build and strengthen their relationships with the current members of the Church in their areas.  Almost everyone has a neighbor, a friend, an acquaintance from work, brothers, sisters or parents who need the gospel to bless their lives.

According to the statistics that the Church keeps, newly baptized converts are more likely to stay active in the Church if they are already acquainted with current members and are taught the gospel within the homes of the members.

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Come Serve a Senior Mission . .

Come Serve a Senior Mission in Honduras . . .

Hey!

What can I say?

Countless opportunities await Senior Missionaries to help keep the Lord’s work moving forward.

Married couples can be found in the Church’s 406 missions serving alongside the younger missionaries at a time in their lives they could be enjoying hobbies during their retirement such as spending more time on the golf course, fishing, traveling or being with their grandchildren. Some couples end up serving multiple missions because they find the opportunity to serve others very rewarding.

This is an outright blatant plea for your consideration . .

We're even willing to offer a bribe (or a promise) of sorts  . . .

What is it?

Hopefully I have your attention!

Wanted:  LDS Senior Missionary Couples

to serve as Senior Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Particularly in the San Pedro Sula East Mission!

Are you the adventurous sort, just wondering where the next stage of life is taking you?  Looking for an opportunity where you can really make a difference?  

Boy . . . have we got an opportunity and challenge for you!

We are currently in need of Senior Couple missionaries.  No Spanish necessary to serve in English speaking areas of our mission.  We are really in need of 3-4 Senior Missionary couples!

You are in a position to serve and really make a difference in the lives of the people.

Do you have love you an share?
You are qualified for the work.

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The First Twelve Weeks of a Mission

What you Should Know about the First Twelve Weeks of a Mission - 

One of the fairly recent additions to missionary work across the world is the program entitled "The First 12 Weeks for New Missionaries and their Trainers".  It came about after the age limit was lowered to 18 years old for men of the Church and 19 years old for the women.

As the MTC's (Missionary Training Centers) across the world were reaching their capacity for receiving new missionaries, the time a new missionary spent in training in these facilities was decreased tremendously.  In most instances, new missionaries learning a foreign language now spend no more than 6 weeks in the MTC.  Those not learning a new language usually have a 10 day length of stay.

These circumstances lend great importance to the first 12 weeks a missionary spends in their assigned mission with a new trainer.  It's important that those first 12 weeks be the most productive and beneficial that they possibly can.

I personally have a great testimony of this program.  While is was developed for training new missionaries, this is a program that benefits each missionary in the field continuously.

Live by the Whisperings of the Spirit . . .

One of the greatest roles of a trainer for a new missionary is to help their new companion seek for and heed the promptings of the Spirit.  This begins in the MTC training and is carried forward right into the mission field.  

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