Sunday January 14, 2024

Aquí estamos en Tela Honduras, tenemos un año de estar aquí en Tela.  No me acuerdo mucho de ese dia solo que estaba muy verde y que era muy humido.  En este tiempo no estaba haciendo mucho calor pero eso pronto cambió y pronto sabíamos que estamos en una área muy caliente y húmido.  

We went out to the beach this week at the end of a busy day to relax for a minute as the sun was going down.  It is always so relaxing to hear the waves and feel the cool breeze blowing in from the water.  We are lucky to be in a place where we can have the opportunity to go to the beach and relax.  It is like a 5 minute walk from our house to the beach so it is always nice when we can do that.  

Oops, the wave came in and got her dress and shoes all wet, oh well, it washes,  she was taking a picture of the pretty sunset and the water got her.  

While we were in Progreso this past week we stopped in to a store called Mega Paca, where they have second hand clothing from the States and we bought this white shirt and tie for Aarón.  You know how some people show their emotions and others, like me, it is hard to tell if they are happy or sad?  Well Aarón is one of those kids where you can tell really easy how he is feeling, he was so happy when Hermana Chappell gave him the shirt and tie.  He was so excited, he just kept saying that is just what I wanted,  He looked so nice when he came to church today,  It was fun to see him so excited to have a white shirt and tie.  

It is Elder Lazo's birthday this week, he is turning 19 so we had a birthday cake for him today, he was very happy.  He has been here on his mission for 14 weeks, he is from Perú, and he has done really well but it has been really hard for him to be away from his mom.  He has really struggled with being so far away.  He will be fine and really is a great missionary, but for some it is really hard to be gone from home.  I think it has been really good that they can call home every week.  It makes it easier to be away from home when they can at least call every week and then get through another week and get the phone call, then get through another week. After a while it gets easier and they can focus more on missionary work instead of "I wish I was at home".   

We have transfers here this week and we are all sure that Elder Borders is going to be transferred, but I think that he is the only one that is moving out.  We had lunch here today all together and had our testimony meeting after lunch.  These are conversations that we will not soon forget.  I think that this world is so much more complex now than it was when I was young.  Maybe it is just that I was so naive, and had grown up in a wonderful family in the country, where there was not a lot of the worldly stuff going on but it is definitely not the world we live in now.  These young missionaries are dealing with so much stuff. 

Our district has a lot of fun together and they are a happy bunch most of the time, but the things some of them are dealing with at home is quite difficult.  They are amazing young men and women and I have the utmost respect for each and every one of them.  They are amazing.  

Colleen bought matching dresses for Yarini and Tatiana for Christmas.  They were so cute at church with their matching dresses.