Sunday April 28, 2024

We went out to visit a family that is a part member family this week.  They live way out in the jungle close to the beach in a shack, at the end of a trail through the jungle.  There are a mom and a dad, and 4 young boys.  They were all excited because they had recently caught a turtle, and they had it in a 5 gallon bucket with some water in it.  I expected it was going to be a small turtle and I asked if I could look at it.  They were all excited and so they took me over to where it was in the bucket and I looked in and this big turtle was sitting in the bottom of the bucket with barely room for the shell part, with no room at all for it to extend its head or feet.  I was like wow, that is a big turtle.  Was it hard to catch?  I asked, and they all laughed at their experience and said that it was fun to chase after it and they finally caught it.  I said, I thought that turtles walked very slowly and they all laughed and said; no they can run fast.  I know nothing about turtles but I was surprised at that answer.  So I asked if they could take it out of the bucket, they then dumped it out with the water and it really did take off.  Between the two boys that were right there they tried to keep it close, but it wanted to get away so it was fun to watch them try and stop it from getting away.  They picked it up and his hand got scratched with the finger like claws that it had on its feet, so he almost dropped it, but then they did get it back in to the bucket and the fun was over for a while.  They said that they found it in near their house in the bushes.  I don't know if they were teasing or telling me the truth,  I think they were telling me the truth, that they were going to eat it then use the shell part for a drum like instrument.  I hope they were joking.  I really don't want to ever eat turtle or Iguana which they also said that they eat.  Dicson, who was with us just said that sometime when eating a really good bowl of soup, if it has chunks of meat in it, just don't ask what the meat is.  I thought that was good advise and I also thought, thank goodness we have very few offers to eat with the members here and that makes me happy because I don't want to eat surprise meat soup.  

Brandon Castro who serves as ward clerk and I do the branch finances every Sunday.  He is a young man who has been preparing to go on a mission now for several months.  I think he wants to go but just not really.  He has grown up in the Church and knows what missionaries do,  and I think he doesn't want all the rules that missionaries have,  he like all of us enjoys his freedom.  That is a big part of being a missionary, is accepting that set of regulations and lifestyle that they have to accept for that two year period.  It really is a lifestyle adjustment that some make easier than others.  It has been so very interesting for us to get to know so many and to hear of their experiences as they have made the decision to serve a mission.  For some it is easier than for others, and some have the love and support from home which Brandon would definitely have, but for others they have very little or no support from home do take on such a responsibility as a mission, for 18 months or 2 years.  We had to go to zone council this week in Progreso and from there we had several opportunities to see and be with wonderful young missionaries again.  

We also went out to San Jose, and as we passed a cemetary there were several of the above ground concrete boxes which holds the remains of the dead,  Crypts, maybe, or Mausoleum, but there were several that had crosses on them, which is different from most of the others here.  Maybe there were more catholic faith followers, or maybe there are other religions that use the cross too,  I don't know but the majority do not have crosses on them.  So we got these pictures and there was a police station across the street.  

Our Branch had a youth, young mens and young womens activity this week where they all went out to the Lancetilla.  There was a large group that went and they had a great time.  It really is pretty out there.

The highlight of the week for me, was today.  There are a lot of members who live out in the neighborhood that is called 15 de Septiembre, or more commonly called "La Quince" which is "the 15".  They are a very poor group of people who live there because it is where the poor people live. In some communities it is the the other side of the tracks, here it is out in the quince.  Which is also out on the other side of the river, across the bridge.  They for the most part have no transportation other than walking, bicycle or if they are lucky they may have a motorcycle.  There are a lot of members who live there but the majority are not currently active.  So as a branch it was decided to have church services out there and see if the people who say that they don't come because it is too far to walk clear in to the church in Tela, to see if they would attend church if it was held closer to them.  So today there were church services in the regular meetinghouse in Tela, which is where Colleen and I were asked to be, and also out there in the patio of a member, who is actually the Elders quorum president.  There were 35 in attendance in Tela, and a whopping 66 who gathered at hermano Mendoza's patio in the quince, including President Garcia and los Morales who were assigned to be out there with that group.  They took 20 chairs out there yesterday to prepare and also one water tray and one bread tray for the sacrament.  They had to fill the water tray twice, and they didn't get started until 30 minutes late because the people just kept coming and they had to try and get everyone in the small covered patio.  It was so very surprising that so many showed up.  But another great thing is that there were several member families who attended who haven't been to church in a long time and there were also several part member families as well as several friends who wanted to participate.  It was beyond expectations that so many individuals showed up for church there today.  

There were many who were not included in these two pictures, but it was just amazing that so many people showed up.  There were three people from the Stake who came to Tela to church today, but when they heard that they were having this group meeting out in la quince for the first time today, of course they wanted to go out there and be a part of the first meeting out there.  Which was great, except that they were the speakers for the sacrament meeting today for Tela.  So President Garcia called me early this morning, and said that they would all be going to la quince to church, and then they would come back to Tela as soon as they could, and if I would be the speaker in Tela until they could get there.  What???  Anyone who knows me knows that I cannot speak for any length of time about anything, let alone in a sacrament meeting where everyone is just sitting there looking up at you, without preparing beforehand.  As a missionary we have been asked to speak several times in sacrament meeting but we have always had at least a day or two to prepare.  When I was on the High Council, both in Provo and in the Loa Stake, there were times when I had to talk in sacrament meetings for times either way shorter or way longer than the expected timeframe, but I always had materials, a topic and had thought and planned for weeks ahead of the time what I wanted to talk about.   But when he called me this morning and asked me to do that,  I didn't know exactly what I was going to do.  But the miracle was that with the Lord's help I was able to fill the time here in Tela today until they got to the church.  I have thought and read about covenants a lot lately and I recently read the talk that Elder Suares gave at the last general conference which is titled; "Covenant Confidence through Jesus Christ". Which is a talk I have really enjoyed and thought a lot about lately.  We talk about covenants a lot in the church, and there were several of the people in attendance today that haven't been members for very long so I talked about what a covenant is and the strength that comes as we make and keep covenants with our Savior Jesus Christ.  I talked for 20 - 25 minutes and I feel like I really had the spirit with me as I talked today.  It was a good day.  I am so glad the Colleen and I have had this wonderful experience here.  It has been so wonderful to have participated in these experiences here and to see the growth in so many of the wonderful saints here in Tela and Telamar.  I know that our Savior lives and that He guides this, His church, through a living Prophet.  I am so thankful for the blessings He has given me,  for Colleen, most of all.  And for Meggan, and Janise, for Todd and Chelsea, Jayden, Turner, Declan, Myaela, and Juliet.  I love them all so much and I am so thankful for their love and support always.  

It was Declan's birthday this past Friday, and we were able to talk with him Friday night for a while, that was so great to be able to talk with him.  He is 8, wow, that is crazy that he is 8 already.  He is going to be baptized next Saturday, and hopefully we will be able to participate in that through technology as well.  It is always so great when we can talk with family,  I am so very thankful for technology and the internet and all that that allows us to do.  Happy Birthday Declan!!!  Love you!!!