EMAIL... Week 29

Hola All!

We hope this finds you all well and at peace with all of the changes in our nation and in the Ward and Stake. It's comforting to know that ultimately, the Lord is in charge, and we have learned that His way always turns out for our good. We are grateful for agency and our understanding that we cannot always choose what will happen in our lives, but we can always choose how we will react and respond.

Speaking of change, it was changes for the missionaries last Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday...and we put 100 kilometers on the car just on Monday, taking missionaries and luggage to and from the different bus stations and houses between 5 AM and 2 PM, and then another run that night. It was fun to meet and greet the different missionaries, and then to be able to feed our six missionaries serving in Estelí their late lunch and help us all get acquainted. Wednesday we took the new missionaries, including a brand new one from the MTC, up to Condega, which is part of our district. The Estelí Elders went along, as they are the Zone Leaders and one knows that area well. We took cleaning supplies to help them get settled and were totally unprepared for the disaster we found. We worked for about two hours until they had an appointment, and I only got about half of the kitchen done. I have learned that guys have a different standard of clean than their mothers, but this was the worst I have seen. Now I understand why our mission president's wife lectures the missionaries every Multi-zone Conference about keeping their houses clean.

We got up Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 2:45 AM and 3:15 AM respectively to take our different sets of missionaries to the bus station to go to Managua for their cédulas and training for new leaders. We don't like them wandering the streets that time of night and it's hard to get cabs from their locations without walking quite a bit. We were able to catch a couple of hours of more sleep when we got home, before it was wake up time. It's amazing how the Lord keeps us alert and functioning in these situations. We feel so blessed to be able to serve in these unique ways. Never a dull moment!

We had a fun Family Night with a family who was recently baptized, but aren't quite solid yet. The Elders Quorum President gave a great lesson on obedience and the need to do the little things. We missionaries added our testimonies and experiences. The spirit was great, and their mother, who is not a member, came in and enjoyed the evening with us. We played a fun game at the end, and when it was our turn, we really hammed it up. We all laughed and laughed! The people here are so happy with the littlest of things, and very childlike in many ways. Lee will post pictures of their parrot, which came out to sit on the beam above us and learn.

Great day yesterday with our visits. We have been visiting many of these people almost every week for the last 6 months and have grown to love them so much! They are progressing slowly and we so enjoy helping them understand the gospel more fully. I love watching them as they feel the spirit and discover and/or understand a truth. We met with a new family. His first wife left him and moved to Costa Rica. He has been with his second woman for 17 years and they have a 16 year old son and a nine year old daughter. He has tried to get a divorce from his first wife, so he can marry his current companion. Legal things are so complicated and expensive here, relative to their incomes. Lee's backpack strap broke as we entered their home, and she ran and got a needle and thread and sewed it back together for him. Sweet woman! This family has great potential for eternal happiness. They need a tender mercy! We'll keep working with them and hopefully we'll be able to help them figure it out.

Life is good! We have the eternal truths we need to return to our Heavenly Father with our families.
We love you and are grateful for the sweet relationships we share with you at home!

Love,
Elder and Hermana Koelliker