EMAIL... Week 31

Hola All!
Interesting week! Last Sunday Luis Armando, the man building the Nica "apartment complex", was in a motorcycle accident as he turned into the church. His leg was broken and he can't work for 2 months. We were devastated for him, as he was to receive the Priesthood that day and work is critical here. We went with the Hermanas to see him that evening at his daughter's house, where 4 other groups of his extended family also live in kind of a compound type structure. They took us right back to the room that he shares with his daughter and her people. There were 8 members of the branch there already with food donations for the family. After singing a hymn together, Elder K and another Melchizedek priesthood holder were able to give him a blessing of comfort, peace, and speedy healing. It's humbling to see the Priesthood at work anywhere in the world with worthy Priesthood holders. He was comfortable and smiling when we left. We have visited him several times this week. His boss for his apartment project told him not to worry and that he can finish it after he heals! His pain has been minimal. When we saw him yesterday, he was sitting outside of the dwelling visiting with family members. We were able to sing, show a video about the Sacrament, and pray with him. The branch will take the Sacrament to his house tomorrow. He is happy and recognizes the tender mercies from our loving Heavenly Father.
We have started working with the Elders in Condega, which is a little town 30-40 minutes north of Estelí. We took them and the Zone Leaders from here up to Condega Tuesday after their district meeting. They ate lunch at their cita, and then we went with one from each pair. They were glad to be in the car, as we went all over and that would have taken them a long time to walk. We met up with the other pair accidentally and went to meet with a family. We found out that he was a pastor of a 28 person congregation there in Condega. We visited with him and he asked if we were Christians, and if so, why are we called Mormons. Lee showed the video, "Because of Him" or "Gracias a Él" here. I love that video that shows various experiences of our Savior as He fulfilled His mission here on earth, and that because of Him, we can repent and be forgiven, we too can be resurrected, and we all can return to our Heavenly Father and Savior with our families to be together forever. The Elders then explained that we are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and that in the early days of the Church, non-members started calling us "Mormons" because of our additional scriptures, the Book of Mormon. He and his wife were touched, and even though I don't think they're interested in changing religions, they know that we are all working together to try to help others come unto Christ. We ended up going to Condega twice more on Thursday to deliver chairs for their meetings, as they don't have a chapel yet, and that night to take them home from Estelí, since it was too late to catch the last bus. It's a beautiful drive, just crazy on the Panamerican Carretera, their version of a highway. It's a good thing Elder K is a good driver and that Heavenly Father watches over His missionaries. Thank you for your prayers, as we know those prayers are helping us be protected and successful.
Did a Family Home Evening for one of our favorite families, and after she served us another version of Nica enchiladas...a special corn tortilla folded over with rice, meat, and seasoning in the middle and deep fried and drained, with shredded cabbage soaked in a vinegar based dressing (not like coleslaw) on top. It was yummy! She sells food out of her home and is a really good cook. I like to limit my oil intake, so I only ate one. Then she sent Lee home with more. She was happy that I brought cookies!
Sweet experience with Alfredo. He is 90+ and lives with his sister, who is not a member of our church but almost always comes out to visit with us. Anyway, we were visiting with them and she told us that he waits for us to come every day. Awww! I wish we could visit him more than once a week. So precious! It's good that the Elders Quorum President and Branch President have started visiting him a couple of times a month as well. We always sing a hymn, share either a scripture or video and then discuss it, and leave them with a prayer. He seriously has a lot of the Bible memorized, and always quotes a passage or two to us each visit. We wish he could still see well enough to read, so he could memorize Book of Mormon scriptures too. He knows many of the Book of Mormon stories and talks about those too.
We love these amazing children of our Heavenly Father! They have so much working against them, yet many keep striving to be obedient to the commandments, love and care for their families, and serve those around them. Thank you for you examples and support! We love you!

Love,
Elder and Hermana Koelliker

P.S.  Our mission office just moved to a chapel in Managua. We'll post the new address as soon as we get it.