EMAIL... Week 44

Hola All!

Another interesting and eventful week here in Nicaragua! The two baptisms last week both started over and hour and a half late. With the transportation issues and the distance many live from the chapels here, Mormon Standard Time has taken on a whole new meaning. Both were wonderful, and the spirit was strong as these two young people chose to follow the Savior and be baptized. It's very humbling to witness the sacrifices many are willing to make to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives.

Monday we headed for Managua to have our car serviced, the air conditioning (another HUGE blessing) fixed as it was dripping profusely inside on the floor, and the brakes checked. We were supposed to take in in at 10 on Tuesday and be able to return home that evening, but our appointment ended up being later. We ran errands with the office couple, the Lees, who are the angels we stay with when in Managua. We got to visit with a few of our favorite missionaries, who were at Consejo at the chapel where the mission office is housed. We have truly been blessed to work with some amazing missionaries, young and senior. The car was almost done by the end of the day, and they said we would be able to pick it up at noon on Wednesday. They found more things wrong on Wednesday, so they said we could get it on Thursday at noon. It has over 100,000 kilometers, and that's when they like to sell and purchase new vehicles. We told them Estelí is not a good place for new vehicles because of the dirt, rocky, and rough road conditions, and that we would prefer to let someone else have the new vehicle. Thursday afternoon the man, who works for the Church and is in charge of things which cost a lot money...cars, homes, furnishings, phones, etc, called us and told us that we could take the mission truck up to Estelí until they figured things out. We had been going a bit stir crazy, because we were missing working with the missionaries and other commitments we had in Estelí. We had so much fun with the Lees, who were so kind and took great care of us, but knew we had things we needed to get done at "home". The Elders brought the truck and we all noticed the nail in the front tire. We packed up and headed home, and about 30 minutes into the trip home, it started pouring. We were truly blessed and protected, as we couldn't see very far ahead, and when big trucks were coming toward us, we couldn't see the road at all. It poured the rest of the way home, so you can imagine how grateful we were to arrive and to have arrived safely! Today, Elder K noticed that the tire with the nail was flat. He changed it and reported the problem. Another tender mercy that we were home and that he was able to change it. Never a dull moment!

The highlight of this week was our visits yesterday, especially with a new investigator of the Elders. She is almost 32 and has a daughter from an early relationship, and another daughter with her husband. He was killed in a motorcycle accident 5 years ago. She grew up on the streets, but is stable now and credits her blessings to our Heavenly Father. As they taught the Plan of Salvation, and Elder K showed the POS video, the spirit was strong and she was so happy. We are grateful to know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us to help us personally progress, to be refined, and to become the person we are here to become. Sometimes I balk at my challenges, but His plan is ALWAYS better that mine in the long run, and sometimes I see it immediately. Faith is such a critical gift and principle to develop!

We are loved! We are cared for! There are angels round about us, some we can see and some we cannot! Jesus Christ is at the helm and we can feel His peace, when we take that step back and feel it! We love you and are so grateful to have you in our lives!

Love,

Elder and Hermana Koelliker