EMAIL... Week 69

Hola All!

Just kidding...the rainy season is still upon us, partially because of a tropical storm, so we’re continuing to experience unbelievable downpours. They are responsible for lots of mud and some flooding, but also the amazing green everywhere and a spectacular waterfall trip with the Estelí Elders. This trip to the falls provided the greatest size and force we have seen yet. We were happy that we could also take the Elders to the top. So beautiful! The boys were well behaved and didn’t try anything crazy at the top, plus they got some great photos to email home.

President and Hermana Poncio came up with an AP and the Sister Leader to do interviews. Hermana Fersola stayed with us. She is amazing. She is from the Dominican Republic, where her mother is from, and her father is Italian, but likes life in the DR. She looks American and speaks a bit of English and Italian on top of her Spanish. We enjoyed having her stay and getting to know her. We had a nice lunch together for the Poncio entourage, the ZL’s and Elder Najera. Our interview is during our conversation at lunch and we all laugh a lot. President Poncio is a tease and quite funny, so he and Elder K get along really well.

Last week we met Hermana Dyal from Salt Lake City, who is serving in another zone that participates with us in our Multi-Zone Conferences. This is her first change in Nicaragua and her trainer is one of the Hermanas we served with previously, here in Esteli. Our nephew, Elder Tyler Davies, was her ZL in the MTC and she was the Sister leader for their zone, all learning Spanish. He told us to look for her, and of course we were happy to meet her last week. She played a beautiful piano solo at the conference and I was able to get a few pictures to send to Elder Davies. My brother, Brady Davies, sent me an email this week to watch for Hermana Dyal, as she is the daughter of a man he works with, and he and his wife are their good friends. It was fun to be able to report back that we met her, that she is doing awesome, and to be able to forward the pictures to him to show her dad. Such a small world!

We had our final Temple Prep lesson with Mauricio and Claudia and their 3 kids, ages 12-17. They are slated to go to the temple in Honduras December 5th-7th. We will continue to visit them each week and share messages and experiences to help them keep their focus and strengthen them. They have come a long way! The kids will be able to do baptisms while they are there, and while their parents are doing endowment sessions. The most important part of their trip is that they will be sealed as an eternal family. The members preparing in the Rosario Branch have one more lesson, and the Condega group members have 2 more. Poco poco!

One of the men in our branch struggles to stay active. We talked to him yesterday about how happy he is when he is active in the church and obeying the commandments, and how miserable he his when he is not. Elder K drew a line in the dirt and talked about the 2 sides of the line...one side represents Christ, obeying and following Him, and happiness. The other side represents Satan, not keeping the commandments, and misery. Every decision is a choice, and sometimes we need to really think and recognize which side of the line we are choosing, and the consequences for each choice. Hopefully that little parable/object lesson will help him! 

We love these precious people. We hurt when they don’t hold fast to the spirit they have felt, keep their covenants, and continually progress. We recognize who they really are and the unlimited potentials they have, and the blessings that are theirs IF they will just hold fast to the rod and do the small and simple things. We are so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives and for the opportunity to share our testimonies and experiences with others. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our Heavenly Father and Savior in this great work of building up Their  Kingdom here on the earth and in helping to prepare the world for the Second Coming of our Savior!

We love you! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder and Hermana Koelliker

Pancake Breakfast... Ducks... Vistas... Conferences... Baptism...

We had a pancake breakfast to celebrate the birthdays in the Estelí District. Happy birthday to Hermana Elías and Elder Bassett. We then had a special b-day lunch for Hermana Elias and her companion, Hermana Donaire.

 Visited Virginia and Nubia and watched them bag crema. Yummy! We also got to see their new baby ducks. Quack. Quack. When they get bigger they will be sold for meals.

Hiking the hills in Condega and on up to the old airstrip on top used during their civil war. Awesome views!

Multi-zone Conference in Matagalpa. Notice the lighted cross in the background that looks like it’s floating.

Baptism of Estivan. Luis Armando at work building a house by himself. A beautiful sunset on the way back from Dario.

EMAIL... Week 68

Hola All!

We have only had sprinkles this week, after being threatened with a downpour every day. Could the rainy season be over? We shall see! We won’t leave our umbrellas home yet, as this could be a trick!

Packed week...and we are feeling it! Tuesday we did a pancake breakfast for our District to celebrate the birthdays of Hermana Elías and Elder Bassett! Always fun for us to feed them! After their meeting we were able to take Hermanas Elías and Donaire to lunch to celebrate more. (The Hermanas were both stuffed by the end of the day with people feeding them in celebration. We just wanted to do our part.) Elder K and I then headed to Condega to work with the Elders. We got to see the baby ducks and watch Nubia and Virginia bag crema to sell. We also got to hike up a long, steep hill to visit one of their new investigators. She lives right below the old airport used during their civil war...so of course we hiked the rest of the way up and took a few pictures. Gorgeous views! Lots of pictures for the blog this week!

Wednesday we headed to Matagalpa for our Multi-Zone Conference, which was part of the Mission Tour for Elder Cordón and his wife. He was called as a seventy last year, spoke in this past April General Conference, and is a counselor in our Area Presidency. We received awesome training and messages from President and Hermana Poncio, and Elder and Hermana Cordón. It was a long day, but a wonderful experience! Plus, we loved seeing some of the missionaries we have worked with in the past, who are now serving in other zones. 

Thursday was the baptism of Estivan by his uncle, Santos, who is a recent convert. It was a sweet experience for all of us, and Estivan was grinning from ear to ear, despite the cold water. We were able to visit him on Friday and he is so excited to get confirmed this Sunday. He and his 7 year old brother are great additions to our Primary!

Friday night we had the opportunity to meet a 3 generational family of investigators. They weren’t all home, but we had a wonderful lesson on the Word of Wisdom with the ones who were home, and they all committed to stop drinking coffee. That’s a really big deal here, as coffee is one of their crops they grow and export. Part of them are going to get baptized next Saturday, and the rest in November, including the grandparents, who still have to get married first. 

We’re so blessed to have the fullness of the Gospel in our lives, and the knowledge of who we are, where we came from, where we can go and how to get there! I don’t want to be alone forever! I want to be with my entire family for eternity! This blessing alone is so worth every sacrifice and effort we make to prepare! Thank you for all you do and are! We love you all!

Love,

Elder and Hermana Koelliker

EMAIL... Week 67

Hola All!

Another week of enjoying our service here. I feel like we learn more every day, from every person we visit, from every message we share, and from every testimony we bear, and for me...just trying to understand what is being said and to contribute. Poco poco! The rainy season isn’t over yet, so wet, muddy, and mosquito bites are part of our daily experience. Thankfully, it didn’t rain while we had our laundry outside on the line. Tender mercy!

Fun teaching Blanca how to make chocolate chip cookies. Her 19 year old son told her she needed to learn how to make them, and to learn well! She is an amazing cook! Just ask Elder Koelliker about her Nica tacos and arroz con leche. Yummy! We met with them Friday night and sang “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go”, and Elder K showed the clip of Hugh B. Brown’s experience with “The Little Currant Bush”, retold in a talk by Elder Christofferson. We talked about how all of us have trials and difficulties in our lives for different reasons. Sometimes due to disobedience or sin by us or someone else. At times to humble us and cause us to turn back to our Heavenly Father. And sometimes, we have these experiences to refine us and prepare us for something in our future. Usually these experiences test our faith, but hopefully as we turn to the Lord for help, strength, and courage, our faith grows and we learn what we are supposed to learn from the experience. We also talked about the Plan of Salvation or the Plan of Happiness, and that our Heavenly Father also has a specific plan for each one of us. If we walk by faith and truly trust God and our Savior, we will learn, progress, improve, and accomplish our missions here on this earth. Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of my favorite scriptures that I have to reread often, to help me keep my perspective and remember Who is really in charge! What a blessing the spirit is in our work with these precious people!

Elder K had the opportunity to teach the baptismal prayer to a recent convert, who cannot read. He will baptize his nephew next week and will practice much to prepare. He is so excited to be able to utilize his Priesthood. We love watching their progress and enthusiasm as the people here embrace the Gospel and let Christ more fully into their lives.

We live in a duplex and as of last Saturday, we now have neighbors. They are an American couple and Jehovah Witness (known as Testigos here) missionaries. They have lived in Central America for 19 years, and here in Estelí for 2 of those years. We were able to help them move stuff in and chat a bit. They are very nice and very devoted to their congregations here. I’m sure we’ll have some good discussions!

Thank you all for your prayers and examples! We love you all!

Love,

Elder and Hermana Koelliker

Bananas and a Bicycle Built for 4..

With all the rain the jungle is beautiful and green and the flowers are incredible. I just wish Laurie and I could find a way to stay dry and out of the mud.

One of our members climbed a banana tree in his backyard and cut a part of a bunch for us to cook tajadas and tostones. Can't wait!!

A family of four on their Sunday drive. Next to walking, this is the most popular means of transportation.

The stages of building a house in Estelí. Every phase is accomplished by hand. The foundation holes for the pillars are 5-6 feet deep. It was pretty funny to watch as they finished digging the holes. All I could see was dirt flying out of the hole. Once finished, they needed a ladder or get out. Unfortunately, each morning they had to bail the rain water out of the hole before they could begin digging. It's been fun to watch their progress. They work hard!

EMAIL... WEEK 66

Hola All!

General Conference was a spiritual turbo boost! We were able to watch all of the sessions but 1 in English, which was a huge blessing for me! My mind doesn't translate fast enough to always keep up, and some of the personal experience words are new for me. We especially loved the great talks on service and on the blessings of reading and prayerfully studying The Book of Mormon each day, because these are 2 of the habits we have been trying to teach the people here. Powerful and needed messages for us in our day! We were sad to hear of Elder Hales passing this life and graduating to the next. He will be missed and we are so grateful for the things that he taught us!

We were heartsick to read about the Vegas massacre and the terror experienced by those there and their families. But we were so uplifted to read of the many brave and unselfish heroes, including people helping each other get out of harm's way and even shielding people around them to protect them; the first responders; the hospital staffs, doctors, and nurses; people donating blood, food, money, hygiene kits, clothes, flights, rides, hotel rooms, homes, counseling services, legal services, and on and on; and especially the many reminders that there are sooooo many good people in the world, who are willing to love and help and stick up for and serve others, even people they don't know and/or people with whom they seemingly have nothing in common. We love our country and all of God's children! We are so blessed to have the many freedoms that we enjoy! We are so blessed to have the Gospel and to know that we have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior! 

We are experiencing the side effects of Hurricane Nate...lots of pouring rain and mud...bridges closed due to river water running over them, roads washed out and "ponds" in the middle of roads, fast dirty water running everywhere. Schools and many jobs closed early on Thursday and won't reopen until Monday, due to the incredible flooding. We have been drenched and muddy almost every day this week, and we just laugh! Elder K says it's better than the freezing snow he experienced on his first mission. We do worry about the people, as some of their homes lie in flash flood paths. There have been many mud slides on the mountain slopes reported, so we may not be able to go to Condega for Church on Sunday. We shall see! The hurricane is projected to hit the Louisiana area. We hope and pray not! We are so humbled and encouraged with the outpouring of love and service in response to the recent natural disasters and human tragedies. 

We're are grateful for the inspiration we have been able to recognize and act upon this past week. We pray to receive, recognize, and be able to be His hands in answering prayers each day. It is a great blessing for us to be able to have these prayers answered, even in small ways. We are learning that we should never ignore our thoughts to reach out or to help others. It is such an opportunity to be able to serve here and now full time. We had a special visit with a family we love greatly. We felt impressed to visit them and made an appointment. We asked them how they thought we could best serve the people here these last few months. Both are super dynamic people with strong testimonies, but are having some trials right now. They told us to focus on families who are progressing the most, because when we are gone, they will be strong enough to help others. Great counsel! We then felt impressed to offer to fast with them this Fast Sunday for help, patience, strength, and inspiration for the trials they are facing. I asked this wonderful man if he needed a blessing. With tears in his eyes, he nodded his head! He asked Elder K to give him a blessing, and it was such a powerful spiritual experience for us all. They understand what this life is all about! They are all in. They recognize that we are all here to be tested and refined. They appreciate the power of the Priesthood and prayer. They want to serve and do all that they are asked to do. They realize that we can expect help from heaven when we do all that we can do and ASK our Heavenly Father for help. We know that they are being prepared for great things!

Thank you all for being great examples of love, service, and disciples of Christ! We appreciate your thoughts and prayers in our behalf!

Love you!

Elder and Hermana Koelliker

Birthday Celebrations!

Saying goodbye to Hermanas Munoz and Pratt. Hermana Muñoz headed back home to Guatemala and Hermana Pratt to Managua. It's so hard to say goodbye but we always love the new ones too.  

Had a special birthday. The sisters sang happy birthday in Spanish and Laurie made my favorite; blueberry cheesecake Nica style.

We were invited to a festive birthday dinner with one of our favorite families. Blanca prepared Nica tacos. I even enjoyed seconds. ¡Fueron muy ricos!