Drip System... Alfredo... Bring on New Missionaries

Great innovation for recycling water bottles...using them for a drip system to water the garden. I think I'll try it when I get home.

Meet Alfredo, our 93-year old Nica friend. His physical limitations prevent him from walking to church so the sacrament is now brought to him. We visit him weekly to sing and share a message. He knows the Bible very well and it's always a treat to hear him quote scriptures each visit. He's always happy to see us, and has a tendency to quote specific scriptures when he's praying. It's sad that he can't read the Book of Mormon any more due to his failing eyesight, so we share BOM scriptures with him. We love him dearly and his nonmember sister, Tomasa, who lives with him.

With changes happening on Monday we are losing five of our wonderful missionaries in our district. Two of the elders completed their missions and are returning home with honor. Three are heading to new areas to continue their labors. It's always hard to send them off. We had a "send off" dinner with each set. We love our missionaries and enjoy serving them!

EMAIL... Week 28

Hola All!
Another crazy week in Nicaragua! Maybe it's just us! Last Sunday the 8 of us missionaries serving in Estelí met with the District President and discussed how to increase the baptism and retention success rate in the District. Two helps that we identified and discussed at length were regular Branch Councils and having Branch Mission leaders and Mission Plans. Sound familiar? We talked about President Hinckley's directions for what new converts and less active members need...friends, to be nourished by the word of God, and a calling or responsibility. Lee testified that the Mission Leader is one of the most important and necessary positions in the Ward or branch. We told him that the Branch leaders and other members need to be involved with teaching, friendshipping, and helping the new members and less actives serve, as discussed and prayed about in Branch Council. Our Zone Leaders were asked to come to his next meeting with the Branch Presidents to train them on these two needs. We take these things for granted because they are in place and functioning well, but the Church is not very established here yet, and most don't have the vision. Poco a poco.  

Monday we drove around trying to find a clinic for two of the Hermanas here. They had tests run, and got some answers to their struggles. I'm sure their parents were relieved to find out the results the next day. Most of Central America had no power starting at about 9 AM here. There was a problem with a major substation in Guatemala...and we had the trickle down effect, which here also means the water shuts off. We are blessed to have a water tank in a tower on our back patio, so we were able to just flip that switch and have water. Others are not so blessed. They usually switch our water off 2 evenings/nights a week. We got our power and regular water back at 7:30 PM. It was interesting that the major stores, clinics, and gas stations had power throughout the day...they must have generators. Also, Guatemala had power after about a an half hour. Nicaragua is low on the pecking order. They just deal with it. We had a candlelight dinner of sandwiches, chips, veggies, fruit, and the ice cream that was melting. It was fun!

We were teaching a lesson Tuesday night and got a call that we needed to be in Managua the next day at 7:30 AM to get our cédulas, which are our visas. We got up at 4 to get there at 7:30, waited an hour for the others to get there, and then went in, and finally finished a little before 2. Their immigration department reminded us of the DMV, except there weren't numbers, just lines. The Church has people who work on this constantly and they had been taking our passports there every month to clear us for the next month. The machine was broken and they sent all the other 30 plus missionaries back to work, including the mission president from the South Mission and his young family. Our mission president, his wife, and son stayed with us and our immigration workers, and we finally got taken care of. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with our mission president and his wife, just the 4 of us. He is learning English, and she...not so much, but they speak slower and we communicated pretty well. We're good for a year now, which should be enough to finish our mission. Our mission processed 89 missionaries this past week getting their cédulas. Most had been here longer than we have by months. We think because the election is over and things have been evaluated, the government finally decided to let us all stay. Tender mercies!

Wonderful Multi-Zone Conference on Friday. We love hearing from our mission president and his wife. They are both in their 40's and very dynamic! They don't candy coat things, which is especially helpful for young adults. We were also blessed to hear from our District President. He told us in our meeting with him last Sunday, that he wanted to talk to all the missionaries. He talked about how his aunt had saved him from drowning when he was a young boy, and that missionaries had saved him spiritually from a worldly life when he was 26. He was called to be District President after being a member of the Church for only 3-4 years. His wife is a returned missionary and served in El Salvador. She is amazing herself! They were married in the temple and have 2 active young boys. He pled with us missionaries to love HIS people, to teach them, and to help them have the blessings that we enjoy. Awesome! We had 3 of the Hermanas from Matagalpa spend the night with us last night, as the buses had stopped going there by the time their interviews were done. We do love having the missionaries in our home. They are so fun and such a blessing to be around. We love learning about them and their "stories". Grateful for microwaves and quick meal ideas, as it was very last minute.

The Church is true! It is such a great blessing in our lives. It is truly a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to serve the people here with the other missionaries and our mission president and his wife! We love to serve, especially when we realize that we are actually serving our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ! We have been so blessed throughout our lives, this is just a drop in the bucket compared to what we owe Them.

We love and miss you all, and so appreciate all you do for us!
Love,
Elder and Hermana Koelliker

Chasing Waterfalls...

Back to the waterfall. We try to take the new missionaries who serve in Estelí to the waterfall to hike and experience the scenic vistas of the mountain highlands. It's the dry season so there isn't much water spilling over the falls but as we hike along the river and into the jungle the things you see are spectacular.  We passed a herd of cows and they were as interested in watching us as we were of them. We watched the Brahma Bulls most carefully as we didn't want to feel their horns. We saw some painted fence posts that reminded us of "Bomb Pops" (popsicles), we love to eat with our grandkids. Yummy!

EMAIL... Week 27

Hola All!
Great week! Another trip to the waterfall to take the 4 Hermanas, 3 of them had not been yet. So fun and so beautiful! The hike up to the top, after the hike down to the bottom, always gets my heart beating and my thighs burning. So worth it! Fun birthday lunch for Hermana Nova at Rosti Pollos and a productive lunch/meeting with our branch president and the Hermanas to discuss ways to strengthen the branch at Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut here is a sit down restaurant with a host and waiters or waitresses. What a yummy change! Most of the members and leaders are so new to the gospel, that they really don't have a full vision of how things are supposed to and can work. They have never seen a strong church unit function and how that kind of branch or ward can bless all of its members. We encouraged him to utilize more people in callings, both to help him and to help them be more vested in the branch and in the gospel. I have been helping in Primary, which is fun, but a challenge with my lack of fluency and the behavior gap of what we are used to. Lee is teaching the new male members about the priesthood to help them prepare to receive that great gift and enable them to be a strength to their families and to the branch. Oh how we love these people and can see the awesome potential they have. We have to help them overcome some of their cultural and familial issues, and help them truly and fully embrace the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Poco poco.
Sweet experience last night with Marvin, Blanca, and the Hermanas. We had them over for an "American" dinner...Ritz chicken, stuffed potatoes, veggies, green salad, fruit, rolls, and chocolate cake. Thankfully, they liked it and went back for seconds! Whew! After dinner Lee showed the video of part of President Uchtdorf's talk, "Your Potential, Your Privilege". We talked about how many of us are like the man on the cruise and don't take full advantage of everything available to us as members of the Church, as children of God, of our divine potential, and/or of the promises of eternity through the blessings of the temple, because we aren't focused on the most important things in this life. We neglect the small and simple things and don't develop strong relationships with our Heavenly Father, our Savior, Jesus Christ, our spouses, or our families. The best part was that they expressed that they have felt different since we started visiting them almost 6 months ago. They told us they were amazed at how close our family is, that we are all active members with callings in the church, that we are all sealed in the temple, that our parents were also sealed in the temple and active in the church, and that our number one goal is to live so we can return and be with our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and our family forever. Marvin said he has been talking with his wife, his mother, and his brother about things. Marvin's goal for 2017 is to become completely active in the church, become worthy to use his priesthood, and prepare to go to the temple. His parents were sealed to each other, but the adult children have to take care of that themselves. Blanca had a horrible accident yesterday before they came over. She was cooking and hot oil exploded and went all over her kitchen, including the roof, but none got on her. She knew Heavenly Father had protected her. We told her that we call that "a Heavenly Father hugger", times when He gives you a little miracle to let you know that He is always there and that He loves you. Her heart was soft! That was our tender mercy for the week!
We are so blessed as missionaries, as families, as a people, and as children of God! May we take advantage of our many blessings and opportunities to grow and progress toward returning to our Heavenly Father, through the Atonement of His Son, and live with Them and our families FOREVER!
Thank you for your positive thoughts and prayers! We need them and we feel them!
Love you all!
Elder and Hermana Koelliker

EMAIL... Week 26

Feliz Año Nuevo!

We can't believe it's the end of another year. It seems the older we get, the faster the time flies. We will not be having our normal big breakfast at midnight celebration this year, but we know that we will be awakened by the fireworks, so we don't need to try to stay up. Lee was working on his talk for Christmas Day last Saturday night, and at midnight the fireworks went off for about 30 minutes to celebrate Christmas! We'll see if tonight is even bigger, like we have been warned. We're grateful for the chance to reflect on our progress and experiences, and set new goals and plan for new experiences for 2017. We took some pictures of one of their other traditions that we'll post and explain on our blog.

We are really enjoying the work and our experiences here. While we are saddened by the choices many make and the lack of commitment to the important things in this life, we love the people and truly celebrate their progress and the changes they are making in their lives for the better. Each of us has been blessed with the light of Christ, and we are the ones who can cause that light to dim or grow brighter through the choices we make. At this time in the history of the world we all need to be striving to fuel the light in our lives, and that comes from doing the small and simple things...reading our scriptures, praying, meditating, attending our church meetings every week so we can partake of the Sacrament and reflect upon the great gift of the Atonement in our lives, having weekly Family Home Evenings, attending the temple often, serving in the church, and serving others. It's doing the little things that strengthen us and bring us joy. It's doing the little things that bring us closer to our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ! We have found that there is a vast chasm in the levels of joy and peace being enjoyed in life, between those who do the small and simple things, and those who do not! This has strengthened our commitment of striving continually to do those small and simple things that we have been counseled to do.

Our favorite thing to do is STILL doing Family Home Evenings and Noche de Hermanomientos, which are like activity nights, with either families or branch groups. We share a video or message and discuss it together, and then do something fun. We have learned some fun and interesting games, that we are excited to share with our family, especially with our grandkids, when we get home. We have learned that things don't need to be a big production or expensive to have a lot of fun. We love to watch their joy and laughter with the simplest of things, and they love the church videos. Videos from lds.org, Mormon  channel, and gospel library provide many easy Family Home Evenings, especially the ones for the youth. These are powerful messages and great springboards for discussion and testimony. Also, these events give me lots of opportunities to bake cookies! I told you guys that my role would be cookies and hugs, and I love serving in this small way.

Three visits we want to share with you were to three older men and their wives. I say "older" because I'm close to that category and not ready to be considered "old". All 3 have serious health issues. One is 103 and suffering with late stage prostate cancer. One is 77 and has debilitating arthritis, and is usually writhing in pain. The last is in his 80's and had his left leg amputated above the knee this past December 22nd, due to gangrenous complications of diabetes. All 3 were in great spirits and looked better than they have in weeks past. They were cheerful and happy. They testified of the great blessings in their lives, of family, of having the gospel, and of their loving Padre Celestial and of His Son, Jesucristo. It was powerful and touching, to say the least. I have nothing to whine about, as I have all of those blessings as well, and none of the burdens they are suffering. What rock star examples of true disciples of the Savior!

We love you all and so appreciate your love, support, and prayers! We feel them here in Nicaragua!

May we all have a blessed 2017 and strive each day to be a little better!

Love,

Elder and Hermana Koelliker

Happy New Year!

We had another baptism this past week. I was privileged to perform the ordinance. I never thought my "whites" would get as much use as they have.  I feel very blessed to assist the Rosario Branch with their small number of priesthood holders and busy schedules. The two children were baptized eight months ago and mom finally chose to follow their example. 

This is 8-month old Jacob on the back of his dad's bike in a Nica version of a bike infant seat. His dad found a small plastic chair, tied it to the bike, and uses a lace cloth to tie Jacob into the chair. We love their innovation. His wife and older son, who now have bikes, ride behind. They live in a small pueblo about 5-7 miles away. They used to ride with all four on dad's bike but now they can travel with greater ease and safety. We love this family. We are working with them to prepare to go to the temple soon.

We were in a home of an inactive member and Laurie found a parrot. He crawled right up onto her finger. She found a new friend whether she wanted to or not. It's customary to find birds such as this loose in the house. They don't believe in cages or leashes for dogs. However, we've seen more leashes on pigs than on dogs. We have to be careful where we sit and walk.

We thought it would be fun to get a picture with the cathedral clock at noon on New Year's Eve. People were all over town center preparing for the night's activities. One thing we've learned is that the Nicas know how to party. It seems like town center is closed every weekend for some kind of celebration.

We learned of a tradition in Nicaragua that is done at the stroke of midnight on December 31 of each year; "El Viejo/La Vieja". A life-size muñeca (doll) is created and then burned at midnight. We saw them all over Estelí this past week as we were making visits. Each muñeca has a sign attached which says "adiós" to the bad and "bienvenido" to the good. The Nicas believe that when they burn el "Viejo", they are saying goodbye to all of the bad things that happened in 2016. They are made of wood and cotton, dressed in old clothing, and most either have a cigar or bottle of liquor. (We hope that means they want to break those two bad habits.)

They then eat 12 grapes to bring good luck for them in the new year. Now we know why there were so many grapes in the tiny mercados on the street. 

Feliz Año Nuevo.  We hope you find joy, happiness, and the choicest blessings of the Lord in this new year.

Feliz Navidad!

The primary program was a success! It was done Nica style with decorations and the children having a luncheon afterwards. Laurie was assigned the banner, the balloons, the luncheon, sharing time, and to speak by the Branch President. Her experience in primary came in handy. Decorating for the program is common in Central America.

Our mission Christmas party was held at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Managua. It started by the pool with muffins, juice, and pictures with the president. We moved inside to a beautifully decorated ballroom where we were entertained by a movie, lunch, and a missionary talent show.  Afterwards, more pictures with the president and some of our favorite missionaries. Everyone had a "merry" time.

During our adventure in Managua we passed by "La Casa Del Whopper" which was located next to the Grand Cathedral and the National Palace. The cathedral was damaged in an earthquake several years ago and is still being renovated. Just past the National Palace the Main Street of Managua was decorated with 3 blocks of Nativities on both sides of the street depicting their version of the Savior's birth.

Laurie brought to Nicaragua her tradition of baking Christmas cookies and delivering them to our neighbors, members of the three branches, and missionaries. She had to be innovative in making them as several of the ingredients weren't available. They were a hit as we are taking orders for next year. 😜 We also wanted to help some of our really impoverished members so we made food bags (they don't have baskets) and delivered them with the missionaries. We went into each home, sang a Christmas hymn, and gave a spiritual message about how the birth of the Savior is a great gift to us from our Heavenly Father and of the many gifts the Savior gave to us during His earthly mission.

Since Christmas is celebrated in Nicaragua and most Central American countries on the 24th, we invited the missionaries serving with us in Estelí to Christmas dinner. Laurie served an incredible "American" dinner, without rice and beans, which was enjoyed by all. We can't believe how much missionaries eat! After dinner, we had a short Christmas program where we sang Christmas hymns, watched a Nativity video from Light the World, and read the Christmas story found in Luke. It was a privilege for me to read it in Spanish for our Central American missionaries. We had a great time together!

¡Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.