colombia-cali mission

Friday, March 9, 2012

Marching on...

This March group of Elders is ready to

march ahead with their lives

The routine of saying good-bye consists of:

1. Interview with the president

2. Lunch at the mission home with all those going home

Elders Castro, Ordonez, Catala, Naranjo, León, Jamett, Duque, Hernandez, Andrade, Trigozo, Moscol

3. Saying good-bye to converts, beloved members, and investigators

4. Weighing suitcases and deciding what things to leave behind...out with the old

5. A pizza party and testimony meeting at the mission home in the evening

6. A lot of nervousness and not much sleep

7. Leaving for the airport at 4am to get all checked in

8. More teary goodbyes and handshakes

9. Marching through the security gates to a life that has been on hold for 2 years

Elders Trigozo, Naranjo, Ordonez, Moscol, Castro, Duque, and Hernandez

Good luck as you March into your futures...
We are SO lucky to have you in our lives forever!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Assisting...behind the scenes

We have great assistants.

They are where we need them, whenever we need them,

doing whatever we need them to do.

Elder Jamett and Elder Belnap

at the Pasto airport

They inspire and help our office crew to have a great work ethic.

"The Office"

Elder and Sister Torgerson (housing and mission nurse)

Elder Belnap and Elder Jamett (assistants to the President)

Elder Novoa and Elder Ramirez (secretary in training and secretary to the President)

Elder Razuri and Elder Vera (finance secretary and materials secretary)

This crew keeps the mission machine running.

Our assistants preach the gospel, teach and train in meetings, compile and submit statistics,

help with transfers, sleep on hard floors or share mattresses while on divisions,

help get packages delivered, answer phone calls for the President, carry bags for sister Prince,

inspire us, laugh with us, cry with us, and carry us through the weeks.

They are simply amazing

and wearing themselves out in the service of

their Heavenly Father

and

their brothers and sisters.

We love these great young men!!

Time flies...

Every time we come or go from our apartment we enter the elevator to ascend or descend 15 floors...

There in the elevator is a large mirror.

Some days we wonder if we REALLY look that old and tired

Some days we are SURE we have aged 10 years

We are seeing time fly by so quickly....

We have flown to the north and to the south of our mission for zone conferences.

We have arrived and our suitcase has not.
We have left the house by 4am and arrived home sometimes after 10pm.

We have driven to the zones close by and have felt the hours flying by as we try to

teach, inspire, and motivate these great missionaries.

At this point we have had interviews with 126 missionaries.

While President Prince interviews each missionary, I talk with their companion.

Each one has commited to "stay in the line" of the mission rules.

Not giving into temptation and obeying with exactness is the commitment!

(I keep hoping that soon I will be able to speak on a topic other than obedience!)

One great sister missionary had to fly home for medical reasons.

She valiantly tried to carry on

The spirit was more than willing -

the knee was weak.

Sister Leguizamon has a contagious laugh and smile.

She has served faithfully and will be missed...we do not have enough sister missionaries!

Sometimes the challenges of life are BIG.

This past week we had to deliver the news to one of our missionaries that his father had passed away...

(unexpectedly...no medical problems)

Receiving and delivering that message was hard.

This Elder has only been in the mission field 2 weeks.

This valiant Elder was just finishing up medical treatment.

This marvleous missionary packed a backpack and flew home for his father's burial

and then flew back 4 days later with a determination to make

his mother, his father, and his Heavenly Father proud.

What a great example for his younger siblings and for all of us.

Birthday cookies are a highlight of zone conference!

This conference we celebrated those who had birthdays in Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb.

Calima Zone Villa Colombia Zone

Elders Guerrero, Cisternas, J. Jensen, Bussey Elders Almendares, Escárate, Hansen, Menendez, Paez, Ocon

Palmira and Tulua Zones San Fernando Zone

Elders Fuentealba, Chicoma, Tauaese, Salavarria, Mendoza, Elders Rocha, Valdiviezo and Hermana Torgerson

Candia, Kennedy, Vasques, Ramos

(not sure why Elder Tauaese got into this picture!)

Zona Belén Zona Medellín

Elders Mendez, Mendoza, Venable, Jara, Parada Elders Gomez, Naranjo, Allauja, Canari

Elder Parada Zona Pasto

Elders Llontop, L. Martinez, Pino, Vilchez, Gonzales, Day

We took our Choco Elders to dinner while we were in Medellín.

These Elders are probably the farthest away and the most isolated of our missionaries...

they live in the jungle - literally.

Elders Borg and Haycock are in Istmina.

During our 2nd week of "La Semana de Siembra", these Elders found

410 new investigators to teach.

Elders Holden and Jara are in Quibdo.

They found 60 new investigators to teach.

The people in these cities are humble and receptive.

We are impressed at the dedication of these Elders and impressed with how they can eat!!

Choco Elders - Jara, Borg, Haycock, Holden Elders Jara, Borg, Haycock

Elders Borg and Haycock - Istmina Elders

Elders Holden and Jara - Quibdo Elders

These Elders fly in and out of Medellín for zone conference.

They happened to miss there flight back...which did not make us happy.

We changed their flights for the following day and upon arriving they learned that the roads between Quibdo and Istmina had been shut down by terrorists.

Upon hearing that news, I had the distinct impression that they missed that flight for a reason.

Our Elders had been kept out of harms way.

We have finished zone conference for 8 zones.
We are teaching and practicing commitments and bringing investigators to baptism.
We are trying to inspire the missionaries to teach the doctrine of Christ,
remember their missionary purpose, and help the investigators overcome obstacles.
Here are our zones....but this time will fly by fast as changes are coming soon.

Zona Villa Colombia

Zona Calima

Zona San Fernando

Zona Tulua

Zona Palmira

Zona Pasto

Zona Medellín

Zona Belén

Saturday, February 18, 2012

How do I love thee...

33 years ago, on Valentine's Day, we were married.

How do I love thee...

....enough to get up at 5am and go to the airport

to say goodbye to Elder Christian Calderón.

and then spend 3 hours at the downtown market

followed by 3 hours of missionary interviews
(of course handing out chocolates and valentine stickers)

and an evening of missionary phone calls.

How do I love thee...

more each day

through every experience on our journey

to eternity.

We have finished interviews with 4 zones
San Fernando, Villa Colombia, Calima, and Palmira

In Palmira we went to the zone leaders house to interview

Elders Jensen and Galeano.

Elder Galeano arrived with our 25 new missionaries and 2 days into his

mission he ended up in the hospital for 5 days.

He is now having a nurse visit 4 times a day at their apartment to give injections.

After 7 days of this he is hopeful to really get started on his mission.

I love these faithful missionaries.

Our zone leaders, Elder Coria (pictured here on the right)

and Elder Tauese (out with missionaries)

have been amazing as they have loved and taken care of this great new missionary

Friday we had Zone Leader Counsel.

We now have 9 new zone leaders who are excellent missionaries and love serving the Lord.

Elders Coria, Smuin, Stutz, Alfaro, Rocha

Moscol, Flores, Garcia, and Cachi

A day of training, spiritual feasting, and planning.

These great zone leaders are the future leaders of the kingdom!

24 Zone Leaders + 2 Assistants + 1 President + 1 Sister Prince = one long day well done!
I LOVE being with these missionaries!!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Until we meet again....

2 year ago parents anxiously sent their sons off to the faraway

Colombia Cali Mission

in hopes that they would be taken care of by people they did not know.

This morning I sent off 14 missionary sons to homes faraway

to be taken care of by people I do not know

....but I KNOW they are good people

because they have raised incredible sons!

"and they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all--they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.

Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before Him." Alma 53:20-21

Each time it gets harder...there was NO training for saying goodbye without crying

...not sure I will ever learn.