The Work and The Glory



"I have often said that one of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work!

If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit;

and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy.

There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families,

for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry.

WORK, WORK, WORK---there is no satisfactory substitute

especially in missionary WORK."  

---PRESIDENT EZRA TAFT BENSON

I feel the above quote adequately explains why it has been a month since my last blog post

It has been a busy month.  Along with the work we have had a lot of moments to Glory in.

Buenaventura is the largest Pacific port for Colombia.  It is about 2 1/2 hours from Cali.

We have just opened this area with a "Group" starting with about 3 families and 2 missionaries.

They meet in a members home every Sunday to hold Sacrament Meeting. 

On Sunday, July 22, a bus from Buenaventura arrived at the Vista Hermosa Ward.

There were 46 people on that bus...from tiny tots to aged grandmothers.

Members, non-members, and investigators. 

 We held a 2 hour sacrament meeting that included the baptisms and confirmations of
7 new members of the Buenaventura Group. 
It was a very special morning.
This city is ready to receive the gospel and in coming years we will see chapels in Buenaventura!!

The Buenaventura Group, investigators, and friends!

(in front of the Vista Hermosa chapel in Cali)

We always glory in our Assistants for all the hard work they do!

We shed a tear or two when Elder Belnap left the office to go and help

build the kingdom in Buenaventura.

Elder Belnap and his new companion, Elder Welling, will be missionaries 3 and 4 in Buenaventura.

(latest report from Buenaventura:  30 baptisms scheduled for August!! Glory!  Glory!)

We have happily welcomed Elder Stutz to serve as Assistant to the President.

He jumped right into the work...an excellent missionary!

Elder Almendares and Elder Stutz

We did many Noches de Hogar (family nights) with missionaries this month.

This was a fun night with Elders Stucki and Somoza.

We enjoyed playing, learning, and sharing together with their investigators.

A couple of our Family Nights were with the sister missionaries and their investigators.

This missionary work was followed up with 2 glorious baptisms.

President Prince performed the baptisms on Saturday, July 21.

We glory in this kind of work!!

(thanks, Hermanas Fuentealba and Carreno!)

We said goodbye to missionaries (not so glorious)

and will miss their hard work here in the mission.

Work well done you faithful servants!!

Elders Juarez and Condori

Hermanas Cristancho, Charry, Mancilla, and Carreno.

3 of these faithful missionaries worked hard and took their English exam before leaving.

Now that is something to glory in!!  So proud of them for their hard work!!

I love these beautiful sisters!

Hermana Cristancho and Hermana Charry both finished their mission in the Medellín mission.

They live in Bogota and got permission to fly into Cali on their way home

to say goodbye here before ending their missions.

What a delight to have them with me for another day.

We received 19 new missionaries on Tuesday, July 24.

Sending only 4 home from our mission (remember 2 sisters were from the Medellín mission) did not leave adequate apartment space to house the incoming missionaries.

We have worked furiously at finding, contracting, and furnishing apartments.

 15 Elders and 3 Sisters arrived from the Bogotá, Colombia MTC early in the morning.

After lunch we visited Cristo Rey (it was VERY sunny and hot!)

Elder Rojas arrived later in the afternoon from the Lima, Peru MTC.

We feel like Helaman in Alma 57:6

"...we received..an addition to our army...

And now behold, we were strong..."

These new missionaries bring a great work ethic with them and they know their missionary purpose.

What a marvelous work and a wonder...to have these great young men and women leave home for 2 years or 18 months to share the greatest gift of all...eternal life. 

That is glorious!!

On Thursday, July 26 contractors began the work of remodeling the kitchen of the mission home.

Doing remodeling work on the 15th floor of a high rise apartment building is an interesting process.

The noise of jack hammers and banging are our music from 8 am to 5 pm.

Here is a peek at what the kitchen looks like right now---

Just how am I supposed to make banana bread for interviews

and birthday cookies for zone conference without an oven????

We are washing dishes in a bathroom sink and cooking in the microwave and crockpot

(thank goodness I brought that with me!!) 

 It is like glorified camping. (I actually wish I had my camp stove!!)

 After almost 1 week of this, I am hoping we survive the next month!

BUT to add some GLORY to all this WORK...

President Prince brought me flowers!!!

The flowers here in Colombia are gorgeous.  These have been a bright spot in an otherwise

noisy, dusty work zone.

This is a wonderful WORK...

"Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever.  Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord?  Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men?  Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."  Alma 26:16