HOME SWEET HOME

Getting home was a major undertaking.  It began Monday afternoon when we had to move all of our household belongings out of our house and move them into storage.  Because there is another missionary couple arriving in the East Mission pretty soon, they were the ones to come and help us move everything.

We appreciated their help. It really didn't take long as we didn't have very much.  It proved to be more difficult than we thought it would be to say goodbye to the old blue couch,  We got it used, and it served us well. 

We had started packing our suitcases about a week ago, but by the time we went to bed on Monday it had to all be done.  Trying to squeeze two years into a couple of suitcases was tough.  We ended up paying a little bit for extra baggage weight.  President and Sister Dester picked us up on Tuesday morning to drive us to the airport.  The drive there was a melancholy moment for us all.  We have grown to love this couple with all of our hearts.  Saying goodbye to them was the most difficult part of leaving.

It is said that when a senior couple leaves their mission they cry all the way to the airport, but they make sure that they don't miss their flight.  That was true for us.  Wayne will never forget looking back as we ascended the escalator and seeing President Dester offering a hand salute.  It will forever be a cherished memory. 
   There were a couple of moments of anxiousness as Wayne's suitcase was singled out as a potential bomb threat.  LaRae had to go down on the runway to identify the bag and open it up to prove it was nothing more than a harmonica Wayne had brought with him in hopes he would find time to learn how to play it.  That never happened.  LaRae was none too happy when she found out that Wayne had boarded the plane without her, but she was OK when she saw that he had graciously saved her a seat next to him. 
    When the plane finally landed in Salt Lake City we took a great big breath of air.  We were home! Our loved ones were there waiting for us.  Yellow balloons and welcome home signs were everywhere.  In just ten minutes of hugs and kisses all of the tension and stress of having just spent the last two years of our lives in one of the most dangerous cities on earth was all swept away.  We were home.

There were a thousand things waiting for us to do at home.  Unpacking a lifetime of belongings and moving them back into the house, trying to tidy up a yard that was a little neglected, getting cars registered again, doing our income taxes, and getting a little bit of food in our fridge kept us busy every minute of the next several days.  On Friday night we had a special treat of going to a mission reunion.  We saw many of those we had served with and loved.  Lots of them had cute little girls hanging to their arms.

As you can see, the white shirts and ties are a thing of the past.  There were nothing but smiles and embraces.  Girlfriends were treated to a night full of boasting and laughing over who had the worst apartment, or the most terrible assignment.  There was such joy! These guys will be friends forever.  There is something special about the bond of friendship that is forged in the furnace of missionary service.  We loved seeing them all again. 
    We brought home a couple of small souvenirs to try to help us remember our time there. Our little grandchildren were thrilled with the soccer shirts that we brought them.  With seventeen of them we can field quite a soccer team.

Perhaps, our greatest joy was in meeting our new one.  Little Brielle was born while we were away and this was the first time we had ever seen her.  She is a little bit of a "momma's girl" right now and cries every time we hold her, but that will solve itself in time.  Such is the sacrifice of serving.  In our "report" to the stake presidency and the high council another of the senior couples who had just returned from their mission said they had been asked how they could serve a mission.  "Don't you love your grandchildren?"  This sweet sister said, "We served our mission because  we love our grandchildren."  We know that very soon these shirts will all be too small and worn out, but, we hope that the memory that "grandma and grandpa" had served a mission will stay with them forever!  

   Well, this is the end of our story.  We aged a lot during these two years and have some work to do in order to get back into shape, but we worked as hard as we could, for as long as we could.  And we gained so much from having served this mission.  We gained friends that will last a lifetime, experienced a different culture, relearned a foreign language, deepened in our love and understanding of each other, and watched as our Heavenly Father unfolded miracles on our behalf.  Our family thrived while we were gone.  Not bad, huh!  

                         May the Lord bless you.  Until we meet through the written page again, adios!

ADIOS

These days everything we do seems to be a "last."  Our last delivery route around the mission; our last trip to the post office; our last trip to a grocery store; our last trip to the hospital with a sick missionary; our last sending of reports to the Central offices; or last time standing in a line in a bank; our last office staff meeting and more. On Wednesday the mission auditor for all of Central America came for the last time and reviewed our mission and gave us a glowing stamp of approval.  Finally today we enjoyed our last P-day in Honduras.  We chose to go to Omoa to see the 18th century Spanish fort that has been preserved there. 

We asked President and Sister Dester if they would like to go with us and even though they were busy they graciously accepted.  This fort was constructed in 1756 to use as a defensible outpost from which Spain could send the silver it was mining in the San Miguel silver mines near Tegucigalpa to their homeland in Spain.  With its many cannons it was hoped that it could deter the pirate ships that roamed the Caribbean during that time period.  In 1821 Honduras began to use it as a prison.  Today it is simply a lovely visitor attraction. 

 

Our long list of "lasts" will continue tomorrow with our last church service, and our last meal with our mission president, his wife and our office staff.  Then it will be time to close our suitcases and return home for a season.

Well, folks, we have come to the end.  We leave Tuesday morning for home.  We hope that you have enjoyed following along with our mission blog.  Our service here has been rewarding, and as we look back upon it, it seems like it passed in the blink of an eye.  Our missionary homecoming will be April 13, 2014 in the Fruit Heights, Utah 10th ward chapel at 1:00 p.m.  (On the south end of Fruit Heights)  Any who would like to attend are welcome.  We have fought a good fight.  We have loved the people of Honduras.  We have loved the mighty Latter-day Saint missionaries that we have come to know and who have passed through and blessed our lives.  It has been an incredible blessing to have served with President Veirs, President Klein and President Dester and their wives.  We love them and appreciate them more than our words can tell.  It has been an almost unspeakable honor to have worn the black name tag which proclaims that we are representatives of Jesus Christ. 

We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true!  We invite all to join with us.
Until we meet again.... adios!

BIDDING FAREWELL

Saying goodbye to a land and a people and a service to which you have given your heart and soul unto for two years is a difficult task.  We have found out that it takes place in stages.  First, we find ourselves preparing others to take over after we are gone.

Elder William King and Elder Daicro Vasquez are the two that have been chosen to take over for us in the office.  We have now spent three weeks training them every day, and we will stay here in Honduras for one more week in an advisory role.  They are capable, happy young missionaries who both have the computer skills and temperament to do the job well.
    Each month President and Sister Dester meet with all the mission leadership for a few hours of leadership training.  These young men and women are the cream of the crop.  From time to time we have been asked to take part in the training.  This week we were asked to share our testimonies of the work in which we have been involved.  These are the ones that set the tone for the mission.  They are all time-tested and proven.  We have no doubts but that they will all return home to become leaders in their wards and branches.  The greatest miracle of all is that there are dozens more just like them lining up in the wings to take their place when it becomes their turn.  The Missionary Program of the Church is one of today's greatest miracles.

Standing from left: Sisters Morales and Bayles, Elders Lindsay, Arnold, Ramirez, Lorenzo, Williams, Rivera, Camacho, Permann, the Desters, Van Neck, Young, Castro, and Sisters McQuistion and Escalante.  Kneeling from left: Elder Juarez, Bailey, Bryce, Shuga, Sibrian, Lui, Ro, Mower and Melendez

This was the week for changes.  Twenty-three new missionaries arrived, and three great ones left, which swelled our mission numbers up to 205. With the leaving of Elder Rivera, Sister Escalante and Elder Lui, we now find ourselves as the longest tenured missionaries here!  We are next to leave.  Changes were made in companionships and as is the custom here in our mission, those who are finishing their missions are given the opportunity to bear a final testimony.  We were included into that group.  Incredibly kind and generous words were spoken about our service here. Following the changes, President Dester announced that there was going to be a little goodbye reception in the cultural hall for us.  Sister Dester and the secretaries had gone to Pricemart and picked up a bunch of doughnuts.  For the next two hours we stood off to the side receiving hugs, taking photographs, and writing short but sincere loving words in journals, hymnbooks and agendas.  It was an extremely tender and rewarding day!  Sister Dester had gathered letters from many others who weren't in attendance and presented them to us with couple lovely gifts.  We now have 205 more Facebook friends ... at least, we would if we had a Facebook account.  We do, however, have hundreds of email addresses in our contact list and intend on staying in touch with many of these wonderful servants of the Lord.

Clockwise: The farewell reception table, us with Elder Crisostomo, Elder Baird, Sister Bayles, Elder Sibrian, Sister Grondel, Elder Young and Sister Jimenez

There is still more to do, but our time is getting short.  We pledge to stay busy until the end!

WHY WE ARE MORMON MISSIONARIES

Last week we met in the home of the Andino family.  They are both dentists here in San Pedro Sula. We had met them while arranging for some dental work on a few of our missionaries.  They agreed to allow us to come to their home and share with them the reason why we were here in Honduras.  It is a good question, really!  Why would a couple leave their family and their darling grandchildren, and completely at their own expense come to a foreign land where they don't know the language or the customs?  What could possibly be so important that they would voluntarily offer to stay for two years?  The answer: we came because we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - the "Mormons."

We believe that God is our actual Father- that we are literally His spiritually begotten children.  We believe that He knows us perfectly and that He loves us!  We believe that He is an actual being, with body, parts and passions and that He authored a "plan" for us, His children, to develop, to grow, and to progress until some day we could actually become just like Him.  We believe that this "plan" consisted of three great events: the creation, the fall of Adam and the atonement of Jesus Christ.

The Creation of this earth was a divine act of love.  It did not come about by accident, but rather, it was designed and formed by a loving God for the sole purpose of creating a home for mankind to dwell upon while they learned to be obedient to the laws of conduct that govern the life of God.  Upon this earth God placed Adam and Eve.

 Adam and Eve were created in the express image of God and were placed upon this earth as the first step in God's plan for them to eventually become as He is.  Wherein, previous to this great event, they had only existed as spirits, they now possessed a body. The fall of Adam is so misunderstood by this world.  Adam knowingly chose to fall so that mankind might exist.  It was not an act of shame, but an incredible leap of faith. It was a step forward in the great plan of God, for by means of the fall of Adam they gained knowledge which is a necessary characteristic of God.  However, in so doing they also placed themselves outside of the presence of their God, for no unclean thing can dwell in His presence.  In the partaking of this fruit, they not only provided the way for mankind to come into the world, but they also put their entire trust in the One who had been chosen to come into the world to redeem them and all of mankind from their failures to obey the laws of God.  They put their faith in Jesus Christ.


The atonement of Jesus Christ was prepared from before the foundation of this world to pay the price for sin.  It was not designed as an afterthought, but as an incalculable act of love by a Father who had perfect pre-knowledge of all that His children would do while they were learning to obey His laws upon this earth.  Mankind needs a Savior.  And the firstborn spirit child of God was chosen to fulfill that role upon this earth.  Jesus, who pre-mortally was known as Jehovah, came to earth to break the chains of death and hell.  Because of His life and His perfect sacrifice, death no longer has its sting.  And, by obedience to His commandments and by repentance of those things we must change in our lives, his atonement opens up the way that we might fully be forgiven of our sins, and again come back into His presence and into the presence of our Heavenly Father.  Our return into their presence will not be as our leaving.  We will return having gained a body because of the creation, knowledge because of the fall, and perfection because of the atonement.  We will have become like our Heavenly Father is.  And that is exactly what a perfectly loving Father wanted!!

The way back to God's presence requires us learning how to overcome our weaknesses.  Satan is real, and desires that all mankind be miserable as he is.  God knew that this journey would be fraught with challenges and difficulties, and thus He provided help for us.  Throughout the ages He communicated His will and His counsel to the world through special witnesses known as prophets.  These prophets have given counsel to the world according to the times in which they lived.  A few of their many words have been preserved and passed down through the ages.  Their advice is as timely today as it was in the former years.  But, God has not ceased to love His children, and He has not ceased to speak to prophets either. 

Following the death of Jesus Christ and martyrdom of His apostles, the world entered into a long period of dark apostasy from the truth.  Mankind tried to find God, but confusion reigned.  Finally, after nearly two millennium of dark apostasy, God again spoke to man.  In 1820 a young man by the name of Joseph Smith, confused by the myriad of different interpretations of the Bible, chose to follow the counsel of James who had promised "if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.  But, let him ask in faith, nothing wavering...."  Joseph simply asked!  And in response to that humble prayer, God our Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, appeared and opened up this final dispensation of time.  Commandments were given, priesthood authority was again restored, and ordinances were revealed that would again open up the way for God's children to know what they must do to return to Him.  Following the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, other prophets have been called.  God is directly His work!

So, Sister Andino, in answer to your sincere query, "Why did we come on this mission?" we answer, "We came because we know these things to be true!  We came because we value you and all others as our brothers and sisters, and we want you to know the things that we know."  It is really just that simple.  We came on this mission because we believe this message.  Through personal and very diligent prayer and scripture study we have come to know these things are true.  So, in coming to Honduras, we offer you not only our time and our life's experience, but we offer you the testimony we have of this incredibly important message.

Now... the great news!  You can know if these things are true for yourself.  We are not alone in knowing this.  God answers all honest seekers.  He keeps His promises, and he has promised that if you will ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Jesus Christ, He (God) will manifest the truth of this message unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And, this is why we are Mormon missionaries.   To know more, go to lds.org

A FEW OF THE FACES WE HAVE LOVED

It would be impossible for us to show all those people that have had an impact on our lives these past (nearly) two years and showing only a portion of them hardly seems fair.  Some have been members of the Church, others have not.  Some we have seen often, while others only briefly were with us.  The two things each of these photos have in common are that they are the people we have known here in Honduras and we have loved them all.

Looking at these pictures as if you were reading a book:

 

President Veirs - our first mission president.  A dear friend who worked hard and love us all.

Elder McRae - His desire to fight through challenges and be an example to us all really impressed us.

Our favorite beggar - Oh! How she would smile when we gave her a sucker. Money isn't everything.

Brother and Sister Paulino - The first one in Church every Sunday.  Sat by the doors to greet all.

Sister Dempke - A great humanitarian.  We and all of Roatan were blessed by her charitable acts.

Sister Dester - Our second mission mom quickly became a dear friend to us and all the missionaries.

The Starkeys - This senior missionary couple served in the temple and were such a good example.

Elders Hebert and Chen - two of the finest APs we knew.  They served with all their hearts.

Elder Ordonez and David Hernandez - A fine missionary and Wayne's area financial director.

Sisters Lopez and Castaneda - Sweet Latin sisters who always greeted us with love and a smile.

The Mitchells - This family took us in when we were homeless in Roatan.  We owe them a lot. 

Elder Josue Garcia - LaRae's first trainer and one of our very favorite missionaries.

Sisters Pickett, Bahr, Rodas and Escalante - You can't help but love these hard working sisters.

A sweet member family from El Carmen - they shared their home evening and their children with us.

Our happy security guard - He stood daily in the blazing sun, but greeted us each day with a smile.

Sister Gardner and Johnson - two of the first group of younger sister missionaries to arrive in our mission.

 

The Petersons - This wonderful couple serves in the temple and spent the Christmas season with us.
Elder Rangel - A tender immigration secretary didn't dare ask for money from Wayne.  We love him.
Aminda Garay - Served in the Young Women's Presidency with LaRae in Roatan.
Our apartment's handyman - We called upon him when we had leaks, burned out bulbs and more.
Jose Brennes - Oldest active member in Roatan.  Always was there to prepare the sacrament.
Elder Cannon - Served faithfully to the end, even though he was so, so sick.  Our computer mentor.
President Dester - Our second mission president and dear, humble friend. 
Elder Jimenez - Panama elder who always treated us with great love and respect.  Great example.
Sisters Fernandez and Tolliver - Sister Training leader with our stalwart mission nurse.
Elders Barba and Dever - Our Roatan elders.  We shared many a meal and a laugh with them.
Our Post Office Sweetie -  While we laughed with her we licked stamps and postmarked 1000 letters.
Elder Sibrian - A great zone leader.  An amazing example of what the gospel can do for someone.
An ever present beggar - She cracked her plaster face covering when we handed her a sucker.
The Valle de Sula zone - This zone was our favorite zone to visit with the ruta for many months.
Elder Palma - What a loveable character!  Here he is reading our wife-selection-catalogue.
Sister Ramirez - As good a person as she is beautiful.

Oliver Flores - Piano student, truly faithful youth. Never missed a meeting and was always happy.
Christian Zea - The 16 year old spiritual leader of his family.  A gentle giant.
Laritza Santos - Had to travel further than any other in order to get to church, but incredibly faithful.
Joshua Zea - This little fellow reactivated his family, got the priesthood and made me laugh!
Daniel Garay - Priest first assistant, took care of his mother, and is now filling out mission papers.
Ariana Aguilar - Flirty, fun, and dependable.  First Mia Maid president in Roatan's history.
Daniel Aguilar - Learned how to play the piano in four months.  Future G. A. material. 
Alejando Webster and us - Baptized a second time because his records were lost.  So many wonderful experiences with this young man and this entire group of young people.

Sister Tercero - Came from horrible circumstances to become a diligent and delightful missionary.
Elder Coronel - Served in the office as the immigration secretary.  A faithful friend and leader.
Elder Castro - Zone leader.  Spoke such perfect Spanish we didn't know he was from the USA.
Elder Juarez - AP.  This fine young man did a lot to bring order and correctness to the office.
Elder Bryce - Zone leader.  He changed the overall effectiveness of an entire zone.
Elder Duff - Every mission needs an Elder Duff.  Got a problem?  Call Elder Duff!
Elder Lorenzo - "Don't be mad, Sister John.  I'll have all the baptismal records next week."
Elder Vasquez - Sister John's replacement as the mission secretary.  They don't come any happier.
Elder Novoa - Some thought he was hard, but Elder John knew he had a tender heart and loved him.
Elder Pacheco - the "Bishop."  A title given to him by all of his peers.  His future is bright.
Sister Grondel - The every smiling, energetic and enthusiastic sweetheart.
Elder West - This picture is worth a 1000 words. Great, great young missionary.
Elder Zitting - General mission secretary.  "Got a back tone on your phone?  I'll take care of that!"
Elder Shuga - One of 100 that lost his girlfriend while serving.  Watch out girls... he's home soon.
Elder Figueroa - Took over the difficult job of immigration secretary and does a great job.
Elder Mower - An amazing AP whose integrity and obedience blessed this mission.

Elder Hansen - Fun, ZL, great leader. He made missionary work fun for everyone he was around.
Elder Lui - His Tongan hugs and contagious smile and personality made him one of our favorites.
Elder Mackay - Trained Wayne as financial secretary before the mission split.  Later served as AP.
Elder McNeil - Longest serving ZL in mission history.  He changed people and blessed lives.

These three pairs of mission presidents and their wives (Desters, Veirs and Kleins) have been our most constant and cherished friends as we have served on this mission.  They worked with us, ate with us, traveled and played with us.  We learned a lot as we watched their dedicated and loving service. 

As we look back at these last two years we realize that the sample of faces we have shown in this blog is not nearly sufficient or complete.  However, many others have appeared on former blog pages and have been very influential and important to us.  We have loved being a part of this great work with so many of these dedicated, loving fellow servants and friends.  No one can replace family, but these people have helped make these two years a wonderful experience.

NEWS FROM THE JOHNS

DON'T WORRY.  WE HAVEN'T FINISHED OUR MISSION YET, AND WE ARE STILL ALIVE.  WE JUST HAVE BEEN BUSY.  STAY TUNED FOR MORE BLOGGING.

26 DAYS TO GO!

WE LOVE YOU ALL. 

THE JOHNS.

OCUPADO! MUY OCUPADO!!

Each Monday morning we get our week started with an office staff meeting. This week, however, we didn't have time for one.  Some weeks and periods of our mission service are so busy that they become a blur.  These past two weeks have been such for us.  It began with three more multi zone meetings. We traveled with President and Sister Dester to four different locations to participate in these conferences.  We didn't play a major role in these conferences, but we did each teach a portion each time. We started in the Copan zone on Friday of last week.  Elder Lui, one of my former seminary students and one of the very finest missionaries that we have is a zone leader there.  Then Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we  had zone conferences in the other areas.   Following our presentations we would hustle back to the office to try to get our regular work done.  On the days we are required to be out of the office to do extra things like these conferences, our work just piles up.  It doesn't go away.  So when we get back to the office we have to work hard.

On one of the days of conferences LaRae surprised me with this birthday cake.  Elders Bryce and Lorenzo called Elder Erickson and me out of the audience.  They then sang to us, and everyone enjoyed a piece of my birthday cake.

 

Keeping up with the house inspections is nearly a full time job for us.  This week we spent a full morning seeing some of the houses in the Choloma zone.  This is the house in Choloma 2 where we presently have Sister Vasquez and Sister Casteneda living.  This house is one of the good ones and they do a good job keeping it clean.  Others - not so much.

 

Wayne got a surprise call from the Area Offices in Tegucigalpa who announced that David Hernandez would be dropping by to do an audit of the financial records.  Even though Wayne has everything in excellent shape, these are always stressful moments.  He is very thorough and checks everything.  After six hours he announced that there wasn't any further need for review.  "Bien, hecho, Elder John," he said.  (Well done, Elder John).  It wasn't terrible, but it did add to the pressure of a week that was already too full. 

On Friday we spent the entire day driving to Tegucigalpa with Elders Rodriguez and Guevara.  Elder Rodriguez had arrived in the mission field with out having been through the temple.  President Dester asked if we could accompany him and his companion.  It is always a joyful experience, but it did take a full day.  While we were there we dropped into the Distribution Center where LaRae met with Hermano Bonilla.  He has been such a great help and support for LaRae in keeping our proselyting materials stocked.  He was sad to know that very soon we will be on our way home.  He has loved having a mission secretary with whom he could that was organized and got all of her reports in to him in a timely manner. 

While all of this was going on LaRae was busy trying to finish up the history of our mission since it was divided in June 2013.  (43 pages) She had only recently completed the 134 page history for the San Pedro Sula Mission for 2012 to give to the Area Offices in Guatemala.  Now, they wanted this one!  Finding all of the pictures and statistics was no easy task, however, she got it done in time for President Dester to hand it over to Elder Duncan at a training meeting on Saturday. 

 



We had to bid farewell this week to two very special missionaries.  Elder Larsen and Elder Cluff have been the financial and general secretaries in the San Pedro Sula East Mission for the past six months or so and have now been sent back out into the field with different assignments.  They have worked side-by-side with us to get these two missions running smoothly.  In our opinion, they are two of the very finest missionaries we have known.  And we are going to miss them!



Elder Cluff and Elder Larsen

On top of everything else we normally do in a week (the delivery run, the mail services, picking up name tags, paying the bills, getting two houses painted and several windows repaired, filling out reports, inputting baptismal records, doing inventory, making orders for more materials, and a myriad of phone calls and challenges) these extra things made for a busy but happy time.