ONE...TWO...THREE...TEN...ELEVEN...CHEESE!!!

There is something about taking pictures with a group that never changes...especially when you have 5 cameras on timers and lots of people in the photo. This was our "take one for the memory books" moment on Christmas Eve. Enjoy...and Have a Happy New Year!!

FIXING A TIRE

I know that this isn't a very holiday-like blog, but it is one of the many firsts that we have accomplished in Honduras. For several weeks now the front tire of the car that we are driving has had a slow leak. Every time we get gas, Hector (our favorite gas station attendant) would put more air in it. Wayne even purchased a compressor to have in the car in case there was a problem that immediately needed to be taken care of.

Elder Tomkinson explaining the tire repair problem

This week the tire problem became the problem that needed to be taken care of. The AP's told us where the "tire fixing place" was. We bravely decided that this was something that we could take care of ourselves...how hard could it be? We found the place...it really did fix tires. Wayne did great with his Spanish letting the tech know what we needed. I took pictures to document the whole event. The other techs were laughing at me taking pictures until I told them to smile and I would take one of them!!! So I did.

The other tire techs

Ten minutes and about 20 limps (about $1 US) later we had an almost new tire....and a renewed confidence that we really can live in this foreign country....

THE NATIVITY

Every year our family acts out the Nativity from Luke 2. We have watched our children grow while playing the roles of Mary, Joseph, Shepherds...even the donkey. We have watched them learn of the inn keepers telling Joseph that there is "no room". Now we watch our grandchildren take the same roles and the tradition continues. Because we won't be able to watch this year, we are sending our own Nativity story. One of the things that I have learned to appreciate this year is that in English Christmas really does begin with Christ. I can actually see Christ in the word. Hope you enjoy your Christmas and take time to remember the reason for the season. Enjoy the video.

INGLEBY IS COMING.....WITH POUCH

Santa Ingleby and Elder Guymon delivering pouch to Elders Mautama and Sorensen

Missionaries love mail. That has been evident this past week as Christmas is approaching. The office has planned to take tomorrow and deliver packages and letters to all of the missionaries. They will be able to do most of the mission in one day. Elder Tomkinson and Elder Ingleby (our secretary in charge of materials...including mail) along with his companion Elder Guymon will leave Tegucigalpa tomorrow morning around 5:30am. They have the pouch (letters) to deliver as well as needed household items: ie refrigerators, stoves, etc. Hopefully things will go smoothly and they will have a fun day.

Today the office elders sang a song in honor of this event tomorrow. Here are the words:

THE CHRISTMAS MISSION SONG

You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better keep rules,
I´m telling you why,
Ingleby is coming with pouch.

He know when you are teaching,
He know when you are not,
He know what you are doing now
with your neighbor and your comp.

Oh, you better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better keep rules,
I´m telling you why,
Ingleby is coming with pouch.

Words by Elder Santos

Watch the following video and enjoy the accents...listen carefully!!! We love our office Elders!!

Elder Orellana, Elder Ingleby, Elder Guymon, Elder Payne, Elder Ayau and Elder Godinez!!

TREE UPDATE/CHRISTMAS NATIVITY

Our beautiful tree with the wallhanging Trisha made for us

Just wanted to put another picture of our Christmas tree in the blog. We have dressed it up a little bit with the gifts from home, as well as fixed the lights on it. It doesn't look so much like a Charlie Brown tree now.

After the play...baby Jesus is in his car seat decorated as a manger!

We attended a Stake Program this evening to commemorate Christmas. They had a wonderful choir complete with a children's chorus. Our ward reenacted the Christmas story with scenery and speaking parts and everything. We were so proud to be from the La Vega Barrio. Baby Jesus sat in the manger and played with the boxes that the wise men brought their gifts in. (Isn't it true that the kids love the boxes more than the gifts). We felt it was a great way to start our Christmas week.

ZONE CONFERENCE....NAVIDAD STYLE

President and Hermana Gomez

There is nothing like spending Christmas in the mission field. There is nothing like spending Christmas with 150 or so 20-25 year old missionaries. The spirit is wonderful. I am learning to love this season in a whole different way. Our Zone Conferences this month were a little different than usual. Hermana Gomez really likes to treat the missionaries at this time of year. She prepares a lunch that is a feast. We had pork chops (two per missionary), macaroni and cheese, salads, bread and brownies with ice cream to top it all off.

What a feast!

I love this picture with all of the suit coats on the chairs!

We worked hard to have the Cultural Hall decorated and set up when they came in for lunch. We brought our tree, and I made centerpieces for the tables. (You did not misread that....I really did make them...it was a missionary miracle!!) Elder Tomkinson had music playing. Hermana Gomez had made bread for each of them to take home and they received a mug filled with candy. Wayne and I gave them each a toothbrush. It was really fun.

President Gomez handing out Christmas cards from the First Presidency

They were definitely physically and spiritually fed. They are so excited to be able to call home to their families (as we all are), but they are so thrilled to be here doing this work during this time. President keeps reminding them that there will be many Christmases with family, but few where they are on a mission full time. They have the right perspective as missionaries should.

These two pictures show all of our missionaries over the two days

of Zone Conferences...we are in the bottom picture in the front

After lunch we had a musical and scripture reading program. Each Zone prepared a song to sing for the season. Missionaries read from the Scriptures the story of the birth of Christ, and we sang carols in between. Hearing the hymns in Spanish was amazing. I am going to include many pictures so that you can spot your favorite missionary......










A special thank you to all of our office elders...Elder Orellana, Elder Payne, Elder Guymon and Elder Ingleby as well as to the APs, Elder Godinez and Elder Ayua for all their extra help these two days!!

One more week.....

CHRISTMAS CARD

I am not usually good about sending Christmas cards each year. This morning I watched a presentation that the Church did using missionaries to tell the story of the birth of Christ. I cried when I heard their accents. I especially love how the missionaries try to speak English and need to do so slowly and while thinking of the right word....that is how I sound in Spanish.

What a beautiful season and wonderful time of the year. Enjoy the video and know that we are thinking of you. We love the gospel and especially the message of the birth of the Savior and Redeemer of the world!!!


Love, Elder and Sister Tomkinson

PASCUAS.....POINSETTIAS

My tree

I have always loved Poinsettias. They are one of my favorite parts of Christmas. I have looked at them longingly for about 3 weeks here...they sell them everywhere...in Walmart, on the side of the road, in nurseries.....and I haven't had enough confidence to stop and buy one. And I really couldn't know if I was getting a fair price or not!

Today we found a POINSETTIA TREE. I had always heard that if you planted poinsettias in your yard, they will grow. Well this tree was unbelievable. There we were talking to two of our hermanas and waiting for their landlord to show up to show us a new apartment for them. I realized that the tree next to us had blooms on it....poinsettias!!! I looked twice, and then yet again and said something to Wayne...he couldn't believe it either. Here I am with Hermana de la Cruz and Hermana Cardona next to the tree.

Hermana Cardona, Hermana de la Cruz, Hermana Tomkinson

Plant your poinsettia on January 1st......and wait!!!

O CHRISTMAS TREE

Charlie Brown would be proud!!

We had decided that we wouldn't decorate for Christmas this year...just one more thing to worry about what to do with when we leave Honduras....but after watching Christmas with the Kranks last weekend, Wayne decided that just wouldn't do. We are not Skipping Christmas!! We were at the store the other day, and he walks up with this little tree. He said, "We are not the Kranks. We need a Christmas tree." So we now have a tree.

Getting ready for the ride home

We thought we could maybe get into the spirit by putting it on top of our car for the ride home. We decided that it would probably blow off...so we just took a picture instead. The tree now has lights and bulbs and sits in our apartment. We are enjoying the spirit that it brings into our home. It cost us all of about $10.00...lights and bulbs and all!!

Hope you are enjoying your Christmas decorations as much as we are!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

PLAYING THE PIANO

I have always know how much music affects us in our everyday life. As a musician I turn to music for spiritual enlightment, entertainment and just about everything else. I didn't realize until this past week how much I miss having a piano at my disposal. I really had a bad week and found myself wanting to play the piano. Wayne says that this is not unusual. Through the years he has been able to tell my moods and needs by how I am playing (or when I am playing) the piano.

This week I was able to spend over an hour by myself in a chapel with a piano. It was amazing what this did for me. It didn't matter what I was playing...although some fun Christmas arrangements were great....just the fact that I was able to play for a while. I will never take for granted again the opportunity for expression that the piano has brought to me. Just having my piano in the other room is a blessing that I should not take for granted. The fact that I am able to play (I have always had a nightmare about not being able to) is a blessing in my life!!

What blessings do you have that are ordinary? Think about it!! I learned one of mine this week.

EVENING OF EXCELLENCE

Project displays in the Cultural Hall

I am continually amazed at the programs the members put on here. I was so overcome when I attended the Primary Presentations this fall in three wards. Last week we were invited to attend our ward's Evening of Excellence for the Young Women. I was totally blown away by this program!! The entire ward was invited, and many of the members attended. They started in the chapel with a program. Several of the Young Women spoke and bore their testimonies. They had a musical number that they had obviously practiced. It was a wonderful experience for me to be able to stand and say the Young Women's Theme in Spanish. (I later told the YW Pres. that I need a copy so that I can learn it).

Some of the Young Women with their displays
Notice they are all wearing their Value color!!

After the initial program, they opened the curtains into the Cultural Hall for the project part of the night. The girls each talked about one of their projects for the year. Each girl was responsible to tell about her project and relate it to the value that it supported. They were fantastic. Every girl was prepared, and the displays had obviously taken time to put together. (I can remember many an Evening of Excellence that I have attended when it looked like the girls had just pulled everything from their rooms and brought it to the church). I was impressed. They each gave handouts that had to do with their display. To top it all off, their refreshments were homemade chicken taquitos. Wayne and I were in heaven!! We took pictures of each of them and brought them copies to church Sunday. It was a fun evening. I was glad that we attended.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Hermana Gomez's beautiful table

Happy Thanksgiving from Honduras! What a beautiful day we enjoyed here...the weather was absolutely perfect, the dental clinic was fairly busy, and we were able to enjoy a wonderful meal with missionaries and the Gomez Family. We got the office Elders out of the office and into their areas early in the afternoon to give them plenty of time to get some work done and then met up at the mission home for a traditional Thanksgiving meal later in the evening.

Hermana Gomez cooked the turkey and potatoes. I made rolls, gravy and stuffing. Thank you to Pricesmart for apple and pumpkin pies. President Gomez says that he had never eaten turkey until the mission....it is one meat that they just don't have in Argentina. Stuffing was new to them and it is not usual for them to serve gravy with mashed potatoes. It tasted so good to us.

Ready to Eat

Turkey Carver

President asked Wayne to carve and serve the turkey....something he has had a lot of practice with. Probably the most touching moment was when Elder Guymon walked into the kitchen and realized that we had a complete Thanksgiving meal. He looked at the gravy and started to cry. I was so touched. It made all the work so worthwhile. The only thing missing from our celebration was our Thanksgiving Eve Pizza Party. Today I am listening to Christmas albums and watching Christmas movies...I missed Miracle on 34th Street yesterday!!! Love you all.....

TEARS AND SMILES

Crying at the airport

I am hoping that you will indulge my journal entry type blogs as I record the comings and goings every six weeks of missionaries. It is a major event in the mission and we never get tired of the feelings and excitement that these times entail. We said goodbye this week to six missionaries and hello to eleven. It is getting harder and harder to say goodbye to these missionaries. Thus the title Tears and Smiles. We had just finished saying goodbye to our four missionaries going home to the United States....Elder Waldron, Elder Miskin, Elder Shumway and Elder Hall. Hermana Gomez and I were in tears (remember I have only known them for 4 months...she has seen them grow their entire mission. In fact this was one of the first groups that they welcomed when they entered the mission.) when President Gomez announced...okay stop the tears, we need to put on smiles...the new ones will be here in 10 minutes. We literally walked down the stairs, dried tears and greeted new missionaries.

Saying goodbye
Elders Hall, Shumway, Miskin, Waldron
with President and Hermana Gomez

Saying Hello

These new missionaries are going to be a powerful force in Honduras. We received 7 new missionaries from the Missionary Training Center as well as 4 from the CCM in Guatemala (including 2 hermanas). Today we helped orient them and tried to answer all the questions that they have. We were especially busy because the 7 missionaries from Provo were tentative in their Spanish. As soon as they get here, they realize how much they need to learn. President Gomez took the time to have each new missionary bear his testimony for one minute. It was humbling to hear these missionaries bear testimony in Spanish. They are ready to conquer the world.

Elders Sagers, Prescott, Hendershot, Lloyd, Summers, Rose and Sorensen

Elders Roca and Vasquez Hermanas Molina and

One of the most fun parts of the day is watching the trainers receive their assigned greenie. We especially like this part because we know so many of the training missionaries now. It is so exciting to watch them get so excited about who they are going to train....say hello...goodbye to us...and off they go. We will see them again in about 2 weeks.

New Trainers
Elders Mautauma, Davis, Eietneier, Kartchner, Hanson

NEW BEST FRIENDS

I came out of my piano lesson this afternoon to this scene. Elder Tomkinson was showing pictures in his camera to a group of children that were at the building while their mothers were doing a cooking project. What a darling group. He was talking to them, and they couldn't all get on his lap at the same time. They were sure trying. Look at the little boy wearing the hat with his arm draped around Wayne's neck. I couldn't resist the photo op.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING

I was walking through Walmart yesterday (HyperPais here in Honduras) and they were playing Christmas Carols. It hit me that it is the Christmas season and we are going to be here for Christmas! I always knew that was going to happen, but I have to admit that my eyes got a little teary thinking of it. I know that we will have so much to do and so many great experiences in the next month...but it is really hard thinking about not enjoying family and all of the traditions that we are used to. Hopefully we will be able to find some tamales to continue our Christmas morning tradition.

Things are beginning to look like Christmas here. It has been hard for me without the Thanksgiving season to shoot us into Christmas time.....but the homes are starting to be decorated and the carols are being sung. Our ward is starting to plan their Christmas activities. Today they announced that the Primary children are going to come around the afternoon of December 20th (Saturday) to sing carols and collect treats. I'll keep you posted on our Missionary Christmas.....

CAMERON TREJO

We had the greatest visit yesterday with our family friend Cameron Trejo. Cameron is the same age as our oldest daughter Trisha and grew up in Casa Grande. Cameron served his mission here in Honduras. He was one of the first missionaries who served when they split the Comayaguela Mission from the Tegucigalpa Mission. Cameron served in Honduras during Hurricane Mitch 10 years ago. He told us some of the stories of things that happened during the hurricane and after. He was able to spend some time with President Hinckley (he was driving him around Honduras) during the disaster aftermath. People here still talk about when President Hinckley came to visit after the hurricane. President Hinckley was the first international visitor to come and our Church was the first to offer aid to the country.

Cameron was here working on a documentary about a man here in Honduras (80 years old) who has build a helicopter in his house. Cameron also told us about his experience with the Reflections of Christ project. He was the filmmaker on the project. He says that there are many non-denominational interests in the display and film. It sounds like he will be busy with this for awhile. They are hoping to come back to Central America (we hope Honduras) to film some scenes for another project about Christ in America. Thanks for spending the day with us Cameron!!

RANDOM THOUGHTS

First of all, I can't believe that it has been an entire week since my last blog. I guess it really is true that when you are busy time just flies. It seems that is happening to us. I get up in the morning and before I know it, it is time to go to bed again. We are busy in the dental clinic in the mornings, at the mission office in the afternoon and in our area in the evenings. In between all that we are fitting in doctor's visits with missionaries, checking out new apartments for the missionaries, running the office (Wayne) and teaching piano lessons (Suzanne). We don't have time for much else. It is wonderful. Those of you who are wondering if a mission is for you.....DO IT!!! What a blessing this experience has been for us and our family.

Just a few comments on what we have been doing along with some random thoughts and some pictures to go along with the commentary:

DENTAL CLINIC

Working on one of our futuro misioneros

After a month of teacher's strikes and a flood in the clinic we are back to being open all morning. Wayne is at his best when he is able to be at the clinic every day. I have started doing some assisting and that is fun. We have been working on the missionaries from the two missions in Tegucigalpa as well as future missionaries. We have met with all the Stake Presidents in the area and have told them to use us for their missionary needs. We have also worked on some members. It is so wonderful to get to know these dear people. We had three new students start this week in the clinic, so Wayne is really busy helping them. I wish I could take a picture of him surrounded by his students and you could hear them all say "Dr Wayne" with their Spanish accents!!

KRISTIN AND NICOLE

We were able to celebrate two baptisms these past two weeks. First our very first grandchild was baptized on November 9th. Kristin Riggs was baptized by her father Rusty Riggs. Although it was hard not to be there for this special day, we were so pleased with the choices that she is making and loved hearing about her day. The other baptism was our dear Nicole Flores. She is the little girl that we befriended and then later were assigned to her ward. She was baptized last Friday evening by her father Mario. They included us as members of the family and invited us over to their home after the baptism. Nicole is so much like Kristin, and we felt that by going to her baptism we were able to see how the day was for Kristin. What a blessing this younger generation is going to be for the Church. Their testimonies are so strong. They both received their own personal set of scriptures are were so excited about it. We are proud to be associated with such fine young women.

ORPHANAGE EXPERIENCE

This week we visited an orphanage with one of the LDS students from the dental school Oscar Campos. He spends his afternoon there helping the orphans and wanted us to see the facility and if there was anything we could do to help. We were delighted to see that it was the same facility that our friend Dave Sheets has put so much time, effort and money into. Wayne has visited it on his other trips to Honduras. How wonderful to see one of the dental students making such a commitment to the community he lives in. I just had to include a picture of me with the babies.





TEACHING PIANO LESSONS

I have started teaching piano lessons to five teenagers...Blanca, Harold, Benjamin, Cinthia and Yanori... in our LaVega ward. It is so fun. They have completed the church piano course and want to learn more. We are working on their left hand, rhythm and right now we are working on Christmas carols. We are going to try and play a rendition of Angels we have Heard on High for the ward Christmas Party. It is really fun, and is a bright spot in my week. Today we talked about using the pedal on the piano (they all play keyboards). I told them I wanted them to practice on the "real" piano so that they could practice the pedal. They were so excited.

Learning to teach all over again in SPANISH!!

MISSIONARIES, MISSIONARIES, MISSIONARIES
Elder Waldron asleep in the President's office
after a middle-of-the-night run for a sick missionary

The highlight of our days is being around the missionaries. We are truly blessed by their spirits. We are now getting to the stage where so many of the ones that have become dear to us are going home. Our second "batch" of returning missionaries leaves next Tuesday. We will need to say goodbye to Elders Miskin and Elder Waldron. We have already said goodbye to Elder Nicolosi.

These three "gringo" missionaries have made the transition from senior citizen to senior missionary so much easier. They have been great helping us with our Spanish and adjusting to missionary life. We miss them already. We are trying to get all of the returning missionaries into the clinic before they go home, so that they can at least have their dental work caught up!! We did six of them on Monday.

Elder Miskin with Dr Wayne.....Elder Waldron getting his teeth done with our three new students