Ciudad Espana

CHICKENS, FLIES, FIRES AND LATINO MUSIC FROM NEXT DOOR....

Members of the Cuidad Espana Branch
The front to the church is right behind Wayne
Notice the broken bottles on top of the wall for security

How was your Sacrament Meeting today? We had the greatest opportunity this morning to return to Cuidad Espana. President Gomez asked us to go and visit the branch there and to take the electronic keyboard. This is the city that was built for the people after Hurricane Mitch where we delivered our two missionaries several Friday nights ago. We love the layout of the city...you can see the different areas by the different color of rooftops.

Wayne with Elders Mazariegos and Elder Medrano
(Elder Mazariegos is being transferred this week)

The church building is in an old home that they have converted. It is right across the street from a HUGE Methodist building. We got there early and were able to help set up and watch the Saints arrive. They were wonderful!! These people were meeting in the most meager of circumstances with distractions that would make most people stop coming to church. I am not kidding...the neighbors were playing Latino music almost full blast next door. I told them that today we would rival their neighbors with the organ and the Tabernacle Choir. They really do sing like that...full force. I have never heard anything like it! Everyone sings....there is a lesson in there somewhere about our true worship.

They had about 40 in attendance today...about the average. Mostly women and children and probably 2-3 Melchizedek Priesthood holders...not counting the missionaries. The families were so fun...one mother had 2-3 of her children and their families including several grandchildren. She wanted her picture taken with me.

Making another Relief Society sister friend
She carries a large type Libro de Mormon and a magnifying glass to read

As we were sitting during Sacrament Meeting I felt something next to me and looked down and it was a DOG. They said that he usually shows up each week and is just a member of their branch.
Here he is just leaving the church building.





It was the fifth Sunday today and the topic was on Youth Standards and how to help them to dress more modestly. Wayne and I felt that we were back home....same problems and same discussions. (At least that's what we think they were talking about...it was in Spanish).

The branch Young Women and their leaders
Notice the medallion on the leader in pink

Today made me realize how my worship needs to improve. Could I go week to week without ideal circumstances? Would I be faithful enough to give talks over and over, and lessons every other week? Would I be able to go to a small home that everyone meets in? I really need to look at the true meaning of worship.

HOUSE CHECKS

Arriving for HOUSE CHECKS

Last week we were able to participate for the first time in a mission activity known as HOUSE CHECKS. This is an activity dreaded by many missionaries. It is when someone from the office (usually the President, his wife, or designee) comes to an apartment and announces that they are there to inspect the house and make sure that things are clean, sanitary and just plain picked up.
We had the responsibility to act as the designee house checker and check four or five apartments.

I wasn't sure what we would find...remember these are late teen-early twenty year olds who are living the same life everyday...things can get pretty routine. I was afraid that we would find some awful things. I was pleasantly surprised by what we found. For the most part, toilets were scrubbed, beds were made, food was in containers and clothes were picked up. Those that had problems needed a place to put their food or clothes. There was only one apartment that didn't pass inspection, and it was TERRIBLE...imagine it...we saw it. Wayne said he was glad that I didn't inspect the bathroom close on that one...I was too busy telling them to put food away.

I am happy to report that the Zone Leader called me Monday after P-day and reported that he had gone to reinspect (at our request) and that the apartment was clean.

Can you guess which apartment passed and which one failed?

Wayne had treats in the car, so everyone got cookies for their good checks...next time I think we will bring SNICKERS bars. We took pictures and have decided to do a power point presentation for Zone Conferences. That was a fun day.

BORGATA TO GUATEMALA

Our moving men

Today we had the opportunity to help our friend Dave Sheets get ready for his sponsored borgata to Guatemala. Dave is the man who is responsible for getting donations and coordinating the work of renovating the dental school here in Honduras. He has been here for the past couple of days doing some follow up work here, as well as preparing to take supplies and equipment for the work they will do this next week in Guatemala. His group this time (12 dentists and their family members) is preparing to serve over 400 people...including missionaries and young people preparing to serve. Those who go give of their time and money and many are repeat visitors to Central America and this work. Wayne was on one of these trips in May and was so impressed with the group of dentists and businessmen.

We were able to help coordinate about 12 missionaries to come and help carry, heave, and pull supplies into a huge truck. They worked hard and long (about three hours) and didn't complain once.

Look at those smiles!

While Dave was here we were able to go with him to see an orphanage here in our mission. It is about 2 hours from town, on the way to Talanga. He has renovated a 2-chair dental clinic there, and we are hoping to be able to go and help at this facility during our mission. We were so impressed with the facility, and hope to go there soon. The orphanage is on over 2000 acres of land and is pretty self-sufficient. There are approximately 450 children there ranging from 2 years to high school age. After they reach high school, they go into town to attend there. They have their own cows for milking, chickens for eating and eggs, and grow corn and beans. Every child there has a responsibility and job. The living areas were immaculate...and we came unannounced for the visit. They have an unbelievable kitchen and one woman who spends all day just making tortillas. I loved interacting with the children there, and saw a group of about 10 year old girls playing jacks. I wanted to stay longer and play jacks with them.

Thanks to Dave and all that he does for Honduras, Guatemala and Central America. He is a true example of one who shares what he has been blessed with. Others benefit greatly from his unselfish service and he gives many of us the opportunity to have a place to serve.

OUR APARTMENT DEDICATION

Anna and her family

Yesterday our apartment owner invited us to the dedication ceremony for our new apartment building. What an honor and privlege it was to attend this event. Her entire family was there, as well as many extended family. We were able to meet all of them and to visit with them for a little while before the ceremony. (In our broken Spanish). It is amazing that her children and nieces and nephews all speak fluent English. It is quite prestigious to be able to go to bilingual schools here or to have exchange experiences in the United States.

They invited the local priest from their church (Catholic) as well as another clergyman. They said a prayer over the building blessing the structure, the grounds, and the occupants of the apartments. We were really touched. The other clergy looked at our nametags a little suspiciously at first, but then realized that we were friends and not enemies. We thanked them for their prayers and talks after the service.

In front of our newly dedicated apartment

After all of her family left, Wayne was able to tell her how touched we were to be invited. He told her that we also pray over and dedicate our homes. She understood that we were pleased and not offended. We are so pleased to be able to associate with such good people of all faiths here.

ROOT BEER

Elder Nicolosi and Elder Miskin
with their root beer

Look in your refrigerator right now. I bet there are staple things there that you just can't live without. We have found out that it is impossible to find root beer in Honduras. Now mind you, that really doesn't matter to us, but to elders from the United States it can be a very big deal. I didn't realize just how much so until this week when we were with the AP's in a far-off part of the mission. Elder Miskin said that before we went anywhere else we had to go by a certain Texaco station. When we asked him why, he said to see if they have any root beer. We can't get it here.











Well the station had the root beer....two cans. The look on their faces was amazing. They were in heaven. We bought the cans and headed back out to the car. Then they offered to share the cans with us (true unselfish missionaries). We told them no of course, but suggested that we try the other station just down the street. When we got to the station, we discovered that they had more root beer and we bought all that they had. It turned out to be 24 cans...an entire case.

Saturday we had the office elders 0ver for lasagne and root beer floats. (Saturday is our P-day). They were so stuffed, but it was great to see them make room for this special treat. I wonder if Alice and Willard Marriott knew what they were starting when they opened up their root beer stand?

Our office Elders
Elders Nicolosi, Mautama, Eichneier, Miskin, Rodriguez and Mears

OUR NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK

The green bus...our needle

Have you ever looked for a needle in a haystack? Have you found one? Well we did this week. We had the opportunity to take an Elder and his companion to the doctor. They live about one and a half hours away from town, and the bus that they take home leaves one time a day in the afternoon...usually before 5:00pm. Our appointment was at 3:00 and we knew it would be close as to whether or not they would make their bus on time. An even bigger problem was the fact that no one seemed to know where this bus was, what time it left or even which part of town it left from.

We had a pretty good idea that most of the buses that went out of town parked on a certain street in a certain part of town for a little bit of time. If it sounds confusing, just imagine Elder Tomkinson and his intricate maps to get to a camp out. The street system and lack of maps here is driving him crazy. Here we are with two elders who don't know any more about it than we do, looking for a bus in a city with probably 10,000 buses...(I am not exaggerating..they are everywhere and all look the same). We had driven to this area only once before, taking a companionship to an appointment. I remembered seeing buses in the area....

WELL....can you believe it??? WE FOUND THE BUS! As we rode down the street, one of the Elders shouted, "There it is!" I couldn't see any specific bus...but he knew it by sight. We parked as fast as we could, and I told them to run and let the bus driver know that they were there. Then we got the suitcases, waved bye and off they went. The bus left within one minute of our arrival. There was another set of our missionaries on the bus...they were all waving at us and giving us the thumbs up. We heard "Thanks Elder and Hermana Tomkinson." It doesn't get any better than that. What makes the story even better is about three hours later we got a call from the missionaries letting us know that they had arrived home and all was well. They thanked us again. Every time they see us now we will remember the dash to the bus.

If I had heard this from someone else, I would have thought it was an exaggerated Mormon folklore story. If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't believe it...the Lord really does look out for his missionaries. Even in finding buses on time.

...Sometimes you just need to hear it in English

President Gomez taught a great lesson a week ago that we have thought alot about. He was using a video by Elder Holland about missionary work. He showed it to the Elders and Sisters in Spanish and then told them that he wanted them to listen to it again...this time in English. (He is really encouraging the missionaries to try to learn as much English as they can). But the reason was what was the teaching moment. He said that in order to UNDERSTAND the impact of what Elder Holland was saying, you needed to see the way that HE SAID IT. It made us understand so much more the effect of how we say things and what it means to those that listen. He was right...listening to the statement was the same in either language, but the message was more clear in English...you understood the emphasis he wanted to make because you saw the way that he said it. Sometimes the way we emphasize things to others speaks louder than the words that we say.

ELDER MAZARIEGOS AND ELDER MEDRANO

Wayne, Elder Medrano and Elder Mazariegos

Friday night we had one of the neatest opportunities we have had on the mission. Wayne and I were asked to help transfer some missionaries and to take them home. They are assigned to a little area outside of the city named Ciudad Espana about 31 kilometers (20 miles) from town. This distance took us an hour and a half. We now know why the mission has four-wheel-drive vehicles. We were just happy that it wasn't raining. We had an absolutely great time with these two elders. They had been companions in the CCM in Guatemala at the first part of their mission, and they were so excited to see each other. They jabbered all the way to Espana. It was the first experience we had going with Elders to their apartment unannounced, and I was a little apprehensive about what we would find.

Showing us the apartment

(Elder Medrano was the new one)

To our delight, the apartment was clean and presentable (remember these are 20 year olds). The kitchen sink was clean, the refrigerator was clean, and the bathroom was clean. Most things were picked up and we could walk through the door. They had an electric water heater for the shower that just attaches to the shower. It was fascinating. Wayne had helped move apartments around the day before, so he had seen most of the furnishings before, but I was so excited to see the kind of conditions our missionaries live in. Some of them are not able to have hot water. Those that do are the lucky ones.




After we dropped the Elders off (Wayne left them with some great cookies, of course) as we headed back down the hill, we just couldn't believe that here we are in this beautiful country, on a Friday evening, going down RUTTED dirt roads that are steep and loving every minute of it. It doesn't get much better than this.

OUR FIRST BAPTISM

Before the Baptism

We were able to attend our first baptism. It was in a town about 1 1/2 hours from Tegucigalpa. We drove with President and Sister Gomez and the head of security for our area from Salt Lake City. The people were so excited when we arrived. They were all waiting outside for us because the electricity was down so there was no power in the building and it was rather warm. The branch president was so embarrassed because he couldn't get the iron to work to iron his white shirt. He had just come from work and had planned on ironing the shirt at the chapel. It was so great to see him worry about looking the part.

Elder and Sister Rivera and their convert family

There is a senior couple assigned to this area named Elder and Sister Rivera. They are here from Guatemala. This is so rare here. They are fantastic missionaries and had four converts ready for baptism...a grandfather, his son and daughter-in-law, and grandson. It was wonderful to see a family with three generations involved embracing the gospel. The baptism was attended by a full chapel of church members. When we went into the building we saw a room full of bikes. These bikes were how the converts got to the church...each one of them had their own to ride home. Four of our missionaries sang a hymn (Teach me to Walk in the Light) acapella. It was great.

Elders Gomez, Altan, Davis and Gomez

I met two Young Women who attached themselves to me. The first was a girl about 12-13. She carried a hymnbook, the Strength of Youth booklet, and her Personal Progress book. She offered to share her hymnbook with me. As we started the hymn, I realized that the song she had opened to and the song we were singing we not the same. I soon realized that she could not read. I began to think about what will happen to her with no education and no opportunity. She will probably be moping floors or doing something just to feed herself. She wanted to have her picture taken with me.

My new friend (wish we could get her smiling)

The other girl was 14. She led the music for the baptism, and upon talking to her we realized that she played the piano a little and wants to learn more. Hopefully we will be able to come out here and give her some lessons. She was so excited. She speaks English fairly well, so between her English and my Spanish I told her that the church needs her musical ability, and that it would be a blessing to her and the church her whole life.

Wayne had one little boy that just latched onto him. When we left, he insisted on having his picture taken SOLO with Wayne. He was just adorable. Sister Gomez was so sorry that she had forgotten to bring candy for the children. She says that she usually tries to bring them some Snickers or something that they do not normally see.

Wayne and his buddy

We love visiting the members in the branches. Their love for the gospel is so genuine. They were so excited to bear their testimony after they had been baptized and to talk about the opportunity for their family to grow. Again I am counting my blessings.

A CALMER DAY

Just an update...we are doing well and actually spent some time at the dental school this morning. Wayne is so excited to be able to start the Welfare part of our mission. He was like a little kid going to school on the first day!! We will add more about that later.

The missionaries will be in lock down for a few more days. The funeral for the Honduran national is this Tuesday or Wednesday, so they will probably have to stay low until after that is over. Today was P-day anyway, so they just ran around town in their P-day clothes. It was so different seeing them that way. We went to the office this afternoon and then to the hospital again with an elder who had an appointment to have two ingrown toenails removed...he was brave when we dropped him off at the Office Elders apartment....but he is still numb. I told him it is going to HURT later and to make sure that he takes his medication. Hopefully he will listen.

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts. We are doing well and the mission will make some changes and then go on. They are going to close all the areas where missionaries were actually threatened. More on the dental school later this week.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUNDAY....

Today we are experiencing quite a different kind of Sunday. We are confined to our apartment and have been on lock-down officially for the last 48 hours or so. The church is receiving threats towards the missionaries in Honduras, so all 3 missions are being instructed to have their missionaries stay inside until further notice. We were able to go with President and Sister Gomez (minus nametags, etc) yesterday for a couple of hours and go grocery shopping, etc, but other than that we are all to remain in our apartments until SLC gives us further information. In fact even the mission presidents are confined to their homes. President and Sister Gomez were scheduled to attend a Stake Conference yesterday and today.

It all started when Texas executed a Honduran national that was convicted of murder in the United States. Because of this action, the Honduran gangs have vowed to kill North Americans here in Honduras. We have had several missionaries threatened (including a set of North American elders who had people at their apartment the other evening with guns saying that they were going to kill them). They are also targeting the Latinos who are wearing the North American church nametag.

We are not worried about ourselves. We are in one of the most secure areas that we have seen in Honduras. In fact, they are finishing the installation of one of the most unbelievable gates that we will have to get through even to enter the driveway for our apartment. The missionaries out in the remote areas are not as lucky. They are known for their proselyting, etc and are easier targets. We ask you to remember them in your prayers. Salt Lake City is on top of everything, and President Gomez has had many teleconference meetings with them and the area. We will keep you posted on what is happening here. We have made contact with our US Embassy person that we know (thru email)....All of the church Central America security is in Panama right now with President Monson as he dedicates the Panama temple.

We are hoping the get the "all clear" soon, because this week Wayne is supposed to start at the dental school.

LA BARBERIA

Today was another first....Wayne's first haircut in Honduras. We were at the Hyper-Pais (the Super Walmart) and after we finished our shopping, he noticed a barber shop in the store. They did a great job (although he really missed Frank Mejia and Sara today)...and it only cost him $5US. We felt that was a great bargain. I noticed that his gray hair is showing more now..especially with it short. Now the next step is finding someone that wants to tackle mine. Hopefully the picture will be okay to send when we are finished with that adventure!!

CLOROX...OUR NEW BEST FRIEND

Who would have imagined that I would ever be singing the praises for Clorox? Well, Clorox and I are new best friends. We have to use it to sanitize everything. Today after returning home from the grocery store, I had to wash all the vegetables in clorox water (1 tsp/liter of water) and then rinse them off in clear clean water. Everyone here buys water in the 5 gallon jugs...you can even have them delivered to your home. Wayne and I have figured out that we will probably use about 4 of these per week. I even keep a little container or Clorox next to the sink right by the dish soap. We use it all the time!

FIESTA AT THE TOMKINSONS

You knew it had to happen sooner or later...a party at Elder and Hermana T's. Well last evening about 5:00 the office elders called to see if they could come over and eat at our house that evening. They knew that I had put on a pot of beans that night before. Of course we said yes....about 9:00 ten missionaries showed up to eat. Luckily my beans had turned out too salty, so I made another pot and combined the two. We had two crockpots full of red beans ready and tons of cheese. They brought additional tortillas (I only had a couple dozen) and some jalapenos. President Gomez had teased them earlier in the evening that they couldn't come over and they were pretty bummed...but when 8:00 came around he asked them what they were going to do and they said go home...he said "What about the Tomkinson's?" We had 10 happy elders...and a house full of laughter. It felt good to be feeding teenagers again!

ZONE CONFERENCES

We have spent three days this week in Zone Conferences. These meetings are to train and uplift the missionaries. We were lucky enough to be able to participate in the meetings, and President Gomez was so gracious in helping us to become a part of the mission. There are seven Zones in our mission and they combine so that the conferences take three days. The missionaries are like a breath of fresh air. Their enthusiasm and love for the gospel is apparent. They love to be with each other and welcomed us with open arms and hugs (from las Hermanas). I felt that I needed to blog about this week because it was our first experience talking to the missionaries in Spanish. Wayne was given the topic of Personal Security and Security in general. He read in the "Biblia Blanca" about security and went over the procedures. He had a couple of missionaries give experiences that they have had...close calls, etc. He did a great job. He also talked about not using machetes...dah...one missionary actually got injured quite badly trying to climb a mountain using one...

My talk was on the health issues that the missionaries face....not drinking tap water, washing their hands, cleaning their apartments. To illustrate them washing their hands (remember this is in very limited Spanish) I had them actually practice with me washing their hands. I told them that they had to wash for at least 30 seconds. We sang "I am a Child of God" all the way through while they washed....at least I had them laughing with me and not at me...

They have also started calling us Elder and Hermana T....Tomkinson is really hard to say for many of them. Sister Gomez loved the idea when we told her about it....so we are now Elder and Hermana T. Part of the help that Wayne gave during the conference was getting pizza or Wendy's for the missionaries when we were done. It was a great experience for us and helped us take another step in our Spanish language growth.

Pizzas to feed the army of Helaman

One of the missionaries this week was a great Zone Leader. We knew he was a good elder when he showed Wayne and me the bottom of his shoe. It was totally worn through and he was so happy about it. Wayne then asked him, "Do you take many taxis?" We all laughed.

Elder Chambers and his worn out shoes

Another sweet moment was an old man who had come to the church to be interviewed for baptism by the Mission President. He could barely walk, and Wayne and Elder Nicolosi needed to help him. He was thrilled with the prospect of being a member.

Take two asprina and drink plenty of agua

I absolutely don't know what being the mother of six children does to qualify me to hand out medical advise, but nevertheless that is what I am doing. This week after the announcement was made at Zone Conferences I have heard of hurt knees, insomnia, strained ankles, aching bodyparts, sinusitis, and athlete's feet. That doesn't count the two companions complaining of diahorrea who were surprised when I told them I didn't feel sorry for them when I saw them eating PIZZA.....

Nevertheless...I am now the medical expert (mom) to all of these missionaries. Wayne and I got to Zone Conference this morning only to be met by an elder who had injured his wrist/hand last night in a game of futbol (soccer). Of course, this was a game that was not sanctioned by the mission, in fact they had called the AP's for permission to play in this ward game with an investigator and were advised that they probably shouldn't do it....but they did.

Wayne and I were really impressed with the quality of care that the missionaries receive here. We were in and out of the hospital emergency room within an hour...that included x-rays, an orthopedic surgeon reviewing and explaining the results, the casting of the wrist, and all paperwork!! Where in the United States could that happen??? This is a private hospital and they only take people that can pay. They know that the church pays their bills....

This evening I wrote to the elder's mother and sent her pictures of the hospital experience:









News flash....we just got another call saying that an elder was on his way to the hospital....he thinks that he has a broken ankle.

EMERGENCIA PREPAREDNESS

What do you do with 135 missionaries in a hurricane? You had better be prepared. Wayne and I have seen firsthand in the last three weeks what Hurricane Mitch did here 10 years ago. The country is still recovering, and some of the locals say that the country has not fully recovered. We saw places last week where the water rose and could only imagine the devastation and nightmare that it caused.

With that in mind, President Gomez gave Wayne and I the assignment of preparing 72 hour emergency kits for each missionary companionship. We had these ready this week for our Zone Conferences. The problem with the kits is making sure that they are saved for a disaster. President was quick to explain to the missionaries that a disaster is NOT when they are out of month before money. An added incentive for not getting into the kits is that if something is found missing from the kit, then the elders that lived there before are charged to replace the items...also if the kit is intact until March (the end of hurricane season), then they can eat the contents of the kit.

Filling up the cart at Price Smart

Our problem was coming up with items that would sustain life, yet be a little fun. We went to Price Smart and filled an entire flatbed with supplies. (As if we don't get enough stares when we go anywhere...just add a cart filled with food). Then we had to fill the boxes and distribute them to the missionaries. The kits included cereal and milk (they have milk here in small juice-like cartons that does not need refrigeration), pork and beans, vienna sausages, chef boy-ar-de ravioli, pop tarts (the office elder's favorite), and various crackers, nutrigrain and granola bars.

Assembling the Kits

All in all it was a good experience and we are glad that assignment is filled until next year.

THIRTY THINGS...we have learned in our first month

Today is the anniversary of our entrance into the MTC...thus our first month anniversary. In honor of this event, we have compiled a list of 30 things that we have learned during the first month of our mission. Here goes:

1. Preach My Gospel is an inspired book. Members of the church need to read and use it.
2. The MTC is important to missionary work. It stands as a buffer from the world to take you out of the world and then put you back into it.
3. We still love each other.
4. You can't lease a car in Honduras...in fact we are still looking for a car!
5. Our family is even GREATER than we thought! They are being so good to each other.
GO FAMILY
6. It takes a while to get used to having a nametag on every day...and everywhere.
7. P-day is wonderful!!
8. Wayne's Bondurant driving training course has come in handy in Honduras...don't ask...
9. Missionaries never turn down food.
10. Central Americans think that all gringo visitors are General Authorities.
11 You can walk to church, ride a bike, or even a horse!
12. Checking accounts are different here...we have to have two references to open one!! Where is my Bank of America with everyone there helping the Spanish speakers????
13. The AP's were led to our apartment....it is perfect!
14. Don't leave your notebook out at the store...it will be taken (luckily no harm done)
15. Being a mother qualifies you to be nurse for 133 missionaries.
16. Zone Conference Days are long...but the week goes fast!
17. Language Barriers are easy to climb.
18. Life goes on at home...it's hard not to be able to visit Maurice.
19. E-mail is a gift.
20. We could (and do) eat beans every day....thank goodness.
21. Missionaries who follow the rules do a lot better than those that don't.
22. We have the CUTEST grandchildren on earth!
23. Wayne CAN function without a truck and white trailer, but it's hard. They are calling him Elder Patiencia.
24. Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood youth are the same everywhere...and so is the church.
25. There is a distribution Center here right above the Mission Office...all those books we dragged here can be purchased right upstairs!
26. Wayne still has much better study habits than I do.
27. It's hard to watch YW ride home from church in the back of a pickup....until you realize that they are the lucky ones! Their dad has a truck..
28. There are good people everywhere in the world.
29. WE LOVE RAIN!!!
30. Tegucigalpa, Honduras is about 30 degrees cooler than Casa Grande, Arizona YAHOO!!!

Thanks to all for being so supportive....this first month has been great...only 17 more to go!!