Ye have entered into a Covenant

On Aug 22 we had one of the most memorable events of our mission. We traveled to Senahú and there another 2 hour drive high into the mountains to witness 11 people enter into a baptismal covenant surrounded by some of the most beautiful country on this continent. As we descended to the place of the baptism the rains sprinkled us on our journey. As soon as we arrived the rains ceased and the sun shone adding light to illuminate the radiant feeling we felt in our hearts as we witnessed a scene that could have taken place thousands of years previous, in that same beautiful site.

"Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? " Mosiah 18:10

Following up on our "Money Matters"$$

The City Zones also received workshops on finances and how to best manage the sacred resources, however they were not by Sister Barney since her mission finished on Monday August 24th. Sister Torres taught the class with Q &A afterward to clarify the procedures. Our Zone theme was..."cleansing the inner vessels."

One for the Money$$

Our Zone Conferences started on Aug 17th in Flores, Peten, which also included some "service" to the Elders by giving them haircuts to help them keep cool and looking their best. This was repeated in the Polochic Zones. Sister Barney from the Central Mission came along to give our missionaries a workshop on how to budget their monthly money assignments, with emphasis on the sacredness of the funds. They were taught how to make a monthly budget, save for emergencies, and use these skills to help them once they leave the mission field, that they may become "provident providers". (see sidebar for more pixs)

Mas Grande!

We received the largest group of new missionaries ever. Twenty One new missionaries were picked up on Tuesday August 4th. We divided the group into two, one with English orientation and the other with orientation in Spanish. Our new missionaries are; Elders Bates, Schone, Bowman, Bruneel, Clark, DeGraw, Goodwin, Jensen, Larsen, Legua, Snell, Smith, Turek, Williams, Youngberg, Guerra, Lopez, Orozco, Rodriquez, Manzanares, and Hermana Pineda.

Both groups had orientation in the Mission Office with a Sloppy Joe luncheon at the Mission home.

The new missionaries will start their training in the city to be near the President and have access and input to insure their training is the best possible.

Back to School

This August we sent home 10 missionaries so they might be prepared for school. Elder Matineau opted to stay another 30 days and is currently helping in the office. Those finishing their missions with great honor were; Elders Clingo, Wright (our Assistant) Bean, Bartholomew, Bleggi, Shackelford, Greenquist, Harnandez, and Hermanas Duarte and Morales. Study hard! You will be missed.

Pioneer Day Celebration

We celebrated Pioneer Day on P-Day July 20th. We had a devotional in the chapel in missionary work cloths where we shared stories, bore testimonies and heard beautiful musical numbers by the 5 zones that came to remember the sacrifices of the early pioneers and realized that we, are also doing our part to build the Kingdom of God on the earth, with "Faith in every footstep." (see complete slideshow on the right)

Awesome Alameda

We are featuring the Alameda Zone who have been working very hard to reach the Mission Goal of 2 baptisms per month per missionary couple. Their excellent Zone Leaders Elder Bravo and Pututau reward their Zone members with some fun … “bowling for baptisms!” on P-day, of course.