Fireworks

A Christmas gift from the Branch President.

December 30, 2013

Well I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and that they will all have a Happy New Year as well!! Here, you can barely feel the difference in time. It didn't really feel like Christmas other than the fact that I was able to skype home and talk to the fam!! It was really awesome to soo how everyone is doing and to see that wonderful SNOW that ive been missing out on!! The weather here is still hot as ever and getting hotter everyday due to the fact that the rainy season is over. It just really sucks because its really windy too so all the dust just gets picked up and it gets thrown in our eyes. And it doesnt help that I have contacts so that makes things even funner. Lasik sime time after the mission?! uhhh yea!!

Well for all those that I wasnt able to talk to during Christmas, I was thinking about you!!!! I didnt do much for Christmas, just went to a dinner that my branch pres invited us too. We were out all the time talking to people and helping them understand the importance of Christmas!! It doesnt quite feel like christmas without the snow but ive got dust!!! good enough right?

Well this week I don't know what is going to happen due to the New Year but I guess we shall see!!! I don't have much to say this week but Happy New Years to everyone!!!!

''As we choose to follow Christ, we are changed—spiritually reborn, putting off 'the natural man' and becoming new. In our journey of discipleship… as we deny ourselves of all ungodliness we are filled with love, with no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. This mighty change in us is the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and includes not only what we feel and desire, what we think and do, but also what we are becoming… reflected by a fundamental change in our very nature.''
--Elder Bednar

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."
--Thomas S Monson

¡¡¡Les Amo MUCHO!!!

Elder Daugherty

The Branch President and his wife.

Christmas dinner at the branch President's house.

In a taxi with the elders.

Headed home on the bus.

Elder E

We are the hands of Christ.

My son, Me, and Elder M (my trainer). Three generations.

Lounging by the pool.

December 16, 2013

Well another week has gone by here in Tipitapa. Currently I have about 7 and a half months here. Some may say its a long time and it is but there are some other missionaries that have more than a year in the same area. So I'm taking the time I have here and I'm making the best of it!!!

So during the week we did a few things I guess. We started teaching E and M's daughter, N and we put a baptismal date with her for the 28th of Dec. E is really excited because he will be able to baptize her when the date comes.

During the week, I went to visit some of the recent converts in my old area to see how they were doing and to remind them to go to church. The Hermanas had asked me to do it so I did. They also asked me to visit a lady that they were teaching to see if I could get her to commit to baptism. So I went to visit and she accepted us really friendly like and we started to talk and I invited her to be baptised. She told me that she was going to do it, but just not right now. She promised me that she was going to be baptised but she just didnt want to make that decision right now. I did all I could but I ended up asking her to at least pray and ask the Lord what she should do.. Wanna know what she told me? She told me she just doesnt want to pray at the moment. She feels that when she actually wants to pray or be baptised that she can just do it whenever she wants. When I asked her to pray, she sat back, thought for a bit and told me that she wants to wait but she reassured me that she will do it, just not now.... Weird lesson and I dont know how she is ever going to progress in the gospel if she doesnt pray or get baptised.

So we had a surprise meeting with Pres Collado on Friday. He came and talked to us about our areas and how we can become better and working with the members and such. It was really cool and I learned alot from it. He then pulled me aside after the meeting and asked me why I havent been baptising... :/ He wanted to know how in the past I used to baptise alot and now how I havent baptised since the end of Oct... And truely I have no idea why...

Well on saturday, we went to Loma Verde, another area in Tipitapa and did what we did last week in Ciudadela, visited less actives and recent converts and reminded them of the Branch Conference that was yesterday in Loma Verde. Yesterday in church, we were able to bring 7 people!!! We brought a family as well that we are teaching that we really want to baptise!!!

Things in Tipitapa are going really well and I am loving my time with Elder Q. He is such an awesome kid and he helps me every day to be better and work harder!!!

''Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than things. To catch the real meaning of the “spirit of Christmas,” we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the “Spirit of Christ.”''
--Pres. Thomas S. Monson

¡¡¡LES AMO MUCHO!!!

Elder Daugherty

December 9, 2013

Hey everyone and welcome to another weekly update from Elder Daugherty here in Nicaragua....

Well the week started off normal like any other week. Last Monday, we had planes to go have a Family Hoome Evening with some less actives that live close to our house. Well when we showed up, the guy hadnt returned from work yet so we had to cancel... that meant dinner too... So we went to our food cita and had to have her make some unexpected food for us. On Wednasday, Pres Collado called all the missionaries that have baptised alot in their missions together to talk about how we are doing it. There were about 35 of us in total. He wanted to know how is it that we are able to baptise alot and how can he teach it to the other missionaries in the mission. So he asked us all the baptisms we have had, how we did it, through what references, what methods we did it, etc.... He then took all this info and put it all together in a letter that he sent to all the missionaries in the mission.

So I've had set it as a goal of mine to take those things we we told our Pres about and I am going to teach them to Elder Q. Since he is really new in the mision, he is at a point where he is absorbing everything he sees and learns and repaeting it. That includes the bad things too. So I am taking my time to make sure he take in the good and spits out the bad. I dont want him to turn out like all the other comps I have had. I want him to become an even better misionary than I am. The Lord has given me this chance to help someone become someone that He needs in His work. I feel it as something the Lord needs/wants me to do to help me and so I can help Elder Q.

On Saturday, all the missionaries of the Zone Tipitapa went to Cuidadela, a city just outside Tipitapa where we went on divisions with the members and visited Les Actives, Recent Converts, and Members to remind them of the District Conference that happened yesterday in Cuidadela. It was pretty fun and we were able to visit a lot of people and remind them of the covenants that they have made with God and that they are really missed at church.

I love the work of the Lord and everything that has to do with it. Sometimes we think that the work is too hard and it is!! If it wasnt hard, how would we progress in this life?

''I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?''
--Elder Jeffrey R Holland

¡¡¡Les Amo Mucho!!!

Elder Daugherty

December 2, 2013

Ok lets start from the beginning... Last monday, you already know that I was in the office of the mission because I was getting a new comp, Elder P, who was my comp for a week. We worked hard that week and did our very best to get things done. But it is pretty hard to keep things going in your area when you keep getting new people that dont know what is going on and where everything is at. Its like trying to teach someone to do the job of 6 weeks in one. It doesnt work the best.

Well I got good news this past week. I am training a new missionary!!! His name is Elder Q. I hope that helps you pronounce it :) He is from Guatemala and is fresh from the MTC. He is always ready to get out and get going. Since the MTC, where he taught false people, he just wanted to leave to get teaching the real people and helping them progress!! He has this desire to work that very few missionaries have. It helps that he is new because his motive to work helps me want to work even harder to help him see success in his mission while he is with me.

Well last monday, I went to Managua where I receive training on how to train the new missionary. That night I spend the night in Managua with the Secretaries of the mission. In the morning on tuesday, I left to Pres Collado's house where I met my son, thats what we call the missionaries that we are training. There were only 2 new Elders that had come this change. My comp and another that you can see in the photo that I sent home. Due to the age change, the sisters are coming to our mission more than Elders. We had about 15 new Sisters come from Mexico, Guatemala, and Panama, I think... Well after I got back to my area that night, I got a call that they needed my help in Managua the next day. So I left my comp with an Elder that is a really hard worker and I went to Managua with Elder R, another gringo, to translate for a bunch of dentists and doctors that came down to Nicaragua to do all the dental work and exams that the future missionaries of Nicaragua need. So I went and was helping in the check up room where they were doing the basic clean and exam to see what needs to be done. About 10 mins later, they called me to go help Dr Porter and his wife up in Oral Surgery... I didnt nkow what I was getting myself into until I walked in the room. It was super cold because all the gringos had the A/C pumped to the highest setting and all the Nicaraguenses were dying of the cold. I dont know how many of you have had your wisdom teeth taken out, but Im sure they probably put you to sleep when they did it. Well I got to watch all of that stuff that you dont see while you are asleep. I saw alot of people from Villa Flor that were there to get stuff done. One kid, was getting his top 2 wisdom teeth out and was really anxious. He was moving alot and when they took the last one out, he accidently swallowed it.... The doctor was freaking out because noone has ever swallowed a tooth in the 23 years he has as a doctor. Well thats a first for him. Well 2 mins after, the kid threw the tooth up so things were ok. :) That was something that I wont forget. After all of that, I went back home and Ive been with my comp all week. So we have this new week together and we hope to work super hard!!! Love you guys!!!

“The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.”
– Confucius

¡¡¡Les Amo MUCHO!!!

Elder Daugherty

My companion and I in our soccer jerseys. Real Madrid and Barcelona, 2 rival teams.

A little reminder of home that I bought the other day.

Dr Porter and his wife. I helped them in the oral surgery room.

A charity group that is helping future missionaries from Nicaragua get dental work done. I went to help translate for all the gringos that couldn't speak Spanish.

A kid that accidentally swallowed his tooth when they were taking it out. 

An activity we did with Pres Collado and all those that were training.

My new companion, Elder Q.

November 18, 2013

Alright everyone!!! Im writing super late due to the fact that I had to go to the office of the mission today... on my P-Day... well the reason I had to go is because I am getting another new comp. He is a missionary, not a mini, and I still dont kow who it is. G came with me to the office and he has already left to home so he can be with his family before he leaves to his mission in January.

Well this week, was super crazy... With G, we worked super hard and found a couple families that we started to teach and they were super positive. One family we found, was a reference from another missionary that is in my old area in Villa Venezuela. We went to this family and taught them and in the first lesson, we put a baptismal date with them. They were super excited and super positive. They said they were going to go to church with us this week. So yesterday, we passed by their house in the morning and they werent there... Their mom said that they had already left, dresssed and ready to go to the church. Well I called them to ask them where they were and the wife told me that her husband had a change of mind and now he is against the church and he visiting it and getting baptised. So she told us that we shouldnt pass by anymore and that when she gets things figured out that shw would come looking for us... It was really sad to see that family that we had taught many times, that we love and want to progress in the gospel... So that part of the week kind of sucked...

In other news, we had a meeting with the District Pres of Tipitapa to talk about the work of the members and the mission work in Tipitapa. We were there talking about the missionary work and we had the impression to ask the District Pres for a blessing. Like Ammon in the BoM, he blessed each of his brotheres before they went out on thier seperate ways to teach the gospel. So we asked him to bless each of us to help the missionary work go forward and become better in Tipitapa. It was a blessing that was well needed and I think that each one of us now have more of a desire to get out there and work even harder.

So they just informed me that my new comp is Elder P. Ive known him for a bit and he is pretty cool. But the Lord has left me rest for a bit with these mini misionaries and now he is putting me with another companion that will be a help to me and that I can be a help to him. No way to grow if we arent tested in this life. :)

So today, I went to the office in the morning, on the way there, the bus we were in broke down, so we had to take a taxi to the office. We get there and my comp heads out to his home. Hna Collado, the wife of Pres Collado, was decorating the office for Christmas so I helped her for about 3 hours doing that. She ordered BurgerKing for lunch and after I went with her and Elder M to the hospital because Hna Collado thought that Elder M was sick. funny story there. After we were in the hospital for 2 hours, we went to pick up the kids of Pres and Hna Collado from school and now we are back in the office. I met my new comp and we should be headed out soon to Tipitapa. Super Looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong day and I am super tired now...

“Do not allow yourselves to be made to feel inadequate or frustrated because you cannot do everything others seem to be accomplishing. Only you and your Father in Heaven know your needs, strengths, and desires. Around this knowledge your personal course must be charted and your chioces made.”
― Marvin. J. Ashton

¡¡¡Les Amo MUCHISIMO!!!

Elder Daugherty

We celebrated Halloween a little late.

A monkey that someone had outside their movie shop.

A creep spider thing we found in our house.

The river that connects to Lake Managua and the bridge that crosses it. It is called El Puente del Diablo, the bridge of the Devil.

I made chop sui with my companion for dinner.

November 11, 2013

Well this week went by fast, as usual. This week many things were able to happen. We are going to be moving out of our house and moving into a new one that we found that other week. It seems like by the time i get back home, I'll have moved just about as many times as I did before I left on the mish. Good thing I got some good practice before the mish so it wouldn't be so hard to move on the mish. Thanks Dad ;) Love you!!

Well this week, we didn't really do that much other than walk all around Tipitapa, talk to alot of people, teach alot of people, etc. One day, we showed up to visit Elker and Marisela, and they weren't talking to each other. I was super sad to see that after they had overcome their poor money situation, their sicknesses, that now they couldn't handle alittle family problem. So i went outside to talk to Marisela, she didn't want to come inside. We talked for a bit about what was going on and talked about the things that the Lord has helped them get through. She was able to understand that if she trusted God in his commandments and did what she needed to do, that things would be alright, she just didn't want to live with the problems and wanted to give up right away. I then talked to Elker and he seemed about the same way except that he wanted to help his wife as much as he could but she wasn't letting him. I talked to him about the blessings that they have received and how they would be able to get help from God if they trusted in him. The next day, Elder Estes called me and told me that he saw them walking together and that they were holding hands. I talked to them on Saturday and everything is better now, its not the same but when we change, things are never the same.

We also taught Orlando and Anna this week. We taught them about Baptism and the power of God or the Priesthood. We taught them that even though they had been baptized in other churches that it wasn't valid before the eyes of God unless it was done through this priesthood. Orlando looked at me and said that even if he got baptized 1,000 times, it wouldn't count unless by this priesthood, and I testified to him that he was exactly right. We then both invited them to be baptised and they both agreed. It was alittle sad though because this week, they went to the Catholic church instead of going with us. They have prayed and asked God if the things we are teaching them are true and they have gotten their answer. They both have told me that they know these things are true. But it seems that they are afraid to leave from family traditions... that's something alot harder to teach than baptism. Telling someone to uproot themselves from something that they are used to is really hard but through the faith in God, it is possible and we can receive more blessings than we can imagine. But the hard part is taking the first step into the darkness, testing that faith that we have. That is what this family needs.

Things are going swellingly here in the work of the Lord!!! Just like the US, everyone here celebrate Christmas way before the month of December. Ive seem so many Christmas trees in my area in the past 3 days. Makes me think of home, I havent yet heard the Christmas music but I wouldnt doubt that its being played too :) But dont forget, Thanksgiving comes before Christmas, make sure to celebrate that first ;) Love you guys!!

''There are times when the only way to get from A to C is by way of B. Having grown up in Southern Utah and enjoying all the wonders and beauties of Southern Utah and Northern Arizona, I wanted to introduce my son to that, and I wanted to show him places that I had seen and enjoyed when I was his age, so his mother packed a little lunch for us and we took his grandfather's pickup truck and headed South onto what we call the Old Arizona Strip. Noting that the Sun was going down we decided we better get back. But we came back to a particular fork in the road, really the only one, that at that point was absolutely unrecognizable. I asked my son to pray about which road to take, and he felt strongly that we should go to the right, and I did as well, and we went to the right and it was a dead end. We went four or five or six hundred yards and it was an absolute dead-end, clearly the wrong road. We turned around, came back out, took the other road and clearly the road to the left was the correct road. Somewhere along the way Matt said, "Dad, why did we feel, after praying about it, that the right road was the proper one to take, the correct one to take, and it wasn't?" And I said, "I think that the Lord, His wish for us there, and his answer to our prayer was to get us on the right road as quickly as possible with some reassurance, with some understanding, that we were on the right road and we didn't have to worry about it, and in this case, the easiest way to do that was to let us go 400 yards or 500 yards on the wrong road, and very quickly know, without a doubt, that it was the wrong road, and therefore with equal certainty with equal conviction that the other one was the right road." I have absolute certain knowledge, perfect knowledge, that God loves us. He is good, He is our Father, and He expects us to pray, and trust, and be believing, and not give up, and not panic, and not retreat, and not jump ship, when something doesn't seem to be going just right. We stay in, we keep working, we keep believing, keep trusting, following that same path and we will live to fall in His arms and feel His embrace and hear Him say, "I told you that it'd be okay, I told you it would be all right."

--Elder Holland

¡¡¡Les Amo MUCHO!!!

Elder Daugherty

November 4, 2013

Well another week has past here in Tipitapa. I was thinking about how long I might be in Tipitapa since i already have 6 months here. Since I have a mini missionary, I think that they will leave me here another change, which is another 6 weeks. So i think that I will pass Christmas here and the New Year. I should be heading out of Tipitapa in the first week of January. And then only God knows where I will be going next!! I could go anywhere... Chinandega Oeste, Leon, Puerto, Bello Horizante, or Esteli... So I guess we will see.

This week we have been running around and doing tons of crazy stuff that keeps us super busy. I don't know if I every told you guys but I got assigned as DL for the areas of Tipitapa. That means that I am in charge of watching over a couple areas and making sure that they are working and doing the things that they need to do. I am here to help them in any way that I can. Also, I get to do the interviews for the people that are going to be baptised. Kinda like the bishop does to make sure you are worthy to be baptised or go to the temple, I get to do that whenever there is anyone ready to be baptised. It gives me alot more stress than I would like but it keeps me aware of what is going on in the areas, here in Tipitapa.

Experience of the Week:

Remember Elker? Well this Sunday, he recieved the Priesthood!!! He was so excited and so happy that he will be able to bless his family with this prividge to be worthy to hold the priesthood. Even though this family is super poor, they are the humblest people I know. Every week I see them go and fill out a tithing slip to pay on what they have earned for the week and then give even more on the first Sunday of the month for Fast Offerings.

We are working super hard to be able to have success and be able to see the hand of the Lord working in our area and in our own lives. Sorry this weeks letter is pretty short!!

We cannot afford young men who lack self-discipline and live only to be entertained. We cannot afford young adult men who are going nowhere in life, who are not serious about forming families and making a real contribution in this world. We cannot afford husbands and fathers who fail to provide spiritual leadership in the home. We cannot afford to have those who exercise the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God, waste their strength in pornography or spend their lives in cyberspace. Brethren, we have work to do.

~ D. Todd Christofferson

¡¡¡¡Les Amo Mucho!!!

Elder Daugherty

October 28, 2013

Well we baptized this week!! Another family!! C and G! They are an odd couple but there go to church and do the things they need to do to gain the blessings. We baptized them on Saturday in the morning. Later that day, we had a mission activity for the Branch. We planned a Tree of Life activity. We got some rope and put it through the church as best as we could and put a bunch of obstacles in the way. We covered their eyes with some old ties we had and sent them through the church holding on to the ''rod''. When they got to the second to last room, we took the cover off their eyes and had a plate of apples, grapes, and cupcakes that we used to tempt people to let go of the rod. Elder C and I were able to do that part. Not very many let go of the rod to get the treats. Only about 6 did it. The members didn't really understand what was going on, they were only told to hold to the rope and if they wanted to let go, it was their choice but there was something big at the end. At the end, we watched the Living Scripture version of the Tree of Life. The members really loved it and it was cool to see how many were able to understand and apply it in their own life.

Experience of the Week:
We found this new family, O and A. They have a little girl named B. I was looking for a shirt to get for my recent convert and I ran into this family. They own a clothes shop and they were sitting in the front where I contacted them. Orlando was born here in Nicaragua but he was raised in California. So he can speak English perfectly. He talks like gangster though. He teaches  his wife and his little girl and they know a little bit. But we talked to them about the church and we made another visit with them for the next day. When we went back, we taught them about the restoration of the church and about the importance of the priesthood and the family. We went back a couple days later and taught them about the family and how important it is, seeing as they aren't married, about how they need to get married to follow Gods commandments, etc. I feel the spirit so strong when I am with this family and even when I think about them, I feel the spirit just letting me know that they are a special family. In our first lesson, I cried a little bit when I was testifying of the power of the gospel and how much it has blessed my family. I think a lot of my family when I am with O and A. I can see how much they need this gospel and how much it will bless them. I can also see that they know it too. They have told me that they have prayed and felt that the things we are teaching are true. They went to church this Sunday and loved it. My plan this week is to work toward baptism. I truly love this family and want the very best for them!! Its hard to explain my feelings because I have so many toward this family.

Hope everyone is well and that the Lord will continue to bless you!!!

“Thus one of the most important labors we can perform is to seek the Spirit. The older I get and the more I reflect upon the truths of the gospel, the more I am driven toward this one imperative: Seek the Spirit. If eternal life is indeed the greatest of all the gifts of God in eternity (D&C 6:13; 14:7), then surely the companionship of the Holy Ghost is the greatest gift we can receive in time, in this mortal sphere.” Wilford Woodruff

¡¡¡Les Amo Mucho!!!

Elder Daugherty

Our Halloween decorations.

Our tree of life activity.

Our tree of life.