April 15, 2013

Ok fam.... Whats up with ya'll? It is super hot, hotter than usual here in Nicaragua. Especially here in this computer lab where there is only 1 fan that all 12 people in here are sharing. But hey!! Just imagine how good the weather is that you guys have and be grateful for it! I am actually looking forward to the rain season to come. It should be coming in the first couple weeks of May!! A small birthday gift for me! The Mango season is slowly dying out. I used to be able to just pick mangos off the street and eat them for dinner and be full. There are still alot of mangos but not as much as there used to be. I'm not a big fan of them anyways... By the way Mom, in comment of your story of drinking your soup and your chocolate milk through the bags, I do that daily here. The Nicaraguans are really big on recycling. There are always people around collecting bottles to get money to support their families. So the people use plastic bags for almost everything here. Whenever I buy a soda or water, they take the bottle out of the fridge and empty it into a bag so they can use the bottle to get some money back. They make Popsicles in plastic bags, spices, tortillas, etc. So that's funny that Sam said that was weird, to me, that's normal.

Ok, so down to business. This week went pretty good. During the week, I worked with my companion to get people set up to go to church. We weren't able to get M baptized this week because her and M are having some relationship problems. This is the family that I talked about last week where we only baptized the husband. We are working really hard with them so that they have a better relationship and so that M will be able to get baptized sometime soon. I've been thinking about the family lately and how important it is.
In The Family A Proclamation to the World, it says in the first paragraph, ''WE, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.''
It is plain to see that the family is ordained of God and that it is CENTRAL to the Plan that God has for us in this life and the next.

''The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.''
This is the step that is the hardest to teach the people of Nicaragua. They just don't want to wait til they can go to the Temple to get those blessings and be able to better their family forever.

''THE FAMILY is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.''
Again the family is ordained of God. And then it states of important marraige is to God. That kids need to be raised in a family that is within the laws of matrimony, with a father and mother that are faithful, that teach their kids about the teachings of Jesus Christ and they will achieve happiness. And their family will have success when they are based on those things.

''WE CALL UPON responsible citizens and officers of  government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.''
This is also the hard part. The other churches and relgions that are here in Nicaragua dont stress the importance of the Family like we do. They dont really stress it at all... How can people follow the commandments of the Lord if their church leaders arent taeching it?

I like this quote by Elder L. Tom Perry about the Family.

“President Brigham Young explained that our families are not yet ours. The Lord has committed them to us to see how we will treat them. Only if we are faithful will they be given to us forever. What we do on earth determines whether or not we will be worthy to become heavenly parents.”

I know that if we follow the commandments of the Lord and center our families in Jesus Christ and we use the Atonement in our lives daIly, we WILL receive the blessings that we are promised by the hand of the Lord.

¡¡¡Les Quiero MUCHO!!!

ELDER DAUGHERTY