April 11, 2011

 Elder Kapple and Elder Hafen

 Hike to the Coca-Cola sign

Elder Kapple and Elder Nelson receiving packages from home.

Hola familia como estan

Wow -  what a change and what a different area.  I’m a little disappointed that you all already knew thanks to Pres. Veirs – haha, - no, but it is really different.  From the small and dusty streets of Pineda, to the huge and busy area in San Pedro Sula.  The area is called Los Castanos.  I do not know what that means though.  But it is huge, we have like 20 colonys and the people are so different.  There are a lot of rich people in this area too.  We only had 86 people at church yesterday and the church is really small.  The members are a lot different here too.  I really liked the members that we had in Pineda so I think we’re going to try to do some different things to get the members more involved in the work.  If you have any ideas let me know.  Dad, I just looked at that Google map you sent and our area is way from there.  That map is like where the mission office is and our stake center but we are up from there on the map.  I still really don’t have any idea of where because I’m still way lost and have only been to a little bit of my area.  But I’ll let you know more next time.  My comp., Elder Barrientos is way tight and really chill.  He's the district leader and from Guatemala and wants to learn English.  He can say a few sentences but that’s about it.  He has one brother and one died while he was in the mission but he hasn't said much to me about this.  He has 16 months in the mission.  I really like him.  We had a baptism on Saturday.  A man about 45ish and his family member.  It’s not his son but it might as well be.  He turns 12 this week.  This guy is awesome and quit smoking to do it.  I talk more about him in the recordings.  My comp only has one change here and only had 1 baptism during that change. Before that there wasn't a baptism here for like 5 months so this area is really hard but we’re hoping to change that. Today has been pretty cool.  We came to the stake center to email.  Then today we hiked up to the Coco Cola sign that is here in San Pedro.  It's like the Hollywood one.  I’m sure there is a photo on Google Earth.  Then after that my zone leader, Elder Anderson and I went to the top of the moutain where there is some antenna.  It was fun but I am super tired and we’re still going to play some soccer I think.  Other than that, not much happened.  Just the changes and everything.

I got the package with the books, treats sent with the Castro’s which also included the e-mail copies from Elder Ben Buck.  Thanks for those. Dad, I wanted that book because one Elder in La Lima was talking about it and it sounded cool and I could study Gospel things better and faster with it.  But I don’t know much about the area and how you can find my area on Google Earth but I’ll let you know.  We live in the colony Rio Blanco.
Thanks for everything.  I’ll check my email again in like a hour i think.  It depends how long we play soccer.
I Love You All!!!
Con Amor Elder Kapple

April 4, 2011

 Nathan burning a tie in celebration of being on his mission for 6 months.

 A frog in the bathroom

 Sergio, he is awesome, he wants to serve a mision. He was baptized a week before I got here but his brother was my first baptism.  I’ll miss him, he goes to church with us every Sunday.

Hola como estan,

This week was pretty good and conference was awesome.  All the speakers did really well. We had the opportunity to watch it in English so that was really great and that way I could understand it all.  This week we didn´t have any baptisms because we can´t confirm them yet but right now we have one fetcha and we should be able to have 1 or 2 more.  Esperanza still won’t give permision for her 2 kids but they still went to church yesterday.  We haven´t talked to hermana Esperanza but we have a hermana helping us and she tells us she still won’t. This week we really had a lot of different things happen.  I felt like we were barely in our area this week. We had a lot of new investigators and we have a hermana right now that is really progressing.  The hardest part is to make these people understand that this is the only true church that there is. Down here, they just think that if it´s the word of God then it´s all good.  Some of the churches have hymns that say it doesn´t matter what church you go to - just as long as you go to church.  It´s wierd.  We have to teach the great apostasy sometimes like 3 times to have people understand.  There is a hermana Sullapa ( su-ya-pa), the missionaries have already taught her but her husband didn´t want to get married.  But right now they’re not together and she said that she really liked church and is going to keep praying to know the truth.  Some of her family members are members of the church but inactive but this will still help us.  The sad thing is that I do have a transfer coming but at the same time I am very excited just to have a new area.  It will be sad to leave here but I am excited for the change.  Mom,  - I do want you to try to send a few things with Elder Castro if you can.  I want the book -  Mormon Doctrine and the book Articles of Faith and whatever else you want to send.

Well that´s everything for this week and I hope everything is good and still a little cold,  - I would switch you weather right now if I could.  Good luck with taxes Dad.
I Love You All!!!
Con Amor
Elder Kapple

March 28th, 2011

 Baptism of Miguel (11 years old)

Hola
How is everybody doing?
So the week here started good but ended kind of bad. We had our fetchas (dates) with familia Esperanza and I went on divisions with our zone leader, Elder Sorenson and we went to teach them to confirm their baptism date but the mom wasn´t there so we interviewed the 2 kids and just told them to ask permission.  I went back with Elder Ruano on Friday night and they had to hurry and leave for something and seemed like they didn´t want to talk.  So we figured that Saturday they were not going to get baptized.  Then we went back Saturday night and someone opened the door, saw it was us and closed it. So I just sent them a text reminding them of church and all the kids showed up.  We talked to them and they said their mom won’t give them permission.  So we talked with their neighbor (a member Hna. Wendy).  Hna. Wendy said that the mom said she is catholic and her kids will be baptised in the church that she chooses.  We need to go back and talk to them, I think we will tonight.  But it is just really sad that the mom is doing this because Diana, the oldest daughter really wants to and has a testimony, is reading the Book of Mormon and everything.  So that’s where we’re at right now with them.  We did have one baptism this week, Miguel.  A 11 year old. He´s awesome and is really smart.  We did the baptism before church on Sunday because the power was out on Saturday, or as they say here that there isn´t light.  And you have to have a pump to have water in the church so we did it Sunday.  Conference is this week.  I´m pretty excited but sad I can’t actually go to the conference center in SLC but it´s ok.  I think there will be some crazy stuff said with everything that is going on.  We have to go to the stake center Saturday but Sunday it will be in our church in Pineda.  So that is what happened this week.  Pray for Esperanza, that she´ll let her kids be baptized and one day she will.

Thanks for everything.
I Love You All!!!
Elder Kapple

Most Baptisms

Elder Kapple's Zone recently was rewarded with lunch at President and Sister Veirs' house because they had the most baptisms.

March 21, 2011

Hola,
Things are going well here in Pineda. This week was pretty good. We had a lot of new investigators.  One to tell you about is Family Esperhonza (Hope)  That´s the moms name.  Her daughter went to church this last week too.  We went to their house this week a few times and the lessons have been really good.  It´s a family that actually wants to learn and ask questions.  Sometimes we teach people and they just agree with everything that we say which is good but some of them do just because there scared and don´t want to ask questions.  So we challenged this family to be baptized on the 26th and they said yes.  The family is a mom and 2 daughters but the mom didn´t go to church yesterday so she wont be able to be baptized this week but we still might be able to baptize her daughters. One of her daughters is named Diana.  She really likes church and always reads the chapters that we leave in the Book of Mormon. We had a multi-zone conference this last week.  It was really good.  President Veirs talked about the atonement and what one goes thru with the way they would crucify people.  I don´t even know how to explain it and don´t want to try but it´s crazy and makes you realize how much Christ really did suffer for us.
My comp is still on the lazy side of things but we get along really well.  I´ve talked to him about sleeping and studying but he doesn´t think it´s a big deal and always says that he´s done it for like half of his mission.  I’ll have a change in April so I don´t have to worry about it too much longer.  For this next week I think we could have 3 baptisms but we´ll see.  Not everyone ended up going to church, which is too bad, because Elder Ruano and I gave great talks - haha.  We both just talked about missionary work and how members can be a really big help.  I used one of the quotes that you sent me, Kayli. That’s way exciting about Preston, Eric and PJ.  Tell them congrats.

Mom, I hope you had a happy birthday and I know yours and Dad’s anniversary is sometime this month so happy anniversary too.
Thanks for everything that you guys do and all the support.  It was Fathers Day here on Saturday and made me realize how grateful that I am for you guys.
I Love you all!!!
Con Amor (Mom: it means with love)
Elder Kapple

March 14, 2011

Hola,
The BIG 50 Dad. You are an old man - haha. But it sounded like you guys had fun for the big birthday this past week and you´ll get to celebrate again this week for Mom’s. Mom, you’re not too far behind Dad - just 1 year and a few days- haha.  Thanks for all the updates about Japan and all that stuff.  I didn´t think Kel left until today but I´m glad that he is safe and all is good over there.  I heard too that there were warnings in Central America but I´m on the other side of the country so I don´t have too much to worry about here.  Just the heat.  It´s getting pretty bad.  That´s amazing that all the missionaries are safe.  Someone said that like 10,000 people have died.  It sounds like it´s starting to warm up in Ogden.  Mom, I like that you said you were excited to do yard work. I laughed at that.

Last week was pretty good.  We ended up having 2 baptisms; Yorleny and Jr. - Yorleny is 14 and Jr. is 13.  Yorleny lives with members but they’re not her parents but they might as well be.  They’re pretty funny.  The dad is trying to learn English and so he always talks to me in English.  He just sounds really funny but I’m sure that´s how I sound.  But they’re pretty inactive so hopfully this will help them go back to church with Yorleny being baptised.  Then Jr. is the son of Hermana Mararita.  She is really cool and has really changed.  Her other 2 kids aren´t going to get baptized but she has Jr. now.  They read and pray everynight together so that´s really cool.  Then yesterday we had 8 investigators at church but we had only directly invited 2 of them.  So we need to visit all of them today and tomorrow.  I think quite a few of them could be baptisms pretty quick. Then there was another death in the ward; well, there was actually 2.  Somebody dies here every week.  The mom of Mariana died of old age. - Mariana is who we baptized 2 weeks ago.  Then one of our investigators died, although he wasn’t progressing.  His mom’s a member. boyfriend died but this could be a good thing because they were living in fornication and this might help her son want to change because the dad wasn´t a very good example.
But that´s what is happening here.  I think we will have 3 baptisms this week also so we’re pretty excited about that.
Thanks for everything
I Love You All!!!
Con Amor
Elder Kapple

March 7, 2011

Baptism of Maryann and Juan Carlos

Elder Ruano and Elder Kapple

Hola,

How is everybody doing?  Things have been good this week.  We already have 5 fetcha (baptism dates) for this month. The only bad part is that we don´t have any more after that progressing. So we only have those 5 people.  Two of the baptisms are this week.  One tomorrow and the other on Saturday.  Then the others next week. We have been teaching them a lot this week just to get them prepared.  One of them isn´t understanding all of it so we have to repeat things a lot with him.  We really need to search for some new investigators.  The baptisms that we have for this month are all like 15 years old.  President Veirs wants us to focus on families and priesthood holders so we need to focus on that.  My comp is a nice guy and easy to get along with but is already getting really baggy and he really likes to sleep.  I get alot of extra study time.  I´ll only be in Pineda until April 6th when we have changes because he´ll have one more change here with someone else to train.  Dad, you asked if he´s the district leader; he is not.  We just ate at President Veirs house today for lunch.  It was really good.  But that´s all that is happening this week.  Just preparing people but we really need to search for new ones.

There is a week called semana santa (holy week) that I guess is really hot.  It´s in April but everyone says it is deathly hot.  Dad, you are an old man, 50.  I can´t believe it.  It´s ok though; you still play like you are 30 – ha- ha. Mom, I couldn´t tell you how many baptisms I have had so far.  That´s your job to count but I do have it in the house.  Dad, you asked if we can give members money.  I think it´s a rule that we shouldn’t but I have given a little but just if they need to buy medicine or something. There is a family that needs it bad.  Hermano Fabrigus that we baptized in December is working 2 jobs to pay for his house and his land because something went wrong, I can´t remember exactly what.  So if you want to build a house in Pineda you could by some of the land he has – ha-ha.
I hope all is good. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD AND TODD!!!

I love you all!!!
Con Amor
Elder Kapple