Zone Conference, June 2012

Villanueva Zone

standing l-r: Elders Amendola-Roper Hernandez-Sommers-Barba-Kapple-Diego-Zepeda

Contreras-Avila-Polendo-Zura-Matta

sitting l-r: Hermanas Pocasangre & Quib-Pres. & Hermana Veirs

Hermanas Bellingham-Lopez-Aguilar-Ramos

July 2nd, 2012

What’s up family?

How are you all doing?  It sounds like everyone is super busy.  This week was a really good one.  We had the multi zone conference this week in San Pedro Sula and it was awesome and I learned so much.  We learned more about how to work with the members.  Pres. Flores (stake president of Villanueva) and Pres. Torres (first counselor of the stake presidency of Villanueva) came and answered questions about how to work with the members better.  Then we watched an amazing talk that Elder Holland gave about a year ago in the M.T.C.  He talked about how the concept of Preach My Gospel came about and how missionary work has become so much more efficient with it and he compared it to his time when they used the memorized discusions and how it wasn't the best way to do missionary work (not trying to make fun of your mission days dad).  He talked about how he is so sad when he hears about a returned missionary that goes inactive.  Then he talked about some of the weaknesses that we have as missionaries but the best part was how he explained that being a member of the church and being a missionary is a lifetime calling and he explained it by using the story of when after Christ’s resurrection when he was on the beach and the Apostles were fishing and he asked Peter 3 times if he loved him.  The Apostles had only been Apostles for 3 years and after Christ’s death they didn't know what to do so they decided to do what they did before in life, so they went back to fishing.  They were a little lost without Christ among them.  But then Christ came back and told them what they needed to do.  That their calling wasn't just for 3 years but that it was a lifetime calling.  The way Elder Holland tells the story is truly amazing and inspiring.  So the moral of the strory is that the Gospel is a lifetime calling.  Then after Elder Holland’s talk we were blown away again with a presentation by President Veirs on the atonement of Jesus Christ and what happens to the body during a crucifixion.  He told us a lot of things that isn't explained too much in depth in the scriptures.  I was truly amazed and have a stronger testimony of the atonement and a deeper knowledge of how Christ suffered even though I will never be able to understand it all.  We had a baptism, well kind of; it was the confirmation part this week for Mario.  Mario is awesome.  He just turned 20 and is a great young man.  He is already talking about going on a mission and talks like that's his plan.  He showed up at church on Sunday with his white shirt and tie.  It was an awesome sight to see.  After church on Sunday we had a meeting, (the Comite ejectivo - sorry I don’t know how to say that in English) and it was just what this ward needed.  Pres. Torres gave it to the priesthood leaders.  The ward here really should be a branch.  There is not really enough priesthood here for a ward yet.  We set some goals of what we are going to do to activate some families so that this ward can change with more priesthood power.  Then after the meeting we went to the Ponce's house with the determination to get Hermano Ponce baptized.  We started talking about baptism and it was awesome.  He said that he had been wanting to talk to us about that and that he was ready to do it.  So we challenged him to get baptized this weekend and he said yes.  Well, that was our week in a nutshell.  It was a good one.  I love my comp., he's awesome too.  Working in a trio is a little weird and I don't really like it too much but we'll only have one more week together.

Thanks for everything.  I Miss and Love you All!!!!!!!!

Elder Kapple

June 25th, 2012

Hello everyone.

How is it going? Things have been going great here in Villanueva. This week was another busy one.  It seems like every day there is something new that we need to do.  On Tuesday we had our normal distict meeting with Districts Las Flores and Paraiso and then we worked here in our area.  On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays we work in Pimienta which is part of our area.  There used to be an extention there but now they come to the church here in Villanueva.  There is a bus that goes and picks them up.  It's a humble area but it's hard to keep members active because of the distance they have to come to church.  My first 2 baptisms here in Villanueva are from there and they are already inactive.  On Wednesday we had a leadership training meeting with all of the ZL's, DL's, and Trainers.  It was a good meeting and I learned a lot.  We covered a lot of the basic stuff that we need to focus on as missionaries such as focusing on the investigators’ needs sand not just the lesson material and asking them good questions to make sure they understand the gospel concepts.  On Thursday we had weekly planning with one of the districts.  Friday we got a phone call from the AP's saying that we had to go to the office to pick up a missionary because we are working in a trio now.  Our new comp is Elder Avila.  He is from Honduras; from the South of the country in a place called Choluteca.  He's not a ZL with us but he'll be here for the next 3 weeks (until the end of this change).  It's a little different working in a trio and kind of hard but we'll get used to it.  Then I was in Rio Lindo Friday to do baptism interviews.  They were good interviews too.  One was with a guy who had had a lot of problems with drugs and drinking but he has completely changed his life.  The lady (his wife) was going to have an abortion but decided not to but had felt super bad and was in crying.  They will be great converts and be able to help the branch out up there.  We also had a baptism.  A kid named Samuel.  His mom is a member but she is inactive but he lives with his grandma who is also inactive but we were able to activate her and baptize her grandson. It was a cool story that she shared at the baptism.  She said that Samuel had told her that he was to get baptized in the Mormon Church and she wanted that too.  And one day she felt like they should go to this members house to say hi and we were there and that's how they found us and how we found them.  On Sunday we had a meeting with all the bishops and stake presidency.  These meetings are kind of scary sometimes but it went well this time and we were able to learn some good things so that we can work with the bishops better.  This week should be another fun and busy one.  We have our multi zone conference this week and those are always super fun.

Thanks for all that you do. 

I Miss and Love you All!!!!!!!!

Elder Kapple

June 18th, 2012

What’s up everyone? How is it going?

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!! LOVE YOU DAD- YOU’RE THE BEST!!!!

Another week has come and gone, time really does fly - haha. It sounds like you are all just doing great and staying busy. Things have been super busy for us here and that just makes everything go that much faster.  This last week was a good one for us and we had a lot of fun.  On Tuesday we had a district meeting with Rio Lindo.  Elder Diego and I did it all for them just so then we could teach them how to do it.  Elder Sommer (my old comp in Utila) is the District leader there and is doing a good job.  We made the meeting fun and did a few things out of the ordinary just to switch it all up.  We practiced our training that we had to give the next day in the ZL council too.  The ZL council was good and I think Elder Diego and I did a good job on our speaking assignment.  We talked abut the importance of working with members.  It was mostly just a review of what we have learned as a mission in the last few months but it was fun and I enjoyed it.  In the ZL council we always think of new things we can do as a mission to get better.  One of the weaknesses that we came up with is our planning so two things that we are going to be doing in the month are:  we are going to do our weekly planning with each district to show them how it is done; and also at least once a week we’re going to go the houses of the missionaries in the morning to study and review their plans. So those will help us out so that our planning will be more effective.  Planning is just one of those little things that we do everyday but if you don't do it, it makes everything a lot harder.  This week we had 3 baptisms.  Maria and her son Jossuar and Mario.  Mario got baptized on Thursday because it was his birthday but he won’t be able to get confirmed until the 1^st of July because of his work.  He is a really cool guy and is really smart.  He just turned 20 so we’re going to work with him so he can go on a mission.  Then Maria and her son were on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. They’re great people too.  This week was a struggle for us to find knew investigators but on Saturday we found a great lady who needs this gospel.  We were walking down a dirt road going to one of our appointments and we contacted this lady that was walking to her house.  While we were talking she told us that her daughter died about 4 months ago from drowning.  So we found out where she lived and went back a little later.  We just got to know her a little more and we obviously talked about the plan of salvation and eternal families.  You could see the hope that our message gave her and the spirit was really strong during the appointment.  She wasn't able to come to church because her sister came from Tegus to see her but next week she'll go. We just played soccer at an artificial field.  We rented it for 2 hours for 600 limps so we played for about 40 Limps per every person.  It was fun.  I’m starting to like soccer a lot and I‘ve lost all of my basketball talent. Well – everyone, thanks for everything, especially dad and grandpas -  I hope you had a happy Fathers Day.

I Miss and Love you All!!!!!!!!

Elder Kapple

June 11th, 2012

Hello Family and friends how are you all?

Things are fine and dandy and really hot here in Hondo - haha. It was great to hear from all of you and it sounds like you are all keeping busy and doing just great. Things went alright this week. We’re pretty worried about the baptisms right now. As a zone we have only had 5 baptisms for the month. We do have some dates coming up but it is still a little scary that we only have 2 weeks left in the month and we only have 5.  We will have 2 baptisms this week, Maria and her son Josuar.  She has changed a lot. The first few times that we taught her, she had a lot of apostasy in her but has she has now read the Book of Mormon, prayed, gone to church, and listened to our message.  She has had a change of heart. We are also working with the Machado family.  The mom is a member and was baptized at the age of 14 but went inactive.  They are really positive and are always happy when we show up.  This week we found out that he smokes a lot; like a pack a day.  He said that he has been wanting to leave it but hasn't been able to.  We took his cigarettes from him on Saturday and then he told us Sunday that he hadn't smoked so he's doing great. Keep him and his family in your prayers. We have a date for the 23rd of this month.  We really need to focus on finding new investigators. We found some this week but they’re not too positive, and some of our investigators aren’t progressing very fast.  We had to drop a really possitive family this week. She really wants to get baptized but she is living in sin with her boyfriend and isn't willing to leave him because he doesn't want to get married. We also found out this week that he has killed 2 people.  It was mostly in self defense but he didn't even feel bad for it so he hasn’t really repented.  I remember in Utila when President Veirs was out there with us, I asked about how people can just kill like it is nothing.  He said it's because they have lost the light of Christ.  We all know that the Holy Ghost and the Light of Christ are different.  The Light of Christ is what people feel before they have recieved the Holy Ghost.  There are a lot of people here that have lost the Light of Christ.  We have another family too that is doing alright and in these last few weeks have started to progress more.  But a lot of things need to change before they get married.  Some more info about my companion.  He is 24 and I think that he has 4 sisters.  All of his family are members but his dad is inactive.  He was also inactive for a little while before his mission but then changed.  That's why he came late.  He goes home in November and that’s about it.  This week the 2 of us, Elder Diego and I have to talk in the ZL conference on Wednesday so that should be a blast - haha.  Keep me in your prayers for that.  Today we went to the alligator farm again.  It was fun.  I touched a lion, a baby alligator and a big one too.  Not everyone can say that- haha.  I have been going to the gym every morning, I feel bad sometimes because we sometimes overhear a little worldly music but man do I feel good working out.  We wake up at 5:30 am every morning.  It was hard at first but I’m used to it now.  Lately, I have focused a lot on health.  I try to avoid snacks and I try not to eat a lot.  Thanks for everything.  You guys are the best and I miss and love you all!!!!!!!!

Elder Kapple

June 4th, 2012

Well, how are you my good family?

Things have been good and we had some good changes here in Villanueva.  Elder Guzman got a change and was sent to Utila, pretty lucky!  We have a lot of great missionaries here in the zone.  We have 3 news, 2 sisters and 1 elder.  I was hopeing that Elder Hafen was going to be my new comp but he got send to La Ceiba.  My comp is Elder Diego from El Salvador.  He's a cool little guy and we get along.  We came together to Honduras but I have more time because I had 2 months in the MTC and he only had 3 weeks here in the MTC.  His famly are converts but he was baptized when he was 8 because that's when the missionaries found them.  We’re still getting to know each other but he's a cool guy and I really like him and he likes to work.  We did a lot of good work this week and found some good new investigators.  We were super sad this week because hermano Ponce didn't get baptized. All week he was saying that he was going to do it then the day before he told us no and he doesn't have any reasons at all, he made us pretty sad but he has his agency.  He said he'll do it in a month so we'll see what happens. But we were blessed on Sunday. We had 3 families come to church. The Pineda family, they weren't really progressing much but this Sunday they looked like they had had a change of heart and seemed a lot different; then a new, young family that we found and another one that we have been working with who seem really positive.  We have a baptism date with Maria and her son for the 16^th of this month. She finally understood that she needs a baptism with the proper authority and we should be able to have a few more this month if we keep working hard. This area has probably been one the hardest for me.  In my other areas the baptisms have always come and have been successful areas but this one has been a fight for me but I know that my comp and I just need to keep on working hard and Lord will bless us.  We are getting to know all the members and we’re going to work with them a lot more so that we can have more help in here. Yesterday all we did was visit members so that we can have the confidence of them all. Without them this work can't progress to its full potential.  Not much else happened this week with changes and sorry there are no recordings because I forgot the cable to connect the recorder so until next week.

Thanks for everything, I Miss and Love you All!!!!!!!!

Elder Kapple

PS (for the friends letter) – Wow, how the time sure does fly. It is crazy to think that all of us are on the downhill side of our missions. It was great getting the letter from you all last time, I always enjoy reading them and seeing how much everyone of us has changed and how the gospel blesses all the people around the world.  It's amazing to think about how this same gospel blesses all sorts of people and that it doesn't matter where they’re from, what beliefs they used to have, or what kind of customs they have; this gospel is always the answer.  Elders, enjoy your missions and give it all you’ve got.  Always remember what your purpose is and who you are serving. 

DO THE WORK!

Les quiero mucho

Cuidense

Elder Kapple

May 28th, 2012

What’s up family?

This week was a busy one for us and it just felt like we were running around doing errands and stuff all week but it was all worth it because we had some great success as a zone.  As a zone we  ended up bringing 37 souls unto Christ. We were really blessed this month- well, mostly this last weekend.  We had 33 baptisms this last weekend as a zone.  So during the week we were running all over the place picking things up and dropping things off so that all these people could be baptized.  We weren't able to work in our own area for 2 days so that didn't help us out too much.  On Friday I was with the missionaries in Paraiso to do all their baptismal interviews and we had a few weddings too.  We first had the wedding for our area for the Ponce family.  The wedding went good.  We had a scary experience on the way there in the bus.  There was a drunk guy and he started arguing with the bus driver over something stupid and the guy pulled out a gun, but then he ended up getting off the bus and everything was good. (Mom, don’t worry - nothing bad happened to us).  Then I went to 2 more weddings in Paraiso and that night I had to do all of their interviews.  They baptized 2 families that are really awesome.  I also did an interview with another older lady this week that had been sexually abused earlier in her life.  We talked a lot about the atonement of Christ and what Christ did for us.  It was cool; I could see how she started to feel better when she read the scriptures about the atonement and as we talked about it.  It was just a cool experience about how the gospel brings that change and joy in people lives.  This week in our area we had 2 baptisms.  The day of the baptism, hermano Ponce opted out.  We went to pick them up and he wasn't ready and just said that he wasn’t going to get baptized that day and wait until the next week and he wouldn't tell us why.  It was really weird because his wife had been the one that was more negative and he was always excited about getting baptized.  So this week were going to be working with him a lot.  Changes are this week.  My companion, Elder Guzman has a change so I’ll be here for a change more with a new comp.  Most of the areas in the zone have changes and they’re closing an area too so we'll see what happens.  Changes are always exciting - haha.

Thanks for everything.  You guys are the best.

I Miss and Love You All!!!!!!!!

Elder Kapple