Starting our Fourth Month in the Mission

The highlight of the week was visiting with some families here in Belize City and teaching them about our temples.  Below is a short video that explains, "Temples are the houses of God on earth, holy places where we seek guidance and peace and become closer to our Father in Heaven."

You can also see the above video by clicking here.  

To see a more detailed video about temples that we showed our friends, click here . The video features Elder William Walker giving a tour of the temple while explaining why temples are important to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 

Children hold a very special place in our hearts and it was a pleasure to be involved with them several times this week.  On Thursday night we were able to attend a baptism for three young girls from Belize City.  It brought back happy memories for me as I was also baptized this week, 53 years ago.   You can see the girls are getting some words of wisdom from the Belize City branch president before they were baptized.

I wrote this on my Facebook wall about my memory of being baptized:  "Happy 53rd anniversary to me. I was baptized on this very day, October 31 - 53 years ago. I am so glad I was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My decision at age 8 has brought me a lifetime of peace and happiness."

On Wednesday night we attended a practice with the children of the Spanish branch as they prepare for their Sacrament meeting presentation to be held later this month.  They know their songs very well and sing them with conviction.

On Sunday we were able to visit the Primary in San Pedro.  Elder Magnusson enjoyed coloring pictures with the children about Heavenly Father's love for them after we sang "My Heavenly Father Loves Me".

You can also see the video by clicking here. 

On Sunday after attending church in San Pedro, it was a quick dash to the water taxi wharf in the rain for the one and a half hour boat ride home.

The time passed quickly as we talked to different passengers on the boat each way.  On the way over I was able to share a For the Strength of Youth Pamphlet to a father of teenagers.  He was excited that I offered to give the pamphlet to him so he could read it with his children.    

On the way back I talked to a woman who was the president of the disabled non-profit group for Belize. (Belize Assembly for Persons with Diverse Abilities)

This is a picture from their webpage

She was very excited when I told her about our church's humanitarian services that has helped people around the world by donating wheelchairs to communities in need.  Our church's humanitarian webpage states: 

20 million disabled people need wheelchairs but cannot obtain one. Humanitarian Services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who operates LDS Charities, provides wheelchairs and walking aids to those in need who cannot afford one. The recipient’s mobility, employability, and independence are greatly increased.

Last year, Humanitarian Services provided wheelchairs to 55,000 people in 48 countries. They included 430 wheelchairs to Kazakhstan, 1,484 wheelchairs to Vietnam, and 330 wheelchairs to Madagascar.

I'm excited to contact LDS Charities to see if they can help our brothers and sisters here in Belize. I told the woman I didn't think it was by chance that we sat by each other.

These experiences that we are having here on the mission remind me that our loving Heavenly Father is aware of all of  His children and it is an honor for us to be, at times, "His hands" to touch people's lives.

Here is another beautiful Belizean sunset from our front porch.