“Old age, it’s not for sissies.”
My late father-in-law, Alma Hofhiens, was fond of saying this – especially as he grew older. Sometimes, what make old age so hard is that you never know what to expect. One day you’re feeling fine – celebrating your birthday at a party – and the next you are in the hospital with no clear date of release! This recently…
Punta Arenas
The translation is — “Sand Point”! Now isn’t that familiar! Sand Point, Idaho isn’t that far away from home:-) When President Cates asked us to visit the Mission Group in “Sand Point” we were very excited! We were happy to get out of town and see some countryside. Punta Arenas is a seaport on the Pacific Ocean about 90 minutes…
LIGHT
On multiple occasions in the New Testament, Jesus describes Himself as the “Light of the World”. In D&C 10:70, he describes Himself as “the Light and Life of the World”. Isaiah, of the Old Testament, urged the house of Jacob to “walk in the Light of the Lord.” And, in the Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ declared that “(I) will…
CLEANLINESS is INSPIRING!
OUR apartment is up on the third floor with a palm tree blowing into our window every time we open it. It is a 2 bed/2 bath with about 900 sq feet. It is nice but its definitely not the luxury you might equate with Costa Rican. Every Monday is Preparation day – p-day for short – and we can…
VACAY!!
Some of our family came to visit us this week! A big shout-out of gratitude goes to Tiffany’s mom and sister for babysitting the cutest grandkids in Arizona! Thanks to their support, Jordan and Tiffany came for some R & R and a belated Co-vid interrupted Honey Moon! We all went sight-seeing in Costa Rica, specifically Quepos! First, we enjoyed…
Baptisms!
This past month, our mission president challenged our missionaries to meet, teach and baptize friends that are ready to make a covenant with Heavenly Father. President Cates didn’t have a number in mind. Instead, he challenged every companionship to baptize! This meant that missionaries challenged their friends to seek answers to Gospel questions through the power of the Holy Ghost.…
Legal?
Elder Hofhiens and I have been on a mission for exactly one year as of today – January 31. We’ve paid for our mission car ever since we received it in March of 2022. And we legally drove it until May of 2022. Ever since May 11, we have driven illegally. Why? Mainly because our immigration lawyers haven’t been able…
We caught it…
We have enjoyed three of the healthiest years ever, but this January Covid caught up to us and we were down for the count,… and I still have full sinuses! We were soon enticed out of our doldrums by this lady in the Nike sweatshirt, Adriana Bolanes. She is the wonderful woman who does the luncheons for all the missionary…
Time To Share
Most Senior Missionaries do not proselyte and teach the gospel to non-members. Elder Hofhiens and I serve in the Mission office, serving and helping the missionaries and the Mission President in the work of Gathering Israel. As a general rule we don’t proselyte, but we still get to participate in the Gathering of Israel in this great and last dispensation…
DAR A LUZ
In the Spanish version of the Book of Mormon, the act of giving birth is described as “giving a light” or dio a luz. IN Luke 2, Mary “dio a luz a su hijo primogénito”. In English, it simply says that (Mary) “brought forth her first born son”. Considering both stories, I love the Spanish language translation and its description…
ZONE CONFERENCE
Our Sabana Zone conference was a Christmas party with singing, acting and feasting! These young people are amazing and joyful! Our District members – Sisters Baldwin, DeMille, Hafen, Servellon, Elders Cedeño, Gallegos, Socop and Jenson – showed off their talents! Plus, Elder Hofhiens and I were able to help out at all the other Zone Conferences. This week we saw…
MEMORIES
AS missionaries in Costa Rica, we belong to a great ward in Escazú, San Jose. We have a set of Elders and a set of Sisters assigned to our ward too. We often attend Sunday School with these young missionaries and their amigos. Getting to know investigators and members in the ward has been a fun and rewarding part of…
Send it how?
I have started sending out mailing instructions to parents. We’ve had two missionaries whose parents sent gifts via the website address. They spent hours visiting various offices, and paying various fees. Most of them give up and just let customs keep the gifts. Basically, there is no postal service here in Costa Rica. No one delivers the mail, and with…
T’is the Season!
We found the Christmas decorations in the Elder’s apartment and had a fun morning decorating the office. Elder Jensen, Elder Socop, Sister Servellón, and Sister Hafen work well together and we all enjoy a good spirit of cooperation and service. In a burst of creativity, I decided to make a photo tree. Since we always have extra pictures of each…
Liderazgo!
Today was leadership training for the Big Event! They are role-playing how missionaries can involve ward and stake leaders in a Christmas activity this holiday season. Everyone in the mission is involved in writing testimonies in Scriptures, wrapping the scriptures as presents to give away, preparing hymns and holiday music for a concert in the stakes and for caroling in…
Mission Experiences
Some experiences are quirky and some experiences are never to be forgotten. I am borrowing a few missionaries experiences to share. This first one, however is quirky and its all mine. Last week we went to church and was surprised to find it under water! Our little chapel in Puntarenas out by the coast was completely flooded in October. They…
GRACIAS A DIOS!
I hear this phrase a lot in Costa Rica when I speak with the local people – gracias a Dios. It means “thanks to God”. I’ve heard similar phrases in English, but somehow, English phrases take a less respectful and less worshipful tone. I prefer the Spanish version. This past week, we were helping some sister missionaries install a new…
FELICIDADES!
I had my birthday recently and it was GREAT! I have never received so many well wishes from so many people before in my life!! Here is a sampling complete with all the emoticons! I love technology!! Steven Hofhiens: Feliz cumpleaños Hermana Hofhiens!! Quepos: Feliz cumpleaños Hermana Hofhiens ❤ we love you so much!!! Gracias por todo lo que hace…
Seuss world
There are things here in Costa Rica that just make me pinch myself and say “Kim, you are not in Idaho anymore!” For instance, this brilliant yellow Eye Lash Pitviper! It looks poisonous – which it is – so do not get too close!! The Eye on the tree is an Owl Butterfly. He uses his “eye” to trick predators…
Intránsito!
Not all mission life is roses and sunshine. However, it is the Lord’s work so things do tend to work out. Yeah!! But, the fact is I took 6 missionaries to the Post Office for their Visa appointment on the 4th of July. Typically, 4 weeks after this appointment, the missionaries would receive their 1 year Visa, which looks like…
Phases of Discipleship
IN MORTAL life we grow and change physically, interact and relate socially, learn, experiment and connect to God’s creations daily. As we accept Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the guidance of the Holy Ghost through baptismal covenants, we begin a new, more spiritual life. Most of us are probably in the ever-changing caterpillar stage of being a Disciple of Christ.…
39 Years!!
Steve and I went touristy — BIG TIME!! We stayed at Shana By the Beach just outside of Quepos – a sleepy little beach town on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. It is the rainy season, so we got a good deal on this very nice hotel. We also got a few bonus visitors! These white faced Capuchin monkeys…
BYU Pathways
A few months ago an elder from our mission returned to his home in El Salvador. All through his mission he had diligently studied English. Just before he left for home, he took an English test on his missionary portal. His score was good enough to earn him a BYU pathways scholarship that cut his registration fees significantly. Missionaries all…
Feria
My favorite Saturday activity?? The Saturday morning street market. It is the best! The fruit is the freshest! We make a fruit smoothie every morning for breakfast, so my motivation is high for seeking out the very best fruit. Plus, I get to try my hand at understanding the natives and using numbers and money! It’s a test! Vanilla cinnamon…
Independence Day!
It isn’t the 4th of July – its the 15th of September! It marks the day that all Central America gained their independence from Spain. The celebration has television announcements at 6pm with fireworks on the 14 of September and parades on the 15th. Elder Hofhiens and I were able to catch this one in our Escazú neighborhood. It featured…
Ouch!
Steve makes a very good chocolate-banana smoothie. I love it! Add granola and it’s even better. A few days ago, I bit down on that granola and came away with a strange piece of material in my mouth. It turned out that it was my tooth! Really, it was a partial crown I had fixed 10 years ago. Lucky for…
Becoming…
I love to set goals. And I truly am driven to complete my goals. Going on a mission was a goal I had since I was 14. When I met Steve I wasn’t thinking about marriage. I was still in High School and I had the goal of going to Rick’s College in Rexburg, Idaho. Even though I received in…
how many airports?…
Every now and again we have to take a missionary to the airport. This particular trip started at 4 in the morning. It was dark and foggy. Our headlights barely penetrated the darkness! I programmed the GPS to take us to the airport, and we started out confidently. As we got closer to the airport, the rising sun started burning…
Life doesn’t stop!
We go out on our mission and hope all will be well while we are gone, but life goes on and things change. We’ve missed a few things, some big and some small, and some that really changed our world. Little Kate is hitting her milestones! Born a week before Christmas, we got to hold and cuddle her before the…
Some days are just like that…
I’d like to say that every day of the mission is golden. I’d like to say it… but it isn’t true. Partly because we’re human and we’re not 100% golden all the time, and partly because life is night and day, good and bad. Darkness defines the light so we know without a doubt when we’re having a difficult, dark…
Young Adult Rally
Steve and I were invited to speak at a Young Adult Rally. The rally was in four parts -Spiritual, Academic, Occupation, and Mission. They invited us to talk about our mission and the blessings we’ve received in being a part of Heavenly Father’s Gathering of Israel. I spoke about one young Elder Huezo who had just returned home to El…
Celebrations!
Today, July 31, 2022 marks 6 months on our mission! When I was 14 I decided to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After 43 years – I’m finally realizing my goal!! Wow! And with my very own Steven as my companion! It really couldn’t get any better than this. This week we spent…
Too much?
I have been so busy I felt like I’m juggling – and I don’t even know how to juggle! I have defied the laws of gravity and kept more balls in the air than I could ever imagine. And yet, the electricians of Costa Rica are even more amazing at defying natural law than I am … . Just a…
And many more!!
For the last 5+ months Steve and I haven’t done many touristy things. So when Steve had his 61st Birthday on a p-day, it was an opportunity we couldn’t let pass! We had to do something to mark his special day! So we went to La Fortuna to see the Arenal Lake and Volcano. This is Arenal Lake – it…
Vale la pena?
In John 6 Jesus taught the disciples of His Gospel and His sacrament. Many were offended and went away never to follow him again. Jesus turned to his twelve closest disciples and asked. “Will you also go away?” Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the awords of eternal life.(John 6:67-68) When you truly live the…
CAMBIOS!!
Every six weeks we have Cambios! Cambios, or exchanges, is the time when new missionaries come into the mission, and missionaries who have already served for 18 – 24 months head home. This time we had 15 leaving and 11 coming into the mission. It was busy! Cambios are always emotional, but this time it was also wonderful! Because -…
Noche de Milagros
Night of Miracles Every Sunday the mission has a zoom meeting where we all get together and discuss the work – the gathering of Israel – in Costa Rica San José Oeste Misión. There are many miracles shared – from amazing near-miss car accidents, to serendipitous meetings on the street, to prayers answered in surprising ways. It is a spirit-filled…
Bored = Aborido
We work in the Mission Office so, of course, we are going to get audited sometime. Preparing for an audit is very boring. There is so much stuff to do that no one wants to do! Going through old records, sorting 2019 and up documents into binders, and then shredding everything that’s 2018 and older. Btw, I love shredding old…
Doctrine of Christ
Who would’ve thought that you could find the Perpetual motion machine on your mission. You can! It’s in the scriptures, and it’s very easy to figure out. It starts with fe, faith in Jesus Christ, which then leads to arrepentimiento, repentance or sorrow for actions not in accordance with Christ’s teachings. Third is Bautismo. Baptism is a covenant you make…
Alone time…
It’s normal to need time alone. And just so no one would have hurt feelings, our trainer suggested using this phrase as a cue. “Honey, I just haven’t had the chance to miss you for awhile.” Most married couples aren’t used to spending 24 hours 7 days a week together. And alone time is necessary for everyone! Personally, I love…
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