Thankful Thursday - Throwback to the Chile Mission days

Oh my heck!  Yes, that is totally a Utah phrase.  It's for us Mormons who are trying to curb our swearing.

So, I get a call yesterday from Luke practically yelling with excitement!  Elder Poujol is HERE!  In the United States!!  Remember how they were companions when Luke served a mission for our church in the Chile, Osorno mission?   Mauricio has long stayed Luke's good friend.

(February of 2009)

and video of him just playing around.  I hear Luke's spanish and forgot how fast and fluent he was

I really wanted to post the video of his awesome blue dart (my son taught every non-american companion how to do a blue dart) but Splenda stopped me.  I guess if Mauricio says it's okay, I'll throw it up sometime.  It's AWE.SOME!


 They were BFF's in the mission and not much has changed since they both went home.  Mauricio to Honduras and Luke to the states.

Well, it seems that ANOTHER missionary companion of theirs is getting married this weekend and Mauricio came all the way from Honduras for a week to join in the festivities!!    I have always wanted to meet this kid and Wednesday night was the night!

What a freakin delight!  He speaks English very well and is truly one of the happiest people I have ever met.  He is working on his bachelors degree in Industrial Engineering in Honduras and then plans on coming out to BYU for his Masters.  Yippee!!  We will get him close by!

Luke came up from Orem, picked him up and brought him home for dinner.  First thing Mauricio told me is that I am his grandma.  Apparently, in their mission, your trainer was your "dad".  Luke was his trainer and zone leader for a period of time.  So the joke was that Luke was his "dad", which made me his "grandma".

Wonderful kid!  Outstanding human being.  The LDS church isn't as large in Honduras as it is here, so he does multiple callings - jobs that he doesn't get paid for.  I admire that in people, who serve simply because they love their church and believe in it's cause.

We had a chance to visit, the boys looked over some mission pictures and videos and of course my camera was at the ready!

Mauricio is here until Sunday and then back to Honduras until next year.  His family will be coming out for General Conference.  He has instructions to bring his younger sister.  If she is half as beautiful, kind, respectful, generous, outgoing, pleasant as her brother - Imma snatch her for Luke!

So for this Thankful Thursday, I am more than thankful for the choice Luke made to serve a mission and the privilege he had to serve with such an awesome young man!  I am thankful for how well Luke speaks Spanish.  He said the prayer tonight on the food and I asked him for espanol.  I love that language.  It's a comfort language for me!  I'm thankful for all the good that has come to  Luke's life from his two years in Chile - including Mauricio Poujol!