Darren's Mission

My son Darren is currently serving a two-year LDS church mission in Honduras; he started in September 2007 and we won't see him again until September 2009. This photo is from a three-zone activity (a "zone" consisting of several "districts," which in turn usually consist of two or more pairs of missionaries), and Darren is the second from the right in the middle row of white shirts. According to Darren, his mission (the Honduras Comayagüela Mission, one of three in the country) is composed about one-half of "native" (i.e., mostly from Central America) missionaries -- his "trainer" companion, Elder Letrán, is from Guatemala -- which is pretty good representation. I served a mission in Chile in 1979-80, so in some ways Darren is following in my footsteps; I've tried to share my experiences with him, which I hope he's found helpful (and not annoying). Note that there are several pairs of "sister" missionaries in the photo; LDS women may serve missions beginning at age 21, although they aren't as strongly encouraged to go as are young men. (The latter generally begin their missions at age 19, or even 18 if that's the only way to postpone military conscription in their particular home countries.)

It was hard not to have Darren home for Christmas (and unfortunately, he received our Christmas package several days late), but being gone for two years is a sort of rite of passage for LDS young men. Darren told us via e-mail that he and Elder Letrán and another pair of missionaries barbecued in their apartment building's stairwell on Christmas Day. Darren closed the door to their apartment to keep the smoke out, and in the process he unwittingly locked them out; the landlord was gone visiting relatives, so they ended up sleeping on the landing with only a few towels for warmth--something I'm sure he'll never forget!