Bio of Gerald Shelley

Last November, Carmen and I were in Honduras on Roatan, both goofing off and looking for investment property. We were directed to the brand new chapel on a hill overlooking the island's capital city. By some luck we were there for the first meeting in that chapel. Tears came after meeting with the Mission President, the missionaries and the members and realizing the good that has come from the efforts of Central American missionaries over the years.

Carmen and I live in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, Arizona. She was born in Cali, Colombia. Her parents moved to Chicago when she was a toddler and she grew up perfectly bilingual (she corrects me when I flub a subjunctive or use the past imperfect instead of the preterit). In 1978, her family joined the Church after their minister converted and sent the elders to meet selected members of his congregation. I met Carmen at BYU shortly after concluding my mission and about a year after she joined the Church. Things haven't been the same since!

We have 4 children. Our oldest Matthew serves in the Washington, Spokane Mission. Elisa is 20, and continues her studies at ASU after having spent this last year at colleges in Spain and Mexico. Rachel, 17, is a lifeguard and plays tennis for the high school team. Andrew, 12, loves skate parks and likes the transition into the Deacon's quorum. Each plays a stringed instrument--Bass, Violin, Cello and Bass, and over the years their music has provided us with many rich experiences, thrills and travels--from Tokyo to Carnegie Hall.

After law school at ASU, I worked two years for the Chief Bankruptcy Judge in Arizona. Sixteen years later, I still haven't been able to escape the world of commercial insolvencies. Businesses in every industry fail, and every now and then I've been involved in cleaning some of them up, or as necessary, divesting the profitable parts--everything from golf courses to airlines, apartments and hotels to citrus groves. Making some sense out of parts of the recent Andersen and Enron debacles are current projects.

Church experiences and callings have come and blessed us. These follow a mission with a wonderfully set stage. From President Muren (my group arrived in Costa Rica too late to know President Eager) to terrific companions (Webb, Hogan, Green, Romney, Barton, Chaffin, Peterson, Theurer, Gleave, Guymon, Lundell, Clawson, Araya, Benton, Griffin, & Crawford) to wonderful people, areas in all 4 countries (Guadalupe and Desamparados (San Jose), Comayaguela, Los Yoses (San Jose), Managua, Comayagua, David and Chepo, Panama), and a tour in the office, I couldn't have hoped for a better set of circumstances. A highlight was working with Elder Klay Clawson to open a branch in the old territorial capital of Honduras--Comayagua. President Muren sent us there after the missionary evacuation of Nicaragua in the fall of 1978. From our first afternoon there, we saw the Lord's hand at work. Twenty-two years later, I backpacked through Honduras with my son Matthew prior to his mission. We found there is now a Stake in Comayagua. I remember as a kid hearing the Beatles song about a revolution. I think there is a quiet one going on as Stakes of Zion are erected in the countries where we all served.