MEET THE NEWEST FAMILY MEMBER . . JONATHAN

Ken, Coppelia and the kids have welcomed a new member into the family. Here's his story. 


My name is Jonathan Hélas. My story begins in the beautiful Caribbean island of Haiti. I was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1995 to two amazing parents. Sadly, my parents got a divorce while I was at the age of 2, barely old enough to remember my parents ever being together. My life in Haiti is a difficult experience to describe, and I would rather refrain from going into details, but I want to note how grateful I am to my extended family for all that they provided for me. My parents are both active members of the church and whilst I was in Haiti I attended church with my father. My mother had moved to the states shortly after the divorce and I moved to be with her 5 years later. At the age of 7 coming from such an impoverished country you can imagine my culture shock to all the new opportunities and things that I could do. I lived a large portion of my life in New Jersey. I had a quite a few experiences there which have had a profound impression on my life. Regrettably, one of those experiences lead me to drift away from the church for a time. Still, my mother was very adamant on me attending church—which I did—but I still felt disconnected and though I was present in church physically, spiritually and mentally, I was aloof.

The event that led to my change of heart, and my wanting to serve a mission, occurred in the spring of 2013. My mother and I took a trip back to Haiti and, despite having been to Haiti several times after my move to the states, this time was different. It was the first time my mother had been back to Haiti since the divorce in 1998 and it was just about 6 months before my 18th birthday. I knew my dad would speak to me about serving a mission, and I had no intention of going.

I remember the experience so vividly. We had been in Haiti for about a week, with only 3 days left on our trip, and I had already expressed my feelings about the church, serving a mission and God to my father. I remember my mother and father were in the dining room, my dad having just told my mom about how I felt about the church and God, and they both began to inquire about why I believed in what I did or didn't. Soon, all of the thoughts, feelings and frustrations I had withheld for so long began pouring out. I remember crying. I remember how my parents never once seemed upset. I remember wiping the tears from my eyes and I remember looking up at them and I remember seeing them smiling.

Jonathan's Mom to his right and his Dad is on his far left.

I realized later on that, at that moment, it was the first time I could ever recall both my parents being in the same room together. I further realized that families should be together forever and though I did not have mine together, I could go and serve a mission. I could do the same for others and for myself later on in life.

I served in my mission in the sunshine state, #Floridaisthebest. 

I specifically served in the southern part of Florida, working in major cities such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers. The experiences I had there, the people I met and the things I learned I could never repay or thank God enough for all those sacred moments in my life. There is one experience in particular I would like to share. The story is about a family my companion and I were blessed to find while knocking doors. We were knocking in the middle of the night, close to when we needed to go home, but they were the last door we felt we should knock and so we did just that. We found a family that was desperate for the gospel. The mother and father were planning on getting divorced and they felt there was no hope left for their marriage. They have 3 beautiful children and they were so scared about how it would affect them.

 God had other plans for this family. He sent my companion and me just at the right time to help them stay together. We taught them the lessons and focused on the blessings that families receive from the gospel. The whole family got baptized and I am so grateful that God trusted us with so much responsibility. Keeping a family from getting a divorce was so difficult, and I hold that experience close to my heart.

I concluded my mission in the month of May, 2016 and felt that I should go to Utah for school. But, financially, I thought it was best to stay in New Jersey for school. To my surprise, my mother told me I should move to Utah before I’d even said a word about it. She felt the environment would be better for me and that it would help me avoid going back to old habits. I didn’t know how we were going to get me over to Utah, but I knew that God would not inspire us without preparing a way for us. We began to pray for a way, and God answered.

(Here's a few pictures from his mission).

We have a close family friend named Ed Mauss who was so devoted to helping us and that’s how I was introduced to Ken Agle who graciously agreed to accommodate me within his home with his awesome family. I am so grateful to God for always providing a way for us to accomplish all that he has in mind for us. I am so happy to be part of this family and for all that I have learned from them.

Visiting with Jonathan while he does some painting touchup on the stairs.

Ready to go Home Teaching.