I told you there were a lot of motos on the streets of Chiquimula. These were parked along side the city park one night in December. I
Monday, December 29
Friday, December 26
Wow! I actually worked the camera timer!
Christmas morning! Lots of Christmas stories and pictures on the following pages. We hope your Christmas morning/day was as filled as ours was--we spent most of the day talking to family on the computer! I love technology--now if I just understood it! I am getting older!
The Crazy Ride Back for Guat City--Pictures Below
Last week we made a trip to Guatemala City. The bus was as good as any in the good ‘ole USA. It even had a bathroom on board. At each town, the door was opened and the helper we call out (like a circus hawker) “Guatee, Guatee, Guatee.” Passengers would join us and we would be off again. We enjoyed the trip. It was interesting, because at one little village on the main highway, the “Adelante” (helper) called out “Lunchee, lunchee.” The bus stopped only long enough for food vendors to hop on the bus with their baskets of food on their heads and hips. The bus kept driving as they walked up and back in the bus selling their food. In about 15 minutes the bus left them off and they awaited a bus going back in the other direction. Actually, it is an efficient system.
The AP’s picked us up and we were able to take care of some mission/passport details at the Area Office and visit the Mission Office. Santa’s Elves (the four office missionaries and the two nurses) were busy wrapping presents for all of the elders in the mission. They bought white shirts and ties for all of the ladino elders and just ties for the Anglo elders—since they would also be receiving packages from home. We spent the night at the mission home. Spencer and the President went out on splits with missionaries and I helped Hermana Alvarado wrap Christmas presents for all of the Sisters in the mission. It was actually fun visiting in Spanish. She is very patient with all of my questions. She doesn’t speak any English.
Friday morning we went to the temple. It was packed. There were excursions there from both El Salvador and Nicaragua. It was great to see so many people with the tags on indicating they were there for their own endowments. Once again Spencer and I were the witnesses. This time at the veil, I spoke English, but both helpers spoke in Spanish—that was different. They had a lot of faith that I was saying everything correctly. One of these days I will use Spanish—but I’m not to that point yet.
President Alvarado was holding a leadership training meeting with the five companionships that serve as Branch President and Counselor in the mission. All of them report to the mission president—not to stakes. We arrived back for the end of their training and we had lunch with all of the leadership/office missionaries at the mission home. It was very enjoyable.
Ipala is only about 30 miles from Chiquimula so we figured we would be on the same bus with those two elders going back. We thought it would be the same line and go thru Chiquimula and then to Ipala. They thought it would go to Ipala (since they knew they were on the more southerly route to the city) and then to Chiquimula. The APs only have a double cab truck, so the office elders (who had not been involved in picking us up at the end of the trip on the Guerra Line) drove us to the bus station. I thought something was wrong when nothing looked familiar—as in it was nothing like the place where we had disembarked.
The Ipala elders directed the elder to a location close to the terminal. It was congested with a Mercado and we couldn’t get close so we all hopped out and walked the last two blocks. Hmmm. Something was definitely wrong. NO nice buses—only converted, very old school buses. But we no longer had transportation to the other terminal area. Also we learned that this bus did not continue on from Ipala to Chiquimula, but went a different direction. We would need to catch one of the little van/buses to Chiquimula. We were OK with that (especially since we had no other option). I hopped on and so did one of the elders—but Spencer didn’t get on. Elder Guerra sat by me and the bus started driving off. I asked where our companions were and he said we were on “divisions” (Spanish for “splits”). I didn’t know what to do except sit tight, because our luggage was strapped on the top, so I couldn’t hop off and look for Spencer. Apparently, at the last second, Spencer decided to go use the bathroom and Elder Gonzalez, stayed with him, knowing the bus would leave. As soon as Spencer was available, Elder Gonzalez showed him where to cut thru the block and they caught the bus when it circled to get on the exiting road from the Mercado. I was relieved to see them get aboard! I appreciated the young elders for quickly spitting up so that one could “take care” of each of us! Spencer and I were able to sit together; the Elders were split up, but across the aisle from each other and behind us.
Everything was still OK—not like the bus going to Guatemala City, but still OK. However, that didn’t last long. We just kept picking passengers up. Soon every bench seat built for two people had three—sometimes four if there was a child on a lap. The person added to our bench just kept pushing in—as if that were going to create some more space! It didn’t—but the packing was tighter and part of my bottom was no longer on the seat, but pushed against the metal side of the bus. Even then, the bus continued picking people up. The latest arrivals just stood in the aisles—and this is a long trip—four hours from Guat City to Ipala. After about 1 ½ hours I was wishing I had made the same pit stop as Spencer prior to boarding. My bladder was killing me! Pretty soon I was thinking I might just have to pee on my pillow or something. It was getting desperate. Finally I couldn’t take it any longer. When we stopped at the next town I jumped up and said I have to go to the bathroom! So did Spencer and the other two missionaries, so we put things in our seats and they followed me out. I forced my way to the front asked the driver to wait and where was a bathroom! He said at the corner. There was a bar at the corner—but I didn’t care. I was about ready to squat in the street. We went in and asked where the BR was. The lady said it would cost two quetzals to use the BR. A guy said (in English) “You’re in Guatemala” “Welcome to Guatemala!” For the Q2 I even received some toilet paper. The BR was scary. Spencer and the elders used a trough like urinal. I waited for the BR which was only the commode—no seat and no tank. It was flushed by dipping into a barrel of water with a bucket. At least the person ahead of me had flushed it. I was glad I carried sanitizer for my hands.
By this point, some people were getting off the bus, so eventually we were back to two in our seat. I was amazed at how patient and quiet the children were. None were able to sit in a seat. They only had bony laps and crowded conditions, no entertainment, no A/C, nada. But you hardly heard a peep from them. In the USA the kids all have movies and entertainments, drinks, snacks, and comfortable seats, and still find reasons to complain at times. It is a different world here.
Oh, by the way, the fare was identical on the two buses—Q35/person. Nothing else was identical about it!
When we arrived in Ipala we had missed the last bus out by 20 minutes. I thought we might have to sleep at the elder’s apartment—scary thought if it is anything like the ones we saw in Center, Colorado! But we found a bus driver who said he would make an extra trip for us for Q50. We took it. He drove us through his home town—a pueblo in between. It was very clean compared to here—because everyone comes to Chiquimula for the Mercado—and that leaves a mess in the streets on a daily basis. He said most of the men from the village work in Maryland and NY. The families live here and the men send them money.
We were just glad to get home that night! Now we have done some investigating and we have the address of the Guerra terminal in Guat city entrenched in our brains. We won’t make the same mistake twice!
We have continued having success working with less active families. There are a lot of really good people here. I am impressed with kindnesses shown. We had our Ward Christmas party last night. It was well attended and we were able to meet a few more menos activos. We have lots of work cut out for us.
Brother Jordan, who is battling leukemia, sang throughout the dinner. It took a lot of energy—but he maintained the long-standing tradition for the ward. I was impressed with his dedication/determination and his talent. He even sang some songs in English and dedicated them to “Los Brown.” I discovered that one of the elders who served in the Guat City North Mission under Alan Parry is in our ward. We had fun visiting.
I spent all day at the church yesterday teaching the young women how to make Carrot Cake and Texas Sheet Cake. We also made pineapple upside down cakes (starting with a fresh pineapple that was steamed with cinnamon sticks for a long time). It was a lot of fun and it gave me a chance to get to know the young women. Some of our less actives we have been visiting came to the party. Others didn’t. Sigh.
Today I baked banana bread all day. We are giving loaves to some of our neighbors and some of our less active contacts. It has been fun.
We just finished having a Christmas Eve “Noche de Hogar” with two families headed by moms. It was fun and enjoyable—not like it would be with grandkids, but at least it helped fill up some of the time on Christmas Eve. Later we are going to a neighbor’s for the traditional, late night, tamale dinner. It should be fun. I’m trying to not feel too lonely. Spencer is taking a nap until it is time to leave for Rosa Elena’s house. This is a good fellowshipping contact with a non member. We are expecting to have fireworks and loud noises most of the night. I hope we get a little sleep. The two sets of elders in town are coming over for Christmas dinner tomorrow afternoon. I have the turkey all thawed and ready to put in the oven tomorrow. I also have my Sweet Potatoes ready to go. It will be a traditional Christmas dinner—minus family. L But we are serving the Lord and answering the call of the prophet.
This past Monday we made a second trip to Guat City—but this time we only had to get to Zacapa and the mission had a chartered bus. We currently have 176 missionaries. It was a very enjoyable day. I was asked to bear my testimony and it went OK. Christmas is the only time that the entire mission gets together. I took some pictures that I will share. We watched Wall-E (in Spanish, not that there is much talking). It was the perfect romance for a bunch of missionaries. J Everyone loved it. I hadn’t seen it before. Lots of fun and enjoyment for all.
On this Christmas Eve, I want share my testimony of the life and mission of the Savior. I love Him and I am eternally grateful for His gift to us of the Atonement. I love and miss all of you.
The AP’s picked us up and we were able to take care of some mission/passport details at the Area Office and visit the Mission Office. Santa’s Elves (the four office missionaries and the two nurses) were busy wrapping presents for all of the elders in the mission. They bought white shirts and ties for all of the ladino elders and just ties for the Anglo elders—since they would also be receiving packages from home. We spent the night at the mission home. Spencer and the President went out on splits with missionaries and I helped Hermana Alvarado wrap Christmas presents for all of the Sisters in the mission. It was actually fun visiting in Spanish. She is very patient with all of my questions. She doesn’t speak any English.
Friday morning we went to the temple. It was packed. There were excursions there from both El Salvador and Nicaragua. It was great to see so many people with the tags on indicating they were there for their own endowments. Once again Spencer and I were the witnesses. This time at the veil, I spoke English, but both helpers spoke in Spanish—that was different. They had a lot of faith that I was saying everything correctly. One of these days I will use Spanish—but I’m not to that point yet.
President Alvarado was holding a leadership training meeting with the five companionships that serve as Branch President and Counselor in the mission. All of them report to the mission president—not to stakes. We arrived back for the end of their training and we had lunch with all of the leadership/office missionaries at the mission home. It was very enjoyable.
Ipala is only about 30 miles from Chiquimula so we figured we would be on the same bus with those two elders going back. We thought it would be the same line and go thru Chiquimula and then to Ipala. They thought it would go to Ipala (since they knew they were on the more southerly route to the city) and then to Chiquimula. The APs only have a double cab truck, so the office elders (who had not been involved in picking us up at the end of the trip on the Guerra Line) drove us to the bus station. I thought something was wrong when nothing looked familiar—as in it was nothing like the place where we had disembarked.
The Ipala elders directed the elder to a location close to the terminal. It was congested with a Mercado and we couldn’t get close so we all hopped out and walked the last two blocks. Hmmm. Something was definitely wrong. NO nice buses—only converted, very old school buses. But we no longer had transportation to the other terminal area. Also we learned that this bus did not continue on from Ipala to Chiquimula, but went a different direction. We would need to catch one of the little van/buses to Chiquimula. We were OK with that (especially since we had no other option). I hopped on and so did one of the elders—but Spencer didn’t get on. Elder Guerra sat by me and the bus started driving off. I asked where our companions were and he said we were on “divisions” (Spanish for “splits”). I didn’t know what to do except sit tight, because our luggage was strapped on the top, so I couldn’t hop off and look for Spencer. Apparently, at the last second, Spencer decided to go use the bathroom and Elder Gonzalez, stayed with him, knowing the bus would leave. As soon as Spencer was available, Elder Gonzalez showed him where to cut thru the block and they caught the bus when it circled to get on the exiting road from the Mercado. I was relieved to see them get aboard! I appreciated the young elders for quickly spitting up so that one could “take care” of each of us! Spencer and I were able to sit together; the Elders were split up, but across the aisle from each other and behind us.
Everything was still OK—not like the bus going to Guatemala City, but still OK. However, that didn’t last long. We just kept picking passengers up. Soon every bench seat built for two people had three—sometimes four if there was a child on a lap. The person added to our bench just kept pushing in—as if that were going to create some more space! It didn’t—but the packing was tighter and part of my bottom was no longer on the seat, but pushed against the metal side of the bus. Even then, the bus continued picking people up. The latest arrivals just stood in the aisles—and this is a long trip—four hours from Guat City to Ipala. After about 1 ½ hours I was wishing I had made the same pit stop as Spencer prior to boarding. My bladder was killing me! Pretty soon I was thinking I might just have to pee on my pillow or something. It was getting desperate. Finally I couldn’t take it any longer. When we stopped at the next town I jumped up and said I have to go to the bathroom! So did Spencer and the other two missionaries, so we put things in our seats and they followed me out. I forced my way to the front asked the driver to wait and where was a bathroom! He said at the corner. There was a bar at the corner—but I didn’t care. I was about ready to squat in the street. We went in and asked where the BR was. The lady said it would cost two quetzals to use the BR. A guy said (in English) “You’re in Guatemala” “Welcome to Guatemala!” For the Q2 I even received some toilet paper. The BR was scary. Spencer and the elders used a trough like urinal. I waited for the BR which was only the commode—no seat and no tank. It was flushed by dipping into a barrel of water with a bucket. At least the person ahead of me had flushed it. I was glad I carried sanitizer for my hands.
By this point, some people were getting off the bus, so eventually we were back to two in our seat. I was amazed at how patient and quiet the children were. None were able to sit in a seat. They only had bony laps and crowded conditions, no entertainment, no A/C, nada. But you hardly heard a peep from them. In the USA the kids all have movies and entertainments, drinks, snacks, and comfortable seats, and still find reasons to complain at times. It is a different world here.
Oh, by the way, the fare was identical on the two buses—Q35/person. Nothing else was identical about it!
When we arrived in Ipala we had missed the last bus out by 20 minutes. I thought we might have to sleep at the elder’s apartment—scary thought if it is anything like the ones we saw in Center, Colorado! But we found a bus driver who said he would make an extra trip for us for Q50. We took it. He drove us through his home town—a pueblo in between. It was very clean compared to here—because everyone comes to Chiquimula for the Mercado—and that leaves a mess in the streets on a daily basis. He said most of the men from the village work in Maryland and NY. The families live here and the men send them money.
We were just glad to get home that night! Now we have done some investigating and we have the address of the Guerra terminal in Guat city entrenched in our brains. We won’t make the same mistake twice!
We have continued having success working with less active families. There are a lot of really good people here. I am impressed with kindnesses shown. We had our Ward Christmas party last night. It was well attended and we were able to meet a few more menos activos. We have lots of work cut out for us.
Brother Jordan, who is battling leukemia, sang throughout the dinner. It took a lot of energy—but he maintained the long-standing tradition for the ward. I was impressed with his dedication/determination and his talent. He even sang some songs in English and dedicated them to “Los Brown.” I discovered that one of the elders who served in the Guat City North Mission under Alan Parry is in our ward. We had fun visiting.
I spent all day at the church yesterday teaching the young women how to make Carrot Cake and Texas Sheet Cake. We also made pineapple upside down cakes (starting with a fresh pineapple that was steamed with cinnamon sticks for a long time). It was a lot of fun and it gave me a chance to get to know the young women. Some of our less actives we have been visiting came to the party. Others didn’t. Sigh.
Today I baked banana bread all day. We are giving loaves to some of our neighbors and some of our less active contacts. It has been fun.
We just finished having a Christmas Eve “Noche de Hogar” with two families headed by moms. It was fun and enjoyable—not like it would be with grandkids, but at least it helped fill up some of the time on Christmas Eve. Later we are going to a neighbor’s for the traditional, late night, tamale dinner. It should be fun. I’m trying to not feel too lonely. Spencer is taking a nap until it is time to leave for Rosa Elena’s house. This is a good fellowshipping contact with a non member. We are expecting to have fireworks and loud noises most of the night. I hope we get a little sleep. The two sets of elders in town are coming over for Christmas dinner tomorrow afternoon. I have the turkey all thawed and ready to put in the oven tomorrow. I also have my Sweet Potatoes ready to go. It will be a traditional Christmas dinner—minus family. L But we are serving the Lord and answering the call of the prophet.
This past Monday we made a second trip to Guat City—but this time we only had to get to Zacapa and the mission had a chartered bus. We currently have 176 missionaries. It was a very enjoyable day. I was asked to bear my testimony and it went OK. Christmas is the only time that the entire mission gets together. I took some pictures that I will share. We watched Wall-E (in Spanish, not that there is much talking). It was the perfect romance for a bunch of missionaries. J Everyone loved it. I hadn’t seen it before. Lots of fun and enjoyment for all.
On this Christmas Eve, I want share my testimony of the life and mission of the Savior. I love Him and I am eternally grateful for His gift to us of the Atonement. I love and miss all of you.
Christmas 2008
To All of Our Loved Ones, December 2008
This Christmas Spencer and I are serving a mission in Chiquimula, Guatemala. We arrived here on November 12th. It has already been an incredible experience. I love experiencing a different culture. We have found the people to be kind and warm. Our primary responsibility is to teach English. When the new semester starts in January we will be teaching four sessions to medical students and two sessions to faculty and staff at CUNORI (a branch of San Carlos University). We also are teaching four classes at the church (we recently added to the number because of the great diversity of ability among the different students). During the final two weeks of November we had many opportunities to meet and interact with the leaders of CUNORI and others in the community—thanks to the Limburg’s (who preceded us and set a high standard for us to follow). We have loved the people with whom we have interacted.
While there is a break in school, we are focusing a lot of our time on visiting less-active members or those who have special needs in the Ward. It has been very gratifying—and it has been an adventure learning our way around some of the more remote parts of the Ward. Christmas time has provided a wonderful opportunity for us to share our testimonies of the Savior—His birth, His Life and His Atonement. It also provides a time for us to renew our commitment to serve Him and be faithful in keeping covenants. We are the only missionary couple in the Guatemala City South Mission. What a blessing it would be if more retired members were willing to serve. The time until the second coming is one day shorter every 24 hours.
We have truly enjoyed the miracle of good health in being able to walk several miles everyday (especially since five months ago I couldn’t walk ¼ mile) and in being able to hop on and off of buses without mishap…well in reality, there have been a couple of times we weren’t sure where we were going—but they provided some great laughs and good life/learning experiences. J
The weather here is certainly much different than it was when we were serving a mission in western Kansas. That year we experienced severe ice storms, heavy snows and below zero temperatures. Here the locals think it is cold—because it gets down to the low 60’s at night and the 80’s during the day. When we tell them we think it is perfect, they laugh and say, “Just wait until March, April and May, when it is hot!” Now that will be an adjustment!
We have left behind our combined family of 13 children, 13 in-laws and 36 grandchildren. We appreciate their prayers and support. We really miss them, our siblings and Spencer’s parents very much. But we know they are all under the watchful care of our Father in Heaven. We love and appreciate our extended family and many friends. We love receiving emails. You can check our blog for pictures and updates. It is open to all visitors: spencerandjeanine.blogspot.com.
Love,Elder and Sister Brown (Spencer and Jeanine)
This Christmas Spencer and I are serving a mission in Chiquimula, Guatemala. We arrived here on November 12th. It has already been an incredible experience. I love experiencing a different culture. We have found the people to be kind and warm. Our primary responsibility is to teach English. When the new semester starts in January we will be teaching four sessions to medical students and two sessions to faculty and staff at CUNORI (a branch of San Carlos University). We also are teaching four classes at the church (we recently added to the number because of the great diversity of ability among the different students). During the final two weeks of November we had many opportunities to meet and interact with the leaders of CUNORI and others in the community—thanks to the Limburg’s (who preceded us and set a high standard for us to follow). We have loved the people with whom we have interacted.
While there is a break in school, we are focusing a lot of our time on visiting less-active members or those who have special needs in the Ward. It has been very gratifying—and it has been an adventure learning our way around some of the more remote parts of the Ward. Christmas time has provided a wonderful opportunity for us to share our testimonies of the Savior—His birth, His Life and His Atonement. It also provides a time for us to renew our commitment to serve Him and be faithful in keeping covenants. We are the only missionary couple in the Guatemala City South Mission. What a blessing it would be if more retired members were willing to serve. The time until the second coming is one day shorter every 24 hours.
We have truly enjoyed the miracle of good health in being able to walk several miles everyday (especially since five months ago I couldn’t walk ¼ mile) and in being able to hop on and off of buses without mishap…well in reality, there have been a couple of times we weren’t sure where we were going—but they provided some great laughs and good life/learning experiences. J
The weather here is certainly much different than it was when we were serving a mission in western Kansas. That year we experienced severe ice storms, heavy snows and below zero temperatures. Here the locals think it is cold—because it gets down to the low 60’s at night and the 80’s during the day. When we tell them we think it is perfect, they laugh and say, “Just wait until March, April and May, when it is hot!” Now that will be an adjustment!
We have left behind our combined family of 13 children, 13 in-laws and 36 grandchildren. We appreciate their prayers and support. We really miss them, our siblings and Spencer’s parents very much. But we know they are all under the watchful care of our Father in Heaven. We love and appreciate our extended family and many friends. We love receiving emails. You can check our blog for pictures and updates. It is open to all visitors: spencerandjeanine.blogspot.com.
Love,Elder and Sister Brown (Spencer and Jeanine)
Jesus the Christ
Jesus the Christ
His mother quietly gave birth to the Son of God:
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and
wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid
him in a manger”
His angels declared His birth to shepherds who responded:
“Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see
this thing which is come to pass, which the
Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary,
and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.”
His disciples respond to His invitation “come follow me”:
“Let us now go” and do so “with haste”
As we become His disciples, we, like the shepherds,
come away “glorifying and praising God for all”
As we follow Him
“now” and “with haste”
we become the beneficiaries
of
His peace
His love
His mercy
His gift of eternal life
With all our love,
Elder & Sister Spencer Brown
Guatemala Guatemala City South MissionChristmas 2008
His mother quietly gave birth to the Son of God:
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and
wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid
him in a manger”
His angels declared His birth to shepherds who responded:
“Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see
this thing which is come to pass, which the
Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary,
and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.”
His disciples respond to His invitation “come follow me”:
“Let us now go” and do so “with haste”
As we become His disciples, we, like the shepherds,
come away “glorifying and praising God for all”
As we follow Him
“now” and “with haste”
we become the beneficiaries
of
His peace
His love
His mercy
His gift of eternal life
With all our love,
Elder & Sister Spencer Brown
Guatemala Guatemala City South MissionChristmas 2008
Thursday, December 25
The Bus Ride Back for Guatemala City!
This is how our bus looked as we started for Ipala. Crowded, but OK (sort of). It was a long ride over a mountainous road. And to think that with a little more information, we could have been on a comfortable first class bus taking the other highway. Live and learn. See letter for the details of our exciting adventure.
Christmas Dinner with the entire mission at our annual Mission Christmas party. Notice the "head table" with AP's, President and Hermana Alvarado, and us. The Sisters had their own table in the middle and all the elders were around the outside. This is a very large hall (addition) in the first church building in the City. Spencer served in this building (original part) 45 years ago.
Grandpa with our Christmas tree and proof that Santa came to Guatemala. Notice the scales so we can keep track of our (ugh!) weight. We also received pedometers to track our miles. The Guatemalan scripture covers and bags, t-shirts for Grandpa and Spanish keyboard and speakers for Grandma were all appreciated!
Tuesday, December 16
Greetings from Guatemala
December 15, 2008
OK—time for a little more narrative before you get more pictures. In addition to teaching English classes, we have focused on finding Less Active Families (Menos Activos). We have made a lot of progress in the south end of the Ward.
When we were in Kansas, I remember President and Sister Fotheringham saying that if were possible, they would have all missionaries on bikes or on foot—because you interact with the people so much more. We are living that experience now. One day when we were completely stumped on where a family lived, a group of teenage boys, who looked pretty rough, stopped us to see if they could help. They recognized the name tags. They said they knew a boy who went to our church and he lived two blocks back up the hill (that we had just walked down). Several things about impressed me. 1) Byron never comes to church, but the boys knew he was a Mormon. 2) Missionaries before us have been visible and people in the community recognize the name tags—even when they are worn by old fogies like us. 3) They wanted to help us.
The next day on the bus, I was confused by the coins for a Quetzal and 25₵. I gave the helper four quarters instead of four Quetzals. When he told me I had to pay more I thought he was trying to charge us extra. When I realized my mistake, I joked with them about the gringa that didn’t know anything about the money. We all laughed and then the man next to me on the bus said that he knew where our church was and he had a friend that was a Mormon. In my limited Spanish, we talked briefly about the church. We would have missed out on both of those conversations if we had been in a car. When we are out walking and/or hopping on and off the buses, people see us and begin to know who we are. It is awesome.
We visited one household where the grandparents, four adult children and 6-7 grandchildren all live together. That is not uncommon in this culture. They have not been coming to church. The grandfather has leukemia. One of the adult daughters (menos activo) asked if we could come back the next day, because she wanted to take us to visit someone. The next day we walked to the home of her mother-in-law, where there are two unbaptized children. We made an appointment for a follow-up visit—but they weren’t home—which was a disappointment, but Sheyla, the less active who took us there, and her daughter were both at church on Sunday. Also, I saw Sheyla on the street today and she was very excited to see me. I also saw one of our non-member English students on the street and he stopped to visit with me as well. People are
starting to know who we are!
We are seen—because we probably walk at least 3-4 miles everyday in various parts of town! I have asked Santa for a pedometer for Christmas—just because I am curious about how far we actually walk—not that it will make any difference—we’ll still just keep on walking.
I have to tell you a little more about the buses. I misspoke when I said they are minivans. They are actually about 10-12 passenger vans that have been adapted to add bumper seats, remove the side door and put a bar with a railing on it so you can hop on and off easier. The drivers usually have a helper with them who hangs out the side encouraging passengers to use the bus or calling out where they are headed. Apparently there aren’t regulations about driving in Guatemala. I have seen drivers that look about 14, but looks can be deceiving. But they are very young! The drivers are sometimes insane because there are dozens of buses driving the same routes, so they compete vigorously for passengers. Sometimes they race around another bus in unsafe situations just to get to the next intersection first—in case there is a potential passenger. They squeeze past other buses and motos without a second thought. More than once I have closed my eyes until we successfully navigated a tight/crazy spot. As the bus gets fuller, the “helper” just stands on the outside hanging onto the bar/railing with one hand and has his fingernails of his other hand hanging onto the inside of the door jam—nothing really to grip. One day we stopped for a passenger and there wasn’t one inch for him to squeeze into so he also stepped between the railings, grabbed onto “nothing” and rode on the outside with the helper—and had to pay the same fare! J
School is out right now (their long break is November, December and into January). Saturday we were headed to the mall and the bus we caught had a teenage helper and 2nd helper-- a little kid who looked about 6. When we were going thru the Mercado the traffic was slow, so the driver gave the little kid some money and sent him to get a snack at one of the stands. There was a line, we all watched as this cute little boy nervously waited his turn and kept watching the bus creep further and further down the block. We were at least ½ block away when he made his purchase and came running! He caught up with the bus just before we turned the corner away from the Mercado. We were cheering for him and he just grinned. I guess if he hadn’t caught up he would have just waited until the bus came back on its next pass—but that would have been about 25-30 minutes later.
We are really good at stopping the bus to get on or off now. We also have figured out which ones to take to go most places in the Ward and in the town. We still have to learn the extreme east and north sections of town.
With school out, we often see young children. There is one little shop with food where I have seen a little girl who looks about 9-10 standing in the morning making tortillas and she is still working when we walk past it to go the church and teach at night.
Friday was the Dia de Guadalupe. It is religious holiday for Catholics. Here, it is a great day for having all of the children dress up in native costumes and there is a carnival type atmosphere at the City Park. There are lots of booths for taking pictures—many backgrounds are crèches, but some are secular—horses, Santa, you name it. I loved the colorful costumes. The little girls wore make-up and the little boys painted mustaches and sideburns. There were lots of booths selling food of every kind—even cotton candy. I’ll post some of the pictures.
I finally figured out the Posada Parades every night. Generally I just listen to the band, but don’t go outside. Last night I went out on the street. The parade participants were carrying floats with figures depicting Joseph and Mary. They are out every night trying to find a room in the inn; I guess this goes on until the 24th. However, a neighbor told me that the people in the parade actually go to a different house every night and the host invites them in and feeds them. I wonder if the same people do it every night. It would sure be a time commitment! But you could get free food. There is always a trade-off!
We just returned home from a great FHE with a less active family who learned about prophets—specifically Joseph Smith. They gave great answers. The Lord blessed us because we didn’t have a hitch with the film or activity, but during refreshments, the power went out. There were only momentary times of having lights after that, but we were fine with candles. We need to start carrying a flashlight at night, because it also meant there were no streetlights—and these roads and sidewalks would be treacherous in the dark. But even in their remote area of town we waited less than five minutes for a bus to show up (there is no schedule anywhere—you just watch for the right bus and jump on when you see one).
We have loved talking to various family members on our Skype phone. It was especially nice to be able to sing Happy Birthday to Rachelle (who is now middle aged at 40! Dave decorated her classroom and her car so that the whole world would know!) and Adam (who celebrated his birthday playing a Kung Fu Panda video game with his kids. Elyott explained that that’s what she did for her dad’s birthday—she played games with him.)
I talked to Tuli on Sunday. Her son’s wedding was great. Her sister Elba wants to get to see me when I am at Tuli’s house the next time. It is so nice to be able to just visit—like old times. Tuli asked about Shannon, Marci, Darren and Monica—all by name. She was reminiscing about what a tiny baby Monica was when she first arrived in Arizona from Guatemala, 40 years ago. Wow, how can it be that long?!
Well, I love all of you. We hope your Christmas plans bring you joy, even in the planning stages. We love the Savior and we love serving as His hands and voice in interacting with His children here in Guatemala.
Love,Mom/Dad/Spencer/Jeanine
OK—time for a little more narrative before you get more pictures. In addition to teaching English classes, we have focused on finding Less Active Families (Menos Activos). We have made a lot of progress in the south end of the Ward.
When we were in Kansas, I remember President and Sister Fotheringham saying that if were possible, they would have all missionaries on bikes or on foot—because you interact with the people so much more. We are living that experience now. One day when we were completely stumped on where a family lived, a group of teenage boys, who looked pretty rough, stopped us to see if they could help. They recognized the name tags. They said they knew a boy who went to our church and he lived two blocks back up the hill (that we had just walked down). Several things about impressed me. 1) Byron never comes to church, but the boys knew he was a Mormon. 2) Missionaries before us have been visible and people in the community recognize the name tags—even when they are worn by old fogies like us. 3) They wanted to help us.
The next day on the bus, I was confused by the coins for a Quetzal and 25₵. I gave the helper four quarters instead of four Quetzals. When he told me I had to pay more I thought he was trying to charge us extra. When I realized my mistake, I joked with them about the gringa that didn’t know anything about the money. We all laughed and then the man next to me on the bus said that he knew where our church was and he had a friend that was a Mormon. In my limited Spanish, we talked briefly about the church. We would have missed out on both of those conversations if we had been in a car. When we are out walking and/or hopping on and off the buses, people see us and begin to know who we are. It is awesome.
We visited one household where the grandparents, four adult children and 6-7 grandchildren all live together. That is not uncommon in this culture. They have not been coming to church. The grandfather has leukemia. One of the adult daughters (menos activo) asked if we could come back the next day, because she wanted to take us to visit someone. The next day we walked to the home of her mother-in-law, where there are two unbaptized children. We made an appointment for a follow-up visit—but they weren’t home—which was a disappointment, but Sheyla, the less active who took us there, and her daughter were both at church on Sunday. Also, I saw Sheyla on the street today and she was very excited to see me. I also saw one of our non-member English students on the street and he stopped to visit with me as well. People are
starting to know who we are!
We are seen—because we probably walk at least 3-4 miles everyday in various parts of town! I have asked Santa for a pedometer for Christmas—just because I am curious about how far we actually walk—not that it will make any difference—we’ll still just keep on walking.
I have to tell you a little more about the buses. I misspoke when I said they are minivans. They are actually about 10-12 passenger vans that have been adapted to add bumper seats, remove the side door and put a bar with a railing on it so you can hop on and off easier. The drivers usually have a helper with them who hangs out the side encouraging passengers to use the bus or calling out where they are headed. Apparently there aren’t regulations about driving in Guatemala. I have seen drivers that look about 14, but looks can be deceiving. But they are very young! The drivers are sometimes insane because there are dozens of buses driving the same routes, so they compete vigorously for passengers. Sometimes they race around another bus in unsafe situations just to get to the next intersection first—in case there is a potential passenger. They squeeze past other buses and motos without a second thought. More than once I have closed my eyes until we successfully navigated a tight/crazy spot. As the bus gets fuller, the “helper” just stands on the outside hanging onto the bar/railing with one hand and has his fingernails of his other hand hanging onto the inside of the door jam—nothing really to grip. One day we stopped for a passenger and there wasn’t one inch for him to squeeze into so he also stepped between the railings, grabbed onto “nothing” and rode on the outside with the helper—and had to pay the same fare! J
School is out right now (their long break is November, December and into January). Saturday we were headed to the mall and the bus we caught had a teenage helper and 2nd helper-- a little kid who looked about 6. When we were going thru the Mercado the traffic was slow, so the driver gave the little kid some money and sent him to get a snack at one of the stands. There was a line, we all watched as this cute little boy nervously waited his turn and kept watching the bus creep further and further down the block. We were at least ½ block away when he made his purchase and came running! He caught up with the bus just before we turned the corner away from the Mercado. We were cheering for him and he just grinned. I guess if he hadn’t caught up he would have just waited until the bus came back on its next pass—but that would have been about 25-30 minutes later.
We are really good at stopping the bus to get on or off now. We also have figured out which ones to take to go most places in the Ward and in the town. We still have to learn the extreme east and north sections of town.
With school out, we often see young children. There is one little shop with food where I have seen a little girl who looks about 9-10 standing in the morning making tortillas and she is still working when we walk past it to go the church and teach at night.
Friday was the Dia de Guadalupe. It is religious holiday for Catholics. Here, it is a great day for having all of the children dress up in native costumes and there is a carnival type atmosphere at the City Park. There are lots of booths for taking pictures—many backgrounds are crèches, but some are secular—horses, Santa, you name it. I loved the colorful costumes. The little girls wore make-up and the little boys painted mustaches and sideburns. There were lots of booths selling food of every kind—even cotton candy. I’ll post some of the pictures.
I finally figured out the Posada Parades every night. Generally I just listen to the band, but don’t go outside. Last night I went out on the street. The parade participants were carrying floats with figures depicting Joseph and Mary. They are out every night trying to find a room in the inn; I guess this goes on until the 24th. However, a neighbor told me that the people in the parade actually go to a different house every night and the host invites them in and feeds them. I wonder if the same people do it every night. It would sure be a time commitment! But you could get free food. There is always a trade-off!
We just returned home from a great FHE with a less active family who learned about prophets—specifically Joseph Smith. They gave great answers. The Lord blessed us because we didn’t have a hitch with the film or activity, but during refreshments, the power went out. There were only momentary times of having lights after that, but we were fine with candles. We need to start carrying a flashlight at night, because it also meant there were no streetlights—and these roads and sidewalks would be treacherous in the dark. But even in their remote area of town we waited less than five minutes for a bus to show up (there is no schedule anywhere—you just watch for the right bus and jump on when you see one).
We have loved talking to various family members on our Skype phone. It was especially nice to be able to sing Happy Birthday to Rachelle (who is now middle aged at 40! Dave decorated her classroom and her car so that the whole world would know!) and Adam (who celebrated his birthday playing a Kung Fu Panda video game with his kids. Elyott explained that that’s what she did for her dad’s birthday—she played games with him.)
I talked to Tuli on Sunday. Her son’s wedding was great. Her sister Elba wants to get to see me when I am at Tuli’s house the next time. It is so nice to be able to just visit—like old times. Tuli asked about Shannon, Marci, Darren and Monica—all by name. She was reminiscing about what a tiny baby Monica was when she first arrived in Arizona from Guatemala, 40 years ago. Wow, how can it be that long?!
Well, I love all of you. We hope your Christmas plans bring you joy, even in the planning stages. We love the Savior and we love serving as His hands and voice in interacting with His children here in Guatemala.
Love,Mom/Dad/Spencer/Jeanine
Thursday, December 11
Do You Need any thing in the Mercado?
This is the corner where the Mercado starts. I will get a better picture later. You can buy such a huge variety of fruits and vegetables here--fresh from the farm. However, they do jack up the prices for the norteamericanos, so today, Tere, our criada de casa went with me, so that I could get better prices on lots of different healthy food. Of course once we get it home we clean in a water bath that is treated with soap and chloro to kill any organizisms left from the soil and/or handling. We take all the recommended precautions and so far we are healthy! :)
Overview of the Maternity Ward
As you can see, it is slightly different in Guatemala. Nurses still wear caps. In OB they wore blue. Everywhere else they wore white dress uniforms, white nylons and white nurses' caps. Oh...the 50's have returned. The walls are concrete, the floor is tile over concrete, so every sound echos. It was clean, but felt "old". The moms were very appreciative of the gifts.
Gifts from the States to Guatemalan newborns
We delivered blankets and booties made by a Ward in Utah to the moms in the public hospital. Most beds, like this one, had no sheets on when we visited. But they have been in the process of changing all 22 beds. We are sitting on the neighboring bed, so you can see how close together the beds are. There are no privacy curtains and drapes aren't even used when examinations are being done. It really is a different world. I was amazed at the amount of hair every single baby had!
Wednesday, December 10
Locating and Visiting "Menos Activos"
Can you tell how hot I was this afternoon? Everybody just laughs at us and says "Wait until March! December and January are our good weather!" This is typical of the dirt roads when you get out a little from the downtown area. You can see the gray water that drains down the road. We had just met a herd of cows on this same road when we were going the other way.
Happy Birthday!
Today I turned 63! In Guatemala! Suzanne Limburg was taking a video. Can you see how lit up the cake was? And we only spelled out the 63--what would have happened if we had had 63 candles? You can see a pretty good view of our kitchen and the front door is behind Suzanne. We will take more apartment pictures soon.
This is Kimberly--in her brand new wheelchair. She is a shining example of spirituality and enduring without complaint the challenges and pain of life. Her grandmother, on the right hand side of the picture was baptized by Dave Limburg on his last Sunday in Chiquimula. This was the frosting on the cake for the Limburgs--wheelchairs delivered and a convert baptism! Additionally, Kimberly is one of the successful piano students that met the criteria to keep her keyboard.
Yesterday I saw my first Guatemalan funeral. The "hearse" carried the flowers, the pall bearers carried the casket and the mourners were all on foot following behind. It was pretty amazing. The rest of the traffic, just waited -- not that they really had any choice--but they did it patiently. Usually there are lots of horn honking when the traffic is too slow at an intersection. This is just one block from our house.
As Spencer says, "The sidewalks are made for Billy Goats!" This is the street that goes past our house. Are you impressed that I have not twisted my ankle yet! And I have only fallen down once. Of course in order to accomplish this feat, I walk in the street and compete with the motos, buses and trucks. This also is a good picture of the stones used for paving.
This is how our drinking water is delivere to our door on Wednesday and Saturday. We keep 5 five gallon jars on hand at all times.
This is the outdoor kitchen that is just across the trail from the house with the thatched roof. Notice the adobe oven, the pila in the background. All houses--even ours--have pilas. It is a utility sink used to wash clothes, pots and pans, mop floors, bathe kids, etc. Very utilitarian and very essential.
Tuesday, December 9
December 9th update
It has been more than a week since we wrote, so we are now past due! We are getting settled into a little bit of a routineexcept that everyday is different! J The kids will enjoy one fun thing Spencer did. Last Monday night I noticed that of our four chairs with vinyl backs and seats we had one black and one brown downstairs and an identical mismatched set upstairs. I asked Spencer if he would please take the brown one upstairs and bring the black one downthen it would be coordinated and match the black table the computer is onI know, I know, the guys are all thinking that is rather obsessive. But it was bugging me. He was totally cooperative, took the brown chair upstairs, set it down, picked up the identical brown chair and brought it back downstairsI just about died laughing. He couldn't figure out what he had done that was so funny! Oh well, his heart was in the right place.
We have tweaked a few little things in the apartmentadded towel racks and hooks, etc. We are getting one more study table for Spencer and a couple of lamps, but that is so minor compared to what we had to do in Alamosa and Garden City. It is just funny that our apartment here is so much nicer than what we lived in in Kansas. We have to come to a third world country to live in a nice place! Such is life. But we loved Kansas in spite of how we lived.
The contrast in housing here is dramatic. You can't usually tell where the poverty homes are compared to the really nice ones, because everything is behind a high wall and a gate. Also, the homes can be side by side in the same neighborhood. We have been in homes with dirt floors, homes that have concrete floors, cinder block walls and only plastic chairs for furniture (which are carried from room to room). But we have also been in beautiful, elegant homes. It is pretty amazing!
Homes are generally built with either adobe bricks or cinder blocks. If the adobe isn't stuccoed it doesn't last very long because of the long rainy season.
Last Saturday the Limburgs returned with wheelchairs for two young girls in the ward who are crippled. Dave was very sick, so he crashed here at the apartment and we helped Suzanne deliver them. It was a great experience. The 11-year old, Kimberly was able to wheel herself all over and was completely liberated. Vicky, the 2nd recipient, is profoundly retarded and will not be able to wheel herself, but it is a great blessing to the family. In both situations, the family has been carrying them everywhere. Vicky's father and brother attended church on Sundayfor the first time in forever.
We had to find a doctor to see Dave last Saturday night. The one that was available only speaks Spanish. So with no notice at all, I had to grab the lesson materials that Spencer had prepared for out Saturday night class and strike out on my own to the church. He stayed here to give Dave a blessing and translate for the doctor. He also picked up medicine for Limburgs and then joined me at the church later.
I was able to wing it and we had a great class, only I had to make up a homework assignment on the spot. Adult learners are highly motivated and want something to work on at home between classes. Tonight (Tuesday) we each have two different classes to teach, because we have had others start, who don't really have the skills for the ongoing classes. It is getting busier.
Yesterday, we went out to find the less active families or just members that need love and support the bishop has asked us to visit. We hopped on one bus going to the general area. But his route wandered through a neighborhood we didn't recognize. It is in a poorer part of town and we were pretty disoriented. As he was headed back to Chiquimula, he asked where we wanted to get off and Spencer told him on Centraland then we learned we were on Central already. We laughed at ourselves, disembarked and started walking back up the hill. Fortunately a member of the ward was on his way home for lunch, stopped and gave us a ride to the right area, and we observed the buses and learned it has to say not just "Molina", but also either 5a or 8a to go the SW corner of the municipality. We will get it figured out as we explore more and make mistakes.
We also visited a home where a 13 year old young man lives. The whole little area is his extended family. He and his mother are members. He says one aunt and two cousins were also baptized, but they attend a different church now. His mother can't come, because she is the 24/7 caregiver for her bedridden mother and her brotherwho appears to be much older than he probably is. He obviously has some form of mental illness and is blind in one eye. His hair is pretty much shaved off and he spent the entire time squatting on his haunches like toddlers do when they playonly he didn't play. He just sat a looked around. You had to almost step over him to get in the doorway. He had a rope around one ankle that was attached to the side of the house. He didn't ever move from his spot, but it would protect him from wandering off. As you can tell, there are no social services for the mentally ill in this area. It is an incredible burden for the families. I think the Lord will understand why Maribel doesn't come to church. She has no respite from being the caregiverever.
I miss the quietness of the Benson house. It was on a secluded street. Here we are on a busy corner of downtown. Every night in December there is a parade for a "Posada." Part of the Catholic Christmas celebration. It goes right past our house. There are also fireworks going off every night. Last Saturday there was a party going on just in back of our wall, by the next apartments over the entire night longseriouslyuntil 6:00 AM! Long night for us!
However, the up side of being on a busy street, is that we can just step outside our gate and catch a busjust about any minute of the day. And we do still hear roosters in the early morning hoursbut no parrots.
Spencer came and joined me at the class before it ended on Saturday night. Afterwards we had a great cultural experience. We had been invited to the Quinciniera of one our students. It is a big celebration when a young woman turns 15. They spend about as much on it as we would on a wedding reception. She had her mass in the afternoon and the reception started at 5 PM. She assured me that it would still be going long after we finished teaching at 8 PM. Spencer was not enthused about going. But is was only block away from our route home, so he agreed to stop for a few minutes. Diana was dancing with her father and the second we came in they came to greet us. There were probably 50 people dancing and at least 100 sitting at tables eating. Spencer was going to just say hello and turn around a walk back out. But her father asked us to come sit at the family's tables. So we did. I am so glad. It was an incredible cultural experience. There was a cake like a wedding cake that hadn't been cut yet and a table full of gifts (oopswe didn't know enough to bring one, Oh, well!) They had a live band with two incredible marimba players, drums, two saxophones and an occasional trumpet (one of the saxophone players). The dance reminded me of old family reunion dances or ward dances for the whole family in the 50's. The old and young danced together, male and female, girls with girls, fathers with either sons or daughters. It didn't really matter. Everyone just participated and laughed and talked together. The music wasn't so over powering that you couldn't carry on a conversation. Some were doing salsa type dancing, but not all. None of the dancing was vulgar and tasteless. Little kids were trying to jump into the spots the strobe light would go next. They had a catered meal, but we had already started our fast. We couldn't turn everything down without being rude, so we accepted water and/or a soft drink. I couldn't believe the energy of some of the dancerswho were a lot older than either of us! They never stopped. Eventually a man that I thought was Diana's grandfather coerced me into dancing with him. It turns out he was her great uncle and he flew in from the states just three days prior for the festivities. Her dad also works in the states and flew down for the celebration. Diana's mother pulled Spencer out for the same dance. It was fun. And her uncle was a good enough dancer that it was easy to follow himeven though it was a moderately fast beat. Spencer commented that the dance seemed to last at least 15 minutes! I had to agree, but I'm sure our bodies were tricking our minds into an exaggerated number. After that I told Spencer he better dance with me too! We really loved the marimba music. Before we left, Diana wanted a picture taken with us. She really appreciated us coming to support her. Once again I was impressed with how much Latinos (or Ladinos as they say here) enjoy just being together. There was alcohol served, but no one seemed to have over indulged and they had fun without it. By the time we left, Spencer was really happy that we had come. He had a very good time.
My birthday was great. We had given the bedroom to the Limburgs, because Dave was so sick. So we were a little bit delayed in getting to the showers, so Spencer didn't get downstairs to bake the birthday cake. However, Suzanne baked it for me. I had a roast cooking in the crock pot and we had lots of fresh fruit to cut up. We had a nice birthday dinner. Spencer gave me a Guatemalan stable and some nativity figurines. I was able to talk to lots of the kids on our new internet phone number. I also received several email wishes and funny, funny e-cards. All in all, it was a good day. I loved having chocolate cake, because I have been so good and I haven't had any cola drinks or candy since we arrived here. Therefore, I was past due for a chocolate fix. I haven't even seen any black licorice, so I may have to get off of that as wellbut I'm not sure why I would want to!
Today I had my first chance to evaluate a medical problem for one of the elders. I feel pretty overwhelmed by that part of our responsibilities, but the church has provided a wonderful internet resource for medical information. There is also a great mission network. There are mission nurses that are the link with SLC, so they have to approve any doctor visits, since the paper work goes thru them for the reporting. I just have to be their eyes and ears in the eastern part of the mission.
I was glad to get a report on the family Christmas party. Sounds like Ben was a great Santa. Thanks Ben for covering for the Santa who was missing in actionsomewhere in Guatemala.
That brings you up to date once again. I hope everyone is surviving the madness of December. Don't lose sight of the reason for the season. We love the Lord and we are happy to be here.
I will try to put some pictures on the blog.
We have tweaked a few little things in the apartmentadded towel racks and hooks, etc. We are getting one more study table for Spencer and a couple of lamps, but that is so minor compared to what we had to do in Alamosa and Garden City. It is just funny that our apartment here is so much nicer than what we lived in in Kansas. We have to come to a third world country to live in a nice place! Such is life. But we loved Kansas in spite of how we lived.
The contrast in housing here is dramatic. You can't usually tell where the poverty homes are compared to the really nice ones, because everything is behind a high wall and a gate. Also, the homes can be side by side in the same neighborhood. We have been in homes with dirt floors, homes that have concrete floors, cinder block walls and only plastic chairs for furniture (which are carried from room to room). But we have also been in beautiful, elegant homes. It is pretty amazing!
Homes are generally built with either adobe bricks or cinder blocks. If the adobe isn't stuccoed it doesn't last very long because of the long rainy season.
Last Saturday the Limburgs returned with wheelchairs for two young girls in the ward who are crippled. Dave was very sick, so he crashed here at the apartment and we helped Suzanne deliver them. It was a great experience. The 11-year old, Kimberly was able to wheel herself all over and was completely liberated. Vicky, the 2nd recipient, is profoundly retarded and will not be able to wheel herself, but it is a great blessing to the family. In both situations, the family has been carrying them everywhere. Vicky's father and brother attended church on Sundayfor the first time in forever.
We had to find a doctor to see Dave last Saturday night. The one that was available only speaks Spanish. So with no notice at all, I had to grab the lesson materials that Spencer had prepared for out Saturday night class and strike out on my own to the church. He stayed here to give Dave a blessing and translate for the doctor. He also picked up medicine for Limburgs and then joined me at the church later.
I was able to wing it and we had a great class, only I had to make up a homework assignment on the spot. Adult learners are highly motivated and want something to work on at home between classes. Tonight (Tuesday) we each have two different classes to teach, because we have had others start, who don't really have the skills for the ongoing classes. It is getting busier.
Yesterday, we went out to find the less active families or just members that need love and support the bishop has asked us to visit. We hopped on one bus going to the general area. But his route wandered through a neighborhood we didn't recognize. It is in a poorer part of town and we were pretty disoriented. As he was headed back to Chiquimula, he asked where we wanted to get off and Spencer told him on Centraland then we learned we were on Central already. We laughed at ourselves, disembarked and started walking back up the hill. Fortunately a member of the ward was on his way home for lunch, stopped and gave us a ride to the right area, and we observed the buses and learned it has to say not just "Molina", but also either 5a or 8a to go the SW corner of the municipality. We will get it figured out as we explore more and make mistakes.
We also visited a home where a 13 year old young man lives. The whole little area is his extended family. He and his mother are members. He says one aunt and two cousins were also baptized, but they attend a different church now. His mother can't come, because she is the 24/7 caregiver for her bedridden mother and her brotherwho appears to be much older than he probably is. He obviously has some form of mental illness and is blind in one eye. His hair is pretty much shaved off and he spent the entire time squatting on his haunches like toddlers do when they playonly he didn't play. He just sat a looked around. You had to almost step over him to get in the doorway. He had a rope around one ankle that was attached to the side of the house. He didn't ever move from his spot, but it would protect him from wandering off. As you can tell, there are no social services for the mentally ill in this area. It is an incredible burden for the families. I think the Lord will understand why Maribel doesn't come to church. She has no respite from being the caregiverever.
I miss the quietness of the Benson house. It was on a secluded street. Here we are on a busy corner of downtown. Every night in December there is a parade for a "Posada." Part of the Catholic Christmas celebration. It goes right past our house. There are also fireworks going off every night. Last Saturday there was a party going on just in back of our wall, by the next apartments over the entire night longseriouslyuntil 6:00 AM! Long night for us!
However, the up side of being on a busy street, is that we can just step outside our gate and catch a busjust about any minute of the day. And we do still hear roosters in the early morning hoursbut no parrots.
Spencer came and joined me at the class before it ended on Saturday night. Afterwards we had a great cultural experience. We had been invited to the Quinciniera of one our students. It is a big celebration when a young woman turns 15. They spend about as much on it as we would on a wedding reception. She had her mass in the afternoon and the reception started at 5 PM. She assured me that it would still be going long after we finished teaching at 8 PM. Spencer was not enthused about going. But is was only block away from our route home, so he agreed to stop for a few minutes. Diana was dancing with her father and the second we came in they came to greet us. There were probably 50 people dancing and at least 100 sitting at tables eating. Spencer was going to just say hello and turn around a walk back out. But her father asked us to come sit at the family's tables. So we did. I am so glad. It was an incredible cultural experience. There was a cake like a wedding cake that hadn't been cut yet and a table full of gifts (oopswe didn't know enough to bring one, Oh, well!) They had a live band with two incredible marimba players, drums, two saxophones and an occasional trumpet (one of the saxophone players). The dance reminded me of old family reunion dances or ward dances for the whole family in the 50's. The old and young danced together, male and female, girls with girls, fathers with either sons or daughters. It didn't really matter. Everyone just participated and laughed and talked together. The music wasn't so over powering that you couldn't carry on a conversation. Some were doing salsa type dancing, but not all. None of the dancing was vulgar and tasteless. Little kids were trying to jump into the spots the strobe light would go next. They had a catered meal, but we had already started our fast. We couldn't turn everything down without being rude, so we accepted water and/or a soft drink. I couldn't believe the energy of some of the dancerswho were a lot older than either of us! They never stopped. Eventually a man that I thought was Diana's grandfather coerced me into dancing with him. It turns out he was her great uncle and he flew in from the states just three days prior for the festivities. Her dad also works in the states and flew down for the celebration. Diana's mother pulled Spencer out for the same dance. It was fun. And her uncle was a good enough dancer that it was easy to follow himeven though it was a moderately fast beat. Spencer commented that the dance seemed to last at least 15 minutes! I had to agree, but I'm sure our bodies were tricking our minds into an exaggerated number. After that I told Spencer he better dance with me too! We really loved the marimba music. Before we left, Diana wanted a picture taken with us. She really appreciated us coming to support her. Once again I was impressed with how much Latinos (or Ladinos as they say here) enjoy just being together. There was alcohol served, but no one seemed to have over indulged and they had fun without it. By the time we left, Spencer was really happy that we had come. He had a very good time.
My birthday was great. We had given the bedroom to the Limburgs, because Dave was so sick. So we were a little bit delayed in getting to the showers, so Spencer didn't get downstairs to bake the birthday cake. However, Suzanne baked it for me. I had a roast cooking in the crock pot and we had lots of fresh fruit to cut up. We had a nice birthday dinner. Spencer gave me a Guatemalan stable and some nativity figurines. I was able to talk to lots of the kids on our new internet phone number. I also received several email wishes and funny, funny e-cards. All in all, it was a good day. I loved having chocolate cake, because I have been so good and I haven't had any cola drinks or candy since we arrived here. Therefore, I was past due for a chocolate fix. I haven't even seen any black licorice, so I may have to get off of that as wellbut I'm not sure why I would want to!
Today I had my first chance to evaluate a medical problem for one of the elders. I feel pretty overwhelmed by that part of our responsibilities, but the church has provided a wonderful internet resource for medical information. There is also a great mission network. There are mission nurses that are the link with SLC, so they have to approve any doctor visits, since the paper work goes thru them for the reporting. I just have to be their eyes and ears in the eastern part of the mission.
I was glad to get a report on the family Christmas party. Sounds like Ben was a great Santa. Thanks Ben for covering for the Santa who was missing in actionsomewhere in Guatemala.
That brings you up to date once again. I hope everyone is surviving the madness of December. Don't lose sight of the reason for the season. We love the Lord and we are happy to be here.
I will try to put some pictures on the blog.
Monday, December 1
To all of my loved ones!
The list of "Family and Friends" is just a link to the blog addresses of the kids who have blogs. We truly do love all of you, even the ones who don't have blogs!
When I was thumbing through the blog site, I accidently stumbled onto a "Blogs I am Following" or something like that. I guess it would be better if the links were listed there. Then I could list all of our kids and grandkids in the list of people we love.
Obviously I am technologically challenged! But hey, at least I have a blog! Who would have every guessed? Brian, Ben, someone smarter than me "help"!
The list of "Family and Friends" is just a link to the blog addresses of the kids who have blogs. We truly do love all of you, even the ones who don't have blogs!
When I was thumbing through the blog site, I accidently stumbled onto a "Blogs I am Following" or something like that. I guess it would be better if the links were listed there. Then I could list all of our kids and grandkids in the list of people we love.
Obviously I am technologically challenged! But hey, at least I have a blog! Who would have every guessed? Brian, Ben, someone smarter than me "help"!
We have a home (at last)!
Hi family,
Today we started the month out on the right foot. We moved into our apartment. We have been living out of suitcases for six weeks now--with nights spent at Dennis & Sandy's (x2), Lynda's (x1), Kathy & John Palmer's (x2), the MTC x16), Casa de Huespedes (x5), and Benson Istitute House (x14). Today I actually unpacked everything for the first time since we left home. I'd already forgotten some of the things we brought. It was sort of like an early Christmas. Tomorrow I am actually going to put up a little Christmas tree that Suzanne and David bought for their Christmases here.
We do have a physical mailing address for those who want it:
Elder y Hermana Brown
5a Calle y 5a Avenida
Apt #7, Zona 1
Chiquimula, Chiquimula1
Guatemala
We also have cell phones. We have to prepay the minutes.
Spencer's cell phone is 011-502-5060--4474-6401
Jeanine's cell phone is 011-502-5060-5060-6408
The best way is still to sign up for Skype. Our Skype address is jeanine.spencer.
I hope to put some pictures on the blog this week. That is, if I haven't forgotten how to do it while I was waiting to have a computer with the internet.
Love you all!
spencerandjeanine.blogspot.com
Today we started the month out on the right foot. We moved into our apartment. We have been living out of suitcases for six weeks now--with nights spent at Dennis & Sandy's (x2), Lynda's (x1), Kathy & John Palmer's (x2), the MTC x16), Casa de Huespedes (x5), and Benson Istitute House (x14). Today I actually unpacked everything for the first time since we left home. I'd already forgotten some of the things we brought. It was sort of like an early Christmas. Tomorrow I am actually going to put up a little Christmas tree that Suzanne and David bought for their Christmases here.
We do have a physical mailing address for those who want it:
Elder y Hermana Brown
5a Calle y 5a Avenida
Apt #7, Zona 1
Chiquimula, Chiquimula1
Guatemala
We also have cell phones. We have to prepay the minutes.
Spencer's cell phone is 011-502-5060--4474-6401
Jeanine's cell phone is 011-502-5060-5060-6408
The best way is still to sign up for Skype. Our Skype address is jeanine.spencer.
I hope to put some pictures on the blog this week. That is, if I haven't forgotten how to do it while I was waiting to have a computer with the internet.
Love you all!
spencerandjeanine.blogspot.com
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