Dear Fam-damily,
This is Volume II of my missionary reports. Volume III is not due until around Christmas time, so pay attention to what I have to say!
Chiquimula is a “departmento” in Guatemala—something like a small state. We are in the city of Chiquimula—which is the government seat of the departmento. Surrounding areas make up the rest of the departmento with all of the “aldeas” (small rural villages). Most of the aldeas have electricity, but little else of the services that we have come to know and take for granted. There are schools. The ones that are public in the outlying areas are not much more than a structure to protect students from the rain. The kids come and work out of books and the teacher is a facilitator and a referee. The schools in bigger communities are a step up and the private schools are well organized and demanding. The public schools are considered “free”, but the students provide every sheet of paper and pencil and must have uniforms. These costs are prohibitive and many children are unable to attend even the free, public schools. Some schools turn out very educated youngsters. We teach the brightest and most educated in our college classes at CUNORI.
There are professionals in town who are very capable and provide excellent services. But their offices/facilities are much less than the nice offices we have come to know/expect in the US. Make no mistake, this is Guatemala. They have their own culture and ways of doing things. You could say that it is a step back in time of 50-80 years. If you disagree with how they think and what they do, it would be best to go home. The only thing that will change them (the culture) is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the truth, the light and the way and it will change lives.
Most people are very friendly/loving people. A cheerful greeting will stimulate warm responses. Most of them admire people like us and respond to kindness. However, if you were to mouth off, it wouldn’t be wise. Every business has a security guard with a shot gun and they could use it. I would guess that 10% of the population is employed to stand and protect every business where money is used. The security is remarkable.
The opposite is the lack of rules and enforcement on the streets and highways. There are none. Most of the drivers drive like “animals”. The risks that are taken by local buses, motorcycles (“motos”) pedestrians and highway transportation are frightening. The streets in town are narrow with blind intersections. There are 1000 people always moving and no rules or supervision. One-way streets mean nothing. Motos pass and go anywhere they want. Small buses race past one another to get to the next available passengers first. Shoppers wander in the streets at the street markets.
There is an element of organized crime. Police turn their heads to many criminal activities. No one wants to mess with them. But we haven’t been personally impacted in anyway by this element of life.
With all the dangers and poverty and crime, they are wonderful people. We feel safe and we wear our missionary name tags everywhere we go. I believe that we are protected and are blessed in the work. I, for one, am honored and grateful for this privilege of serving here. This is a life’s dream. With the exception of couples in the Area Office and the temple missionaries, I only know of one other couple from the US who are proselyting in Guatemala. They are in the north mission. There are four missions in this country. This is a unique experience.
Our teaching English classes at CUNORI (a local university) is a great experience. We work with such a nice faculty and such bright medical students. Some don’t appreciate the obligation of being in an English class (just as one would expect), but most are very appreciative that we are here to provide this service.
Our English classes at the church are also rewarding. We work with the general public (the great majority of our students are non-members). We interact with people who could not be influenced in any other way. It is generally known that these classes are available and most people in Guatemala want to learn to speak English. The students know we are here at our own expense and they are very appreciative of our presence.
Our association with ward members is wonderful. A theme I always try to communicate is that “they” are as valuable as member of the church. Anglo Saxon members are not any better. The center of the church gets some attention, but the members here are the pioneers for this country. I always play down the idea that going to the US is a better way and it isn’t even desirable. There are far too many children whose family has been severed because of the “attraction” of the US. Everybody has a relative in the US, and it is “so wonderful.” On the other hand, I have worked in four Spanish Branches in the US and I know of the suffering and the hard lives of those immigrants—legal and otherwise.
Our experiences of seeking out the less active members have been a rewarding experience. Everyone gets their feelings hurt at sometime and many can’t deal with it. Some less actives just get trapped in life’s situations with work. Some just love Sunday fútbol (soccer). Some don’t know the value of making a living and have broken homes as a result. Some find “love” in other places or start drinking for “x” reasons. All are lost and all need help. The Home Teaching/Visiting Teaching is too weak in these countries. The young missionaries do what they are expected to do and then move on. Adult/seasoned members are of infinite worth in bridging the retention problem. Many new members do not have roots into the Book of Mormon. For the seniors in the church, the sin of “No mission” is a serious one. We are a blessed people and have a moral obligation to share these blessings with others.
We have been asked to visit and work with a little branch in Esquipulas, Guatemala. It is about 1¼ hour buss ride away (if we are lucky). It is a smaller city at a higher elevation (not quite as hot as it is here). It is one the major tourist locations in Guatemala because the Basilica has a “black Christ” (because of the darkening of the wood used). It is the central place for Catholics in Central America to visit. There is a little Guatemalan LDS Chapel in the town. The branch has dwindled in priesthood to almost suffocation. They are only connected to the South mission and are very isolated. The mission president is four hours away. There isn’t even a district organized to support them. They feel (and are) very isolated. We travel there every other weekend. The purpose of our visits is to visit and reactivate the priesthood members. If over the course of our mission, we can get 14 Melchizedek priesthood members paying a full tithing, then they can become part of our Stake and have some Stake support. We are anxiously anticipating our work there.
We find great satisfaction in teaching non members the missionary lessons. What a blessing it is to enter a home and teach the principles of the gospel. If they don’t appreciate it, the Lord does. There’s always a spiritual feast to partake of.
The Lord has blessed us in some very tense situations. There have been a number of occasions when I wasn’t sure we were going to get a ride home from an outlying town. The alternative choices weren’t “pretty”. Something has always come along or we have been able to find the transportation we needed.
One evening about two weeks ago we finished a teaching appointment about 8:50 PM. By the time we walked up the hill to the bus route, the buses had stopped running. Jeanine had been seriously ill a few weeks before and was just getting her strength back. Just a few days before that she had been exhausted just walking up out of the draw where we had made a visit. That evening we realized that no buses were coming and we had to walk home. We had two weak flash lights and we had to walk through some impoverished neighborhoods. We were about two miles from our apartment and we had to drop down to a low bridge across a river and climb back up on the other side. It was the Friday night at the beginning of Holy Week and we encountered massive numbers of people returning from festivities. What was remarkable to me was that Jeanine just walked up to the road without resting and then just kept walking on home. The Lord’s tender mercies were with us that night.
We have done a considerable amount of walking since we have been here. We have held up well. This mission thing is a wonderful experience. We have one more year to go. It is my faith that we can accomplish what we were called here to do. I’m so naïve as to truly think that family members are being blessed in our absence and because of it.
We love all of you.
Dad/Spencer
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