Just thought I'd take a moment and share a couple of events. This week I walked down to the Nauvoo Store. It is down the hill from the temple. It is a cute little store and sells scripture cases, missionary briefcases, tie tacks and other church "stuff". It is a fun little store. It fronts on our street right along with other businesses and apartments above.
Then I went to Cemaco to buy a wedding present. Cemaco is owned by Ace Hardware. It is huge and you can buy almost anything except food there. Just wanted you to see that Guatemala is 1s class in some ways!
It was so much fun to attend a wedding on Friday night. My friend, Astrid, works in the Distribution Center below our apartment. We were the only missionaries she invited. Spencer worked at the temple, but President Galvez said I could go. Here in Guatemala, the only weddings that are recognized are those performed by a judge. No church officials are authorized. So all couples must be married by a judge. They have a window of seven days to by sealed. If they miss that window, they must wait a year, just like we do in the US after a civil wedding. The wedding was held at a resort on the other side of town. It was actually very beautiful. There were only chairs for about 100 people at the wedding. The reception (a sit down dinner) seated more than twice that number. The judge gave them advise which was very appropriate and nice. Then she went into what was codified. I included reading every official piece of information about them--what hospital they were born in, parents' names, birth date (you can't hide your age here!), what city, department and the country. It was long, but sort of cool. After they were officially married, instead of having just two witnesses sign, the judge invited parents, siblings, grandparents and then anyone else who wanted their name on the official document. Astrid's mission president and wife signed it and a couple of other people who weren't identified. Her mission president is Elder Lopez and he is currently in the Area Presidency and is a 70. I ate at the same table with them. It was sort of fun. Sister Lopez served her mission here in Xela, so they loved coming north for a visit. At the reception, they had Sparkly Cider for the traditional toast to the couple. Then the newly married couple came to each table and had their picture taken with that group. It gave everyone a chance to greet them. It took a while and the meal wasn't served until they sat back down to be served first. There was also the traditional dance with her father and then the two of them. Music was loud enough it was hard to visit, but it was a happy atmosphere. Towards the end of meal, her parents made the rounds to each table to see if everything was alright. They were the perfect hosts. They were sealed the next day in the temple. I tried to get a few pictures of the resort and the couple, but I was never in a good position. But I'll share what I have.
That flower was interesting. It is a hanging flower--the stem goes straight up from the center of the flower to the branch above. Very different--it was almost too dark by that time.
The circus is back this year. I would really like to go but I haven't been able to convince Spencer to go (yet). Of course being sick two weeks didn't help at all. We work evenings again this week. If it is still here, maybe the week after that!
That is my report for this week. Hope all of you are doing great! We love and miss you. We only have seven more weeks here--that is sort of amazing.
Then I went to Cemaco to buy a wedding present. Cemaco is owned by Ace Hardware. It is huge and you can buy almost anything except food there. Just wanted you to see that Guatemala is 1s class in some ways! 
It was so much fun to attend a wedding on Friday night. My friend, Astrid, works in the Distribution Center below our apartment. We were the only missionaries she invited. Spencer worked at the temple, but President Galvez said I could go. Here in Guatemala, the only weddings that are recognized are those performed by a judge. No church officials are authorized. So all couples must be married by a judge. They have a window of seven days to by sealed. If they miss that window, they must wait a year, just like we do in the US after a civil wedding. The wedding was held at a resort on the other side of town. It was actually very beautiful. There were only chairs for about 100 people at the wedding. The reception (a sit down dinner) seated more than twice that number. The judge gave them advise which was very appropriate and nice. Then she went into what was codified. I included reading every official piece of information about them--what hospital they were born in, parents' names, birth date (you can't hide your age here!), what city, department and the country. It was long, but sort of cool. After they were officially married, instead of having just two witnesses sign, the judge invited parents, siblings, grandparents and then anyone else who wanted their name on the official document. Astrid's mission president and wife signed it and a couple of other people who weren't identified. Her mission president is Elder Lopez and he is currently in the Area Presidency and is a 70. I ate at the same table with them. It was sort of fun. Sister Lopez served her mission here in Xela, so they loved coming north for a visit. At the reception, they had Sparkly Cider for the traditional toast to the couple. Then the newly married couple came to each table and had their picture taken with that group. It gave everyone a chance to greet them. It took a while and the meal wasn't served until they sat back down to be served first. There was also the traditional dance with her father and then the two of them. Music was loud enough it was hard to visit, but it was a happy atmosphere. Towards the end of meal, her parents made the rounds to each table to see if everything was alright. They were the perfect hosts. They were sealed the next day in the temple. I tried to get a few pictures of the resort and the couple, but I was never in a good position. But I'll share what I have.
That flower was interesting. It is a hanging flower--the stem goes straight up from the center of the flower to the branch above. Very different--it was almost too dark by that time.
The circus is back this year. I would really like to go but I haven't been able to convince Spencer to go (yet). Of course being sick two weeks didn't help at all. We work evenings again this week. If it is still here, maybe the week after that!
That is my report for this week. Hope all of you are doing great! We love and miss you. We only have seven more weeks here--that is sort of amazing.
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