Sunday evening, August 9, 2009 (In Spanish that is written 09/08/09)
Dear Family,
We arrived on the bus from Esquipulas this afternoon and we are resting, writing and reading the rest of the evening. I thought I’d write a few lines and see if I can make sense of what I’ve been thinking.
Yesterday we took a taxi-moto to one neighborhood and greeted five families. Then back to the hotel for lunch and a little “siesta.” We have to be true to the land we are assigned to—don’t you agree? We made a few telephone calls to set up appointments, rather than just wandering around. Some of our plans fizzled, but we had a plan for a full evening from 5:30 on. However, the long awaited rain (after a month of drought) came in with a vengeance. That wiped out the rest of our Saturday visits. There were two or three at church this morning that could be a result of our early and mid day visits on Saturday.
Five minutes before sacrament meeting was to start, one of the brothers came by and said they were missing a speaker. I was asked to fill the slot. I grabbed an August Liahona and reviewed the article about Mixto, Guatemala. It is an interesting article about the people there who had a fortress and survived about 800 years of attacks. The Spaniards found an entrance through a cave that no one had suspected and they were able to destroy them from the inside. That led to an analogy of being destroyed from within. Now, if you can bear with me I’ll try to touch on scattered themes that are on my mind and seem apparent to me since we have been here in Guatemala. It makes me think about the Last Days and the Second Coming—and whatever lies ahead of us.
The church of the devil and rampant apostasy: Almost everyone here professes faith in God, but in reality they are in such deep spiritual darkness. Their professed belief in Christ is not seen in their lives. Their lives portray, “Everything goes--whatever you want to do, just do it. We all believe in the same God, don’t we?”
Immorality and its ugly consequences: There are no dress standards or behavior restraints. Marriage is often out of the question, but babies aren’t. Lots of little children being raised in poverty.
Political unrest: Chavez in Venezuela is making moves to become a dictator. He has been closing down radio stations, confiscating the oil resources and coffee plantations, and changing the constitution. Several other presidents in this part of the world are following his pattern and trying to change their constitutions. That is why the president of Honduras was kidnapped and taken out of the country. He had tendencies like Chavez. In Guatemala, there is lots of infighting within the government. The president arranged an assignation, the congress recently started shouting and throwing water and things at each other during a session, and the police are often corrupt.
The Justice System in Guatemala is a mess: There are about 20 murders a day in Guatemala. 98% are never brought to justice. Children are kidnapped all the time and the judges often know that the circumstances are questionable when they make them available for adoption in the US.
Organized crime and Extortion: Here is an example of what goes on all the time: “OK we know where you live and where your kids go to school. We need “x” amount of money or you will never see them again.” Bus lines in Guatemala City are having drivers killed on almost a weekly basis. There are demands for money to drive the buses in certain areas—and the money has to be paid on a monthly basis or they will kill the bus driver—and they do! It appears that the police are not about to mess with Organized Crime.
People in apostasy never get along—there are wars and rumors of wars, bickering, poverty and suffering.
The spreading of the gospel: The communities like Esquipulas are struggling; however the church is growing in strength. There are wonderful leaders and strong families everywhere. The sons and daughters are remaining faithful and going on missions. They are being educated in the gospel and being trained to make good livings and make contributions in their country.
This country is providing more young missionaries than they receive from the US (export more than they import). They are quality missionaries and serve all over Latin America. One limitation is the dependency on the general missionary fund. Dentists and doctors come to provide dental and medical care. There were about 1700 who participated in the pre-mission exams and work earlier this year.
There should be dentists coming here again next month to do dental work for prospective missionaries and provide clinics in the aldeas.
The war that started in the pre mortal existence is still raging. Satan has unleashed his darkness and the race is on. We will win!!! Peace will be restored. Every knee will bow. This is a wonderful work.
We love all of you and hope that all is well with each one of you.
Dad/Spencer
Sunday, August 9
Encouraging Katy
This is the 19 year old counsellor in the Relief Socety Presidency. She comes about 50% of the time. She and her new husband live in one room that is right behind this door. But she keeps it very neat and clean. There isn't a closet, but there is a curtain for the bathroom/shower. Amazing what people can do to make life comfortable.
Traffic in the Streets
Within about a 30 minute period, while we were visiting less active members, we had to make way for both cows and goats. It brought back many, many memories from years gone by. Spencer had the camera--as you can tell!
Buses from other countries and aldeas
The week of the "fair" for the patron saint of Esquipulas (Santiago) there must have been 30-40 buses in town with pilgrimages to the Basillica. It was crazy! They celebrate coming to the Basillica by decorating the buses. Better than some parade floats I've seen.
Spencer's 7 AM class
This is Spencer's class that meets 7:00 AM Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. These are all medical students. This classroom is in the brand new building. The buildings are all masonry structures. Very strong and useful, but not particularly gorgeous.
Spencer y Juan Folgar
This has our good friend Juan. He is Kimberly's grandfather. He is taking the lessons, but still has some habits he needs to overcome. He is also embarassed about his clothes and his appearance when he walks (very bent over and with a cane). Kimberly told him during the FHE that she wanted him to get baptized becase he might die and not be a member of the true church.
Sunday, August 2
Dia de Santiago
While making visits in Esquipulas, we had the fun privilege of happening upon a mock battle. They had actual machetes. With the skin colors depicted on the masks, I can only guess that it had something to do with Spaniards conquering the indiginous peoples of the Americas. It was fascinating to watch and beautifully choreographed. Their feet never stopped moving.
Esquipulas visits
We have several stops to make in Valle Maria in Esquipulas. I'm standing in front of a very typical scene. For our trip back, we were in a "busito" instead of a taximoto -- same price. It is a little car from China. Even the signs inside are written in Chinese. Fun change.
FHE at Folgar's
This is a FHE we had at the Folgar's home. Kimberly taught a great lesson. We had a mother and daughter investigator attend. It was great.
The lesson was in the equivalent of their living room--open to the air but with a roof over us.
August 1, 2009
Dear Family,
I am long overdue in writing a letter. There are so many different things I could write about. July was a busy month. We just celebrated Spencer’s birthday this week. I got up before 5 AM to make his favorite omlete and fried potatoes for a breakfast in bed. I also made two Texas Sheet Cakes, because we had Zone Conference on his birthday. We shared birthday cake with about 40 people. It was fun. We had Elder Falebello and his wife at Zone Conference. He is a new member of the first quorum of 70’s and a counselor in our Area Presidency.
Here’s a brief recap of some of our major activities.
CUNORI: Our classes are now being held in the brand new building—yes, the same one there was a demonstration over a few months ago. It is nice—but we are on the west side and there is a bright afternoon sun for the 4:00 class. In Spencer’s class room there are four ceiling fans installed and none in mine. It was a mistake—there were supposed to be two in each room and there is no more money. Hmmm. I have nothing more to say…
Attendance has dropped because the administration doesn’t have any consequences for those who choose to not attend classes that are “obligatorio”. Some days it is very discouraging.
Esquipulas Branch: Some weekends it seems that we are making a difference. But it is difficult to assess. Attendance at Sacrament Meeting isn’t bad, but probably 50% leave after that meeting. So it is pretty dismal by the time we get to Relief Society and Priesthood. Last week, we had about 6-7 people in each of those meetings. Very sad for the members and the leaders. It still baffles me when we meet in homes where there is a great spirit, good lessons, good participation, good music, but it doesn’t carry over to good attendance. What to do, what to do…
Linda Vista Ward (Chiquimula): One of the really great things the new bishopric has done is to organize temple trips. Many youth have attended the temple and many adults have taken family names and participated in all areas of the ordinances. The couple Spencer taught for Temple Preparation are scheduled for their endowments and wedding on November 7th. Happy times. The members are doing better on HT and VT also. So there is progress. I love our Gospel Doctrine teacher. Oscar Garcia speaks slowly and enunciates clearly. I understand everything he says (unless it is a new vocabulary word). The new Bishop speaks rapidly and hardly opens his mouth at all. Even Spencer can’t understand him. I can’t believe his wife even knows what he is talking about! When he is talking I find myself completely zoning out. I need to work on that—but it is a big challenge. In RS it varies a lot. I understand the lessons—but I’ve read them in advance. General chatter is a challenge to follow.
Classes at the church: Spencer passed his advanced students over to my advanced class and started a new beginning class at 6:00. It hasn’t really taken off yet, but there is a greater need in that area, so I’m sure it will grow as word gets around. My kids’ class is great. We are now working out of Book One of the Side by Side series. We still have lots of learning activities and music. I have been very blessed. When I create my plan, I will plan one activity, but when I get there, through pure inspiration and help from Holy Ghost or unseen angels, I will have sudden insights that I should present the material in a different way. I always switch and every time those have been some of the most successful activities. I am almost left speechless sometimes but the help I receive. I am humble and very grateful for these experiences.
Our Temple experiences: We have filled out applications to be veil workers at the temple. Each time we attend we do a little better at remembering and once we are approved and set apart, we can study the cards. I can do it all now—until the very last part. Then I need help. This morning it was rewarding and amusing because I was comfortable (well, sort of) up to that point in the veil ceremony and then needed help. When I went thru the veil, the beautiful Guatemalteco brother hung onto my hand, beaming at me, and said (in Spanish), “Your Spanish is excellent!” That was the rewarding part. The amusing part is that, even without seeing me, he knew I was not a native, so it couldn’t have been quite that excellent. But I am getting there!
Weather: Two words only “hot” and “dry”. Corn patches are drying up and dying everywhere. That is going to create a major hardship for the natives. Corn is their staple food. The weather is uncomfortable and inconvenient for us. It is a tragedy for them.
Interesting tidbit: I had been curious about where the continental divide is in this country, since it is bordered by both oceans. No one knew what I was asking about. But in Tourist Book it shows the topographical lay of the land and refers to the Atlantic basin and Pacific, so I think I found the info—the continental divide runs east and west in Guatemala. ??? You have to remember that it borders with Mexico a lot on the west as well as north and Belize on the east. The northern part of Guatemala drains into the Atlantic Ocean. Of course the southern part drains to the Pacific. I was so surprised!!
Interesting Differences in Church operations: (1) One surprise is that the church buys very, very few hymn books. All of the members are expected to buy/bring their own. They decorate them with lots of stickers of Christ and things like that so they will be easy to distinguish if they get mixed up. In El Teatro Ward where there are pews, there aren’t even holders provided for the song books. (2) In nine months (yup—we are half way through) I have never heard a speaker introduced as being a High Counselor or representative of the Stake President. I can’t explain that one at all. (3) All adults are encouraged to attend Institute Class—not just Young Adults. (4) Baptismal clothes are sometimes difficult to come by. In some places the missionaries have bought white pants at thrift stores and/or used their own shirts. (5) Few members have cars. Middle aged women arrive driving motos. The Stake President comes to church on his moto—wearing white socks and black shoes! It’s going to take years to re-convince Spencer that that just shouldn’t be done! (6) Members don’t understand the importance of modesty—or wearing dresses. Some of the women I have seen in dresses at times come to church in jeans and spaghetti strap tops that are cut really, really low. Those who have been endowed often have safety pins to try to hold together the top of their blouses because it is so difficult to find a blouse that isn’t cut to reveal a lot of skin! (7) There is no Bishops’ Storehouse (of course) but also no expectation of/or provision for commodities. Almost everyone is poor and does without—often going hungry. It is just a part of life. Americans are spoiled and have way too much of a sense of entitlement. It is good I was a RS president before coming here, because I might not be very understanding of the complaints I often heard, if I had seen/known the members here earlier.
I have one story to illustrate my last point. The Branch President told about his first Sunday in his new calling. His family had no money and no food. They hadn’t eaten since early on Saturday. After church he sent his family home and suggested his wife ask the closest little tienda owner if she could “borrow” some rice and beans. When he arrived home later, he walked in to the smell of chicken and rice cooking and he thought “What has she done?!” She explained that when she arrived home there was a box of food sitting on the door step. They never knew who left it. Can you imagine the American members going to a leader like that and saying “Can we get a food order?” Many Americans waste more in a week than some of these families have to eat. They live on corn tortillas and black beans.
Last night at Casa de Huespedes I was visiting with a young couple. They were part of an excursion that had come from Honduras. It was about a 12 hour bus ride. Their stake had rented four buses. They came on Wednesday and they were going home on Saturday. There were seven sealings from their stake on Thursday and Friday—including this young couple who were newlyweds as of the day before—but the housing for excursions has separate rooms for the men and the women. I hope Casa de Huespedes found them a room—but I wasn’t brave enough to ask. The young groom (Elder Aguilar) was just released from the Guatemala North mission in October and served among the Quiche with Daniel Garvin (Michele and Craig’s son). What a small world we have in the church. I think the other sealings were family units—because I noticed lots of little kids in their group.
Our trip to the temple yesterday and today was memorable. I lost my phone in the taxi ride from the terminal to the temple. The security personnel at the temple helped us call the bus lines and the taxi. We reached the taxi driver in less than an hour. He had found it, but it had already been sold on the street and the memory chip removed. Sigh. We had lots of saldo (minutes) on it too!
Tuli and Cesar have moved to an apartment about 10 minutes from the temple. She picked me up to run some errands before we came home. She was going to drive us to the bus terminal, but when we returned to pick Spencer up at Casa de Huespedes, we saw a member of our ward (a former missionary in Alan’s mission) and he had a bus of people from the other ward here. They had room and were leaving within a half hour, so we were able to ride home with them. What a blessing. Some of the money saved can go toward the purchase of a new phone!
This letter is longer than I planned. I wish I could sit down and visit with you and get/give lots of hugs. Sometimes I miss you so much I feel a deep hunger in the pit of my stomach and a hole in my heart. But we are glad to have the health to answer the call of the prophet and serve the Lord as missionaries.
Love,
Mom/Grandma/Jeanine
Dear Family,
I am long overdue in writing a letter. There are so many different things I could write about. July was a busy month. We just celebrated Spencer’s birthday this week. I got up before 5 AM to make his favorite omlete and fried potatoes for a breakfast in bed. I also made two Texas Sheet Cakes, because we had Zone Conference on his birthday. We shared birthday cake with about 40 people. It was fun. We had Elder Falebello and his wife at Zone Conference. He is a new member of the first quorum of 70’s and a counselor in our Area Presidency.
Here’s a brief recap of some of our major activities.
CUNORI: Our classes are now being held in the brand new building—yes, the same one there was a demonstration over a few months ago. It is nice—but we are on the west side and there is a bright afternoon sun for the 4:00 class. In Spencer’s class room there are four ceiling fans installed and none in mine. It was a mistake—there were supposed to be two in each room and there is no more money. Hmmm. I have nothing more to say…
Attendance has dropped because the administration doesn’t have any consequences for those who choose to not attend classes that are “obligatorio”. Some days it is very discouraging.
Esquipulas Branch: Some weekends it seems that we are making a difference. But it is difficult to assess. Attendance at Sacrament Meeting isn’t bad, but probably 50% leave after that meeting. So it is pretty dismal by the time we get to Relief Society and Priesthood. Last week, we had about 6-7 people in each of those meetings. Very sad for the members and the leaders. It still baffles me when we meet in homes where there is a great spirit, good lessons, good participation, good music, but it doesn’t carry over to good attendance. What to do, what to do…
Linda Vista Ward (Chiquimula): One of the really great things the new bishopric has done is to organize temple trips. Many youth have attended the temple and many adults have taken family names and participated in all areas of the ordinances. The couple Spencer taught for Temple Preparation are scheduled for their endowments and wedding on November 7th. Happy times. The members are doing better on HT and VT also. So there is progress. I love our Gospel Doctrine teacher. Oscar Garcia speaks slowly and enunciates clearly. I understand everything he says (unless it is a new vocabulary word). The new Bishop speaks rapidly and hardly opens his mouth at all. Even Spencer can’t understand him. I can’t believe his wife even knows what he is talking about! When he is talking I find myself completely zoning out. I need to work on that—but it is a big challenge. In RS it varies a lot. I understand the lessons—but I’ve read them in advance. General chatter is a challenge to follow.
Classes at the church: Spencer passed his advanced students over to my advanced class and started a new beginning class at 6:00. It hasn’t really taken off yet, but there is a greater need in that area, so I’m sure it will grow as word gets around. My kids’ class is great. We are now working out of Book One of the Side by Side series. We still have lots of learning activities and music. I have been very blessed. When I create my plan, I will plan one activity, but when I get there, through pure inspiration and help from Holy Ghost or unseen angels, I will have sudden insights that I should present the material in a different way. I always switch and every time those have been some of the most successful activities. I am almost left speechless sometimes but the help I receive. I am humble and very grateful for these experiences.
Our Temple experiences: We have filled out applications to be veil workers at the temple. Each time we attend we do a little better at remembering and once we are approved and set apart, we can study the cards. I can do it all now—until the very last part. Then I need help. This morning it was rewarding and amusing because I was comfortable (well, sort of) up to that point in the veil ceremony and then needed help. When I went thru the veil, the beautiful Guatemalteco brother hung onto my hand, beaming at me, and said (in Spanish), “Your Spanish is excellent!” That was the rewarding part. The amusing part is that, even without seeing me, he knew I was not a native, so it couldn’t have been quite that excellent. But I am getting there!
Weather: Two words only “hot” and “dry”. Corn patches are drying up and dying everywhere. That is going to create a major hardship for the natives. Corn is their staple food. The weather is uncomfortable and inconvenient for us. It is a tragedy for them.
Interesting tidbit: I had been curious about where the continental divide is in this country, since it is bordered by both oceans. No one knew what I was asking about. But in Tourist Book it shows the topographical lay of the land and refers to the Atlantic basin and Pacific, so I think I found the info—the continental divide runs east and west in Guatemala. ??? You have to remember that it borders with Mexico a lot on the west as well as north and Belize on the east. The northern part of Guatemala drains into the Atlantic Ocean. Of course the southern part drains to the Pacific. I was so surprised!!
Interesting Differences in Church operations: (1) One surprise is that the church buys very, very few hymn books. All of the members are expected to buy/bring their own. They decorate them with lots of stickers of Christ and things like that so they will be easy to distinguish if they get mixed up. In El Teatro Ward where there are pews, there aren’t even holders provided for the song books. (2) In nine months (yup—we are half way through) I have never heard a speaker introduced as being a High Counselor or representative of the Stake President. I can’t explain that one at all. (3) All adults are encouraged to attend Institute Class—not just Young Adults. (4) Baptismal clothes are sometimes difficult to come by. In some places the missionaries have bought white pants at thrift stores and/or used their own shirts. (5) Few members have cars. Middle aged women arrive driving motos. The Stake President comes to church on his moto—wearing white socks and black shoes! It’s going to take years to re-convince Spencer that that just shouldn’t be done! (6) Members don’t understand the importance of modesty—or wearing dresses. Some of the women I have seen in dresses at times come to church in jeans and spaghetti strap tops that are cut really, really low. Those who have been endowed often have safety pins to try to hold together the top of their blouses because it is so difficult to find a blouse that isn’t cut to reveal a lot of skin! (7) There is no Bishops’ Storehouse (of course) but also no expectation of/or provision for commodities. Almost everyone is poor and does without—often going hungry. It is just a part of life. Americans are spoiled and have way too much of a sense of entitlement. It is good I was a RS president before coming here, because I might not be very understanding of the complaints I often heard, if I had seen/known the members here earlier.
I have one story to illustrate my last point. The Branch President told about his first Sunday in his new calling. His family had no money and no food. They hadn’t eaten since early on Saturday. After church he sent his family home and suggested his wife ask the closest little tienda owner if she could “borrow” some rice and beans. When he arrived home later, he walked in to the smell of chicken and rice cooking and he thought “What has she done?!” She explained that when she arrived home there was a box of food sitting on the door step. They never knew who left it. Can you imagine the American members going to a leader like that and saying “Can we get a food order?” Many Americans waste more in a week than some of these families have to eat. They live on corn tortillas and black beans.
Last night at Casa de Huespedes I was visiting with a young couple. They were part of an excursion that had come from Honduras. It was about a 12 hour bus ride. Their stake had rented four buses. They came on Wednesday and they were going home on Saturday. There were seven sealings from their stake on Thursday and Friday—including this young couple who were newlyweds as of the day before—but the housing for excursions has separate rooms for the men and the women. I hope Casa de Huespedes found them a room—but I wasn’t brave enough to ask. The young groom (Elder Aguilar) was just released from the Guatemala North mission in October and served among the Quiche with Daniel Garvin (Michele and Craig’s son). What a small world we have in the church. I think the other sealings were family units—because I noticed lots of little kids in their group.
Our trip to the temple yesterday and today was memorable. I lost my phone in the taxi ride from the terminal to the temple. The security personnel at the temple helped us call the bus lines and the taxi. We reached the taxi driver in less than an hour. He had found it, but it had already been sold on the street and the memory chip removed. Sigh. We had lots of saldo (minutes) on it too!
Tuli and Cesar have moved to an apartment about 10 minutes from the temple. She picked me up to run some errands before we came home. She was going to drive us to the bus terminal, but when we returned to pick Spencer up at Casa de Huespedes, we saw a member of our ward (a former missionary in Alan’s mission) and he had a bus of people from the other ward here. They had room and were leaving within a half hour, so we were able to ride home with them. What a blessing. Some of the money saved can go toward the purchase of a new phone!
This letter is longer than I planned. I wish I could sit down and visit with you and get/give lots of hugs. Sometimes I miss you so much I feel a deep hunger in the pit of my stomach and a hole in my heart. But we are glad to have the health to answer the call of the prophet and serve the Lord as missionaries.
Love,
Mom/Grandma/Jeanine
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