These are just sample pictures of the rain forest we boated through to celebrate my birthday with a river trip down Rio Dulce. It ends up at Livingstone which is on the coast of the Caribbean / Atlantic Ocean. It was amazing for these two desert rats to behold.
There were two different "Bird Islands". All the white on the leaves it bird poop. These islands are home to hundreds of water fowl, turkey vultures and an iguana type animal. Look close at the top of the tree where the orange shape is. They only come out in the morning sun to warm up. We were lucky to see several.
This is the post office in Rio Dulce -- which is a fairly good sized town. You can see how sophisticated it is. That might be why mail is pretty unreliable in Guatemala. We had time Sunday afternoon and evening to wander around Rio Dulce (again). The castle hadn't changed since we visited it with Christena and Nate. But we went anyway. There was one scare when Spencer thought that his wallet had been pick pocketed. Fortunately, when we returned home, we found it hiding, standing up against the side of the suit case. Sigh. Big relief.
Today (Monday, Nov, 30th, we celebrated Thanksgiving (on P-Day instead of after District Meeting). It turned out fantastic. It is a lot more labor intensive to cook Thanksgiving dinner here. You have to whip your own cream -- no Cool Whip; make your own pumpkin pie spice -- after looking up the recipe on the internet; snap your own beans; improvise for items not available (lemon jello, Romaine lettuce, Craisins); cook in an oven where it is a wild guess to gauge the temperature and pay $1.50/lb. for the turkey. But we loved it anyway. We had turkey, dressing (such a yummy recipe from Janae), potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls, green beans w/ham and onions, corn on the cob (can't do that in the US at this time of year), 7-up fruit salad (there is no lemon jello here--it is lime, so we used lime and pineapple--it was a big hit), yummy salad with caramelized almonds (a recipe from Aunt Lynda) and a pumpkin cobbler (crunch) from a recipe that Rachelle uses and Janae sent me one addition--nuts on top. We even had ice cream to top it off. They scarfed it all up. I have some left overs, but not tons and I have my Weight Watchers crustless pumpkin pie to enjoy, guilt-free at my leisure. I have to admit, I am tired tonight. I cooked all afternoon on Sunday and all day today. The missionaries went home raving about the meal. We are thankful for the opportunity to share this holiday with them. We have much to be thankful for!
We have a brand new Deacon (our only one). Sunday was his first time to pass the Sacrament. During the meeting his tie was under the collar of his shirt. Notice the size of the suit coat and the tie. Even his shoes were too big. But he was there, fulfilling his brand new priesthood responsibilities. It was about the cutest thing I've seen in a long time.
Sunday we had a great turn out at Sacrament Meeting. It was the Primary Program. We got a picture of all of them that were there before the meeting started. About six more and the other leader arrived a little later. They also had the young women participate. They sang a couple of numbers and recited the YW theme. It was really a nice meeting. It was even longer that allowed. Of course, if we started on time, it might have been just right! :)
A while back you got to see the outside of the bus we ride to Esquipulas every week. Well, now you can look at the inside! There were probably close to 40 of us this week. We have had as many as 50 on some occasions. The ayudante (assistant/helper) had to stand on the step and hang on to a window frame and bar as we drove the mountainous roads. I took random shots behind me and in front of me so you could see the view. In one you can see the ayudante collecting money. Everyone has to help pass it up to him and then pass back the change, since he can't budge from the doorway. It is quite the experience. I wish all of you could enjoy it with us!
