I thought you might enjoy seeing a couple of professional pictures before you scroll down to the ones that we took. It was a fun day.
Friday, March 12
Two postcards from Copan, Honduras
I thought you might enjoy seeing a couple of professional pictures before you scroll down to the ones that we took. It was a fun day.
Hello loved ones,
This is just a brief update because I have posted lots of pictures and info on the blog. So you will have to look there to see what has been happening in our lives.
One eventful day was our visit to “Copan Ruinas” in Honduras. It isn’t as dramatic as Tikal—or as hard to get to. I’ve explained a lot about it with the pictures. One very interesting story was the about the ball games. There are similar ball courts throughout Meso America. Games were played for three reasons: Religion, War or Entertainment. Lots of the information about them comes from Spanish histories written in the early 1500’s when they first invaded. If the game was played for religion it was to select a new god. Only the best athletes could compete. There were no more than seven players on a team. It is a game of lots of skill. When the game finally culminated in a victory, the captain of the WINNING team was willingly and happily sacrificed. His heart was taken from his chest while it was still beating and burned. His spirit went up with the essence of the smoke into the heavens and he was instantly transformed into a god.
If the game was played for war, only members of royalty could play. It was sort of like the time of the Israelites and the Philistines. Rather than have your people wiped out, you select the best of the warriors (and royalty) to challenge the best of the other people. The ball game was played and the king whose team lost (and frequently he was also one of the players) was sacrificed. His people then became subjects of the winning team. That is how the dynasty that ruled Copan for 400 years came to an end. The king lost his head after losing the ball game at Quirigua (where we visited with Christena and Nathan). They say he was a great king, but not a great ball player.
Sometimes they just played for entertainment and no one had to die. But the winning team did get to collect the goods from anyone who was watching the game. The spectators tried to run away as the game was ended, but the athletes chased them down and took all their jewels and booty they might have.
Our bus trip there was pretty interesting. You can only go as far as the border and then you have to show your passports, pay a fee and get a one day pass. You also exchange money at the border—and you have no idea if the people standing on the roadside are giving you a good deal or not. You then take a different bus into the country. We got off at an intersection on the highway and walked about ¼ mile to the ruins. When we were through for the day, we walked back, but we weren’t sure about where we’d see the bus. A lady told us we had to go into town. So we caught a taxi-moto (also called a tuk-tuk) and asked him to take us to catch a bus back to the border. He took us to a run-down house with a run down bus that said “Frontera” (border on it). We asked the ayudante (a young boy who is the assistant) what time it left and he just shrugged, like “I don’t know.” Or “No one knows.” He never smiled or offered us any info. Spencer tried to ask others, but he got nowhere. After about 20 minutes the driver showed up and we all scrambled for seats. The ayudante never smiled or offered any friendly overture or assistance. We were glad to get back to Guatemala and friendlier people. However, I know there are friendly Hondoreños, too—we just didn’t happen to meet up with them.
The rest of the week has been very busy. It was our last week of classes with the students at CUNORI. They have exams next week and no regular class schedules. The following two weeks are breaks and then we are gone from Chiquimula, serving in the temple and visiting other places in Guatemala. In some ways we were more than ready for it to be ending. We are getting tired. But it is actually very hard to say good-bye when you get right down to it. On Thursday afternoon our top two classes of students surprised us with a party half way through the class. The brought a cake, pop, plates, forks, napkins, cups and a couple of presents. We were very surprised and very touched. Spencer hates the parties. He wants to slip away like a thief in the night because it so hard to say good-bye.
We will be having some parties at the church classes too, but we are waiting for the Andersons so that it can be a welcome party for them. That might change the focus and make it a little easier—but I doubt it.
The Andersons have been in the MTC this week and will arrive in Chiquimula on Sunday afternoon. We have a busy week planned with them. It is hard to believe that we are winding down this fast.
I have been cooking a lot of chili and freezing it. We will be coming back to Chiquimula after Semana Santa. We want to be back here for General Conference. The Branch President announced that the branch will cover transportation again, and we are providing lunch. We hope that the turns out is as good as it was in October. It will give us one last chance to provide a service and to say goodbye to the members. This is a bittersweet time.
We are excited to be this close to seeing everyone! You are loved and missed. We have the greatest family in the world.
Love,
Mom/Jeanine
PS: We saw a great t-shirt that could have been just as true for Guatemala as Honduras. It said something like:
Rules of the Road in Honduras
Blind curves are the perfect place for passing; If you have any trash throw it out the window immediately; If you want to pass, just honk really loud and GO!; double lines means you can drive on either side of them; if there isn’t room inside your car, just hang out the windows or the doors; when in doubt drive faster; If you drive after dark, at least one headlight must be out—and the other one headed crooked; If you drive in town, the law of the jungle applies!
I think you get the idea. It was great and made us smile because it is sooooo true!
This is just a brief update because I have posted lots of pictures and info on the blog. So you will have to look there to see what has been happening in our lives.
One eventful day was our visit to “Copan Ruinas” in Honduras. It isn’t as dramatic as Tikal—or as hard to get to. I’ve explained a lot about it with the pictures. One very interesting story was the about the ball games. There are similar ball courts throughout Meso America. Games were played for three reasons: Religion, War or Entertainment. Lots of the information about them comes from Spanish histories written in the early 1500’s when they first invaded. If the game was played for religion it was to select a new god. Only the best athletes could compete. There were no more than seven players on a team. It is a game of lots of skill. When the game finally culminated in a victory, the captain of the WINNING team was willingly and happily sacrificed. His heart was taken from his chest while it was still beating and burned. His spirit went up with the essence of the smoke into the heavens and he was instantly transformed into a god.
If the game was played for war, only members of royalty could play. It was sort of like the time of the Israelites and the Philistines. Rather than have your people wiped out, you select the best of the warriors (and royalty) to challenge the best of the other people. The ball game was played and the king whose team lost (and frequently he was also one of the players) was sacrificed. His people then became subjects of the winning team. That is how the dynasty that ruled Copan for 400 years came to an end. The king lost his head after losing the ball game at Quirigua (where we visited with Christena and Nathan). They say he was a great king, but not a great ball player.
Sometimes they just played for entertainment and no one had to die. But the winning team did get to collect the goods from anyone who was watching the game. The spectators tried to run away as the game was ended, but the athletes chased them down and took all their jewels and booty they might have.
Our bus trip there was pretty interesting. You can only go as far as the border and then you have to show your passports, pay a fee and get a one day pass. You also exchange money at the border—and you have no idea if the people standing on the roadside are giving you a good deal or not. You then take a different bus into the country. We got off at an intersection on the highway and walked about ¼ mile to the ruins. When we were through for the day, we walked back, but we weren’t sure about where we’d see the bus. A lady told us we had to go into town. So we caught a taxi-moto (also called a tuk-tuk) and asked him to take us to catch a bus back to the border. He took us to a run-down house with a run down bus that said “Frontera” (border on it). We asked the ayudante (a young boy who is the assistant) what time it left and he just shrugged, like “I don’t know.” Or “No one knows.” He never smiled or offered us any info. Spencer tried to ask others, but he got nowhere. After about 20 minutes the driver showed up and we all scrambled for seats. The ayudante never smiled or offered any friendly overture or assistance. We were glad to get back to Guatemala and friendlier people. However, I know there are friendly Hondoreños, too—we just didn’t happen to meet up with them.
The rest of the week has been very busy. It was our last week of classes with the students at CUNORI. They have exams next week and no regular class schedules. The following two weeks are breaks and then we are gone from Chiquimula, serving in the temple and visiting other places in Guatemala. In some ways we were more than ready for it to be ending. We are getting tired. But it is actually very hard to say good-bye when you get right down to it. On Thursday afternoon our top two classes of students surprised us with a party half way through the class. The brought a cake, pop, plates, forks, napkins, cups and a couple of presents. We were very surprised and very touched. Spencer hates the parties. He wants to slip away like a thief in the night because it so hard to say good-bye.
We will be having some parties at the church classes too, but we are waiting for the Andersons so that it can be a welcome party for them. That might change the focus and make it a little easier—but I doubt it.
The Andersons have been in the MTC this week and will arrive in Chiquimula on Sunday afternoon. We have a busy week planned with them. It is hard to believe that we are winding down this fast.
I have been cooking a lot of chili and freezing it. We will be coming back to Chiquimula after Semana Santa. We want to be back here for General Conference. The Branch President announced that the branch will cover transportation again, and we are providing lunch. We hope that the turns out is as good as it was in October. It will give us one last chance to provide a service and to say goodbye to the members. This is a bittersweet time.
We are excited to be this close to seeing everyone! You are loved and missed. We have the greatest family in the world.
Love,
Mom/Jeanine
PS: We saw a great t-shirt that could have been just as true for Guatemala as Honduras. It said something like:
Rules of the Road in Honduras
Blind curves are the perfect place for passing; If you have any trash throw it out the window immediately; If you want to pass, just honk really loud and GO!; double lines means you can drive on either side of them; if there isn’t room inside your car, just hang out the windows or the doors; when in doubt drive faster; If you drive after dark, at least one headlight must be out—and the other one headed crooked; If you drive in town, the law of the jungle applies!
I think you get the idea. It was great and made us smile because it is sooooo true!
On Monday, March 8th we had permission to cross the border into Honduras and visit the ruins in Copan. Its main time frame was from 400-800 AD. It is the second largest city (after Tikal) and only a fraction of the buildings have been excavated. Like most Mayan cities, there are layers of ruins. When a new king came into power, he would build his temple over the top of the previous one to demonstrate that he was a greater and more powerful than the last king. It also has the typical ball court (sort of visible in the background) where games were played that ended in human sacrifice. It was a very interesting day. We had a guide, who charged too much, but it was interesting and we loved the museum that preserves many of the original stela--while replicas are left standing out in the elements.
It has to have taken a lot of hard work and a lot of skill to carve these details in stone using stone tools. Spencer is standing behind the two-headed feather serpent. It has a different name than Quetzalcoatl, but the same legends. Some of the Stella reminded us of totem poles. The last one of this series has the hand position that is frequently seen through out Mesoamerica. One hand is cupped and the other is facing down. The hands are reversed from what we are familiar with, but it is interesting anyway.
I'm standing by one of the few stelae that honors a woman and tells her life story on the glyphs. Which one do you think looks worse for the wear? Me or her? Most of the stelae here have altars in front of them where sacrifices are made or incense is burned. The human sacrifices were done in a more "religious" setting by their temples, not in front of the stelae. There is a lot of sculptures depicting the underworld. You can see a lot of skulls on the one where Spencer is standing. The underworld is also the place where your ancestors dwell--so it isn't just the image of "hell" like we might associate with that terminology today. There skill with sculpture is pretty amazing, but I don't think I'd want their artwork on my living room wall.
Trips to visit ruins are always fun. You can see many things besides ruins. As soon as we entered the park about 5-6 McCaw birds went flying and squawking right over our heads to a feeder. They are incredible when you see them in flight. But boy are they noisy and bossy! After we hiked all over, we had a picnic lunch and then crashed on the picnic table. My back could only handle the concrete for a few minutes. But Spencer actually slept for awhile and I got a head start in looking at the museum. We enjoyed looking at the map of the Mayan world. Much of their history coincides with the Book of Mormon. Some of the sights are later periods of time--and those are more pagan in their history as well. Copan is a later time period, but still interesting.
Two cute vendors in Esquipulas
When we were walking to catch the bus in Esquipulas these two darling sisters wanted to sell me a scarf. They wrap them around their heads either with or without a braid. I asked if I could take their picture and said I'd buy a scarf from them. So they posed and I bought a scarf that caught my eye from the older of the two girls. She said it was Q35 (almost $4.50). Then the younger one looked at me with her gorgeous brown eyes and said "Buy one from me, too!" How could I resist? As soon as I selected one she said "This one is Q40!" I started laughing and said, "No, only 35." She immediately agreed, but when we started scrounging for change we could only come up with Q33. She was still happy. I know I paid more than others might have, but where else could I buy 2 hand-woven scarves for less than $9?!
March 7th letter from Spencer
Dear Family and Friends,
Last evening we arrived back home to our apartment from the capital after having a nice couple of days at the temple. We love to be there. The Masks (President and Sister) have been so nice to let us stay in their home on the nights we are at the temple. We look forward to staying with them all of “Semana Santa” (or “holy week” for all of you foreigners). That week the schools are out and many businesses are closed so families will come by the bus loads from all directions to attend the temple. It is a sight to behold. We have described the system—“take a token that tells which session you will be in and then go wait until the appointed hour.” In the US we sometimes think of the temple as a “lovely date” and afterwards we go eat at a nice restaurant.
It is quite different here. There seems to be more of a feeling of urgency as most of the family history has been brought with them to perform ordinances for ancestors. They bring names with them and various members of the family are engaged in all of the functions.
The housing program for the travelers is remarkable as well. The saints take care of their kids in shifts outside on the grounds or in one of the Casas de Huespedes—housing for temple patrons. The security has even been increased. When Jeanine and I walk a block back to the Mask’s home at night there is a guard that walks behind or with us and sees us inside the big iron doors. When we get to their gate and ring the bell, they can see us with a camera and then push the button to allow us through to the inner doors. All of the security is under the program of temple security. They are there 24/7. At one point the Guatemala temple was one of only two with armed security. They may have changed in recent years. The Masks have been instructed to drive the one block from their house into the temple parking lot in a nice car with tinted windows. Everything is opened with remote control and closes behind them. They have been asked to not walk to and from their house. Security is not taken lightly here.
“Delinquency” which actually means “organized crime” is out of control in Guatemala. I am appalled every day when I read the paper about the corruption in every area and on every level of government. But enough of that.
I’ve been thinking about what a mission is in our case and what it is in general for adult couples. It is different for each couple because each experience is unique. Each couple makes their own way based on all kinds of variables. In general, it’s always a form of service and there is always satisfaction and blessings that come from giving selfless service.
In our case, this has been the experience of a lifetime. We have enjoyed the rich cultural experiences, the language we have learned (you should hear Jeanine jabber away with people), the traveling to various areas, the teaching English, the role we have played in the branch, the help we have been able to provide people, the temple training we have gone through, the Mayan and Book of Mormon sites we have seen. Each one of those have added to what has been our experience. I think we love each other more and we know more about who we are and what our strengths and weaknesses are.
I also think that perhaps we will have started a stronger tradition of missionary work and temple service within the family. Even though we have been absent, no one has been adversely affected by our absence and the positive effects will be evident when our grandchildren become mission age (and choose to serve) and marriage age and our sons and daughters who become “empty nesters” and have a retirement income will chose to do the same. That’s my wish for all of you.
I love all of you, Dad/Spencer
Last evening we arrived back home to our apartment from the capital after having a nice couple of days at the temple. We love to be there. The Masks (President and Sister) have been so nice to let us stay in their home on the nights we are at the temple. We look forward to staying with them all of “Semana Santa” (or “holy week” for all of you foreigners). That week the schools are out and many businesses are closed so families will come by the bus loads from all directions to attend the temple. It is a sight to behold. We have described the system—“take a token that tells which session you will be in and then go wait until the appointed hour.” In the US we sometimes think of the temple as a “lovely date” and afterwards we go eat at a nice restaurant.
It is quite different here. There seems to be more of a feeling of urgency as most of the family history has been brought with them to perform ordinances for ancestors. They bring names with them and various members of the family are engaged in all of the functions.
The housing program for the travelers is remarkable as well. The saints take care of their kids in shifts outside on the grounds or in one of the Casas de Huespedes—housing for temple patrons. The security has even been increased. When Jeanine and I walk a block back to the Mask’s home at night there is a guard that walks behind or with us and sees us inside the big iron doors. When we get to their gate and ring the bell, they can see us with a camera and then push the button to allow us through to the inner doors. All of the security is under the program of temple security. They are there 24/7. At one point the Guatemala temple was one of only two with armed security. They may have changed in recent years. The Masks have been instructed to drive the one block from their house into the temple parking lot in a nice car with tinted windows. Everything is opened with remote control and closes behind them. They have been asked to not walk to and from their house. Security is not taken lightly here.
“Delinquency” which actually means “organized crime” is out of control in Guatemala. I am appalled every day when I read the paper about the corruption in every area and on every level of government. But enough of that.
I’ve been thinking about what a mission is in our case and what it is in general for adult couples. It is different for each couple because each experience is unique. Each couple makes their own way based on all kinds of variables. In general, it’s always a form of service and there is always satisfaction and blessings that come from giving selfless service.
In our case, this has been the experience of a lifetime. We have enjoyed the rich cultural experiences, the language we have learned (you should hear Jeanine jabber away with people), the traveling to various areas, the teaching English, the role we have played in the branch, the help we have been able to provide people, the temple training we have gone through, the Mayan and Book of Mormon sites we have seen. Each one of those have added to what has been our experience. I think we love each other more and we know more about who we are and what our strengths and weaknesses are.
I also think that perhaps we will have started a stronger tradition of missionary work and temple service within the family. Even though we have been absent, no one has been adversely affected by our absence and the positive effects will be evident when our grandchildren become mission age (and choose to serve) and marriage age and our sons and daughters who become “empty nesters” and have a retirement income will chose to do the same. That’s my wish for all of you.
I love all of you, Dad/Spencer
Wednesday, March 3
Two brand new beautiful grandsons for us to meet!
We just want the world to know that we are VERY excited about meeting these two beautiful babies. Blaze Clevan Raymond was born January 29th to Tim and Amy. He's the cute kid in the bottom picture. I should have uploaded the pictures in the opposite order. Sigh. Maybe someday I will get this technology straight. Sonny Fletch Dike was born February 13th to Adam and Carolyn. He is sleeping away at about 10 days old. Both boys and both moms are doing great. And there is one grandma in Guatemala who is dying to get acquainted with both of them. I have to tell you that when Sonny's name was announced Adam said "OK, really mom which name is going to be harder to get used to 'Sonny' or 'Blaze'?" They are both different from our generation, but we are already comfortable with both names--now we just want to meet the boys!
Friday, February 26
Our new view across the street
The run down house just across 5a Calle from us was recently refurbished. Spencer loved how it looked -- until the night it opened up as a bar and restaurant. The first night was awful - with very loud music, mariachis and firecrackers. We were thinking we'd have to find a new place for the Anderson's to live. But since then it has been very low-key and nice. I stopped by and met the owner today. The meals are economical (less than $2 for lunch or dinner), but the menu is determined by what day it is. They will be OK neighbors after all. (Thank goodness!)
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