Saturday, January 18
We have arrived safely in Quetzaltenango--mostly called Xela (pronounced Shay-la). We arrived late Thursday night and were met by the Temple president, his wife and two others from Guatemala City. We knew one of the brothers from before. That was a fun surprise. We stayed in a beautiful hotel. I called Tuli even though it was after 10 PM. We were leaving the at 8:30 the next morning so she got up early and met me just after 7 AM. We were able to visit for an hour. She brought me a cell phone, so now I can make calls in Guatemala. I haven't bought a regular phone yet, so I don't have the Magic Jack hooked up. Maybe on Monday...
We drove up here in a huge van and had a great visit with President and Sister Perez. His family are the pioneers from this area. They have been in the church for 60 years. He was Bishop, Stake President, District President, Mission President in El Salvador, and in the 4th quorum of 70's for 10 years. He was in the Area Presidency for five years. So you can see that he has been an accomplished leader.
We went shopping on Friday--I some challenges with the credit card, so President Mortenson paid for our stuff--but we paid him back today (after going to the bank and cashing in our dollars) and they assure me the card is now functional. We toured the temple last night and President Perez set us apart. He used some of the same verbage as my patriarchal blessing--that was a strong confirmation for me. Today I helped in the baptistry and we attended a session in the afternoon. I have been studying and should be ready for passing off a couple of things on Tuesday.
Elder Quentin L. Cook is staying in the apartment next to us tonight to attend a stake conference tomorrow (not ours). There are two 70's here as well. All of the wives were in the same session we were. Right outside our door are about 50-60 youth waiting to perform. There is a marimba band and party going on for Sister Cook's birthday. We weren't invited, but because our apartment is on the first floor of the annex we can hear all of the music. I opened our door to give the youth some air. It is really hot out in the hallway waiting area.
We really like our apartment. It has taken awhile to figure out what is already here and what we need to buy. We bought lots yesterday when we had a ride with the Mortensons, but our cupboards still seem really bare. We also needs lots to make it functional--like shelves in the bathroom, a surge protector, an extra mirror, etc. I won't bore you with more of those details.
Spencer is writing a letter that I will have to transcribe, so I won't give any more details and steal his thunder.
Tomorrow we have church 8 AM to 11 AM. If someone wants to skype in the afternoon, we will be home! Our internet isn't wifi so I don't know if I can Facetime.
Wednesday, January 15
Temple training and promises
It has been an amazing time thus far to receive training and instructions from members of the temple department of the church. Several have mentioned the importance of being a strong unit and emulating the Savior with an attitude of loving kindness.
But the counsel I have most appreciated (because it is always so hard to leave our children and grandchildren) is the counsel to turn them over to the Lord. The Lord can do more for them and with them than we ever could. And their lives will be blessed in our absence and we will know that at least some of those blessings will be because of our willingness to serve. That thought touches my heart.
Tuesday, January 14
The beginning of our new mission to Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple
January 12, 2014
Dear Family,
I thought I’d better write my first mission letter tonight since we are actually “on our way” so to speak. It is hard to believe that it was just four weeks ago that we received our mission call to the Quetzaltenango Temple. And it has only been 3½ weeks since our date to report was changed to January 13th. We begin our orientation and training tomorrow in the Salt Lake Temple.
The last several weeks have been rather insane. I have literally worked about 16-18 hour days to get things ready. I did decrease the hours when I had family here right after Christmas. I loved taking time to play games a visit for a couple of days—but then they had to help me take down Christmas and pack things away.
During those 3½ weeks we also had many family and Christmas events. On Dec. 20-21st we were in Mesa. Once a year we try to have a combined, blended family Christmas dinner. Once again, Chad and Ann Marie graciously let us use there beautiful home. It was so-o-o-o much fun to be together. Ben was a great Santa. It also gives us a chance to distribute gifts to our family. The following Tuesday, December 24th we went down to St. David, AZ to spend Christmas with Grandma Brown, who is 95 years old. She had been sick with the flu so I prepared Christmas breakfast and dinner. It was a great day. We also visited with Spencer’s brothers’ (Mark and Curt) families. We are grateful they are in such close proximity to help Grandma and allow her to live in her home. December 26th my Arizona kids came to Prescott for our annual Christmas dinner and visit. Sadly, Ann Marie had to work and Carolyn stayed home with Sonny who had pneumonia. We played games and had fun. On Friday night, the 27th, the Crawfords arrived from St. George, so I had four of my kids together! That was a real treat. We missed the Alexanders and Jason and Chandra’s family. On Saturday Chad’s family had to leave because they had company arriving at their home and Adam went back home to help and support Carolyn. We undecorated the Christmas tree that day and visited the Gingerbread Village. The following day we were so happy to have all or part of the Judd’s, Raymond’s, Brewster’s, Goodman’¬¬¬s, and the Jon Brown’s come to Prescott. Rachelle and Nathan’s families were still there from my side. In addition, Diane and Erin drove up and Harold and Kitty joined us. Spencer and I gave our farewell talks in church and then we gathered at the house for sub sandwiches and side dishes and lots of great visiting. We had great topics—mine was on Oaths and Covenants and Spencer’s was on Eternal Marriage. Great for departing temple missionaries. I’ll attach a copy of my talk for those who might be interested.
That Sunday, the 29th, Dave and Gibson left as well as Nate and Christena; and of course all those who just came for the day. On Monday morning Rachelle, Sierra and I started working. I went back to waking up at very early hours to get a jump start on the day. We did a combination of purging and spring cleaning. Spencer took one load to the dump and we loaded up the truck with stuff for DI. We even sacrificed three boxes of books. While Rachelle brought down books from the upstairs closet (where Risa and Trevor will be) I sorted books in Spencer’s office and we organized all Spanish and scripture references books. On another day we sorted and re-organized all of the books in the library. I still had to get a tetanus (Tdap) shot and see a dermatologist (who took a biopsy off my back). It was a crazy, hard week, but we accomplished more than I can begin to describe. Everything is “spit-spot” for Risa and Trevor. We even took a break and for home evening we went to see “Saving Mr. Banks”. It was a great show. We especially enjoyed it because we had just watched the DVD of Mary Poppins. On Friday, January 3rd Rachelle went home for her anniversary.
Spencer and I added to the DI load with stuff to give kids.
We met James and Terry for lunch at Texas Roadhouse on our way into town. It was so nice to sit and visit. We then proceeded on to Audrey’s house where Cody was staying. We wanted time to visit with her during her visit from Colorado. Later we went to the park with Jon’s family, Ammon’s family, Brewster’s, Judd’s and Raymond’s. Kids played and ate and visited. It was a lot of fun to eat pizza and watch kids play. I made brief stops at both Adam’s and Chad’s. The next morning we attended a funeral in the morning and then visited Clate and Carol Mask (the former temple president in Guatemala City) for several hours. It was a great visit. On Saturday evening (4th) I attended a cousins’ party in honor of Aunt Pearl, who turned 90 y.o. Today is her actual birthday. Spencer stayed at Audrey’s to visit since he has been fighting a cold and generally not feeling well. I loved seeing so many of the people who influenced my life. I feel very blessed to be one member of such a great posterity. Aunt Pearl looked wonderful. We drove home late that night. It had been a full two days.
So you can see that we were away from home several times—which decreased our time for mission preparations to about 2½ weeks!! It has been crazy. To make matters worse, Spencer has not felt good and has required more rest than normal and felt like he needed to exercise to help get his strength back, so he hasn’t been able to do most of the things he wanted to do.
On Monday the 6th we enjoyed our final FHE get-together with Carl and Linda and Harold and Kitty. Harold and Kitty are feeling rather abandoned. I cannot cope with thinking that Carl and Linda will be moving to Utah after their mission, so I just keep denying it to myself.
Tuesday I conducted my last DUP (Daughters of Utah Pioneers Meeting) and then turned the reins over to the first VP for the next year and a half. We also had to appoint someone to take Linda’s place as the Historian. Wednesday I was so happy to have Vicki Jo and Steve Anderson as well as Risa and the kids, bring us lunch. It was so thoughtful and such a treat to visit with them. Once again I feel blessed.
Wednesday night was a special experience when we were set apart by President Brett Mangum. He pronounced many blessings. We were especially touched when he assured us that our families would be blessed in our absence because of our willingness to serve. He shared many other things as well.
It was a challenge packing and weighing and re-distributing things to get the weight of our suitcases just right. All four checked bags weighed 49#. So we were very efficient! We drove to the Valley on the 10th and visited Ammon’s family then we visited Chad’s because we hadn’t seen Ann Marie during this crazy time. We had great visits. We slept at Chad’s and Saturday morning Hondo drove us to the airport.
We are staying at the Radisson Hotel just a block from Temple Square. It is very nice. Saturday night we met Dennis and Sandy and John and Lynda for dinner in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We visited for a long time and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. We LOVE our family. We never run out of things to talk about.
This morning we attended Music and the Spoken Word. It was very touching. The theme was sort of on saying goodbye. The message was titled, “Love, Loyalty, and Belonging.” After the broadcast was over, Brother Lloyd Newell explained that he chose this topic because on Wednesday their son McKay will be entering the MTC to serve a mission in Australia. He talked about having to say goodbye. Then the choir sang “God Be With You ‘Til We Meet Again.” Then the tears started to flow. I have held them in check up until now (partly because I was too busy to cry, and partly from self-control). Now I am feeling the pain of separating, but at the same time knowing that we are doing the Lord’s work. I just remind myself that like everything else in life, “This, too, shall pass.” It will be a great time, but is hard to leave loved ones behind. We attended church in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Cassie and John met us there. Rachel has grown just since Thanksgiving. We just happened to be in the ward of Elder Dallin Oaks and two of the Seventies. They sat on the stand. Being a downtown SLC ward, it was all older people. There isn’t a Primary or YM/YW program. It was cool to see High Priests blessing and passing the Sacrament. At the end of the meeting, the bishop had Elder Oaks take the extra time. It was wonderful to hear testimonies of finding the information and doing temple work for the dead. Another good send-off for us and a confirmation of the importance of what we will be doing. Elder Oaks mentioned that the world has become more challenging for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren than it was for him. I know that is true and that is why we will be praying for each of our posterity during this time.
After church we came back to the hotel. Cassie and John brought a picnic lunch, but it was much too cold to eat outside. Rachel had fun crawling around the floor and the bed. It was so thoughtful of them to bring us food--and they left enough for our dinner so we won't have to go out on a Sunday night. What a beautiful little family. After they left, we crashed for two hour naps! Whoo-hoo! Maybe I can start to get some normal sleep now (last night was not good, but tonight should be better). Once again it was hard to say good-bye.
We love you all. Please keep us in your prayers.
Love,
Mom/Jeanine
Friday, April 9
April 8, 2010
Wow! We really are on the count down—we only have one more week left in Guatemala. What a bitter sweet thought that is! I think you all can understand!
Spencer did a wonderful job reporting on our Semana Santa week at the temple. It was a truly amazing week. I was working hard to get the needed signatures to be certified – and I did it! I know that if we work in a different temple, I have to be certified there, but it was a personal goal to be passed off on all ordinances in Spanish before leaving Guatemala. It isn’t just the ordinances, but also the logistics of helping patrons/families in the baptistery, the child center (waiting to be sealed), and the laundry, all of the tags for new people, escorts and those being sealed. It is always satisfying to meet a personal goal. It probably doesn’t mean anything to anyone else but who cares? I met my goal.
When we left the temple on Thursday it was a challenge to get a bus to Chiquimula. It was even a challenge to get to the bus terminal. There were very few taxis and most city buses weren’t running. We rode a city bus (not recommended in the City—lots of shootings by extortionists) and shared it with two young elders. It got us to within a couple of blocks and then we walked. We got the last two seats together and there were people sitting on stools in the aisle all the way. Some were even standing and there were kids on laps everywhere—it was as crowded as the smaller (often called chicken pig buses) are that we take to Esquipulas. Everyone was traveling home for Good Friday and Easter. The bus lines shut down on Friday and don’t start up again until Sunday afternoon.
Friday was a fascinating day. Last year on Good Friday we were at the temple in Guatemala City with Nate and Christena. This year we experienced the culture. Groups of people spent most of the night creating “alfombras” (carpets made of colored sawdust) on the streets with religious themes. Many streets were blocked off for the processions (Spencer asked about the parade and was quickly corrected). At 10:00 AM there was a procession from two different Catholic churches, each carrying huge platforms with statues. They weren’t as large, heavy or elaborate as the ones Nate and Christena saw in Antiqua. But they were impressive. The other platforms had Mary (mother of Christ) and various saints. They were carried by men wearing either purple or black robes. Lots of people also were dressed with shawls and other religiously significant clothes and they joined in. The crowds were pressed in tight against each other. I’m glad we didn’t have claustrophobia! We watched all of this with the Andersons.
Friday afternoon we went to the Central Park and there were other alfombras around that block and another procession that afternoon with different platforms. Maybe that was supposed to signify taking Christ’s body to the tomb. There was a third procession at 10:00 that night that was right outside the apartment (but we didn’t stay up to watch it) we could hear the music of the band, however. Jumping ahead, on Sunday morning at 6:30 AM there was another procession with the resurrected Christ on the first platform, followed by the platforms of Mary and the Saints. LOTS of people followed the platforms carrying little white flags saying “Alleluia!” “He is Risen” and similar messages. The men carrying the platforms were dressed in white robes. It was fun to experience the culture of Easter in a Latin American country.
Saturday, Susan Anderson and I watched conference in the apartment on their computer. I cooked the macaroni and cheese to finish making the chili mac for Sunday lunch. I had cooked the chili beans in advance and had the freezer filled to the brim. Susan made a Texas Sheet Cake and Snickerdoodles. We were ready!
Conference was truly amazing. So many messages focused on the family. I hope everyone was able to enjoy it as much we did. I won’t try to recap it in this letter, but I want to do that later.
Sunday morning we had a member of the bishopric pick us up to transport the huge containers of food, paper products, serving utensils, aprons, cleaning rags, bottles water, etc. to the church. The kitchens here do not have even one serving spoon, plate, glass or even a salt shaker in them. Susan and I watched the first hour and Bob and Spencer monitored the kitchen. We switched at 11:00 and we began heating the food. A sister from Esquipulas brought 100 fresh, warm, homemade tortillas to supplement the lunch.
It was wonderful. Between 50-60 came from the branch (waaaay more than attend church). Several people we have worked on reactivating were there. There were about 10 investigators in that number. We also fed the four elders from Esquipulas, three from Ipala, Tere’s family (she helped us serve and clean up) and the four of us. So once again we fed about 75 people. Everyone loved it.
Four families/individuals brought gifts for us. Julia (who had already given me a bag of fruit in Esquipulas) brought a wall plaque, Iris brought a homemade table scarf, Hermano Recinos brought a basket with a lid and Norma (from the ward) brought a little nativity holy family. She and her kids had spent our first Christmas eve with us and she wanted us to always remember. Gladys and Porfirillos family clung to us in tears. Tere’s family also cried a lot. I cried the most of all. It was tough.
Spencer took lots of pictures and then put the camera in his hip pocket—and sat on it. So now the camera is defunct. We hope the picture disc is OK. When we arrived at the Mask’s I put it in the computer to check it and the computer started screeching with warning signs flashing and I lost my internet connections. Needless to say, I took the disc out. I rechecked for internet several times. We decided to have one of the temple engineers check it on Wednesday after we returned. But it fixed itself (or our prayers were answered) while we were gone. We bought a disposable camera to finish out our mission and we will buy a new digital when we return home. Sigh.
Monday morning we left before 6:30 AM with the Masks to travel to Lake Atitlan. It was an incredible two days. We stayed at a very nice hotel (got the last two rooms because there were three different tours groups from Israel there for Passover Week). We shopped and ate on Monday. Spencer bought a suit and went swimming. We were tutored by President Mask on Book of Mormon and archeology. I found two incredible huipils (hand embroidered ceremonial blouses) that I love.
Tuesday morning I got up and went out before 6:00 so I could see the sun rise over the lake—only it was in the wrong part of the sky and was behind a mountain. But it was beautiful to see it reflecting off the volcanoes surrounding the lake. The gardens are amazing and I wandered down every single path. Spencer joined me after a while and we also connected with Hermana Mask. What a peaceful morning. Then we ate a huge buffet breakfast and sat by the pool and talked for hours. We saw the skyline and waterfall that Arnold Frieberg used in his BoM painting of Alma baptizing at the Waters of Mormon. I just sat there looking around at the volcanoes and thinking I needed to pinch myself, because this couldn’t really be true.
Wednesday, Spencer worked at the temple. I washed clothes, repacked in order to get the souvenirs into our suitcases, caught up on emails and did lots of “housekeeping stuff” that wives have to always take care of. In the afternoon I visited a great shop with tons of tipico fabric and décor—oh if only money were no object!
Today we are headed to the ruins of KamalJuyu (spelling ?) and a huge geographical map. We will work in the temple this afternoon.
I need to sign off for now and get ready to go. Love to all of you!
Wow! We really are on the count down—we only have one more week left in Guatemala. What a bitter sweet thought that is! I think you all can understand!
Spencer did a wonderful job reporting on our Semana Santa week at the temple. It was a truly amazing week. I was working hard to get the needed signatures to be certified – and I did it! I know that if we work in a different temple, I have to be certified there, but it was a personal goal to be passed off on all ordinances in Spanish before leaving Guatemala. It isn’t just the ordinances, but also the logistics of helping patrons/families in the baptistery, the child center (waiting to be sealed), and the laundry, all of the tags for new people, escorts and those being sealed. It is always satisfying to meet a personal goal. It probably doesn’t mean anything to anyone else but who cares? I met my goal.
When we left the temple on Thursday it was a challenge to get a bus to Chiquimula. It was even a challenge to get to the bus terminal. There were very few taxis and most city buses weren’t running. We rode a city bus (not recommended in the City—lots of shootings by extortionists) and shared it with two young elders. It got us to within a couple of blocks and then we walked. We got the last two seats together and there were people sitting on stools in the aisle all the way. Some were even standing and there were kids on laps everywhere—it was as crowded as the smaller (often called chicken pig buses) are that we take to Esquipulas. Everyone was traveling home for Good Friday and Easter. The bus lines shut down on Friday and don’t start up again until Sunday afternoon.
Friday was a fascinating day. Last year on Good Friday we were at the temple in Guatemala City with Nate and Christena. This year we experienced the culture. Groups of people spent most of the night creating “alfombras” (carpets made of colored sawdust) on the streets with religious themes. Many streets were blocked off for the processions (Spencer asked about the parade and was quickly corrected). At 10:00 AM there was a procession from two different Catholic churches, each carrying huge platforms with statues. They weren’t as large, heavy or elaborate as the ones Nate and Christena saw in Antiqua. But they were impressive. The other platforms had Mary (mother of Christ) and various saints. They were carried by men wearing either purple or black robes. Lots of people also were dressed with shawls and other religiously significant clothes and they joined in. The crowds were pressed in tight against each other. I’m glad we didn’t have claustrophobia! We watched all of this with the Andersons.
Friday afternoon we went to the Central Park and there were other alfombras around that block and another procession that afternoon with different platforms. Maybe that was supposed to signify taking Christ’s body to the tomb. There was a third procession at 10:00 that night that was right outside the apartment (but we didn’t stay up to watch it) we could hear the music of the band, however. Jumping ahead, on Sunday morning at 6:30 AM there was another procession with the resurrected Christ on the first platform, followed by the platforms of Mary and the Saints. LOTS of people followed the platforms carrying little white flags saying “Alleluia!” “He is Risen” and similar messages. The men carrying the platforms were dressed in white robes. It was fun to experience the culture of Easter in a Latin American country.
Saturday, Susan Anderson and I watched conference in the apartment on their computer. I cooked the macaroni and cheese to finish making the chili mac for Sunday lunch. I had cooked the chili beans in advance and had the freezer filled to the brim. Susan made a Texas Sheet Cake and Snickerdoodles. We were ready!
Conference was truly amazing. So many messages focused on the family. I hope everyone was able to enjoy it as much we did. I won’t try to recap it in this letter, but I want to do that later.
Sunday morning we had a member of the bishopric pick us up to transport the huge containers of food, paper products, serving utensils, aprons, cleaning rags, bottles water, etc. to the church. The kitchens here do not have even one serving spoon, plate, glass or even a salt shaker in them. Susan and I watched the first hour and Bob and Spencer monitored the kitchen. We switched at 11:00 and we began heating the food. A sister from Esquipulas brought 100 fresh, warm, homemade tortillas to supplement the lunch.
It was wonderful. Between 50-60 came from the branch (waaaay more than attend church). Several people we have worked on reactivating were there. There were about 10 investigators in that number. We also fed the four elders from Esquipulas, three from Ipala, Tere’s family (she helped us serve and clean up) and the four of us. So once again we fed about 75 people. Everyone loved it.
Four families/individuals brought gifts for us. Julia (who had already given me a bag of fruit in Esquipulas) brought a wall plaque, Iris brought a homemade table scarf, Hermano Recinos brought a basket with a lid and Norma (from the ward) brought a little nativity holy family. She and her kids had spent our first Christmas eve with us and she wanted us to always remember. Gladys and Porfirillos family clung to us in tears. Tere’s family also cried a lot. I cried the most of all. It was tough.
Spencer took lots of pictures and then put the camera in his hip pocket—and sat on it. So now the camera is defunct. We hope the picture disc is OK. When we arrived at the Mask’s I put it in the computer to check it and the computer started screeching with warning signs flashing and I lost my internet connections. Needless to say, I took the disc out. I rechecked for internet several times. We decided to have one of the temple engineers check it on Wednesday after we returned. But it fixed itself (or our prayers were answered) while we were gone. We bought a disposable camera to finish out our mission and we will buy a new digital when we return home. Sigh.
Monday morning we left before 6:30 AM with the Masks to travel to Lake Atitlan. It was an incredible two days. We stayed at a very nice hotel (got the last two rooms because there were three different tours groups from Israel there for Passover Week). We shopped and ate on Monday. Spencer bought a suit and went swimming. We were tutored by President Mask on Book of Mormon and archeology. I found two incredible huipils (hand embroidered ceremonial blouses) that I love.
Tuesday morning I got up and went out before 6:00 so I could see the sun rise over the lake—only it was in the wrong part of the sky and was behind a mountain. But it was beautiful to see it reflecting off the volcanoes surrounding the lake. The gardens are amazing and I wandered down every single path. Spencer joined me after a while and we also connected with Hermana Mask. What a peaceful morning. Then we ate a huge buffet breakfast and sat by the pool and talked for hours. We saw the skyline and waterfall that Arnold Frieberg used in his BoM painting of Alma baptizing at the Waters of Mormon. I just sat there looking around at the volcanoes and thinking I needed to pinch myself, because this couldn’t really be true.
Wednesday, Spencer worked at the temple. I washed clothes, repacked in order to get the souvenirs into our suitcases, caught up on emails and did lots of “housekeeping stuff” that wives have to always take care of. In the afternoon I visited a great shop with tons of tipico fabric and décor—oh if only money were no object!
Today we are headed to the ruins of KamalJuyu (spelling ?) and a huge geographical map. We will work in the temple this afternoon.
I need to sign off for now and get ready to go. Love to all of you!
Thursday, March 25th was our last day to have classes at the church. My students had been asking if I would be there. I'd said yes, but only as an observer. That afternoon I was very busy trying to get some money organized from the donations to give to a brother in the bishopric to be held over for another school year to register Gladys Ramirez/ kids in school. To make it short, I didn't want to go into the Anderson's class so I wouldn't distract from their teaching. I ran back to the bank to get another Q1000 and someone came in a car to get me (Jeanine told them where she thought I had gone) to take me back to the classes. I discovered that they had chipped in a bought pizza. They were so proud of that, and I was the ungrateful absent guest of honor. I was almost a social disgrace, but it did turn out well in the end. It was hard to believe the shower of love and gratitude from the loving people, all nonmembers of the church. They were kissing and hugging me with such emotion. I'm not a hugger and kisser, but I had to be that night. I really did see them as wonderful people who attended class to learn English and I didn't visualize a party with hugs and and didn't kisses and repeated well wishing. I'm a social klutz in those kind of situations. [No-- I don't need any comments, thank you!]
Friday the 26th at 6:30 AM we made our way to the terminal in Chiquimula with our eight pieces of luggage. They are very used and over-packed with tape and bungy cords stretch around them to make sure they hold up during our last big move. The Anderson's came with us so they could learn the ropes of trips to the capital. They needed to get a feel for the terminals and feel comfortable when they want to make the journey themselves. We are glad we could do that for them.
We started full time temple activities Friday afternoon and we worked most of the day Saturday. The Masks were so kind to let us stay with them in their (temple president's) home. They were gone Saturday and Sunday and they let us stay there even in their absence. The security there is amazing. We have been accompanied many times to and from their door. They were understanding when we kept triggering the alarm system when we were letting ourselves in and out of the house. They would lock the house doors and gates electronically. They provide surveillance 24 hours a day year round. It is amazing. There is always a concern about kidnapping with requests for a big ransom. The church doesn't pay ransoms (if they did, every missionary in the world would be a target).
The full time workers in the temple consist of adult missionary couples, mostly natives of Central America. There are two sets of US couples as well. We have been told that the Guatemala temple is the second most used in the world (I am guessing the SLC is first). There are 500-700 endowments per day during the busy times. Large numbers come with the excursions for their own endowments--which generates many sealings and the ordinance numbers are even higher. Most participants bring family names as well. I'd say that 2/3 of the name slips are generated by the people themselves. This keeps the sealers busy and the sisters are busy caring for the children and having the ready to join the parents for sealings. Ask Jeanine about little children who have only been tended by their mothers and then are left in the Guarderia for a while. The number of teenagers who come for baptisms is also amazing. All that is to say that when we go in to the temple it is go, go go.
Tuesday the 29th I was able to help with the initiatory ordinances and try to function. I told them I had to have the card with me. I tried maybe too hard (I don't memorize very well). It's always been a challenge. I was always stumbling over words ant the order of things and totally frustrated. I came out of there mentally exhausted. Then I was sent to officiate a session. I thought that was going well, but when I was carrying out my duties one of the brothers in the session, kind of scolded me telling me that "derecho" means right and "isquierda" means left. I was mortified when I realize he was correct and that I had been making that error in front of all those people for several days. [Note from Jeanine: I tried to signal him and let him know he was making a mistake, but he was sure he was right--so it is a good thing that someone else told him as well :) ] I was emotionally exhausted after that experience, then I went to help at the veil and I found myself so exhausted that I was making more little errors that otherwise wouldn't happen. One of the supervisors told me of my mistakes at the veil, which I already knew. I ended that day about as low as I could be. I went home that night just beat up. I asked the Lord to forgive me and strengthen me.
The next day (30th) was pay day. Their were large crowds of people and I officiated twice, once in the morning and once in the evening. I had my right and Left straightened out and my "act" together at the veil and played a key role in many functions there. I felt so good and so blessed to participate in the House of the Lord. Our work and associations there will be in our memories forever.
One more experience and that is enough and maybe too much said. Jeanine and I were asked to officiate the 5:00 PM session. There are just one man and woman officiating. Technically the rooms are for 24 people, but with these smaller people, we can handle 30 without a big problem. We had 35 people crowded in for our session. There were five couples who were there for the first time and were being sealed following the session. They had been traveling from El Salvador all day to get there. They had other members accompanying them, but many of them had minimal experience in the temple themselves. That meant the the majority of the people had to be closely guided at every step. Even the wife who was a witness was brand new to the temple. Jeanine also had an anglo sister to help at the veil who was trying to use Spanish for the first time. Well, we made it without any problems. After that the temple counselor came to me and told me that we had done a wonderful job. My shattered confidence was restored and I felt at peace and deeply grateful for the experience.
Jeanine was then able to help in bringing the children for each couple in for the sealings as family units. The five couples had to wait a long time to be sealed. At the end of the evening I saw the brother who had been a witness and asked him if they were sealed. I commented that it had been a long wait. He said, no, he had been waiting for three years (from when he was endowed) for this to happen and for the blessing of being sealed to his wife and daughter it wasn't any wait at all.
One more thing and then I will have said too much. The Prayer Circle was originally very frightening to me. I have become much more relaxed and confident. I have to tell you this has been an edifying experience.
Note from Jeanine:
We will stop here for now. Our week at the temple was our main event for Semana Santa. On another day we will tell you about the traditional cultural events we have witnessed since returning to Chiquimula. A sharp contrast to the temple--but interesting nevertheless.
We hope all of you are ready for a spiritual feast with conference this weekend. When we get back to our own computer we will add pictures and put this on the blog.
Love,
Spencer/Dad and Mom/Jeanine
Friday the 26th at 6:30 AM we made our way to the terminal in Chiquimula with our eight pieces of luggage. They are very used and over-packed with tape and bungy cords stretch around them to make sure they hold up during our last big move. The Anderson's came with us so they could learn the ropes of trips to the capital. They needed to get a feel for the terminals and feel comfortable when they want to make the journey themselves. We are glad we could do that for them.
We started full time temple activities Friday afternoon and we worked most of the day Saturday. The Masks were so kind to let us stay with them in their (temple president's) home. They were gone Saturday and Sunday and they let us stay there even in their absence. The security there is amazing. We have been accompanied many times to and from their door. They were understanding when we kept triggering the alarm system when we were letting ourselves in and out of the house. They would lock the house doors and gates electronically. They provide surveillance 24 hours a day year round. It is amazing. There is always a concern about kidnapping with requests for a big ransom. The church doesn't pay ransoms (if they did, every missionary in the world would be a target).
The full time workers in the temple consist of adult missionary couples, mostly natives of Central America. There are two sets of US couples as well. We have been told that the Guatemala temple is the second most used in the world (I am guessing the SLC is first). There are 500-700 endowments per day during the busy times. Large numbers come with the excursions for their own endowments--which generates many sealings and the ordinance numbers are even higher. Most participants bring family names as well. I'd say that 2/3 of the name slips are generated by the people themselves. This keeps the sealers busy and the sisters are busy caring for the children and having the ready to join the parents for sealings. Ask Jeanine about little children who have only been tended by their mothers and then are left in the Guarderia for a while. The number of teenagers who come for baptisms is also amazing. All that is to say that when we go in to the temple it is go, go go.
Tuesday the 29th I was able to help with the initiatory ordinances and try to function. I told them I had to have the card with me. I tried maybe too hard (I don't memorize very well). It's always been a challenge. I was always stumbling over words ant the order of things and totally frustrated. I came out of there mentally exhausted. Then I was sent to officiate a session. I thought that was going well, but when I was carrying out my duties one of the brothers in the session, kind of scolded me telling me that "derecho" means right and "isquierda" means left. I was mortified when I realize he was correct and that I had been making that error in front of all those people for several days. [Note from Jeanine: I tried to signal him and let him know he was making a mistake, but he was sure he was right--so it is a good thing that someone else told him as well :) ] I was emotionally exhausted after that experience, then I went to help at the veil and I found myself so exhausted that I was making more little errors that otherwise wouldn't happen. One of the supervisors told me of my mistakes at the veil, which I already knew. I ended that day about as low as I could be. I went home that night just beat up. I asked the Lord to forgive me and strengthen me.
The next day (30th) was pay day. Their were large crowds of people and I officiated twice, once in the morning and once in the evening. I had my right and Left straightened out and my "act" together at the veil and played a key role in many functions there. I felt so good and so blessed to participate in the House of the Lord. Our work and associations there will be in our memories forever.
One more experience and that is enough and maybe too much said. Jeanine and I were asked to officiate the 5:00 PM session. There are just one man and woman officiating. Technically the rooms are for 24 people, but with these smaller people, we can handle 30 without a big problem. We had 35 people crowded in for our session. There were five couples who were there for the first time and were being sealed following the session. They had been traveling from El Salvador all day to get there. They had other members accompanying them, but many of them had minimal experience in the temple themselves. That meant the the majority of the people had to be closely guided at every step. Even the wife who was a witness was brand new to the temple. Jeanine also had an anglo sister to help at the veil who was trying to use Spanish for the first time. Well, we made it without any problems. After that the temple counselor came to me and told me that we had done a wonderful job. My shattered confidence was restored and I felt at peace and deeply grateful for the experience.
Jeanine was then able to help in bringing the children for each couple in for the sealings as family units. The five couples had to wait a long time to be sealed. At the end of the evening I saw the brother who had been a witness and asked him if they were sealed. I commented that it had been a long wait. He said, no, he had been waiting for three years (from when he was endowed) for this to happen and for the blessing of being sealed to his wife and daughter it wasn't any wait at all.
One more thing and then I will have said too much. The Prayer Circle was originally very frightening to me. I have become much more relaxed and confident. I have to tell you this has been an edifying experience.
Note from Jeanine:
We will stop here for now. Our week at the temple was our main event for Semana Santa. On another day we will tell you about the traditional cultural events we have witnessed since returning to Chiquimula. A sharp contrast to the temple--but interesting nevertheless.
We hope all of you are ready for a spiritual feast with conference this weekend. When we get back to our own computer we will add pictures and put this on the blog.
Love,
Spencer/Dad and Mom/Jeanine
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