Report for the last two weeks

On Saturday, May 3rd, we had an extraordinarily large group. I don't think we expected that many people and they brought lots of kids and filled a big portion of the "anexo" The parents and other adults in the room positioned themselves where they could hear the lesson, too. The were also supportive with their kids. Many times one parent goes into the temple at a time and the other is in the Annex. We were expecting a big Primary from a district, but when we went out there were so many kids we taught a class first. These kids were really knowledgeable and attentive. We took the kids around the temple and into the foyer and waiting room. We then repeated the process with a 2nd large group when the district Primary arrived. That same day we had the assignment of tending three siblings in the "Guarderia" and preparing them to enter the temple and be sealed to their parents. The kids were cute, but they were little pistols. When Jeanine stopped the little girl from hitting her brothers she removed herself from Jeanine and the boys and attached herself to me. Jeanine had the boys totally captivated with the church games on her iPad, but had to stay right with them [actually with the iPad :)]Sisters who were dressed in white came to help take them into the temple. Saturday the 10th we had an unusual group in that they were very poor people. In some families there is alcohol abuse (generally the fathers), poverty,malnutrition or just lack of education. The only hope for people in these circumstances is the gospel. It will bring them up out of these conditions. As you look at these pictures look at the discolored skin in their cheeks and notice some of the clothing of the children. They are our brothers and sisters and I feel love and compassion for them. We took these kids into the temple waiting room as we do all of the now. This boy has a broken foot. His dad made the crutches. If he would give them to me (and if he didn't still need them himself) I'd send them home and put them in a glass case. To me, it represents what can be done, when we are in need.

Sites along the way

The last stop was to the Zacaleu Ruins. There was a small museum as well as ruins--some completely excavated and others just identified. We loved it. It included temples, tombs and the ball field.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Today was as amazing as we expected it to be--maybe even more so. We went to the "nacimiento" (birthplace) of the Rio San Juan. The river is obviously underground and comes shooting out of the mountain and then tumbles down the mountain in a waterfall. The city has now built retaining walls and captures some of the pure water in pipes and irrigation ditches. They have a nice little park with places to sit and eat. This is where it comes out of the ground and spills down. Then we drove another 15 minutes to Rio Blanco. It also comes right out of the mountain but not with the same amount of force. But the waterfall below it is a more dramatic drop. We had to hike a little way to get to it, but it was well worth it. The water was so crystal clear that in this picture you can't even tell that there was water over the rocks. This is a popular place to swim. It reminded me of Hawaii. Brother Vasquez and Spencer cross over and climbed up above the water on the other side.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Friday morning I officiated the first session with Jeanine serving as a follower. The breathtaking thing about it was that it was filled with pure native sons and daughters of Lehi. Some had limited Spanish skills. It was a very spiritual experience to realize the beauty of those people. [Note from Jeanine: I have to add a heartfelt "Amen" to this. These people from the mountain villages touch my heart and enliven my spirit in a way that is indescribable!] This weekend is and will be a memorable week end for us. First, on Saturday afternoon after our children's classes we were asked to serve in the nursery of the little children who were to be sealed to their parents (after the parents were endowed and sealed). There was a sibling set of two brothers 3 y.o. and 8 months old and another 3 year old boy. All were from the same ward. The trick was to take them from family members they knew, into the nursery and completely redress them in white. Then we had to make friends with them until time for them to take the walk across the drive way to the temple and then when they were finished to change them back into their clothes. I was shocked at how well it went. I learned to stack building blocks and to laugh when they tumbled to the floor. But the best thing was the realization of the eternal potential that had just come into their lives. Today on Sunday we car pooled to one of the stakes in Huehuetenango to give our talks. Each set of missionaries went to different wards and branches in the stake. Our ward didn't give us enough time to share our prepared messages, but it was still good. In the afternoon we met at the church again and went with priesthood leaders to visit and encourage members to go the temple. Some visited those who were endowed but don't have current temple recommends. We visited a young couple who were just baptized the day before and encouraged them to prepare for the temple in one year and to attend and do baptisms now. We are in a nice hotel tonight with plans to go see some ruins tomorrow morning before returning to Quetzaltenango. That will make for some better pictures.

Coloring Easter Eggs Easter eggs

My friend Vilma Salguero mentioned that she would miss having Easter eggs (and so would I) so this week when I was cooking some beets I noticed the brightly colored water. I decided to go for it! I boiled four eggs and then soaked them in beet juice. I checked once and they were pink. I let them soak longer and when I took them out THEY LOOKED LIKE MUD BALLS! I laughed, drew designs and delivered two to Vilma and Fredy. She laughed so hard and says whenever she colors eggs she remember these. I only had one left when I thought of a picture! When I ate mine this morning, guess what! The inside was pink--so maybe it worked after all.

Hermana Herrera

I mentioned Sister Herrera a few weeks ago--one of my heroes (the 86 year old sister who is in the temple 2-3 hours every Tuesday-Friday mornings to perform Initiatory ordinances). I now have a picture to share so you can see this beloved little sister. The other sisters from USA also wanted a picture with her after church.

Trip to Guatemala City

Last week Spencer mentioned our trip to Guatemala City to get our Resident Visas finished. It actually turned to be a blessing that we had to postpone watching conference on Sunday because when we hit the tops of the mountains we were socked in with fog for about 50 miles or more. Sometimes we couldn’t see more that 5-6 feet in front or to the side of the car. It was so dangerous. Once there was a truck that had just simply stopped in the right hand lane. Another time a motorcycle. It was crazy. There is often fog in the morning—but this was in the afternoon. Tuli says it is called an “Alaska” when this occurs. Lucky us—we were able to experience one. But we arrived safely! I was so impressed with the efficiency of the church in getting our visas. They had done all of the leg work in advance. On Monday morning when our driver picked us up, he received a call that a staff member from the Area Office was already in line and it would be awhile, so we had time to go visit the grounds of the Guatemala City temple. It was wonderful to be back “home”. So many memories came flooding back for us and we even remembered some of the security staff and vice versa. When it was time to head to the Immigration Office, our person lead us in a single file line past people who had been waiting for a LONG time to a designated window. They called us up one at a time, took our picture and verified it matched our passport and we left! We were only in the office for about 5 minutes for the entire group! I had been in telephone contact with Tuli and I was so excited to get to see her. We drove to PriceSmart (a subsidiary of Costco) and shopped. Tuli helped us all check out since she had a current membership card. We had about an hour together. It was wonderful. I was amazed at the things they didn’t have that we take for granted in the USA. We then went to lunch and started home. Our trip back was better than going down, but there was still a lot of fog.

Gathering at the Perez home

April 20, 2014 Hola, Saludos a todos! This has been "Holy week" or "Semana santa". The Catholic church and its people find great importance in the week. The schools are out, many businesses close and government offices are all closed down. People come and go from everywhere. The traffic is so dangerous. Even public transportation shuts down on Good Friday (the day Jesus was crucified). Can you imagine celebrating in a riotous way to commemorate the Savior's crucifixion? [There is a lot of drinking that goes on here. In fact our Temple president told us to do our shopping early and to not go downtown at all on Thursday or Friday.] We should have a special day to celebrate his resurrection because he broke the bands of death in addition to suffering for our sins. I'm glad the week is over. Now we have the excitement of anticipating our trip next Sunday to Huehuetenango (two hours away) to give our Sunday talks in the various wards of one of the two stakes. We will be staying overnight in a hotel and seeing the sights as well as a little shopping in their market for "tipico" merchandise. I think that is going to be a beautiful place. I feel like you see the real Guatemala when you go out and talk in the wards of the Guatemalan families. Huehuetenango is in the mountains. I'm glad it's in our temple district. Our temple was especially built for the mountain people who often have to have special treatment to accommodate their special needs of the people. Last Monday we had a meal at President and Sister Perez' lovely home (to celebrate his birthday. He related the story of his experience of selecting the temple site. He told us that he had never been to this particular spot. He'd been searching and searching. One Sunday during Sacrament meeting he had a vision of the spot the Lord wanted. He went out and started driving around until he found the spot he had seen in vision. He showed pictures of what it looked like before. He told about the privacy he had to maintain when Elder Nelson came to examine the location. He said they have envisioned three temples in Guatemala--the third one being in Coban, but that is for another day and time. He showed pictures of the buses that came to the Open House. They had anticipated 75,000 visitors and they had 137,000 come. There are only 200,000 people living in Quetzaltenango. But people came from all through northern Guatemala. There were official government guests. The dedication was telecast throughout the country. It is the most beautiful building in this part of the country--with many beautiful gardens.