Post from Spencer about our last "paseo"

A week ago this last Monday, we took a nice trip with our friends, the Meadows. These are pictures of a little town across Lake Atilan from where we were staying (Panajachel). Between each volcano and around the lake there are communities that speak their own language.l In their trading back and forth they can only use Spanish. Do you remember that there were Ishmaelites, Lamanites, Lemuelites,, Zoramites, etc.? I wonder if that is how the various dialects started? We took a boat trip to a community called San Juan. The towns are named after the 12 apostles. This community has restored (or at least learned to market) the art of spinning cotton into thread, dying it with natural plants, weaving it into fabric and then making beautiful clothing, table clothes, purses, etc. They dye the thread with color taken from natural materials in the area and then set the color with moisture from the trunk of a banana plant. The original cotton plant is grown in their back yard. When they are ready to make fabric the use a loom that hangs from the ceiling and the other end is around the lower back of the weaver. Of course, they hope you will spend some money buying the products. Our next stop was to visit a garden that specializes in making medicinal plants that are used to treat all kinds of sicknesses. Some of them are very interesting. Some of our prescriptions originated from plants like this. The mountain behind us in the last picture is supposed to be the profile of a Mayan God lying on his back. The trip across the lake (in a very fast speed boat and on choppy waters) took about 30 minutes each way. To me there is a feeling of sacredness about this area and other similar ones in Guatemala. When I go to Lake Atitlan I feel like I'm in the Garden of Eden.. With volcanoes all around the lake and the mountainous area one could imagine how there would be no light after the crucifixion of the Savior, nor could there be any fire. If all the volcanoes were spewing off at the same time, the hydrogen sulfate (or whatever the gas is) in the air would hide the light in the sky and would act as a fire retardant. OK, you can believe what you want... Our main purpose in being here is to be of asistance here in the Quetzaltenango Temple. I feel good about being of assistance in the work and feel that our efforts are acceptable before the Lord. Love to all, Spencer I will let Jeanine share pictures of the resort where we stayed.

One more thing off my bucket list

Ever since we visited Fuentes Georginas last summer I have wanted to return. It is a hot springs. The water is heated from volcanic activity in the area. When we went before, the Mortensons and Meadows talked about visiting the "gardens" so we didn't realize there were pools. There are amazing fields of crops in the area. You can see the steam coming up from fissures all through the valleys beneath the mountains. After our first visted, I wanted to go back with a swimming suit. Without a car, we haven't been able to go. The bus schedule only really works for people who plan on spending the night in the bungalows and with our temple schedule, that wouldn't work. But our friends the Socops volunteered to take us. She is in charge of the laundry in the temple. He is a worker on Saturday. He has taken Spencer on a hike before. Really nice people. Of course it rained that day. We ran thru the rain to the dressing rooms. It was too cold for Pati or Pedro to want to get undressed. But it was great to be in the hot water with the cold rain coming down. Spencer reported that the water tasted terrible (like sulpher) an I heard others saying it really hurt if it got in your eyes. I didn't test it with either my eyes or my mouth! Spencer found it too hot for his liking. He got into another pool where it was somewhat cooler. We brought food with us and had a little picnic afterwards. It was a fun afternoon. I have to admit it was cold after we got out. I was chilled when we returned home--for sure!! I enjoyed my hot shower. While we were gone it apparently rained really hard here in Quetzaltenango. The next day in the temple, sisters were talking about it being knee high in the gutters outside of their houses. We are glad for the rain, though. Last year there wasn't enough rain to sustain the crops.

Saving the life of a calf

Last Monday we went on a road trip with the Meadows and the Knapps. Didn't find the lake in the volcano we were looking for. However, on the way up the mountain we spotted a new born calf that seemed really lethargic. On the way back down, it looked like it might be dead. The cow was bulging with milk, but she had mastitis and wouldn't let the calf nurse. Spencer and Ken milked out some milk into a gatorade bottle and poured it down the calf's throat. When it perked up a little, they tried to help it nurse, but the momma wasn't going to let it happen. She didn't completely reject the calf, she licked it and was attentive, but didn't let it latch on. Then the owners showed up--at least the mom and two kids. Dad was working in the fields somewhere. They said the calf was three days old and they were worried it might die. The cow had been a good mother to many other calves in the last 15 years. They had a baby bottle. The men poured the milk into the baby bottle and the calf sucked it right down. We kept feeding it until it was full. And the guys milked the cow out 'til she had a little relief. Hopefully, things will be better. We left the mother and children a couple of bottles of milk to give the calf later in the day. Spencer, of course, got manure on his clothes from the rope he had around the hind legs. We made him wash it off before we got back in the car. :) Spencer and Ken were the heroes of the day! The four year old boy is Brandon and the seven year old girl is Shirley. Odd names for Mayan children, don't you think? In the course of the day, we saw sheep on the hillside, pigs, cows and horses tethered to graze and chickens and roosters roaming. It was a fun outing.

Good-byes (and hellos) have started

Recently President and Sister Perez had all of the North American missionaries come to their hamburger joint for a free lunch. They are choice people and we will miss them. While we were there, we felt a pretty significant earthquake. The second strongest one we've been in since we arrived. We didn't learn anything about the epicenter or magnitude, but we suspect it was out in the Pacific Ocean. Lots of them are center away from the land--thank goodness! A new couple from California has arrived. Carl and Lynnae Knapp. They are very enthused, but a little naive. They speak very limited Spanish. When the MTC called them to offer language training, she turned them down because the call didn't say anything about it being a Spanish speaking mission. I just looked at her (hoping my incredulity didn't show on my face) and asked "What language did you think you would be speaking in Guatemala?" But they are super nice people. They are in the foreground on the left at this picture on our typical Saturday night group date. All of the North Americans go out to eat so we can enjoy speaking only English. We had to say good-bye to the Hintons. They were to be here until October. But she got some blood clots in her lungs, spent two nights in the hospital, and returned to Hurricane, UT. We had a farewell breakfast for them. It was nice. I will miss them. She has been my special friend and Spencer liked visiting with Gale. This has been a challenging mission for them. They are in their early 80's. Temple missions give you more free time than some other missions, but they are very physically challenging--something most people wouldn't suspect! All of the people in this pictures are meaningful to us. But since you don't know them, I won't try to include all of their names. We told the president this breakfast can count as a farewell for us, the Meadows, and the Maes as well. We all will be leaving in the next few weeks. We have had fun visitors here in Quetzaltenango the past few weeks. Paul and Patricia Mortenson's daughter is married to President and Sister Galvez son. They live in KY, but came down to spend 4 weeks. They enrolled the younger kids in school so they could learn Spanish. Good people. Hermano and Hermana Almesan prepare meals here in the comedor. They are wonderful friends. He is also a temple worker. They gave me the ride to the wedding I attended recently. Here they are with a couple of their employees. They prepared the farewell breakfast.