Joyful Days

I think maybe the week gets almost too busy, when I sit down and have to think really really hard just to remember what we did.  Monday evening we had a FHE with a lovely family by candlelight in Seamay.  It began raining at the end, so we were soaked on the way walking home.  When we got into the Tuk Tuk, we were able to catch partway, he told us to put our rainsuits under the seat so we wouldn't get the seat wet.  We obediantly took them off and sat down...only to find the seat already very wet.  Just count it as part of the fun of playing in the rain.  We visited Buena Vista this week and some of their members there with their Branch President.  Also worked with the future missionary files from Buena Vista and Sajunte.  Sometimes things that look like they should be very simple have a way of getting so complicated when working on their missionary files.  We went to Yalijux on Thursday to do housing inspections, see the new church and meet with people from the school for the choir visit.  Elder Spradlin and our Senahu District President sang their way up and talked about the beautiful mountains jostling up the mountain on the back of the truck.  Pres. singing in Qeqchi, and Elder Spradlin in English, all of us having a wonderful day.  Definately rainy season, we ended up not having English class Thursday evening because it started raining so hard no one could leave their houses, plus we couldn't have heard ourselves over the rain anyway!@! Saturday I was supposed to make a lot of calls, went to make them and my line was blocked, turns out when they went to pay the phone company on Friday they accidentally underpaid by one quetzal (13 cents)  and it blocked all the phones on that account.  Crazy world.  Learning a little more patience and to laugh at myself.  I fell twice today when I hadn't fallen in ages, once on a wobbly board set up as a ramp into the church yard when it flipped on me and then later in the day when I stepped into a narrow gutter in the sidewalk.  Didn't even have mud in sight either time!  The good news is that I didn't hurt myself, and I even fell fairly gracefully.  Very grateful for protection from above. A baptism in Sacsuha yesterday and helping set up a missionary file, then church in La Tinta today working on another file.  The Kekchi choir concert today in Sacsuha and the dentists arriving in Teleman for our coming clinic. It has been an amazing week, and the coming one is exciting with both the Kekchi choir here and the Dentists arriving.

Beautiful Places, great people!

We visited a lot of towns this week doing apartment inspections: Tucuru, Sacsuha, San Cristobol, Santa Cruz, Tanchi, Carcha, Chamelca, Coban.  Beautiful areas, some really, really rough roads though. The main road through the Polochik valley could be compared maybe to an old logging road that just had a heavy rain.  Some places are like a washboard, some you look where to dodge the potholes.  We had planned to go to Canlun today, but the rain had been so hard last night and today that the river was up too high to pass without being in a truck.  We helped members today in Sacsuha with their genealogy, tomorrow we will be doing visiting the branch and doing genealogy in Teleman.  It is so awesome to watch the joy as members begin to learn how to piece together their ancestry.  Also worked quite a bit this week on future missionary files, so hopefully several will be completed in the next few weeks.  Many of the youth we help with on the forms have only completed the equivilant of Junior High, but one sister this week from Poptun had gone as far as starting the University - that is quite a feat for here.
 We talk to all of our Elders when we visit about the importance of using disinfectant and the importance of keeping their apartments clean. I call it my lecture. Some are doing a great job...some could use a little improvement.

Refrigerated Toothbrush

It is hard to decide what to name this post, although choosing its name is a lot of fun... some ideas so far:  athletic varmints,  unwelcome guests, go to bed earlier, not my favorite friends, yuck, only once, right?
These names may give you a clue.  Last Thursday night I was getting the medicine box down off the fridge, after Elder Spradlin had already gone to bed, and out jumped a mouse and ran across the floor.  I stayed calm, put the box gently down on the washer and out jumps another one right in front of my face to run out the door (I hope)  I stayed calm, didn't wake up Elder Spradlin even... but it was hard to go to sleep because I kept imagining what I might be hearing.  This lovely event has now been one upped in my opinion.  We came back from being in Poptun on Sunday and again being up later than Elder Spradlin I went in to brush my teethe - to be greeted by a giant cockroach on the head of my toothbrush.  YUK! Grabbed for toothbrush, cockroach ran fast enough to save his life.  Cleaned my toothbrush thoroughly with hydrogen pyroxide and have fervently told myself that this was the first time that must have happened....  My toothbrush now has a new home in the refrigerator.   So really, it is amazingly beautiful here, and sometimes nature has to try and let us know who is boss.  
On the other hand, we went to the Poptun District to meet and work with the wonderful missionaries and members there this last weekend.  We figured out that we can make it in 4 hours and 15 minutes.  We now have the files of their two future missionaries to complete computer processing and were able to share with them some forms to help two of their branches take names to the temple this weekend.  We met and talked with their 3 Branch Presidents and their District President and are setting up to go back and work with them in August.  I love the fact that all of the sisters there greet with a hug and a kiss.  I guess I should add that I am glad that the Brethren don't do the same thing.
When we went up the hill to visit our little boys this morning, one of them had a hurt wrist, right above the wrist.  He had fallen on Friday, then it started hurting worse over the weekend, from what we understood.  They took him to the hospital yesterday, but the Doctors didn't do anything for him.  Their is no x-ray machine here.  We called Dr. Drake and described it, he can still move all his fingers, the arm and wrist look normal, but slightly swollen, very sore to the touch in one specific place.  Chance of a break, or fracture so he had us splint it.  Little one was much better almost instantly.  We used part of the cardboard we had given them for their racetrack and bandaging tape we had with us in our bag.  Elder Spradlin did great!
No picture to post of my friendly varmints, but will let your imagination work its way.

Busy, Busy!

We had 983 at Senahu District Conference on Sunday, over 100 of them participated in the choir. Pres. Watts met with all of the youth after conference on Sunday and told them they need to start learning English.  We have been assigned to start again, and had our first class last night in Senahu. We get to start doing the housing inspections for the missionaries now in the Polochic, Poptun, part of Alta Vera Paz and the Coban area.  They have to be done 4 times a year, or better said once every three months - so we will be getting to visit with a lot of our amazing Elders here. I help set up the appointments, but Elder Spradlin is going to mainly be taking care of the inspections and writing up all the reports to email in. It is neat as we call to set up these appointments in some of the areas where we are also working with the Leaders, and the Elders let us know things we can help their branches with, one needs some support with geneology, another with setting up a reactivation plan.  When we went up to Chulak this week for the inspections we also met with the Future Missionaries there, two Branch Presidents and the District President.  We are trying to help the branches with a new plan of organizing their youth and having the youth organize themselves, they will make a commitment to read from the Book of Mormon every day to their families, then report back once a week to one of the youth who will keep the records and be the "cheerleader".  We have explained to the branches we are working with that in the goal of all families reading the Book of Mormon daily, our youth are a great strength.  They will be as the Army of Heleman in leading and supporting their families, by doing so they will strengthen themselves and their families.  Up here where many of the parents are illiterate it will be a great strength.
 This weekend will be our first trip up to the Poptun area, not only will we be doing the housing inspections there but getting to know the leaders to see how we can be more support to them.  This is their District Conference weekend so it should be great!   We also have received a list of young people that are the age of future missionaries that we are going to work with the leadership to try and locate throughout the area and see how they are currently doing.
We have been real involved for the last week trying to help make reservations and arrangements for the Kekchi Choir tour coming through the Polochik, and also for the Dental clinic that will be held the last week in Teleman.
A funny to close on, last weekend we were visiting with a family and singing with their daughters.  They began playing with my hair, then one of them asked me who had cut it (I got an amazing Aline cut about 2 weeks ago finally)  I told her one of the sisters, and asked if she liked it.  She responded, "oh no sister, esta bien feo" (its really ugly)  Then she let her hair down and told me, "but if you let it grow long, it can be beautiful, see.  Really Sister, you can do it!!"  It was so sweet and cute!  Very rarely do you see a female here with short hair, and almost never do you see a boy or man with long hair.  Lots of barbers, but no beauticians.

Dish Soap, or not

A young sister was with us today helping me make Green Banana chips, kind of like potato chips but made with unripened bananas, to take to our Zone Conference tomorrow.  I had been telling Sister Watts about all my new recipes using them, like a green banana curry, and the chips, so I decided to take and share since our supply is still quite large!  We started to clean up the kitchen when my lovely sister explained to me that the soap we have been using for dishes is really the soap used for washing clothes.  Not sure yet what the difference is, since both are big round bars, but she has promised to show us the right kind on Saturday in the market.  The one we were using said antibacterial, and it smelled good...oh well.  We gave her the remaining bars in the package since she washes all of their clothes by hand and will be able to use it.
We are very excited because several future missionaries here have started working on their missionary files and will be having their interviews with Pres. Watts this weekend.  It is so wonderful to see their excitement as we start the files and take their pictures.  We have District Conference this weekend, and the District choir has about 120 members in it. I will be accompanying, the only other member up here that plays the piano will be directing.  Pretty amazing in my opinion, the amount of members so very excited and dedicated to singing at the conference. They have been practicing every Sunday afternoon since about April, because the original conference date at the beginning of June was delayed till now.