Thursday, September 27, 2012

Sunday we worked in Buena Vista, it is a beautiful little area up in the Chulak District.  To get there we have to go down the mountain, through part of the valley, then up another set of mountains. It is a small branch, but with a lot of faith.  One of their young men there just got his mission call to go to Honduras, so we are very excited for him.  I ended up speaking in Sacrament meeting in Q'eqchi' about the importance of reading the Book of Mormon daily.  During Sunday schoo,l talked to the youth about preparing for missions and made a short visit to the primary.  They love "Head Shoulders, Knees and Toes"  Talked to them about helping inspire their familes to read together.  Probably not totally kosher, but told the little girls that they had the most power, because if their families don't say yes, they can cry and get their way ( :  We shall see what the results are when we go back up in October.  The Branch President asked me to talk in Relief Society, but luckily he translated for me.  Went over the importance of Relief Society and the Mother's role as heart of the home, the importance of having the family read the Book of Mormon.  This is a difficult thing for these families, because many of the parents don't know how to read.
We came down the mountain Wednesday headed for the Capitol and on the way down our brakes started squealing.  We stopped at the bottom, only to find out we need new brake pads, something not available except for in Guatemala city.  Kind of scary driving in with one brake pad gone and cutting into the disc.  We were so grateful when we finally got here!!!  Tonight  we get to meet with our wonderful Mission President and his wife over dinner with the other Senior missionary couple we now have in the Mission, after that we get to pick up our daughter Natalie at the airport!  She will be staying and working with us til November and we are very excited.
We have a new project we are working on because  many of the small chapels out in the Polochic area have no pictures of the Saviour up.  We took our calendar pictures from this year, cut them out, glued construction paper on the back and at the Mission office were able to laminate them.  We will attach a paper clip then to the back so we can hang one in each primary room as we go through our Branches.  Hopefully we are able to get some members in the states to make some up for us also and send them down so we can get one or two in every chapel.  
The Elders asked us to go with them to visit a family on Tuesday, only for us to find out that it is a family we have worked with across the alley, reading and playing with their children.  It was such a joy to bear our testimonies to them and to know that the mother has agreed for the family to start taking the discussions.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Celebrations, Miracles and Thoughts on Canlun

Eating the fresh orange I just cut open and staring out the door this morning at the mountain on the other side, I was grateful for being in Paradise another day!  We are so blessed with little daily miracles.  Monday evening the Elders asked if we could help them get a little refrigerator up to their area in Seritquiche, about a half hour drive up the mountain, of course we said yes.  We went to get gas and the gas station was out, plus there was a storm over the mountains.  We postponed taking it up till Tuesday morning, they also said they wanted to work up in a village (Sachaj)  about another 45 minutes to an hour drive further up in the mountains.  We said we would take them up as far as we could, We can't get the whole way in to Sachaj in our car, roads are too rough, but that way we also planned on meeting with and working with some of the members up in that area.
We took family group sheets with us on Tuesday to hopefully give to some of the members there and help them get started.  When we got to San Francisco, as far as we were going, there was a Young Adult brother there from Senahu waiting on some of his friends to work at the school.  The sister I wanted to talk to had her store open, right next to where we had parked, so I went to talk to her.  The problem is that she only speaks Kekchi, my Kekchi wasn't near good enough to communicate everything.  My little miracle, (Or huge)  the Brother from Senahu translated for me and she is going to start filling her forms out and hopefully help the Branch also to get started.  That is exciting! 
 Last night we were going to visit one family and walking down the trail we aw on the side  a Sister with a few of her children around her, I had never stopped at her home before, but there she was and her little three year old was holding a battered copy of the Book of Mormon.  We stopped and talked with them.  Later we needed to go back up and run a quick errand, and she met us again on the trail. She told us that we needed to go to the home next to hers, there was a brother there that was sick.  Such love and compassion, it was for her neighbor that she was concerned.  We went to the home she pointed out and it was some members we had never visited before, but the grandparents had just come to live with them because the Grandfather is very ill. l We noticed there were no pictures up in the home, so we will go back again tomorrow and sing with them and take them a couple of pictures of the Savior.  We would have never known to go, if we had not been told by the neighbor.  
Monday morning Mountain Elders showed up on our doorstep one of them with part of his care package from his mom.  In it was the making for his favorite cookies, his Mom had sent it for his Birthday.  This is really impressive, because the shipping is very high to get here, plus it takes a while for it to arrive and it was here before his birthday!  We made his cookies and he had all the other Elders up Monday evening for helping eat them.  They were awesome!!!
Last weekend was the Independence Day celebration here.  Races, People going to other towns and then running back with their torches, parades, fireworks, Activities in the branches, National Anthem and flag raising.  It was wonderful to see their love for their liberty and their country.  The street and both sides of it around the municipal building completely full as people came to sing the National Anthem and watch the flag raised and lowered each day.
ELDER SPRADLIN - THOUGHTS ON CANLUN

There are two rivers to cross on the way to Canlun (sometimes spelled K'anlun)  on the way there the Branch President called to let us know that it had been raining in the valley and the rivers might be up.  For any freeway driving Americans, the crossings are without the benefit of Bridges, but we were able to maneuver across both rivers, and several mud holes that were almost as deep as the rivers.  We met at the Chapel with the Branch President and the Full time missionaries, although still early morning it was starting to get hot.  After having prayer we split up to go visit some inactive members of the Branch.   Making the visits we walked across another river, with the help of a foot bridge.  The women were washing their clothes in this river, perhaps an interesting note is that the women washing their clothes and walking back from the river had also washed their tops, but made sure they had on their Corte skirts.
Most all of the homes in Canlun are made of upright sticks about the size of a shovel handle with larger poles on the corners and at the doorways, many of the homes leaning in different directions.  The roofs are made with large leaf thatching or tin, the floors are dirt. Outside one home I helped an elderly brother taking the dried corn of the cobs in his basket.  I speak almost no Kekchi, and he speaks no English, but the corn comes off the cob the same in both languages.  Later sitting in his home I noticed the ants crawling around my feet, then a duck came in to enjoy a few bits of corn that had been dropped on the floor.  In the homes we visited we sang hymns, prayed, testified and invited them to come back to church.  Humble surroundings and limited food, yet the people here seem very happy,  Such a pleasure to work with them!

Friday, September 7, 2012

So much Fun!

Last night we had such a fun group of young boys show up for English Class in Seamay.  Had us almost continuously in laughs!  They love getting to have the little English books to take home each week,,  Winnie the Pooh though is definitely the most desired at the moment.  We had gone over and picked up two young girls for class, it was their first time, hopefully not way too overwhelming with all of the boy's horsing around.  The fun part is even though they mess with each other so much, they also always help each other, or the newer kids, to make sure they know the answers.  Sweet and mischievous at the same time is how I would have to label them.  After class one of our boys started accompanying us and explained that Saturday he turns 15, although he looks about 10 years old!  He wanted to know if I could bake him a birthday cake, since his family won't be able to have one.  They are also inviting his grandparents and a few extended family.  Elder Spradlin warned me that I may be in for a bunch of baking if the word gets out, but there was no way I was turning him down.  He accompanied us taking our girls home, then walked us back in and up the trail showing us his home, we also passed grandparents and family homes while were at it. He was so excited!
Left from there back up to Senahu where one of the Branches was having a dance to raise money, so we popped in on that.  The electricity went out, but it was still fun, greeting all of our members, then we started running and playing with the younger kids to entertain them till the electricity came back on.
Monday we invited all of the Elders over from our District at the end of their PDay and I had made Chili, or at least a very close version. It was great!  Everyone brought a couple bags of Tortrix (like Fritos)  and finished off the pot!  Now you may wonder, knowing I had my fun with chocolate last week, then chili pie on Monday how my weight is doing...Well on Tuesday the Polochic weight cure hit again and has rescued me.  Gotta be grateful for the little inconveniences of life!  
I wrote up the conversion story for our young missionary that just got his mission call this week and it was a wonderful  to be able to share.  The children here have many, many trials, makes me feel like anyone whining back home about a hard life, needs to take a deep breathe and re-evaluate.