weddings and music

We were able to go to a double wedding last Saturday.  The couples got married at the municipal building, then afterwards both of the wives were baptized.  The couples were all Qeqchi and a majority of their branch - about 70 people -  had come down with them standing on the back of a large truck from a communicty called San Francisco, about a half hour away.  The brides wore their Corte and veils, the grooms were wearing a small flower in their pocket.  The weddings took place in the Municipal building by the mayor.  It was very different!  The service started about a half hour late while they waited on the mayor, then began by the marriage couples sitting on the front row in this room in front of the mayor, they started with a prayer and he started talking to them.  A couple showed up late so they pressed in and were married also.  About 45 minutes into the service two more couples showed up - they were supposed to be in the same service but had to wait to do theirs afterwards.  A lot ofthe men showing up for the weddings were wearing their machetes either at their sides or strapped to their backs.  During the proceedings kids would come in and sell newspapers and chips.  We were able to watch with many others through the window on the outside ofthe room, because the room was literally packed with people.  The witnesses signed by using their thumbprints on the documents, because many could not read nor write. 
We went yesterday to visit several families with one of the sisters here in the branch.  One family the children and mother were all working with Cardamon, a product they grow and sell here.  In each home we would have a prayer, sing a song and then present a message.  We spoke of Heavenly Fathers love for his children and his desire for us to return to live with him.  In each home we left a picture of the Saviour to help them in focussing their home on Christ.  The people were wonderful, warm, kind and inviting.  One man is in the process of trying to add a new house on to his existing one, using cement blocks and concrete.  It is a tremendous work for one man alone, especially since everything he uses must be carried up a steep hill on his back before he can use it.  We started piano lessons on Tuesday and gave 5 lessons, more people showed up and were waiting, so we promised to come back and taught another 5 on Wednesday night. 
Our beautiful small miracle of the week was a man cutting his flowering hedges and gave us some of the flowers.  I am so grateful to have flowers in our room!

Senahu

Raining hard, and here we are out without our umbrellas!  Good reason to visit people here I guess and wait for a change.  We love walking through the streets and greeting and talking to people, can never tell who all you will get a chance to meet and talk to.  We have been out with the younger missionaries and members visiting inactive and part member families.  The people here are so amazingly good and kind.  We bring them the message of this being the month we celebrate the Saviour{s birth and how blessed we all are by it.  That Heavenly Father and Jesus love us and want us to return to live with them.  In each home we leave an 8x10 picture of the Saviour and ask that as they dedicate and focus their lives on him that they will return and meet with us together at Church so that we can rejoice together.  We have been able to sing with the people, and pray with them.  Harold has assisted with the Elders in giving 3 priesthood blessings to members who were ill or injured.  We feel so blessed.  There was one little girl with a serious scald burn on her neck and back, all the family had was to put raw egg on it - it wasn{t healing so I gave them the tube of antibiotic ointment that I had with me and they gave her a priesthood blessing.  When we returned the next day she had begun to heal a little more, we were so grateful.  We are both working on our language skills, I have tried bearing my testimony as we worked in Q{eqchi.  This morning I realized though as I was studying that I have been using a completely wrong verb in saying  "we are here", the amazing news is that I think people understand.  Today our schedule is empty somewhat - first time all week so we are going to spend more time studying.  We love teasing with the young children.  They greet us and then usually giggle, feeling oh so brave.  One little girl walking by me in the market touched my hand, and I could tell it was very scary for her to do so!  The homes here are either like wood poles with a tin roof and dirt floor - or the richer homes are made of concrete with concrete floors and tin roofs.  You can see the tin roofs when sitting inside, and the chickens who wander in and sit at our feet when we are visiting. .  A lot of times there is no electricity so meeting at night we use candles or flashlights to see.  Still the people are open with all they have and we love their pure testimonies.

surprises and beauty

Sunday we went to Sacrament meeting in a town called El Estor, Harold pointed next to me and there was a small black dog just standing next to me, and then it laid down there for the meeting - I was surprised for sure!  We went up to Senahu and found a lovely little house last weekend where we will be moving the first week of January, until then we will be staying in a hotel there - for about $8. a night.  The mission office has a microwave we will be able to use and one of the members has a hot plate they are going to loan us.  There is a family living in the house we will be getting right now, but they are moving into another home. They are going to be putting in a ceiling and painting it before we move in, right now it just has a tin roof, so the ceiling will help a lot. It has a nice bathroom, so that is a huge plus.  We will be able to rent all of our furniture from the church - which means we will have a stove, refrigerator and a washer and dryer, plus furniture - including new beds.  Outside the door of the house are banana trees and in the distance you can see a huge mountain.  Right down the hill is a market about 3 times a week with all kinds of stuff.

The people in Senahu were amazing, some of the roads getting there though are dirt, rough and potholed.  Took us about 7-8 hours.  I started practicing my Q'eqchi and the people would help me after I tried saying something and they finished giggling.   We went and visited a school there where they are trying to build on two rooms.  The elementary schools there have an average of about 50 students per teacher - can't imagine trying to teach with that! There is another elementary school under construction that we hope will be finished by the time school starts, it also plans on extremely high attendence. 
On Saturday we also went to a District conference in a different part of our area called Chulac.  Before the meeting we walked over to some members that live next to the church and they picked us some fresh mandarins from one of the trees in their yard.  Mandarins grow all over up by Chulac, but again crazy bad roads going up the mountain to get there.  After the meeting while waiting for the Mission President to finish his stuff I played with some of the little girls. I taught them how to play red light, green light - they had a little hard time realizing the concept, since most likely none of them had ever seen a stop light.
We came back into the city to make final arrangements and will be leaving here for Senahu on Thursday morning early.  There is so much up there to be done, so the problem will be narrowing it down to make sure we are most affective.  We will hopefully have a vehicle also by mid-January, but until then most everything we will be starting with is in walking distance.  Otherwise we get to try taking a tuk-tuk, kind of like a little 3-wheel taxi.  Should be fun!