The reason we are here!

What an amazing week.   I shall do it backwards!  Yesterday we did inspections and took the Dentists who will be here this following week for a clinic in Teleman, out to the Hot Springs Waterfalls.  It is such a beautiful place.  Thursday we got to go to Tikal and wonder through the jungles, with a guide.  We saw monkeys, birds, tarantulas, ruins, awesome plants - and climbed lots of stairs.  My legs are still discussing the stairs with me today!  Thursday night though we delivered a Mission Call to one of the Sisters we have worked with getting her Missionary Papers finished.  It was the first time for us to watch someone we have worked with open their letter and read it.  Such a wonderful blessing.  This young sister has worked so hard and waited so long to be able to go - to Mexico as a missionary!
We have been very happy with the Apartment inspections this time, most of the apartments have been in much better condition.  We know they may not be keeping them all clean on a regular basis, but at least we know that once every three months they are looking good!  I explained to one set of Elders, who were so chagrined when they realized they had forgot to make their beds, that if they will make a goal to make their bed every day it could change their lives.  They thought that was a strange thought.  I explained that years ago when I was having a really hard time with all I had to do in life, that I felt I couldn't keep up and was very down, a good friend of mine told me the secret.  You make your bed every morning, it only takes a couple of minutes, then all day long when you feel like you are behind, or things are going wrong, you can refer back and think, "Well at least I made my bed."  Funny how all these years that one thought has sometimes helped me feel like a successful person.
Tuesday  we were in a Zone conference in Peten with Elder Duncan, counselor in our Area Presidency and one of the 70.  A few important thoughts that I took from the meeting:
 A. You have to have your vision, see the end product that you want first - that way you know where you are headed.  It is like a builder needs to have his blueprints, so he knows what he is building.  Once you have the vision of where you are going - you set your goals, not just one but multiple, like steps in the process and then you make your plans to reach each of your goals.
B. before we study the scriptures and before we go into a meeting like Sacrament meeting we need to have a question or a need in mind so that as we listen we can be taught the things we need to know by the Spirit.
C.  I need to be applying the Atonement more in my own life.  Baptism by water is only half a process and has no lasting change unless it is followed by the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  It is this gift and the Atonement which purifies and cleans us on a continual basis.  Satan works very hard to blind and block us from that process using guilt, pity, depression, a feeling of inadequacy; to block us from our own acceptance of the Atonement.  We are here to be successful, but we sometimes short circuit our own potential by our lack of faith in the process provided by our love Heavenly Father. and Jesus Christ.

Traveling

We are in Coban, in the middle of our inspection tours.  Natalie is getting a great taste of our part of Guatemala!  Yesterday trying to get out of the valley though there was a huge tractor trailor rig with a big Cat   thing for digging on the trailer bed that had turned one of the blind corners too tight and got his rear wheels stuck in the ditch. It took them a while to figure out how to move it, Elder Spradlin figured they should just use the Cat on the rig, but that wasn't their solution.  Just were happy when they did resolve it.  The hour or so delay there, plus the road work put us just enough behind to miss the planned lunch break. We did make all of our scheduled inspections though going through Tactic, Valparaiso and San Cristobol, and definately appreciated our filled rolls from the bakery in Coban!  

We were able to go to Yalijux with President and Sister Watts last week when they were inspecting the new chapel.  Elder Spradlin terms it as one of our "ends of the earth"  or the "tops of the mountains"  both with very good reason!  We are so excited that their new chapel will soon be dedicated.  

 Today we go to Tanchi, Carcha, Chamelco and then back through Tucuru so it will be a very full day - but first we get to take a little time out to walk through the market here in Coban.  

Conference was amazing and we were very grateful to be able to get most of it in English at the Church.  Words of a Prophet, we are a very blessed people. 

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.