Love our Mission

Our mission is kind of special in several ways but I wanted to list just a few things that have happened in the last days that really set some of those things apart for me.

I love walking down the street and running into members. They stop and talk and we find out about all of the things going on. People here don't use the phone the way we do back home, you just kind of “run into” someone. The amazing thing is how that works. Sunday night I felt strongly that we needed to go visit our Sister who is our new District Primary President, and also someone we dearly love. We left for her house, about 2/3 of the way there, we ran into her. She told us she had just been at the church and was looking for us, because they want to do a training meeting for four Branches close here next Sunday and wanted our help. We were able to discuss ideas and make an appointment to meet with her presidency. Coming back we ran into a brother that invited us to a wedding this coming Saturday morning, I will be able to play for it. We also set up an appointment for him to meet a brother coming from the USA this week who is setting up work projects here. Next we ran into the Branch Presidency from the Seamay Branch and were able to talk to them about their future missionary, and let them know the dates for the next temple trip.

I love seeing the progress and work of our members! Chulak District told us they have 25 couples planning on going to the temple the end of this month for their scheduled temple trip.

I love working with the missionaries, it is so much fun! We have challenged, okay bribed, our zone here in Senahu and the one in the Polochic that if each of the companionships in their Zones will speak and stay in only English for one hour every day, each day for a week I will make chocolate cake with fudge sauce for their zone. We have given them this challenge before and some are doing it, but having to learn Kekchi here makes it harder for our Latino elders to focus on the English. Hopefully the bribe will bring the challenge to a reality.

I love the fact that several groups, families and individuals from the United States are putting together trips to this area to try and give service and lift the members here. We have been getting to communicate with several of them and put them in contact with different members.

I love watching the mission grow. We are getting to go back to Corral Pec this week for the inspection of the new chapel there. Also every change date Elders are getting to open up and strengthen new areas.

I love listening to the birds sing in the morning.

I love visiting with the members, their love is amazing.

I love walking through the market and meeting and talking to all of the people. That is why the pictures this week reflect our Saturday market.

We need more missionary couples!

October is quickly approaching us, which is when we will be finishing our Mission.  We are hoping and praying that more couples stateside will turn in their papers to serve, and some will be called to our Mission. The people here and our missionaries need more senior couples and the valuable life experiences they bring to the mission.  Members stateside have seen how things like Primary, Young Women's, Young Men's function.  Things we take for granted are experiences that strengthen greatly the church in areas like where we currently serve.

Our training meeting on Saturday was great!  The members that came from Coban to help train were wonderful, and even more fantastic is that our Chulac and Senahu Districts had gotten complete Presidencies called for their Auxilaries. Chulac District even arrived early for the meetings - some of their members getting up at 4:30 in the morning so they could be there! I worked with the Primary and one of my highlights was that Mike Peck had sent me the children's song “If the Saviour Stood Beside Me” in Kekchi and I was able to teach it to everyone. It is in the Primary program for this year, but only in Spanish. I love it's meaning – How do we judge the things we do each day – because the Saviour is near and watching over us.

Underneath the motor on our car is a big piece of hard plastic that is attached, but not with real screws. A part of this came off, was just hanging, when we got to our meeting. Elder Spradlin tried putting it back up and bending a nail to re-attach part of it. When we headed home, it came lose again. We pulled in to the one gas station between the meeting and home, asked them if we could use their ramps, where people can wash cars, to try and look under the car. They gave us permission and we drove partly up the ramps to take a look. Just as Elder Spradlin was getting out his gloves to see what could be done a mini-van (transport) drove up and parked beside us. The young helper came over to see what the problem was, walked right in and started helping! He took off the dangling part, then got cord out of his van and tied the rest of the plastic back up. Best that can be done at the moment. When I told him thank you and what could I offer him for his help, he just said, “No sister, don't worry about it”. He wouldn't accept anything.

We got turned around and lost in Guatemala City on Tuesday looking for a business. We had an address and a map that was pretty useless once we were lost. We stopped to try and get directions from a couple of people on the side of the road. They spoke by telephone with the tailor we were trying to find and he explained the directions. After they spoke with him, one of the people volunteered to go with us and show us the way. They told us we would never be able to find it on our own, because of all of the turns. They were very right!

When we finally find the location we offered to give the man a ride back when we finished, or to pay for his transport back, a taxi or tuc- tuc or whatever. He told us “Taxis charge too much, I will just take a bus.” When I asked him how much the bus would be he said it would probably be one quet (13 cents) We gave him a 20q and told him how grateful we were. He then said, “You are Christians, and I am a Christian. God doesn't charge.” He then took my hand and tucked the money back in it. I was overcome by his kindness and example.

Elder Spradlin and I got fitted for matching suits at the Tailor. Many of the Elders here in the Mission have had suits made by this Brother, so we are very excited. They will be finished in April, then he will give them to the missionaries there and they will send them out to us. Mine of course is with a skirt, Elder Spradlin's will have slacks - and the coat lining for his is the Guatemalan flag!

Friday night we were able to help with a Missionary night in one of the homes. We took our computer and speakers and were able to show a video on the life of Christ. Saturday evening after we came home from the training meetings we were able to attend a baptism. Since we had to go down to the Capitol on Sunday we were able to attend the Break the Fast with the Senior Missionaries there, this is the first time since we have been in Guatemala to attend one. On Monday they worked on the car.  They were able to fix one of our key locks and said the underneath will be okay till they do the next oil change and maintenance, then they will try and secure it better. Hope the rope cords hold up!

     On the miracle side, Rosi will be having her lens implant surgery for her eyes the end of this week. Two people from the states sent the money to make this possible, and hopefully enough left over to help the family start saving for the surgery she will need when she turns five. So many amazing, giving people all over the world!

Rough Roads

Some weeks are so varied that you look back at the end and have a hard time recalling all that went on! We did English interviews with our Elders from the Polochic, Senahu and Coban Zones last week. We were also able to finish up a couple of future missionary files and there were 15 future missionary interviews done with President Watts while he was here! He was one very busy man!

We are so excited at the changes taking place here. The mission will be divided in July and we are going to be working with the new Coban Mission, no change of living address for us... but we will miss working with President and Sister Watts, at the same time looking forward to working with Pres. And Sister Curtiss. The Districts here are looking forward to the growth, working to soon becoming Stakes and a Temple to someday be in Coban.

I love watching the Lord's hand working. Yesterday we had a meeting planned in Teleman to finish up a missionary file. When we got there we couldn't get into the church, so we asked a sister we know there if we could use her home. It just so happened that her 18 year old son was home and had also started his missionary file, so we were able to help him know and organize the things he needs to complete. While we were working on the other young man's paperwork, our sister mentioned his glasses. He needs to have another eye exam, and they knew the optometrist he needed to see!

We tried a different way back up to Senahu from Panzos (down in the valley) yesterday that one of the Elders said he knew the transports use. We now know to be more cautious when we listen to Elders! The way was truly beautiful, but the road was probably the worst we have been on. At one point we could tell we were only on 3 wheels. At another point, there was no seeing the road, because the car was taking up all of it next to a drop off into a huge ravine. The ruts were so huge at times that if we had gotten into them we would have bottomed out....And then we saw a huge transport truck full of people coming down toward us... No where to pass, so Elder Spradlin backed down to where he could just barely fit around us. Prayer and faith, because it was bad behind, bad in front, nothing to do but go forward. Sounds kind of like life feels sometimes!

Elder Spradlin says that life is sometimes like this road. We are told that it is going to be an easy road, then we find out somewhere along the way that it is very difficult. We get feelings of giving up or turning back, but if we move forward toward our ultimate goal we will reach our destination.

Saturday is a training meeting for the Auxilary presidencies of our three Polochic Districts. This is a bigger milestone than people back home can probably imagine. It means that our Districts have gotten Presidencies called for Relief Society, Young Women's, Primary, and Young men's and that plans are being made on training on the District and Branch levels. This is a very huge step.

Just got the word in that the Doctors want Rosie to have the surgery for putting in her lens implants in two weeks!