December 29th through January 4, 2015

December 29^th  through January 4, 2015:  Monday we drove our friends Tom and Merritt Stites and Bill and Carol Fulton  to Mitla to see the ruins.  The 16^th century church  was built right in the center of the walls of the main plaza of the Zapotec Indians who were living in Mitla when the Spanish arrived.   The name Mitla is derived from the Nahuatl name Mictlán, which was the place of the dead or underworld. It’s Zapotec name is Lyobaa, which means “place of rest.” The name Mictlán was Hispanicized to Mitla by the Spanish.  However, what makes Mitla unique among Mesoamerican sites is the elaborate and intricate mosaic fretwork and geometric designs that cover tombs, panels, friezes and even entire walls. These mosaics are made with small, finely cut and polished stone pieces which have been fitted together without the use of mortar. No other site in Mexico has this. Mitla is one of the pre-Columbian sites that represent the Mesoamerican belief that death was the most consequential part of life after birth. It was built as a gateway between the world of the living and the world of the dead.   Thanks Wikipedia for that explanation of the name, Mitla. That makes me think about our understanding of how and where we connect with those on the other side of the veil. 

The gang in Mitla.

The Church in Mitla.

The Church in Mitla.

This is taken in front of the church and you can see how close the walls of one of the Zapotec buildings is to the church.  They actually share a common wall in the back.

Next we went to Yagul. Merritt and Carol teamed up against Tom and Bill for a ballgame.  From the title of the book Chris got for Christmas, “The Sport of Life and Death: the Mesoamerican Ballgame,” you might deduce that after the game the men were begging for mercy.  Mercy was extended and they continued with us. 

From this distance I could not tell what was happening.

But on closer inspection, the losers are begging for mercy.

Some of the ruins in Yagul.

Next was Teotitlan were Merrit was the best shopper ever and found 5 new rugs for the house they are building in Torrey, Utah.  Mom did well too, finding 2 rugs for the house we hope to have someday.  They are beautiful wool rugs that are made with natural dyes and woven on looms that haven’t changed for centuries. 

A woman demonstrating how they get the colors from the natural dyes.

We saw a funeral procession leaving the church in Teotitlan.  It was a child and the casket was white and quite small.

On the way home we stopped in Tule so they could see “The Tree”.  What fun we had with our friends from Salt Lake.  Tuesday we had a group come in the morning and then we worked in the evening so we had little time to see our friends, so we sent them to visit some museums in Oaxaca.   Wednesday was New Years Eve and normally the temple would be closed, but the Stake President from Amapolas asked for 2 sessions for his Stake.  They filled the sessions and the baptistery to capacity and did a great job of saying good-bye to 2014.  We got done about noon and went and picked up our friends and took them to San Bartolo Coyotepec to see how the black pottery is made. Then we went to Zaachila to visit some tombs and I found out that my name is 8 Dog.   People were named by their birthdates in the Mixtec and Zapotec calendar, so they can continue to figure out what your name would be by what day you were born on.  Please feel free to call me 8 Dog.  In the evening we had dinner with the other missionaries.  After dinner I didn’t feel well, so I went to bed with chills and a fever.  I have been knocking on wood for some time saying that I haven’t got sick yet.  I can’t say that anymore.  I had a bad case of either food poisoning or some other bug.  On Saturday I finally went to the doctor and he got me on some pills to kill bacteria.  I am feeling much better, but am still not 100%.  Thursday the temple was closed and I was pretty sick. But our friends came to a New Year’s Day dinner at the Ray’s home. 

New Years Day dinner.

Friday we had 4 buses scheduled so I went to temple.  Instead of 4, we got 5, and I helped get everyone organized, but by 10:00am I headed back to bed.  Mom stayed in the temple until about 3:00pm and then met up with our friends.  She left me home trying to recuperate and went and spent the evening with them to thank them for their visit and to say good-bye.  Thanks, Tom, Merritt, Bill and Carol for the fun visit.  I am sorry I could not do more with you. 

Their last night in town.  L to R Bill and Carol Fulton, and Tom and Merritt Stites.

Saturday the groups had canceled, so I felt like I could stay home.  I did however go and see Doctor Morales .  He checked me out and got me on some pills.  In the evening we all went to the Penas for Rosca de Reyes.  This is a traditional holiday where the children put out there shoes so that the Three Kings will leave them presents like they left the baby Jesus. It is usually the 5^th of January, because the Kings didn’t arrive on the night of his birth. 

2 Rosca de Reyes.  That might translate, wreath of the kings.

Rosca de Reyes

Rosca de Reyes

One of the babies that are hidden in the cake. If you get a baby in your piece of cake, you have to make tamales for a party in Feb. 

 

Sunday I started feeling a little better and we had an appointment with the ward council of Barrio Fortin.  Our presentation went well and we stayed for their meetings. 

Ward Council with the Fortin Ward.

We had dinner with the other missionaries and the Penas again at the Ray’s home.  I hadn’t eaten real food for 3 days and I felt like I had been fasting that long.  Dinner was delicious.  Through this little set back, I lost 7 lbs.  In the evening, we got to talk to most of our children.  We love them so and hope that they are being looked after.  We have faith that they are.  This was not the best of weeks, but I am still thankful to be on this mission.  The Lord’s tender mercies are evident in our lives.  Oh, how he loves us.  Happy New Year to all of you and may you find peace and happiness this year.

I finished one of my Christmas presents.  Chris helped (1 piece)