May 1st through May 7th

May 1^st through May7^th:  Monday, after shopping, we were so tired from the trip to Senahu that we crashed at home the rest of the day.  As I mentioned last post on June 4^th, a new stake will be created from the Senahu district.  We received word this week that Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be coming to preside over the creation of the new stake.  This is historic!  It will be the first visit of an apostle in the Polochic valley,  the first stake in the Polochic valley and the first all Kekchi speaking stake in the church and we have been invited to be there.  We are so excited and privileged to be able to be in attendance for this historic event.  Wednesday we went to painting class.  

I think it is starting to look more like Kimball.

Mom is trying a landscape, lake Atitlan.

Sunday we got up early and left at 6:00am for our stake conference assignment in Jalapa.  Lola, the GPS gal in my phone, said it would take us 3 hours to get there.  Well, she was wrong.  We took a different route and it only took us 2 hours.  We arrived a full hour early for the 9:00am meeting.  We had a very nice conference and were able to both speak and testify of the blessings of the temple in our lives.  

Flowers at the stake conference in Jalapa.

The choir from the Jutiapa ward.

Jalapa Stake Conference


Click below to hear the choir                      Choir in Jalapa Conference

We had been exchanging emails with John Hansen from our old ward in Salt Lake and Sunday afternoon he and his family stopped by and we were able to catch up on the old ward and many of our friends.  It was so fun to see them.  They had Thomas and Sarah Jane with them.  Thomas served his mission here in Guatemala four years ago and they were visiting some of his old areas.  They got to see many of his converts who are still active and trying to live the gospel as best they can.  Sarah Jane just finished her mission in Florida in January.  We reminisced about when Ginny, our daughter, was babysitting their kids and Thomas fell and cut his head open and how we called Brent Christensen, in the ward, and he stitched him up.  When they got home, Ginny said, “By the way, Thomas has stitches on his forehead.”  Good times.  

Look who stopped by for a visit, L to R Diane, Sarah Jane, Thomas and John Hansen from our old ward on the Avenues in Salt Lake.

We then took the missionaries to the area office for the monthly “Break the Fast dinner”.  It is always nice to be with such dedicated senior missionaries.  We came home and talked to some of our kids.  I think driving makes me tired because I could not stay awake and we went to bed at 8:30pm.  

Break the Fast dinner at the area offices.  

But I am writing this blog at 1:30am.  That is what I get for going to bed so early.  Five hours of sleep is about what I average per night.  So now I can spend a few hours doing family history.  Life is good and we are so blessed.  We keep asking ourselves, “How did we get here, we are so lucky?”