May 21st through May 27th

May 21^st through May 27^th:  Monday we had Family Home Evening at the Records Operations Center where they oversee the contracts for digitalizing government and religious records in the Central American Area.  They are involved in photographing old records and then preparing them to be indexed for genealogical research.  It is really interesting what they are doing to preserve these records before they deteriorate from the humidity and their age.  We then came to our home and had refreshments.  

Family Home Evening at the Records Operation Center.

Brother Obed Ocampo is in charge of Family Search for the area.  He explained what they do in the ROC.

Then we had to have refreshments.

Tuesday we went to paint class and then did the afternoon shift.  

I finished Jake.

Wednesday we did the morning shift.  Thursday we did the afternoon shift.  Friday we left early and drove to Antigua and had breakfast at a restaurant that is on the side of the mountain that overlooks the town.  

Breakfast at El Tenador (The Fork) above Antigua.

This is a panel from a mural of the history of Guatemala.  Can you figure out who would be two blonde young men in white shirts carrying blue books?

We then drove the “back way“ to Comalapa.  Lola, our GPS, was trying to get us past all the traffic that is in Chimaltenango, but we were on dirt roads for most of the detour.  We did get past about half of the traffic.  I am not sure it was worth the effort.  We wanted to visit Comalapa because we read that there are many painters in the town that follow the folk style of Andrés Curruchich, a famous artist from Comalapa.  We visited the market and bought a plastic shopping bag, a ceramic pot, some vegetables, and some flowers.  We visited one of the galleries, but didn’t find a painting that we both loved.  We did enjoy looking at the murals around the cemetery on the way out of town.  

Market Day in Comalapa.

Click below to see the market.Market in Comalapa

 The market in Comalapa.

Mom with her new shopping bag and her flowers.

This man was selling his hand thrown pots.  We enjoyed watching the women negotiate with him.  At one point, he turned over a pot and stood on it to show how strong it was.  We hadn't intended to buy a pot, but they were selling fast and we decided we had to have one.  When the woman in the picture saw the pot we had purchased she smiled and said, "Frijoles!"

This pot cost about $2.75

Mom bought pink carnations from this lady--two bunches for 67 cents.

The Catholic Church in Comalapa.

The door to the church.

Inside the church.

This church is right next door to the yellow church.  It was not open.

Another street in the market.

We went to an art studio in Comalapa where they had this folkloric dance costume, complete with mask, on display.

There were wonderful murals painted on the walls of the cemetery.

You can see some of the vaults on the other side of the wall.

Each panel on the wall had a different picture.

Christmas procession with baby Jesus.

Folk dance with masks

Dreaming of a computer and learning to read.

Easter procession of Christ carrying the cross.

Some just depicted life.

We had a nice long traffic jam trying to get past Chimaltenango.  We arrived back home about 2:00pm, just before one of the first big rainstorms of the rainy season.  We will have lots of afternoon and evening rain now through September.  

The traffic slowdown at Chimaltenango.

Click below to see the traffic.Chimaltenango 


This was after we got past the stop-and-go part.

One of our first big rainstorms.

Click below to see the rainstorm.Rain Storm

Saturday we did the early shift and we were crazy busy.  In the afternoon, Mom gave a talk to about 100 sisters from Santa Lucia and then we went to the viewing of one of our temple workers, Victor Figueroa, who died unexpectedly following some surgery.  We got lost trying to find the house where they were having the wake.  It took us more than two hours.  By the time we got home it was nearly 6:00pm and we noticed that there were still a lot of buses in the parking lot.  We drove by the front of the temple and saw many people walking around.  The crazy busy day never let up and we set a record for ordinances, at least since we have been here.  

The Relief Society sisters from Santa Lucia.

Sister Ceballos, (left of Mom) is the Saturday afternoon coordinator in the temple and she is also the District Relief Society President in Santa Lucia.  She is here with her two counselors and secretary.

We helped this couple get sealed on Saturday.

Let's count the buses in the temple parking lot at 6:00pm Saturday.  One, Two, Three,

 Four, Five,

Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten.

At 6:00pm, when we got back from the viewing, there were still lots and lots of people at the temple.

Sunday we got up and took the Reynas, one of our local missionary couples, with us to the district conference in Cuilapa.  This is their home district and they wanted to say hi to all their friends and family.  Their son is one of the counselors to the district president.  It was a nice conference and we enjoyed the out-pouring of the Spirit.  

The Sunday market sets up in front of the church in Cuilapa.

The choir practicing before the conference.

After the general session.

President Shumway, President Salazar and me.

View of the parking lot from the second story of the church.

I have been battling a cold for the last few days and when we got home we had a quick dinner and I went to bed.  After a nice long nap, Elders Holman and Jenson came over and administered the sacrament to us.  They have received permission from our Bishop to do this on the Sundays where we have missed the sacrament because of a conference assignment.  What a blessing to be able to participate in this ordinance now on a more regular basis.  We had a great week and feel so very blessed. As a side note, one of our good friends, Martha Cooper, in now the director of an NGO that has a secondary school outside of Otavalo, Ecuador.  Like many indigenous communities in central and south america, local schools do not go past the elementary level.  In order to continue their education, children 12 to 18 years old have to travel to larger cities and the cost is prohibitive for their families.  This school is fully accredited by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education and not only advances their schooling, but has a demonstration farm that teaches sustainable agriculture. They are doing really great things.  If you are interested you can check it out at:

childrenoftheandeshumanitarian.org

May 14th through May 20th

 May 14^th through May 20^th:  Monday we picked President and Sister Hill up from the MTC at 9:00am and headed for Monterrico on the Pacific coast.  They are suppose to take an overnight break every month or so and they invited us to do something with them.  They only had 2 missionaries staying another 3 weeks, but will get a new group on Wednesday.  We went by way of the ferry down the river for the last 20 minutes.  

Our car is loaded on the ferry.

President Hill and me headed to Monterrico.

Sister Hill and mom on the other side of the ferry.

Once the car is on the ferry you can't open the front doors.  I had to climb into the back seat to get out.

Going down the river.

Click below to see the video
Going down the river.

Local wildlife.

We then tried to find our hotel and Dos Mundos (Two Worlds) a different hotel where we planned to have lunch.  We kind of got lost and drove around for almost 2 hours. We had lunch at Dos Mundos and then checked into our hotel, El Farro (the lighthouse).  You can see by the pictures that it is really nice and right on the beach.  The sound of the waves crashing on the beach was really loud as we sat at the restaurant and had appetizers.   The mosquitoes were too fierce and we ended up in the lobby playing cards. 

The pool was fantastic.

The pool was very refreshing.

The waves were crashing onto the beach.

Click below to see the waves.
The waves crashing on the beach.

Tuesday morning we rented 4 wheelers and drove up and down the beach and spent time in the pool just relaxing.  We checked out, had lunch and headed home arriving about 5:00pm.  

Breakfast in the morning sun.

Riding up and down the beach was fun.

Click below to go on a ride.
Riding down the beach.

Lunch before we head home.

It was a fun trip, but I suffered for the next few days with chigger bites on my left leg.  I only had 5 bites on my right foot, but I figure I got about 30 to 40 bites on left leg.  Mom did not want me to put the photos in, but why not be real with my diary.  

The chiggers got me again.  Sister Hill also got lots of bites.

I got lots of chigger bites, about 20 on this ankle.

Wednesday we had presidency meeting and did the afternoon shift. Another branch from Chulac in the Polochic arrived and we got all their paper work done for the three families that were going to be endowed and sealed. They also brought 28 youth to do baptisms for the dead. It was the first time to the temple for many of them.  President Maas and his family stayed at our home.  Thursday I went over early and got the 5 adult that needed to receive their endowment in the temple and then the rest to breakfast.  After breakfast, the rest of the adults came to the temple so that they could all be together for the session.  Then I got the youth into the baptistery.  

Family #1  Parents were endowed and 4 children sealed.

Family #2, both parents endowed and one little girl sealed. 

Family #3, mom endowed and little girl sealed.  The branch president was previously endowed and is standing in the middle.

The whole group from Chulac 1 branch.

28 youth came and did baptisms for the dead on 3 different days.

Friday and Saturday we had the early morning shift.  Sunday we drove to Patzicia for their stake conference.  The majority of the women still wear their traditional clothes.  It was a good conference and we got home about 2:00pm.  

Patzicia stake presidency.  R. to L. Pres. Xovin, Xicay, and Choc. I am not standing on my toes.

Very large choir that sounded good.


Click below to listen to the choir.
Choir singing.

They had 3 of these floral arrangements. 

Mom took this one as the choir walked in.

The building was packed.

You get quite a variety of dresses.

About 18 months old in huilpil and corte.

This is one of our temple workers.  It probably takes at least 3 hours by bus to get to the temple.

We got to talk to some of our kids and felt like we had had a good week.