We hope as you read this blog of our mission to the Quito, Ecuador temple you will feel the joy and happiness we are experiencing by being in the service of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We hope you can experience some of what we feel. Christine and I met in Quito, Ecuador 51 years ago while serving as missionaries. We are going home.
December 19th through Christmas Day: Monday: We did our cleaning and grocery shopping and had a very lazy afternoon resting up. Tuesday through Friday: We worked both morning and evening shifts. I officiated in 3 sessions during the week. We had a zone of missionaries from the Quito North Mission come each morning. We also attended a little party for the temple workers in the patron housing cafeteria after each shift. Some of them had gelatin salads, others bought pizza, others had chicken and rice. The workers really enjoyed getting together. We contributed a drink for most of the shifts.
President Aguirre thanking all the workers
Saturday: We went and did some Christmas shopping for gifts for the children of David and Fernanda's children, President Aguirre's grandchildren. We received a much appreciatead invitation to go to dinner at President Aguirre's home for Christmas Eve dinner. We were feeling a little homesick. President Aguirre picked us up at 5:00 pm and we spent the evening at his home. Dinner was two turkeys cooked differently. One was covered in bacon.
Dinner was delicious and then we went upstairs to Fernanda's apartment and opened all the presents. It was a little chaotic. It reminded me of when our children were small.
The grandchildren had to dance before they could open presents.
The floor was completely covered in the end.
It was nice to have somewhere to go and it was really special to be with such a loving family. We love the Aguirre family. Sunday: We went to church and then President and Sister Aguirre brought us leftovers from the dinner the night before. We were able to have a video call with all our kids and grandchildren. Our grandson, Evan, had to go back into the hospital the day after he got home from his surgery for his broken leg. He had pneumonia. He was one sick kid, but was able to come home on Christmas Eve. In the evening we watched an episode of The Chosen.
December 12th through December 18th: Monday: We went into Quito in the morning and made reservations for a short trip to the jungle for the weekend over New Years.
Genevieve and Sam and their two daughters are coming to visit right after Christmas. It will be so fun to have them here for a few days. We then went to lunch with Elder and Sister Cameron. We have not seen them since Thanksgiving and since we were already in Quito it seemed like a good chance to catch up. Church travel had been in contact with us and we now have our tickets bought for our return flights home. We will arrive on Feb. 13th, our release date.
The nativity set was a gift from President and Sister Winters.
Things are going to go so fast now. The days are long but the weeks fly by. We did our weekly grocery shopping when we got home from lunch. Tuesday through Friday: Each day was the same. Up at 6:00am, breakfast, shower, to the temple by 7:00am, home by 12:30pm, lunch, a short nap, back to the temple by 4:00pm, home between 7:00 and 8:00pm, a quick snack, and then to bed at 9:00pm. Saturday: We got home from the temple at 3:00pm. Chris spent the whole day in initiatory. I split my day between initiatory and officiating a session. Saturday night we got some bad news. Charlotte's oldest son, Evan, fell on some ice on their driveway and broke both the bones in is lower left leg. Evan is a big guy and it took Charlotte, two of her neighbors, and Genevieve, to get Evan in the van.
He spent Saturday night in the hospital and was operated on Sunday. The surgery went well. They had to put a rod on the large bone. They say the small bone will heal on it's own. He had to stay Sunday night in the hospital. Hopefully he will be able to come home today.
Metal rod in place.
Sunday: We went to church and had a quiet afternoon in our apartment, getting updates on Evan. We have given all our kids, their spouses, and our grandchildren money to buy a book for Christmas and when they buy it they have to send us a picture. James, Kirstin, and their kids Facetimed us to show their selections. John, Jill, and Ellie are the only ones that have sent us pictures. This is a loving reminder.
We stayed in our apartment whole day trying, to get over being sick. Tuesday and Wednesday: Chris was feeling better and was able to go back to the temple, working both the morning and evening shifts. I stayed home and coughed and blew my nose for two days. Thursday and Friday: We both worked the morning and evening shifts. I officiated one on the sessions on Friday. We are both feeling a lot better, but we don't have a lot of energy. We came home from the morning shift and we both took 2 hour naps before going back over for the evening shift. Saturday: This was the first day that I was what I would call "at capacity". We had 6 sessions, with an average of 35 patrons each, 8 weddings, 10 women receiving their own endowment, 4 men receiving their own endowment and over 100 youth in the baptistry. Mom worked in the initiatory for 8 1/2 hours and couldn't move when she got home. I officiated one session and was the follower on another. I got to sit much of the day. Mom, on the other hand, was on her feet all day long. Sunday: We went to church with President and Sister Aguirre. It was the Primary program. It was fun to see their grandchildren perform.
After the meeting was over before they all ran off.
The girls all had crowns of flowers.
The boys all had blue bow ties.
Mom and Edu, short for Eduarda, one of President and Sister Aguirre's grandchildren.
We came home and fixed a broccoli and bacon salad and then went next door to President's apartment for lunch. It as very enjoyable to sit and talk about the week with President and Sister Aguirre. We make each other laugh a lot. We feel so close to them. We are glad to be feeling well enough to be back in the temple and we are sure that in a day or two the sniffles will be all gone.
November 28th through December 4th: Monday: We took Corinne and Cynthia, both members of the start up team from Salt Lake, to the grocery store and then I cooked orange chicken for them.
L to R Corinne, Cynthia, and Chris
The other thing that happened Monday was Wally Cooper, a real good friend of ours, had sent me the name and phone number for a Paul Eugene Sparks. I called him and he was the missionary that baptized Dany and his wife. I have put them in contact with each other. Thanks Wally for your help. Tuesday and Wednesday: We worked both shifts. I took one of the sessions on the morning shift. Thursday through Sunday: Chris had come home Wednesday night feeling like she had a cold. Thursday morning before going over to the temple she used one of the COVID home tests we had brought with us. She tested positive. I started feeling sick on Saturday and so we spent the rest of the week holed up in the apartment, drinking lots of liquids and feeling lousy. Not much else to say. By Sunday, Chris was feeling a lot better. It's Monday and I am also feeling better.
Monday: We cleaned and did our grocery shopping. In the evening, Orlando Hando came to our apartment and interviewed us for 3 hours about our experiences as missionaries here in the early days of the Ecuador mission. He is from the area offices in Lima and was here to interview people about the temple dedication. The area History Department is trying to write a history of all the missions and the church in each country. He also asked us about our service in Guatemala.
Orlando Honda, Chris and Me
Tuesday through Friday: We worked the morning shift from 7:00am till noon or 1:00pm then we would go home for lunch and go back at 4:00 until we were done sometime between 7:30 and 8:00pm. We mostly trained in initiatory and the veil. I did officiate one session in the evening when there were not enough workers. I think the last time I officiated a session was in Cochabamba more than 10 years ago. I only made one small mistake. Thursday, after the morning shift we grabbed an Uber and went to the Mission Home for Thanksgiving Dinner with the President and Sister Winters of the Quito North mission and 3 other senior couples. It was a nice get together. We had to leave early to get back to the evening shift.
Left to Right: The Ray's, The Cameron's, The Playa's, The Winters, and Chris.
Saturday: We went to the temple again at 7:00am and we got done at at 1:30pm. There were only 2 sessions. The 11:00am session was for the area seventy and the stake presidents and there wives. I officiated the session. Again, I made one small mistake, but it was a different mistake than the one earlier in the week. One of the members of the start up committee, Corinne Thornton, arrived and is helping train the laundry workers. We invited her to dinner on Sunday. Sunday: Janet, who is in charge of the laundry at the temple, picked us up for church. Her son, David, is waiting for his mission call.
Left to Right; Chris, David, Janet, her husband, her daughter, her mom, and Corinne.
Sister Aguirre invited us to dinner along with Corinne. So after church, we stopped by the temple and took the pork roast we had in the oven, a bag of potatoes, and our head of broccoli to the Aguirre's home to add to their meal. It was a great dinner with their three children, their spouses, and 8 grandchildren. Afterwards I played Rumikub with Gabrielito, his father, and Ashley, one of the Aguirre's granddaughter's from Utah who came with her family for the temple dedication. Their daughter, Gabriella, married a missionary, Spencer Caldwell, from Vernal and that is where they now live. Spencer shared with me some drone video that he had taken of the temple and downtown Quito. I have included these in the links below.
Flying through the towers.
Quito from Panecillo.
Flying around the temple.
These make me want to buy a drone.
President Aguirre told me that in his coordinating council meeting that morning the area seventy said that he had learned from me how to show one's love for the Savior by the way you officiate the session. I think this was the nicest compliment I have ever received. This week was challenging and we have a lot of opportunities to do things better than we did this past week. But in the end, it is the Lord's work and He can do His work. We have had a number of tender mercies this week and these really make this all worth it.
November 14th through November 20th: Monday: We had training in the temple in the morning and then again in the afternoon. After the morning session, a sister, Jacqueline Espinoza de Maza, came to our apartment and explained that she was a local specialist for the Area History Committee and they wanted to come next week and do an oral interview about our experiences as missionaries in 1971-1973. Chris asked her how she joined the church. She told us she had joined the church as a teenager and then had gone on a mission. She met her husband, who was also a returned missionary, they married and had 4 children. As a young father, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. During his illness, the family was living in Ibarra and her husband was in the hospital in Quito, about 3 hours from Ibarra. At the time, he was serving as a counselor in the district presidency. Jacqueline asked the mission president if he would give her husband a blessing. She was sure that he would be healed, but when she talked to the mission president. he said that he had passed away following his blessing and that her husband had another assignment on the other side of the veil. She was stunned, but determined to accept his death and be faithful. She told us she didn't let herself cry. Her two oldest children were identical twin girls who were going to turn 8 at the end of December. Her husband died on the 12th of December. Her husband had been planning their baptism and the girls were excited. Now they wanted to know who was going to baptize them. Jacqueline said she did not know, but they would find someone. One of the twins said. "How about President Call, the mission president, he is our friend." So President Call baptized her twin daughters. While she was telling us this story, we started wondering if this President Call could be the father of Alan Call who became our good friend while we served in Guatemala. Alan and his wife, Sonja, served in the Coban mission and every 6 weeks they had permission to come to the temple and would always stay with us. Alan's father had been the temple president in Guatemala and then a few years after, he had been called to be a mission president in Ecuador. I got my phone out and called Alan. He answered and was surprised that I was calling from Ecuador. I asked how his father was and he said, "Well, we are at his home right now. We have been out of the state for 2 weeks visiting our kids and this is the first time we have checked on him in a few weeks. We just got here 20 minutes ago." I asked the years that his father was mission president in Ecuador and they matched up with her story, 1999-2002. I said that I had a sister here and she is telling me a story about how your father baptized her twins a few weeks after her husband had died. And then I asked if he would be willing to talk to this sister. She was so surprised that I had President Call on the phone. We switched to Facetime and they had a tender and emotional reunion. She shared how her four kids were active in the church, 2 of them are attending BYU, and the twins have both graduated from the university. President Dean Call's small acts of kindness, 20 years ago, continue to bless this family's life. The next day she sent me a text which reads: "Infinite thanks for everything you did for me yesterday. I will never forget it. I was able to tell President Call what had been in my heart for a long time. Your wife is so wonderful to lend me her shoulder to alleviate the pain that I have been carrying for 20 years. Nothing is by chance in this life, everything has a purpose. That you are here in Quito in the temple is a gift from God to my family. Give your wife a hug. We love you." She said she never cries, but last Monday she sobbed in Chris' arms. We felt her burden was lifted as she connected with someone who had blessed her life at a critical time.
Jacqueline Espinosa de Maza
We have had a number of experiences helping people connect with others from their past and it has been very rewarding. We wonder if this is one of the reasons we are here. It is humbling to think that we are being coached by the Lord. Tuesday: We had training in the morning and evening. The last two days have been make up training for anyone who missed the first 4 training sessions. Wednesday: We got up and went to Otavalo. Wally and Martha Cooper invited us up to the school to see the party they have once a year for all the communities that send students to their school and volunteers from Aptive, who come to do humanitarian work at the school. We hired an Uber and it turned out that the driver is an inactive member. He and his wife were baptized about 15 years ago. I asked if he remembers the name of the missionary that baptized them. He said his name was Eugene Spark and he was from Utah. His name might be Sparks, because they have a real hard time with "s" on the end of words. I have spent a few hours trying to find this missionary, but with no luck. So I am putting it out there for anyone who reads this blog to help me find Elder Eugene Spark or Sparks. I am thinking 2002 to 2007 and he would have been in the Quito Ecuador mission. Dany, our Uber driver, first took us to an old textile factory which is now a museum to preserve the history of the abuse the Indians endured working in these factories. I had my poncho and wanted another opinion on it's value. The man there did not think it was hand made and thus had little value.
The museum preserves the history and culture of the Kichwa people who worked in these factories.
These factory buildings are from the late 1800's to 1900's.
These are costumes for community celebrations.
They have preserved the traditions and culture of the Otavalo people.
Demonstration of the backstrap loom. The Otavalo people are famous for their weavings.
We then went to the school. Wow, what a party. The pictures and videos will tell the story.
The girls are lining up to dance and you can see the "castle of fruit" that will be offered to the sun god, Tayta Inti.
These are the caballeros who will dance with the girls.
It started to rain, just as the dance began.
Video of the dancing.
We finally had to go inside because of the rain.
We crowded into one of the classroom buildings.
These darling girls performed a traditional dance.
Video of the dancing.
We had live music!
The dancers pulled everyone onto floor for a chaotic celebration.
Video of the crazy dancing.
We then went to the cafeteria and the school cooks had prepared lunch for about 300 people.
Mom with the head of the school cafeteria.
Menu included chicken, potatoes, guacamole, sweet corn, queso made at the school, and toasted corn.
Everyone enjoyed the food!
Mom, Edwin Alvarez the principal, me and Martha.
Some of the families invited to the party.
We headed home with Dany and arrived back at the temple at 7:30pm.
I love how they cultivate right up the side of the mountain.
The volcano, Imbabura, covered in clouds.
Thursday and Friday: We did our grocery shopping for the week and watched all the equipment get installed for the transmission of the dedication of the temple.
They had a lot of tents and equipment set up for the cornerstone ceremony.
Saturday: I went over and was making some forms for some of the activities in the temple and Elder Duncan (Elder Duncan is the Executive Director of the Temple Department and was the Area President when we served in Guatemala) and Elder Bowen arrived. Elder Duncan gave me a big hug and then told Elder Bowen that I had been a temple president in his area while he served as area president. He said some very kind things about our service in Guatemala. Later in the day, Elder Cook and Elder Ceballos arrived. As all 4 of the general authorities were leaving, a photographer from the Church News wanted to get their pictures. I was standing by the lead security man and explained that Elder Cook had set me apart as a temple president. I asked if it would it be ok if I walked over and said hello. They had finished the pictures and he said he thought it would be ok. I went over and Elder Duncan was so great, he took me over to Elder Cook and I got to shake his hand and talk to him for a few minutes. Nancy Duncan asked about my wife and I said she was up in our apartment and that she would try and she her tomorrow.
This is when I went over and talked to Elder Cook and Elder Duncan and Nancy Duncan.
Then at 7:00pm we met in the patron housing building for a short meeting to show what they were putting into the metal box that would be sealed behind the cornerstone.
President and Sister Aguirre with the scriptures
A painting typical of Quito was placed in the box.
Members of the committee for the temple open house and dedication. They all worked so hard.
Sunday: We had tickets for the first session. We had seats in one of the instruction rooms. It was wonderful to be in the temple for the dedication.
This is a picture of President Aguirre's 3 children, their spouses, and grandchildren that were old enough to be at the dedication.
After the third session they brought Elder Cook over to the patron housing building to interview him for the Church News. Chris and I were able to visit with Elder and Nancy Duncan for a few minutes. It was a very uplifting day and one to be remembered. Tuesday the real work begins.
Elder and Sister Cook coming to the patron housing building to be interviewed.
Video: We had an afternoon rainstorm that was a downpour.
