October 24th through October 30th

 October 24^th through October 30^th:  A week ago Sunday, President Rosales and his wife flew to Europe to visit their two sons, one who lives in Germany and the other that is studying in Austria.  They will be gone for a month.  So this last week we covered half of their shifts and President Funes and his wife covered the other half.  They haven’t seen their boys for a number of years and we hope they have a great time.  

Pinatas, hanging in front of Walmart.

Saturday we had the morning shift and as we were walking to the temple at a few minutes before 4:00am, Chris mentioned that her coordinator, Sister Lemus was probably already at the temple and that she rides on the back of a motorcycle for more than a half an hour to get to the temple.  Her son gives her a ride.  Sure enough we walked in and there was Sister Lemus sitting in the foyer waiting for us to open the temple and let her and the other workers in.  

Sister Lemus and mom.  This dedicated woman is 68 years old and comes to the temple at 4am on the back of a motorcycle.  You can see she barely comes to Mom's shoulder.

We have some of the best and most dedicated workers that make great sacrifices for this important work.  We were short-handed on the men’s side, so I called the Hurst’s and Winkfield’s at 5:30am and woke them up and asked them to come and help.  They, of course, were happy to hurry and get ready and come and help.  

This little girl from Patzicia waited patiently for her mother who wanted to do  a session in the temple.

After our shift, we all went to Applebee’s for lunch.  I celebrated the loss of another 5 pounds (47 in total) with a great big hamburger, but I had a salad instead of fries. 

Renewing our energy at lunch on Saturday.

In the afternoon, Mom went to the ward and watched the Relief Society sisters make Fiambre.  From Wikipedia:  Fiambre is a traditional Guatemalan dish that is prepared and eaten yearly to celebrate the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) and the All Saints Day (Día de Todos los Santos). It is a salad, served chilled, and may be made up from over 50 ingredients.  Fiambre started out from the tradition in Guatemala of taking dead family members their favorite dishes to the cemeteries for the Day of the Dead. As all different families brought food to the celebrations, they became mixed, eventually mixing them together to this all-encompassing salad. Ingredients usually include numerous sausages and cold cuts, pickled baby corn and onion, beets, pacaya flower, different cheeses, olives, chicken, and sometimes even brussels sprouts.  This dish varies from family to family, recipes traditionally passed on to younger generations. Because of this, on the Day of The Dead, it is customary to share your fiambre with other families and relatives.  Since everyone has a different family recipe, Mom said it was hysterical to listen to everyone discuss how real fiambre should be made.  

Fiambre

Sunday I went to another Coordinating Council Meeting.  This one started at 7:30am with a sacrament meeting in the ward that meets at the stake center of the El Molino stake.  It was so nice to be able to partake of the sacrament. It has been over a month since I was able to attend a sacrament meeting and the next sacrament meeting I will be attending is Dec. 19^th.  I have 6 stake or district conferences scheduled in the next 6 weeks.  Today is Monday October 31^st.  We arrived here in Guatemala one year ago today.  I can’t believe how fast the time has flown by.  It seems like only yesterday we arrived.  There are still many stakes and districts that we have not yet visited and many things we want to do.  Yesterday afternoon we listened to Elder Oaks speak at a meeting in Panama and he mentioned that he had heard a story from a temple president and that it must be true because temple presidents are holy men.  That took me aback.  I don’t feel holy.  I am so humbled by this calling.  As tears run down my face right now, I know the Lord loves me and that He will help me as I try my best to direct His work in His holy house here in Guatemala.  We are blessed beyond words and we feel our Savior’s love.  We are so blessed to be able to be in His house each day.  I invite all who read this blog to find a way to come unto Christ.  Eighty-five times in the scriptures, the Savior said, “Come unto me”.  Today he is saying, “Come to My house.  There I will comfort you, there I will heal you, there I will manifest myself to you.”  I know that He lives and loves us and wants us to repent and become more like Him.  I pray for all of you, my friends and family, that the Spirit of temple work will enter your hearts and begin to change your focus and your efforts to use the temple to become more like Jesus Christ.