August 28th through September 3rd

 August 28^th through September 3^rd 2017: Monday we took our three new senior couples shopping to Walmart, Price Smart, and the Dollar Store.  Notice the comma after Smart, I will never forget to use the comma before and in a list of things in a sentence, what with the court ruling I read about on Facebook.  I don’t want someone suing me over a misunderstanding.  

As promised, our three new couples. L to R Elder and Sister Holman, Sugar City Idaho, Sister and Elder Fisher, Alpine Utah, and Elder and Sister Jenson, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 

You got to love Walmart, especially when you live in a foreign country.

Tuesday we finally got to go to our paint class.  It has been two months since our last lesson.  I have been working on Moose a bit on my , but I needed one more lesson to finally say he is done.  I had started Evan on my own and Jill helped me a lot.  I thought I had ruined him.  He has been the hardest so far because the photo I have is out of focus.  Mom finished up a small painting of a woman weaving.  Jill, our teacher, has started teaching art part-time at her children’s school, so we will only have class on the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of the month.  This might be good because it will force us to paint more on our own.  Our goal is to be able to finish a painting without her help by the time we go home.  We then worked the afternoon shift.  

Moose is officially done.

Mom's painting of a woman doing something with her yarn.

Evan is now on his way.  

Our wall is getting full.

Wednesday I had a bad cold and postponed presidency meeting till Thursday.  Friday morning we tried to go to the hospital to deliver baby kits, but we were turned away.  They had a shooting at the hospital a few weeks ago and 7 people were killed.  A gang went into the hospital to free one of its members who was there for tests.  The security has really changed.  We will need a new letter with the administration’s approval and a stamp.  Everything needs a stamp. 

This is a common sight at traffic lights.

On our way home from the hospital.  Street markets are all over the city.

Saturday, after the afternoon shift, I made wings and we had the 3 new couples over to watch the BYU game.  Sunday we took everyone to the stake conference for the stake where we live.  We both spoke and we felt good about our talks.  There were over 800 people in attendance.  We got home and Sister Gordon brought a Belize dinner: chicken stuffed with breadcrumbs, red beans and rice, and a potato salad.  She cooked this for the Break-the-Fast dinner, but we will not be there.  It was delicious and we ate it all up and headed to Escuintla for a fireside.  

Pano of the Guatemala stake conference.

Click below to listen to the choir                    Listen to the choir and see the building.

President Lang and some other man.

The dinner that Sister Gordon brought over for us.

Escuintla is southwest of the city and towards the coast.  It is at a much lower elevation and is much hotter and has more humidity.  We were the main speakers and between the two of us spoke for almost an hour.  It is a different experience than when you only have 15 minutes in a stake conference.  It was fun and we felt the Spirit as we testified of the truths of the temple and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It was a long day and we were tired.  

The chapel in Escuintla.

Fireside in Escuintla

President Juarez and me.

Mom and the stake RS president.

Mom and Sister Palma, one of the early converts in Escuintla. She is 72 years old and she and her husband bore sweet testimonies.

The 1 ½ drive home started in a rain storm, but by the time we hit the city it had stopped.  We got home about 7:00 pm and crashed.  Some days are long but the weeks fly by.  We count our blessings everyday and marvel at the goodness of God.  I still ask Chris to pinch me, because it all seems like a dream.