Christmas and Catch-up

Christmas and Christmas Eve were different, of course because we had no family and were in a different place but there were no many differences in what we did and ate.  The biggest difference is that fireworks are a very loud and very important part of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  It was probably 2 AM before it quieted down.  We went up to a patio on our building but could see very little except an occasional higher explosion and lots and lots of smoke. 

We went over to the Norman's with the other English speaking missionaries for Christmas eve.  I made a huge pot of potato soup and others brought chips, cheese ball and other things to go along with it.  It was a great meal and then we sang Christmas carols and Chris had done a great job of selecting scriptures that different people read sharing the Christmas story.  We were home early enough to talk to a few family members.

On Christmas Day John and Chris opened their home to all of the missionaries serving in the area office and the temple.  They had baked ham, I made rolls and others brought funeral potatoes, other items and dessert.  It was a great meal.  Those who wanted sang carols afterward.  We were able to talk with everyone but Steph's family.  I am yet to get my Skype number to work correctly.  If someone calls me I can call back but don't seem to be able to initiate the first call. 

Mike bought me some truffles and a jar of peanuts and I bought him two white temple ties.  We are actually buying each other flights and a trip to Tikal on January 8th as our Christmas gifts. 

I'm going to include three pictures of things that I want to remember.  One is a man carrying wood on his back.  Often when the Kekchi people come to the temple we smell wood smoke.  It is not unpleasant like a fire but more just another sense of the simple life that these people live. There is seldom need for heat but cooking is done on wood fires. We saw one of the more fortunate with a bicycle but most carry their wood in this fashion. 

People arrived at Stake Conference and they get to church each week in "Chicken Busses".

I snapped this picture from the road in the city of Guatemala when we went shopping.  It makes quite a colorful picture. The housing varies from this to fancy highrise apartments.

Conference Weekend in Senahu

Saturday morning we left at 7 AM to head northeast into the jungle area of Guatemala for a Stake Conference in a stake that is only six months old in Senahu.  There was an accident blocking the road before we even left the outskirts of Guatemala City so we were slowed down about two hours.  John is a very speedy driver anyway but he was going even faster to make up time on the winding, curvy roads.  I was having great difficulty keeping things down.  Then we started on the road that they had warned us about.  We drove for over an hour on a bone-jarring, deep mud puddle, huge pot hole road.  That did in my stomach and I was pretty miserable once we got there and checked into our hotel.  The other three went to dinner and I laid down and by the time they were back I was feeling great.  I got dressed for the Saturday night meeting and could hear John out in the front area chatting with a young boy.  I went out to see what was going on and found him getting his shoes polished.  This little character was such a delight that he made far more per pair of shoes than his requested
 1k ($.14).  His little hands were so black that I wonder if they will ever get clean.  We had many other little boys pester us about polishing our shoes during the two days but none were as cute as he was. He counted to 10 in English and Spanish for us. 

Our room was very basic with cement painted walls and floor, two single beds, one light bulb but very clean and comfortable. We had hot water for our shower.  The entryway and gardens were beautiful.  

The Stake Center was just across the street.  I was in shock. It it a full sized, if not larger than most building.  It and the Catholic church are the only two large buildings in town.  It had beautifully padded benches, pretty tile floors and most everything (no organ or refrigerator in kitchen) that you would find in most Stake Center buildings.  It is probably about two years old.)

To add to the shock of the size of the building (remember we had just driven there on a pot-hole filled mud road and most of the homes were huts with palm leaf roofs or the fancier ones were cement with cut out windows and doors but nothing in them)  We were amazed that that most of the building was filled for the Saturday night meeting and back to the stage on Sunday. Local members took those who had traveled distances to their homes (I would guess very small but closer to town) to spend the night. 

I wasn't able to really get good pictures of anything but the size and quality of the choir were amazing.  On Saturday night the Sisters wore green huipiles (beautiful, detailed embroidered tops) and the men wore ties with green in them.  On Sunday the color had changed to red.  They sang on tune with all four parts covered well.  It had to be several times as big as most Stake Choirs here.

Everything was either spoken in Kekchi (the indigenous language of these Mayan people or translated from Spanish.  I spend several clueless hours but enjoyed the music and felt the Spirit. Mike was able to bear his testimony at the priesthood meeting.  He spoke in English, was translated in Spanish and then in Kekchi.  He said that the spirit was very powerful.
I kept wondering as I was looking around during conference how all of those beautiful furnishings and traditional LDS meetinghouse trims, etc. made it there through those roads. (We went home on a much better road--my answer.)    Sunday Session

                                                  I borrowed this page from Larry Jenson on June 5,2018.  He shows the things that I wanted to capture but was not able to.  (Thanks Larry!)

    

Chris had brought some of the temple dresses and slips that the Temple was discarding for the endowed sisters to have their own dress.  I held this little boy while this young mother tried on her dress.  It was quite the thing as the sisters chatted and pointed at me holding the child.  She is wearing the traditional huipile and cortez (skirt).

After conference John told the Stake President that we needed to hurry on because he didn't want his wife to have to feed the four of us.  We were so blessed as we took a different route home.  For one thing the road was MUCH better and was even paved at times.  When we had drive about an hour and a half we the road was blocked going to a bridge.  We were told that it was being shut down for repairs and that it would be two weeks before it was open again. We would have had to backtrack about an hour and then take the horrible road again.  We had just seen a water truck pull onto the bridge so we knew that it was passable. John got out of the car and walked over to the foreman on the job and asked if we couldn't please get through.  I'm sure that because he was dressed well, spoke Spanish well etc. we were blessed.  They had the water truck back up and let us and two other cars drive across.

The water in the river was a beautiful color that I wasn't able to capture too will in the moving car.

We drove on occasionally passing through little town with scraggly dogs, little stores full of soda and chips and soda and chips and soda and chips, and a few other things.  Suddenly John was turning into a spot named Rio Dulce hotel on the Largo de Izabel.  I'll let the pictures do the speaking except to say that both dinner and breakfast were some of the best I have ever had anywhere.

It was raining when we got there and the rain was still dropping off the thatched roof as we ate but it was dry and comfortable.

This is just a sample of the color and kind of flowers around the place.

As we began the drive on Monday morning we passed coconut trees, palm oil trees, and fields of banana trees.  To our surprise the Normans took us to Quirigua, a national archaeological site (late 700 AD)  that has been uncovered near a river and in an area of banana fields.  It was an amazing place.  (We were given a calendar for 2018 and this picture was included. ) The roads through the banana fields where loaded with semi trucks with every brand of banana we know pasted on their trucks. 

  It has 12 carvings, the largest is 35 feet high, 5 feet wide and 5 feet thick and it was carved wit one piece of stone.  It weighs 60 tons.  They are fascinated that these stones were transported from distant quarries but are not sure how.  One of the things that makes this area uniques is that it has remained largely undisturbed over time.

I didn't get wonderful pictures but will include a few. Apparently another 1/3 of the carving is still under ground,

 

                                                              Mike loved this table.

When we left there we started the drive home.  It was simply fascinating how the climate changed.  We were in the jungle/rain forest and within hours we were seeing cactus and dry, dry ground.

We were going to fast to get a shot of the cactus but this is the territory where they are doing massive road construction.

It was simply amazing all of the different and wonderful things we saw, learned and enjoyed in those three days.  

Sunday Thanksgiving Dinner

Yesterday we had a Thanksgiving meal with all of the Temple missionaries and Presidency.  The Norman's have a tile floor in their garage and it makes a great place to set up tables for a big group.
Here is Chris setting things up.

John loves to cook and they are both great hosts.  Mike bought this apron a few weeks ago and we gave it to him to wear for the occasion.

Everyone brought things for the meal.  John and Chris cooked the turkeys and gravy but everything else was brought by the group.  I made three apple pies.  This is a picture that was taken of the entire group.

The couple to the left are the Framptons.  They are the area medical advisors but live in our building and are included in our events.  Next are the Winkfields, from Layton.  They served with the Normans in Bolivia and will be going home in January.  Next are the Gordons.  They are from Belize and are proud to be the first couple to serve from that country.  He cannot read and much is difficult for him but he is a very willing worker and LOVES the gospel.  The Holman's are next.  They are from Sugar City, Idaho and have previously served a mission in Mexico.  They cam six weeks before we did and will be staying 18 months.   Next are the Jenson's who are from Canada.  They came with the Holman's and will be her for 18 months.  The Flohr's are from here.  They are scheduled to leave in January but have agreed to stay until November when the Norman's leave.  The Funes are Second Counselor and assistant matron and they are from somewhere in Guatemala.  We are next and then the Fisher's are next.  The are from Alpine, are here for six months and I've shared things about them in other posts. The Reyna's are from Guatemala and are probably making the greatest sacrifice to serve here.  We were told that they sold their car to come.  I asked (through a young sister who speaks both languages) the other day if they ever go home and Sister Reyna said that they don't, that it is too far and too many busses.  They may speak less English than I do Spanish if that is possible.  The last two couples are the Rosales, 1st  Counselor and the Norman's.

Thanksgiving Day

Today is Thanksgiving Day.  It is not a holiday in Guatemala although you would think so in the grocery stores.  There are turkeys, stuffing, cranberries (both fresh and canned) and pumpkin (although we have only seen it in the huge #10 cans).  Because it is not a holiday to the people here the Temple is open and we will work our regular shift for this week which is 2:30- 9:00 PM.  All of the Temple missionaries will be having a Thanksgiving dinner at the Norman's on Sunday afternoon.

I am so full of thanks, however, that tears are in my eyes.  I received a SKYPE note from a student that I taught in China eight years ago.  He was not one of my best students but he tried SO hard.  He wrote to me after with some personal struggles and I basically gave him answers from the gospel.  He is teaching English to primary school children in his home countryside (a wonderful spot for him).  He sent the following message today to wish me a Happy Thanksgiving.

"Thank you, teacher.  It's you that make me understand what should I do and what should I not do in my life.  Now I know it is important to do something meaningful in my whole life, that is to teach more students the real English, help them to solve any problems when they study the English.  So in such a special day, I want to express my sincere thanks for you.  Thank you"

No one could make me believe that my time is China was not well spent.

We had a little sister come and clean today.  Apparently her husband was a Bishop but found a girlfriend and she is trying to support a family by cleaning.  This is our first time to have her but we paid about $21 for two and a half hours of heavy cleaning. . She has moved my bed, fridge and range and swept under them.  My shoes are lined up in my closet.  She went through my fridge and threw out old things. I don't think she has left anything untouched.  The washer is presently washing up the towels and rags she used. Boy, do I need her to come to Mt. Pleasant with me.  I've never seen such thorough cleaning.   I asked her to come thinking I would be serving her but BOY what a job she has done for us.  

I am thankful to serve in the Temple.  They are putting out poinsettia's and a nativity that I will get a picture of and attach.  I love the people and feel their love even though we can't communicate with words.  Several have come up and have pretended to conduct music with a smile on their faces.

I am thankful for our Savior and the atonement and for my wonderful family.

I feel so blessed. 

Sunday Conference & Primary Program

No pictures but this is my journal for these six months.

Yesterday was an interesting day.  It was the Primary Program at Church and they did such an excellent job.  They introduced everything in both Spanish and English.  If there were spoken lines they were in both languages.  Some of the songs were in Spanish and some in English.  I think that there were a few more American children than Guatemalan but it was a good mix.  They sang with their whole hearts.  One little Guatemalan girl had my heart the entire time. She may have been four or five but she knew every word in both languages and belted it out beautifully.

I told Mike that it is quite amazing that we have seen Primary programs in China and Guatemala in addition to in many US states. 

Later in the afternoon we had the annual devotional for Temple Workers at a Stake Center not too far from here.  It was the first chapel built in Guatemala City and I'm sure that it has been remodeled a few times.  Like the other chapel here and the one we saw in Mexico it had all tile floors.  Neither has an organ but only an upright piano.  It had a very large chapel area and an even bigger cultural hall that opened to make a typical sized Stake Building.  The interior area had a beautiful garden that the classrooms and offices were around. The fascinating thing, however, was the mammoth building attached that was being used as a parking garage for the event.  Cars were packed in so carefully, tightly and skillfully. It is apparently a multi-use facility where huge conferences with general authorities conferences, youth conferences, basketball and other sports competitions are held (it even had an enclosed booth for commentators, authorities, etc. would sit.)  It was quite the shock for us to just walk over to look at as we were waiting to go home after the meeting.

We were supposed to have the Area Authority as the guest speaker for the meeting but he was not able to get his flight back from another country where he had been that morning so John and Chris gave longer talks.  For me it really didn't make any difference because I don't understand anything anyway.  Some of the other missionaries commented about how excellent their talks were, however.

The Temple Missionaries were asked to sing as a choir for the meeting and I was asked to conduct.  It was fun to do it again and we got good results considering that it was a group with many non-singers and we were dealing with two languages.  I also conducted the congregational songs as they sang in Spanish. Well now I've conducted from the Korean and the Guatemalan hymn book and I know approximately what each line is saying although often in a different order.

When we were looking at the big facility a couple came up to us and the man spoke English and he said, "My wife wants to tell you that she likes the way that you conduct music."  She smiled and added something in Spanish but it is fun to have people appreciate something that I love doing so very much.  I have had many other come up to me at the Temple and make comments about my good conducting. 

Some Wonderful Missionary Results

This was written by Nancy Fisher.  Her husband, Tim, served a mission here over 40 years ago.  He was a "big wig" with Microsoft and retired in his 40's. (She is currently 61 and him 63.) They then moved to Alpine and he taught classes for BYU and UVU and she was an RN.  I think that he will be a mission president in this area in the not to distant future.  They are only here for 6 months right now because their youngest daughter will be home from a mission in February and they want to be there for her to come home to.  The church leaders in the area are already taking advantage of having him speak to recently returned missionaries about setting goals, etc. and he has also been asked to teach classes for other groups.  He is fluent in Spanish still, has been extremely successful in the business world, has been a BYU bishop and relates to young adults and is just an impressive person.  I'll try to find a way to include at least some of the pictures.

These stories are certainly examples of how you really never know where and how the work that you do will spread and how many people it will influence. 



"Conference weekend was one of the few weekends that the temple was closed, which gave us an extra day to venture out.  We decided to be courageous and drive the 5 hour drive to the last town Tim served in before he returned home from his mission.  Tim reached out to a very special family, Timoteo and Eva Boj, that he and his companion (Elder Berrios) had taught and baptized 41 years ago (first picture). We arranged to visit the Boj family at their home in Quetzaltenango (also nicknamed "Xela", pronounced -"Shayla") between sessions of Saturday conference.
Not quite knowing what to expect, and with my limited Spanish, I was a bit apprehensive but excited.  What we did know, prior to our arrival, was that the father of this family had framed our temple wedding invitation we sent them 41 years prior.  It had hung on his bedroom wall all these many years (picture). We gave them a more recent picture too that he immediately put next to it.  
We arrived in Xela after a crazy, (gross understatement in Latin America driving) 7 hour drive in the dark and rain.  By some miracle, and the help of WAZE (Latin version of mapquest-really should be named CRAZE), we found our hotel.  The hotel was over 100 years old (so were the beds 😊) and surrounded by very narrow cobblestone streets - all of which looked the same and felt like we were going in circles.  Tim's phone died exactly when we pulled up to the front of the hotel (#tendermercy).
The next morning, one of the daughters of Hermano Boj, Yolanda and her husband, Ricardo, came to our hotel and picked us up. They greeted us with hugs and the warmth that typifies these people (picture). Right from that first hug and kiss on my cheek, I knew this was going to be a good day.  Tim in his thoughtfulness, asked if we could go to a place to buy flowers for Sister Boj, so they took us to an open market just outside the city cemetery and we were able to pick from a vast array of flowers, unlike I had ever seen!  Tim picked a dozen brilliant pink roses intermingled with white carnations.  We arrived at their home (picture) and Tim was taken back to 41 years ago where he knocked on this same door to call on Brother Boj and his family. (Three of their eight children, Sandra, Obdulio, and Rudy, in their teens, were already members of the church). 
Apparently, for a few years missionaries had been trying to get in to share their message with the parents, but Brother Boj would sneak out the back door when the missionaries arrived.  His little girls, Yolanda, Veronica, and Ingrid would always answer. They would run and tell their dad who was at the door.  This was his cue to leave the premises!
So one evening, Tim decided he would be creative in his door approach to the Boj family.  As they were walking up the street to visit this family, he asked a stranger on the the street if he would go and knock on Timoteo Boj's door and ask for him. He told the stranger they wanted to surprise this "old friend" that they haven't seen in a long time (which was true) and that his little girls would answer.  The stranger could leave after the little girls went to get their father and the missionaries would step in his place.  The plan worked perfectly.  Hermano Boj was too polite to refuse the handshake of these two Elders, he invited them in, and that was the very beginning of an eternal family. 
One of the little girls said the prayer that night, as they always did when the Elders visited, but this was the first time their Father had knelt down with his family and heard their sincere prayer asking; "Heavenly Father, please bless our father to stop hardening his heart and to repent of his sins and be baptized".  Tim feels it was the prayers of a child that touched this good man's heart.  If we all could become as little children we could change the world.  A few months later, this man and his wife Eva were baptized. Within a year, Brother Timoteo Boj baptized his twin girls when they turned eight, the same ones that had prayed so sincerely for their father to join the church. Edwin and Elvis, the other two brothers, were also baptized. 
We arrived at the house and waited in their "parlor" as Yolanda went to get her parents, who are now 84 years old.  Hermano Boj was in his suit, wearing a white shirt and tie, and Hermana Boj was in her very best Guatemalan Corte and Huipil (traditional hand made skirt and blouse). 
We were told he was so excited he could hardly sleep in anticipation of meeting Elder Fisher again.  The smiles on their faces, all of them including Tim's, reminded me of D&C 18:15 "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" I cried.  But that was only the beginning of my tears that day.
Following this tender reunion, they drove us a few blocks away to one of the daughter's house, Sandra Arana Boj. Waiting for us there was a four-person Mariachi band in a double car garage full of four generations (the Boj family now totals around 70) They had set up chairs and several long church tables topped with hand embroidered tablecloths.  We were served a lovely meal of chicken Corden Bleu, rice, and salad.
When we stepped out of the car, they began singing Luna de Xelaju, (pronounced 'Shayla Who -Mayan name for Quetzaltenango) it is a very here.  It took all I had to keep from sobbing at this touching show of appreciation for the missionary who brought their family the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and as a result, afforded them the unspeakable joy of being together forever.  Again, I thought of the words of Ammon in Alma 26 when he said, "How great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?"  How could the 21 year old Elder Fisher and Elder Barrios have ever known what was in store for this amazing family?  
All 8 children in the Boj family have been sealed in the temple. Three of the sons served missions and all four sons have served as Bishops. Many children, spouses, and grandchildren have served as missionaries, bishops and in branch, mission, relief society, and stake presidencies.  They truly have been a pioneer family in the growth of the church in Quezaltenango and have shared the gospel with many that have joined the church. Today, two of the "little" Boj girls serve as ordinance workers in the Quezaltenango Temple. Truly "they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day" (Alma 26:7). Throughout the dinner, members of this family came up to Tim, and with all sincerity of heart, thanked him for bringing the Gospel to their family. 
Then, they squeezed us all into the living room and showed us a slide presentation of their family over the years.  The first slide was of the sealing of Brother and Sister Boj and their children in the Arizona Temple, four years after their baptism in 1980.  Overlayed on this picture were the words, "Gracias Elder Fisher, Salvando Cuatro Generaciones".  "Thank you Elder Fisher, Saving Four Generations."  At the end of the slide show, Tim read the pages from his missionary journal about the conversion of this good family.  I've attached a picture of one of the daughters listening to him and wiping her tears away as he was telling their story.  Then two of the grandson's, who were awaiting their mission calls (see picture of Tim with Bryan and Danny), stood up and bore their testimonies. They expressed excitement for their missions and their desire to bring the blessings of the gospel to a special family.
After this lovely luncheon, the men went to Priesthood and the women went to the grocery store. They drove me by the Temple, and then we had "pupusas" at a restaurant owned by the youngest daughter, Ingrid.  She told me there that she would sit on Elder Fisher's one knee, with his flip chart on his other knee, and she would hug and kiss him throughout the lesson.  She was five.  I sensed there may have still been a little crush on Elder Fisher 😉. It was sweet.
We thought that day of celebration was enough joy to last us a lifetime, but they insisted on taking us to General Conference at their stake center the next morning.  We met them there and upon arrival, Ingrid had brought a Corte and Huipil for me to change into and watch general conference (see picture).  It was the most fun dress-up activity I have ever had.  Truly, she made me feel like I was one of them. It was a great honor.
After conference and visiting some more at their home, we took pictures and bid goodbye.  I understood for a moment when Ammon said, "My joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God" (Alma 26:11).  This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He knows each one of us individually.  He desires us to return to Him and there live eternally with our families.  He has provided the way, and the path, to that end is clear.  He gave His only begotten Son to atone for the frailties and sins of all mankind.  His atonement is infinite and His plan is simple.  I love Him.  I love His Gospel.  I love the Temple and the ordinances offered within it's walls to all who live worthy.  This IS His work and His Glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.  I will be forever grateful I received this knowledge. HE LIVES!
This wonderful and faithful Boj family is a great testimony to us of the hand of the Lord in their lives and the truthfulness of the gospel.  Once the seed was planted, the Lord did a mighty work with their righteous hearts and desires and His harvest has continued through four generations. "

Following is another amazing experience they had.  (Actually they had this one first.)

"We have seen miracles already.  On day 2 after our arrival we visited the MTC,  less than a block away and spoke with the facilities director.  He noticed Elder Fisher's name tag and asked him where he learned his Spanish.  Tim told him he served here in Guatemala 40 years ago.  The director then asked if he served in Salama.  Tim's face lit up and said yes.  Then he asked if he was the same Elder Fisher who opened up Salama to missionary work in 1976? Again Tim said yes.  This brother then proceeded to tell Tim the story of when he was 7 years old a Elder Fisher contacted his father in Salama and from that one contact his entire family joined the church and most have served missions and the town of Salama has since sent out over 70 missionaries.  This brother has been a bishop and Stake President and he himself served a mission as well as 3 of his children.  All this occurred because 2 elders were sent on the Lord's errand under the direction of their inspired mission president to take a bus to a town that had never had Mormon missionaries.  They rented a hotel room, found a suitable building to hold church services and began tracting. On the first Sunday 9 were in attendance. This last Sunday this brother picked us up to take us to his Ward and dinner afterwards to meet his family. They thanked Tim for what he has done for them in bringing them the Gospel.

We have seen miracles already.  On day 2 after our arrival we visited the MTC,  less than a block away and spoke with the facilities director.  He noticed Elder Fisher's name tag and asked him where he learned his Spanish.  Tim told him he served here in Guatemala 40 years ago.  The director then asked if he served in Salama.  Tim's face lit up and said yes.  Then he asked if he was the same Elder Fisher who opened up Salama to missionary work in 1976? Again Tim said yes.  This brother then proceeded to tell Tim the story of when he was 7 years old a Elder Fisher contacted his father in Salama and from that one contact his entire family joined the church and most have served missions and the town of Salama has since sent out over 70 missionaries.  This brother has been a bishop and Stake President and he himself served a mission as well as 3 of his children.  All this occurred because 2 elders were sent on the Lord's errand under the direction of their inspired mission president to take a bus to a town that had never had Mormon missionaries.  They rented a hotel room, found a suitable building to hold church services and began tracting. On the first Sunday 9 were in attendance. This last Sunday this brother picked us up to take us to his Ward and dinner afterwards to meet his family. They thanked Tim for what he has done for them in bringing them the Gospel."