Rainy Season During this time of year, it rains just about every day and there is much of green to bear witness of that. There is a lot of natural beauty all around us. Here as some photos we took on Sunday.
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Casa de Dois Mega Church We have been attending a small branch about two hours from here the past two Sundays. Each time we do, we are taken back by the Casa de Dios Church building we pass on our way. Here is a view of their worship building. To gain some perspective of the size of this building, you need to look at the large parking areas which surround it. (The photos don't do justice to the actual size.) Another perspective comes from the inside photos below. Wikipedia says that as of 2011 Casa de Dios was attended by over 25,000 people. (I couldn't find more current statistics.) Additionally, they broadcast their services. Casa de Dios was founded on September 11, 1994 by Pastor Carlos "Cash" Luna and his wife Sonia Luna. (I love his nickname.)
Guatemala City Temple Yesterday, we were able to attend the Guatemala City Temple for the first time. It was dedicated in December of 1984, so the faithful saints in this area have had a temple for a long time. We very much enjoyed our experience and the temple workers were very friendly. At least two of them remembered my Uncle Tim who served as mission president in this area many years ago. I was very grateful for the quiet time to worship and meditate. We will try to attend frequently.
Our New Branch Assignment Today, we attended church in Taxisco. It is a smaller community which is 2 hours from here on an early Sunday morning and almost 3 hours on the way back. It is at a much lower elevation, and therefore, gets considerably warmer than we get in Guatemala City. Here is the front side of the building. As you can see, it is pretty small. Also, you have to go outside, around the corner by where Mary is standing, to use the restroom. Here is a view inside the chapel. Interestingly, to access the baptismal font, you have to move the lectern and pull the middle section of the podium away from the wall. There is much about this building that reminds me of Chile. An outside basketball/soccer court becomes the parking lot during church meetings. This was the case in the last community where we served in Chile. Finally, I wanted to mention the scooter-based taxis, called "toot-toots", of which we saw many in this community and in those we passed through on the way
Humanitarian Clinic Donation Today, we went to a clinic in a town over an hour from here named Centro de Salud De Santa Catarina Pinula. We were there because the church was donating several items needed by the clinic (refrigerator, stove, chairs, exam tables, computers, etc.) This clinic treats pregnant women and small children who cannot afford to pay for the service. Here is a picture of the only doctor who works at the clinic. As you can see, she is past her prime physically. I'm sure she gets paid very little, if anything, but she stays at it faithfully. Here is one of her patients that came by during the proceedings. (Several came by in the time we were there and she showed love to all of them.) One of the humanitarian missionaries from the Church, Sister Elizabeth Wise, is standing next to her.
Luncheon for Religious Freedom Yesterday, we had lunch with a senior pastor from the Evangelical Church with several of his colleagues. He is standing on my right in the picture below. This was a meeting arranged to further the cooperation between his team and ours in seeking to protect religious freedom. He has the respect and trust of Guatemala's president and has been appointed to head up an effort to protect families and religious freedom in Guatemala. Guatemala seems to be very progressive in this effort. Two attorneys from the Phoenix area were in the meeting as they have been assigned by the Church to facilitate these relationships and efforts. The younger one specializes in immigration law and his Spanish was exceptional.
Some Assignments Things are picking up for us as the women to whom we report (Karen and Jennifer) are involving us in more interactions. On Wednesday, we had lunch with the administrator of a clinic which treats children with cancer, free of charge to their families. This is the administrator Sara. We are working with them to set up a "Giving Machine" machine, as part of "Light the World", which will accumulate donations for her clinic. Evidently, the sisters with whom we work have done several projects in behalf of this clinic. They even arranged meetings between Sara and Elders Rasband and President Nelson. Sara is a practicing member of the Jewish faith but went on quite a while about how grateful she is to our church for the support.
Central America Area Presidency We are part of the Central America Area "staff" so I thought I would introduce you to the presidency. We were able to visit with the two counselors yesterday and it was a delightful conversation. Elder Godoy is originally from Peru and Elder Giuffra from Chile. I look forward to working with them.
Our Communications Department Directors I would like to introduce you to the two sisters who are our bosses. Karen, on the right, is in charge of Area Communications and Jennifer is her second in command. Jennifer was widowed 14 years ago while pregnant with her 3rd child. She has great strength. Both are well educated and are able to associate comfortably with all people. They have been very kind to us.
Travel to Guatemala Sorry but I didn't get any pictures on our trip down here. We are grateful that our trip to Guatemala went very well. Clarke was nice to drive us to the airport. He was also nice to stay with us until we got to the desk to check in. We needed his help because we had so many large bags. That wait was more than an hour. Everything after that went great and our new bosses picked us up at the airport. They are two Guatemalan sisters who are employed in Central America Area Office. We checked into a hotel as our apartment isn't ready yet. We will move into it on Friday. Here is a picture from our hotel room. The weather is nice and the people are wonderful.
Leaving the Ninety and Nine
Leaving the Ninety and Nine We were given a recording of training provided to other couples who have the same mission assignment as we do in different parts of the world. During that training, one mother/grandmother referenced the Parable of the Lost Sheep and noted that she understood better how difficult it was like to leave the 99 as she left her family to serve a mission. That comment rang true. We aren't leaving 99 but we are leaving 36. This picture was taken a year ago at our family reunion at Bear Lake in Idaho. Since then, two granddaughters and a grandson have joined our family. Obviously, we won't be going to Guatemala to search for sheep that were lost from our personal fold. Rather, we will seek to help others return to our Father's fold. With that said, leaving the 36 is still difficult and we earnestly pray that they will be well (physically, spiritually and emotionally) while we are away.
