Ned & Mary in Guatemala

 Guatemala Election Season - April 2023 We are in election season and there are posters everywhere for the many, many candidates. We took a picture on our way to church today.  As you can see, there are many signs along the left side of this city road. There are sections of city roads that have even more.  We asked our driver Thursday night about how he chooses a candidate. He indicated it was rough because they are all crooked. With 25 national political parties it would be very difficult to choose.

The Guatemala Press Club - April 2023  We were asked to represent the Area Communications Department at some celebrations by the Freedom of the Press Group (Periodistas de Guatemala) Wednesday afternoon and Thursday night. Wednesday we went with Karen and Jeniffer, but Thursday we were on our own. There was a panel on Wednesday representing groups that had benefited the group. Karen is on the far right. The Church donated several computer tables and chairs for their research area.  Thursday evening, they unveiled a painting representing the 75 year history of the group. The artist is a member of the Church. His wife introduced herself to us. She was most pleased to see her husbands work being honored and had many friends and family there. For just over an hour on Thursday evening, a marimba band entertained us. They were high energy and obviously enthused about what they were doing. They were very gracious afterwards when we went up to compliment them. The lady towards the left with th

  Possible Book of Mormon Locations in Current-day Guatemala One of the mission presidents in Guatemala, Lenard Brunsdale, was an emergency room physician who developed a very deep passion for identifying the current-day geography of Book of Mormon locations and events. He made a presentation to the senior couples in the Area which really piqued my interest. Later, I was able to get an electronic copy of his most recent book ("Atlas of Book of Mormon Geography- Brunsdale 2020"). During Dr. Brunsdale´s ~ 20 years working with other scholars and enthusiasts he/they devloped the above map. As you can see, some very key locations from the Book of Mormon are located within today's Guatemala. These include Zarahemla and Bountiful. While the top researchers don´t agree on a number of possible locations, they all are/were in complete agreement on the location of Zarahemla and Bountiful. (The book mentioned above covers a couple of theory models.) Are we absolutely sure of these l

Pacific Coast Adventure We made our way to the Pacific Coast to a large beach covered with black sand.  Thomas wanted to have the experience of swimming in the Pacific, and we wanted to see it. Here´s a look at one of the waves coming in.  We took a picture with Thomas to give perspective as to the wave sizes. The next day we went to the Guatemalan National Palace again. I am always amazed at the  amazing art and workmanship they were able to accomplish in just under five years.  Many of the chandeliers were gifts from the United States.

  Kaminaljuyu Archaeological Site in Guatemala City On Saturday, we visited the Kaminaljuyu Archaeological Site that is right in Guatemala City. It is the site of a large city dating back to centuries before Christ. Several layers had been built through the centuries until it was finally abandoned. Here are a couple of views from one of two larger areas where ancient buildings have been uncovered.               We are at a site within the complex where those of Mayan descent come to make ritualistic/burnt offerings.  We are told that many who do this have converted to Catholicism but they have held on to some of Mayan practices.  Here is another site where, as we were told on our previous visit, is where much of the archeological research is performed here.  When they remove the soil cover, they have to build another as the type of adobe used by the ancient people is subject to significant erosion, if left uncovered. From there, we drove to a museum which does a good job of documenting

Hiking up Pacaya Volcano The next day, we headed out earlier to meet the people responsible for transporting us to a hike of the largest volcano in the area. We met them at the large facility (hotel of 144 rooms, two restaurants, other facilities) that used to be a monastary until some 35+ years ago. We had dinner there with others in the Central America Communications Council about 7 months ago. Our group included a father (originally from Mexico) and his son from El Paso, TX and twin sisters from Netherlands. One of whom lives in the US. We were driven 1.5 hours to a visitor´s center at the base, where we met our guide. The lady in the shed to the right was offering oranges and drinks to hikers. This is near the top of the volcano we climed where you have the best view of the largest volcano.  We were told that all of the lava below was from the eruption in 2018.  There was natural beauty all around us. Here´s a sample of the hiking trail we took. It was a demanding hike but a very w

 Visit From Laura and Thomas - April 2023 Laura and her son, Thomas, arrived Wednesday afternoon for a five day visit. Mary had done some excellent planning so as to show them Guatemala and a good time. First we went to the large relief map that was created in the early 1900s seeking to attract railroad  system builders who might be willing to invest in a track across Guatemala. It is useful to gain perspective of Guatemala´s landscape and neighbors. Thursday we drove to Antigua which is a city full of  Guatemalan history and perspective. This was a special week as it was part of the celebration of Holy Week. We hired a guide to take us around and he made sure we saw three of the Holy Week processions put on by different churches. This picture was taken in the plaza in the center of the city.  You might find the fountain in the background interesting. Each procession put on by congregations had one float that was hand carried. This one was carried by females but I think firefighters we

               Location of Taxisco Branch                       I thought I might give a reference for how far we are from the branch where  we attend on Sundays. It is roughly a two-hour drive. It is interesting how many chapels there are in this section of Guatemala.