Ned & Mary in Guatemala

  Quetzaltenango Temple and Lake Atitlan - February 2023 Wednesday, we went to Quetzaltenango, over four hours away, to attend the temple and to see that part of Guatemala. .It was a beautiful day and we very much enjoyed our time in this beautiful temple. From there, we drove over 2 hours to Lake Atitlan. It is a beautiful, large lake which has several old volcanoes around it. Here are a few photos of where we stayed.  This is one of 6 cabins in an area close to the beach. Above is a view from the sitting area outside the upstairs bedroom. It was a beautiful area. The dining room table and chairs were quite unique, having been taken from large trees in the area. I thought I would throw in a picture of the living room and kitchen for memory's sake. Thursday morning, we took a boat ride across the lake to a town they call San Juan. This is the area, walking distance from our cabin, from which we launched. The lake is surrounded by mountains and it was interesting to me where so...

The Taxisco Building The branch we serve in meets in an interesting building. The building was built about 25 years ago, with the members helping with the construction. One of its interesting features is that the baptismal font is under the "stand". You can see the podium off to the side. We were in the office this week and were pleased to participate in the birthday celebration for an 82 year old brother who has been working at the area office for over 30 years. His current job is washing the fleet of cars the Area has. He starts his day at 5AM. Many people come up and personally wish him a happy birthday with hugs.  Finally, I received a call while at the office letting me know that it was a problem that I pulled into a parking spot instead of backing into it. I was nicely asked to go park the right way when I could. Our car is the first one on the right. I was not given a reason why my having parked the other way was problematic. But, as you can see, I was very much the od...

Wheelchair Donantions Friday we were asked to help with the Donation Ceremony at the facilities of an organization that serves handicap people. The Church donated over 550 wheelchairs and other items used by those with physical restrictions.  This lady is sitting in one of the donated wheelchairs. She became quite emotional as she expressed gratitude to the Church for their significant donation. The gentleman on the left and the couple on the right work for Intermountain Health Care and they donated a week in which they provided training to employees so they could train the end users of the wheel chairs. The two men in the center are from the Church. One is the stake president in the area and the other works in the Area Offices. His department is charged will learning about needs, and where appropriate, making needed donations. The other two people are leaders in the organization to which the donation was made.

  Visiting Belize with Kevin and his Family - January 2023 We were delighted to meet Kevin and his family in Belize for a little vacation. Kevin served a good chunk of his mission there, and it is part of the Central America Area. This is a look out of the front door of the place where we stayed. Very nice! We stayed on San Pedro Island which is across a bay from the Belize mainland. This is the plane that flew us there from Belize City. Kevin and his family walked out on the dock that was in front of where we stayed.  I didn't get a good picture of this woman carrying the goods they sought to sell on her head, as she left for home at the end of the day. We learned that all beaches are public and so they hung their goods on our fence and sat in the shade of the dock waiting for customers. The branch on the island has sacrament meeting in the morning for visitors to the island and the full block in the evening for local members. Kevin and I went back in the evening in hopes of ...

Tour of Guatemala City Sites - December 23, 2022 Mary put in a lot of effort arranging a tour of noteworthy sites in Guatemala City. We took that tour with some other senior missionary couples and it was impressive. Our first stop was The Berlin Park which had been decorated for Christmas. We understand that the park was developed under the influence of German refugees as an expression of gratitude for being taken in by the people of Guatemala. Here are just a few of the many decorations. A pyramid with animals to the side. Three sections of the Berlin wall. On the main plaza, there was leopard with background decorations,  and a decorated salute to Guatemala (Guate for short). He we are by the decorated "Guate" with the other two couples who joined us for the tour.  Next we went to an ancient Mayan City that had been abandoned a very long time ago and ended up being covered over by jungle growth and soil. Here are some photos with comments. I think the guide said this was ki...