Sunday, March 12, 2017
Heartbroken
This has been a week of such mixed emotions. For the past couple of months, we have anxiously counted the weeks and days, while trying to stay focused on our missionary duties, until we would be able to return home and be with our family. But now that that time has arrived, it has been painful to say good-bye to so many wonderful friends. On Thursday we went to lunch with the Legal Office at Boca del Rio, a seafood restaurant in Zone 10, la Zona Viva. It was a nice lunch, and knowing we had several days before we would say our final goodbyes, it was not too difficult that day. But later that evening, we sat in the Temple with President and Sister Norman and said a final goodbye to them and our fellow temple workers, and it was heartbreaking. Then on Saturday, we had a luncheon at the new PF Chang's Restaurant in the Zona Viva with some of our senior missionary friends, along with Mark and Paula Wood. It was a wonderful time, and we said goodbye to many of them. After we left, a great feeling of sadness and loss came over us. Today we attended our beloved Barrio Santa Luisa for the final time, and said goodbye to the wonderful Saints we have loved for 18 months. It was a tearful and heartbreaking farewell. We feel as though a hunk of our heart has been cut out, and while we are so excited about seeing our family again, the farewell to Guatemala has been a painful one. We never anticipated having to cut out a piece of our heart and leave it behind. We will always remember those we have served with and come to love here in the land of the Mayas, and part of our heart will always remain here.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Things I Will Miss in Guatemala
We were asked to speak this morning in our Zone Conference, because we won't be here the next time they meet. Hard to say good-bye when we will still be here a couple of months. Many have asked me what I will miss when I go home, so I answered their question this morning with this list:
Things in Guatemala I will miss:
1. The faithful and loving Saints in Barrio Santa Luisa.
2. The association with so many dedicated and inspiring senior missionaries, our trips and parties and adventures together.
3. Working with the wonderful Church employees in the area office, sharing in their weekly devotional, and seeing their dedication and faith.
3a. The team in the Legal Department and our close association.
4. The beautiful Mayan people in their colorful, traditional dress.
5. The nearly perfect weather.
6. The beautiful flowers and trees.
7. The manicured plots of ground tended by hand with crops planted, cultivated, and harvested year round in the highlands, corn stocks ten feet high, and endless fields of sugar cane, bananas, melons and other crops in the Tierra Caliente.
8. Never having to worry about falling asleep while driving.
9. Watching the ongoing competition to see who can load the most produce or the most people in the back of a Toyota pick-up.
10. The customs, including Semana Santa in Antigua with the incredible devotion demonstrated in the beautiful alfombras and processions, fireworks during the holidays, and the melodious music of the marimba.
11. Watching Volcan Fuego awake and emit clouds of ash nearly every morning, as if sending off smoke signals to Pacaya.
12. The hard working people and the myriad ways they devise to earn a meager living.
13. The natural beauty and wonders, from the black sand beaches of the Pacific to the steep mountains and volcanoes of the highlands, to Lago Isabal and Rio dulce, and the jungles of the Petén, to the ancient Mayan ruins all over this mysterious land.
14. Their amazing system of commerce and bustling markets, especially their produce piled high. In every Guatemalan their is a little salesman!
15. Their beautiful arts and handycrafts and their colorful hand-woven fabrics.
16. The wonderful Spanish language and the strange sounding Mayan tongues.
17. Serving in the Guatemala City temple, especially when groups come from remote villages to serve there, and feeling the spirit of peace and love that dwells there.
18. Traveling along their steep and winding roads, dodging pot holes and slowing for tumulos.
19. Visiting so many beautiful places in Central America, Panama and Belize.
20. Wearing the missionary badge, teaching the young men in our ward and the young adults at Funval, and sharing the Book of Mormon and my testimony with these great people. Feeling the overwhelming sense of peace, joy, and love that enfuses this work. Every day is a great day to be in the service of Our God.
Things in Guatemala I will miss:
1. The faithful and loving Saints in Barrio Santa Luisa.
2. The association with so many dedicated and inspiring senior missionaries, our trips and parties and adventures together.
3. Working with the wonderful Church employees in the area office, sharing in their weekly devotional, and seeing their dedication and faith.
3a. The team in the Legal Department and our close association.
4. The beautiful Mayan people in their colorful, traditional dress.
5. The nearly perfect weather.
6. The beautiful flowers and trees.
7. The manicured plots of ground tended by hand with crops planted, cultivated, and harvested year round in the highlands, corn stocks ten feet high, and endless fields of sugar cane, bananas, melons and other crops in the Tierra Caliente.
8. Never having to worry about falling asleep while driving.
9. Watching the ongoing competition to see who can load the most produce or the most people in the back of a Toyota pick-up.
10. The customs, including Semana Santa in Antigua with the incredible devotion demonstrated in the beautiful alfombras and processions, fireworks during the holidays, and the melodious music of the marimba.
11. Watching Volcan Fuego awake and emit clouds of ash nearly every morning, as if sending off smoke signals to Pacaya.
12. The hard working people and the myriad ways they devise to earn a meager living.
13. The natural beauty and wonders, from the black sand beaches of the Pacific to the steep mountains and volcanoes of the highlands, to Lago Isabal and Rio dulce, and the jungles of the Petén, to the ancient Mayan ruins all over this mysterious land.
14. Their amazing system of commerce and bustling markets, especially their produce piled high. In every Guatemalan their is a little salesman!
15. Their beautiful arts and handycrafts and their colorful hand-woven fabrics.
16. The wonderful Spanish language and the strange sounding Mayan tongues.
17. Serving in the Guatemala City temple, especially when groups come from remote villages to serve there, and feeling the spirit of peace and love that dwells there.
18. Traveling along their steep and winding roads, dodging pot holes and slowing for tumulos.
19. Visiting so many beautiful places in Central America, Panama and Belize.
20. Wearing the missionary badge, teaching the young men in our ward and the young adults at Funval, and sharing the Book of Mormon and my testimony with these great people. Feeling the overwhelming sense of peace, joy, and love that enfuses this work. Every day is a great day to be in the service of Our God.
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