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.
