My Deacons Quorum

I am enjoying so much my calling as the Deacons Quorum advisor.  Today I taught the boys about the baptismal covenant.  They need so much for the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel to be taught to them in plainess.  They lack the depth of Gospel knowledge that our children had, but they are eager to learn.  I see so much potential in them to become great missionaries, faithful priesthood leaders, and good fathers.  I thank the Lord for the opportunity to teach them.  The spirit in our quorum this morning was so powerful and moving; it is a testament to the love Our Heavenly Father has for these young men.

Monday Devotional

One of the wonderful experiences I have here in Guatemala is meeting every Monday morning with the employees of the Church in the Area Office in a devotional to begin the week´s work.  This morning we had the privilege of listening to Elder José Alonso of the Area Presidency.  He spoke of the important role of women in the counsels of the Church and family in helping open the windows of heaven and ensure that the power of Godliness is manifest in our lives.  He testified of the importance for those holding the Holy Priesthood of listening intently and receiving counsel from the sisters.

Elder Alonso shared an experience in his life when he was a young father and medical doctor working very long hours at the hospital including on Sundays and late in the evening.  His only day off was on Thursday.  On one occasion his young son asked him why he never went with the family to Church. He explained to the boy that he had to work very hard at the hospital, but that he did it all for him and the family.  Later when he and his wife were discussing this concern of their son, his wife told him that he did not work that way for the benefit of the family, but did it because he wanted to. She counseled him that if he worked for the family, he would be with the family for Church.  Elder Alonso testified that his wife´s counsel changed his life.  He resolved that he would make the changes necessary in his job so that he could be with his family in these important times.  The next day he asked to meet with his supervising doctor at the hospital, and the man asked him to wait for a few minutes as he had an appointment to talk with another doctor in the hospital at that time.  After the other doctor departed, Elder Alonso went in to talk with his boss.  The boss said before he heard what Elder Alonso wanted to discuss, he needed to ask him for some help.  He explained that the other doctor had come to see him about a personal problem that made it difficult for him to work his Saturday shift, and he wanted to rearrange his schedule so that he worked on Sunday instead of Saturday.  The boss asked Elder Alonso if he would be willing to rearrange his schedule so that he took his day off on Sunday.  Elder Alonso said he would be glad to, of course. When his boss asked him what he had come to talk to him about, Elder Alonso just said he had come to invite him to lunch.  He testified that when he listened to the counsel of his wife and determined to follow her counsel, the Lord opened the windows of heaven and made it possible for him to do His will.

I so enjoy rubbing shoulders with these wonderful latter-day saints in the area office.  Each is temple worthy and faithful in the Church and the spirit in the Area Office is strong.  These special devotionals every Monday morning are a great way to start the week.

Funval

One of the most enjoyable assignments I have here in Guatemala is teaching Institute classes in a nearby educational institution called Funval.  Returned missionaries get training there in English and many other disciplines to help them obtain good jobs.  They are wonderful young saints with solid testimonies, and I love sharing the truths of the Book of Mormon with them.  As part of my lesson for this evening, we will be discussing how Our Heavenly Father always prepares the way for us so that we may keep the commandments that He gives us.  He loves us and wants us to be happy, and His commandments are designed to help us take advantage of the plan of redemption and find happiness in this life and in eternity.  He wants us to succeed, and thus He carefully prepares the way for us, so that we may keep His commandments if we will trust in Him and give our best effort.  I know this to be true, as I have experienced it again and again throughout my life.  When we have God on our side preparing our way, nothing is impossible.

Our 4th of July Celebration on July 1st, 2016, Guatemala Army Day.

Yesterday we had a day off for a Guatemalan holiday called Army Day.  So Sister Kari Sanford organized a picnic for the Senior Missionaries at the wonderful Church owned camp near Chimaltenango called Las Colinas.  It is a spectacular property with first class facilities that beat anything I have seen in the States.  We drove over with Elder and Sister Tony and Margo Reyna.  Elder Reyna served with me in Colombia over 40 years ago.  We also picked up Carol Mancilla who we knew from our days of serving as inner-city missionaries in Barrio Lucero in Salt Lake City.  Her husband, Oscar, is a counselor in the bishopric in Barrio Lucero.  She is here with her daughter visiting her home country of Guatemala for the summer (well, actually the winter here).

We had such a nice day at Las Colinas.  We got to the camp about an hour ahead of the group, so we took a hike around the property.  It turned out to be quite a hike as the terrain along the east side of the property is very steep.  There was a nice trail that descended the steep hill to a stream (they call it the River Sidon, as all the features of the camp bear Book of Mormon names).  It wound along the stream through the thick forest.  It was a very pleasant place to hike.  We found an obstacle or confidence course that they have constructed for the youth down in that ravine.  We then had to climb back up the steep hill at the north end of the property and work our way back around to the south end where our camp was located.  The separate camp sites, and there must have been seven or more spread around the property, have big pavilions with great barbecue facilities and tables.  There are shower houses and restroom facilities and a large meeting hall as well.  All the camps have large fields for soccer and activities, and the whole property, about 250 acres, is beautifully maintained and landscaped.  We had a barbecue with shared sides of all types, a very nice meal.  We then played games and visited.  It was so nice to get away from the office for a day.  We enjoyed our time with Carol and with the missionaries.

MI BELLA GUATEMALA/ Marimba CHAPINLANDIA (German Alcantara)

Just another taste of the Marimba and "Mi Bella Guatemala" (My Beautiful Guatemala).

NOCHE DE LUNA ENTRE RUINAS MARIMBA CHAPINLANDIA

This is the famous Guatemalan Walz, Noche de Luna Entre Ruinas (roughly "Full Moon among the Ruins") by Mariano Valverde.  It was written in remembrance of the terrible earthquake of April 18, 1902 in Quetzaltenango, Valverde´s hometown and the so-called "Capital of the Mayans" (although some say it was for the December 1917 earthquakes that rocked Guatemala City and Antigua).

Here it is performed in its traditional method on the Marimba, the beautiful national instrument of Guatemala.  One of the things I love most about Guatemala is listening to the beautiful music of the Marimba, it is uplifting.  There is a traditional Guatemalan walz performed to this piece.

Cosmopolitan Panama

Last weekend we accompanied two other missionary couples in a weekend visit to Panama City.  We stayed in the Wyndham Hotel in the Albrook Mall, the largest mall in Central America and the biggest one I have ever seen.  On Saturday we took a tour of Panama City that was very interesting. We visited the Panama Canal and watched some ships go through the Mira Flores locks.  We learned a little of the history of this incredible engineering feat.  The French first attempted to build the canal in the late 19th Century, but the effort was unsuccessful in part due to disease.  Their plan called for building a flat Suez Canal type canal over the isthmus, which would have required the excavation of an incredible amount of rock.  Over 20,000 workers died in the first five years of their efforts, and more than 10,000 are buried in a hill in the city. Thankfully the company went bankrupt and the dieing stopped.  The United States then took up the effort of building the Canal, but they didn´t want to deal with the Colombian government at the time, so the independent country of Panama was born (without U.S. involvement, of course).  I think it was five days later that the U.S. signed the agreement under which the Canal was built.  The U.S. plan involved the excavation of a man made lake in the middle of the isthmus with an ingenious lock system to use fresh water from the lake to lift ships up from the the level of the ocean on one side and lower them down to the level of the ocean on the other.  The United States military constructed most of the infrastructure that has become Panama City, and it is very nice from Central American standards--a good road system, drinkable water, and beautiful buildings and housing.  When I came through Panama in 1973 the Canal Zone was still in the hands of the U.S. military, but now it all belongs to Panama, and it has helped make the country stable and profitable.

We visited Casco Viejo or Casco Antiguo, the old walled city of Panama where most of the gold from the new world passed on its way to Spain.  It had fortifications to protect it from pirates, but in about 1671 it was burned to the ground during an attack by the pirate, Captain Morgan.  The history books say that Morgan burned the city, but our guide said that the truth is the mayor burned it by accident, as he had ordered that fires be set on the walls as a defensive effort, but the fire burned out of control and burned the entire city.  Anyway the city was rebuilt and at the current time is in a period of renovation and restoration that is making it a great place to visit and taste a bit of history.

Since the Canal was transferred to Panamanian control, Panama City has undergone a surge in high-rise construction in the city center, making Panama City the Dubai of Central America.  It is financial center with an impressive sky line.  The people of Panama are a mix of people from all over the world who came here to build the canal and of the indigenous people.  This background gives the place a cosmopolitan feel, and there are goods for sale from all over the world as well.  Panama has become a popular expatriate retirement place for North Americans and Europeans because of favorable tax and residence laws and other benefits.

The Panama City Temple is a beautiful and peaceful refuge on a prominent hill in the area once occupied by the U.S. military.  Sunday meetings in the chapel next to the Temple were conducted in a mix of English and Spanish, each person speaking in the language with which they were most comfortable and translation services back and forth between the two language being provided.  We enjoyed our visit to Panama very much.

The Temple of the Mayas

This weekend we visited Quetzaltenango, the unofficial "captital of the Mayas."  It is also known by its Mayan name, Xelajú (meaning "under ten mountains") or simply Xela for short.  It sits in a beautiful, agricultural valley high in the mountains (7,600 feet in elevation), surrounded by volcanoes, hills, and mountains.  Every inch of it and its surrounding hills is cultivated and produces rich harvests of corn, coffee, and all types of fruits, vegetables, and nuts.  The population is predominantly Mayan and traditional Mayan dress is the norm.  It is the second largest city in Guatemala, but it is not Americanized like the Capital; it is much more traditional.

We attended the temple on Saturday morning.  It really is the temple of the Mayas!  I can't describe how beautiful the temple is!  It sits atop a hill overlooking the city surrounded by expansive and beautifully manicured grounds.  It is built on the theme of the Mayan temples of antiquity both in its architecture and in its appointments.  It is such a beautiful and peaceful place!  On Saturday it was teaming with Mayas, most in traditional dress, and large youth groups doing baptisms.  It was moving to see them in their temple and so filled with the light of Christ!  It truly is the Temple of the Mayas.

We visited the beautiful central plaza and other sites in the city and attended church in a vibrant ward near our hotel.  On the way home we stopped and visited the impressive property "Las Colinas" which is the stake camp near Chimaltenango where they hold SOY (like EFY) and other youth camps and other church gatherings.  It is a most impressive property with first class facilities.  I haven't seen anything like it before, even in the States.

We travelled this weekend with our friends here, Ross and Kari Sanford, who serve with Mary Ann in the Dental Clinic.  It was a very enjoyable trip.

The Pure Love of Christ

I have been thinking much this week about the wonderful spirit of peace, joy, and love we feel here in Guatemala.  There is a spirit in this Work that is hard to describe.  It hearkens me back to my days as a young missionary in Colombia.  There too I felt this same special spirit and experienced the same spiritual growth that we feel here in Guatemala.  We feel this special spirit in our work in the Area Office and Dental Clinic, and we especially feel it in our work in the Guatemala City Temple.  Last night at the temple, I officiated in a session of the endowment where an elderly couple came to receive their endowment and then be sealed as eternal companions.  The spirit in the session was marvelous and moving.

As I have contemplated this topic this  past week or so, I have come to realize that the feeling we are experiencing here is the pure love of Christ.  It is our love for Christ and for the Father that brings us here to serve as missionaries, but what I mean is that God loves his missionaries and He shares that love with them in a very special way.  That love fills our hearts with great peace and joy, with gratitude, and a desire to do always that which pleases our Father.  There are many things which we could be doing with our lives right now, but I can´t think of anything that we could be doing that could possibly bring us such love, peace, and joy as serving here.

I hope and pray that each of my grandchildren will gain a personal testimony of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration, the Church, and our Savior, Jesus Christ, and that each of them will have the experience of tasting his pure love as a missionary.  There is nothing sweeter than the love of God.

Feeling our age

I got a new responsibility today in our Guatemalan ward to work with the young men.  With teaching institute, working in the temple, and my day job in the Legal Office, I feel the load.  The past couple of weeks at the end of a long week of service, Mary Ann and I have been pretty worn out.  I guess we are showing our age a little.  We love the work we are doing here and being a part of building God's kingdom on this earth.  We pray for the energy to keep pressing forward with faith.  Four new members in a family were confirmed again today in Church--really cute kids.  Spanish is getting better and Mary Ann is learning more each day.  The Lord cares for his missionaries and we are receiving His blessings here in spades.  We love you all and miss you all so much.  Every day we pray for you that the Spirit will be with you and you will have the faith to keep your covenants and be true and faithful in this day of sifting.