Bienvenida y Despedida

     On the 21st of April, we had to say despedida, or farewell, to President and Sister Harris, the first counselor and assistant to the Matron.  Their mission here is finished and they will be greatly missed.

They have served here for 18 months.  They also served here as a Mission President before this mission for 3 years so they really knew their way around and knew lots of the people.




President Harris, President Burk, President Galvez

Los Galvez's, Los Burk's, Los Harris's

     We had a BBQ in the Burk's back yard in honor of those missionaries leaving and those arriving.

      We had hamburgers and hot dogs with all the trimmings.  Elder Thompson even made deviled eggs for the first time cause the Padilla's had never tasted them before.  Sister Murri helping the Harris's with the cooking.

    The doorway goes from their back yard into ours.  Elder and Sister Roberts.  She got a knee chair from the States to help her get around.   She broke her foot and dislocated  her ankle and can't put any weight on it for another 4 weeks.  President Burk making sure that all is ready.

Elder Murri is ready and hungry.  Let's eat!

     We also said goodbye to the Svensens.  They are from Alberta Canada.  This is their second mission.  They served in Santo Domingo in the temple there.  Elder Svensen is our assistant recorder and serves every evening shift.  Sister Svensen is an amazing seamstress and has spent her free time hemming dresses, slips, pants and making little white dresses for the children who come to be sealed to their parents.  She has arranged the clothing in the temple so it runs so much smoother than ever before.  They will be missed. 

     We also said goodbye  to the Pitchers, only in a different way.  They are no longer temple missionaries.  They have been assigned to work in the Area Office as a secretary to Elder Amado.  They have had to move from our temple housing and will no longer attend our FHE here.   Whenever they can, they will still come and serve in the temple as obreros but just not on a regular basis.

     We say bienvenida, welcome, to our new single senior missionaries.  We have such admiration for these dedicated sisters who come alone to serve.

 Sister Paniagua is from the Bountiful area and has served in that temple.  She is only in her 50's and is a divorced mother of 5.  She was born here in Quetzaltanango (Xela).  She is full of life!!

This is Sister Tanner. She is 80 years young.   She is from Orem, Utah and this is her 7th mission.  All of her missions have not been in temples.  She has served in Santo Domingo, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Taiwan and Washington DC.  She has a lot of get up and go, but does get a bit confused at times.  I only pray that when I reach that age, I can remember half of what she does.   

 

And then we have Sister Caballero.  She was born in Chile and has lived most of her life in the states.  She presently lives in Orem, Utah.  She served in the Provo Temple for years, but didn't know any of the Spanish until now.  She is in her mid 70's and this is her first mission.

     With President Harris leaving, we needed a new counselor so President Galvez has been moved to the position of First Counselor and President and Sister Roberts have been called to serve as the Second Counselor and assistant to the matron.

     With the broken ankle, getting around the temple will be a challenge for Sister Roberts, but she is determined and with the knee chair, she will be able to get around better.  They don't have these here and everyone is fascinated with it.  The Roberts are from Idaho Falls, Idaho.  They are wonderful people with very strong testimonies of the restored Gospel.  This is their second mission, having served in Santo Domingo as Pepetual Education Fund Missionaries.  It is going to be great serving with them.

     We have had a wonderful week with lots of people in the temple.  On Friday, a stake came from a town called Paticia where everyone is under 4 1/2 feet tall and the women all dress in the traditional dress of Guatemala.  This is one of the poorer, uneducated areas but they are all so sweet and loving.  Saturday was the biggest day we have had since we have arrived.  Starting at 5:00 AM we had FULL sessions every half hour till our shift ended at 12:30.  Elder Thompson was privileged to do some sealings and we never had a chance to breath till we got home.  And then we didn't get to sit for long as we had to move.  But I will tell you all about that next week with pictures of our new apartment.

     We are enjoying our service here.  We are sad to loose these missionaries that we have come to love but here it is normal for someone to be going home every month and new missionaries to arrive.  We have two new couples coming in two weeks.  Thank you for your prayers in our behalf.  We are safe and serving with all our hearts, mind and strength.  You are always in our thoughts and prayers.  We send our love to all; Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma