On December 1st, our P-day, we decided to hire Andres and his taxi to take us and the Gardner's out to Antigua for a day of site-seeing. We had been told of a town that specializes in making leather goods. Andres took us on a back road so that we could see a different part of the country side than we had already seen. We arrived in Pastores.
President Thompson tried on several shoes. They were very well made on the outside, but the inside was just the leather and cardboard for the innersoles. They were not comfortable at all. We'll just wait till we get home for new shoes.
He is sewing a pair of cowboy boots.
We decided to go down the road a bit farther to search for a better choice for lunch. This was the only "restaurant" that we saw in the city of Pastores.
One of the colorful buses that transport people and products from city to city.
As we drove through the country side, we had Volcano Agua on one side and Volcano Fuego on the other. The ride was beautiful.
We stopped to take some pictures of Volcano Fuego and had a hard time getting the top of the volcano because of the clouds.
My camera has a timer on it and this shot was taken at 14:17
Elder Gardner and President Thompson taken at 14:19
and Fuego decided to let off some steam at 14:20. We are quite a distance from the Volcano. The natives tell us that when it blows off steam like this, it also is blowing out rocks and lava but we are just too far away to see it. Very impressive to be there when it went off.
The coffee beans are still green. They won't be picked for another month and they will turn red when they are ready.
We went on into Antigua and spent some time at the Artesanian markets, had lunch and got home in time for FHE at 6:00. We had a fun day with some very special people.
On Thursday the 4th, we went to lunch with the Gardner's, the Wilson's, and the Cuellar's to have a last lunch with the Cuellar's before they finish their mission on the 14th. We were all on the morning shift on Thursday so we could go. The Cuellar's will be on the PM shift next week so it was our last chance. We walked to San Martins.
Los Cuellar's, Los Wilson's, Los Gardner's, Los Thompson's
We are going to miss the Cuellar's. They are from Honduras. They are the only members of the church in their family. This is the second marriage for both of them and their children really don't have a lot to do with them. They are going to miss the mission but hopefully will be able to serve in the Honduras Temple.
A couple of candid shots that we saw as we were walking this week;
Well, Sunday the 7th we went with the Roberts to the Escuintla Stake Conference. They had to speak and we just went along to keep them company on the drive. It took about an hour and a half to get there. It is close to the coast so it was down hill all the way and when we got there, it was very hot and humid. It really reminded us of El Salvador with the vegetation and climate.
You can see that this church was expanded in three phases, as the membership increased. The far left was first, then the middle, then the big chapel. We only saw one obrera from the temple here. With traffic, it would be about a 2 or 2 1/2 hour trip one way. In the parking lot, we found the answer to all of our ills and pains---
He advertises that he can cure over 100 illnesses, including cancer and kidney stones.
The saints arrive for conference on foot, motorcycle, and the back of pickups.
I would feel better with the cattle guards on the sides of the truck.
Volcano Fuego was again letting off steam.
You can see where the new stream of lava has spread in the last few months. This is on the opposite side of the Volcano than where we were on the 1st. We also had smoke coming from Volcano Pacaya but we didn't get a picture of it, sorry.
December the 7th is "la Quema del Diablo" or the "Burning of the Devil" day. This tradition started in the 18th century. Families build bon fires outside their homes and burn these effigy's of Satan that are in the form of pinates.
They burn them to cleanse their homes from the devils that lurk in their homes, creeping behind furniture or under beds. It is a prelude to the holiday season. The devil is burned to clear the way for Mary's feast, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. In some of the smaller cities, a 5 foot devil is burned in the town square. This happens at exactly 6:00PM accompanied by firecrackers. It sounded like a war zone.
They don't use fireworks that would light up the sky, just fire crackers, huge ones and we had Saturday and Sunday filled with them. The Devils were on sale all along the roads. This morning as we walked, we stopped to take a picture of the fireworks booth that will be here until after New Year's Day when the owner came across the street to give us a gift. She had a couple of Devil's left and she gave us two of them to take home.
Not sure that they really add to the Christmas spirit of our tree and we have no idea that we will do with them, but it made the lady happy to have us accept her gift to us.
Well, that is about all from Guatemala for another week. I can't believe how fast each week keeps going by. We enjoyed the Christmas Devotional last night from SLC. Our Christmas season has officially began now. We look forward to our week in the Temple. We send all our love. Enjoy every day as this special season comes and goes real fast. Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Lon and Nancy
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