Utatlan Devotional, Iximche, Las Colinas

 

Dear Family and Friends:
    Well, with the holidays and our trips, the blog entries will not be weekly till we return to the temple and our normal schedule in January. So don't get worried that something is wrong.  We are just playing during our Temple closure.
     On Tuesday Dec. 16th, we had an amazing evening in the Temple.  Usually on a Tuesday evening we have 4 or 5 sessions.  But this evening, we had 7 sessions, 4 completely filled and the other 3 with the overflow.  What a wonderful way to start the Christmas holiday.  You never know if people will stop coming because of the holidays and the holiday traffic but we have had a wonderful two weeks as the temple has been filled.  What a great place to spend the Christmas season.  We were open on the 23rd and the people came.  It was great.  We are closed today the 24th and the 25th and will be back in the temple on the 26th and 27th. 
     On Sunday the 21st, the Temple Presidency was invited to a 5 year anniversary celebration in the Utatlan Stake.

                                                         President and Hermana Burk
This stake has been coming to the Temple every Tuesday evening for 5 years, never missing a week.  They are supposed to get there for the 7:00 session, our last in the evenings, but they are always late so it is a late evening for us but they bring such a wonderful spirit.  We are so thankful for their dedication.  The Temple Presidency had to speak and I was asked on Tuesday if I would sing "Abide with Me".  When we arrived, I was asked to sing another hymn and Lon volunteered to sing with me.   Thankfully it was one that we had sung before, "I Need Thee Every Hour".   It was a two hour devotional and then we were surprised with a full meal.

 We were served tamales and rolls.  We had ponche to drink, their version of hot apple cider made with a dozen fruits, and cake.

 They pulled out a table for the Stake Presidency and us but everyone else ate with their plates on their laps.  The first man here is Hermano Falabella, the high counselor over this 5 year project.

Elder Gardner was here in Guatemala City 50 years ago as a young missionary.  He and his companion were the Elders that brought the Gospel to the Falabella family.  He and his wife were invited to this celebration also and Elder Gardner also had to talk.  Hermana Gardner played the piano for us to sing.



                               

Los Thompson, Los Roberts, Los Burk, Stake President Flores, Hermano Falabella, 2nd Counselor in the Stake Presidency, Hermano Martinez.    As we ate, President Flores told us some of the stories of the individual people who sacrifice so much to get to the temple each week.  We had a wonderful evening.

     On Monday the 22nd, the missionaries headed out on a paseo to visit two places that we had not seen. 

Roberts, Burbidges, Thompsons, Hna. Caballeros, Hna. Guzman, Gardners, Eberharts, Wilsons, Barneys, Brubakers, Allreds and the Burks.  We took the Presidents van, the CCM van and the Burbidges van in order to get us all in.   It took about two hours to get to the Ruines Iximche.

     Iximche was founded in 1478 by the Kaqchikeles, a Mayan tribe.  It was called the first capital of Guatemala.  By 1530 it was abandoned as the Spaniards conquered Guatemala.  The park is still used today by the Kaqchikeles for religious celebrations. 

 We crawled up and down the rock foundations that are all that is left of the huge city.

This park is still used today by the Kaqchikeles for their religious rites.  It is called Xukulb'al.

They burn a lot of candles and chickens and smoke a lot of cigars in the ceremonies.

The entire rock formation is used on all sides.  We were fascinated with the clean, modern bathrooms that are provided here at the ceremonial site.

                                                                      Senorita's

                                                                     Senor's

It was fun to be out of the city and away from the traffic and enjoy the fresh air.  It was a beautiful day.  We left here and headed to Las Colinas.

 

This is the 300 acre church camp that is used for scouts, young women, Soy (EFY) and family reunions.  The Soy camps had just ended.  They bring in youth from 16-18 for a week at a time.  They had 700 one week, 900 the next, and had just ended their Soy campouts with over 700 youth.  The church provides tents, cots, sleeping bags, and blankets.

 They are taking down the tents as the season is over.  These are the boys tents, in one area

 These are the rows of the girls tents.  Each tent has a cover over them to protect them from the rains.

 

The church has really spared nothing here.  They have beautiful restrooms and showers.

  The camp has soccer fields, basket ball courts, and an outdoor ampa theatre.

There are 4 or 5 of these big pavilions provided for eating.  We had a family cater a dinner for us.

We had home made tortillas, chicken, rice, veg salad and orchata to drink.  The youth that come to camp have to earn 200 Quetzales ($27.00), the Stake adds in another 200 and the wards have to add another 200Q.  So it costs each youth about $80.00 to attend a week of camp.  On the last night of camp, they have a formal dance for the youth.  This camp is really beautiful.  We walked around and enjoyed another beautiful area away from the hustle and bustle, the sounds and smells of the city.

     As we drove through the little cities, we enjoyed the local people.

 We had a wonderful paseo and got to visit some of our Heavenly Father's beautiful creations here in Guatemala. 
     Let me introduce you to Hermano Hugo Anaya in full military dress with Elder Gardner.

This is the day of his daughter's sealing.  Hno. Anaya is one of our coordinators in the Temple.  He is a real military man who lost his hand in the war.  He has no regard for a woman or her opinion.  He and I don't see eye to eye very often and he hates to have to do what I suggest.  But that is just how he is and we still love and appreciate him, just not how he acts some days.  In fact, this day, his wife was stuck in traffic and was late for the wedding.  He wanted us to go ahead without her.  We made sure that everything went real slow so that she made it to her daughter's sealing.  This is a tradition that the church is trying to teach the people to change.  A husband is not the ruler in the family, he and his wife are partners and they should treat each other with respect and love.  It will come in the next generations, not in the older generation. 

     Well, I think I have bored you long enough with this blog.  We had a fun week.  We send you our love and hope that you enjoy your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We are so thankful for our Savior, His birth, His life, His teachings, and His love for us.  Love Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma

Another Despedido y Estaca Central

Dear Family and Friends;
     It seems like we are saying good-bye to missionaries monthly.  On the 8th we had our despedido to say good-bye to 5 of our dear friends.

                               

      Hermana Cordon, Los Cuellar's, Los Padilla's

     Hermana Cordon is from Guatemala.  She has served for two years.  She was so kind and thoughtful when I broke my legs. She came over at least every other day to visit and bring goodies.  She has every hymn in the book memorized and taught the 3 year old class in Primary while serving here.  She will be greatly missed.  Her family is trying to get her to move into Guatemala City to be closer to them and we would love it too as then she could serve in the temple as an obrera. She is a widow.

 

     Los Cuellar's are from Honduras.  They had gone back to Honduras for medical reasons when we arrived last December.  They missed about 2 months of their mission at that time.  They couldn't stand to not finish what they had been called to do so they came back and finished all of their two years. 

 Hermano Cuellar is a painter and wanted to paint us a picture before he left.  We decided that we needed a picture of our two temples, El Salvador and Guatemala City.  He finished it on the day before he left.  It is about 2' by 3'.

 

              A priceless treasure for us.

     Los Padilla's are also from Guatemala.  They are so knowledgeable and such a blessing to have in the temple.  We are excited that they are planning on returning to serve every Saturday, as long as he doesn't get called to be their Branch President. 

 

     It will really be different without these 5 in the temple.  They are not afraid of long hours and hard work.  We are so thankful that we were able to serve with them. 

     We were assigned to attend the Estaca Central to speak at their Stake Conference.  We called the Stake President about transportation and he said that he would get back with us.  We called twice more and still didn't hear anything from him so we figured that we would not be going there after all.  We got up Sunday morning and went to our regular ward for Sacrament meeting at 9:00.  At 9:40 a man came in and sat down beside us and said that he was here to take us to Estaca Central.  We came by the apartment to get my talk and headed down town. It takes about 15 minutes to get there and Conference started at 10:00. 

 The good thing was that at this time on a Sunday morning the streets are almost empty.  Estaca Central is called "the cave" only because the outside of the building is very plain with no windows.  This chapel is in one of the most dangerous sections of town, Zone 1. 

This is the front door of the chapel, taken from the car window.

     We really were in a different world inside the walls of the chapel.  Outside the walls the inner city was bustling by the time we got out of conference. 

     On our way back to our apartment, we saw the fruit man with his wagon filled with fruits that he cuts and bags for his customers.  They are on almost every corner of the city.

      I had been lamenting that I hadn't been able to sing with a choir this year for Christmas, so when the choir began to sing Away in a Manager as postlude, I just had to join in.

 I didn't step up on the step so that I wouldn't be so much taller than everyone else.  The girls next to me thought it was great.  The lady second to the end on the right hand side is an obrera in the temple, Hermana Molina.

    We had many temple workers in this conference.  We got a picture with Hermano Fuentes, the Wednesday morning Coordinator.

    Our driver was thrilled that he got to park in the chapel compound instead of in the parking that was about 2 blocks away.  We are so thankful for the dedicated men that are so willing to pick us up to take us to these conferences.

  Sunday was a very special day, we got to partake of the Sacrament in our ward and then attend a wonderful conference and be taught at the feet of Elder Morales, a member of the Area Seventy. 
    Today is our P-day and I am in charge of the laundry again while President Thompson makes cookies.  We are giving all of the temple employees a bag of cookies as their Christmas gift from us.  We have to have 27 bags for the employees and if we have enough, we will also give some to our missionaries.

     We are enjoying this Christmas Season, the music, the magic, the lights, and the love.  We are so thankful that our Father in Heaven sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to give us a pattern to follow.  We are thankful for his teachings and especially for the atonement in our behalf.  We are thankful to be serving in His Holy Temple here in Guatemala City.  Life is wonderful and we are enjoying every moment.  We send our love to all.  With only a week left to enjoy this magic season we hope that you are able to get away from the hustle and bustle and enjoy some quiet times to reflect on the importance of our Savior and his birth.  May God bless each of you with those special desires of your hearts.  Love you Dad and Mom, Grandma and Grandpa, Lon and Nancy 


Volcano Fuego lets off steam

Dear Family and Friends:
   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.

    We were amazed that every store along the main street was a shoe shop.  They also made belts, purses and anything out of leather.  They call their shops "factories"

 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.

 Elder Gardner found a belt that he liked so we didn't leave town empty handed.

 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.

 This is la Cuidad Viejo (the old city) with Volcano Agua in the clouds.  It has been destroyed a few times in the past by the volcano erupting.

 

   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;

 Flowers growing out of the tile roof.  It is amazing how fertile this soil is.  The roof is made of about 6 inches of concrete topped with tile so there isn't much dirt there for the flowers.

This is the apartment building they have been working on since we arrived.  They are already selling apartments.  Looks like it will be a very nice one.  This part of the city has lots of construction going on all the time.

     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.

Christmas Poem from Hermana Barney

'Twas the first of December, when all through the mission
The Elders and Sisters were working in humble submission.
The poinsettias were placed by our casitas with care
In hopes that the Christmas spirit would ever be there;
The city was bustling, the parents were out
In hopes that the wee ones would have no need to pout.
But Elders and Sisters were doing the work.
Yes!  The Work must go on, we must not shirk.
Please, come to the temple, the best place to be
For it will be closed on Christmas Eve.
The best present of all is there to be found:
Saving our dead, the joys will astound
Both sides of the veil as saints weep with joy,
The happiness that exceeds any gift wrapped toy.
The workers have learned a long time ago
That tinsel wrapped packages tied with a bow
Have a short shelf life as they are broken and tossed
For bright new toys that are shined to a gloss.
The work of redemption beings joys untold
That will bless lives forever as eternity unfolds.
So, remember ye laborers that heavenly bliss
Is the best gift of all and would be dearly missed
If not for the patrons who come from afar
Who seek righteously to follow the star
Of Him who gave all to show us the way
To life and salvation, more brighter than day.
May this Christmas be your best one yet.
As you miss family, don't stop to fret,
For what greater gift could ever be given
Then serving our Father who watches from heaven?
The service you're giving, is much better than gold
Or brightly wrapped packages tied with a bow.
May this Christmas be merry and in ways brighter than others
As you sense smiles from heaven of our grateful Father and Mother.

Feliz Navidad, con amor,
Los Barneys

2nd Ward History

Annual Temple Devotional

Dear Family and Friends:
     We pray that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by family, friends, and plenty of food.  As we have served here and in El Salvador, we have realized just how blessed we have been.  We are so thankful for the modern conveniences that we take for granted every day:  hot running water, cold running water that is fit to drink, a furnace for cold days, air conditioning for hot days, windows that shut out the wind, a car so we don't have to rely on public buses, having a home of our own and not sharing it with three generations of our family at once, just to name a few.  We are also thankful for the blessings that we have in common with everyone here; family, love, the gospel, friends, life.  And as a song from our youth taught, "just be happy" and we are.
   We had the AM shift on Thanksgiving day, so after our shift we went with the Roberts to Taco Bell for lunch.

We had been eating leftovers of our turkey dinner for three days so it was a fun change.
     Sunday, the 30th of November, was our annual Temple Devotional.  The Temple Presidency had to speak and Hermana Burk.  Hermana Roberts and I did not have to speak.  The temple missionaries were the special number.  I directed and Hermana Gardner played the piano.  We sang "Let us All Press On" in Spanish.  It went very well.

This year, December the 16th, is the 30th anniversary of the opening of this Temple.  We cannot have a big party to celebrate this event, but President Burk told us that we were the Temple Choir for this anniversary.  It was fun to direct a choir again, even though not many could watch me cause we were all watching the Spanish words to sing them correct.  We had a good crowd (240) and everyone felt the love that we have for our workers and we felt their love in return.

      Our Saturday morning shift coordinator is Hermana Lemus.  She is about 4'8" and rides her motorcycle to the temple each Saturday morning arriving at 4:15AM.  Some mornings it is only in the low 60's and she comes in very cold.  This is their family car.

      We are surrounded by dedicated, faithful people who love their Father in Heaven and love serving in His Holy House.  We have had a wonderful Thanksgiving season with lots of blessings to count.  We are thankful for our families and friends.  We send our love to all.  May your Christmas season be filled with the Christmas spirit of loving and giving.  Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma