Parable of the Sower

Amazing how the days fill up and the time flies by.  It is so great to hear from Martin and Laren each week and hear their testimonies.  Missions aren't easy, but they are rewarding.  I am so proud to have two wonderful grandsons doing their best each day as they serve. What a great example you are for me!!  You two will never regret it!

We had a short but really good FHE last night.  They talked about the parable of the sower and all the different places the seeds fell and tried to grow.

Many of the same ideas were discussed as usual, but there were two things shared that made me think a little deeper on the whole parable.  One was that the seeds were exactly the same where ever they were sowed.  There weren't better seeds sown in one area than another. So it was pretty much dependent on the soil that received the seed as to whether it did well or not.  Second, the sower wasn't partial to any particular soil, he sowed them everywhere.  Perhaps a reference for us missionaries to consider.  And oh yes, there is a third I want to add:  Verse 14, "those that fell among thorns are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection."  So they don't die off, they are still here, just not fruitful.  Think about us church members, we can get choked with cares and pleasures so much that we don't necessarily leave the church but we just are not fruitful.  As compared to those in Verse 15 that fall on good ground, have an honest and good heart and bring forth fruit with patience.   Just a few things to think about.

Dad and I helped a young girl yesterday afternoon who was getting her mission papers ready to send in.  She traveled about three hours on bus with here mother to come to our clinic.  She lives in a smaller remote area.  She and her mother dressed in their nice clothes, which they call the tipico clothing.  It is very beautiful and sturdily made and each area has their different patterns, colors and weave.  I have added a picture of them with us and the new dentist, Elder Harris from Idaho Falls.  This young lady was so sweet, she will be a wonderful missionary. We meet so many like her.  Another young  20 year old girl came in yesterday for the second time so we could finish up her dental work.  She brought us all a little candy bar with a scripture attached and a thank you for the service we give each day.  She too will add a lot to the mission she is assigned too.

At a museum last weekend I spotted this flower on a tree in the yard. It had only about 4 or 5 blossoms, but they were so unique and pretty I just had to share.  

Dad and I took a selfie from our roof top the other day, thought you might like to see the view from one side of our apartment building.  Pretty green, huh?  And it isn't even the rainy season yet.  

The other picture is of a group of missionaries from the MTC here after we have finished their dental work.  All great kids, from a variety of backgrounds.  

Yes,  I agree with Martin and Laren...The gospel is true.  Heavenly Father hears and answers each and every prayer.  He knows each of us, our challenges and successes and loves us no matter what.  

    Our prayers are with each of you!!

I hear you have more snow.  Enjoy every bit of it for us!  Spring is coming.

    Love to all,  MOM,  Grammy,  Shaun

It is Sunday again!  The weeks are flying by here in Guatemala.  I am feeling a little more at home in our ward.  There are more people that know a little English that I ever would have guessed.  One of my goals is to remember a new person's name each week.  These people are all so loving, they are always giving hugs when they greet you. Even if they can't speak English they give me a hug and say something in Spanish.  One sister asked me today if I would sing in the choir for the Easter program.  That is one thing I can do in the ward, so I told her I would be there and Gracias!

We went with the young Elders in our ward last week to visit a sister and help her get onto Family Search.  It was a great practice run for us, since that is one of the things the Bishop has asked us to do.... visit the inactives and see if we can get them interested in Family History.  We were there for an hour though and still didn't quite get the job done.  Problems with cell phones, email addresses and passwords.  We are going to try again later when her husband is there with his cell phone.  The Elders have us scheduled this Tuesday to meet with another ward family about Family Search.  These two elders are amazing, they are always on the go!  They are two Elders from the states and have just a few months left on their missions. 

In the evenings the city buses are VERY crowded. As we were driving home that night we passed a bus so full people were even hanging out the doors which isn't too unusual, but check this picture. On this bus there was a guy standing on the front bumper and hanging onto the side mirror and the front grill. This was in super busy traffic.  Probably something every young person has wanted to do.....hang onto the outside of a moving bus!!??? And every mother's nightmare!

We went to the Central Market yesterday. We have been there before but the new dentist, Jay and wife, Trudy wanted to see it.  It is a little like a flea market with all sorts of things to buy.  One area is all food, produce and fresh meat,  I have bought produce from there but don't have the courage to buy the meat.  The idea of raw meat just hanging out in the open doesn't look too safe.  I am always thinking...how long has that been hanging there and what bugs have landed on it, so I stick with the refrigerated meats in the grocery stores.  I am going to stay well!

We had an incident with one of the Mission Presidents here last Friday.  He and his wife (the Caffaro's) were out in one of the small towns having interviews with their missionaries.  President Caffaro was inching out into an intersection to see traffic because there were lots of cars parked in the way of his view, when a motorcycle came very fast and hit the side of his car.  The driver of the motorcycle was killed and the passenger put in the hospital.  These little towns are very close and I guess people were so upset they began banging on his car.  The police handcuffed him and took him to the police station partly, I believe, for his own safety, but also they always take people in an accident like that to the station to get all the information.  I don't think they handcuff them all, but I haven't seen any so I am not sure.  What a difficult thing to go through.  That very thing is a worry every day here as we travel.  The motorcyclists are always weaving in and out of traffic and when traffic is stopped they drive on, between the lanes to get ahead.

We are looking forward to another great week and hope you all have one too.  Isn't life wonderful!!

Made the front page of Mormon Newsroom:

(Here is the link)

Volunteers Provide Dental 

Service to Needy Children

The project has helped countless children for several years

A dental evaluation was recently carried out in the Municipal Gardens for Children program sponsored by Guatemala City to serve homeless or street children from 2 to 14 years old who do not have access to traditional schools.

United States Volunteers, under the direction of missionaries serving in Guatemala as missionaries to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , came to help the local dental clinic of Uncle John to complete exams of about 400 children . This health project has been carried out over the last eight years and has significantly improved the dental hygiene of the children cared for there.

A greater emphasis on preventive oral health care at school and on annual assessments has markedly reduced the number of children in need of advanced dental care. School children have the opportunity to have a positive interaction with a dentist in a friendly environment where they receive tooth cleaners, sealants and fillers that prevent the main dental work later. Its goal is to raise awareness about oral health.

The success of the program was evident when many of the children examined were caries free.

The Tio Juan orphanage along with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have maintained the operation of the clinic since 2009 and have provided free dental care to thousands of students.

It is funded by several entities such as the Hogar Tío Juan Orphanage and the Latter Day Saints Academy of Dentists. Church volunteer missionaries serve in the clinic daily with other volunteer dentists from the United States who come in several occasions to help.

Elder Rick Smith, one of the missionary dentists, commented: " Uncle John's Dental Clinic was built nearly 10 years ago with humanitarian aid from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Volunteer work was provided by the community and full-time missionaries. Our purpose is to provide care to those without families and those with low-income families who can not provide for themselves. We also take care of the missionaries as they serve the Lord by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We strive to follow the Savior's warning, "... as soon as ye did it unto one of these my little brethren, even to me did ye ... " ( Matthew 25:40 ).

Tremors!

Buenos Noche!

 Not only is Guatemala City the land of the eternal spring but also the land of many tremors.  This past week Dad felt one as he was taking a nap and I felt one in the middle of the night while I was working on my computer. I felt the whole building sway a little.  They tell us it is a good thing that we have continual tremors.  If we didn't, the pressure would build up and we would have a much larger one.  So, tremors are OK.

   Our new dentist and his wife arrived on Monday from Idaho Falls.  So glad to have Jay and Trudy here.  We worked Monday through Wednesday at the Clinic and saw the littlest children from the municipal school and then spent Thursday morning at the MTC.  We screened 77 missionaries and there were 17 more from the USA that didn't need to be screened, so that is about 94 new missionaries this week.  They come in every third Wednesday and stay for three weeks unless they need to learn a language, then it is 6-9 weeks.  

   A word about the Municipal School... It is a school for the poorest of the poor.  The Mayors wife has the charge of helping the children of her city.  So she has initiated this school, it is a very modern school with a computer lab that has about 40 computers in it and a music room with a couple marimbas.   The families have to apply to get their children accepted here and there is always a waiting list.  I asked how many of the children that learn the computer here have a computer in their home.  The director said less than 1%.  The children start at about age 2.  They arrive starting at 6-6:30 and stay until about 2:30-3:00and are served three meals. I have added a picture of one of the littlest children from the school while she was in our clinic last week and also a picture of Dad high fiving a class there.  Tresha, as you can see, the flashlight you gave Dad has come in pretty handy.  Thanks!

   Last week we went for a walk and walked by a little "garage" looking place, where two ladies were cooking corn tortillas as fast as they could.  Dad told them we wanted six.  A few minutes later they handed us a bag with about 18 in it.  He asked how much we owed them and she said six quetzals. We couldn't figure why she had given us so many when we had asked for six.  Then we realized she thought we had meant six quets worth not six tortillas. They were really good!  

   Elder Rasband, Renland and Bishop Davies are here for meetings.  We attended one with Elder Rasband yesterday along with all the MTC missionaries and some full time missionaries.  It was a packed house and at the end of the meeting Elder Rasband had all of us file onto the stand to shake hands with each of us.  A great memory for all these young Elders and Sisters.  Bishop Davies spoke at our Stake Conference today.  His spanish is really good, I could understand just a little of it so Dad translated for me as best he could so I could get an idea of what was being said. We had headsets for the meeting yesterday, which was so great to hear and understand most of a meeting!!  

   Have a great week everyone!   Love you all!     L&S

8 February 2017

A little slow this week

Hi Everyone!

  Driving in Guatemala City is quite the experience. You have to be somewhat aggressive to get to where you need to be and very attentive. We have had a few close calls already. Our goal is to get through our 18 months without hitting a motorcycle or pedestrian. Motorcycles are constantly driving between lanes of traffic.  I choose to let Larry drive most of the time.  I have driven to the grocery store and to church on Sunday because traffic is way lighter then. That's about it so far.  It is the worst on Friday nights for some reason, so that is why the Senior Missionaries have movie night that night. Each morning to work is an adventure. I take pictures of interesting things on the roads and realized the other day I had several of Toyota trucks.  They are everywhere and loaded to the hilt. Here are a few examples.

  I have also been amazed at the number of phone booths here.  Cell phones are very popular but because there are so many phone booths and are often in use I have to guess there are many people here with out cell phones.  This picture is on the corner of a police station we pass each day to the Clinic.

  

  January was a busy month for volunteers at the Clinic. We have had a dentist from Las Vegas, then one from Canada and last week we had two of Rick's (the other dentist in the Clinic with us) sons here.  One is an oral surgeon and the other a general dentist.  They were a big help. We saved all the extractions for the Oral surgeon so we kept him busy for the week.  It was fun watching Rick and his sons interact as they worked.  They were often discussing cases and trading patients.  The dentist would do the fillings and cleaning then send the patient to this brother for extractions and every once in a while Rick would trade off with their wives and assist one of them.  Aren't families a great thing!

   We have been totally amazed at the malls here in the city so I have sent you a picture of the new one just down the street from us.  Las Americas mall is about four stories and they are working on a theatre that isn't finished yet on the forth floor.  It is really nice and just one of several in the area.  

  Love you all,  take care and Remember who Loves you!!!  

29 January 2017

Buenos Tardes Everyone!

     It's Sunday, my second Sunday in our new assigned ward, the Marti Ward, and guess what?  Yes indeed, Dad and I have a calling.  I have been wondering what they would do with me since my Spanish is almost non existent.  They want us to work with the inactives in the ward and use family history as a tool in getting them more involved in the gospel and in families and strengthen their testimonies in hopes of the temple being the next step for them.  Since we have a curfew and need to be in by dark, the Bishop's counselor feels that Sunday afternoon is the best time of the week for us to be out and about.  We will probably take a sack lunch with us to church ( it is from 9-12) so we can eat after church and then head out.  The ward is about 30 minutes away from where we live.  Of course Dad will be the main man in most of this.  I am going to see what I can do about gathering FH materials in Spanish and try to become more familiar with the Spanish family history screens online so that I can help someone and/or help Dad help them.  They do have a FH center by the Temple here, so my first errand will be to go there and see what resources they have that can help us in this calling.  We will probably go there Friday, that is our next day off from the Clinic.

    While in El Salvador last week Dad found this gorilla carved from a coconut that he couldn't resist.  I just have to share it with you, a front and side picture.

    We help about 800 kids from a municipal school in the Clinic each year,(this is besides the orphanage)  so to help us get them through the Clinic much faster we go to the school for a couple of days at the beginning of the year and screen them to see what stage their teeth are in according to the amount of work they need.  Then we start scheduling them to come in, the children with the most amount of work needed come first.  This is the week we will do that.  We have two visiting dentist from the states that will be helping us all week, so hopefully we can get through the 800 children fairly quickly.  We will see future missionaries on Monday and missionaries from the CCM or MTC two afternoons.... a busy week!

   Dad talked to a man down here who has had some clothes made by tailor that he really likes, so Dad and Rick, the other dentist here, have ordered a suit from this tailor.  He came over Friday morning to take all of Dad's and Rick's measurements and have them choose the fabric and lining.  Dad chose a medium gray with a pinstripe that looks really nice.  He is coming back in a couple of weeks to do a fitting.  I am kind of excited to see how it all turns out.  As you can see I have included a couple pictures about that.

   We have our own Eiffle Tower right here in Guatemala City, OK so maybe it isn't quite as large, but here it is!!  

And these animals pulling a wagon probably isn't something to would see in downtown Logan, Chubbuck or LaCrosse, but here it is on the outskirts of Guatemala City.\\

   Oh, Don't know if I mentioned it but Dad bought me a hot air popcorn popper and we have used it several times already.  We felt a little self indulging, then found out another couple did the same thing.  They are here for 24 months and she said if we are staying that long I need some popcorn!!  We have only found yellow corn so far and are still looking for the white corn.  Wish us luck!

   Thanks so much to those of you that have sent pictures for our photo frame. We love everyone of them!!  The one of Crosby with 9 pictures, that Joni shared with you all was pretty creative.  This kid is quite animated!   Love him too!!   And thanks for all the love and support you show us, we couldn't do this without all of you behind us!

   You are always in our prayers.    LOVE YOU!!     MOM & Grammy/Grandma

18 January 2017

Hi Everyone,

   We have been assigned to a ward here in Guatemala about 30 minutes from our apartment, it is up in the area by the Clinic.  I went for the first time last Sunday.  They have a really nice church house, a little different from the branch we have been attending up to this point.  There is a Sister there who is quite fluent in English and she has offered to translate for me when ever I need her, I needed her!!   Another sister there told me she will only speak to me in Spanish because that is how I will learn more quickly.  I bore my testimony in English and a dear man from the States came up to me afterward and told me how much he appreciated me sharing in English.  He has been here several years but says his Spanish isn't very good.  He joined the church three months ago and says it is hard for him to feel the Spirit when hearing things in Spanish, but when I spoke he felt the Spirit.  That made me feel good, like I was contributing something.  I have included a picture of their church house.

   Have you heard about our neighborhood pet pig?  Every morning, almost, we hear Petula, (a name I have lovingly bestowed) snorting.  Before today I had only seen her in a pet cage, but this morning I looked out the window and low and behold there she was wandering around a little grassy area below us.   I think she is a she because they have dressed her in pink.  She was nibbling on the grass and plants in the yard and every few minutes she would stand by the door hoping to get in.  Isn't she cute?  Maybe not the best picture, I took it through the screen on our window.  Dad took a couple pictures with his new camera, but we haven't figured it out yet.  If I get a better one I will send it on.  

Love to all!!     Mom, or Grammy Shaun

24 December 2016

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to Everyone!!  I love Christmas on Sunday, what better day to celebrate Christ's birth.  We hope you all have a very peaceful day.

   On Friday we went on a hike up to a volcano name Pacaya.  Our guide took us to a vent where we roasted marshmallows.  They roasted so nice and quick.  I have added some pictures of the marshmallows and also us in front of three volcanos in a row. I have heard there are about eight active volcanos here.  

   When we go shopping and have a lot to bring up to apartment, there is a shopping cart they keep in the parking garage for us to use.  We live on the third floor and mostly walk up the stairs unless we have a things to bring up, then we use the cart.  I added a picture of us unloading our groceries in our kitchen.  Pretty convenient!  

   We went to a brunch at the Temple President's home this morning and then did a little shopping at a few stores we hadn't been to before.  Then we came home and have been getting food ready for a get together at 7:00 this evening on the roof of our building and a lunch we are helping at for one of the wards here.  There are six senior missionary couples in our building and five more a couple blocks away that we get together with quite often.

  Tonight is a big night for fireworks all night but especially at midnight, so we are thinking of staying up and watching them on the roof again.  Tomorrow church is only one hour beginning at 10:00, but it is about an hour drive there. Monday is back to work, we are finishing prophys and checkups for the other senior missionaries as a Christmas present from the dental group.  Wednesday we go to the MTC here, which they call the CCM, and do checkups on all the Central American missionaries that just entered the CCM.  Then for the next two weeks or however long it takes we do the dental work for these missionaries.  We feel really bad about the ones we have to do extractions of wisdom teeth on and then send them right back to the CCM to finish their training. You would think they could use a couple days recovery before back in class, but no time for that.

Love you all!!   Have a great Christmas and an even better New Year...all year long.

    MOM and Dad

11 December 2016

From Guatemala

Hi Everyone!

   

   Our first Sunday in Guatemala and not quite a week here yet.  We jumped right in on Wednesday morning after arriving Tuesday night.  We went in to the clinic which is about 1/2 hour away, got familiar with things there and helped a couple patients.  Thursday we went to the CCM (MTC) here and screened 80 new missionaries, of which about 35 need dental work done before heading to their missions.  We have about two weeks to get it all done.  That night there was a going away party on our roof for the couple leaving. Friday morning we went walking, it was so great!  We are about a block from a major road that has a large grassy area in the middle of the two directions of traffic.  There is a statue every block and a bike path in the middle of it. There were several others walking or running there.  Later that morning we went shopping to get basic supplies for the apartment then to the Area Office to get our car, phone and check on our Visas.  My passport stamp wasn’t complete so I have to go to the Immigration Office tomorrow with some people from the Area Office, to get it fixed. Friday night is alway movie night here, so we watched “The Santa Clause” in one of the larger apartments. Saturday morning we went to the Central Market which is kind of like a flea market and bought a Guatemalan Nativity set. Today we went to a branch about an hour from our apartment with another missionary couple.  It was really nice except for the fact of it being all in Spanish, so I had to glean where I could.  The Branch President is about 35 years old but looks 22 and his wife is the Primary Pres.

   The other Senior Missionaries have been so great.  There are about five other couples in our apartment building.  They made sure our apartment was ready and we had food to last us several days and even a Christmas tree and decorations.  There are several other couples in another apartment building nearby along with some temple missionaries we haven't met yet.

    Saturday the dental couple we are replacing left and we moved into their apartment.  It reminded me a little of you Callie, because they left several things in the apartment they couldn’t take with them, so we went exploring.  We are no longer living out of our suitcases. Yeh!!    

    Tresha, our mission is a little different that yours, we haven’t even met the Area or Mission President yet and it is very social with all the other Senior Missionary Couples. We are actually kind of on our own with the other Area dental people.

    They drive kind of crazy here so Dad is in the passenger seat for a couple of weeks while someone else drives so he can get a feel for the roads and where things are. We were warned the first day here that there will be a lot of fireworks going off because it is the Christmas season and how right they were.  The first night here we were asleep and at midnight about 10 very loud ones went off and Dad was right out of bed thinking it was gunshot.  Pretty much every day we have heard them and tonight there are suppose to be a lot going off at once so we are going on the roof to watch.

   At Christmas time Guatemalans have a tradition of “Burning the Devil” on the evening of Dec. 7th.  There are devil piñatas for sale in all sizes. The idea is to burn all the bad from the previous year and to start anew from the ashes.  This is one picture I found of them.   

Burning Devil Pinatas

  I have added a few more pictures of our apartment, well, I guess our temp. apartment, (2 bed,1 bath, nicer than I expected) but our new one is pretty much the same so you get the idea.  

Love to all,     MOM and Dad