What’s a Fiambre?

Time for my weekly Hola or Buenas Tardes,

We left for the CCM this morning at 7:30 and got home around 3:00 so now Dad and I are in relaxing in our recliners reading and writing emails for a couple hours. It is nice to have a little down time after a week at the clinic and this week we worked Friday morning also.  It has been a little cooler here the last few days (58 degrees, I know, we are getting a little spoiled) so we threw another blanket on the bed. It is a good thing we will be coming home in the Spring and not Winter!

It was a pretty usual week so I will go right to sharing some pictures with you. We don't take too many pictures of the people begging on the streets because we see plenty of them.  We would love to give to all of them but that isn't possible.  Here is one picture Dad took in Antique, it looks like his leg has been burned, but I'm not sure.  We see a lot of men with walking difficulties, or without part or all of a leg.  There are sooo many motorcycles down here and they are always dodging in and out of traffic that I have to wonder when I see one of these men if they were in a motorcycle accident.  We have come upon about four motorcycle accidents just after they have happened since we arrived.

 

This is one of the little kittens I showed you earlier.  He is sitting on our picnic table while we are eating lunch, they are always so hungry and they know there is a chance for food if they show up while we are eating.

 

This is a little food cart, we see them all the time around the city and they are all named "Granizadas".  Sometimes you will see a very petite little lady pushing it around with all her might.  

 

One day we had four serving Sister missionaries in our clinic at one time with their companions, most had wisdom teeth problems.  One set had already left when we decided we needed a picture of the group.

 

I just think the little girls in their Tipico clothing are so adorable.  Here is another one.  

 

And last, here are two photos that were taken of people in the area.  The little boy reminds me of Owen for some reason.

This Wednesday is All Saints Day here and they hold a very big Kite Festival in a town near Antique called Sampango.  All the Senior Missionaries are going to spend the day there.  I will for sure take pictures and send some next week.  On All Saints Day the tradition is to go to the cemeteries and clean up the area where your family graves are and then the whole family gets together for a big picnic, kind of like our Memorial Day.  As the story goes many years ago a large family got together and as they sat down for the picnic the wind blew the tablecloth and mixed all the foods on the table together which is how their traditional dish for the occasion was created.  It is called Fiambre and is a cold dish of all sorts of cold and pickled foods.  As I look at the pictures I see a lot of meats, cold cuts and sausages, small pickled cobs of corn, asparagus, eggs, etc. Everyone has their own special recipe. Last year they tell me when they went out to eat after the Kite festival one of the missionaries ordered a Fiambre and then passed it around so everyone could taste it.  It wasn't a big hit then, so I don't think I need to try it.  This is one picture I found online.

 

Have a great week and a fun and safe Halloween and remember to check in with your Father in Heaven quite often.

     Love to all,   MOM/Grammy

Still more Antique

Hi Everyone!

    Things were pretty much the same here most of this week.  Dental Clinic Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then off to the CCM to screen new missionaries on Thursday.  The Senior missionaries had scheduled a trip this weekend for San Salvador but Dad & I decided not to go because it was the same trip we went on a few months ago. Three other couples didn't go either for various reasons.  It was a holiday, Revolution Day, Friday, so the Area Office was closed.  

     Dad and I went on a long walk Friday morning and were amazed how bare the streets were, not much activity anywhere.  Then on Saturday we went to Antique again, just the two of us, and it was really nice!  The roads were not busy at all, it took us 35 minutes to get there. Some trips we have taken there have taken 1 1/2 hours because of traffic.  And usually Saturday is a big day for Antique, but yesterday it was just perfect, a few people and great weather.   So, as I was looking through my pictures just now to see what I have to send you, all I found was a few of Antique yesterday. Here goes, more of Antique.  

     This is one of the Old Churches that has taken a lot of abuse from earthquakes.  Every Saturday and Sunday there is a market set up on the street in front of it.  It is fenced off so you can't get in, so I took pictures from across the street.  I think it is pretty cool.

 

     I could say these little wood sculptures are here because Halloween is getting close, but they don't generally celebrate Halloween and these wooden dolls are for sale every day of the year.  I like the skeleton blowing its horn and one playing a guitar.  Happy Halloween!!!

 

     I found this display of the tipico clothing worn throughout Guatemala.  Each has a little sign on it stating where it is from. People that know the weaves and clothing know exactly where a person wearing it is from.  They had several women's and only a few men's.  When you go into the countryside you will see a lot of women in the tipico clothing and very few men.  The story is that when the country was having a war several years ago the men in tipico clothes would be either killed or kidnapped to serve in the war, so the men started wearing levis and t-shirts so they couldn't be linked to any certain area.  Now days it is hard for them to go back because the levis and t-shirts are a lot less expensive than the original clothes. And when you get in the habit of wearing something it is hard to go back unless there is a strong reason.

      We were assigned to give a devotional today for an hour entitled "My Call".  Dad and I shared the time and I think it went OK.  Tresha, I shared your story of the work horse and how you related it to your mission. How you wanted to work hard your whole mission like the horse and not have any regrets when it was finished. I found a pretty good picture of two horses pulling something, I think it may be a story some will remember. Thanks for sharing it. 

      If any of you see Carter for his birthday today would you please wish him a Happy one from Grandpa and me.  We love him and miss him along with all the rest of you.  We think of you often and pray you will all have a desire to Choose the Right and stay close to your Father in Heaven and live your lives so the Holy Ghost can be with you to guide and comfort you.  I know he is there and wants to guide and comfort you.

       We love you all very much!  Thanks for your love and support.    

MOM & Grammy

Antique Again

    We went to Antique again this Saturday, maybe our fourth time since we have been here in Guatemala.  We went up on a hill overlooking Antique where there is a large cross. You look down over the city and the volcano Agua is just behind, Great View!!  We could see the top of the volcano which was lucky, many times it is covered with clouds.  

 

     The second picture is in the city at one of the streets where vendors have lined a street with their wares. The area with the cross is just above on the hill where there is a clearing.  Shoe shining is still a big thing here and you often see a boy with a kit in hand walking along the street.  Here in Antique we saw a line-up of several, all busy.

 

    Next picture:  Is this a tree or not?  

 

     And last but not least...There are many buses here that we can see that came right from the USA.  This is the closest one from home we have found.

    

 

    Dad had to give a talk in Spanish again this Sunday in Sacrament meeting.  He is getting really good, this calling at the CCM has him always working on something.  Soon though, his file of talks will be large enough that hopefully he can begin repeating. He had interviews today with several of the missionaries that are leaving Tuesday and heading to their mission.  Wednesday, we get a new group of about 100 and Thursday we do dental screening for about 70 of them.  We are assigned to help the Pablo District each Sunday for six weeks and then they leave and we get a new group.  Today was week three. There are eight Elders and two Hermanas and they are a great bunch of kids.  Elder Carter's father came down here on a humanitarian mission many years ago when he was just a boy.  The plane crashed and only a couple of people lived through it, his father did not. So, when he got his mission call to come to the same country his father died in, it was something he had to get used to. He is the dark haired one sitting down, second from the left and he seems to be doing pretty good here so far.

   No rain today!   Maybe the rainy season is slowing down, I am looking forward to it!

   "Please remember the Savior in all that you think, in all that you do, and in all that you strive to become, and represent Him appropriately to all of Heavenly Father's children with whom you interact now and always."   -Elder Bednar

Love you all!    MOM, Grammy   

Sea Turtles

It has been a little cool here this past week and Dad really likes it.  He says it reminds him of camping, when you pull the covers up to your chin and breathe the cool air.

We kept busy this weekend.  Friday we went to a place here in the city called Kaminaljuyu.  It is like a little park that has been saved from Guatemala City gobbling it up as it has grown.  They have excavated a couple areas down to where there are some ruins and have a small area where they have displayed some items they found in graves here, they look like ceramics.   It is also a special spiritual place for some people.  While there, we saw some people burning offerings of plates with cinnamon, sugar, chocolate, foods and some candles.  Also they bring flowers and chant out loud under a tree, then leave the flowers at the trees. Some people believe that Kaminaljuyu was the City of Nephi.  

Saturday we went south to the Pacific Ocean to a beach with black sand.  Our group of 14 had made arrangements to be there when they released baby sea turtles into the ocean.  The season to do that is now through the end of January and they are such cute little critters!  We held them and they feel a little leathery.  They had about 30 of them, they passed them out and then drew a line in the sand, had us all set them down at the same time and let them race to the water. I took a video, but of course it is too large to send, so I found a website that tells a little about them. Also if you go to YouTube there are videos of seat turtles making their way to the water. 

The other interesting thing we saw on the way to the beach was the plant that the Luffa comes from.  Silly me, I had thought it came from a plant in the ocean.  It is really a gourd that they somehow dry out and keep the fibrous tissue in tact.  Here is a picture of the plant supported on a trellis and then the individual gourds hanging to dry.  So, if any of you use a Luffa, here is where it comes from!

This past week we started seeing the boys from the new school we screened in August.  Wow, they need a little more work than we thought!  We figure there are about 400 that need to be seen. That should keep us busy for quite a while and starting in January we begin seeing all the kids we saw earlier this year again. It is good to be busy!  I sure wouldn't want to be down here with little to do.
Hope you all had a peaceful Sunday!

     Love you!   MOM, Grammy

Conference

    We really enjoyed Conference this weekend.  Saturday I spent most of the day in the kitchen baking bread, cookies and Runzas while watching conference.  Saturday night we all brought food for the guys to eat while they watched the Priesthood session at the Clason's apartment, then the girls went out for dinner at a restaurant nearby.  When we got back Dad was so excited that he had seen several people he knew from Providence and Millville singing in the choir.  Another little touch from home.

   This morning we spent at the CCM watching the session with the missionaries and then had lunch with them.  We made it home in time to wish Joni a Happy Birthday and then watch the afternoon session. I was impressed with Elder Andersen's talk, the last of the conference, because he was able to share several quotes from the brethren these past couple days. He also shared a little about Elder Hale's passing.  I thought all the talks had to be finalized days before, but his certainly wasn't.  I have decided that the main theme for me was being centered in Christ, forgetting ourselves and giving service.  I heard that comment many times.

    I thought I would give a brief update on the tree that is coming down at our Clinic.  I mentioned that they have been cutting it down with machetes. This week they came up with a "saws all" to cut some larger branches.  As of today there is only one more left to go.  I am not sure how they will take the trunk down or even if they will.

    The cat at the clinic had three kittens a month ago.  I heard lots of meowing the other day so Dad and I went to investigate.  One of the TioJuan boys had given the three kittens a bath and they were still wet and not very happy.  He brought them out in the sun to dry out.

     Dad is having fun with the camera I brought back in January for him.  This little bird was outside our window the other day, so Dad was capturing him on "film".  

     We sent this selfie of us on the way to work as a birthday wish this last week and I thought I would share it with all of you today.

     Have a good week and remember to center yourselves in Christ this week, that will help make it a great week!!

Love, Mom, Grammy

   P.S. I will send a video of the Clinic tree in a following email

Just kidding.   The video was too large to send so I will just explain it.

  One of the young boys was in the tree sitting on a limb cutting another limb with a sawzall, about thirty feet in the air.  They did have the sawzall roped to the tree and I think the boy was sort of roped to the tree also.  There were two other ropes tied to the branch, one attached to the back of a van which was running and ready to pull.  The other rope was held by six other guys and they were pulling the large branch toward them.  If only they would cut a notch in the branch on the side they want it to fall toward, it would seem much easier, but no they just cut and pull.  Amazing sometimes how they get the job done down here, but they just do!