September 2015 

MIXCO VIEJO

Another fun day trip with the President and Hermana Cox. This time, we find ourselves traveling through San Juan Sacatepeque to Mixco Viejo. Mixco Viejo are the ruins of a postclassic Maya civilization, the Chajoma Kaqchikel kingdom. 

On the road again...

The fellow in the upper right hand corner must have the muscles of Rocky. He lifts heavy objects not only into the back of the bus, but also climbs up and puts them on top of the bus!

An unexpected...all right...wrong turn takes us to beautiful farm land, quaint little villages, and hand laid paver block roads. It was beautiful and peaceful. And, the road actually took us around a circle where we ended up where we began!

Then, on to the ruins at Mixco Viejo.

The city was settled to provide a safer capital for its people against the hostile Iximche kingdom. (See earlier post of our trip to Iximche.) 12 groups of structures exist today but once there were over 120 single structures. The city was in existence from 900 B.C. to 1524 B.C. when the Spanish invaded and destroyed the kingdom. It is estimated that between 1,450 to 1,600 people inhabited the area. 

The second picture is actually a relief map that shows the terrain and structures located on the top. It is quite a hilly with deep ravines and pathways that intertwine throughout the area. 

These structures were very different from most we have seen. They are very plain and lower to the ground. We did not see any carvings unlike all the other ruins we have visited. The rock layering is thin and very geometric somewhat like what you would see on rock fireplaces. The ball field is quite prominent and is thought that perhaps it was a major playing field in the region. Mixco Viejo was also a important city because of its defense organization and for being a major religious center of its time. When the Spanish invaded, it was quite difficult. After many tries, it was an native who showed them a secret passage to enter the city. 

On our way home...Guatemala rain storm style. Check out the road and our trip through the 'lake'. Just another afternoon rainstorm. The rainy season came late and boy have we had some gushers! 

Thank you Coxes for another great trip. We look forward to the next one!

RETURN TO CHIMALTENANGO

50 years ago Spence served in this town. It was a quiet little spot but has changed into a traffic jam. On the main road to Quetzaltenango you must travel through this congested portion of the highway. I always thought it was an ugly truck town. Along the side of the road are dozen of car/truck parts for sale and traffic crawls as the road goes from 4 lanes to 2 lanes.

On one of our Saturday explorations, Spence decided to take me to the 'real' Chimaltenango. And oh, was I surprised! Turning off to the right of the main highway takes you to congested...not with cars, trucks, and ugly exhaust, but to a bustling town of people and the real Chimaltenango. Every Guatemalan town has its town square and Catholic church plus a few vendors selling their wares and Chimaltenango is no exception.

 Every Guatemalan town has its market. These places fascinate and amaze me. The smells are less than welcoming, but the people are endearing. They shop daily for what they need and nothing goes to waste.

Spence was not sure he could find the house where he once lived as a young missionary, but he certainly was going to try. He did it! He found it! It is no longer a house but rather a restaurant. He remembered the inner open garden area and how they had to walk through it to get to their room. The restaurant was gracious and let us take pictures.

August 2015

MONTERRICO

What a wonderful time we had with our dear friends serving with us at the Missionary Training Center. President and Sister Cox, President and Sister Abularach, President and Sister Wood, and us...President and Sister Llloyd. The Abularaches took us to her sister's condo where we played on the beach, went to a turtle hatchery, and took an early morning tour of an Mangrove Swamp. (It was absolutely stunning at 5:30 in the morning.)

We headed off to the beach south of Guatemala City.

                    All work and no play makes us all boring...We weren't! We PLAYED!

Later that day we went to the turtle hatchery, a non-profit organization that helps preserve the turtle eggs, hatches them, and then releases the baby turtles into the ocean. Most eggs never make it to the water because of preditors...birds, animals, and people. Turtle eggs are quite well liked in Guatemala. A turtle will hatch as many as 80 + eggs. Men search for the eggs, dig them up, and then sell them. The hatchery buys as many as they can and then buries them in their hatchery.

August 2015

PATZICIA

Another one of our Saturday excursions was to the Indian town of Patzicia located about an hour to the northeast of Guatemala City. The town was founded in about the 12th century and is part of the Kakchikel Territory. Patzicia Township is known as one of the largest producers of vegetables and exports its produce throughout Central America. Every town has a central park with a cathedral and a marketplace. Here are Patzicia's.

RETURNED MISSIONARY SEMINAR

Our good friends, Elder and Sister Hill, created and implemented the missionary seminars for Central American missionaries returning home from their missions. The premise of these seminars is to help these young people plan the 'next chapter' of their lives focusing on employment, finances, social situations, church activity, etc. They did a great job. Now that they are gone, it has been assigned to native Guatemalans. Brother Pedro and Sister Mayra Abularach, (Seth´s former mission president and his wife and our dear friends whom we serve with at the CCM) were two of the presenters. It was wonderful to hear him and see some of what they do at these seminars. The returned missionaries come to these as soon as they return home and some even before they are reunited with family depending on release dates.

August 2015

BARBARENA y CUILAPA

Every Saturday we try to "explore" this great country, Guatemala. I am grateful Spence is courageous enough to just get in the car and go somewhere. Many are not but I think it helps that Spence served and traveled this whole country as a young missionary 50 years ago.

So, today, we traveled southwest past the CCM and along the El Salvador Highway. On our first Sunday in Guatemala, Elder and Sister Elieson took us to the branch where they were serving, Barbarena. We were off and wondering if we could find our way on our own.  We did!

 Beautiful highway...but not for long. It never is. Past the great white church of a TV evangelist.

             

            And here we are...in Barbarana. Very typical of a town this size along the highway. The quaintness is gone but business is booming along the road!

                 

                  Next stop, Cuilapa. Why you ask? We just liked the name. Easy as that!

Same narrow roads but a wonderful surprise, a central park. At one time, all Guatemalan towns had a park in the center of town. This was a place to visit and do business plus have some family time. It is hard to find them today, especially in bigglarger towns. We found Cuilapa´s gem...the Central Park!

Next, on our way home via the "Pineapple Highway".

As my father alwasy said, "Home James. And don´t spare the horses!

July 16, 17, 2015

Copán Ruins, Honduras

Copán was once one of the most beautiful and important cities of the Maya. Over the course of 400 years, the Maya people of Copán shaped a small valley in western Honduras into a great city building pyramids, temples, plazas, sculpting intricate statues of kings, gods, and animals, and decorating it all in beautifully colored stucco. Every city in the Maya world is know for being "specialized" at something. Copán is famous for the both the quantity and quality of the carved stone sculptures that decorated plazas and temples in its ceremonial center - it is known by archeologists as the most "artistic" of all Maya cities.

After stressing about not having my residency stamp  until the day before and fretting that it would not happen (anything is possible in this part of the world) we left Guatemala City early Thursday morning for Copán, Honduras. Along with us were our dear friends, President and Sister Cox, from the Guatemala Missionary Training Center (CCM). We were on our way for a great adventure! What a wonderful trip we had driving, talking, laughing, and experiencing this wonderful land with such good friends. This was our first trip to Honduras and we were not disappointed. After checking into Hotel Marina Copán and having lunch, we decided to go to check out the museum then go to the park in the morning when it is cooler.

                                                                   Thursday, July 16

This is the original in the museum that is actually the restored replica on the bottom.. Quite a difference, but beautiful on its own.

The museum houses a combination of original and replica pieces.

When first entering the museum, one is amazed at the size and color of the temple set in the middle of the first floor. Archaeologist surmise that the original temple looked like this with its vibrant colors and majestic presence. During our visit here and in the park, if we looked closely, we could still see some of the original color on the stone.

Later that day, we went back to our hotel to rest before shopping and dinner. Our husbands really lucked out, THERE IS NO SHOPPING IN COPAN!...well, very little. We still managed to find something...a treasure to take home.

Friday, July 17

Thank you Coxes. We had a fanstastic time and look forward to more fun times exploring places in Guatemala and the United States!

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Roosevelt Hospital Newborn Kits Delivery 

The senior sisters for many years have spearheaded the Newborn Baby Kits. Everyone we know tries to bring them when coming for a visit from the United States. Stacie, Susannah, and Saunie are coming down in September and are planning on bringing a lot of them. I cannot wait to post the pictures of their visit! There are hundreds of babies born EVERY week at the Roosevelt Hospital not to mention all the other hospitals in the country. Many of these mothers do not have ONE thing for their babies. They are so grateful and rather shy when accepting their kits. We, however, are blessed to be able to bring them. 

Here are a few pictures from our last visit, July 22, 2015.