October 24
                                        Fraijanes

We love our Saturday morning excursions! This time we stayed closer to home and went to Fraijanes. The Abularachs, our friends who were Seth's first mission president and now serve with us in the CCM, live in the area. We had never ventured far from their home but decided to see if we could find more. And, we did! However, we learned that Fraijanes is quite a large area. So, we decided to explore!

We saw beautiful vegetation, clothes hung to dry, empty but soon to be bustling streets, beautiful tree covered roads, and of course, an LDS meetinghouse! In all our explorations, we seem to always find the local LDS church building!

November 14, 2015

Tecpan, Iximche, and Lunch...a great combination!

We have BURLEY, Idaho people right here in Guatemala! It is such a small world! Elder and Hermana Fillmore arrived in May and we knew right away they were good people because they were from Burley, Idaho! Although we were only in Burley for 2 years, it had a profound influence upon our family. We loved living there 30 years ago and have had a wonderful time sharing memories of Burley and friends we have in common. My dear friend, Lanny, told me about their call and we were ready for their arrival. They also like exploring so we ventured out on one of our Saturday drives and took them to our favorite 'nearby' ruins, IXIMCHE.

After all that exploring, of course, we needed to revive ourselves so decided to stop for lunch. I had stopped here before with a tour group of senior temple missionaries but had not actually eaten at the restaurant. Now, this place may seem a little strange, definitely interesting, but it actually was very good and clean. In other words, safe and tasty!

September 25 - October 2, 2015

The GIRLS Are Here!

September 25 through October 2 we had VISITORS! Stacie, Susannah, Saunie, and Karen (Spence's sister) came for a week. We wore them out with all the wonderful places, people and things in Guatemala. They arrived early in the morning Friday, September 25th and after a brief stop at the apartment for breakfast we were OFF!

DAY 1: ANTIGUA 

First on the agenda was Brother Miza who makes wonderful bags and scripture covers. The girls ordered enough to keep him so busy that he had to make a late evening delivery of all they ordered just before their department for home. After placing their orders, we headed for Antigua, the ancient Catholic capital of Guatemala. We have gone there many times but it is still unique and a must see for visitors.

DAY 2: TIKAL

We left our apartment at 5:30 in the morning to make a 7:30 am flight to Tikal. Thank goodness the airport going to Tikal is practically across the street! What an amazing place! Tikal is the largest excavated site in the American continent and contains hundreds of fascinating archaeological sites of the ancient Mayan civilization covering over 222 sq. miles of jungle and ruins. It is Guatemala's most famous tourist destination. Archaeologists estimate that the Mayan settled in the area known as Tikal about 900 B.C.

     As we were sitting at the top of the temple, we could see a storm coming from the left moving across the sky. We worried that rain would come while we were exploring but the rain gods were on our side. We had a down pour as we were walking through the jungle to our lunch and trip back home. There is nothing quite as wonderful as walking through a tropical rain forest during a torrential rain storm. It ROCKED!
We stopped in the little town of Flores to walk around and explore before heading for the airport and our return to Guatemala City.
What a great day!

DAY 3: CCM

Rest day spent at the Guatemala City Missionary Training Center (CCM) where we serve in the Rama B Branch. Elder Lloyd is a counselor in the branch presidency and I teach the North America sister missionaries gospel doctrine in their native language (English) a few times a month. Almost adjacent to the CCM is the Guatemala City Temple. It was wonderful to walk over there and feel the quiet peacefulness of sacred ground.

DAY 4: Dental Clinic, Relief Map, and Central Market

Spence took the ladies around in the morning while I worked at recovering from some "bug" I had acquired.They went to the Dental Clinic where I have volunteered. We have a few dental missionaries that service future missionaries, CCM missionaries, missionaries here in the city, Senior Missionaries, and orphans. They work so hard and we appreciate them so much!

After their morning activities, I joined them along with our dear friend, Mayra Abularach (Seth's former mission president's wife), for the unique Central Market experience located in the middle of the city. Unfortunately, it is not safe to get out a camera or phone to take pictures so we have only a few that do not capture the full essence of this place! The first level is all 'typica' items like textiles and souvenir items. Going down to the second level is quite the experience...flowers, fresh produce, and meat...meat hanging raw from the ceiling and pretty amazing and disgusting all at the same time. The third level down is the craft center where you can find fabrics, clay pots, and general craft supplies. Although 'gringos' love to shop there, it is definitely a main shopping 'center' for locals.The ladies loved the shopping! Spence tolerated the shopping but was a good sport because he saw how much fun we were all having with the shopping.

DAY 5 & 6: Lake Atitlan and Quetzaltenango (XELA) 

Lake Atitlan: We had so many wonderful experiences but this was definitely one of the special ones...wait...they were all special. We left early in the morning and drove to Panajachel located on the banks of Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan is suggested by many LDS scholars to be the Waters of Mormon referred to in the Book of Mormon. There are twelve villages surrounding the lake that are named after each one of the twelve apostles. We took a boat ride over to Santiago Atitlan for a tour, fashion show, and shopping. I know...we are always shopping!

Quetaltenango (Xela): By evening, we had arrived in Xela via Totonicapan...both towns where Spence served as a young missionary. Xela has a special place in his heart and he always loves to go back to this town even though it has changed a lot in 50 years! We stayed in our favorite hotel on the square, Pension Bonifaz, and had dinner with President and Sister Galvez who serves as the temple president there. (He was Seth's other mission president while serving in Panama.) We feel so blessed to have them as dear friends. We visited the temple and went to what is now one of our favorite places...the UTZIL DOLL FACTORY! 

These dolls take 10 days to make and are all hand painted in the native design of each town. 

We had to get a picture of this woman carrying her flowers to sell for the day with our own resident florist, Stacie!

DAY 7: Roosevelt Hospital Baby Kit Delivery 

                                     and 

Last Minute Shopping...always last minute shopping!

Stacie, Susannah, Saunie, and Karen helped with a wonderful service project. They collected an amazing amount of 'baby kit' items to be given to newborn babies at Roosevelt Hospital which is a free hospital here in the city. More than 100 babies are born each day and most of them have nothing. In fact, some go home wrapped in paper. There has been a long going service project that is continued by each new group of senior missionaries collecting a onsie, blanket, diaper, wash cloth, hat, socks, and soap all put into a ziplock bag and distributed to the new mothers and their babies. Saunie was our spokesperson because she could speak Spanish. (Elder Lloyd drove but stayed outside the rooms because the mothers are usually nursing.) Saunie was wonderful smiling, teasing, and talking with them. They were more responsive than I have ever seen when I have been visiting. We gave out 99 kits that day. 

                                   A LABOR OF LOVE...

DAY 8: Tearful Goodbye! What an amazing time we had! We had a trip of a lifetime with these amazing ladies. Thank you for coming to Guatemala and letting us share this amazing country and its amazing people with you!

     THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!

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.