A Whole New World

Dead tired after a long day of flying, we arrived in Guatemala City to find a cozy two-bedroom apartment stocked with food in the refrigerator, basic needs in our cupboards and clean linens on the beds. Fresh flowers decorated our "dining room" table.

Elder and Sister Hogge (Larry and Shawn) and Elder Rick Smith picked us up at the airport. They, along with the other senior missionary couples in our apartment building and neighborhood had pooled their resources to make sure we felt welcome. It was a far, far better surprise than the leftover chicken nuggets we discovered at the Salt Lake Days Inn a few years ago.

Here are some pictures of our apartment, including our apartment's very own armed guard.

Seven other missionary couples also lived in our
apartment complex.

Our guards were on duty 24/7. They used shotguns
because they weren't very good at marksmanship.

Each morning we awaken to beautiful weather, chirping birds, and the sound of a squealing pig! That's right, a pig! Our backyard neighbors have a pet pig that goes out each morning, then squeals as loud as the little porker can until his owners let him back into the house. Guatemala is a whole new world!

Guatemala City has a population of approximately 3 million.