New Species Discovered

Two new species were discovered in Guatemala this week. The one on the left claims to be 104 years old. The gigantic humanoid on the right exhibits quite a diminished level of intelligence. Shortly after this picture was taken, the large one sadly devoured the little one, proving the old evolution adage of "survival of the fittest."

Angry Clouds and Angry Crowds

For the past three months, the signs on the restroom doors at our branch clearly stated that there was no water inside.

Well, today it rained. The dry season ended. So all was well. Right?

Wrong.
That rain led to plenty of trouble. The water's first target was our Primary room. Within minutes of a torrential downpour, rain began seeping through the overhead light fixtures. Soon it dripped down walls and eventually crept through every weak spot in the ceiling. The primary teacher calmly instructed her students to play outside on the porch (where it was drier). 

Then we placed buckets in strategic locations around the room and began to mop the floor with cleaning rags. Some of the children even helped.

The bathrooms also flooded, which meant that, at last, we definitely had water there. 

Throughout all of this, the smiles on branch members' faces were like rays of sunshine. 

So, our trouble with water was over. Right?

Wrong.

Because of the weather, my husband decided to break an unwritten mission rule. We are encouraged to not give rides to church members; but without our help, a dear sister would have walked several miles to her home, carrying her newborn daughter in the chilly rain. We drove the mother, the infant and two other people home, then returned to Pueblo Nuevo Vinas for the woman's husband. In trying to get back to him, Jay took an unfamiliar narrow road. And I do mean narrow! As he squeezed between a parked car and a high cement curb, our bumper scraped the curb. No big deal. Just a fender bender. We could still drive. Right?

Wrong.

A piece of hard plastic lining from our wheel well lodged around the tire making it impossible for our car to move. Two kind Guatemalan men saw our dilemma and tried to help. Our branch president lived nearby, and also came to our rescue. At least we were surrounded by sympathetic understanding people. Right?

Wrong.

Not if you include the people in the parade. Yes, I said parade. Shortly after our car got stuck in the middle of the road, we looked up to see a crowd approaching us. This Corpus Christi Day procession was led by a priest. Next to him, people carried a huge handheld float. A throng of worshipers followed. Along with umbrellas, they held lit candles and smoking incense. The procession was accompanied by drums, two trumpets and a tuba. As the marching mass tried to maneuver the heavy float past us, they bumped against our helpless Toyota, surrounding it on all sides. Each person seemed to make a point of scowling in our direction. One woman looked at the dumb Norte Americanos who were blocking the procession route and couldn't help giving the universal sign of disgust. She stared straight at Jay, wrinkled up her nose and stuck out her tongue. (I just covered my missionary name badge, kept my window up and door locked.)

Eventually, the parade passed, and the men who were helping us succeeded in getting our car to drive again. An hour and a half later, we were back home safe and sound. All is well that ends well; so next week, come rain or shine, we will be back at Pueblo Nuevo Vinas again. Right?

Absolutely right.


PS (from Jay) - I even made it home in time to celebrate Fathers Day with the other senior missionaries.

PPS (from Jay) - I hope this isn't sacrilegious to say, but I truly wonder if some guardian angel, assigned to the Harrises in Guatemala, wasn't splitting a gut laughing at our awkward dilemma. The timing, the location, the weird twisting of the wheel lining that wouldn't allow our immediate escape, all add up to some pretty suspicious chicanery. Thanks a lot, Dad. Very funny! And happy Fathers Day.

Rolling Forth

In the stake house gymnasium, I put down my portable x-ray machine long enough to ask a young future missionary a question, "How did the missionaries find you?"

He replied, "The missionaries didn't find me. I found them."

Interested, I wanted more details. He said that when he was 14 years old, he asked a classmate of his, "What makes you so different from all of the other boys in our class?"

The young man replied, "I am a Mormon. If you'd like to know more, I'll bring you a Book of Mormon tomorrow."

The next day, his friend brought him a copy of the Book of Mormon, which he soon started to read. As he read, he immediately received a witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and asked to talk to the missionaries.

His mother gave permission for him to have the missionary lessons, but at the end of the lessons she would not give permission for him to be baptized.

Each day, he would approach his mother and ask her to sign his baptismal permission slip. Each day her response was the same, "Absolutely not."

After many repeated attempts, one morning this young man got up early and knelt down beside his bed and pleaded with Heavenly Father. More than anything else, this young man wanted to get baptized into the Church. He got up from his knees and went into the kitchen. Again he asked his mother for permission. This time her response was dramatically different.

"Sure," she said, "I'd be happy to sign the permission slip for you to get baptized."

With the signed slip, the missionaries immediately baptized him into the Church.

Now, the interesting thing. This young man's mother swears to this day, that she can't remember saying, "yes," or giving permission for him to get baptized. That morning is a complete blank in her memory.

Four years have passed. The young man has remained active in the Church. He now is of age to go on a mission. He again approached his mother, this time about leaving on a mission. Again she replied, "Absolutely not." She emphatically stated, "You have to go to college first."

What she doesn't know is that in the past year, her son had received a patriarchal blessing which told him there are many converts who are waiting for him to teach them and baptize them. He couldn't stand the thought of making those people wait more years to receive the blessings of the gospel. He simply told his mother, "I can't wait! I have to go NOW on a mission."

"You are so stubborn!" she finally said. "I know that no matter what I say, you're going to go on that mission. So go ahead. I give my permission."

Once his dental work is completed, he will submit his mission papers to go serve. 

For the last two weekends, Trudy and I, along with four others of our dental team, have gone on what we call "jornadas."  The first week, we traveled a couple of hours to Amatitlan, then the next Saturday drove four hours to Quetzaltenango to conduct dental screenings on a total of almost 100 future missionaries. Like this young man, these soon-to-be missionaries are an impressive bunch.

 As I took x-rays on each one, I would ask, "How long have you been a member of the Church?" The responses ranged from six months to four or five years, but almost every joven (young person) was a recent convert to the Church. Most of these young men and women will be called to serve in Central America, but some of them will teach people in faraway places like Africa, Asia, the United States and more. The work of the Restoration is rolling forth and beginning to fill the whole earth.

Future missionaries waiting in the hall

Elder and Sister Clason handling the paper work

Elder (Dr.) Hogge taking x-rays in the gymnasium.

After the jornada, the future missionaries travel to our clinic
to have their dental work done. Can you tell by the smile
on this girl's face that she just had her 4 wisdom teeth
removed?