Banditos, Skinny Cows and an Answer to Prayer

We had no address for our newly assigned branch in Pueblo Nuevo Vinas (because buildings in that town had no addresses). Since we had no clue as to how to find the church house, we decided to take the 1 1/2 hour drive on Saturday to scout out the area before our first Sunday meeting. The drive was as frightening as it was beautiful. We saw waterfalls, deep canyons and erupting volcanoes.

Although scenic, the secluded mountain road seemed to us like a perfect hiding place for banditos, waiting to ambush two gringos in a shiny new car.

We occasionally passed through small villages of one-roomed tin huts where families gathered outside to cook and eat their meals.

In fields, skinny cows grazed, and noisy children played. Smiling faces helped calm our uneasy feelings.

At last, the pothole-rutted road smoothed, and bright red three-wheeled vehicles began to appear. These colorful taxis are called "tuk-tuks" down here.

When we saw the sign, "Pueblo Nuevo Vinas," we knew we had arrived - safe, sound and alive!

We had found our town, but where was our church building? We drove up and down the streets, searching for a steeple, for a sign or for any hint that a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint chapel existed in this pueblo of 15,000 people.

We pulled our car to the side of a narrow crowded road and said a quiet prayer, asking for Heavenly Father to help us find the right building.  Only minutes later, Jay stopped the car again.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm going to talk to that man right there," Jay answered. He pointed to a man who was standing just inside an open doorway.

I wondered why, of all the people in the streets, Jay had chosen this person.

Our church house
is found just behind
this steel gate.

In Spanish, Jay explained our situation and asked if this man knew the location of the Mormon church building.

"I do know where it is," the man responded. He then told us that, although he was not a Mormon, he owned the property on which the chapel was built. He even had the keys to the gate of the high wall which surrounded and obscured the church building.

"Can you tell us how to find that building?" Jay asked.

"It is difficult to explain how to find it, and you can't see the church house from the street," said the man, "but I would be happy to take you there." He climbed into the backseat of our Rav-4 and took us directly to his property. He even opened the gate so that we could see the place where we would spend the next eighteen months serving the people of Pueblo Nuevo Vinas. Of the thousands of people in Pueblo Nuevo Vinas, only two  men owned keys to the church property. Our Heavenly Father lead us directly to one of those men.

Our prayer had been answered, and we no longer feared the dangers of our journey.

Our church house

We have now made that round-trip drive three times. Each time we learn to love it more, and as far as we know, no bandito's lurk in the bushes - only...

skinny cows.

Pineapple Alley

So, what do you think is the number one selling item in Walmart stores world-wide? It's bananas! Yes, bananas outsell everything else at Walmart. And, what do you think is the most commonly eaten fruit in the entire world? Bananas? No, it's mangoes! In fact, there are three times as many mangoes eaten around the world as bananas! And, what do you think is my newly discovered favorite fruit on the entire planet? Pineapples! Man, oh man, they are delicious down here! Sweet, juicy, tangy. Amazing! Bananas, mangoes, pineapples, avocados, oranges - they seem to have an endless supply of these freshly-picked fruits in Guatemala.

As you drive southeast out of Guatemala City, there is a stretch of road about a half-mile long that the locals have nicknamed "Pineapple Alley." Dozens of roadside stands line both sides of the highway. Each stand is stacked as high as you can reach with beautifully ripe, freshly-picked pineapples. I had a fun time bartering with the friendly vendors. Three pineapples go anywhere from 20 to 30 quetzales ($2.50-4.00) depending on their size.

Even the vegetables have personalities in Guatemala!

Can you find Mr. Potato Head's cousin?

Traffic Signs are Just Street Decorations

Imagine joining a road rally with a couple of million half-crazed motorists driving through a twisted maze of narrow city streets. Then the rules change. Everyone decides, just for fun, let's all play "chicken." Lane markers are only suggestions. All of the car windows are dark, so you can't tell who just cut you off. Now, throw in hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists weaving at breakneck speed between the bumper-to-bumper traffic. (I am pretty sure that the majority of these helmet-less cyclists have secret death wishes.) Huge smoke-belching trucks and colorful, overly-crowded buses bully their way into already-congested lanes. Add to this scene street vendors, window washers, and pedestrians dodging between the cars.

Hard to imagine? Well, welcome to the daily commute in Guatemala City.

FM's and M's at the CCM

FM - to you this might sound like a radiofrequency. To us at the dental clinic, it stands for "future missionary."

Besides working with the sweet little orphans and school children of Guatemala City, each week we also have the opportunity to help young men and women from all over Central America who want to become Mormon missionaries. The other morning we saw ten youth from Quetsaltenango. They had gotten up at 2:30 in the morning to travel to our clinic so we could take care of their dental needs.

For each FM, we did an exam, restored teeth as required, and more often than not, removed four wisdom teeth. After a long day at the dental office, the FM's drove five hours home.

These special young adults have simple, but strong testimonies. Their eyes shine with light. They are genuinely good through and through. When I see them, any concern or doubts I originally had about serving in the dental clinic here are gone. I am sincerely honored to do whatever I can to help them.

In addition to serving FM's, every three weeks we also get to go to the CCM, Central America's version of the MTC. There, we get to do basic exams on all of the missionaries who are headed to Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama. If the missionaries need work done, we set up appointments for them at our clinic.

At the end of each screening I ask each missionary two things. First I asked, "Do you have a question?" Then I pause and ask the second question, "Do you have a testimony?"

Most answer, "No," to the first question, but to the second question, they always grin and answer, "Si!"

Clinica Dental

The waiting room was crowded with small brown-faced children. One tiny child clung to a chair in the corner, sobbing softly. If anyone tried to make him go into the operatory, his whimpers turned into screams. I knew exactly how he felt.

"This is a huge mistake," Jay whispered to me. "I can't do this. Let's go home."

Jay had found his quiet corner and sat near the portable X-ray machine, refusing to go back into the operatory. We were more than 2000 miles from Idaho and, at that point, I think we would both have gladly walked the entire way back if it weren't for the fact that we were afraid we would get mugged before we went three blocks.

In the operatory, four dentists and their wives worked at a frantic, but efficient pace. These dentists knew where every instrument was kept. The wives knew how to assist perfectly. Spanish words flowed freely from their lips. 

Jay, on the other hand, had been assigned to an only partially-equipped chair with me, an assistant who knew absolutely nothing about helping. He was expected to do the kind of dental procedures he hadn't done for years with sparse equipment, some of which looked like antiques. There simply wasn't time for the other dentists or wives to stop and help us find the equipment necessary for Jay to do his job. With no high-speed handpiece, no rubber dam, not even an anesthetic syringe, Jay felt useless. 

We said a silent prayer. Then, armed with only a toothbrush, we decided to concentrate on the tiny crying child. In the waiting room, Jay chatted with him in Spanish. I used the few Spanish words that I knew to play silly games with him and make him laugh. Gradually he let go of his teacher's hand and allowed me to carry him into the operatory room where I sat in the dental chair with him on my lap, and Jay gave hygiene instructions. We were able to check that one box off the child's treatment plan. When we took him back to his teacher, he was smiling brightly. We knew he would come back again. 

We knew we would too. 

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.

Provo MTC

Last Sunday (Jan 29th) Julie and Thomas dropped us off at the Provo Missionary Training Center.

The MTC is filled with 1200 enthusiastic smiling young Elders and Sisters who seem to jog everywhere they go, but are willing to stop long enough to carry bags or open doors for us slower senior missionaries.

We meet daily with 68 other seniors who will soon go to the four corners of the world. Whether they will serve in places like Russia, Australia, Vietnam or stay in the United States, each person has been an example of dedication. Many of these couples have served multiple missions, one couple having served eleven different times. Our district included the Every's (North Carolina), the Boones (North Carolina), us (Central American Area), and the Neimans (Chicago).

A highlight of our week here was when Jay and one other 'gray hair' joined 800 youthful missionaries in a choir singing "Where Can I Turn for Peace". The last words of this song describe our Savior, "Constant He is and kind, love without end." Our goal for our mission is to be more constantly kind and filled with love.

Tomorrow we leave for Guatemala. We love you all!