The Hand of the Lord

I think that the other senior couples who serve here would agree with me that there is only one reason why we are here: because we know we are on the Lord’s errand. We are frequently reminded of this by what we experience. If not for this we would rather be back home enjoying our free time and the company of loved ones. Here are a couple of recent examples:

1. In the previous post I talked about the dentists’ visit to Santa Lucia. Let me explain how this came about. The leaders in Santa Lucia had meant to take a group of future missionaries in to Guatemala City to get passports, chest xrays (A TB test is one of the requirements to serve a mission), and to get their dental exams at the dental clinic. As it turned out, their first two tasks consumed almost the whole day and they had to miss the dental clinic. The dentists were disappointed at their appointment not being met and the leaders were unsure how they could gather the resources to make another trip in for the dental work. They asked if the dentists could make a visit to Santa Lucia, but were told that the dental schedule was filled up for many weeks into the future. So they did what Mormons do when their backs are to the wall, they fasted and prayed for a solution. Neither I nor the dentists knew how desperate they were, but the Lord knew. There was a street fair to be held on the street where the dental clinic is located. It ended up effectively blocking access to the clinic for several days. So the dentists decided that, rather than just shut down for the duration, they could go to Santa Lucia with their portable clinic. They found out later that that decision was the answer to prayers.

2. To get into our assignment here in Escuintla, we are meeting many of the new members. We know that it is easy for people to get discouraged as new members when they find that joining the Church does not remove all problems and challenges from their lives. Yesterday we went to the home of a man and his wife who joined the Church about a year ago and have been actively participating since. We were surprised to see that the branch president (the leader of the  congregation) had just arrived there too. Fortuntely the husband had just gotten home from work. As we talked to them we were surprised to have them say that they did not understand anything in the Bible or the Book of Mormon, didn’t feel any thing in their heart for the Church and had decided not to attend any more. They felt that they had agreed to join just because of the pressure applied by the young missionaries. The branch president talked to them for some time, telling them, among many other things, that he had been present when they agreed to be baptized and did not remember any coercion taking place, that they enthusiastically wanted to do so and that they had been freely participating for some time. He further told them that he had since had many experiences with them in which their joy and enthusiasm were evident. As he talked with them it bacame apparent that the root cause of their feelings was that they had seemed to expect that joining the Church would remove all problems and difficulties from their lives and when they still had them, they were losing faith. Both the branch president and we have enough experience to know that the Lord does not remove problems from our lives because that would defeat its purpose. The Lord promises to help us deal with problems, not to remove them from us. As I listened to the discussion I felt inspired to recommend that the couple read and study one particular chapter in the Book of Mormon and that we would return in a couple of days to see what they had learned from it and to answer any questions they might have. They agreed to do this. I also told them of something they didn’t realize: that the branch president and we did not discuss before hand visiting this couple, that neither of us knew that the other was coming. Yet we both showed up a their home at the same time, just as he was coming home from work and at a time when they were struggling spiritually. This was too much to be just be a coincidence, but was evidence that the Lord knew of their struggles and led both of us to show up at their home at just the right time to be able to meet with and help them. Jo still struggles to understand Spanish but somehow she knew what was being said and felt inspired to add her counsel as I translated for her. It was clear from what she said that she understood exactly what the issues were and offered her own inspired advice that fit perfectly with the situation.

It is experiences such as this, feeling close to the Lord and being part of his work, along with seeing the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the lives of others, that is the payment we receive for our work here. And it is far greater payment than money or any other earthly thing. This is why we are here.

Angels with Forceps

Among the senior missionary couples in Guatemala are three dentists and their wives, who have learned to be dental assistants to their husbands. (We are still waiting for a dentist to come along who will use her husband as her assistant!) They are such a blessing in a country with great needs for dental care. They are based out of a clinic in Guatemala City that was built with donations from a Church member but the clinic is public and is not owned by the Church. Our post back on March 17 in this blog shows some pictures of the clinic. The dentists' work includes helping young people prepare to serve missions by taking care of any dental problems they have, but most of their time is spent providing services to several orphanages in the country, so they spend a lot of time providing free services to non LDS members.

Guatemala has a socialized medicine system that provides medical services to the people at low cost but dental work is not included. It becomes a huge expense for the many Guatemalans who eke out their livings with long days of hard work.

Since it is often difficult for people from remote areas to come to Guatemala City, the dentists will pack up their portable equipment in a pair of minivans and head out to spend a few days "roughing it" in these remote areas. They set up in one of the rooms in a local Church building.

This past week they spent three days in the town of Santa Lucia, about a half hour from where we are now living, and took care of about 25 future missionaries, age 17 and up, as well as some of the members who had needs. From there they will head to Solola to do much the same thing, before heading back to home base next week.

Doc Wilcox and Deedee

Doc Johnson and Annalee

Doc Call and Leeann, assisted by a future dentist

Another satisfied customer - as you can tell from the big smile

Those long church tables get used for many things

Future clients anticipate the experience awaiting them as they  observe their friend

We paid them a visit one afternoon and marveled at how they can do such grueling work, often in an uncomfortable environment (you can see the hard plastic chairs they spend their day in), hour after hour. At this point in their careers, they could be spending their time sipping lemonade by the pool or hitting the golf course but here they are. Actually, they do get to spend an occasional day of golf, when they have time for some much-deserved R&R.

Baragwanath Blessings

Beautiful tree garden on the chapel grounds

On August 4 we got to help out at a one-day medical clinic in the town of San Andres Semetabaj. The clinic is sponsored by Baragwanath Blessings Inc., a humanitarian organization created by 19 year old Colette Ankenman of Danville, CA. You can see more of what Baragwanath is accomplishing at http://www.barablessings.com/. Colette’s mother is a pediatrician and her family spends many “vactation” days each year visiting areas where there are great health needs, such as the Mayan areas of Guatemala. Dad, a former missionary in Uruguay, comes along to serve as Spanish translator.

The Ankenmans

The San Andres Semetebaj Chapel. The canopy is a waiting area.

Jo served as greeter, clerk, and entertainer of small children

Every doctor needs a waiting room. Elder Tanner was part of the entertainment.

Anxiously waiting to see the doc

"Wow - that wasn't as bad as I expected!"

 This day they visited this small town, located on the hillside above Lake Atitlan, and set up a makeshift clinic in the small branch meetinghouse, and we, and another mission couple, got to help! From 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM the doctor saw 74 women and children,  giving them checkups, diagnosing health problems and providing counseling on diet and healthy behavior. Using donations to Baragwanath Blessings, they also provided vitamins, infant formula, oatmeal, and iodine for water treatment.

Other patients - the children also got beanies!

An Anniversary to Remember

Our house in Escuintla

It tuned out that our 38th anniversary occurred while we were moving from Guatemala City to our new area, Escuintla. On July 31 we went to the new house to clean it and then to receive many of the furnishings that the Church is providing for us. (We pay $100 per month as rental for the furnishings.) A pickup load came in the morning and we expected more coming in the afternoon. No one had come by 4:00 PM so we decided something had come up and they would not be coming till tomorrow. We took off to return to Guatemala City for our last night there. After we had gone down the road for about 20 minutes, we got a call and more furniture was there waiting to get in. So we made the next u-turn and headed back to let them in. That day we received a stove, fridge, washer, dryer, desk, armoires, beds, and chests of drawers. We had asked for two twin beds as we were not sure that the room was big enough for a kingsize. As it turned out, we could fit both twins together to make a king. But it was sure easier to get the twin beds up the steep, narrow stairs. That night we spent our last night in the Capital after packing our clothing and food in readiness for the next day.

Next day we borrowed the mission pickup to move our clothing and personal items. The couch and matching chairs arrived later in the morning. We worked to get everything in place and assemble some of the kit furniture. The cable company came and did the installation. As the house is new, they had to run cable from the pole to the roof and down through the walls. We got the house into a semi-livable state and spent our first night there. It didn’t help when Jo discovered a large cockroach on the bedroom ceiling as we were getting ready for the night. With the use of a jar and some insecticide, we got him cornered and out of action. It was amazing how much energy he still had while covered with insecticide spray. Fortunately, we have only found one other, small cockroach in the house during the first 10 days. Jo squished that one.

Living Room

The following day was our anniversary and we continued getting things put together and arranged. We had the help of one of the local branch presidents who is a Church employee in building maintenance. He helped us get the washer and dryer set up and a multitude of other challenges. That evening we spent some time shopping for a few small  items we needed and, at the end of a long day, were able to have an anniversary dinner at a really good Mexican restaurant. We reflected on how, 38 years earlier, we were doing much the same thing, after returning from our honeymoon trip, when we set up our first apartment. That time we had mostly gifts and loaners for furnishings. This month we are furnished with rented furniture that we won’t see again once we return home. Our furnishings, like the house and car, are all new since we are not replacing anyone in this assignment. That night we finally had someplace to get most of our clothing hung up or put away.

Dinette, Front Door and Kitchen with Fridge that wont fit in the Kitchen!

We brought the dining set back with us from Sololá the following Sunday. The couple there did not have room in their apartment for it.

Kitchen - believe it or not, we can work together in here.

Because the kitchen is so small, the fridge had to go in the dining area which meant there was not enough room to have the dining table out on the open floor so it is against a wall with just two chairs.

By the 10th we had our shower water heater installed and were able to take the first hot showers. We are now finally feeling like we are in our home for the next 13 months.