ComputerCrash in Guatemal

We arrived in Guatemala late Friday night. The Wilkens picked us up and took us to the Marriot where we lived in luxury for two days. We rented a small apartment on Sunday night and moved in on Monday. We are renting it by the day and trying to decide whether to rent it permanently or lease another apartment next door. The one next door is way too big and the one we are in is sort of small, but they don't have anything in-between. For the time-being we will stay put. Gail and Larry Wilkins, the AMA until we leave, have been absolutely gracious and informative and they have tried to train us. We're a bit slow in all areas, particularly Spanish, but the Wilkens are patience personified. We went to church on Sunday and didn't understand a word. Ditto the temple when we went on Tuesday. All the textbook Spanish we took really hasn't helped. Carolyn is going to take two Spanish classes when we return from Panama. The driving is scary and Kim will have his first shakedown drive on Thursday (tomorrow). The streets seem to make no sense to us at the moment, and this is after four days of driving. We are writing this in the area office where we have a large office and small examination room. All buildings are protected by fences and security guards and the area office is no exception. There are many people working here, and all have been so kind to us. We had a family home evening on Monday night and they have a Break the Fast dinner on Fast Day. The senior missionaries are a close-knit group and we are glad to be a part of it. We will have Family Home Evening on the 18th either in our little apt. or our bigger one. We are bewildered by all these new things, but we have faith that we will be able to help. Larry is mentoring Kim as they have seen missionaries and spent time on the phone. The telephone is that main resource for local missionaries. The Mission President's wife and the mission nurse are the first line of defense and then Kim is called as a last resort. However, the compiling of mission incidents is the AMA's job. Even that contact is often tenuous. We're on the way back to our apartment in a minute, so 'till the next blog...Carolyn

Leaving the MTC in a few hours to drive to the airport. We should be in Guatemala City at 8:00 or 9:00 where Larry Wilken and his wife (the AMA there now) "will be in the airport to whisk us away and deposit us in our snug little apartment" (Larry's words). We should be in our beds by 11:00. We wonder what tomorrow will bring and we are so eager to see what our duties and jobs will be. I guess the first thing we will do is to call each Mission President and tell them we are here and ask them what we can do for them. Next week, we will go to Panama with the Wilken's and get our first observation of a Zone Conference. A couple going to Ethiopia and the two of us are the last of our 40 couples to leave the MTC and our wing of the building is very hollow sounding and empty. We have met extraordinary coulples and have made friends with many. When one is such an intense learning environment with such close and intimate tasks such as preaching and teaching and bearing testimony over and over, it is hard not to see the very soul of one another. We have major butterflies in our stomachs and as we got out of bed this morning we looked at each other and said, "this is it!!!" We hope we will be able to do a good job. Dad taught a lesson in Spanish last night and I bore testimony. We visited a class of missionaries who were going to San Diego, Spanish speaking and had to speak to the whole class. Dad did well, I hope I did esta bien. We visited the laundry for the first time last night. Now there is an experience never to be forgotten. Hundreds of machines, hundreds of missionaries, tabnernacle choir music playing over the speakers, missionaries on computers, 110 degrees and 100 per cent humidity. Everyone was laughing and talking. As I was working on a washing machine two lady missionaries came over and started putting their hands here and there all over the places where the two machines met. Just before she left home a week ago one of her friends who had been in the MTC some months ago had left a letter between L14 and L16 machines. Sure enough, they found it, and it had been undisturbed for 4 months. The reason I mention it is because we see this sort of thoughtful thing all the time. Well, gotta chatcha plane.. Carolyn

Day in the life at the MTC

It was an exhausting day, in fact, it was an exhausting week. We have felt humbled by our lack of knowledge of basic medicine that will need to be digested before we get to Guatemala. From parasites to malaria, from little diseases we have never heard about before, to a way to keep infestations of bedbugs from invading missionary apartments has been the content of many hours of classes. Tomorrow, we have 8 hours of instruction on the computer programs we will be using in the mission office. Through it all, though, we have been fed spiritually by the constant reassurance of Heavenly help. Exhausted as we feel tonight, our spirits are light, and prayers for you at home and for the young men and women we will be serving has taken on a new meaning. We have met lovely couples who are serving all over the world. We were divided into districts and dad was the fearless district leader. The MTC has been an experience we find we cannot express adequately. Suffice it to say, this place is a spiritual mecca from which to launch the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Although this is most mundane, the MTC cafeteria has been an experience never to be forgotten. Thousands of white shirts going this way and that, never waiting in line, deferring to us senior missionaries, speaking in many languages and breaking into spontaneous song has been something we have witnessed three times a day. The influence of these young men and women has been something we'll never forget. Last Sunday in the fireside one of the songs sung by the congregation was "Army of Helaman" from the Primary song book. I had to look to see if the roof was still in place. The fervor and enthusiasm of these young men and women brought us to tears. We post this after doing our Spanish homework for the last time. Our tutor, Carlos, has been wonderful and Kim is doing very well.

Arriving at the MTC

Here we are at the MTC on the first day of our new adventure!!!! It was a beautiful day and the mountains were so pretty as we arrived.

WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!