Mira Arriba

Look Up! has a special meaning for us as we experienced a moment of personal revelation instructing us to "look up" during a very discouraging moment. This has happened so many times. Take today for example! There was a young man in the CCM who had continual grand mal seizures. Dad finally suggested that he go home and stabilize his medicines. This was a week ago. We thought that was the end of the matter, but today we heard that he continued in his mission and, furthermore, a local doctor increased his medication and he hasn't had a seizure since. Suddenly, we realized that God has a plan for these young men and we need, as medical advisors, to have more faith and try very hard to not look at things from a temporal perspective. We came with little experience and followed a very dynamic doctor. We wondered how we could ever follow in his footsteps, but gradually we are learning our own path. It has been a personal miracle as we find projects that need to be addressed that no one ever thought of before. These are not our ideas, but from a different Source.

We work hard, but we are also playing hard. We've been to several museums, a ballet, lots of sightseeing, social events (the senior missionaries are very close), church responsibilities, great artisans market which has the most wonderful fruits and vegetables, and in addition, has remarkable native crafts. Day before yesterday we went to a large park and viewed a topographical map that was built about 80 years ago. It is huge! It is an incredible evidence of the gigantic thermal forces that have shaped Guatemala. When dad went to exercise this morning on the roof of our building one of the volcanoes had steam spiraling out of it's cone. We are taking two senior sisters to Antigua tomorrow, but can't stay long. We are having a good-by party for the one of the couples who is returning home for brain surgery. There are five couples in our building and it will be a "building good-by". I don't know how we will find the room, but we are having Becky's Beef Stew and will put it in the crock-pot to cook during the hours we are gone. We will find the room somehow, even if we have to hold our bowls on our laps.

It is impossible to write about the depth of our spiritual learning. We feel as though we were in Kindergarten as we look at the scope of the growth of the gospel in Latin America. This church has grown by faith, not by the "arm of flesh". These people are giants in their reliance on the Spirit and it is amazing to see what they do. It has given us a special testimony of the way the gospel works in Utah. It is the same!!! We have taken it for granted. That is all there is to it. How grateful we should have been for having 6 Primary teachers in Primary, three members of a Relief Society Presidency + two teachers and a homemaking leader. How grateful we should have been for an elder's quorum who helps in the neigborhood because they are in the same neighborhood. And we weren't grateful...at least not enough.

We are memorizing I Nephi 3:7 in Spanish, and it just fits the challenge to do our best and to have faith in all things. Things as small as "Where did we put the box of kleenex?", "How do we find our way home?", "Can we understand Spanish well enough to be effective?"; all these things have become a matter of prayer. (We have needed Holly, who is the "landmark queen" in finding her way around, and/or Becky who can find her way anywhere without the aid of a compass. Many times we have wished they were here to help us when we are lost - which has been frequently.)

We love the gospel. We love the work! We love you!

.