OK, it's now Saturday. We had a late night, as the whole building had a potluck dinner and a huge Bingo game. We slept in, went to the gym (and I actually went and just did the treadmill very slowly without much discomfort), and now we are doing a bit of cleaning and we will leave in a bit to go to the Popul Vu Museum. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on on Mayan, Olmec and Aztec art, architecture, fabric, history and culture from a perspective that is not church oriented. I have also read the church literature about this area and it has been lots of fun to compare and contrast them. The Popul Vu (that the museum is named after) is the Mayan Bible compiledfrom codex's recovered after Spain wiped out nearly every single thing relating to religion and history. This was in 1500, and Spain wanted to wipe out all religious and traditional beliefs and replace it with Catholicism. These writings sort of illustrate the purposes of the glyphs and stele, buildings, streets, but not completely. This leaves a tantalizing mystery as many of the explanations differ with each researcher. But, and the most important thing is that from 1100BC to about 600 AD even Egypt was surpassed in astronomy, mathematics, elaborate religious traditions by the sophistication of Mayan building and art and a complex system of government and religious structure.

The most interesting this I have read is the Popul Vu which is the Mayan Bible. There are many translations of this and they consist of poetic interpretations of their Geneis. It is essentially a creation story and it is stunning in its resemblance to our creation story. The more I read about creations stories from other countries: Egypt, Asia, Middle East, Polynesian - and I have been studying them all, the more similarities I see. It is completely fascinating.

Well, we are just going to the museum right now and I look forward to doing this. It has been a busy week with doing catch up after our trip to El Salvador, but we are beginning a new project that will probably take months to develop. Dad and I are excited about the ideas we are getting in response to our plan and when it is finished will be something the whole Area can claim they have put together.

We are planning to do an eyeglass clinic in Santiago the Monday after Easter. Santiago is situated across lake Atitlan and we are excited. We will contact the Stake President and he will set it up. The Mission President has already given us permission and the missionaries will help us. The language these people use is Quic'he and so the missionaries will have to help. This is a touristy town on the surface, but only the surface.

Back to El Salvador now. In one of the zone conferences I was sitting on a bench in the chapel and listening to an Elder sing a hymn as he played the guitar. I looked out the window and noticed that tendrils of plant beside the window were creeping into the chapel throught he grate. The quiet in the chapel, the sweet music in the air, the balmy atmostphere, the Spirit that attended that meeting were all componants that echoed the many places and experiences we have had and been a part of throughout Central America. I don't think I will ever forget these little moments. The place and time and chapel sort of are blurring already in my memory, but the feelings are unforgettable.

On our drive home we decided to visit a lake situated in an ancient caldera. It is round as it is formed by the sides of the volcano, but I'd say it is the same size as Fish Lake in Southern Utah.

This lake is not polluted as are many lakes in Latin America. We had an idea that if we could find a place to stay we would do so for that one night. The lake is beautiful and has freshwater shrimp, crabs, talapia and many other fresh water fish. The buildings surrounding the lake are all fenced in and it is impossible to get to the edge of the lake, but all were inviting guests. It is difficult to see what the little hotels look like, but from glimpses we could tell that there is decay, as there is everywhere (in spite of the gradual building and development boom that is beginning to happen)around the lake side. We finally went through one gate and drove down to the pier and had a great lunch right on the edge of the lake. We were serenaded as we ate by an accordian and guitar and they were actually very good, but we felt sad for these people as they are trying their best to make a living. There were few people and the scenery is so fabulous it is difficult to think that no one visits. The approach down into the crater though was breathtaking. At each curve we could see a new aspect of the lake. Wow!

During one of the conferences in El Salvador I experienced one of those moments we all get occassionally when something we have never really thought of or something we have been perplexed over suddenly becomes clear. I know this will sound mundane, but to me it was revelatory.

Two missionaries were giving a demonstration interview and, in Spanish, one young man used the word "constant" in his part. At that moment the meaning of this word and all its ramifications crept into my mind in a glorious way. The missionary used a reference of 3 Nephi 6:14 and I hurried to find it in my scriptures. While searching other words came to me as though they were gifts and with each I was able to see how they related. While they may seem as merely words they have new meaning for me. A few of the words that illuminate the word constant are trustworthy, loyal, dependable, responsible, diligent, careful, inspired, forgiving and always approachable. I have many more, but sometimes, as these experiences come to me I feel that "my cup runneth over".

We have two zone conferences ahead of us. One, in May in Belize, all of West El Salvador, and in June Guatemala South Mission. There will be more, but we are not wanting to do anything that will get in the way of Tammy and Jame's visit in April. We are able to control our schedule better than we could before when we didn't really understand what we were doing, and will try to limit our traveling to once a month. This leaves lots of room for anyone who might like to visit.

Buenas Tardes!