Sunday, July 25, 2021
Getting the Senior Missionary Zone Back Together
Since our arrival in Guatemala on the 18th of June 2021, the second senior couple has arrived. Elder Wayne Gelder and his wife Kathy arrived on July 8th. Elder Gelder has been serving via Zoom as the Executive Secretary for President Brian Taylor, area President. He is also de facto Zone Leader of the senior missionaries. They live three floors above us and we have enjoyed visiting, shopping and worshipping with them since their arrival. Elder Gelder served in Guatemala as a young missionary and over the years has been involved in translating the Book of Mormon and Temple ordinances into the K'iche language. He and Pres. Taylor have a long history of church service together in a Bountiful stake.
Next week Elder Frank and Elizabeth Wise will be arriving from Oregon. They have been called to serve as humanitarian service missionaries in the areas of temporal service and self-reliance. Sister Wise was originally from Mexico and Elder Wise has been a branch president of a Spanish speaking branch for years and years. They speak Spanish in the home. Needless to say, language will be no barrier for them.
This is our Area Senior Zone:
They are from Upper Left: Kenneth and Joyce Jones, Mentah Health Area Advisors, Wayne and Kathy Gelder, Exec Secretary, John and Marilee Sorensen, AMA, Kenneth and Denice Wade, AMA, Dan and Sue Cole, ADA, Frank and Elizabeth Wise, Humanitarian Service, Brian and Anita Spendlove, ADA.
July 25, 2021 Guatemala COVID report.
There has been a upturn in the rate of COVID spread in the country and restrictions have been increased. The entire country is in the "Red" condition. Sacrament meetings are limited to 11 people now so we are back to attending via ZOOM. Luckily the Quilapa branch manages this very well. Although we could attend, that may preclude someone else from attending. Those who have no priesthood in the home should have priority for their access to the sacrament.
I have terrible tennitus and significant loss of hearing in some frequencies. I am kicking myself for not getting hearing aids before we left. I struggle with Spanish and Spanish over ZOOM is.....painful. Speaking through masks does not help. What a gift is good hearing.
Clinic Dental Tio Juan
The decision to open or close the dental clinic will be made next month when President Taylor returns from July vacation. Either way, we are anxious to find out more clearly what are duties will be. Every day or so we get a couple of dental case referrals from across the central America area and we try our best to help the missionaries get to the dental help they need.
Rainy Season
From May to September is the wet time of year here. About every other day we have had good soaking rain. It is refreshing and beautiful. The ride to Cuilapa seems much more vertant than we recall, and it was green then. We keep umbrellas in the trunk of the car along with rain jackets. Haven't be caught yet but the Gelders got soaked one afternoon.
Saturday, July 3, 2021
Return of the Spendloves
Flashback to this: March 2020
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| Leaving in a rush, had to leave belongings with hopes of returning someday |
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| We Will (Have) Returned |
March 24th 2020---June 18th, 2021 The COVID-19 Abyss
After 17 months living under the oppression of COVID, we returned to Guatemala to complete our mission. We tried to keep the faith alive of returning but as the months rolled along, it became more and more doubtful. A six month remaining minimum was set in which those who had less than six months remaining on the mission would not be asked to return. We actually exceeded that mark by 5 days. There may be some flexibility in our release date and we anticipate extending the date possibly by serveral months.
SURPRISE, Just a few days before our return flight we received notice that the Central America Area presidency was very likely going to conclude the arrangement of providing dentists at the Hogar Tio Juan dental clinic. Due to the intervention of Dr Rich Call, one of those who helped found the clinic, the final decision would be delayed pending a personal visit to the clinic by President Brian Taylor. The planned tour of the clinic facility did not materialize due to a time/travel crunch in the President's schedule. When he returns in a month, Aug 2021, the decision should be forthcoming.
In the meantime, we are here but no clinic is open. We decided that we would not begin the task and expense of starting up the clinic until we received the final decision. We did stop by the clinic to arrange for Pres Taylor's tour and spent an hour looking around and visiting with the acting director, Enrique Barillas. The chairs were wrapped in plastic and desks and tables were likewise covered. It looked eerie and sad. Over a decade of Sr Dental missionaries have labored there and much blood, sweat and tears, time and money have been consecrated in that office. We have to return at least once to retrieve the journal of it's history which has been kept there.
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July 2, 2021
Yesterday we had the opportunity to meet with representatives of humanitarian organizations which have and are planning more projects in Guatemala. They were Jennifer Brewer and Deborah Fletcher. of Care for Life and Preservation of Families. We first had a meeting with the area director of welfare service and Public affairs, Daniel Ramos and Jennifer Merini, in the area offices. President Taylor was out of the country.
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| Meeting with Jen Brewer and Deborah Fletcher with Daniel Ramos and Jennifer Merini. 5th Floor conference room in the Central America Area office. |
Later, we traveled with these two presenters to Antigua and met with other people involved in humanitarian efforts.
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| Humanitarian Service volunteers in the home of Penny Rambacher, Antigua Guatemala |
L_R: Ewo Reyes, Linda Harper, Deborah Fletcher, Jen Brewer, Milka (Deborah's sister), Elder and Sister Spendlove, Raul, Wendy, Krista, Lilly Penny Rambacher.
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| Jen Brewer & Anita, Penny's Antigua Rooftop |
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After listening to many emotional experiences of these fine people, we enjoyed a nice meal, good conversations, and good humor, and ....chocolate! We squeezed in some quick shopping for souveniers and and a trip up to the Hill of the Cross overlooking Antigua before heading back to Guatemala city.
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| Early evening view of Antigua, Guatemala from the "Hill of the Cross" A wonderful day |
Monday, November 9, 2020
Hurricane Eta Hits Guatemala
Hurricane Eta has brought terrible floods and destruction to Central America during the last 4 days, Nov. 5-9 2020. Hardest hit were Honduras, Belize, and Guatemala.
Guatemalan officials fear the mudslide in Quejá will turn out to be the deadliest episode of the storm.
Rescue teams took more than half a day to reach the remote site because landslides and flooding had blocked access roads and damaged bridges, officials said. Rescue teams were forced to abandon their vehicles and walk many miles to reach the disaster area. Supplies were being flown in by helicopter on Saturday.
“There are at least 20 to 25 homes totally destroyed,” General Muss said, “and 125 lives have been lost in this disaster. They are gone.”
The Area President, Elder Brian Taylor sent this letter to all the Central American saints.:
No members suffered loss of life however many have lost homes completely or their homes have been severely damaged. We are so sad to think of our good friends suffering in Cuilapa and Guatemala City. We hope and pray for all people in Central America.
Monday, October 5, 2020
October 5, 2020
It's been a long time since our last post. Our mission has continued albit at a strange pace and somewhat different assignment.
No longer providing dental treatment at the Tio Juan clinic in Guatemala, we try to fulfil our calling as 'Dental Health Advisor to the Central America Area at home via technology. We share this calling with Elder and Sister Fisher. The Central America Area consists of these countries: Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, San Salvador, and Panama. There are about 22 missions in these countries and the Fishers and Spendlove have divided up the missions between us. Each of us provides Dental counsel to the respective mission presidents, presidents wives, the mission nurses, and missionaries.
Once a month we video conference with each mission president in their Consejo de Salud de Mision. (Mission Health Conference). The counsel members are: the Mission president, mission president's wife, the mission nurse, mission medical advisor, AMA, (Elder & sister Davis, Area Mental health Advisor, AMHA, Elder and sister Kinghorn, and the area dental Health advisor, ADA, Anita and me. Even though there are plenty of dental problems, they are few when compared to the mental health and medical problems. Being a missionary is not easy! We hope to be able to lift some of the health care responsibilities from the shoulders of the mission presidents so they can focus on the missionary work.
All of the missionaries we have been working with are from central America since all foreign missionaries were called home due to COVID-19. Ordinarily approximately one 1/4 or less of the missionaries were from USA.
These are the missions to which we have been assigned:
Although not experts, we have learned our way around ZOOM, and TEAMS video conferencing programs are we participate in the Consejo de Salud meetings. We also have a Senior missionary Zone devotional each Monday morning where we video conference and do Come Follow Me weekly lessons. The zone consists of the above mentioned medical, dental, mental health advisors but also a missionary lawyer assigned to the area. Occasionally one of the area presidency also joins with us.
Here we are huddled around the computer as we receive emails and WhatsApp communications from the mission presidents, nurses, and missionaries. Sometimes I am amazed at the amount of care to which the missionaries have access. It is amazing that within sometimes minutes, an Elder or sister with a broken tooth can at least get some professional advise and directions and for sure, a mountain of sympathy and comforting words. We'll electronically, stand right by their side and follow their treatment. Having had a wisdom tooth extracted in Uruguay in 1970 going solo, I know what a little bit of professional advise would have meant.
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