The promise of Elder Holland about the family and grandchildren left behind "Those little darlings will be just fine, and I promise you will do things for them in the service of the Lord that, worlds without end, you could never do if you stayed home to hover over them. What greater gift could grandparents give their posterity than to say by deed as well as word: "In this family we serve missions!""
We leave with reluctance, with hearts fuller, more sensitive and changed. With spirits renewed having seen many times the gospel's ability to change lives. Renewing the anticipation of seeing the family once again. With hope that we can maintain the level of spirituality at home that we enjoyed here.
And now...
Visual highlights: the good, the bad, the ingenous and the weird -
Baby sitting the little sister
Baby in a crate at the market
40 foot [non flying] kite for Day of the Dead
Sumpango
Graves decorated to honor ancestors
Day of the Dead, Sumpango
Two of our cute primary girls
Future missionaries from our branch
Patsy and one of our petite deacons
with my missionary badge on
Patsy and Dulce Reyna
a future Aggie
She's already got the backpack
Our branch members
Setting up the lending library after the block
Jenna Wolfley Lindahl
reading a story to the primary kids
Jamie Matthews helping in primary
Young women welcoming Lucy Matthews
Taking one of our ministering families
out to lunch before leaving.
They had never been to McDonalds before
Patsy and the senior primary
Patsy and the junior primary
Friends in the ward
the mom is taking the photo
On of our ministering families
Girl in light blue dress just turned 18
Is preparing for a mission next year
Branch member with stuffed bear from Patsy
Rabanales girls with dolls
they all volunteered to go to
Utah with Patsy
Grandma and Grandpa Rabanales
and grandchildren
Patient at Children's Cancer Hospital
dressed in princess dress donated to the hospital
by a US humanitarian group
by a US humanitarian group
Bears and dolls from Dolls of Hope International
donated to us to distribute
Patient in malnutrition clinic with doll
Malnutricion clinic patient
Nothing like a stuffed toy for comfort
Fancy dolls and stuffed animals
ER patient with bear
Suitcase full of baby kits
assembled by US volunteers.
Transport to Guatemala arranged by
Shanna Ballard
Patsy and pediatric patient
Niece Izzy Healey and Patsy
handing out baby kits
Patsy and newborn
Hermana Sharon Smith passing out
newborn baby kits
Shanna Ballard passing out some kits
she arrange to transport down from the US
Loading the SUV
prior to a humanitarian run
If you can't be with the grandkids you love
love the one you are with
After passing out hygiene kits, clothing
and toys to a remote settlement on a coffee plantation
Patsy, mom Gwen and sister Janet
nurturing
Older mom grateful for a baby kit
Racks of pineapples for sale
near Pueblo Nuevo Viñas
Three for $1.40
Seafood soup at a member's
Patsy regretted playing with
this cute cat after getting multiple flea bites!
Exterior of one room school house at
coffee planation settlement
Interior of the school
Whenever we give him a ride
he calls shotgun
Members in stadium for
President Russell M. Nelson's talk
P day activities
Patsy's art project for Hailey
original oil done on the mission
Two missionaries featured in
mural of history of religion in Guatemala
Volcano San Pedro
from gardens of Hotel Atitlán
Checkerboard of fields near Antigua
Releasing baby turtles at Monterrico
Sunset on Rio Dulce
Sunset from our apartment window
Recently constructed adobe house
If they get money, they will plaster the walls
Doesn´t do well in earthquakes
Car ferry near Monterrico
Parrots at zoo
Zip line over Lake Atitlán
Coatimundi at Tikal
Flowers seen from our apartment window
Evening at Lake Atitlán
Lake Atitlán from the rim of the caldera
Carpet of sawdust and flowers
to be walked through by procession
during Semana Santa [Easter week]
Float of the crucifixion
carried by members of a society
to show devotion during Semana Santa
Quetzaltenango Temple side view
Quetzaltenango Temple Entrance
Guatemala City Temple
members of branch accompanying
Rabanales to their sealing
Tara, Janet and Rob Porrit in front of poster of Mayan figurine
Temples at Tikal sticking up
above rainforest canopy
Mayan figures
Pasageway at Tikal
Temple at Tikal
Guatemala City MTC
soon to close
Guatemala City MTC [CCM in Spanish]
Nephew Jake and niece Izzy
Waterfall at Lake Atitlán
Mark and I take Patsy to lunch at Patsy's
Mark and the primary kids
Mark distributing baby kits in Cuilapa
Tara, Rob and Janet at Tikal
Swingers
Mark learning to spin cotton thread
Lady said something about keeping his day job
Mark at Tikal
Patsy and Melanie at Lake Atitlán
Connor learning to spin cotton thread
Rex eating marshmallow toasted
in fumarole at Pacaya volcano
Dave and Jamie and family at our branch in El Cerinal
Lucy and friend at butterfly pavilion
Tara at city in El Salvadorm where her mother was born
Delivery motorcycles can get the food out
even during rush hour
The ingenuity of Guatemalans
with large loads
and small trucks
Pig wrangler calming his charges
Instant projects materials and men
all in one truck
Lots of fresh air up on top
Double decker pig mobile
Cancer Hospital patient
Victoria Petrie
beloved humanitarian
Totin' a load of wood home for cooking
Hermanas George and Olson
Mental health counselor and CCM nurse
Born to be wild
P day at the beach
Sand is gray being pulverized lava
Girls in Indian dress
Women carry things on their heads
men carry things on shoulder or with headstrap back pack
Artwork from grandchild
Community laundry at Los Aposentos
Man in Indian dress Sololá
Skirt, pants, hat, but no shoes
Patsy preparing for intake day at the CCM
Every 3 weeks, 70 to 110 missionaries
would be processed in by the crew.
President and Hermana Hill of the
CCM
The welcoming crew
Letters from family were always welcome !
Fuego volcano erupting, taken from area office window
Red is lava flowing out of the side of the Pacaya volcano
the doctor is no longer in
It was an unforgettable 21 months.
