Hot times on the mission - again

Thoughts of the AMA - For the second time since we've been here, the aptly named volcano Fuego, is erupting.  Earlier there was a little smoke and ash, and a dribble of lava.  This time it's pretty serious, with pyroclastic flow killing 25 people in villages on the Pacific side of the volcano.  We are on the inland side, and have gotten nothing more than a sprinkling of ash.  Pyroclastic flow is different than the lava Kilauea is producing.  It is made up of "a cloud of ash, lava fragments carried through the air, and vapor. Such a flow is usually very hot, and moves rapidly due to buoyancy provided by the vapors. Pyroclastic flows can extend miles from the volcano, and devastate life and property within their paths" [From Windows to the Universe].  These flows hit and destroyed villages at the base of the mountain. The temperature was estimated at 1000 to 1200 degrees F and the velocity was estimated at hundreds of miles an hour.  

Some good photos: Google Guatemala volcano pictures.   

After the excitement, this is what the volcano looks like from the roof of the area office building today.  The clouds are rain clouds coming up from the coast and surrounding the volcano, but you can see that the summit is clear - for now...

Other than that the week has been good.  We visited a maternity hospital here in Guatemala City and distributed some more new born baby kits.  We've had a wonderful response from people from Florida to California making kits, components and monetary donations.  [Some things are easier to buy here than ship down.]  Thanks to all of you who have given generous donations, or made beautiful blankets and hats for babies you will never see.  As we sort and organize the kits, we often get choked up thinking about your goodness and generosity.  

Some new friends

a few hours old, down here they are all born with a ton of thick black hair

Not sure if he likes the world yet

Patsy has been called to be the song leader in our branch primary in El Cerinal.  She uses the Spanish she knows, then I help out a little.  There were 25 kids there, and she pulled out a lot of her old teacher tricks [old tricks, the teacher is fine], and had their attention the whole time.  They love to sing down here, but have a shaky idea that everyone should be on the same melody.  She'll work on that. 

We had a great break-the-fast dinner with the other senior couples.  Patsy made a ranch chicken and three of the sisters asked her for the recipe.  A compliment, since all the sisters try to show off their culinary skills at that meal.

On the sad side, we have two, possibly three elders going home early with medical problems and a sister with emotional problems that we'll be taking home.  The decision to recommend an early release is a serious one and  not taken lightly.  A lot of thought, consideration of what is best for the missionary and what resources the mission can provide and finally a lot of prayer goes into those decisions and has to be ratified in Salt Lake.  The trips tend to be pretty grueling, arriving in the evening and flying out  early the next day or sometimes the church frugally sends us home on red eye flights, not realizing how old we are.  We did have a missionary from the Philippines who was having difficulty and might need an escort home. The flights go from Guatemala to the US to the Philippines and can take over 24 hours each way.  I am praying fervently for the health of that missionary!

For this week, as they used to tell us in little league "that's the ball game.";