Matthews Mission in Guatemala: New Stakes in Guatemala?

Thoughts of the AMA - Our branch meets in a pretty small building. The chapel holds about 150, and generally is full for the meeting. Instead of pews, we have plastic chairs. At the end of the sacrament meeting, gospel doctrine class is held in the same room. They stack two thirds of the chairs and reverse the direction of the rest so we are facing a white board at the back of the chapel. The youth and kids leave for their classes. After Sunday School, the Relief Society meets in the chapel. Priesthood opening exercises are held in a room that's about ten feet by twelve feet. All the youth have to stand because there is only room for about 20 chairs, and we have to leave the door open because everyone won't fit, even with half of them standing. Once the Aaronic priesthood boys are dismissed to a another similar sized classroom, we have elder's quorum, and generally fill all the seats. There is a plan to enlarge the building.
We were excited when the branch president announced in sacrament meeting that they were planning to create a stake that would include our branch as one of the wards. President Shumway of the Guatemala Guatemala City South Mission announced in our zone conference that they had recently organized a stake in Solola, Guatemala that was the 49th stake in the country. He encouraged us to support the branches we are assigned to so that the District of Cuilapa could become the 50th stake in the country. It will be exciting if it indeed happens. I served here 50 years ago when there was only one stake in all of Central America, in Guatemala City. To think that 50 years later, I might be a member of the 50th stake in Guatemala alone is deeply moving to me.
On Father's day, they gave us all a tostada and a glass of soda. The evening of Father's day we had a dinner with the other senior couples. We'd planned to have it up on the flat roof of one of the apartment buildings, but being the rainy season, the backup was in an apartment, and sure enough, it rained. Afterward, we came back home. Before and after the dinner, we contacted most of our kids on FaceTime. Some of the kids are getting bigger in the half year we've been gone. It was nice to talk to everyone.
On Wednesdays we have a lady's lunch and a men's lunch with the president of the MTC and his wife. The sisters eat at the MTC cafeteria, then go out for yogurt. The men go someplace different every week, heavy on the American chain hamburger places. The president and his wife are with missionaries 24/7, so they are glad to get out and have an adult conversation.
Most of the volcano survivors have been resettled temporarily. The Church humanitarian missionaries have proposed a project that would build 25 new houses for them and are hoping it gets approved. We asked if we could help with anything and were told they had the efforts all organized and didn't need us. I did come up with a dynamite fundraiser for the victims of the eruption. Humanitarian groups, missionaries and members of the general public have been asking how they can help. I think the government should charge everyone $50, let them assemble hygiene kits for an hour or so, then give them a framed official certificate saying they helped with the rescue efforts for the volcano victims. I mean how often does anyone have the opportunity to work into the conversation at a party: "in 2018 when I was helping with the rescue efforts for the volcano victims..." If people in the US couldn't come down, annexes could be opened and they could participate without leaving their home town. I'm pretty sure we could raise a lot of money to rebuild roads and houses with this plan. I will let you know when it comes to a town near you.
One night I was sitting on the floor with my back to the couch while Patsy was sitting on the couch. She asked me if I were rocking against the couch. I said no. It turns out it was a 5.4 earthquake. Patsy has called me insensitive from time to time, on this occasion it was definitely true. So other than the earthquakes, active volcanoes and crazy drivers, we feel perfectly safe here.
We went to a Tony Roma's for ribs one Saturday with some of the senior couples. Tony Roma's pulled out of Utah some years ago, so we have to come to Guatemala to get them. It was halfway across town thru pretty bad traffic, so I was definitely hungry when we got there.
President Adrian Ochoa, the area president, has been reassigned. They had a devotional and asked him to speak at the last moment to surprise him. He said that he was embarrassed to have people fuss over him, but had felt in the days before that he wanted to meet with the staff and missionaries serving in the area office and thank them for their work. At noon the sisters surprised Sister Ochoa with a luncheon. She was surprised and pleased. He will be serving in an area presidency in the SW US and will be based in SLC. They are building a house in Heber.
A couple of weeks ago there had been a big windstorm in El Cerinal where we go to church, and trees had fallen on a main power line and they didn't have it restored for the meeting. So there was no prelude music and no microphone. The people were talking quite animatedly before the meeting and the branch president had a little trouble getting them quieted down at the start of the meeting. Later on, he asked me if I'd give a talk about reverence the next week. Of course I accepted, but it occurred to me that it was a good cop/bad cop scenario. He wanted someone to chew on them for being boisterous in the chapel, but instead of getting a branch member to do it, who might offend some of them, he got the gringo to do it. I talked a little about how for 5 generations our family has sent missionaries out, and talked to them starting a tradition of missionary work in their own families, then talked about how nice it is to be able to greet all our friends at church, but we need to do it quietly.
Patsy has been called to be the singing time leader in the primary. I am there to help with translation. She's doing a great job. Down here they love to sing, but if they are singing acappella, they often don't stay on the melody. She's been using pictures to help them learn. They love it and the time goes really fast.
After church a member lady had invited us to dinner. It's a four generation household, with great grandma, grandma, her daughter and her grandson. The daughter lost her job a couple of years ago, so they started the restaurant, painting and decorating it themselves. It appears to be their only source of income. The daughter teaches seminary at the ward in the afternoons. After lunch, we met up with the Oylers, a missionary couple that left a couple of months ago and
came back on a visit. The members mobbed them at church. We went down and picked up Hermana Petrie, a member a couple of towns down who volunteers at the regional hospital in Cuilapa. We distributed some baby kits and some toys in the pediatric ward.