Sunday, June 30, 2013

This week we've been on the morning shift. Tuesday thru Friday we are at the Temple, dressed and ready to go by 6:30 AM. Saturday we were there by 4:30 AM, which meant we had to get up by 3:00 AM. Ouch! Our shift lasted 8 hours with no breaks. We were very, very busy. It is usually busy on Saturdays, but this week had added people because of the Temple closure. Four sessions filled up very quickly, so they had to not let people in the Temple until a room became available. There is no chapel in the Temple, so at times like this people wait outside.
Thursday a wonderful group of people came to the Temple from a town about an hour away. They are called Patzicia. The women wore native clothing. (We'll attach pictures of this.) These people are so reverent in the Temple. They are hardworking people. As some of the Hermanas kissed Hermana Pitcher, she could feel their dry rough hands. Many still wash their clothing in the river and grind corn by hand. When we left the Temple that day many of these families were around on the Temple grounds eating their lunches they had packed. Most did multiple sessions. We hurried to get our camera from our apartment so we would always remember these special people.
As we said, Saturday was extremely busy. We ran out of clothing to rent. Most of the patrons don't have their own Temple clothes. We ran out of white shirts three times. One young waited about 15 minutes to get a white shirt from the dryer. When he finally got it and was told how much money he owed, he hesitated. We knew he didn't have enough for the clothes and his bus ride home. We decided quickly just to have him go on in to the session.
Wednesday a group of new missionaries entered the CCM. We had a meeting with them on Thursday evening. They are full of enthusiasm. The branch president's wife spoke to them. She told them that their mother doesn't live there and they were to make sure they cleaned up after themselves. The meeting was in Spanish, but those who didn't speak Spanish, including Hermana Pitcher wore headphones and listened to an interpreter. Hermana Pitcher was delighted to hear a talk in English.
Each day we try to go for a walk. The sidewalks we are on are all cracked and upheaved. We learned the other day that it is from an earthquake from several years ago. Also, what little grass is here is clipped by hand with hedge trimmers. After it is cut, the grass is swept up with a broom. The grass is actually what we call Johnson grass and really think of as weeds back home.
Since the Temple is closed for two weeks we are going on two Paseos. Tomorrow we will be heading to Coban for three days. We are going with a group of missionaries from the Temple. We are excited for the chance to see some new places. Elder Pitcher hasn't even been to Coban either.
We miss everyone from home, but are having a wonderful experience.