Friday, May 31, 2013

          There is nothing unusual or interesting to post tonight.  It was another beautiful day and we both kept busy in the temple with a variety of activities.  It is so good to be busy and feel useful.  It seems that most days we get to do at least one session together—Glade leads and I assist.  Love it!    

          Someone who speaks a little English always seems to come along when I need a bit of a lift.  I met and visited with some very sweet sisters today.  

          I took my camera with me on my walk today and took a few pictures.

The morning walk!  

I am not going to enlarge this--it is plenty big!  It's one of the ants that roamed  the edge of the sidewalk.
This one is for the kids who like bugs!!

A group of young men waiting to go into the temple.

I thought Glade was preaching the Gospel when I saw this, but he was visiting with the sister missionaries who just moved into this area.  The taller sister is from California (speaks almost no Spanish) and the Latin sister is from Arizona (speaks fluent Spanish).    Glade was actually giving them a referral.  It is the guy who sleeps in the little metal lean-to and guards the property and materials where someone is building a house (posted a pic a couple of days ago).  It is just down the street.  He is not a member but watches all the traffic to and from the Temple.  

A couple of buses that bring people to the temple.

A dad and his sweet children enjoying the temple grounds and probably waiting for  the mom who is in the temple.  Families seem to come all together and spend the day waiting for each other, sleeping, eating, and enjoying themselves.  This was taken about 7:30 a.m.  They all come in their Sunday best.

      

    

Thursday, May 30, 2013

          We got mail!!  Pres. Ocampo knocked on our door this morning and hand delivered a letter from the nine-year-old Achievement Day girls in our ward in Garfield.  What a surprise.  It was sent to the following address:

Elder Glade and Sister Beverly Peterson

Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple

POB 30150

Salt Lake City, UT  84130-0150

This is the Pouch address and it worked.  They actually sent it in an envelope instead of a single page with a tri-fold and open ends.  Nonetheless, it got here; so if anyone is still interested in sending us anything via pouch mail, go ahead.  I sent the instructions several weeks ago, but if anyone wants them again, let me know and I will resend.      

          It is always a spiritual experience serving in the temple; and though the days are long, the peace we feel personally and the joy we see in the patrons makes it beautiful.  We hope you are all attending whenever you can.

          No rain today! 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

          A break in the rain allowed a morning walk again and revealed the many groundskeepers hard at work around the temple.  Watching them reminded me of a busy ant hill.  One man was meticulously picking spent blossoms from my favorite bushes; one was towel-drying the rain from all the metal handrails; one was mopping and cleaning the sidewalks and cement patios freeing them from new dirt, squished nocturnal insects, and more wet blossoms; another was pulling weeds from the flower beds.  It was all I could do to keep from jumping in to help him with the weeds!  These people are the reason that the grounds always look so beautiful.

          The rain also opened doors and released new insects that crawled along the sidewalk looking for—I’m not sure what!  The bodies of the ants I encountered were over one inch long—and then add legs!  I hoped they were not as fast as the little spiders that raced over the sidewalk like water-skeeters on a pond—or my walk would have ended!

--10:15 with light rain showers--

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

          With a tightly wrapped ankle I walked outside for about 40 minutes this morning.  There is still some pain and swelling, but it is doing better.  I had no idea sprained ankles could take so long to heal!       

A beautiful young Honduran girl spent the afternoon and evening in the temple and I took time to visit with her since she spoke English!  She learned it on her mission—which she served on Temple Square in Salt Lake.  She was very kind and understanding about the challenges of learning a new language.  She loved being in the temple and said it didn’t matter that she had just missed a session.  She just loved being there and feeling the Spirit.  There were scriptures in her lap and a smile on her face. 

          Perhaps the rainy season has begun after all since we had more rain today.  The humidity has gone up and we can feel and smell it even in the Temple.  Apparently it is raining in Rigby, too.  Rain is good.

Monday, May 27, 2013

         

          It’s a nice change of pace to just be here and do laundry and housekeeping.  I wrapped my ankle tight and we walked down to the bread store this afternoon on the least steep path and it went okay.  We took a couple of pictures.  Glade took the two that show a small construction area.  Someone is building a house on a tiny lot between two existing houses and is going to include a garage.  He said they are extremely small--the lot may be  only 30 feet by 20 feet.  He met a young man who stays there over night in a little "lean-to" to protect the materials from theives.  

          Home Evening was interesting and there was at least a little English tonight.   Peach cobbler made with whole wheat flour and extra virgin olive oil was the refreshment along with a vegetable drink, dates, carrots, and chips.  Grandma cook used to make cookies with a date/nut filling and so the dates created some real nostalgia for me. 

These routine posts are going to get a little boring—sorry.           

          Hope you are all home safe and sound and happy and had a great Memorial Day Week-end.

                                               

The guy who stays here overnight as a guard sleeps under
the sheet metal sections at the back left corner of the lot.  

The bread store--on the right--is where we buy our wonderful multi-grain bread.
It is mostly whole wheat with flax seed and other grains, and it is delicious!
The store on the left sells LDS items like an LDS bookstore would, but in very limited quantities and with very limited selection.  This is a new "strip mall" and four of the ten businesses are owned and run by LDS people.  There is a pharmacy, a copy place, a barber shop, beauty salon, a variety store, a "farm fresh" store that has mostly cheese and eggs, and a couple of places that sell food as well as the bread store and LDS store.  

This is the view as we head back up the hill to the temple and our apartment.
The breadstore and strip-mall are just across the street.

I love the flowers!!!  There are dozens of these plants around the temple.

Sunday, May 26, 2013  GP

         

The Ward we are in has great speakers, youth and adult, as well as teachers for the Priesthood and Relief Society. Beverly is starting to pick up more familiar words and phrases.

There was a young man there today with a Honduran young lady. He is from Star Valley, Wyo.  He was a returned missionary to France a couple of years ago who met her while attending the University of Wyoming at a church dance. She was there studying English. He married her and they are living here where she is from until the citizenship papers come through. He wrestled for Star Valley. It was fun talking to him.

The missionary work here is going great. We have two sisters and two Elders working in the ward. There were six convert confirmations today from three families. The youngest was about 15 and the oldest 92. I know that the temple here has had a strong spiritual influence on the country and its people. Even the gangs are making a truce to reduce violence.

Beverly and I tried out our umbrellas this afternoon, walking in the rain around the temple gardens. The rains cleared the air and the view from up here is beautiful. There is a great view of the airport landing and we watched one plane take off and another one land.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

          Glade is making me do homework in Spanish.  He is not giving me the answers, but making up questions with gender, tense, plural/singular challenges, and of course—verb conjugations.  Needless to say, it makes me a little resistant!  I will be humble, however, and give it all an honest try!

          Do any of you have a favorite Memorial Day week-end from the past that you would like to share?  I just realized we can’t even take flowers to the cemeteries this week-end.  

What a beautiful day.  What a fast week.  We recognize the Lord’s hand in our lives and feel especially blessed to be here.  I hope you can feel the Lord’s influence in your lives as well.  If you look, you will find it.  

           

Friday, May 24, 2013

          School must be getting out for kids this week or next.  May has always been filled with programs, recitals, concerts, baseball, track, field trips, and graduations.  We have missed all of that this year, but for a worthy cause.  Congratulations to all the kids who have participated in such great events!

          It was a full day—not that there were so many patrons as the previous few days, but there was lots of variety in our participation and we felt useful.  I finally have the veil ceremony memorized, but am still a little (or a lot) nervous to trust myself without the card.  It is one thing to do it as a patron, but quite another to be the presenter and have to assist the patron.  It is getting easier, though, and I know I’ll get it!!  How is that for positive?  It's pretty funny that I can do it in Spanish, but not English!) 

          There are so many sisters who give hugs and such warm greetings.  Today there were sisters—both temple workers and patrons who gave me hugs and smiles and greetings, and I had never seen them before  our experience in the temple together.  I love how it feels.  (Don’t’ misunderstand; there is a renegade grumpy person every now and then, but I just chalk it up to the fact they must be having a bad day.)

          For everyone who made fun of me when I packed my supply of Sun-Belt Granola Bars, I am on my last one.  They have saved me since I have one as my lunch every day—if there is time.  Some days the whole shift goes by with no chance for lunch.  It makes for a hungry finish to a nine- or ten-hour day.

          Have a great week-end everyone!    

Thursday, May 23, 2013

          Wow!  This is late to start a post so it will be brief.  No time for piano today, sad to say; but other things took the forefront like studying Spanish vocabulary and washing my hair J

          The big news of the day:  I reached another landmark and helped do initiatories!   Who would have thought that could ever happen.  Of course, I am reading from cards and am not sure exactly what I am reading, but the pronunciation is good enough to get started.  Sometimes I think it is not really me saying all of those words. 

          Glade keeps so busy all day going from one assignment to another.  He did take a break for lunch about 6:00 p.m. and ate his sandwich, carrots, and a little chocolate.

          All is well!  Be safe.  Be happy.  Know you are loved.       

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

          Piano practice was at the top of the list this morning and it was awesome.  I actually stayed too long and shortened my study time.  Oh, well.  It was worth it!

          Temple attendance was light today in great contrast to the last several days.  It gave me more time for study in the temple, and gave Glade’s back a much more comfortable shift. 

          The new couple—temple missionaries—were switched to our shift today, so we were there together.  They are a very interesting couple; I’ll leave it at that.  However, Sister Starkey and I studied together this evening and she was very helpful.  She speaks quite a little Spanish, but is learning all of the temple Spanish from “scratch.”  She was very helpful and shared great ideas.  This was only the third day for her and her husband, and yesterday she had a “melt-down” over a miscommunication and left sobbing.  She told me she wanted a ticket home—yesterday—but she just hadn’t bought it yet!  The experience is not what she had expected.  However, she shared all of this with smiles and great animation; I’m sure she will be just fine!  She is determined to memorize everything ASAP while I will be happy to just read the hard stuff adequately and for as long as necessary!

          There was a storm today that poured rain and sent wind ripping through the trees punctuated by thunder and lightning.  The wind drove the rain right into the temple foyer and soaked the carpet.  However, we missed it again, since we were involved in temple activity.  I would love to experience some rain!   This is supposed to be the rainy season, but three weeks into it have seen no rain and one sister said many people are very worried about a drought.  If there is no water, there is no food.  There is no back-up.             

          We love walking home together and sharing our experiences of the day.  This opportunity is blessing our lives in areas that we didn’t expect and the strengthening of our relationship is one of them.  

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

          It was comfortable to be back in the temple today, although I am never completely at ease.  The obreras who were there this afternoon and evening were not those who spoke English.  In fact Glade is the only person I conversed with all day that I could understand.      

          We received an inventory list of furnishings that are supposed to be in our apartment.   One of the missing items was a recliner!  When Glade found out that we were supposed to have one, he started dropping hints to anyone who might be influential in getting ours to us.  Well, today, it arrived and he is a new man!!!  It really helps his back to spend some time reclining where he can read and study, etc., in that position!   He is a happy camper tonight.

          The Church was open this morning and I was able to practice for an hour or so.  Music—playing and/or listening—is such an emotional medium and it started the day off perfectly.  I discovered that the piano was tuned for stake conference on Sunday, and whoever worked on it also fixed the pedal!!!  Hooray!   Now I can really play.

          Included here are just a few more pictures that we took on our little excursion yesterday.   They are just pictures from the museum and may not be of interest.  Those exhibitions are best appreciated when you see them first hand, but I thought I’d post them anyway. 

          Take care, everyone.  You are always in our prayers and we send our love.  

Typical bedroom furniture in the 1600's 

Typical attire that was featured with the bedroom furniture.
It must have been so hot!  How did they survive in those heavy clothes!

These items are carried in the annual Easter Parade

This is part of one of the rugs that are laid out ahead of the parade.  The sheep body
is made of popcorn in this one.  For the parade, they are decorated with colored sawdust
shown below.  The rugs are laid out in the parade route, passed over by parade entries,
then picked up and moved ahead of the parade to be travelled over again.

I would love to have carved window valances like this!  They were beautiful.

More pictures at the farm of the house and property

 

The five guard dogs who keep danger away from the chickens!

Just a pretty flower and spot of color in the undergrowth at the farm

Monday, May 20, 2013

          The trip to the farm today was expanded and included a trip North about two hours to the city of Comayagua.  The town is full of history and we learned some of it in a museum and a walk-about.  (I know—they probably don’t do “walk-abouts” here.)  The streets were narrow and traffic was busy but manageable.   It was hot and since we weren’t expecting this trip, we had no sunscreen and no insect repellant.  We weren’t out in the heat much and only had to swat a few flies, so we were fine. 

          The man who drove us had a nice Toyota truck with a second seat.  Four of us squeezed in that second seat together and really had to bunch together to get the doors shut.  It was a long ride, but we weren’t too uncomfortable, and there was lots to see.  For a large part of the trip we were able to travel on a new highway that looked like a freeway.  Part of the drive was on roads that were unbelievably broken up and broken down.  Some of that problem is caused by run-off from the heavy rains that has no channel along the roads in which to drain.  Therefore, the roads are undermined and then the pavement crumbles.

          We saw lots of children leaving school and walking through the town.  They were all wearing uniforms and we were told that they attend public schools.  They all looked really sharp.  

We were able to see the oldest clock in all of the America’s and the second oldest in the world.  It is the oldest functioning clock run strictly by gravity in the world.  Glade and our driver climbed the chapel tower to check it out and see how it worked.

Everyone decided on fish for lunch and I agreed since they were all so anxious for it.  The driver turned down this scary little dirt road and I suddenly wasn’t very hungry!  However, a sweet blessing just floated right down from Heaven for me—the gate was shut and the facility was closed.  Well, they all sighed with disappointment, the driver backed all the way up the “trail,” and we were off to another adventure.  We did find a nice little place that they felt was safe and we had really good chicken, rice, beans, and fried bananas—and Fresca with no ice J

          On the way back to Tegucigalpa, we stopped to see the chicken farm.  The small houses, unkempt fields, and skinny animals that lined the two-mile roadway said a lot about the hardships and poverty of the people.  However, I am not sure that they feel that way—it is just the way it is for them.

          Anyway, back to the chicken farm—there wasn’t much to see except three buildings with long rows of chickens standing side by side in their cages-about 10,000 of them.  They were well-cared for and sent up a huge chattering wave of welcome as we approached.  I felt sorry for the poor things having no room to roam.  They each lay one egg a day.  After a career of two years, they are sent to the butcher to fulfill the rest of their purpose and appear on grocery store shelves or perhaps on restaurant table.

          We stopped at a grocery store briefly just before getting back, then hurried to shower and get ready for Home Evening.  Glade gave a great lesson and we served chicken salad sandwiches, chips, drinks, and strawberry ice cream for refreshments.  I think it was a hit.   Now we must rest because it is back to the temple tomorrow.

Arriving in the town of Comayagua

A street corner

L-R:  Sister Bassett, Brother Bassett, Glade, Brother Salgado,
Young man giving  us information, and Sister Salgado.

A courtyard

Front of the Cathedral--it is very old and veryh beautiful

A really old organ in the cathedral we visited

This pole is on the side of the organ and was pumped up and down while
 someone played the organ to get air into so the notes would sound.

The pedals of the organ

I think the date, which is set into the sidewalk outside the cathedral says 1550

The old clock that works on gravity

One of the saints on the cathedral front

Parking for the bikes on one of the narrow streets

Glade and friend in the museuml

The Petersons

The Salgados (The temple workers who have the chicken farm)

An attorney's office

Having lunch

Outside the restaurant where we had lunch

Chickens at the chicken farm where they each lay an egg a day

A little closer view

Sunday, May 19, 2013 GP

          Today was stake conference and the building was packed including all of the overflow, and large classrooms which had televisions to view for additional overflow. It was very good with great talks and music. It is so wonderful to see these people embrace the Gospel with all of their hearts and all of the young leaders. This country was just opened for missionaries about 60 years ago and there are now 8 stakes.

A young Honduran couple who work in the temple have invited us to see their farm and 10,000 egg-laying hens tomorrow and will drive us around to see some of the sites. In the evening we are in charge of our family home evening, lesson and refreshments. Our family now consists of the temple presidency and four senior couples.  (GP)

Saturday, May 18, 2013

          We were in the temple for ten hours today and the sessions were packed.  There was a beautiful wedding and several young people came to the temple for the first time bringing with them friends and family.  Even the 5:30 a.m. session was full and extra chairs were needed all day.  There were five sessions on our shift and lots of youth doing baptisms.  It was amazing!

          After a bit of a rest, we did laundry and house cleaning and then were really ready for sleep.  While Glade waited for the towels to dry I took a walk around the temple grounds enjoying the soft warm breeze and peaceful evening.  I sat on a stone bench and watched as the lights came on all over the city and spread up the hillsides.  Only at night can we tell that this city is so huge.  It was a beautiful view and it felt good to be outside and have some time to ponder and reflect.

          Hope all of you wonderful people out there had a great day.  All my love to you!

Friday, May 17, 2013

         

          We love the early mornings walking to the temple and can feel the world around us waking up to another beautiful day.  This week has gone by so quickly with lots of temple work pushing us to eight or nine hour shifts.  It did, however, lack the chance for piano practice and exercise.  No key was left with the guards to get into the chapel and the ankle is just so slow to heal that I can’t put much stress on it yet.  My patience is being tested.  It is so hard not to get out and move!!  But I count my blessings and they are abundant!  I send you all my love and prayers for physical and spiritual safety, and joy and happiness in your families. 

Thursday, May 16, 2013

          Another wonderful day unfolded with lots of activity in the temple.  I love it when the sessions are full and people come for their first temple experience.  Six sisters and two brothers were here for the first time.  The words are flowing better for me and it makes me more useful.

          The Starkeys arrived safely and were just as tired as we were after traveling all night.  The Caziers hosted a pot-luck dinner for all of us to welcome them and get acquainted.  They both know some Spanish—lots more than I do—but not as much as the other couples here.  I am still the “lone duck” when it comes to the language, but that’s okay!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Four weeks ago tonight we boarded a plane for our flight to Atlanta to start this amazing journey.  We are happy to have a month of “firsts” under our belt and know the ropes a little.  The senior missionary couple from Kaysville, the Starkeys, will be leaving late tonight from Salt Lake and arriving here tomorrow early afternoon.   There is certainly a need for more men to serve in the temple and we are looking forward to having them here.  Apparently, there is no retirement here and people have to just keep on working to pay their bills and put food on the table.  Consequently, daytime help from the men is light.

Perhaps I posted this already, but Glade and I are reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish out loud every day after we get “home” to our apartment.  He is good to take time and patiently help me with pronunciation.  There is power and influence that can come into our lives when we read the Book of Mormon.  I am counting on that!!  This particular Book of Mormon was a gift from a sweet sister who just wanted to share it with me and help me with the language. 

It was another great day.  It’s great when Glade and I get to work together in a session.  We are very blessed.  Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.  We can feel them every day.    

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

          It’s a bit of a shift to go to the morning schedule and get up by 5:00 a.m.  We really prefer this shift, however, and wish we had it all the time.  It is actually getting light when we get up so that helps.  It’s amazing that the temperature doesn’t really change much from morning to evening or from day to day.  There is usually a light breeze which helps keep the humidity down.

          Activity in the temple today was high and numbers up again as a busload of missionaries arrived about noon.  Lots of extra chairs made quarters a little tight, but we managed.  There was a sealing (it may have been a wedding—I couldn’t tell) and more baptisms.  It just feels so good to see this temple full of people doing work for their families.  Nearly all of the endowments done are for family names, and the patrons help with all of those because there are so many. 

          Appreciate your good health and ability to exercise.  My ankle still won’t let me do any walking, let alone anything strenuous.  I can’t wait ‘til it’s back to normal!!  Better sleep—morning comes very early!

Monday, May 13, 2013  GP

          I will share from Sunday and Monday combined today; church and P-day. I awoke early yesterday 3:30 AM so I had plenty of time to get ready for church viz. shower, shave, read, breakfast, and a walk around the temple grounds while Mom got ready. I encountered a gentleman with a nice camera taking pictures. He told me he works as a computer engineer for the Honduran  government and travels all over the world. However, his avocation is photography and he has taken and published over 70 photos of the temple: facebook, internet, magazines, and newspapers. Most of us probably have seen his pictures when we googled Tegucigalpa temple before we left. I shared our story and he wanted our picture in front of the temple so on our way into the church he took our picture. He was there to take photos of The Living Legends who were performing in Tegucigalpa and visited our ward. It was fun to talk with those kids on tour. It reminded Mom and I of the tour we were on at Ricks when we met.

          We enjoyed the group skype we had with some of you last night and Mom enjoyed hearing from all of you for Mother’s Day. Thanks. Mother’s Day is a big day for the Hondurans, too.

          Today was P-day:  Laundry, cleaning, exercise, study, nap, and another nice home evening. Next week is our turn and the Starkey’s will be here from Kaysville. Mom is stressing over what to prepare for a treat for our “family” and I am stressing over a lesson to keep them interested and keep them from misbehaving. {: 

          This week our shifts start at 6 AM except Sat. [5 AM].

Sunday, May 12, 2013

          First of all, thanks for the Mother’s Day wishes from my awesome children, children-in –law and darling grandchildren.  We are so grateful for skype and how close it lets us be to all of you.  We pray for you every day, for your physical and spiritual safety, and that you will always have a desire in your hearts to follow the Savior and His teachings, and to follow the prophet and his counsel.   

As a follow-up to Pres. Hunter’s counsel about the temple, I have included the following which is the actual quote that was used.

“And we again emphasize the personal blessings of temple worship and the sanctity and safety that are provided within those hallowed walls. It is the house of the Lord, a place of revelation and of peace. As we attend the temple, we learn more richly and deeply the purpose of life and the significance of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us make the temple, with temple worship and temple covenants and temple marriage, our ultimate earthly goal and the supreme mortal experience.

“Let us share with our children the spiritual feelings we have in the temple. And let us teach them more earnestly and more comfortably the things we can appropriately say about the purposes of the house of the Lord.”

There is so much to learn in the temple.  It takes prayer for discernment, a desire to understand, and commitment to remember what we learn on a personal level.  Your lives are busy now with raising your families and your time is limited; but I hope you can make time, as Pres. Bellows suggested, to return to the sacred house of the Lord for renewal and direction.  When you are raising your children is the time you need it most. 

Just consider the temples we attend as a family— Boise, Dallas, Provo, Reno, Idaho Falls, Lubbock, Bountiful, Logan, Tegucigalpa!  That is quite a list—one temple for each family.  What a great blessing to each of us.

You are beautiful, intelligent, and hard working people who are making great contributions in our world.  You are righteous sons and daughters of God raising righteous families and you would make your pioneer ancestors proud.  You are my life’s work—thanks again for making me look good!! J  I know, I can’t take all the credit; but I feel very honored to be your mother.  Love you more than you know!!  Thanks for a great Mother’s Day!