Pedro took us to the Temple, where we had a room for the night. Picture #1 is of the CCM (the Mission training center). The temple missionaries for Guatemala live on the third floor and the young missionaries on the rest of the floors. We were on the second floor and had a room with two queen beds, a microwave and frig and access to washers and dryers. They charged us $20.00 a night. We spent the evening in the temple, a perfect start to our vacation. This temple is designed very similar to the Boise Temple, only much smaller.
We left Guatemala the following morning at 5:30 AM and headed for Quetzaltenango or Xela (Shayla) as the Mayans call it. We planned to attend the Xela temple and then go to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan for the night. At 7:30, the car stopped and would not start again. We were two hours out of Quatemala City and 3 hours out of Xela. Our driver called a friend to bring us a different car so we could continue our trip. He didn't come when we thought he should have and Pedro called him to see where he was. This is when we found out that life had changed our plans real fast. The government of Guatemala had decided that to be a school teacher you had to go to school for 7 years instead of the 5 that they do now. The students decided to let the government know how unhappy they are, so they protested with a blockade that closed this 4 lane highway on both sides of us. We were broke down right in front of this restaurant Picture #2 with no other cars around. We had bathrooms and good food and sat there for the next 6 hours waiting for the blockade to open so the other car could get to us. It really was a tender mercy from our Heavenly Father that we were not in either of the blockades with no bathrooms, hundreds of very unhappy people, and the military and police trying to get the students to leave. By the time our other car arrived, it was too late to make it to Xela, attend the temple and get to Panajachel before dark. It is the rainy season and you don't want to be on the narrow curvy roads leading to Panajachel after dark. So we headed straight for Panajachel. Panajachel is a quaint little town right on the shores of Lake Atitlan. This lake is surrounded by volcanos. Picture #3 shows our boat that we took to go across the lake and around the other side to visit three of the 12 villages. These 12 villages are named for the 12 apostales. We only visited 3 of them. San Juan is know for its tranquility and peace. San Pedro, Picture #4, is famous for its textiles. The women and children wear these colorful skirts and blouses. Santiago is know for its wood working. As we approached Santiago, we saw the Mayan women doing their laundry Picture #5. We had to let Lon get a ride in his "tuk tuk". Picture #6. The streets are so narrow and cobblestone. These little cars are all over in these towns. The driver saw our name tags and let us know that there was a Mormon chapel in town. He took us to see it. It was different than any we had seen. It was a two story red brick building. It is the only one in the 12 villages but there are missionaries in two of the villages.
It is about 1:30PM now and the clouds are rolling in fast and the calm clear water of the lake is beginning to look real ugly to me. We decided it was time to get back to the main land. We had white caps and rain before we made it back, a real rough ride for this gal. We had lunch in Panajachel and the rain began. Water was running everywhere. We had to walk to the car and we walked on the street but the water was clear up to my ankles. As we headed out of town, we passed this "water fall" Picture #7. It is just rain water washing down the hill. We had rivers of water flowing down the roads. We had fog, hail and rain the rest of the way back to Guatemala City. We again stayed at the CCM and enjoyed the temple Friday morning. Then we went to the center of town to see the palace and cathedral and shop at the local craft market. We wished we had more time at the market to see all the things that were there, but our bus was to pull out at 2:00 PM so we had to leave. Guatemala streets are cleaner than El Salvador but according to the Temple President, Guatemala is not as safe as El Salvador. Most of the produce here in El Salvador comes from Guatemala. The fields and gardens were beautiful, going up and down the hills. The weather is at least 10 degrees cooler than El Salvador.
We got home at 8:30, an hour and a half late because of the traffic here due to a big futball (soccer) game. We were tired and hungry. Our mission family had supper ready for us and it is good to be home. President and Sister Petersen are still in the states visiting their families so our family is not complete yet. It was a fast trip but we enjoyed seeing another part of Central America. We are home til Tuesday when the missionaries will take a trip to Copan, Honduras. We have been there, but will go with the others as it will be the last time we can all be together for an overnighter.
We hope you are all well and happy. You are always in our prayers. We send our love and thank you for your support and prayers in our behalf. " Life" has a way of changing our plans but we just have to remember that our Heavenly Father is watching and He will send those tender mercies to help us through "life". Love Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma
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