Week 10 ... Oct 23-29, 2017    Our Monday adventure.. .                 

Week 9   ... Oct 16-22, 2017 ... Monday    Iximché ruins Nine of us Temple missionary couples rented a 20-passenger tour bus to visit Iximché (ish-im-CHAY), an archaeological site in the western highlands of Guatemala . It was only about 60 miles from our apartments, but it took 2 hours to travel to it. We went through three cities during rush hours.  Iximché was the capital of the  Kaqchikel Maya kingdom from 1470 until its abandonment in 1524. The architecture of the site included a number of pyramid-temples , palaces and two Mesoamerican ballcourts . Excavators uncovered the poorly preserved remains of painted murals on some of the buildings and ample evidence of human sacrifice . The ruins of Iximche were declared a Guatemalan National Monument in the 1960s. The site has a small museum displaying a number of pieces found there, including sculptures and ceramics. At this time, it was 11:30 am and time to find a restaurant... We saw a lot of agriculture...

Week 8   ... Oct 9-15, 2017 ... Monday    On our Monday day off, we were driven to a beautiful new museum in the city that showcased millennia of indigenous artifacts of Maya life in the area now called Guatemala. It was interesting. The following photos were the exhibits that interested Larry the most.... All through history, the Maya have worn colorful, ornate, painstakingly handwoven clothing, including matching headwear.  Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving Day. We FaceTime-visited with our children and their children, gathered together for the occasion. They wondered why we weren’t tanned. Yes, we have wonderful weather in Guatemala but we spend 8 hours a day in the temple and it’s the rainy season. We didn’t prepare anything special for dinner.  At family home evening, we heard from two missionary couples... Also at the Family Home Evening, Nancy and Tim Fisher related their warm visit with the extended Boj family in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Forty-one y...

Week    7   ... Oct 2-8, 2017 On Monday, we went DOWNtown Guatemala and then DOWN into an underground labyrinth of honeycombed little shops making up Central Market. It was mostly handicrafts and fresh produce. It almost was claustrophobic to me. But, it was interesting.  After shopping, we found a hamburger joint and had lunch... I’m improving the prayer I give in one of the ordinances at the temple. Elder Winkfield wrote out several phrases in Spanish that I could select and put together as I desire. Then I will memorize them, like I have memorized all the formal ordinance verbiage.  Babette was wishing she had her sewing machines with her in Guatemala, so she could do some fun creative work when she wasn’t working in the temple. So the temple leadership gave her a sewing machine and a serger! The catch is that she also will be doing non-creative clothing repairs, in her spare time .. The streets are clean in our zone 15 of Guatemala City.... Break t...