I got to do manual labor!!!! Service!!!!!! Oh my goodness, can I tell you how happy it made me? I put on pants and went out in public (that was weird), and put on some gloves and helped clear a field! All of the stakes of Xela were there clearing a huge field that they are going to use as parking for the temple open house. The man that owns the field won't allow machinery on it, so we had to do it by hand. It was a lot of fun, not gonna lie. I will probably hurt tomorrow, but it will be well worth it. The field is huge, and we were all out there with our machetes (long knife things), cutting away at the grass. It was fun...but we walked right into a flea fest. There was no way of escaping them there, ha. Pulgas (fleas) are useless...I'm still trying to figure out why they were created.
Yesterday we had a birthday party for Hector, one of the boys we are baptizing today. His birthday is actually today, but we celebrated last night. We got trapped into making two cakes....and Hector cut one of them in HUGE pieces...I thought I was going to keel over from the sugar rush. On top of that, she gave us atol (a creamy beverage made from milk and thickened with cornstarch), it was made with milk. Redden, doesn't like milk. We did a very tricky and smooth exchange of the cups once I finished mine...so I got two glasses. Oh the sacrifices we make, ha. They are a really sweet family...every family with their own struggles, but this one is really trying to overcome them and to walk in the path that the Lord wants them to. We taught them about the simple ways to strengthen a family...starting with family prayer and scripture study and family home evening. These activities create unity within the family, and a single sense of direction. We also taught about the importance of praying together as a couple, as husband and wife. This is really important...I'm not married but I can clearly see why it would be essential to pray together to be able to act juntos (together) in the way that God wants.
There is so much excitement here for the temple open house and dedication! It really is a beautiful thing, to see the excitement of the members increase and the interest of the gente (people) of Xela (Quetzaltenango). Some are interested in the temple and some don't understand why the church would spend so much money on a temple when the country is so poor. It is a pleasure to be able to help the people understand that it really is the house of the Lord, that it is a sacred temple where we make covenants with our Lord. It is really great to help them understand that the temples nowadays, are so similar to the temples of the Bible, in the time of Moses. Really, if you want to understand why we have temples now...the bible is a great place to start.
I love the work! I love you all!
Hermana Otto
The following are some pictures she sent with her letter!
This is with the Bishop and his old truck. It is a pretty truck....members piled in the back of that and we went up to the temple to do service this morning. They told us to be there at 6am, so we were there, but no one else was. We left at 7am. Guatemalan time Ha.
We went and had a birthday party with Luis and Hector. They are getting baptized this afternoon! A sweet family:) I love em! We are with Elders Lewis and Ronfeldt...us four have been teaching this family.
Hauling weeds! I had fun:) And look! We are NOT in skirts. We felt a bit skanky.
Lawn mowers simplified! Machetes… Long knife things…They were pretty fast too! Let us mow lawns like this.
The temple of Quetzaltenango...the temples are a beacon to the world! We members we need to make sure we GO to them! As non-members...find out WHY we have them!
Working at the temple! I hate how white I am. I am so white, even compared to other gringos (white folks). WHITE! I look like a ghost.
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