Querida Familia y Amigas:
Yesterday we joined the Burks, Shawn and his family, and Becca's sister Melissa and her husband Ryan. What did we do? We had the adventure of our lives!
What did I learn?
- riding a horse up and down a steep mountain trail is a challenge for a grandmother!
- volcanos are powerful!
- the Burks are great organizers and grandparents!
- all missions have their challenges
- ancestors from our own families are often ready for the gospel
So here's the story:
Yesterday we left at 7 am to go to the Pacaya volcano with the Burks, Shawn and family, and Melissa and Ryan DeLange. We gave one of the temple guards a ride to his home part-way there, then continued on a winding, eventually dirt road to a village where we got our horses. President Burk had hired a guide named David to make the arrangements and accompany us. We were matched to horses and nine of us rode the steep ascent rather than hike like Mac, Shawn and Ryan. Each horse had a person in charge of it who used a rope attached to a bridle, or in the case of Cara, let the horse pick its own way. My horse-guide was a young boy named Jose and I was on a thin roan gelding whose name I never got in my head. Cara, in front of me, was on a white mare that was controlled by a soft voice and a small switch used on her rump. Her caretaker was a pretty young woman called Clari. I thought she might be Jose's mother or sister. The latter is closer. We learned Clari has a three- yr-old child.
The first part of the ascent was on a steep cement-cobble path. We went through heavily wooded areas, stopping frequently to let the horses catch their breaths. At one point David brought us very soft leaves that he said we could use for wiping sweat. They look a little like velvety maple leaves. I wore my green fleece jacket and Dad's mountain rescue hat most of the time, and eventually lost the leaves, but thought they were interesting. The Spirit has made me more aware of the wonders of the earth, so I paid attention.
By the time we were on rock and earth and stopped the third time, it was by an orange stand. The woman there peeled really large local oranges with a metal mechanical device clamped to a wooden frame. She then cut them in half, salted them and made a sandwich with ground nuts.
Eventually we got to the top of a ridge adjacent to Pacaya volcano where we stayed briefly before making a mean descent, still on horses, to a lava flow. It was so hard I decided that if I ever went back, I would walk. On the way back up I marveled at how well-conditioned the people with us had become.
At the bottom I shakily got off and listened as David explained that we would go to the Lava Shop and then onto a 10-month-old lava flow where we could roast marshmallows. We actually crossed part of the flow to get to the shop, where two men with really good English were selling jewelry made by local artisans. The artists used coconut shell and lava crystals for the fire dragon necklace I bought, in honor of their ingenuity and to push my dragon story forward. They also had bracelets and earrings and more expensive jewelry, but I am hoarding my money this month for our trips to the markets.
Out on the still warm lava flow, we found hot spots and roasted marshmallows to go with Dad's cookies. I got photos of dogs who followed us. They must have tough feet! This was not one of those ropy, solidified-stream-looking areas. It was made of sharp cinders, from pebble-size to basketball-size and larger.
Someone said going back by horse was not fun but I wasn't sure I could walk down without getting too shaky. I stayed on the horse and we went down at a rapid clip. I was very glad none of the horses slipped, and reminded myself that they did this all the time. When I got to the bottom, it took a mature man to offer his shoulder to support me getting off the horse. Boy was I tired, sore and shaky!
Shawn Talks About His Mission
On the way into the city, I asked Shawn for thoughts about his mission. To my surprise, he said it was a very difficult time for him and one that he would not wish to repeat. He said he might have been a better missionary if he had had fewer growing-up issues and greater self- confidence, and if it hadn't been quite so hard. He commented that he had noticed three kinds of experiences in his life: ones he survived, ones that were all right, and ones he felt he did well. I asked what his "take-away" from his mission was or what he thought he had learned that benefited him later in life. He said he could survive most things; if the mission hadn't taught him, his residency in medicine did. Other things included his facility in learning Spanish, which was easy and which he continues to use. I noted to myself his success in teaching: he had a convert baptism every two months.
Baptisms for the Dead
After dinner at a local restaurant, we hurried to get to the temple for our 4 pm baptism appointment. We found the temple crowded and I came back for a nap while Mac stayed at the temple to work. When we returned, I got Christina and Cole their baptismal clothing and President Burk talked to all of us about the blessings of the temple. He said once in awhile, when they are doing ordinances for their ancestors, people actually see the deceased people and may talk briefly with them. He told the story of a boy who had seen and been thanked by his great-grandfather in the temple, while he and Pat were serving in the Dominican Republic. Pat had found six family names each for Christina and Cole. I noticed the same wonderful spirit in the baptisms that I've felt before when family names are done, but didn't see anyone myself.
We concluded this remarkable day with a fajita dinner at the Burks'.
I have lots of great photos and actually have the time to load them to this site, but the server for transferring them off my phone is not working. Neither is my computer for that matter. I dropped it on our hard tile. Thank goodness for IPad back-up! At some point I expect to have photos available.
Today I end this update with a deep appreciation for your remarkable father and his love for all of you. I am also far more aware of the love of our Heavenly Father, who provided through our Savior, the planet where we live. Pacaya was smoking above me and I felt very small. Then I thought about how small this volcano is in relation to our earth, and for that matter how small we are and how much we owe our Savior. One thing a mission does is focus your attention on larger things than yourself, and yet here we all are, gods in embryo and in training. I feel day by day I'm stretching and I am so very grateful to be here.
Love to all,
Missionary Mom