Called to Serve Again

[5 November 2016]

On the 27th of October 2016 we received our second mission call. We have been called to serve in the Cochabamba Bolivia Mission as Member and Leader Support (MLS) missionaries. We are thrilled to be going back to Bolivia and to work with these dear people that we both have come to love. We are looking forward to working with the young missionaries as well. We report to the Provo MTC on January 30th, 2017.

It feels so right to be going back. The timing feels right as well. We have truly enjoyed our time visiting family and helping our daughter in law Lisa get to her radiation appointments and tend the children. She is doing very well now and rarely needs us. Our other children are happily involved in their lives. We are so grateful for such good children and grandchildren. They are a real joy to us. We are also grateful for modern technology that makes it possible to keep in touch with family while we are away. It is a wonderful time in our lives and we are so very grateful that we are able to serve in this way.

Dear Friends

[12 July 2016]

One of the things I wanted to bring back from Utah while we were there for Emily and Scott's wedding was my camera. I didn't bring one because Charlie does such a good job of taking pictures and he had his phone to take pictures. So many times I would think "Oh I would like a picture of that".

So I took my camera with me to La Cancha. With my recovering wrist it wasn't very easy to take pictures, so I took one or two here and there.

As our time to leave has drawn closer, I realize the pictures I really want are of our dear friends that I serve with in the temple or from our ward, etc. So this blog is dedicated to them, our dear Bolivian friends.

Hna. Altamirano

This is Miriam Altamirano. Her home and all of her family live in Tarija - an 18 hour flota ride from here. She has raised her children alone for many years and now they are paying for her to live here and serve in the temple for two years. She is a driven woman and is always busy cleaning, smiling, laughing, hugging or all at once. She works both the morning and afternoon shifts 5 days a week. She is a delight.

Hna. Cruz

Hermana Cruz is a temple worker as well as a member of our ward. She is a Cholita and usually bears her testimony and prays in Quechua. Her son recently returned from a mission.

Hna. Sandoval, me, and Hna. Orosa

Both Hermana Sandoval and Orosa are on the morning shift. I have talked about Hna. Orosa before. She has headed companies, has represented Bolivia in England, speaks many languages and calls me her Princess. We had lunch in her lovely home. The meal was prepare by her son who is a gourmet chef.

Hna. Cruz, Hna. Rivas, Hna. Hinojosa, Hna. Soliz

Aren't these sisters darling? Don't they look like they should break out in song? Hermana Cruz has been a worker for a long time but I got to be in the session where her husband received his endowments. Her son and her daughter were there with them. Hermana Rivas was the shift coordinator for a long time. She runs a tight ship. Her brother also works on her shift. Hermana Hinojosa has taught English and has helped me a lot with my Spanish. I love to hear Hermana Soliz perform the ordinances. She speaks with such reverence and love.

Hna  Rocha

Hermana Rocha is as sweet as she is pretty. She has a soft, high, kind voice. You can tell she loves everyone.

Hna Tarqui and me

Hermana Tarqui is an amazingly fast learner. I was able to help her learn how to use the computer and the cash register in the Roperia. She is very sharp, very faithful and very fun to visit and work with.

Me and Hna Mamani

Hermana Mamani has stolen everyone's heart. She works both morning and afternoon shifts everyday. She can only be a volunteer because she can't read, so she can't learn the ordinances. However, she is determined to learn them from listening and is often searching the scriptures for words she knows and adds to them. She giggles and smiles and runs everywhere.

Three generations

Hna. Perez is the grandmother of Hermana Morgana and next to her is her mother. They all work the same shift, often in the baptistry together. The mother is a volunteer because she still has lots of little ones at home. Hna. Morgana is her oldest, so you know the other ones are "little."

Hna Guaman and los Lyons

Hermana Guaman is beautiful in every way. She is the shift coordinator on Saturday morning. Saturday mornings are often very busy so I haven't had a lot of time to just sit and visit and find out her story. But she is so loving and happy. The last day that I worked the morning shift, she would take my hands and swing them from side to side and tell me how much she was going to miss me. I will miss her.

Hna Salguero

Hermana Salguero is amazing. She has taught me and continues to teach me better ways of speaking and serving in the temple. She has an amazing story. She was married once and it didn't work out. Her brother passed away and she helped raise her 9 nieces and nephews. Now that they are all grown they tell her how much they appreciate her teaching them to work and to love the gospel.

Hna Urquidi and Hna De La Fuente

On Saturday night there are quite a few young return missionary sisters who work. One night while we were waiting for the last veil they were asking me how I met my husband etc. They listened intently as I muddled through telling it in my limited Spanish as well as with lots of gestures. Then they asked Hermana Urquidi (above on the left), to share her story. I am amazed at sisters like Hna Urquidi who have such hard sad stories and yet are so happy to serve the Lord. This is how she gets through and you would never know it to see her that her life has been so hard.

Hna. De La Fuente was my first teacher here. She has worked in the temple since it first opened in 2000. She knows her stuff and makes sure we all know ours too. I appreciate her teaching and friendship.

Los Flores

These are some of my favorite people. Hna Flores was  one of the first sisters I got to know here. We decided we were gemelas, which means identical twins. We look just alike we have the same number of kids etc. etc. Don't you agee?  I only hope to be her twin.

Los Murguias

A darling couple.

Los Teran

Is this a cute couple or what? So devoted and faithful.

Los Vasquez

Our next door neighbors in the hospedaje. They are from Santa Cruz and they just sparkle together. We love to hear him sing the song he wrote about their love story to the tune of the theme from Romeo and Juliet

Los Chavez

They have two daughters, one who has been on her mission a little less than a year and the other just received her call. All of us sister workers claim their daughters as our own .

Los Paredes

Another sweet temple working couple.

Los Salazar

He is a sealer in the temple and a stake patriarch. We had dinner in their home. A yummy traditional Bolivian meal. They are gracious loving people with a lovely family.

Me and Eva Cruz at church

Hna Eva does not have the use of her left side due to a stroke. She lives alone and is very faithful in coming to church every week as well as to the temple regularly. She has to leave her home very early to get to church by 8 am taking two trufi taxis. Often times she leaves her hair till she gets to church and someone like me can help her do it (which I love doing). She has very thick beautiful hair. When she saw this picture she was so surprised at how white it is.

All done. 

I love Eva Cruz and when she is not in church I worry about her because she is almost always there. She calls me her reina (queen).

A darling brother and sister in front of the temple fountain

There are so many beautiful children like this, dressed  in their Sunday best, who come with their parents and stay in the hospedaje. We love to see the children. I was glad they would let me take this picture of them.

This little boy on the left kept poking his head through the temple door, so I went out and asked him if I could take his picture. He giggled and when his big brother came to see who he was talking to, I asked if I took take his picture too. So here they are, aren't they handsome?

Percy Avilla in the Garita (guard station)

Charlie re-baptized him when he was 12 (his records were lost and he was ready to receive the Priesthood). He is the son of Hermana Elva Lopez

Ivana "Bebita"and her mother Elva Lopez

When Charlie was on his mission Ivana was about 3 or 4 and everyone called her Bebita. Here she is all grown up with her mother Elva Lopez.

Our Sunday School Class

Rene Cabrera - Temple Recorder and dear friend

Hermano Mercado

One of the temple employees that can be found everywhere doing every kind of work.

Keven Peredo - Assistant registrar

Hermano Allyon

When there are bloqueos and it is hard for the workers to get to the temple, this devoted brother will leave early and walk a good portion of the way till a trufi or bus comes along.

Hermano Leaño and Hermano Fernandez

Good faithful temple workers

Hermano Freddie Quiroga and Hermano Lyon

A good worker and good friend.

Hermano Garay

I love to hear Hno Garay pray. He is from Chile and has a very unique accent, and he prays with feeling.

Aymaristas from El Alto

This couple received their endowments and were sealed on the day I took this picture. Charlie and I got to officiate in their session. They speak Aymará, which is an indigenous language. When they came out of the temple I asked them if I could take their picture. They just grinned.

The Chavez family and friends

Brother Chavez is standing next to Charlie. His daughter is next to him with her mission call in her hands and on her other side is her mother. She opened her call at the temple so some of their dear friends who were serving in the temple could be there. We had the honor of being invited to share that special moment with them. On the right end is her bishop and his wife.

The boys in the picture below are the bishop's children. The boy in the middle beautifully sang "Love One Another" while the ward choir hummed. Charlie accompanied the choir and I got to sing with them. Hno Chavez was the choir director.

Me and Hna. Michel

Diana Michel lives in La Paz and comes to the temple one day a month. She is a music teacher and has a beautiful voice. She is like a daughter to me.

Hno. y Hna. Coca

The Cocas were temple workers here in Cochabamba when we came last year, but he retired and they now live in Santa Cruz, where their children live. They are faithful temple workers who now come to the temple to serve one week every month.

Ok. I could go on. There are so many more dear friends that I would like to introduce you to, but this will have to do. Aren't they beautiful people? I am so grateful to have been able to get to know and work with such wonderful, faithful, devoted, inspirational people. We have come to love them dearly they will forever be in our hearts.

Jeaneth Sanchez - Love and Appreciation

[3 July 2016]

I called Hna. Jeaneth Sanchez (see prior blogs for her story) to let her know that we were going to go home early, and to let her know how much we love her and will miss being able to visit with her again. What a sweet call.

Jeaneth and Molly in February.

She was preparing her Primary lesson for next week. As we talked, she apologized for not coming to the temple, since her recommend had expired and she hadn't been able to connect with the Stake President, yet.

Just to help you all understand the difference between good old Utah, where the Stake Center is all of a couple of blocks away (at least in American Fork - we could walk over to the Stake Presidency interview in a good 5 minutes or less), and Bolivia, the Stake Presidency office for Jeaneth's Stake is a bus ride of an hour or so. So, either the members in Punata have to take a bus ride in the evening here and back, getting home after 10:00 pm, most likely, or they have to wait until the Stake President comes to Punata. He is coming next week, so she's eagerly waiting to get her recommend renewed.

I told her about our going home, and about our sweet Lisa and her fight with cancer. Jeaneth started crying, and told me that if she could go and take care of Andrew and Nicholas and Violet, she would. She wanted us to know that she would do anything to help us, and that she loved Molly and I so much. She assured me that she would pray for Lisa and Matt and their family along with us, and hoped that we could return here to Bolivia someday. She expressed her love for the gospel, and the knowledge that we will have another sweet reunion, someday, whether in this life or in the next.

Our experiences here have so touched our lives. Jeaneth is so gracious and loving, just like all of the good people we work with. We will be leaving a big portion of our hearts here in Bolivia, just as I did forty years ago. We are so grateful for having had this experience now, and look forward to many more experiences like this one, wherever Heavenly Father needs us. Right now, that is home with Matt and Lisa and their little family. We have faith and confidence that Heavenly Father is watching over them, just as He has watched over us and our family these many, many years. We know that He is guiding and directing us, and are so grateful, just like Jeaneth, for the wonderful blessings the gospel has brought to our lives and our family. Our testimonies have grown, and we look forward eagerly to what the future has to bring.

Thank You for Remembering Us

[30 June 2016]

In anticipation of our returning home early, in July of this year, we wanted to go and see Hna. Elva Lopez one more time. Her sweet, gentle influence on me as a young missionary literally changed my life. She is and was such an example of strength and faithfulness. Life in Bolivia hasn't been easy for her, raising her family as a single mother, but she has never wavered.

Molly and I with our sweet friend, Elva Lopez.

As we visited with her, she told me simply and quietly, "Thank you for remembering us." From my perspective, I thought, "How could I possibly have forgotten about you." The us, I feel, being more than just her and her family, but Bolivia, and the church here, too. In many ways, it is still a young and somewhat fledgling group, even with so many stakes and wards. Many of the first generation of members here are still alive, and they remember "their" missionaries fondly.

But, the growing leadership of the church here in Bolivia are second and third generation, more and more. Returned missionaries, young men and women who have grown up in the Church. Brothers and Sisters who have seen the rich and deep blessings of the gospel, of covenants and ordinances, of the temple in their midst.

It has been such a blessing to us to have been able to come here now. Some people talk of the sacrifices of a mission, of being away from home and family, of missing important birthdays and anniversaries. We, though, have seen many rich blessings come to our children and our parents, in spite of illnesses and trials.

So, as I heard Hna. Lopez issue that quiet, sweet, humble statement of gratitude, I felt a debt of gratitude as well. Thank you, Hna. Lopez, for remembering me. And thank you, Heavenly Father, for remembering all of us.

Incachaca and an Apostle's Influence

[June 20, 2016]

The big event this week was going to Incachaca. It is about three hours away on the narrow windy road through the canyon that the big flotas and trucks take to Santa Cruz. We rented a bus for the 11 missionaries, our guide and her husband. It was very comfortable. We left around 7:30 am and got home around 3:30 pm.

Valley north of Incachaca

The double line in the highway, much like the stop lights here, is a suggestion. If you can pass go for it. We only got honked at once when we were passing a truck and the truck was matching our speed. We made it just in time for an oncoming truck to get by and honk his horn.

I'm so amazed at these mountains. Like the ones outside of La Paz as we went towards Las Yungas, the sides are full of lush foliage and flowers. It was so beautiful.

Incachaca is in the jungle. Before we got there we stopped off at a beautiful place. It is a trout farm with beautiful water ways, fountains, water falls and ponds filled with trout. There was a thatched roof gazebo and a pavilion where you can eat, lovely baño facilities and running water with soap and paper towels. We stopped there to place our order for lunch.

Trout Farm and Restaurant "El Conquistador"

At the trout farm - lush.

The restaurant.

Then we headed up the beautiful jungle road for our destination. The road was lined with beautiful Vinca flowers  and big "scatterflat" ferns and Tarzan vines and lots of other greenery. There were yellow flowers that grew amongst and in the trees, banana plants, fern trees (big huge ferns growing out of tree tunks). We learned that the Tarzan vines grow from the bottom up as well as from the top down.

Incachaca is a beautiful place. You walk a narrow, sometimes very steep trail, through this jungle. There is a river that runs through it that creates water falls. The first one is "Ventana del Diablo"or the devils window. Taking some switch backs you see it again and it is called the "Garganta del Diablo"or devil's throat. Here you could climb down and get a good look at the throat of this powerful rushing water. At the next set of switchbacks it is called "Velo de la Novia"the bride's veil. This was a beautiful water fall.

Garganta del Diablo

Velo de la Novia

We took photo ops and rested now and again for everyone to catch up. The scenery was amazing! Years ago there was a hydroelectric plant that took advantage of all of this water. However, it couldn't support the communities below so they closed it down. The plant is still there with all it's equipment etc. We took some pictures here. Charlie's dad will be interested to see them. We even got a group shot all 11 of us outside the building. Very interesting.

Inside the hydroelectric plant - now defunct

Meters and dials - and Molly.

This next climb was pretty steep but worth it. We crossed a rope (cable) bridge. It seemed a little rickety so we went two at a time. The river below was beautiful.

To the "Inca Bridge"

The cable bridge - yes there are slats missing!

 I wish I had the words to describe the beauty.

We were happy to get back on the bus and head for our fresh trucha "trout" lunch. It was very tasty and the portions were very large. You could order it "plano", or whole (with the eyes still in it) or Chicharon style cut up and  "crispy". We had ours crispy. It came with rice and a potato and a salad of finely cut up carrots, tomatoes, onions and cucumbers. You could put oil and vinegar on it. I just put salt on mine. Due to the jungle humidity, the salt did not come out of the shaker so we just opened it up and poured some into our hands.  They brought out some yummy green sauce like llajua and I put that on my rice too. The whole thing was delightful and delicious.

Trucha Chicharón

On the way home, we stopped at San Isidro, a little touristy town. There was  a big lake and a boat for tourists to climb on and take pictures. It is very quaint looking, maybe not water worthy though. Our guide Ruby said it was used on Lake Titicaca and on lake Cuña Cuña and on Alalay before it got there. They also had big swan paddle boats for the tourists. There was a man watering the soccer field with a hose, the end of which was in the lake. Other than him and about five dogs (who were our welcoming committee), the town looked pretty deserted.

Will it float?

The road home was lovely. I took lots of pictures of the little houses and farm land as well as some of the people. I don't want to forget how they live and work so hard.

A cemetery.

A church in a little town we stopped in for snacks.

Farming the hillsides.

We love working in the temple everyday. Everyday is different. We love the work we do and we love the people we get to meet. Charlie made another connection with a sister in the baptistry on Saturday.
This sister came to the temple with her twelve year old son. He had recently turned twelve, and had been ordained a Deacon. He is serving as the Deacon's Quorum President, and wanted to come to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.

Charlie visited with the mother while her son was changing his clothes. He learned  that she was the niece of one of his missionary companions here in Bolivia forty years ago. She told him that both of her parents had also served here in Bolivia at about the same time. As they were talking about missions and missionary work, she told him that her son was planning on a mission, and that he had been doing so since he was three years old. Charlie asked her how that came to be.

She told him that Elder D.Todd Christofferson had come to a Stake Conference here in Cochabamba some nine years ago, or so, and that after the meeting, she and her son had crossed paths with him. She told him that Elder Christofferson had greeted her three year old son, who asked him if he was an apostle. Elder Christofferson  replied, "Yes, I am," and then he asked the boy if he was going to be a missionary. He replied, "Yes, I am."

It's sweet to see the influence this man had on a little three year old boy even 9 years later.

We are so grateful for these experiences that we are having here. We feel this mission is such a gift and blessing in our lives that we will cherish for always.