Another Visit to Quiriza

[31 May 2017]

We went for (what we thought would be) our last time to Quiriza. I love going to Quiriza. I love the drive (even in the tiny vehicle with no shocks on the scary road), the scenery is spectacular. I love, love, love the people. I love Hna. Isabel and all her and Diogenes' children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. I love how Isabel puts treats high up in her sleeve for her great grandkids to discover when they are at church. They always find them. She is so cute with them. She told Charlie to just leave me here in Quiriza. I really wouldn't mind living there, but I have to see our children and grandchildren and our mothers back home.

We got there about 8:30 in the morning. I thought church started at 9, but President Roly said they actually start at 10. He rang a bell on the outside of the church (the kind of bell you would imagine a church to have with a tower and a rope that you pull) about 9:20, I guess to wake everyone up and then again at about 10 minutes to 10 to tell them to get over here, it's time to start.
There weren't very many members at church today. It is harvest time and some were working. Here is a picture of all who were in attendance.

Back row: Elder and Sister Lyon, 3 girls (I don't know their names) Marlene, Teodora, Branch President Roly Flores and his son in front of him hiding behind Diogenes
Front row: Eulalia, Milena and Melvin (children of Lilian and Ernesto), Miguel and his son Eynar (who was baptized in the river), Lilian, Ernesto with their baby girl, Isabel and Diogenes

Everyone is related to Isabel and Diogenes in this picture. The furthest relationship is Eulalia (she is the mother of Miguel's wife Nancy.

Dary Luz, Dario (who was baptized in the river
with his uncle Eynar), Nancy, Teodora and me.

I couldn't leave without saying good bye to these dear people. They weren’t in church today.
I was glad we took Teodora with us to visit. She is Isabel's daughter-in-law. She and her husband, Gualberto (#3 of Isabel and Diogenes' children) live in Rama Tupiza and go help their parents harvest and plant the crops. They have a motorcycle that they ride to Quiriza from Tupiza. I would love to see her in her cholita skirt with an aguayo on her back holding on to Gualberto for dear life. She doesn’t like the drive and says it is scary. She gave Nancy a hard time for not coming to church. Charlie calmed it all down with his sweet, kind, wise way, and I bore testimony of having faith in Jesus Christ. I'm so glad we stopped.

We bore our testimonies in Sacrament Meeting. I was glad we got to do that. We will miss these dear people.

Isabel takes care of all of the flowers and plants around the church. She told me about how 8 years ago she was very sick. They went to Cochabamba to see a specialist. The Drs. told her they would not operate, it was too risky. Through her faith she is healthy now and at 80 has climbed the fence in the back of the church to get in to water the flowers. She promised the Lord to serve Him and taking care of the church yard is her service and it is beautiful!

Gutierrez family: Carolain, Flori, Armin, Esteban, Alan, Andy

This is the Gutierrez family. We have visited in their home a number of times. Armin is their youngest and this picture was taken at his baptism.

Baptisms are no exception to the Bolivian custom of starting very late. Armin and his father were on time, but no one else was (besides us). As I sat watching what seemed to me to be disorganization, I realized no one was stressed by it. They did their job or sat quietly listening to the music. Their patience with the circumstances and each other helped to invite the Spirit. We were all just happy to be there.

I love the practice here of having the person who gets baptized share their testimony. President Alfaro always has the person who is the quorum leader or RS/YW leader or as in this case the Primary President welcome them. Then he gives them an official welcome.

Primary President Nohelia with Armin.

It’s fun to be in a place long enough to see the children grow and the progress that is made in seemingly small ways. For instance. The Relief Society President in Rama Tupiza has some wonderful ideas to reach out to the sisters. One of those ideas is what she calls finding the lost sheep. On a certain day the sisters will divide up and go visiting the sisters who have not been coming to church. We made sheep out of pompoms to give them (I think to go along with a poem or sweet note). We are also going to make some traditional Bolivian cheese bread to give them. The activity was scheduled for a week or so ago, but the only sister in the branch who has an oven big enough to make the bread was out of town, so we had to postpone the activity for when she gets back.

On April first the Relief Society in Rama Tupiza started reading two chapters a day in the Book of Mormon. We are going to have a Spiritual feast at the end of June. Whoever can answer the most questions from our reading will win prizes. I love being one of the sisters here.

We finally have two piano students that are progressing and come to lessons on a regular basis. Since they both come at the same time, while Charlie is working with one of them at the piano, I drill them on their notes. Hopefully they will keep at it. They both have a keyboard in their home that we were able to get them by way of some generous people who donate keyboards and the church’s piano instruction manual for people like this. I have taken music at church for granted. It makes such a difference in the reverence and in helping you feel the Spirit. It also makes such a difference in the congregational singing.

Charlie has also made himself available at the church every Tuesday and Thursday evening for anyone who would like help with their Family History. So far, just a few have taken advantage of his expertise and time. But those who have come have really benefited. One of the biggest problems is their lack of access to computers. So, frequently they have forgotten their account information. Helping them to recover their account and continue working in FamilySearch is one of the biggest helps.

One day the Primary President came to get help with her LDS account. Charlie helped her and also showed her the resources that are available to her on line as the Primary President.
The young man that we mentioned in the last entry who was baptized has been reading as much as he can about the temple and family history among other things. We were able to spend some time with him, sharing information and answering his questions about Patriarchal Blessings and the Temple Endowment.

A 14-year-old girl not of our faith was attending a youth activity and introduced herself to Charlie and said she thinks her parents are members. Charlie was able to find her parents in the records and we even went and visited them at her request.

One day when we were downtown a young woman was coming out of a store and saw our name tags. She and members of her family were baptized some years ago but stopped going to church after her father passed away. She invited us to come to her home. So we did. I think she would like to come back to church but is not sure how to go about it without offending her family.

I love these sweet experiences where we just happen to be in the right place at the right time. 
One of our friends who served with us in the Cochabamba Temple talked about a place near Tupiza where he served part of his mission 50 or so years ago. They rode horses to Tupiza once a month to buy their month’s groceries and necessities. The town is called Chifloca. We were returning from Quiriza one day and Charlie asked Adolfo, the driver that transports the missionaries and others to and from Quiriza, if he would take us out to Chifloca. He was happy to do it and knows the people there. What an adventure. It probably hasn’t changed much in the 50 or so years.

The road was even more narrow and windy than the road to Quiriza. I just relaxed and when needed closed my eyes. The scenery of course is spectacular. Charlie sat in the front this time in the seat with the broken back. It lays backwards when the shaking in the vehicle has been enough to loosen the lever that holds it up.

We met a darling older woman. She and Adolfo spoke in Quechua. She told him that her husband remembers the missionaries and that she would show us where the chapel was. She was very adept at climbing this hilly, dirt and rock landscape. Her husband, Rafael Abán, came and talked to us. He was a cute older gentleman. He told us that he remembers the missionaries and that he almost got baptized, but the missionaries were pulled out of Chifloca before they could baptize him.

Elder Rojas and Elder Vergara went with us. They really enjoyed talking with Rafael and would like to come back.

Our transportation to Chifloca. It’s even smaller than it looks.

Adolfo talking to the wife of Rafael Abán.

The elders talking to Rafael Abán. 

The building that served as the chapel in Chifloca according to Rafael.

There are so many good people that are searching for answers and the peace that comes from knowing they have found truth.

A couple of elders go out to Quiriza every Friday afternoon and stay in the church where there is a room for them. They are only there till Sunday afternoon. While there, they try to visit the little outlying communities.  It takes them 2 1/2 hours walking one way to get to some of them.  For some they have to cross the river (about knee deep sometimes). They have repaired some bicycles that were at the chapel, but the tires keep going flat. So sometimes, they use the bicycles but end up walking them back to the church.  

I wish we could take the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in every little community in the valley there. I know that The Lord knows where they are. He knows the righteous desires of their hearts and He loves them.