It's Heating Up in Belize

This screen shot of my weather app was taken on Thursday of this week.  All I can say is, "please pass the water!"  

The Santa Elena Branch Relief Society held a successful Women's Retreat this week... 

...and no, we were not photoshopped into this picture! We're standing outside of our conference room at the Maya Mountain Lodge in Santa Elena.  

I was asked to teach a class on ministering, Elder Magnusson on self-reliance, and together we taught a class on successful marriage. Other classes taught by the RS presidency and branch presidency included domestic violence, self-confidence, home safety, and women's health.  We also enjoyed the delicious luncheon and getting-to-know-you games.  

The organizers were Relief Society president Kay Pérez (right) and secretary Stacey Cadle (left)...and yes, that watermelon tasted as good as it looks. 

Margaret Robinson has been a Catholic missionary living in other countries of Central America and now in Belize for many years. We met Margaret on one of our morning walks. What a wonderful humanitarian and follower of Christ!

This lovely young girl came up to me while I was playing prelude in San Ignacio Branch last Sunday. She reverently stood by my side and watched me play until it was time for church to start.

We enjoyed attending the baptism of the son of Noel and Janet Chi Saturday afternoon.  He has grown and matured so much since we moved to Succotz just 6 months ago.

One of the Bible stories we studied in the "Come Follow Me" manual this week is found in Luke 10:25-37.  The parable is of the Good Samaritan.  I'm inspired by the message and the portrayal of the parable in this video.

From the manual:
It is helpful to remember that the parable of the good Samaritan was Jesus’s way of answering a question: “Who is my neighbor?” As you read this parable, keep that question in mind. What answers do you find?

By Jesus’s day, the animosity between the Jews and Samaritans had lasted for centuries. The Samaritans were descendants of Jews living in Samaria who had intermarried with Gentiles. The Jews felt that the Samaritans had become corrupted by their association with Gentiles and had apostatized. Jews would travel miles out of their way to avoid passing through Samaria. (See also Luke 9:52–54; 17:11–18; John 4:9; 8:48.)

Why do you think the Savior chose a Samaritan, someone who was hated by the Jews, as an example of compassion and loving one’s neighbor? What does this parable inspire you to do to show more mercy to others?

I enjoyed seeing the perspective of this parable from a child's eyes.  In this video, the children were asked to tell the story of the Good Samaritan in their own words.

The Good Samaritan by Dan Burr

Our daughter, Lisa, sent us this picture of the eggs she dyed for Easter.  Our friend taught us how to do this method over 25 years ago.  You make them using eggs, onion skins, leaves or flowers, an old nylon stocking, and string.  You can learn how to do it by clicking onto my recipe blog here.

As you can see, each egg is beautiful and unique...just as we all are, as children of our Heavenly Father.

Semana Santa - Holy Week

It's Holy Week, when all Christianity joins together to commemorate the greatest event in history, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and His Atonement for the sins of all mankind. In nearby Benque Viejo, the townspeople decorate the streets and lanes with exquisite artwork of colored sawdust and sand, an expression of faith and devotion to the Savior of the world.

We enjoyed walking through the streets of Benque and seeing the colorful sawdust artwork.

You can watch how they make the beautiful designs by using stencils. 

The nighttime Good Friday processional in Succotz passed by our house--a somber and moving scene presented by the local Catholic Church.

The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square honor the Resurrected Lord in their majestic 3 min music video He Is Risen.

Local church leaders visited Camp Oakley in Burrell Boom, 30 min north of Belize City, as the probable site for this year's youth camp. It includes cabanas, a mess hall, a small lake, and restrooms/showers. We remember the excitement of last year's camp experience--too bad we'll miss this one!

We love gathering with all the missionaries who are serving in the country of Belize every 6 weeks for zone conference. We learned this time how to better teach the principle of repentance.  

It was the final zone conference for Elder and Sister Jensen of Cardston, Alberta. Sister Jensen's lunch of Hawaiian Haystacks was enjoyed by all the missionaries.

The young missionaries practiced teaching Jesus Christ's message of repentance and redemption.

One Voice Choir, a 36-voice, high school-age choir from Richfield, Utah, came for a week to renovate a school library in Cayo and to perform free Easter concerts. Here they perform in the Succotz chapel. Afterwards, they meet Sister Thompson and Sister Donakey and were excited to ask them all about their experiences as missionaries in Belize.

In Corozal, (from right to left) Branch President Francisco Peña, District President Hilberto Casanova, Sergio Escalante, Abner Grey Jr., Lindbergh Foster, Paul Woods, 1st counselor in the district presidency.

Sergio, Abner, and Lindbergh were just ordained elders.

On Monday in Corozal, we couldn't pass up going to the market and getting fresh produce. 

The scriptures teach us that all things testify of Jesus Christ. Certainly nature in springtime, with the rebirth of these flowers we found in Corozal, is an example of Christ living again. And we will, too. 

Happy Easter!

Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice and Hear the Word of God

Our grandson set a good example of listening to the prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, as he watched General Conference from his living room.  

We watched General Conference with the members from the Bullet Tree Branch.  Here we are in the English transmission room with Austin and Adia Tackitt.  

The Bullet Tree Chapel streamed conference in Spanish as well as English. We enjoyed the branch's potluck lunch between sessions.  Below, is the scene of the 21,000 congregation in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Our daughter, Rachel, was able to attend the Sunday morning session there.

You can watch all the sessions by clicking here.

As we were reviewing conference, we happened to check out the American Sign Language interpretation of Elder Gerrit W. Gong's address.  The first 35 seconds of him counting sheep, as an intro to his message, is hilarious! 

You can hear his entire talk with the interpreter by clicking here.  

His talk is titled, Good Shepherd, Lamb of God.  (This message is good, and timely, too.)  Elder Gong holds a special place for Belizeans because he visited Belize only a month before he was called as one of the Twelve Apostles.  

I love watermelon...and we enjoy having some everyday! Here I just bought a very sweet melon from this Mennonite vendor driving his horse-drawn cart in Santa Elena.

This was the end of the semester for our two BYU-Idaho on-line Pathway students, Lloyd and Shaneel. We've enjoyed meeting with them weekly as they report on their progress and teach each other.

Our friend Frank Ross, from Caye Caulker island, came to visit us in Succotz. We liked hiking the magnificent Xunantunich ruins just across the river. Here, on top of the El Castillo temple, is a beautiful panorama across the Guatemala border.  To get to Xunantunich we cross the Mopan River on the hand-cranked ferry.

Frank is a stalwart in the San Pedro Branch, serving as Elders Quorum President, branch clerk, and Sunday School teacher. Thanks for the visit, Frank!

Elder Magnusson can't miss taking the missionaries' photo at district meeting in Belmopan.

Smart and Regineia Omoruyi (far left) just completed our temple preparation classes. They plan to go to the Guatemala City Temple to be sealed as a family. Having lived in different parts of the world, the family speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and English. The scriptures were read in all three languages during our classes!

April's here...no foolin!

Every six weeks we get to join with the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders in Belize City as they participate in their all-day Mission Leaders' Council meeting, originating from El Salvador. They counsel together on how the missionaries will best teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people here.

I got to prepare the lunch--Sloppy Joes! 

Sister Donakey and Sister Thompson serve with us in Succotz.  After the meeting we had in Belize City, we took them by the Belize sign at the seaside for this photo-op before our 2-hour drive home.  

Fidelina Pérez of San Ignacio had a birthday this week. We enjoyed celebrating it with her along with Elder Glines, Elder Chiesa, Floyd Lemus, and her daughters: Zuli and Madison.

We thought it would be fun to bring Fidelina our favorite taco dinner--American style, of course-- as well as the cake.

Missionaries come to Belize, and sometimes they come back to Belize! Sister Mineli Gómez, of Belmopan,  just completed her mission to the Utah St. George Mission, serving primarily in the St. George Temple Visitor's Center. Her parents, René and Minelia, are very proud and happy for her return.

Elder Magnusson and I have enjoyed studying our Sunday School lessons from the new New Testament manual together during the week.  This past week we read the story of Peter exercising faith in Jesus Christ by walking to Him on the water.  You, too, can learn from the lesson manual the teachings found in the books of Matthew 14, Mark 6,  and John 6 on the topic of faith.  I like how the manual asks thought-provoking questions that we can discuss as we read the scriptures. 

Jesus Christ invites me to set aside my fears and doubts and exercise faith in Him.

Picture in your mind the details of the scene described in Matthew 14:22–33; Mark 6:45–52; and John 6:15–21. Imagine how Peter and the other disciples may have felt. What do you learn about discipleship from the Savior’s words and actions in these verses? What do you learn from the words and actions of Peter? What is the Lord inviting you to do that might be like stepping out of the boat? What do you find in these verses that gives you courage to exercise your faith in Jesus Christ?

This painting titled, Against the Wind, by Liz Lemon Swindle accompanied the story in the lesson manual.

Enjoy this short video about what we learn from reading and studying the Bible.

You can also see the video by clicking here