Two Months

Today marks two months in Guayaquil. We have learned many things and feel comfortable here and glad to be one of the temple missionary couples and among the many workers in the Guayaquil Temple. As full time temple missionaries we have a monthly training session with President and Sister Groberg during the early afternoon when the temple is closed. Training consists of actually performing the ordinances and it is another chance to do family names. Our first one was in the baptistry and President Groberg was the one baptized. Our second was the initiatory ordinances and we participated as patrons and ordinance workers. It is a lovely experience to have together as a group. Next month we will have a special endowment session and the temple employees will be invited to participate as well.

I was working in the baptistry one busy Saturday morning and they needed me upstairs for an English speaking patron. I was nervous because I had not done anything in English as a temple worker for a very long time. But I found that the English was still there, just buried a bit under a lot of Spanish I have been using recently.

Last month I had a chance to go with Sister Chiza to a PEF/Employment event held in our chapel. Ever since we left Quito Sister Chiza has been helping both PEF and Employment as a volunteer. She took a long trip to Argentina after her term as a service missionary was over but when she returned she went back and helped out daily wherever they most needed her. The Segos are the current couple in charge of PEF and Sister Chize knew about the Exposition that was scheduled here in Guayaquil. It was a joint project with Employment and brought together many trade schools as well as PEF and BYU-I to explain their offerings to everyone who was interested. There was a lot of interest in the culinary school that was serving freshly made appetizers and desserts. I enjoyed those as well but was excited to learn that BYU-I has a Pathway program that is functioning both in Guayaquil and Quito (as well as many places in the world) that combines online classes with a weekly class held in a church building with a local teacher.  All students must qualify to take classes in English and have a temple recommend. In Ecuador there are two majors offered: Web Design and Business Marketing. As I understood it, the students earn a BYU-I degree that is respected world wide through this distance learning option and it is very inexpensive. I spoke to a current student who said it is very hard work but he is almost finished and very happy to have been able to participate.

PEF is undergoing major changes. I didn't have time to learn very much but Employment will take additional responsibility and self-reliance is becoming even more prominently the focus. I got a chance to talk with Sister Sego for a few minutes. She came with no Spanish skills and I know that it is a challenge when your ability to communicate is limited. She is doing very well and has learned a lot of Spanish in one year.  I looked on LDS.org and it says: The charter of the Perpetual Education Fund has been broadened into a self-reliance initiative for international members, ages 18 – 65+. The purpose is to teach doctrines and principles and provide tools and services to help lift our members in need move from poverty to spiritual and economic self-reliance and greater conversion. The tools and services include the successful PEF student loan program in 55 countries, in addition to many new resources and training programs targeted at self-employment, employment, and career development.

I am grateful that our current mission involves communication one on one and I do not have any responsibility for making phone calls.  I had difficulty understanding people over the phone and I would often mix up phone numbers when taking messages. My incompetence was painful for me and for others. Phone numbers are longer here and I had to repeat each number individually in order to get it right.

The big news is that we are so proud of all of our family missionaries we could just burst our buttons. 

Colby Snyder is in southern California. He was our first and will return in April of 2014.

Jacey Preisler is in the Dominican Republic assigned to the very same mission that we were assigned to in 2008.

Jacob Pettingill is in the southern part of France where his mother, Khristine, served her mission. 

 Katie Pettingill, is in northern France.

Troy Snyder is in Accra, Ghana and wins the prize for the best attitude under the most severe cultural shock. If you do not have access to their letters and would like to read them, contact their parents. Two more grandchildren are waiting in the wings with plans to send in papers soon.

We love our family and hope to set a good example for them. This mortal life is not the easiest thing we have ever had to do, but it is joyful and so very important. Be good and serve others.

We love you, Grandma and Grandpa Pettingill

Flowers, Dinosaurs, Enchiladas and Kisses

 

Dear Family and Friends,

The hibiscus flowers that grow on the temple grounds are huge. Next time I'll get Lewis to put his hand in the photo so you can see how large they are. They are beautiful.

We went on a fun adventure. There is an exhibit of dinosaurs in the botanical garden on the Malecon that runs along the river downtown in Guayaquil. These dinosaurs move and make noise. It was a fun walk through this lovely setting. We really needed some small grandchildren with us to be appropriately impressed with the large creatures that moved and made loud, unfriendly noises.

The last two are not dinosaurs but rather, patient husbands waiting for their wives to take photos to send home to their grandchildren.

We had brought a large package of corn tortillas from Costco. We also brought dried chili peppers from WalMart. Lewis made enchilada sauce and we made a whole lot of enchiladas, both chicken and cheese. We invited everyone on our floor to come for dinner. The USA missionaries were delighted to have some Mexican food. Sister Chiza ate them but I think she liked the rice and beans and salad better. The others brought a table and chairs, dishes, salad, jello and a pie and all 9 of us enjoyed ourselves.

I want to give you an example of how sweet and loving these Ecuadorian saints are. There is a mother and daughter who work in the temple on Fridays. The husband of the mother works also. The dad is a good man, large and tall. The mother and daughter are particularly beautiful. They are both so kind and sweet and encouraging. I find it amazing. It seems a bit "over the top" from my perspective but not at all insincere or unnatural for them. Last Friday, the daughter happened to walk by me as I was sitting on a bench at "punto uno" in front of the office in the temple. She lightly ran her fingers under my chin and made a tiny kissing noise as she passed. Wish I could demonstrate my love and affection for my children and grandchildren half as well as they do to everyone in the temple. It is both their culture and their talent. I need to work on developing a bit of what they do so gracefully and naturally. They remind me of the love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us - so freely and generously given. We also need to learn to be more open to receive it.

Love, Jeri/Mom/Grandma

Introductions

I would like to introduce you to the wonderful people here in Guayaquil who are our new best friends. We are lucky enough to have a built-in peer group that has welcomed us so warmly. We joined three other senior couples from the USA: the Martins, the Johnsons and the Bottorffs. There are also four senior couples who are native Spanish speakers: the Estrellas, the Zunigas, the Campos and the Chamoros. The first Monday we were here we were invited to a game night with the English speakers.  Sister Bottorff, Brother Martin and Brother Bottorff are in the photo below. (Brother Bottorff went to the emergency room that night in severe pain and later had his gall bladder removed. He had not had any previous pain but it was very badly infected. Scary experience for him and his wife but he is recovering very well and will resume his temple service soon.)

 Sister Martin and Sister Johnson

 Grandpa and Brother Johnson

Sister Chiza came to join us less than two weeks ago. It is our same Sister Chiza from the PEF Service Center in Quito on our last mission. She had been traveling by bus to serve in the temple part time. Now she is a full time missionary and living in one of the apartments here. There is another single sister who will come and share the apartment with her who will arrive later this month. Anibal and Lucia Morales came to the temple! They are the couple who also worked with us for an entire year in Quito. We were so happy to have a reunion. We didn't know they were coming and were gone part of the first day they were here but we did get a visit before our shift. They came and had breakfast with us the next morning before they went to another session and then returned home. They hope to get their affairs in order soon and come and serve full time here. (They had a house built and the builder has not finished several important things. They need to be there to see that he completes the job as agreed.)

The Morales and Sister Chiza

We have a monthly Family Home Evening with all of the senior couples, President and his wife and the couple who manage the building where we live along with their two young adult daughters. Our first one included a fun getting to know you game and a tribute to the Campos who will end their service here this week. The are from Otavalo (Remember going there, Morgan?) and have the long hair they wear in a single braid down their back. Their young men can serve missions without cutting their hair. They speak Quichua. Brother Campo speaks Spanish but Sister Campo only speaks Spanish about as well as I do. She has never learned to read or write so it is difficult for her to do some of the jobs in the temple. But no one has as sweet a smile as she does. She is very small, the mother of 10 children and 36 grandchildren. All of their children are married in the temple and their grandchildren are beginning to serve missions just like ours are. Some of their children live in the USA and in other countries. They are as proud of their family as we are of ours.They will be missed here in the temple. Brother Campo is always ready to go home after their temple shift before Sister Campo comes out of the sister's dressing room. He says, "I am hungry" in English and complains that she takes too much time painting her face in Spanish. I think he is really very proud of her. And I don't think she paints her face.

Thank you for living good lives and caring about other people and being the kind of individuals that we can't help but be proud of.
Love, Grandma Pettingill

The Prologue

Before we are completely immersed in Ecuador I would like to report our happy experiences just before we left the USA. We enjoyed our last meal at our favorite restaurant, El Gallo Giro. Most Spanish speakers do not care for Mexican food. They don't like spicy.

We were set apart by our stake president, President Jensen, surrounded by our Idaho family members. Leiann told me years ago that he reminded her of my Dad somewhat and I agree. He is at the end of his 10 year service and will be released the Sunday after we leave.

We had the opportunity to go to the temple in Boise with Troy for the first time. He reports to the Ghana, Accra MTC the first of next month.

We moved out of our house so a tenant could move in on September 1st. Susan and her family welcomed us into their household. We loved spending time with them, attending vollyball games, reading scriptures and the most unique experience -- a stuffed animal wedding and reception, meticulously planned and carried out by Sarah and Lydia and involving many neighborhood friends. The young man in the suit coat played "The Entertainer" as the bride entered the room and went down the aisle you see here.

We spent several days with Nancy and her family (more volleyball, soccer, football and scripture reading) and were able to spend time with Rosie as well. We saw Morgan, the BYU student, on Saturday only because she doesn't live at home anymore. It was a treat that Scott was in town for the weekend to help Katy celebrate her birthday. We were able to spend time with them and also Jeremy and Kasey. Nancy's children thought that if Katy was at their house, Holly should be there too. But it is a little harder to stop by when she lives in VA now. Time with family is a treasure.

David Evans took us on Sunday afternoon to go to our hotel. Heather and Ronin and her dad, David arrived on Monday to pick up our car. (We hope it is behaving well back in California. Before we owned it, it belonged to Jennifer and Aaron who took very good care of it. Jennifer tells me that her name is Harriet.) David (my brother) was kind enough to drive to Salt Lake to visit with us one evening after our training in the Salt Lake Temple to take us to the store to buy an electric razor and visit for a while. We were taking him to dinner when Lewis stepped out at just the right time for David to pay! Thanks, David. We enjoyed a little one on one time. Morris family events usually involve large groups of people, which we love, but smaller groups allow for more conversation. Ecuador is more special to me because my brother went there on his mission.

It was a wonderful experience for us to be in the Salt Lake Temple for our training. I assume this change is because there is no room for anyone but the young people who need to have the MTC experience in Provo. Our group of about 25 couples was heading out to serve in temples all over the world. Amazing. We spent most of our time in a chapel inside the temple as well as participating in ordinances. We were also privileged to go to the fifth floor assembly hall where the temple was dedicated and the general authorities meet before every general conference. There Elder Walker of the Temple Department talked to us as we sat in vintage perforated metal folding seats on the Aaronic Priesthood side of the room. It was a wonderful three days we spent there in that amazing building that was so lovingly crafted for 40 years by our pioneer ancestors. We go out to serve the members all over the world who are pioneering in their own ways and continuing a strong tradition of faith and love and hard work also.

Arrival in Guayaquil, Ecuador

Dear Family and Friends,

Lewis and I are happily settled in our apartment on the temple grounds in Guayaquil, Ecuador. We arrived at night on September 19th and started working in the temple the next day. President Groberg and his wife picked us up at the airport, brought us to our apartment and made us feel very welcome. They and the other senior missionaries provided us with enough food to be comfortable. The apartment is lovely and we feel quite spoiled. Another senior couple, the Martins, have been taking great care of us. They took us shopping and have been instructing us in the life of a temple worker here. We have found that eating at the food court in the malls here is a traditional activity and we have happily participated a couple of times.

There are three other senior couples from the USA and four native Spanish speaking couples living here with us in the alojamiento. In the building called the alojamiento, we also have a Church Distribution store, a Family History Library, overnight apartments for the temple patrons who must travel a long distance, as well as a big kitchen/dining room for the visiting patrons. The children especially love the elevator.

I have not yet taken photos and will add them when I do. I took the photo above in 2011. We do not have a working telephone but will have both a landline when the system repairs are completed in this building and a cell phone when we get to the right place to purchase a new chip for our cell phone. Our computers work well. We read emails daily and can Skype. If you would like us to call you, just shoot us an email and we can call you inexpensively.

We have found ourselves very busy getting settled and learning new things. Lewis is at a meeting this afternoon in the temple for new male coordinators and missionaries. We went with the Martins this morning to another ward to see a family history presentation they gave to both the youth and the adults of the ward. We have seen lots of youth and a surprising number of adults in the baptistry with their own family names. It is exciting that the work is being done not only for names that have been "extracted" from institutional records but also for so many direct ancestors of the members here in Ecuador. The youth (with their computer knowledge and enthusiasm) are helping the older generations to be effective in their family history research.

David and Morgan visit Ecuador

We were so very happy that David and Morgan were able to come for a visit. It is so fun for Senior Missionaries to show off their new country and their new friends to family. The time we spent together was precious and we loved every minute. I had been very sick all that week but I was up and ready for company by the time they arrived. I am grateful for that special blessing.

Saturday morning early, just to test their resistance to high altitude disease we went higher. It is a good thing we went first thing because it was hard to find a period of several hours the next week when the sky was clear. Above, David and Morgan have arrived at the top of the Teleferico. Quito is at almost 10,000 feet above sea level. The Teleferico took us up to about 13,000 feet above sea level. There was a dusting of snow on the mountain tops in the other direction.

Next we went to an outdoor museum on the equator. Above, Morgan is with the lady in the gift shop modeling the knitted masks. These are patterned from masks worn by one group of the Ecuadorian indigenous people in their religious ceremonies.

The indigenous people had some interesting traditions. The Shuar people had an infamous method of making shrunken heads. The one above is real. They think it is of a 12 year old boy who was the son of a chief who died as the result of an illness. They preserved his head because he was loved and respected. But usually they did it to enemies who were already killed in battle. We got a long detailed explanation in Spanish that I am unable to explain to you. It took a lot of steps and a lot of time and they always sewed up the mouth so the spirit could not get out. We were shown huge spiders and snake skins and warned not to pee in the Amazon River. There is a small skinny fish that is attracted to urine. It has spines under its skin and will follow the stream and attach itself inside the human body. It takes surgery to remove the fish. Not a pleasant thought.

We also learned lots of interesting scientific things about the equator, the Coriolis effect, and that the water spirals counterclockwise or clockwise depending on which side of the equator you are on.

We found out that David is an Egg Master! There were only two in our group who could stand an egg up on the head of a nail and David has a certificate to prove his expertise.

After church on Sunday we all went to the mission home for Easter dinner. Morgan is talking with Lucy. Lucy and Amy spent three months here as interns working with the Employment Office teaching the Career Workshop and helping to train leaders and members. They both speak Spanish and attend BYU. We enjoyed a delicious and elegant dinner with President Ghent and his wife and all of the Senior Missionaries who live in Quito.

Below is Lorena Tejek. She has a very interesting history. We first met her in our Young Single Adult Sunday School class early last year. She is a wonderful and beautiful young woman. Over time we have learned a bit about her life. She is from a Shuar family that was unable to afford to raise her. She grew up in an orphanage that was connected to OSSO (a Rexburg, ID organization that supports orphanages in Ecuador). When she entered her teenage years part of her skull stopped growing. She was taken to Idaho for several surgeries thanks to OSSO. She learned English quite well and has since returned to the US several times for more surgeries. She had her most recent just a couple of months ago in San Diego. She joined the church several years ago and last year decided that she wanted to serve a mission. She received her call to Perú, Lima North. With her last surgery taken care of she was ready to be set apart by our Stake President. We were invited to attend her setting apart.

This photo below was taken in the Visitor's Center at the Grand Plaza in Old Town, Quito. I asked one of the girls working there the reason for the strange costumes worn every year in the Easter Parade in Quito.
They remind us of the Klu Klux Klan which was not a good organization. But this costume has nothing to do with that organization. Wearing dark purple is a sign of sadness, the tall pointed hat that covers the face is to hide the shame that the wearer feels when he thinks of his sins and the disrespect he has shown for God. She told us that the height of the hat might represent the amount of sin that the wearer wants to repent of and receive forgiveness for. It made me feel better about the figures I have seen here and did not understand their meaning. Every Easter there is a parade that is participated in by thousands of people and thousands more are spectators. There are 1600 of these costumes that are very old that are stored in the San Franciso church. People can sign up the prior year and reserve a costume to wear in the parade. When they run out of costumes people must make their own. Only the men wear these costumes. She told us that the women only cover their faces with lace and accompany the Christ figure as he carries the cross. The parade was held the day that David and Morgan arrived. But they arrived at 10:00 at night.

Below are David and Morgan and Lewis in one of the inner courtyards in the ArchBishop's Palace that is on one side of the Grand Plaza.

This is a small part of the outside of the "Gold Church". The entire inside is covered in gold. Very impressive but Morgan said she thought it felt rather cold and devoid of the Spirit. They do not allow people to take photos of the interior.

Below is the street "La Ronda". A very cool street that was considered the outskirts of the city several hundred years ago. We are told that all of the shops and restaurants are open with lots of live music in the evenings but we felt more comfortable mid day.

Next we walked UP to the Basilica with several rest stops on the way for Grandpa and I. This  building was begun several hundred years ago and is still not completely finished. The most impressive part is that they let you walk up scary ladders to reach the tippy top of the bell tower and David and Morgan went all the way. We stayed on the ground and contented ourselves with their description of the journey.

The building is full of awesome stained glass windows. Many of them are lovely representations of Bible stories.

We saw lots of the old and we checked out the fancy mall to represent the new. This mall has a mural that shows an aerial view of the volcanoes in Ecuador. There are many and one is active.

This photo below was taken when we took the Morales' and Sister Chiza out to lunch. David is amazing. He can talk effortlessly (at least it looks easy when he does it) with anyone, even when he does not speak the language well. We had a fun lunch together.

We went to several parks. Parque Elejido has lots of stands selling artisan stuff. Morgan and I had fun shopping there on their last Saturday. Parque Carolina has the volleyball players and also a Botanical Garden that is beautiful. Below are two photos I took of plants that caught my attention. 

We tried all of the public transportation methods. David and Morgan saw Ecuadorians up close and personal on the buses, the trolley and the Ecovia. Most of you have never been packed in so tightly with others as you travel to your next destination. David and Morgan wanted to provide some service in Ecuador. They donated a huge bag of rice along with oatmeal and sugar to an orphanage and the four of us spent a couple of hours playing with the children. They learned what an Ecuadorian mercado was like. Hundreds of stands inside a big building where individuals sell their wares. Fruit or vegetables or meat or prepared food. Flowers, wooden items, grains, sweets, small stalls with an amazing variety of fresh foods. For several blocks all around are tiny stores that each specialize. There is a plastics store, there is a store with fabric but no pins or buttons. You have to go to a button store if you want buttons. The trick is to know where to find what you want to buy. It takes a while to be sure.

We did leave Quito and go to Otavalo. The people there are masters at producing and marketing their artisan products. Lovely things sold by people who are very good salesmen. But the prices are low. The people producing the merchandise are not making very much money for their time and talent. Another thing we enjoyed was watching traditional dancing at the Archbishop's Palace. There was a cute 11 year old girl sitting in front of us. Her mother was one of the dancers so we had fun learning a few things about her school and the dances. Sister Thomas went with us as well and she made the evening even more fun.

This was definitely a highlight week of our mission.

Trip to the Orient

In the middle of March we took a trip to the Oriente. Oriente means east in Spanish. We did not travel on the romantic Orient Express but we took a bus that you guys in Idaho might like.

 You should have all been with us and wearing your BSU sweatshirts!

Sister Morales went with us. Her husband was already in Lago Agrio which means Bitter Water. Lovely. 

I was carsick but had taken a pill so I survived. The bus was rocketing along in the rain and the windows were dirty but the scenery was beautiful!

 See three waterfalls above and the river below?

 Sister Morales and I in Lago Agrio where one can cross the river. The bridge has been down for years and it has not been replaced yet.

 On a bus in the city, a woman sat down across the aisle from us and had a chicken in a bag. 

She said I could take a photo but we must have gone over a bump when I clicked the shutter.

 Typical nice house in the country.

 We came back and crossed the river on one of the little ferries.

I tried a sapote for the first time. Two toned fruit! It was very good. It even has a flower shape. We each had one and broke out the segments and ate it as we traveled in a motorcycle taxi that pulled a trailer with a canvas top.

Here we are in Coca. We spent most of our time on a bus during this trip but we did get to see a lot of Ecuador.

 There is a branch in Coca (The real name is Francisco de Orellana) Coca is easier to say. This is a rented facility but it looked great.

 Sister and Brother Morales

 When the bus stopped I snapped a photo of an shaved ice vendor.

 This Farmacia (pharmacy) must have been having a Grand Opening or something. Sana means healthy.

This adorable little girl is the youngest child of Manuel who was baptized in the river on Saturday night in Lago Agrio where a branch has just be approved by Salt Lake. They will organize it formally in April.

They dressed behind the truck and then joined us at the river.

 Here is the traditional missionary photo after the baptism. He looks happy. His wife was baptized before.

That is the taxi we all piled into to ride to the river. Fortunately we were inside the truck.

Don't you think this is a beautiful setting for an eternal ordinance?