We made it to Church!  It only took us a few extra turns and streets, but we made it.  It was the getting home that was traumatic.  We had to call the AP's and ask where we were.  Driving is always a challenge.
       It was fast Sunday and the people in the branch bore some special testimonies.  The elders who are assigned to the branch are great!  They had a meeting after church to teach the auxiliaries how to have a ward counsel meeting. We volunteered to make some visits with them.  We'll keep you posted on that one but it will be a while because of conference this weekend.
     Between visiting missionary apartments for inspections and calls from sick missionaries we seem to keep very busy.  Two times each week we have gone with the assistants to visit different zones and do apartment inspections.  I met the sweetest little man while Dale was in doing an inspection.  He was across the street working in his garden.  His garden wasn't very big but it was pretty.  I told him how beautiful it was and he asked where we were from, said he had a daughter or son in the States that he was going to visit soon.  I ended up giving him a pamphlet about families and he said he would read it and keep it close to his heart.
     The people here for the most part are very sweet and kind.  When you greet the women, they give you an arm shake and a hug and kiss in the air over your shoulder. Most people are happy and easy to talk to.
     The missionaries shop at what is called the Dispensa Familiar.  I have been told that instead of having a bishops storehouse here in Guatemala, the Church has partnered with Walmart and these stores are scattered throughout the city.  If someone needs a food order, they take a voucher to the Dispensa and fill it.  Instead of having to carry all of those things from the storehouse home on the bus, the Dispensa is in their neighborhood and they can easily get things home.  Also if there is some type of disaster, the things that people need are much closer and more accessible.  We stopped at one the other day and I was surprised how many things were available there and the prices were very affordable.  Their shelves were full of a great variety of things.  Of course you still have the open air fruit and vegetable markets close by and the neighborhood tiendas.
     It is a privledge to work with the missionaries.  They are doing a great job.  We got an e-mail from Pres. Stay who is our mission president.  He said that they had 87 (I think) baptisms in  the mission last month and 24 of those were families.  They are trying really hard to start at the churches and work out from there instead of baptizing people who are very far away and who can't afford to get to the church.  As the gospel spreads, they will eventuallly reach the people there and maybe by then there will be a church close by.  It all makes sense.  They want families if they can get them and they seem to be busy teaching all the time.
     Our neice is married to a young man who is from Guatemala.  We gave his grandmother's name to a special set of missionaries in her area a couple of days ago after we inspected their apartment.  I happened to think about Elliott's note to us and when we took the address with us it was for that area.  Maybe they will be able to do some seed planting if nothing else. Things like that seem to happen quite often.  It only helps to reinforce the idea that this is the Lord's mission, not our mission and we are here participating in it.
     Conference was very good today.  I love to hear the apostles talk.We realized that we will only have two more conferences here before we go home.  The other missionaries that live in the building are great! We spent the day with them watching.  It is almost like living the united order.  If they have something and you need it,  they are more than willing to share.  We spend home evenings with them,  fast Sundays with them, sometimes weekends, and we are all very close.
     Next Friday we are going on a bus to see Semana Santa which is to celebrate Easter.  It is in the old Capital of Guatemala, Antigua.  They fill the streets with a carpet of colored sawdust and carry likenesses of the virgin Mary and Jesus over this sawdust carpet through the streets. In a way it is like Jesus coming into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  People who have seen it say that it has been the highlight of their Guatemala experience.  We will try to get some pictures on here when we get back.  Keep the faith.  The gospel's true!