Earlier in the week a couple came to make arrangements for their sealing. When they said "The 24th at 6 PM," I asked if that was really what they wanted. Their answer was definite--"What better gift could we give our family?
So on Christmas Eve, these parents who were approaching middle age and had overcome many obstacles to their temple sealing brought their little boy who had just been baptized on his birthday, Dec. 22, and started to become an eternal family! The next Sunday we visited their ward and the little boy ran up and gave us hugs before the meeting started. That was sweet!!
Pictures of us on Christmas Day 2009
I believe that when no child comes home for Christmas, the best thing to do is get out of the house!
We were very lucky this year to have members of our temple family who also also wanted to see something different. Elder and Sister Smith found the driver of a combi who would take us on a round trip to the Loltun caves on Christmas Day. Gerhard made the arrangements with him to pick us up at the temple gates at 7:30 AM, which seemed very early since the Smiths, Mortensons, and the sister missionaries had gone to Christmas Eve gatherings. The Verlindens didn't go with us this time because she has claustrophobia.
These caves, which were formed when the meteroite fell into the sea by Progreso eons ago, were used by the Mayan people as refuges from the Spaniards.
As we went deeper into the caves, lighting showed the wonderful formations of stalactites and stalagmites formed by water leaching minerals.
The guide showed us evidences of the Mayan people's use of the caves.
Even natural rubber trees grow in this opening.
The small openings at this spot were used as traps for animals that the Mayans hunted.
We were very hungry and no restaurants were open, so we took a chance on this roadside stand. They brought out their tablecloths and served us spicy beef on fresh-made corn tortillas. They even had ice for our sodas! Lane wondered if Opa got anything to eat that day :)
Our final stop was Kabah, a small archaeological site with its own distinctive features. We wondered where the huge stones had come from and how many people had lived and worked in this area. There is good soil and the fields around had crops of tomatoes and there were orchards of mangoes, papaya, banana plants, etc. so they could have produced food here if Chaac had sent sufficient rain.
Were these images of warriors and did these columns tell the story of some of their conquests? Or were they being conquered??
Our stop at the Arch of Labna, where we met a fellow tourist with an Australian accent and a great wanderlust.
They we headed home to prepare for another busy Saturday at the Temple in Mérida. As we said goodbye, Gerhard ran into the apartment to get a copy of the Libro de Mormon to give to the driver and we all signed it with appreciation for his efforts and his kindness in listening to us talk about the Gospel with him.
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