Christmas Giving

After all the preparation, tying quilts, boxing food, buying crates of bananas and mandarin oranges and a few apples, we're ready to load and go.

 

Hermano Diaz brought the mission truck and we loaded everything we had gathered plus a lot of clothing and supplies the Meadow's kids, the Bradys, had brought down from their ward and headed for the mountains.

We had the pickup, the Brady's 12 passenger van, President Galvez' 7 passenger van, President Maldanado's 5 passenger vehicle and President Villeda's 5 passenger car to take all of us and all the goods to the little branch high in the mountains.  Almost 3 hours later over some pretty rough mountain roads, we arrived at the chapel and found the members in a meeting in the chapel with the branch president planning next year's calendar.  After the meetings the members all came out into the parking lot and the branch president had them all line up by families.

Each family came through the line very orderly and received their box of food, new blankets for everyone, especially the babies, bananas, tangerines, apples and some bags of candy from the Bradys.

(Notice the baby on this little girl's back.)

After everyone had come through the line and we had given away as much as possible the branch served stew from a huge wash tub made with two kinds of squash, carrots, onions, big chunks of fat and small chunks of meat.

Almost every family brought their own dishes, and spoons.  The sisters serving the stew made sure every bowl had squash and vegetables and at least one hunk of meat.  They also served tamalitas, which are corn masa wrapped in banana leaves and steamed in a big pot.  They would break off a chunk of tamalitas, dip it in their soup and eat it.  None of the food went to waste.

The only car at this branch was the branch president's pickup which mean that everyone loaded the food, blankets and goodies on their back and walked home, some as far as 1 1/2 hours.  These two boys are loaded with the boxes of food on their backs and ready to go.

This sister is getting ready to wrap all her things in her tipica cloth wrap and carry it home with her baby on her back and two little girls in tow.

And the people!!! They were sweet unassuming people, earning their living from tiny farms on the hillsides and faithful members of the church.

Young and old, they gathered at the church and we were blessed to share a small part of our plenty.

This little girl will probably carry her baby brother all the way home tied on to her back!

This abuelo (grandpa) will have a warm neck this winter.

This little project made our Christmas.  How could we remember the Christ Child better than serving His children in far off Guatemala?  Thanks you Heavenly Father for this great blessing in our lives.