Waving From the Driveway

I woke up this morning around 8. Joseph was down stairs finishing breakfast. He had gotten up at missionary time, and was dressed with his badge on, ready for the day. I hadn't made any oatmeal. "What did you eat?" I asked. "Grape nuts, it was the only cereal in the cupboard..."

"Yeah, Dad has all the good cereal in his pantry." Joseph walked over to the sink and stated "There's no sponge..." to wash his dish with. It's okay, just put it in the sink, we'll load the dishwasher later. "Wow, a dishwasher...." I went for a quick walk and then when I got back at 8:30 we had everyone come for a morning devotional. We took a picture with our missionary for one last time.

He was doing a zoom call with our Stake President at 9:30 to be released. He said it was kinda anticlimactic. Yeah, I remember thinking that too. So, no badge anymore, but he kept his white shirt and tie on almost all day. He started to get set up on a laptop so he can join the real world.

At 1:00 until 2:00. we invited neighbors to drive by and say hi to him. Here are Joseph and his good friend Talmage, who just got home from Ecuador - keeping a safe social distance as they visited.

More people came and joined the wide social circle.

From another angle.

More neighbors came by to welcome Joseph home, like a lady who Joseph did yard work for two years ago (Carolynn) and Mark. Mark and his wife kept Joseph and Ethan fed every Sunday when they were here in the US while the rest of us went to Brazil in 2015.

Hmm, it looks like people are relaxing a bit and getting a little too close to each other...

We are trying to be good citizens and but also help Joseph feel welcomed home to this strange new normal.

He's Home!

Yesterday we were told that Joseph would be coming home today. And he did come home. Here are the kids when we got home at 10pm (minus Peter who was asleep in the car after our drive home from the airport)

This is how Joseph's homecoming went: We got an email on Sunday saying he would be coming home, but it could be weeks/months. On Wednesday we talked to Joseph and he said he was told they should be ready to leave on Saturday, but that nothing was for sure yet. On Saturday we got an email saying he would be coming home on Sunday/today. No mention of what time but they would let us know as soon as they had details. This morning I was checking my email over and over again but there was no news from the Antigua mission. I read via the Guatemala City South facebook page that they got notice that there were two chartered flights coming at 5 and 6:30 and that all the US missionaries from all 7 Guatemala missions would be on them.

Around 12:30 we got a phone call from Joseph's mission president. He said that he didn't know which flight Joseph would be on, but they would be arriving at 5:30 and 6. Not the same times as the facebook group said, but we felt like we had a general idea. We didn't have an airline or flight number though and he didn't have a phone number to text him at, so we didn't know how this would work. Corey and I and Peter left at for the airport at 5. The kids had been fasting all day and so had we, and we had a nice dinner ready for us all to eat together after we got home with Joseph. At the airport parking garage, there were very good instructions for proper social distancing for all the parents picking up their missionaries.

We got an orange paper with instructions and a map. Go to Level 2.... Find the stalls where the letter is for your missionary's last name. There's the UVWs - that's us.

They told us that the flight was for 5:15. But it got delayed until 6:15. So we waited... We were told that the next flight was delayed too. ...Until 8:30. We waited and waited. We asked for the kids to pray that Joseph would be on the first flight. But he no sign. We wondered... if Joseph didn't show up, should we we should hurry back home and eat with the kids and then come back? I had only brought one slice of bread for Peter and that was gone. Peter also had a pretty wet diaper and I didn't bring a bag and I didn't have any in the car. If the second flight doesn't land until 8:30, Joseph probably won't be out until 9:30 with customs and baggage claim. Will we make it??

Is he lost? Corey "I hope he remembers what letter his last name starts with." Not R. Wride is with W. After a while we got Peter out of his carseat. Some missionaries started to walk out. They walked out about three at a time. Everytime the sliding doors opened, the garage rang out with lots of victory honks. Corey - "Everyone honks in Morse Code...." Peter joined in.

Peter was working hard. I tried to get Peter to look at me, but he wouldn't. Corey: "He's got a lot of buttons to push..."

The kids kept calling and texting. Corey said "I feel like I'm in labor and delivery waiting for a birth... 'No, no baby yet, she's only at a 5...'" At 7:30 we told them to go ahead and eat. We continued to wait. Peter was about to lose it, but then luckily we did have ONE dvd in the car - the Mozart Group! Yay! Peter liked it. Corey said "Wow! Peter had refined taste!" Only one of us (Corey or I) were allowed out of the car at a time. And we had to stay within touching distance of our vehicle. It was kinda cold, so we turned the car on a few times to keep warm. Finally, at 9:27, I saw someone who looked like him! He motioned at me like I looked familiar to him too - so we repeated a few distant gestures of "Mom?" and "Joseph is that you?" and then it was established that YES, that is our Missionary!!!

Corey took a video from the car, but that was the blurry picture I took as I shook with cold and excitement! He asked "Can I hug you?" Yes! We gave each other a quick hug, then we walked to the van. I opened the back for him to put in his luggage. He put in his suitcases, I went around to the driver's seat and took Peter and put him in his carseat, we all wiped our hands with hand sanitizer and we were off!

I texted the kids "We've got him!" I texted again when we were 5 minutes away, and they were all out in the driveway to greet us with cheers and giggles and lots of hugs.

So we're all in a 14 day quarantine now. An airport guy in a mask told us "You can hug them, you can love them... but then you just have to quarantine with them." So we are putting our trust in God that we will all be safe from coronavirus, cause none of us gave him 6 feet. Once we were inside, everyone was excited to tell him everything and anything...

We had been fasting and praying today with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Lord's prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, had extended the invitation to all members worldwide to join in fasting and praying for relief and healing from Covid-19. We ended our fast at 10pm, after we got home. Joseph was voice for prayer and it was wonderful, sweet, and spirit filled. He had been fasting all day too. He cried as he prayed. After his prayer he got up to get some tissue and said "Man, I haven't cried since I was trained!" His little sisters all asked "Why are you crying?" "I'm just so happy" He also said that last night he had been in a home with 40 other missionaries and they had a testimony meeting, and everyone was crying but he didn't cry, so yay for us, we got some tears from him! After he enjoyed some dinner that his siblings had saved. It was a feast. And we all sat at the table with him. Corey asked "How does it feel to have 10 people watch you eat?"

"It feels like Kolipoki..." Which was a movie reference that we all understood and laughed at. After dinner we partook of the sacrament as a family. We sang a hymn first and the third verse particularly touched my heart:

As now we praise thy name with song,

The blessings of this day

Will linger in our thankful hearts,

And silently we pray

For courage to accept thy will,

To listen and obey.

We love thee, Lord; our hearts are full.

We’ll walk thy chosen way.

My heart truly is full for the blessings of today. I am so grateful to have all my children at home! Since Joseph left for his mission, we thought we'd never all be together again for years. Up until last Sunday. Wow, what a miracle and great blessing - to have Mel back from BYU, Joseph home from Guatemala, and all the kids home from school all day everyday for atleast a month! I never would have guessed this would happen. I feel so grateful for the blessings of this day! Thank you Dear Lord!

He's Coming Home Tomorrow

Dear Missionary Family,
 
We are writing to inform you that your missionary currently serving in the Guatemala Antigua Mission, will be traveling home tomorrow, Sunday, March 29, 2020.
 
We apologize for the late notice.  We have been waiting for travel itineraries so we could send those to you as well, but thought we needed to get out this information as soon as possible.  We will forward the travel itineraries to you as soon as they become available.
 
The church has chartered two flights that will leave Guatemala City at approximately 10-11am on Sunday (local time).  These flights will be traveling directly to Salt Lake City.  For those missionaries needing connecting flights, every effort is being made to get your missionary home to you as soon as possible.  Because so many domestic flights have been canceled, this may possibly mean that your missionary will not arrive at their final destination until sometime Monday.
 
Thank you for patience with us at this very difficult and challenging time.  As I am sure you can appreciate, the logistics of this effort have been monumental.
 
We want you to know how much we love and appreciate these great missionaries.  They are valiant, brave, and amazing in every way.  It has been one of the greatest blessings of our lives to be associated with them in this great work.
 
We pray the Lord’s blessings be upon them and upon you and your family as you assist them in their next transition, whether it be to another mission or to life beyond the mission.
 
With great love and appreciation,
 
President Timothy Barney and Sister Paula Barney
Guatemala Antigua Mission

Phone Call

Joseph has not left his apartment for 10 days. And they don't have internet in their apartment, so it's just phone calls. We were happy he was able to call this morning and we were able to talk with him for like 20 minutes.

We asked him how he's feeling about the upcoming and final transfer. "...Kinda stinks...." He thought it was interesting that so many of his friends that left months later than him will be coming home now too. So he is lucky that he was able to go out so quickly and spend more time in Guatemala than his friends have been able to spend in theirs. Corey teased "Well, you know, if you had agreed to come back in June like we asked, the world could have avoided this whole pandemic...." Ha. This is not ending how any of us planned - there will not be a big family group welcoming him home at the airport and no homecoming address at church. But it is okay. We will trust in the Lord and will submit to his tutoring and his will. We are glad that we will be able to see him soon.

Two Years Ago

Joseph received his mission call two years ago today.

Two long and eventful years... but it still is strange to know it will be ending so soon. I know he, like so many other missionaries, are sad to be leaving the countries that they've come to love as their own. We are praying for him to be at peace.

Release Letter

We received this email today from Joseph's mission President. Subject line was "Release Letter", so it looks like Joseph will be returning to the US in the upcoming weeks or months.
_________________________

March 22, 2020

Dear Parents and Family:

We are so grateful for your wonderful sons and daughters serving the Lord in Guatemala.  Thank you for your love and support of these amazing young men and women.

Many of you have read about a recent letter from the First Presidency which states, in part:
“In the coming weeks, based upon world conditions, substantial numbers of missionaries will likely need to be returned to their home nations to continue their service. This will be done in a systematic way based on the urgency of travel restrictions, level of COVID-19 concern, and other considerations.”

The Presidency of the Central America Area, in consultation with other General Authorities, has determined that it is advisable that all missionaries currently serving in Guatemala return to their home nations.  It is anticipated that this will take place over the next weeks or, in some cases, perhaps months.  The order of return for the missionaries will be:

1. Those who have any health condition.
2. Senior missionaries.
3. The remainder of the missionaries.

Where feasible, all three groups will return at the same time.

There are many countries which have closed their borders and will not currently allow the return of their citizens.  Others, such as Guatemala, will not allow anyone to leave the country.  It is hoped that the Guatemalan travel restriction will end on April 1, 2020.  Even if the travel restriction ends on April 1, it could take weeks or months to arrange travel for all missionaries.  In the meantime, the Area Presidency is working to arrange travel for missionaries who are not from Guatemala.  Upon their return, it is anticipated that all missionaries will be required to be quarantined for a period determined by their home nations.  After this period of quarantine, missionaries with sufficient time remaining in their period of mission service will be reassigned to serve in their home nations.  As soon as we have any additional information, we will immediately contact you.

In his General Conference address of April, 2017, Elder David A. Bednar said:
"In the culture of the Church, we often talk of being called to serve in a country such as Argentina, Poland, Korea, or the United States. But a missionary is not called to a place; rather, he or she is called to serve. As the Lord declared through the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1829, “If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work.” “Each mission call and assignment, or a later reassignment, is the result of revelation through the Lord’s servants.” Each of your sons and daughters has been called by the Lord to serve a mission.  How exciting it is that they will now be reassigned by that same revelation to serve in another area."

We love these wonderful missionaries and will miss serving with them.  We expect that after a period of quarantine, native Guatemalan missionaries who will be returning to Guatemala from other countries will be reassigned to take the place of your sons and daughters.

Our thoughts and prayers are with our missionaries, parents and families during this challenging time.  We invite each of you to join with us in fasting and praying that the borders of the nations will open and that the way will be prepared for each of our missionaries to safely return to their homes.

With love,
President and Sister Barney
Guatemala Antigua Mission

20 months - Quarantine Week 1

Joseph was quarantined in his apartment today, but he was able to call us somehow - but Corey might have called him? I'm not sure cause I didn't hear the phone ring. But the kids brought the phone to me and said it was Joseph. I passed it to Ethan and they were able to talk, so Joseph knows of Ethan's assignment to the Dominican Republic and they were able to visit for a bit!

Joseph didn't make any promises to change his return date, he just told Ethan that as of now he is coming home July 15th.

Coronavirus Update

An email we received today from Joseph's mission President. Subject line: Coronavirus Update.

Joseph's brother, Ethan, opened his mission call tonight. He is assigned to the Santiago Dominican Republic Mission. We were thinking we would be telling Joseph tomorrow of Ethan's assignment, but Joseph is going to be quarantined in their apartment for two weeks and will not have internet access, so it looks like we might have to wait until April 1st. But I did write the mission office to tell them of Ethan's assignment to see if they could call Joseph to let him know. We are also hoping that maybe Joseph will decide to maybe not extend until July 15th and come home June 2nd instead, because Ethan will be entering the Mexico MTC on July 14th - they might miss each other by a day if Joseph extends. So we'll see what happens. Things are changing rapidly day by day, so who knows but we're praying that they'll be able to see each other.
___________________________________

Dear families of missionaries,

How grateful we are to serve with your sons and daughters in the Lord’s cause. We love these young women and young men as our own. Please know that with the coronavirus, or COVID-19, affecting people here and around the world, our highest priority right now continues to be your missionary’s personal health and safety. 

In response to the COVID-19 virus, the government of Guatemala has imposed a 15 day quarantine.  This means that all of our missionaries have been asked to stay in their apartments until March 31, 2020.  

We anticipated this might happen, and so, several days ago, we provided each missionary with additional money, a shopping list of food items sufficient for 15 days, and had them all purchase the food items they need to sustain them for 15 days.  All missionaries currently have this food in their apartments.

Because our missionaries do not have access to the internet, or to telephones that can make international calls in their apartments, during this quarantine period the missionaries will be unable to communicate with you, in any form, including telephone calls, chats, video calls or email, until April 1, 2020.

Should any emergencies arise that require you to contact your missionary during this quarantine period, please contact our mission office at 2131757@churchofjesuschrist.org   

In the case of an emergency, we will be able to set up a three way call using office telephones, to enable you to communicate with your missionary. Additionally, we have an Antigua Mission Facebook page.  You may submit any questions you may have either to the email address listed above, or to the Facebook page.  The link to the Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/guatemalaantigua.mission.7

To help ensure the missionaries’ continued physical and spiritual well-being, we are following the inspired and well-informed direction of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, our Area Presidency, and the Missionary Department. We also are instructing the missionaries in following local and national government guidelines and precautions, reminding them to:
•             Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
•       Avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth. 
•             Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. 
•             Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces with household cleaning spray or wipes. 
•             Wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (which should always be done if their hands are visibly dirty), and, if soap and water are not readily available, to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

We are asking your missionary to contact us immediately if they feel sick so that we can involve health care professionals and our area medical advisers. If your missionary has chronic or critical health issues that we need to be aware of, we also invite you to reply to this email to make sure that we address any concerns. We understand very well that the current situation may be stressful and cause concerns for some of our missionaries and their families, but we will watch over your missionary carefully and will communicate with them often.

These are challenging times and circumstances, but to us this is also an opportunity to continue sharing the gospel. Our missionaries will continue to focus on their missionary purpose by teaching by local telephone in their apartments, studying the scriptures and Preach My Gospel, language learning, family history, and other activities as needed. This is also a significant opportunity for missionaries to work closely with local Church leaders to reach out to new and returning members, families where some individuals are not yet members, and members with special ministering needs. All of these activities will help them continue the Lord’s work, grow spiritually, and bless those in the communities they serve. 

Going forward, we will continue to send updates to you as mission circumstances evolve. Please be assured that we are completely dedicated to keeping your missionary healthy and safe. And we are most grateful for our loving Heavenly Father’s supporting hand in caring for them. May He continue to abundantly bless you and your family, each and every missionary, and the people we have been called to serve. 

With our greatest love and appreciation,

President and Sister Barney
Guatemala Antigua Mission

Coronavirus Precautions

An email from Joseph's mission President that we received today:
___________________________

Dear Missionary Family,

My wife and I love serving with your missionary and feel blessed to be working together in the great gathering of Israel.  We love your missionary and we are doing everything we can to keep them safe and happy.

Due to worldwide concerns related to the COVID-19 virus, I wanted to send you a letter to let you know what we are doing in the Guatemala Antigua Mission to address this situation.

As of the date of this communication, there have been no reported cases of this virus in Guatemala.  However, we fully anticipate that it is only a matter of time before the COVID-19 virus reaches this country.

Our missionaries are receiving a reminder to follow standard preventive health practices.  We have emphasized the following standard preventive health practices:

-Frequently clean hands with soap and water or alcohol based hand cleaner (we have provided each missionary with their own container of hand sanitizer)

-Cover nose and mouth with a tissue or elbow when coughing or sneezing. Immediately dispose of the tissue.

-Avoid close contact with anyone who has cold-like or flu-like symptoms, including avoiding shaking hands or other customary greetings.

-Thoroughly cook meat and eggs.

-Avoid unprotected contact with wild animals or farm animals.

The Church Missionary Department is closely monitoring the development of COVID-19 throughout the world and is in close contact with the Central America Area Presidency, Area medical advisers, and health professionals.  Should any additional steps become necessary, we assure you that we will closely follow the advice of the Missionary Department and health care professionals.

The Church’s Newsroom has created a webpage where they are posting updates on how COVID-19 is impacting members and missionaries worldwide. We encourage you to regularly review that webpage.

Thank you for the great support you provide to your missionaries.

With love and appreciation,

President Timothy Barney

Guatemala Antigua Mission

20 months - Dijo Aquel

We had a good talk with Joseph today. We talked about the Coronavirus (and how it was announced today that General Conference will be closed to the public!), about people here that he knows that just received mission calls (Thomas P in our ward to Madagascar, and Mel's roommate to Anaheim California), and I got Joseph's prediction for Ethan. Ethan finished his papers and had his interviews on Sunday, so we think he might get his call next Tuesday and we'll be able to tell Joseph next week. Joseph's guess was Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
_____________________
  Subject: Dijo Aquel        

So there is this phrase here that people say all the time but I have never seen in any textbook and it doesn't make that much sense. Sometimes they just throw the words "dijo aquel" at the end of their sentences. It means "said he" but they just throw it at the end of any random sentence. For example the lady who gives us lunch one day noticed that she forgot the fresco (lemonade) and said "Oh, I forgot the fresco, dijo aquel". So we have been trying to figure out what it means and lots of the latinos don't know what it means either so I guess it's a chapin thing. But from what I can tell it means "as they say".

But anyways this was a really great week, dijo aquel.

We planned to go to the temple wit Claudia this week to do baptisms for the dead and she even had two family names ready. But when we met her there she said she didn't feel ready and so we didn't actually go inside except for the waiting room. But we were able to explain a little bit more about the temple and when her husband Jairo (who is less-active) came to pick her up we explained a little more and we think it was an important step in helping them keep their sight set on the temple and having an eternal family.

Also Jairo took it off for the picture but he always wears this jacket that says "kill your local drug dealer" and it cracks us up because he doesn't know what it says. 

This week we have planned to take Sandi and her whole family to the temple to help them get an answer and gain a testimony and we had a great lesson with them on Monday night. So please keep them in your prayers.

Also we had a lesson with Maribel yesterday and she told us that she invited a friend to church on Sunday and gave us her address! We hadn't even asked for any references or anything and she just asked us if we could share our message with her too. She isn't even a member and she is already sharing the gospel with her friends!

Also this week we had a training with Elder Taylor from the 70 who is in the Area presidency and it was awesome!! He gave us a list of things to do to find 20 people to teach and promised that if we do them that we will have so many people to teach that we wont have time to teach them all we will be baptizing and teaching so much. Pretty cool promise and we are working to apply what he taught us.

I hope you are all getting ready for Conference by diving into the Restoration and sharing the Gospel with others.

______________________________

20 months - Casi No Me Mantengo

____________________________
 Subject: Casi No Me Mantengo     

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that phrase in my mission. Probably thousands of times. It is the classic answer when we invite people to learn more about the Restored Gospel. "Fíjese que casi no me mantengo en mi casa" (literal translation being "Look, I almost don't maintain myself in my house"). With how many times I have heard that, I am surprised that ANYONE is EVER in their house. But those who really want to learn, make the time to listen. It's interesting because with Claudia's parents, who are pretty evangelical, whenever we knock always just let us right in. But I am pretty sure that if we had found then just contacting they would have given us a typical response that they don't have time to listen to us. Working through the members, especially the recent converts, is really important. Maribel is also a reference from a recent convert. So we are trying to work in an effective and inspired way and also work really hard and we are learning a lot.

We were going to go to the temple with Claudia this week, as well as with Sandi and her family, but both got canceled. With Claudia it was to do baptisms and with Sandi it was to help them receive an answer and we are still planning on going but it got postponed. But we are planning to go with Claudia tomorrow with some members and were helping her yesterday find a name.

Sandi is still like keeping all of the commitments, just that every once in awhile she doesn't read. She just feels like baptism is a big step and wants to be sure before taking it. So keep her in your prayers, as well as her family that they will also progress. Her mom Nancy and her sister Gaby have both come to church 3 times and have read a bit in the Book of Mormon. Her brother Byron is awesome and we think he has a lot of potential. The only thing is that he has only read the introduction (almost 2 months ago) and hasn't come to church yet because he has a hard time waking up. The other brother Saul is also great and when we leave him a chapter to read he reads. But he gets home at like 10:00 and works on Sunday mornings so he hasn't been able to come to church but he wants to. The temple will be an awesome experience for them, being able to walk around and some sister missionaries there will explain what the temple is. Their dad passed away years ago and being at the temple, I know that they will feel closer to him and help them know how they can help him.

Maribel is still reading the Book of Mormon and really likes it but it is hard for her to come to church when she opens paca. Keep her in your prayers that she can make the sacrifice, even for just an hour. We haven't taught her about the Word of Wisdom yet but her son Steve (spelled Stiv) who is 8 years old was there when the missionaries before taught her sister-in-law Evelin and learned that we shouldn't drink coffee and this week when Maribel was making coffee he corrected her and told her that she couldn't do that. Stiv is actually really pilas though. Also please keep her husband in your prayers that he will have more of a desire to learn and go to church with her to see what it's like.

Also there is this lady we are teaching named Luz who when I first met her I thought "why are we going to teach her" but she is actually really pilas. She reads the Book of Mormon a ton! She doesn't read a whole lot but she reads and understands really well and she tells us every time how much she loves the Book of Mormon, and she has only gotten to 1 Ne 16! She hasn't come to church yet but wants to come and this week was going to come to a baptismal service of the other elders but she went to the chapel that's further down.

My companion is great and we are learning how to work with more unity and reach with one voice. We went to a park this week that had a cool lookout over the city but it was cloudy so we didn't see much. 

But it was still super fun to get out and we made a little obstacle course on the park. I had the gold medal spot until Elder Saxtons last run when he beat me by 3 seconds. So I settled with Silver.

______________________________