It's Friday, so this must be....Guayaquil!!

We are here in Ecuador for a week at the request of a Mission President, to help out with the case of a missionary with a serious infectious illness.  This came up quite suddenly, as in "So what flights DO you have tomorrow?"

From the windows of the airplane, hotel and the taxis, Guayaquil looks a lot like a lot of other big cities, only warmer.

We helped transport the missionaries who had been in contact with the ill Elder to get screened.  As it was a large group and a national hospital, the President asked us to wear Preparation-Day clothing for the visit.

Sister Henderson got in to the spirit of the occasion with her Invisible Woman costume.

To everyone's relief, when all the tests were complete, and the films read,

everything came out negative.

With a bit more time to think and look around, we realized that many of the people in Ecuador had a strange, almost Smurf-like character.

When we commented, we were informed that these were paper-maché statuettes, often of amazing scale,

that are purchased, some at significant price, to be loaded with explosive devices and blown apart on New Year's Eve.  This is to bring good luck.  Okaaaayyyy..... perhaps to emergency rooms, maybe.

On the way back to the hotel to write up my report, the missionaries accompanying us just had to take us by one of the bigger attractions of Guayaquil - Iguana Park!

I won't go to a close-up for those of you with phobias of large lizards, but the tree below is actually crawling, and I don't use the word lightly, with great big green iguanas, while the statue of Simon Bolivar (one of several in the city) looks on approvingly. 

We have several more tasks to accomplish at the request of the Mission President while we're here  before we head back to Bogotá on Tuesday evening.  

Meanwhile, we're relieved that things have gone well so far, and look forward to further Smurf-like experiences.  We hope that none of your statuettes explode on New Year's Eve.

Dave & Paula

One of these things is not like the others

Every three months, the Mission President meets with the young Elders and Sisters of each zone (approximately 20-25 missionaries) in a Zone Conference, usually lasting much of the day.  Occasionally, a visiting authority of the Church also meets with them, to teach principles of following the Savior, and visit with the President and their young Zone Leaders.  
These are joyous occasions, opportunities to be enlightened and uplifted and to see friends in the mission, as you can tell from the smiles on the faces of those in the group picture below.  They are surrounding President Christopher Waddell of the South America Northwest Area of the Church (he's the tall fellow with the yellow tie in the second row).
However, one of these things is not like the others.  The older, bald guy with the red necktie on the right end of the second row is not smiling very much. 

That's Doctor Henderson, and the reason he's not smiling is because he's just been informed that Elder S_____ is in the restoom throwing up violently, and because Sister H_____ needs to talk to him about her stomach problems.  And because Elder G______ in the _____Mission may have TB after all.
We hope that you continue to have all sorts of reasons to smile!
Dave & Paula

Five things I never though I'd hear my wife say

1. "It was OK, but it wasn't the best yucca I've ever had."

2. "Remember, DON'T flush the toilet paper."

3. "GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL!!!!!"

4. "This must be an OK store - there are guys with automatic weapons out front."

5. "Boy, it'll be great to get back to Bogotá!"

We hope you're learning new things also.

Dave & Paula

Thanksgiving greetings from Boston! Hotel Boston, that is!

We are in Sincelejo, Colombia on a mission health trip with the President of the Colombia Barranquilla Mission, after spending a couple of days in that city on the coast, where we gave a lesson to a meeting of the young missionaries on ingrown toenails, fungal skin infections, and other exciting themes.  We also visited local clinics and doctors to thank them and assess care of the missionaries.

We were lucky enough to stay in a hotel with a swimming pool, so we swam for 30 minutes on Thanksgiving morning, after not getting much exercise for a couple of days.  (We "Senior Missionaries" are allowed to do such.)

After sitting in the sun for a bit, we loaded up and headed up the road toward Sincelejo.

It was a six-hour drive, made all the more exciting by swerving motorcycles, passing slow trucks, cows on the road, broken motorcycles, etc.

We stopped along the way for a hearty meal, and were truly thankful for it. The boiled yucca and grilled chicken went great with the excellent lemonade.

So, tonight we're in Sincelejo, a city of about 200,000 souls, in a humble hotel.

In an unusual turn of events, I've been reviewing missionary applications, while Paula eats ice cream from the grocery store next door and in good Thanksgiving tradition, watches football, er, futbol on TV.

Tomorrow, I speak to another Zone Conference about health, and try to find good docs the missionaries can use in the future here in town.

We are truly thankful for a lot. We are in good health, and are blessed to have the opportunity to serve here in Colombia, hopefully enabling the missionaries to stay healthy and continue their work. We are thankful for great children and parents, and for the world's goods that we've been leant so that we can serve. We're grateful for good friends that support us through their prayers, and pray that you've had a good Thanksgiving!

Have some more leftovers!

Dave & Paula

It's beginning to look a lot like...you know what!

We're a little bummed that we'll be in Barranquilla and Sincelejo for Thanksgiving, as the North American senior missionaries in Bogotá are planning a big turkey dinner followed by leftovers and football games. However, duty calls.

The city is meanwhile starting to get decorated for the real holiday - Christmas!

Paying the light bill, we ran in to Santa Claus, who looks like he's been trimming down a little - I dunno, maybe he walks a lot, like everyone else in Colombia, to deliver stuff to the little kids.

They really go all out here, and start early. This apartment building is already dolled up with fake log cabin appurtenances around the windows and what look like polar bears walking among the fake evergreens.
This one was a little worrisome, but hey, I'm just a visitor. It looks like Santa(s) are rappelling down from this high-rise apartment, complete with animals. I considered calling the cops, thinking perhaps we were witnessing pet larceny, but was reassured by a friend that it was just a bizarre example of Christmas decorating.
Anyway, I'm told that we have seen only the teeniest tip of the proverbial iceberg. The kids here are out of school from mid-November to mid-February. Because the seasons don't really change, I guess they figure that centering vacation around Christmas is as good as any other time, and family trips and vacations tend to be taken during this time. Students are also given a month off in June-July.

We are also told, and have come to easily believe, that the already chaotic traffic gets even worse at this time of the year. This was a side street a couple of days ago from another apartment.

Also, don't even think of sending us that expensive gift you had in mind. For instance, if you were thinking of sending me Led Zeppelin IV, to which I probably shouldn't listen anyway, figuring I'm a missionary for a couple of years, the following charges would apply from Amazon.com:

the disk itself - $10.84 USD (Wow - these guys' cachet must be evaporating!)

import tax to Colombia - $14.63 USD (we call this an "import tax" as opposed to the much uglier "bribe")

shipping (and this is where they really chomp down) - $32.98 USD

Grand Total - $58.45.

OK, for 3,000 Colombian pesos (about $1.62 USD), I can buy a perfectly good pirated copy of the same album, so really, it doesn't make any sense. What we really want for Christmas is that you continue to read the blog, and send us a note from time to time.

Love,

Dave & Paula

Rain every day is also the mother of invention

As we have mentioned before, rain has been a reliable daily occurrence here in Bogotá. Last week, after having to step through foot-deep rivers of cold water in a particularly heavy shower on a 10-block walk home, we realized that something needed to be done.

That something was to make a shoe dryer.

OK, to be fair, we've had one of these at home ever since our good-buddy-since-medical-school Dr. E.W.Trice gave us the Mark III model on a windsurfing trip, where these machines prevent the development of the putrefying stench characteristic of wetsuit booties by Day 3. However, would we be able to find the specialized parts needed to construct one in Bogotá? Is Coach K a genius?

Bogotá is rife with hole-in-the-wall shops of every persuasion. One of these is a great ferretería (no, that's a hardware store, not a ferret shop) not too far from the office. It's about 25x25x8 feet in size, but amazing in its proffered ware and its proprietor.

I first asked if he had any PVC pipe. He said, "Look up. What size do you want"

Of course, he had the right sizes, the fitting, the glue, and the hack saw. However, when I mentioned that I would probably have to go to a computer repair place for the fan, he said, "What size?" After a few seconds, he came back with several, and we chose one.

As we collected parts, he finally asked, "What is up with all this stuff?" or the equivalent in Spanish. Answering back much less elegantly, and describing the proposed machine, you could suddenly see the lights go on, the wheels start turning, and there was no turning back. Pretty soon, he had engineered the whole thing.

All that was left to me was to saw,

drill,

glue,

and wire,

while Paula studied her Spanish for the day,

and the motorcycle delivery guy brought the pizza to the folks next door, (in the rain)

and before you knew it, we had the Trice Shoe Dryer, Bogotá Mark IV model.

And it worked!

When we were back at the hardware store for something else, I mentioned to the owner that he really should have been an engineer, and that he could have the patent rights for Colombia. I could see the wheels start turning again.

We hope your shoes stay dry, too!

Dave & Paula Henderson

The Mission Presidents

One of the greatest honors I have in my assignment as an Area Medical Advisor is aiding the of Presidents in our three countries of the South America Northwest Area, those of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.

We were invited to a Mission Presidents' Seminar of the entire area (including Peru and Bolivia) recently in Peru, arriving in Lima and heading south along the barren coast to the meeting place.

As usual, Paula studied along the way,

while I pondered the passing countryside,

which frankly wasn't very inviting.

Once there, the Presidents and their wives were taught by the Area Presidency for three days.

Mission Presidents are called by the 1st Presidency of the Church by inspiration to serve for three years. Many are still working when the call arrives; in the group below you'll find the head of South American sales for a billion-dollar piping company, a Chief Administrative Judge for the state of California, the Human Resources director for the Church in Venezuela, and a former Regional Manager for the FAA. All are asked to leave whatever they are doing and lead the 150 to 240 young missionaries in one of the 340 geographical missions of the Church.

The Mission Presidents' wives are called and set apart to work right at their husband's side, often bringing along growing kids. Their duties include looking after the health of the young missionaries, and so I interact with them frequently.

It was a very useful conference for Paula and I, as we got to know face-to-face the folks we'd be working with for the next two years.

One of the rules by which the missionaries are to live is a 30-minute exercise period each morning. What's good for them is good for us, so Paula and I do the same. It was a particularly good idea at the seminar, as getting to know the Mission Presidents occurred over more food than usual. We walked along the quiet coast most mornings.

One evening we were feted by a group of Peruvian LDS youth who also burned off some calories.

Although getting used to Bogotá and trying to learn my job has been a challenge, I couldn't be serving with a more hardworking, spiritually sensitive and kind bunch of people. As a friend once said who works in rarefied air as one of GE's top legal folks, "As opposed to my work, the closer you get to these people, the better they look."

We hope you're doing well, and that I can figure out how to translate "Frequent Flyer Card" for the lady at the Avianca office before next Tuesday afternoon.

Dave & Paula