A rough week for Guatemala

by Leslie Smith:
A friend and missionary mom (Susan Turek) of an Elder in Jordan's district sent a link of photos that give a very graphic view of the destruction and hardships that have hit Guatemala this past week. This is a place where the hardships of poverty plague many of the people and then for all of this to happen as well. It's devastating! Pay attention the first photo and you will see that the massive sinkhole happened practically in the backyard of an LDS chapel (red roof). It's in the northern part of the city and not too far from where Jordan lives.

Click on the link below for many many more incredible, yet very heartbreaking, photos of the damage caused by the volcano and the storms.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/a_rough_week_for_guatemala.html

To top all of this news in Guatemala, one of the elders in Jordan's mission was being escorted during a transfer by the Assistants (AP's, who are just young elders assigned to help the mission president with various duties in running the mission) when they were held up at gunpoint by three men. They stole the mission car, the AP's cell phones, and the luggage that contained all of this elder's mission clothing and supplies. EVERYTHING! They are all safe, thank goodness! Things can be replaced, and while their lives are what is most important, it's still a very devastating story, especially for all of us with missionaries.

I'm thankful for these opportunities that Jordan will have to serve and to see how very blessed we are. He seems happier than ever before even amidst the world falling apart all around him. He loves working hard. He loves making a difference in people's lives. He is seeing the personal rewards that come from living a life dedicated to the service of Jesus Christ. The missionaries are truly an Army of God! I know our Heavenly Father loves them all and protects them with his top ranked angels! I hope He's sending in reinforcements to Guatemala right now!

I pray that things will subside there for a while and that the people will be able to rebuild and receive comfort. Click here http://www.lds.org/library/page/display/0,7098,6433-1-3298-1,00.html to find out how to donate the the LDS Church's Humanitarian Fund. 100% of all funds go directly to helping people all over the world with food, clothing, medical supplies, and housing. Please pray for our missionaries and for all the people of Central America.