Guatemala Quetzaltenango Mission

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1. Forgotten passwords...
2. How to send reunion notices to Mission.net alumni...
3. Finding meetinghouses, members, and former companions...
4. Serving the people of Guatemala...
5. Languages...
6. Sickness and healthcare...
7. Mail and packages...
8. Mission boundaries, terrain, habitat, and weather...
9. Food preparation, housing, and laundry...
10. Coats for cold and rainy weather...
11. Clothing colors...
12. Camera equipment...
13. Backpacks...
14. Getting printed Church materials in English (scriptures, books, etc.)

A - Here are instructions on how to obtain your password.

A - To post a reunion notice on the site and send e-mail to the relevant people, go to

http://www.mission.net/guatemala/quetzaltenango/reunions.php?action=add

and follow the instructions there. You can choose to have e-mails sent to all of the alumni for one or more presidents by holding down the CTRL key while selecting presidents from the list. Be sure to include as many details as possible (including the correct date) to ensure that people know the "Who, What, When, Where" of the reunion. See the reunion planning guidelines and tips for more information.

Each time you update the reunion notice, an e-mail is sent out to the alumni for the president(s) you selected notifying them of the changes.

A - The Church has a "Membership Contact" service through the Member and Statistical Records Division. To find out more, go to Mission.net's information page.

A list of meetinghouse locations for Quetzaltenango can be found at mormon.org by selecting a city. If a particular meeting house is not shown on mormon.org, what you may be able to do is contact the Church operator at 801-240-1000 who might be able to connect you to a department that has this information.

I can tell you that there is a chapel right next door to the mission offices and another up the street from the mission home itself. The address for the mission office is listed under the question "Mail and packages..."

If on a bus or driving, ask to get to La Rotonda (a traffic circle) in Quetzaltenango. It's near the large eastern hill called "Cerro Baul" on your way out of Quetzaltenango on the road toward Cuatro Caminos or "four roads" (going east/northeast). You'll go a little north of La Rotonda and turn left (west) onto a dirt road. The chapel is the first building on your right and the mission office is right next to it. If you get lost, the office phone numbers are listed under the question "Sickness and healthcare...". You'll want to call them on a day other than Sunday, though.

A - If you have recently been called as a missionary to any Guatemalan mission, you may indeed count yourself among the fortunate. The people of Guatemala are deeply spiritual. Everything they do in life has symbolism and spiritual meaning for them. Often you will hear the phrase "Si Dios quiere", which is their way of saying "God willing" in deferrence to God's ultimate influence in our lives.

There are varying economic conditions among the people, which conditions are also influenced by the particular mix of ethnicity a person or group of people have. See the article TILAN - Access in Guatemala, which focuses mainly on the patterns of Internet adoption in Guatemala, but also has good information on the cultural and historical background of her people.

In general, the ethnic Mayan groups (Mam, Quiche, etc.) tend to fall in the category of the most poverty stricken. Because of their poverty, they also tend to be the most humble and receptive whenever the Gospel is presented to them. They may not always accept baptism, but they will 9 times out of 10 allow missionaries into their homes in a welcoming manner.

Some prospective missionaries have asked if there is anything that they should be aware of that would make getting to know the people of Guatemala easier. One of the best forms of advice I can think of is to avoid what is known today as the "Ugly American Syndrome", but which term could arguably be applied to any foreign visitor to an unfamiliar culture. Many times, when Americans are traveling or working abroad, we tend to think of people and cultures in an American context. It's not that we do it purposefully, but, as with any foreign experience, it takes time to get used to the way other nations conduct their lives and relate to others.

For this reason, sometimes we Americans have an unconcious tendency to want to "change" the cultural behaviors or mindsets of the people.

For example, American-born missionaries who feel that it is important to be 10 minutes early to every church meeting may find it frustrating that in Latin America, it's perfectly acceptable to be 10 minutes late to a church meeting. Usually, people's reasons for being late are that they had stopped to talk to a friend or to do a favor for someone, not that they are indifferent or rude.

But while our efforts to "reform" this behavior may seem to us as Americans to be benevolent, people in Latin American and other cultures might find this offensive and turn away from the message the missionaries are there to present.

Therefore, the way to go is to simply tolerate the relatively insignificant cultural differences that may initially cause annoyance, and make a sincere effort to "blend in" (without, of course, breaking mission rules in the process).

To further understand how Latin American people tend to relate with people in their own culture and with others, see a businessperson's guide to culture. You'll also do yourself a favor by reading the World Citizen Guide. Despite its focus on tourist behaviors, most of it is applicable to missionaries as well. (You will need Adobe Reader to see this page.)

A -The principal language of the Guatemala Quetzaltenango mission is Spanish. At this point in the progress of the Church in Guatemala, most missionaries will be able to teach almost exclusively in the Spanish language. There are areas of the mission, however, where knowing a Mayan dialect or having access to translators will broaden the associations you will be able to have with the people.

It is a good idea to prepare for these situations by obtaining and studying dictionaries of words and phrases in the Mam (pronounced "Mom") and Quiche (pronounced "key-chay") dialects. (A dialect is a distinctive variety of language that descends from a parent language and is spoken in a particular region or by a particular group.)

Don R. McFall, one of the Mam translators for General Conference, has provided a web site with useful dictionaries and word lists.

Where I served in the Momostenango area, I was tutored in Quiche by a native speaker. I have turned my notes into a basic guide for future missionaries.

A - When I was a missionary in the Quetzaltenango mission, the mission was always very concerned about the health of the missionaries. I'm sure it has only improved since then. There were usually at least two sister missionaries trained in basic first aid, injections of necessary vaccines, and who knew which doctors and/or hospitals were the best to contact for various health issues.

There are also well-trained, mission-approved doctors both in Quetzaltenango and in Guatemala City (a 4-hour drive from the mission home). The Church is usually very careful to select medical professionals and facilities that come as close as possible to standards of medication and health care found in the U.S.

For these reasons, I'm sure the mission would discourage you from sending medications to your missionary due to the fact that getting and sending regular letters can be difficult and the medications might get lost or used to the detriment of another person. Your missionary might also already be receiving treatment for these ailments and taking the extra medication might cause further complications.

Mission.net and its mission alumni web sites are not connected nor affliated with the Church in any way, nor are we qualified to give medical advice. We are simply a group of returned missionaries who share a common interest in our missions. If you have further questions about your missionary's health and well-being, we encourage you to contact your Stake President who can help you contact the Church missionary department and/or the mission office.

Mission Office Phone 1:

Also, I would like any suggestions on mailing packages to Guatemala, any help would be greatly appreciated. I have sent my missionary 4 packages and he hasn't received one yet.

Better yet, does the Alumni site have a way to get a message to our missionary via e-mail?

A - Let's answer the last question first. Sorry, we have no way to contact individual missionaries or even the mission office via e-mail. Since this site and Mission.net is a private endeavor not officially (or even unofficially) connected or affiliated with the Church or the mission, we cannot provide this service.

Recently the Church announced that missionaries, who were once banned from using e-mail at all, can now send and receive e-mails on a limited basis. See the January 9th, 2002 Deseret News article about this.

However, Mission.net still requests that only the e-mail address of a family member of the missionary be the primary point of contact listed under the missionary's profile. But feel free to keep us updated on your missionary's progress!

What we can do, however, is give you advice based on our own experiences about how to more successfully send and receive packages and mail.

Getting mail to and from Guatemala has been a frustrating exercise for some families while other families experience few or no problems at all. There really isn't a single reason why mail gets to and from some missionaries and not others, though problem factors may include postal strikes, simple theft, loss due to faulty postal procedures, or security threats on the U.S. side of receiving mail.

However, things are looking up for the Guatemalan postal system. Sister Gayle Soren, who currently (2001) has a missionary in the Quetzaltenango mission, writes:

We finally heard from Elder Soren, and he loves his mission.

He wrote the mail system there has improved greatly. It was purchased by Canada. Missionaries are actually receiving their packages. Just as a precaution, the senders should not write specifically what is in the box, but just say it is "missionary supplies."

His first letter took fourteen days, as it was sent to the wrong address. His second letter only took ten days, and we received it the day after the first one.

Another reason for delays is the fact that, depending on where a missionary lives, it may be difficult to get a letter into the Guatemalan postal system. Usually, if there is not a reliable post office in the missionary's area of proseletyzing, missionaries deliver their letters to the zone leader who then either mails them from his area's post office or delivers them to the mission office where they are put into Pouch or picked up by the Guatemalan postal system. Because of this, there can be a delay of up to two weeks (or more depending on the zone leader's circumstances) before a letter even starts the delivery process.

Another thing that I saw happen with several elders and sisters when I was there can happen in any mission. Sometimes missionaries become so busy with the details of the work and with other distractions (such as illness) that they don't write as much or they become absent-minded and forget to include the details that would be important to their parents (such as whether they're healthy or not). It's a pretty strange phenomenon, but I did the same thing to my mom. Sometimes she would send me letters saying "Did you get the package we sent?" and then I would remember that I got a package about a month ago, but forgot to write home to say thank you and that it got there.

There are a couple of things you can do to increase the likelihood (notice I didn't say guarantee) that your son or daughter will get packages.

1. Try to get access to a can sealer. You can usually find one at the nearest LDS food storage processing center. Buy a can big enough for what you want to send and use the can sealer to make sure that anyone lacking a can opener will not have easy access to the goodies. It costs a bit more to send the metal can because of the increased weight, but it's a pretty secure way to send a package.
2. On any packages you send, try drawing religious symbols such as a crucifix, the Virgin Mary, etc. or write religious messages in Spanish in the package. Most times people will respect these packages more because it is considered taboo to break into it and steal the contents of packages when they have religious symbols or messages. It might not seem proper to use religious symbols to manipulate people's sense of right and wrong, but then it isn't proper for anyone to break into packages either.
3. Due to long delays that can occur, don't send any food items that can spoil along the way unless you're sure that their packaging will preserve them well along the journey. Cookies tend to be nothing but crumbs or chocolate syrup by the time they make it to a missionary in Central America. This is due to the long, bumpy, hot journey and processing delays at the post office there.

Generally letters (and only letters, no packages) sent via the church Pouch system are more successful in being delivered.

LDS Church Pouch Address:

Packages are best sent using a private courier, but have been known to arrive through regular mail. You can send letters and packages for missionaries directly to the mission office.

Post office box for the mission:

Address of the Mission Office:

A - Here is what I believe to be a current map of the Quetzaltenango mission boundaries.

If your mission papers contain a map with mission boundary lines clearly indicated, please send me a photocopy.

As for climate and terrain, congratulations! You've been called to the land Guatemalans call "La Tierra de la Eterna Primavera" or "The Land of Eternal Spring". Although some mission alumni reading this who have ever taken a bucket shower in the colder highlands of Momostenango might disagree, this is largely a true statement since it never snows there.

Guatemala and Central America in general have a climate ranging from temperate to Tropical depending on the elevation. The most "cold weather" clothing you'll need is a medium weight jacket (with a hood is good). You'll want to have short-sleeved white shirts for the coast.

Elevations range from sea level on the coast to above 8000 feet in the highlands. Temperature highs and lows change depending on where you serve within this range. You may wake to frost on the ground which burns off gradually throughout the mid-morning, or you may wake to blissfully warm weather (or "dreadfully hot" depending on your preference for temperature). Coastal areas tend to be rather humid, especially during the rainy season. Highland areas tend to be less humid, though they do not escape the humidity when the rain comes. Here is a map of precipitation patterns in Central America.

Speaking of rain...prepare for it. Lots of it. Between the months of October and April or May the weather is relatively dry (and dusty if you're in the highlands). But come late May and into early September, carry your umbrella with you wherever you go. It tends to rain most between the hours of noon and six or seven in the evening. Sometimes it's a continuous, driving jungle rain and other times it's a slow, drizzly rain.

Here is more information about Guatemala weather.

The terrain itself depends on where you are. On the Pacific coastal lowlands, the terrain is mostly made up of rolling hills and livestock pasture mixed with coastal jungle. As you move northeast of the Pacific, there is a sharp rise in terrain due to the jutting upward of the volcanic ring of mountains called the Sierra Madre. The terrain is steep and precarious--especially if you're looking at it from the window of a "chicken bus" while traversing sharp switchbacks. But the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful! After passing through Quetzaltenango, you rise again through the Momostenango area and then fall a bit into the somewhat warmer valley of Huehuetenango, where, again, another mountain range called the Cuchumatanes rises to the northeast. The furthest area north known to have been opened as a mission area is Barillas, which is a twelve hour bus ride through the Cuchumatanes mountain range.

Here is an interactive map of the mission. Just move your mouse over the map and look at your browser's status bar (very bottom) for a description of what you're pointing at.

Here is another map in greater detail.

Check out About Quetzaltenango and Mission Survival 101 for more information.

A - Missionaries tend to live in any of three types of dwellings; rented apartments, pensions, or in the home of members or non- members. Where a missionary lives in Guatemala will usually be determined by location, cost, and circumstances, and will determine how food and laundry are taken care of.

Laundry: Many times missionaries pay for their laundry to be done by someone offering that service. Preferably it will be a member of the Church due to the sacred nature of some of the clothing being washed. In fact, I vaguely remember a rule being made around 1995 (just when I was leaving the mission) stating that all missionaries had to have their clothes washed by an endowed member of the Church. It isn't unheard of for missionaries to do their own laundry as well, though it does tend to take a huge chunk of one's P-Day. You know what they say...all work and no play makes missionaries trunky (homesick).

As for how laundry is done, I believe there are one or two Laundromats with washers and driers in Quetzaltenango and possibly a few other larger towns. But, due to the fact that missionaries are spread out into many more remote areas, don't count on being able to do laundry at a Laundromat. 99% of missionary laundry is done the old-fashioned way...on the rocks. In all of my areas, we would deliver our laundry to a woman whom we would pay to do our laundry. She would soak all of the clothes in a pila (big cement tub with a spigot) and then wash each article of clothing one at a time on a cement washboard (usually attached to the side of the pila) with a big ball of soap. It makes the clothes pretty threadbare by the end of your mission, but they sure are clean. Many times, as well, they would iron our clothes (even our socks and handkerchiefs!) as part of their services. White shirts and underclothing are bleached during almost every wash.

One problem with the humidity and weather there was that our clothes took a long time to dry during the rainy season. As a consequence, we sometimes had to double up on clothing (when in Rome!) to make do until everything was dry enough to take home.

Food Preparation: Again, depending on where missionaries live, they will prepare their own food, pay for prepared meals from a pension or individuals, get some meals through member sign-ups to feed the missionaries, or a combination of all of the above.

A big emphasis is made by nearly every mission president (especially by his wife) on proper food preparation. Missionaries receive handouts at the MTC and again in the mission field on how to properly prepare food and water for consumption as well as what to eat and what not to eat to ensure proper nutrition and health. This is a big issue for missionaries because every day spent sick at home is a day lost in the Lord's work.

But, the number of missionaries who _never_ get sick, even when they follow food preparation guidelines to the letter, is very small if not zero. Eating food in any foreign country will give you some kind of gastro-intestinal discomfort or another due to the fact that bacteria in the food (even the friendly bacteria) is different from what one is used to in one's home country. We call this "traveler's stomach". In the mission lingo, for the longest time, it's been called "Bu" (pronounced BOO, probably for the way it sneaks up on you in the middle of discussions with investigators).

Even preparing food to exact mission specifications doesn't shield missionaries from the generous hospitality of members and investigators. The Guatemalan people are often very poor and are struggling or unable to provide food for their own families, but when missionaries come knocking their generous spirits kick into gear and they will prepare something for them to eat or drink.

While this generosity is very much appreciated by missionaries, the problem arises that many times the food and water has NOT been prepared to mission specifications. In those cases, it's not totally out of line to ask if the water in a prepared drink has been boiled for 3 minutes prior to serving. I would be careful about the manner of asking if the food has been cooked right, though. Guatemalans are humble, but they also know when someone is suspicious of the quality of their hospitality, though they usually won't show it outwardly.

The "prepared drinks" I referred to are usually a corn mush drink called "atol" (ah-TOHL) or a grain-based, Postum-like coffee called "cafe de trigo" or, more simply, "cafe". The atol is usually okay once you get used to the texture (kind of like drinking watered-down creamed corn mixed with sugar if you want to try to get used to it before you go there). The cafe de trigo is also very good if prepared with the right ingredients. Speaking of ingredients, missionaries should always ask whether the "cafe" being offered is "de los cafetales" (real coffee from the coffee fields) or if it is "de trigo" (grain-based) before drinking up. The same goes with various teas that are served. Some are the kind Mormons can drink, and some are not.

In general, missionaries will tend to lose weight (from 5 to as much as 20 pounds or more). This is due, in part, to the lesser variety of foods (and nutrition) in the daily diet of the country and, in part, to the fact that missionaries walk everywhere they go. Assistents to the President, of course, tend to gain weight since they eat more nutrient-rich meals at the mission home and tend to drive a lot more.

Depending on your current weight and health status, losing weight in the mission can be a great benefit of serving the Lord!

A - Choose a jacket that would keep you warm and dry during a typical fall season in the United States. In other words, it should be waterproof and have a warm but thin lining, preferrably with a hood. It should also be a conservative color (black or navy blue) and without loud designs or logos in order to keep from distracting from the missionary image. For color information, see the next question.

I took a long London Fog raincoat to my mission but the only time I used it was in the MTC. I had bought it with the mental image of a typical missionary outfit in mind. But I found upon finishing a month in my first "cold" area in the mission that its length restricted my ability to move fluidly when hiking up steep hills and running to catch a bus. It was also just too bulky to carry around after the day warmed up at around noon.

So, I bought several yards of tipica (natively woven) cloth with a conservative color scheme of the thicker variety that can be found in Guatemala and had a tailor make a jacket with a hood. I had him add an extra layer of plain black tipica lining to the inside for extra warmth, which turned out to be just right. Around noon, when it was warmer, I could take it off and tie it around my waist by the sleeves. It wasn't exactly waterproof, but it did a pretty good job of keeping me dry as long as I had an umbrella.

I still have that jacket to this day and I hate to think of the day that it becomes too threadbare to wear it anymore because of the good times it reminds me of.

A - Basically the Church asks Elders to wear conservative colors, so something like bright red, bright green, or flourescent colors would not be okay. There's not an official color list of any kind that I've ever seen (maybe the new papers that came with your call have one nowadays) but "conservative" has generally meant darker, subdued shades of black, brown, navy, green (usually a Hunter or Forest green), etc. that don't draw attention to the messenger and away from the message itself.

Generally the mission frowns on ties that have "loud" patterns and colors or cartoon characters as the theme as they tend to distract people (especially teens and kids) from the message you bring.

When in doubt, be sure to check with the missionary department. The number should be listed in your papers.

A - Because of the rugged nature of the lifestyle of most living and working conditions in Guatemala, you're going to want to bring a camera that can withstand some amount of abuse. While hiking on preparation days, or simply dropping it occasionally on the concrete floors or bumping it into concrete walls, I found that the more rugged the camera, the better.

Choose a camera that is reasonably water-resistant, doesn't have a lot of moving parts, and doesn't have a lot of sensitive electronic components that can be easily ruined by dust, moisture, heat, or cold. Digital cameras are not recommended as they require a computer to download and save images (unless you want to end up buying two years' worth of memory cartridges). Digital cameras also fall into the category of cameras with environmentally sensitive components that will be easily damaged.

Another argument for keeping camera equipment simple and inexpensive is that it will be less tempting for someone with an inclination towards thievery to steal the less expensive camera.

Missionaries are reminded in the MTC and in the field to not carry cameras in plain view as it makes them appear to others as tourists, rather than the authorized representatives of the Lord. There will certainly be times when you want to carry your camera with you proselyting or on preparation days (to take pictures of families you teach, landmarks, natural settings, etc.), so be sure you have something to carry it in so that it is concealed.

However, if you can also find a small, lightweight, extremely portable or table-top tripod that can also be concealed, you will be better able to take pictures in situations where you want to be in a group shot, but there is nobody else around to take the picture for you. I bought a small tripod when I was there that easily fit into my bag and unfolded to about stomach-height when fully extended.

• Example of a table-top tripod
• Example of a fully extendable, lightweight, and portable tripod

Developing film was expensive in 1993-1995, but prices may have dropped since then. Because of high development costs, I typically only developed film in Guatemala when I knew that someone wanted a picture as a keepsake for their baptism. In those cases, I had only the negatives printed (much cheaper), then selected the prints that people wanted as keepsakes from the negatives for development. Most development shops will allow you to do this. Then, I sent the negatives home, along with commentary annotated with the numbers from the negatives, via Pouch mail so that my parents could develop them at lower prices and instantly see what I was experiencing. It was better than having to wait until I got home to see it all (and paying a huge, up-front film development bill). Pouch mail may no longer accept film negatives being sent, so be sure to check with the missionary department before you try that.

A - The main reason that the Church prefers missionaries not carry backpacks is that they want the image of missionaries to be as far from that of students and tourists as possible.

When I was in Guatemala, our mission president, President Gonzalez, made a rule that sisters were not to carry backpacks and recommended against it for Elders as well. This was because in Guatemala there are a lot of American tourists and students who can be easily identified as such by the fact that they carry backpacks. The sisters, because of their more conventional dress as compared to the Elders, would have been a lot harder to differentiate.

It is probably a good idea to wait to buy a backpack until you can talk to your mission president in person about what the rule is in the mission. He has discretion to modify some general rules to suit the needs of the mission and it may be that he does, or doesn't, allow backpacks.

But my personal recommendation, for proselyting purposes, is that you keep what you tote as minimal and as simple as possible as you go about daily visits. See Mission Survival 101 (Myth #245) for more detail.

A - Good question. Missionaries have been known to lose their English scriptures and other books during a move from one area to another. Also, some expatriate non-missionary members of the Church from English-speaking countries may want to purchase a new or replacement set of scriptures. After some reasearch at the Church distribution site, I found two ways to get them. The easiest and cheapest in terms of shipping might be for you (or, if you're a missionary, for the Assistents to the President) to go to one of the Church's worldwide distribution centers in Guatemala City.

Address of the Church Distribution Center in Guatemala:

If they don't have them or if they aren't open anymore, go to ldscatalog.com and search for "LDS scriptures" to purchase online.

Shipping information can be found at https://www.ldscatalog.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/lds/ShippingInfo.jsp?
catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&langId=-1

A table of international shipping rates (see the "Lane B Freight Prices" table) is found at https://www.ldscatalog.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/lds/IntlShipping.jsp?
catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&langId=-1

It looks like for a single quadruple combination, the shipping by ordering from the web site would be between $39.10 and $44.20.

If you're a missionary, I'm certain your mission president would frown upon your purchasing these things online, so it would probably be best to request a copy from the local distribution center through the mission office and wait until it is made available. Alternatively you could have your parents mail you a set. See "Mail and packages..."