text: With the Lord's Help, Elder and Sister Spradlin: Children, Stir Fry and Future Missionaries!
  Children, Stir Fry and Future Missionaries!
  Playing with children has to be one of our greatest joys on our mission. Rosie and her parents finally made it home from the second eye surgery and we got to visit with them on Saturday. She is reaching for things and watching them, warned her sister to watch out for her long hair! It may take another surgery or two in the future for lens implants, but she can see and that is a miracle.
  Two of our young brethren here are teaching English in the schools and we are working with them helping them with lesson plans, activities and materials. They both speak some English, but neither have had formal training beyond High School, they got the jobs because of their English. I can't imagine being a teacher and never having had any teacher development at all- and one of them doesn't even have materials, besides his language study program from his mission. That means his students don't have books either. We are letting him use some of the materials and supplies that we have gathered. We think working with them will be much more effective in the long run than us trying to hold English classes at the church!
  We have a wonderful family in Seamay that always feeds us when we go to their house, so this past weekend we went in and made vegetable stir-fry with them. We took in all of the ingredients, needed to feed 20 people because the extended family comes in and out throughout the day, I chose local vegetables so it can be easily remade. They were a little surprised I think when I added in wisquil (a type of squash) and macuy (a weed, kind of like greens or spinach). It turned out rather bland, should have taken some chili with us, but I think they liked it - and of course they made tortillas to go with it!
  We helped the District President and one Branch President from Chulac fill out missionary forms last week. We are teaching them how to use the computer to do it, they don't have computer or internet access in Chulac, but we met at the Teleman Building and used their computer. It is in the middle for both of us, since Chulac and Senhu are up different mountains about an hour for each of us! We finished one file with them, they have three left to go. Senahu District also finished a missionary file last week and have about 7 in process. The District up here has a goal of getting 40 missionaries out and they are working hard on reaching their goal. To prepare to do a file the future missionary has to go with a leader, or a group of the futures go with a leader to the capitol to the church Dental Clinic (ran by Senior Missionaries) and get their passports while there, some also get their physicals in the capitol, this is at a minimum a two day trip by bus. One problem we are facing is that President Watts has to interview each of these future missionaries and give his recommendation, but he has very little time to get out here and do the interviews with so many other responsibilities and new missionaries entering the field.