Saturday, December 30, 2023
Today is a new day, in a new place. We had a great time in Hermosillo, but I’m really looking forward to being here in Guaymas. Betty was born and raised in Empalme, which is just a few minutes away. This is where I proposed to her. It’s one of my favorite places in the world.
This morning in my scripture study I finished reading the New Testament. We’ve been reading it all year for church, and I’ve loved it. I was particularly struck by a couple of verses in Revelation 22.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
These last days are full of all kinds of wild and crazy and sometimes scary things. But the overall message is one of hope and light. That was John’s witness, and because of that, he was excited about the coming of the Savior. It reminds me of when Patricia Holland -- in a moment of fear spurred by world turmoil and a strong windstorm -- asked her husband, the apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, if this was the end.
My husband, who has deep faith and endless optimism, took me in his arms and said, "No, but wouldn't it be wonderful if it were? Wouldn't it be wonderful if Christ really did come and his children really were ready for him? Wouldn't it be terrific if evil was finally conquered, once and for all, and the Savior of the world came down in the midst of the New Jerusalem to wipe away every tear from every eye? Yes," my husband said, "in lots of ways I wish it were the end, but it's not. It is just a stiff windstorm in Bountiful. We have got more work to do." So, he kissed me and drove off to work, with trees falling and rafters rattling.
That’s how I want to face life. Hoping and praying for the Savior’s return, but also willing to do the work necessary to be ready for it when it comes. We’ve still got miles to go before we sleep.
After scripture study, Betty and David and I went for a walk along the beach. Miramar is beautiful. The last time I was here was when Ian was two -- nine years ago. I love the beach. I love the birds and the sound of the waves. I should have been born in California.
After the walk, we had breakfast, and Betty told me that she had lost access to her phone. It was asking for her login password, and she had put it in incorrectly a bunch of times, and now was bricked for 8 hours. I asked if she was sure she had put in the right password, and she assured me that she had. I tried to plug it into the computer to wipe it and start it fresh, but the download wasn’t working. This is a problem.
Later, we took the kids to the beach. They had fun playing in the water, but they didn’t have swimming suits with them, so they just splashed around. Only Ian took the plunge. The Mexicans think the water is too cold, but we all think it’s perfect.
We also realized how much Alicia and her cousin Dairén look alike.
We are definitely coming back to this beach.
After getting cleaned up back at the house, we went to see Betty’s Tía Cháncali. This is Betty’s mother’s youngest sister and David’s mom. She’s a sweet lady, and she has always been kind to Betty. She was a cosmetologist and had a salon in her house, and she also taught classes there. She is not a young woman anymore, but she is still beautiful. It was great for the kids to meet her.
By the time we finished with Cháncali it was too late to go back to the beach. Ian was not happy about that because he was really looking forward to getting back in the water. I think he’s also just exhausted, and tired of speaking Spanish everywhere. Our kids all speak Spanish, but they aren’t used to speaking all the time, and it’s mentally really draining. He’s also tired of Mexican food. So we found a restaurant called Doney, and they had a hamburger. It was a tender mercy.
Only Ian got a hamburger, though. The rest of us got tacos and quesadillas. And Betty got something she had never had. It’s called a papa loca (crazy potato), and it’s a baked potato smothered in chiles en rajas con queso, which are sliced Anaheim peppers, corn, potatoes and cheese in a creamy sauce. They were amazing.
When we got home, we loaded in the car and headed across the bay to Empalme to visit Betty’s mom (the kids’ abuelita) and Betty’s brother, Raymundo.
Empalme used to be a railroad town. The rail cars used to stop there for maintenance. Her grandfather was a train conductor, and her father was superintendent of the railroad there. So there were lots of people coming and going, but it was also pretty small -- and everyone knew each other. It was also a fishing town. They called it the ciudad jardín (garden city). When Betty was a teenager, though, they closed the railroad, and US companies started putting up factories in the area. It was safe and peaceful, and beautiful. Betty grew up in her grandmother’s house -- a big rambler close to the ocean. It was white on the outside and beige on the inside, and it had big columns in the front. There were two big mango trees in the front, and orange, lime, guava, and papaya trees all around -- and roses. It was a shady oasis, and Betty used to spend time playing with her cousins climbing trees and playing hide and seek in the yard. They ran all around the neighborhood. It was a good place to grow up.
Empalme today has changed.
First of all, it has grown. Now there are around 60,000 people there. The economy has completely crashed. Much of the town is in disrepair or ruins. The streets are in terrible condition. There are far more stray dogs in the streets than children. The drug trade has taken over, and the narcos run much of the town. The people lock themselves in their homes at night. There are neighborhoods where it’s just not safe at all to go. We were told that for about $25, you can have someone killed. The whole place feels dark and depressed.
That is the environment we traveled into when we went, in the night, to visit Betty’s mom. The kids had some trepidation about the visit there. They just haven’t had much contact with her over the years. But she was so happy to see them, and so warm and kind. She had a little picture of Alicia that Betty had sent to her years ago tucked away in a little ziplock bag, and she had a well-worn photo book of the kids that we sent to her a couple of years ago in a prominent place. It’s clear that she loves her grandkids.
Abuelita and Raymundo live in a small section of the house. One of Raymundo’s friends, an artist, painted a huge mural of Rapunzel on the wall of the driveway. The kids loved it. The part of the house where they live is -- like most of the rest of Empalme -- in pretty bad shape. The rest of the house is abandoned.
The experience of being there was good, but it was hard for the kids to process it all. They were able to see where Betty comes from, but things have changed so much since she lived here, that it’s just hard to imagine it all.
And now a word about our sweet Alicia. More than any of our kids, she is a nurturer and a caretaker. She has spent most of her life looking out for her siblings -- older and younger. She and River are especially close. She is kind and good. She is also razor sharp and a keen observer of people and society, and she has a strong sense of justice and a fierce loyalty to and desire to protect the people she cares about. She came out of the visit with some really intense emotions, and even when we got back to David’s house she needed some time to cool off. So she and Betty took a long walk while I took the kids into the house.
I was not prepared for what I met there.
David and Irene were entertaining a couple of friends -- Sergio and his wife Chuyita. Sergio has a larger-than-life personality. He used to be a cop, and now he is head of security for some executives who work in Guaymas. He’s a lover of history, and he’s fascinated with tornadoes, and within just a few minutes we were chatting like old friends. At one point he just told me to stand up and hold out my arms, then he wrapped me in this huge bear hug and started popping my back and my arms and then each of my fingers. Ian looked at me and said “Dad! What is happening?!” To which I replied “I have no idea!”
We’ll be visiting them for lunch on Monday :)
Now it’s 3am, the kids have finally gone to bed, but Betty and Irene are still downstairs talking. It’s been quite a day.
