bizarro

Strange things happen. Even on Sunday -in church. It was our second Sunday here. The first Sunday was general conference which we saw at our stake center. This second Sunday began with a fast and testimony meeting and proceeded into an hour of Sunday School and then a final hour of Priesthood meetings and Relief Society meetings. At the beginning of the final hour an alarm began to sound. Loud and intrusive, it was barely tolerable even with the classroom door closed. We dutifully continued the matters at hand until someone from the bishopric came into the classroom and told us all to leave the building immediately. There was a burglary going on in the building! We all went out into a patio area/parking lot and witnessed a drama unfold. Several police were on the roof looking for an intruder who had set off alarm in a bishops office before escaping with the computer and a box of shirts that had been used in athletic events. He had gone up through the ceiling tiles in the bishops office and somehow made his way onto the roof. He was hiding in a corner rolled up in a fetal position. A small movement of a foot drew the attention of one of the officers and they had him. After some difficulty they got him down from the roof and hauled hime away.
There had been another burglary earlier that same morning! Three people had broken into the bishops storehouse and had taken several boxes of commodities outside and stacked them up. The security company responded and were able to capture one man. The other two climbed the fence and escaped. At the hearing/sentencing of the man, the stake president was asked if he had seen the man actually holding one of the boxes. The stake president admitted that he had not seen him hold a box so the man was released.
The later robber had HIV and would have been sent to a hospital but the judge was tough on him and sentenced him to thirty days in jail.
The legal system here doesn't drag on and on like ours. These guys were dealt with the very same day as the crime. That may be a good thing. The other "good thing" is that very few people have guns here. If there were a proliferation of guns here, crime could be a lot worse. As it is, only the police, the military, a few with special permits, and a few bad guys have guns.
An event that took place the first few days after our arrival in Ecuador may give a glimpse into the psyche and politics of this country (and perhaps much of latino america). There was an altercation between the president of the republic and a group of police that led to the president being taken to the police hospital and later being rescued by a swat team from the military. The national police went on strike for a day allowing lawlessness to go unchecked. Vandalism, looting, stealing cars was widespead throughout the city of Guayaquil and perhaps other parts of the country. The temple was closed for two days as a precautionary measure and the missionaries were told to remain in their apartments until order was restored. By Saturday things were back to normal.
Now, things are back to normal. The temple is functioning and the work is going on. We enjoy meeting the people and assisting in the ordinances as well as doing the other work that has been assigned to us. There are seven senior missionary couples here at the present time with another couple coming next week. Two of the couples are native Ecuadorans. Music lessons continue as well. It is gratifying to see the progress that some of these young people have made in learning to play the keyboard. Thanks to a foundation in Salt Lake City, a keyboard is available to any student to borrow and use for practice. At the present time there are three of us teaching keyboard. Much of our P day is used for piano lessons. It is a rewarding experience.