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THE FINAL REPORT for 50 YEARS OF TOTAL DEDICATION--of many caring & faithful people: TWELVE STRONG & WHAT THEY HELPED US ACCOMPLISH--32 MEMORABLE EFFORTS, EVENTS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS-- HISTORIA FOTOGRAFICA CON MILES DE FOTOS
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UN GRAN AMIGO DE LOS GUATEMALTECOS
In mid-summer 2018 I began making frequent visits with Jim. Sometimes I would hike up to their place in American Fork on my daily hike with backpack--I do to try and keep in shape and live long enough to get my tasks completed. In the middle of those visits Jim celebrated his 90th birthday.
I loved my visits with this old friend from
clear back in 1959 when I married Aurora's cousin, Maria.
Maria had grown up in Aurora's home in Tierra
Blanca, Veracruz, Mexico, so they were more like sisters, than
cousins. Below the Saints from the Tierra Blanca LDS Branch.
Jim had met Aurora as an LDS missionary in
Mexico, and then they met again at BYU and were married. We had very
important mutual friends, probably the most important being Harold Brown, who
had been a young missionary in Tierra Blanca, and many years later an LDS Regional
Representative over our area in Guatemala when he became the most key friend
during all my years living and working in Guatemala. NOTE: He is the tall gringo in the upper left of this picture of the Tierra Blanca LDS Branch.
But, back in 1967 when me and my family were
preparing to move to Guatemala, Jim was the person who was most interested in
what we were going to attempt, as his interest in the people of Mexico and
Guatemala was deep felt. I kept him informed about our struggles to get
to Guatemala in 1967, and establish ourselves there with an agro-business that
would support us, while at the same time be a place where we went to work with
a plan to give significant help to a very needy people.
So, it was no surprise by 1968 to have Jim
become our first visitor. He wanted to join our effort, but we were
struggling to learn and to achieve self-sufficiency, so we were in no position
to ask anyone to gamble joining us, but
rather suggested that he contact a group of people who were organizing to begin
their own effort to help the Mayan people--AYUDA Inc., organization
headed by Dr. Mel Lyman, Dr. Harris Done and others.
That resulted in Jim, and Aurora along with
several children, becoming the pioneers to begin AYUDA's work in Guatemala.
By 1969 they were in Guatemala, AYUDA attempting
to establish their project in Momostenango, in the Central Highlands. As soon as we heard they were there we made the long trip to visit and see how we could help.
I recall vividly one of Jim's real problems--getting used to and coping
with fleas. He had tried to solve the problem by having inside the cuff of his
pants, a hidden--what I like to call a choker,
with an elastic band around his ankle to stop the fleas from getting up his
legs. I suggested one of my solutions,
using OKO, an aerosol insecticide, preferring to risk the toxin, to being eaten
alive and sucked dry of my blood by the little buggers!
But, there were problems in Momostenango, like
of a political nature, and AYUDA wasn't welcome, so from one day to the next,
the Penrods, along with Dr. Lyman, and I believe a nurse, moved quickly to an
even more isolated area, where Rafael Castillo, a graduate of BYU, (with an engineering business and becoming
deeply involved as an important politician in Guatemala), had offered AYUDA the
use of his family home in far off Cunen, Department of Quiche, which was one of my Cine Chapinlandia (traveling movie)
towns.
So, in spite of Aurora expecting any day an
addition to the family, from one day to
the next they were in Cunen, you see above in a couple of pictures. A small
town in a high mountain valley over 6,000 feet in elevation, and many miles
from any medical facilities. It was soon
after that the baby was to come. They
couldn't get to a hospital as heavy rains had washed out roads, or bridges, and
they were isolated. Dr. Lyman, a
dentist, aided in the birth….I believe of Glen.
Jim was exactly where he wanted to be, and where….I
guess we can say, he was born to be--A PIONEER, in an area where initially there
was no electricity (we had to use a portable generator to show our movies there). They went to work, and over the next 18
months, aided AYUDA in its dental and medical mission.
Then they
took initiative to work on projects that would be permanent solutions on a never
ending basis--EDUCATION. Jim was
instrumental in expanding the elementary level education, to include the Junior
High level.
Aurora went to work
establishing 10 small neighborhood pre-school classes, using young people as the
teachers, graduates of the elementary level--who wanted to continue their
education in junior high but needed scholarship help. So in compensation for them teaching the "little schools," seen below, they were
given help to continue their education.
The Penrods dedicated 18 months in Cunen, then he and family returned to Utah, but his heart was in Guatemala, keeping in contact with the people, helping all he could, and from time to time visiting us, as you see in the picture below.
You see in the picture, along with Jim and couple of his kids, Maria and me, and on the left a young lady from Cunen, Florencia Rivas. She had need of sort of escaping from Cunen, and Jim brought her to us. With us, Florencia got involved in our educational system, but most importantly became the Supervisor of the Central House Family, with orphan and needy children, abandoned and needy mothers and children, vocational students, U.S. & Guatemalan volunteers, sick people in intensive care, etc.--the numbers varying from 30 to 50 in the family. Florencia was a key person in everything we did, thanks to Jim.
The above picture must have been taken the day before the GREAT EARTHQUAKE, in February 1976 that killed 25,000 Guatemalans.
We had another visitor on that tragic day. Dr. Buz Sandburg from Salt Lake City. we see below greeting some of the workers from the Valparaiso Plantation. 
Buz was sleeping in the Central House when at 3:00 AM the earthquake it. He didn't know, as Guatemalans do, that with an earthquake you get outside QUICK! He rather rolled over, pulled the blanket over him, being peppered by plaster from the walls, but was alright.
Jim and kids were sleeping in their van, and didn't even wake up until hearing all the noise from the people from the Central House huddled around outside wrapped in their blankets. So they apparently were sound sleepers and missed the earthquake.
I encouraged Jim in my 2018 visits to get his
history written down, but he didn't think he had the talent to do that--or the
time. He suggested I do it, and once
some of my projects are completed I'll have to visit with Aurora and kids to
get the information to do that. But the
point here is that they gave their all for 18 months to get AYUDA's project
going--a program that continued up into the dangerous period of guerrilla war
in 1981 when AYUDA's personnel didn't want to go to Guatemala anymore.
At that point I became associated with AYUDA as
their representative, and took charge of a Credit Cooperative in Patzicia,
established by AYUDA and Dan Noorlander, as well as the projects in Cunen. Soon afterwards AYUDA sort of disappeared,
and me and the Foundation for Indian Development (at the end called the
GUATEMALAN FOUNDATION), took over and kept Jim and Aurora's projects going in Cunen for the
next 10 years. Jim also was financially helpful in aiding us do that--right up to the end.
I deeply loved, admired
and respected Jim as a friend, a
brother, and mutual pioneer in our efforts to extend help to a wonderful, and
worthy people. His encouragement and support was deeply appreciated and crucial
over all these years to finally make possible us completing our GOLDEN
ANNIVERSARY in 2017 when I retired the Foundation. Let me just conclude with my comments made
on the Mortuary's website:
"I am saddened that Jim has left us, yet
happy as his suffering is over and he is certainly in a good place as he,
foremost among all my friends, was a "good
and faithful servant." He and family joined me and mine as pioneers in
Guatemala, dedicated to doing all he and family could to help a humble, worthy
and "people of destiny"
among the Mayans. They did as few if any were willing to do--go into a remote
area--Cunen, and for 18 months gave their all setting the foundation for
wonderful progress and developments with far reaching consequences that daily
are multiplying today--blessing the lives of many thousands--and they will
continue to multiply on into the eternities. Nobody paid him to go, nobody gave
them a living allowance or any earthly benefits--what he and family did was
done out of pure love--love of Christ, and love for his fellow Mayan brothers
and sisters. My friendship with Jim and our association over more than 60 years
has been one of the great blessings of my life, and I look forward to happily
meeting again, and pray that the loving comfort of the Lord will be with Aurora
& family."
With lots of love & admiration, CORDELL M
ANDERSEN
