Our New Project- The Red Headed Hostess

Senahu, Guatemala
Several years ago I went to Guatemala with some friends.  The week before I left I took a trip to Deseret Book and bought a bunch of pictures I figured the members of the Church there probably did not have access to.  I found a beautiful picture of President Hinckley, pictures of Christ, of temples, etc.  I packed them up and off I went.

One of my friends had served his mission in Guatemala and had served in a remote village called Senahu where they still speak an ancient Mayan language, Q’eqchi’.  We took the very long drive, weaving up and up the mountains of Guatemala until we reached this village.  We got there on a Sunday night and as we pulled in we saw kids walking along the dirt roads, dressed in their Sunday best, on their way to a fireside.  We checked into our hotel and then made our way to a home of one of the members of the Church there.

We arrived to his home, and it was unlike any home I had ever been in.  It was mostly tin with a dirt floor and animals running about outside.  I noticed, as I walked in, that someone must have given them a gift wrapped in wrapping paper, because they had hung that wrapping paper up on their wall.  After visiting for awhile I gave them these pictures I brought, and I truly was not prepared for their reaction.  They immediately took them and started hanging them up on top of the wrapping paper!   I thought that I was taking some nice pictures that they had probably never seen, I hadn’t considered that these would be some of the only decor their home had!

That experience, through all of these years, has stuck with me.  I have realized how many resources I have to use for personal study, teaching my family, and preparing for lessons – and how those resources have impacted my daily life.  So, we have decided here on the business side of this website, to take a percentage of our proceeds and provide some study and teaching resources to members of the Church in areas of the world where these things are limited.

***So basically, as people purchase journals and downloads for their personal study and teaching, it will allow others in the world to receive similar items. I am SO excited about that!!! ***

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(Photo above of a family in Guatemala having Family Home Evening, by Deseret News)

So we are going to start in Guatemala, because that SAME friend and his wife and three children are moving there for the next two years, as he is a U.S. diplomat and that is his next assignment.  So they are going to be my eyes and ears and let me know what, where, and how much is needed.

However, I would like to ask you (especially those of you who have served missions or lived in similar areas), what kind of things come to your mind.  I want to provide STUDY and TEACHING resources FOR THE HOME – that is my primary goal – I want to empower the home to learn and study the Gospel together.

So ANYTHING that comes to your mind.

And I am not necessarily looking for things that are my own products, but rather just things I have access to.

 

Thank You!

 

 

28 comments

  1. That is SO awesome!!! On my mission we would go to the library and expect to find things – and it wouldn’t be there! So I think it is SO GREAT to get these into the home!!! What an awesome way to strengthen the kingdom!

    What about a gospel art kit for each home? Then they could have those visuals in their home as they study and have Family Home Evening!

    1. Katie! That is a GREAT idea! Now you can get them in those spiral books so that would be a convenient way to distribute them. Thank You!!!!

      Shannon

  2. Wow! So awesome! I LOVE all of the stuff I have bought from your site, and it is so cool to think that my purchases will help other families.

    Thank you!!

  3. I love the idea of giving visuals that people can put up in their home! What about a nice print of the nearest temple to them? On my mission, most of members only made it once or twice in their life because of the expense and distance. So I know they would love a picture of that temple!

    1. Hey Nina! We thought of that too! I love the thought of that – especially after President Monson’s talk about having a picture of the temple in every room! Thanks Nina! 🙂

      Shannon

  4. What a great idea! When I served in remote areas of Peru MANY years ago, we found that anything visual was great as many of the people we taught could not read. The Gospel Art Kit is a great idea and I think your drawings of the Plan of Salvation would be wonderful as well. Even a version that kids could color and cut out would be so fun for them. As a missionary, I would have dreams that I was home but rather than being excited to see my family I was trying to figure out how to get to Deseret Book and gather as many things as I could possibly get before I went back to Peru. I was thrilled when the new version of Spanish scriptures came out with references as I knew this would be such a blessing for them. Thank you for doing this!!!

  5. Wonderful poject!! I would think access to more copies of the scriptures so they can have their own copy to mark in would be a treasure. Are there ways we your readers can be more involved ?

    1. Great idea Camille! Maybe some scripture readers too? It will be fun to receive feedback from those in the country. I am SURE there will be plenty of ways you guys can be involved. I am even considering having some hands-on projects to make some things (like laminating, cutting out, etc.) – so maybe we will have a little get-together for those of you around Utah.

      Shannon 🙂

  6. My daughter is currently serving in the Guatemala Central mission. She will be home in two weeks! I will ask her about the materials she would think would be helpful to the families in her area. She is currently serving in Antigua. Great project. Thanks for doing this!

    1. Hi Kris! I have been to Antigua! That is such a unique place – I just loved it there. Please ask her! This is exactly the kind of information I need! Thank you!! And so exciting of such a close reunion. NOTHING like that!

      Shannon

  7. This is such a great project – LOVE the idea!
    I’ve bought several of the items in your store…and love them. I would like to help more… Can I purchase items and send them directly to you or whoever for this project? Can you create a list of what you’d like to send or need that we as readers could help purchase and send on to you?
    I would love help… 🙂
    Excited about this project 🙂

    1. Julie!

      So generous! This is a work in progress, and I am sure as things fall together I will have ways for everyone to help who would like to. I really love this idea and the more I learn about it, the more excited I am.

      Thank you!!!!! 🙂

      Shannon

  8. I think it would be awesome if you made a spot on your order form where we could place a like donation. So for example we purchase a scripture study journal we could have the option of purchasing one to be donated, or one of similar value as you see what the need is at the time. If it is good for me and my families scripture study then how much more good is it for thoses who have so few resources. Thanks for all you do

    1. That is such a great idea Laura! I think what we will probably do is add something onto the download store for $1 and then you can add as many quantities as you want to get the dollar amount. I will look into that. You are awesome!
      Shannon

  9. I have a gal in my stake in Guatemala right now and before she left my sister asked me to make the plan of salvation pieces and laminate them with the scriptures on the back. She made the pieces how she wanted them to look and we printed, cut and laminated them so she could take them to this new missionary. I just got a call to send another set because they are using them so much. Maybe that is something you could add to your kits? Good luck!

  10. I LOVE this idea…just like everyone else, but just a thought. If you’re going to send something to color or cut, don’t forget the scissors and markers! I can just imagine a sweet child receiving these and just LOVING them! Thank you for such a wonderful donation. I’ll try to do my part!

  11. I was just thinking about this the other day. Our family is going to be doing a service project where we are putting together some packages of visuals, church books etc, that we wanted to send to either homes or primaries who don’t have them, but I don’t know anyone I could contact to actually send the stuff to. Would it be possible to send some to your friend, or any other contacts you might know? Just email if that’s a possibility. We were hoping to do it here soon for a family reunion. Thanks!

    1. That is so awesome Shalae!

      I don’t have any information yet as they just arrived, but I will let you know when I do. Also, with all of the new missionary blogs now, maybe you can reach out to one who would know what is needed right away.

      I will keep this in mind. Thank you!!!

      Shannon 🙂

  12. When I served a mission in Argentina, we taught three teenage sisters. After their baptism, they were so excited to be in YW and start on Personal Progress. Only problem? They needed to buy their own books. The books were $3 and they were excited that they had already saved $0.10. I don’t know why the ward wasn’t supplying books for them and I don’t know if things have changed and they provide books now. But, that’s a need that I saw 13 years ago.
    Best wishes on this project. It’s a wonderful idea and will bless many lives.

  13. Hi Shannon,
    My husband and I started a foundation to help the indigenous Maya in Guatemala about eleven years ago. We provide Eco-filters and eko stoves for the families with the goal of getting them on the path to self sufficiency. We also teach them to grow a family garden, give them prenatal vitamins and vitamins for children, supervise them with social workers for one year to make sure their stoves and water filters are used properly and give them health and wellness education.. We have worked in over 100 villages (15,000 Maya villages in Guatemala) and have just scratched the surface. We can always be a resource for information and work possibilities as well as tax deductible donations. Please see us at MayaRelief.com for more information about us. I applaud all the suggestions above. It is a privilege to help these hard working people have the tools they need to rise out of extreme poverty.

  14. Shannon,

    I received this e-mail from a mom, who son is serving in San Andres

    “Didi

    I emailed my son and he said the things Guatmalans need the most is scriptures, hymn books, shoes, and all the basic necessities as they don’t really have anything.

    Thanks

    Leah”

    ———————
    I sent to him a set of your “Plan of Salvation”. Did not get feedback yet, but I’ll let you know.

    Let me know in what we can help you, OK?
    Love,
    Didi

  15. I just want to say thank you for blessing the lives of the beautiful people of Guatemala! My family is from there and I had the privaledge of serving my mission there. One thing that I noticed the people loved, especially in remote villages, was any cutesy or unique gospel item. In church, they are provided with the generic supplies and don’t always have access to Internet to print off items so packages would be wonderful. Some of the favorite things I noticed were pocket sized pictures of Christ, unique displays of the plan of salvation, unique journals and pens… I had my parents send me a portable DVD player and people were AMAZED so see movies they have never seen, such as the first vision. Please let me know if there is anything I can to do help- spreading the word, making contacts in Guate (I still have family/friends there), with translations… Anything! I gained a new respect and love for the people of Guate and want to give back in any way I can! Thanks so much for all you do! You’ll definitely be receiving more business from me because of this! 🙂

  16. Shannon your kindness knows no bounds! I live in Nicaragua, considered to be the poorest (yet safest) country in central america. It’s true that most families have little to no decoration on their walls. Unfortunately we’re also the only country in central america to not have a temple so we have to travel to Guatemala, San Salvador and now Honduras with their new temple in order to attend. Its a trip that requires several days by bus. While we do have a distribution center, there is usually very little items available, but we can always do special orders that take aprox 2 months to arrive.

    As I read the other comments, I have to agree that the scriptures are not always available. The distribution center limits you to purchase 1 per visit, and right now they only have the huge bible and no triple. Also shoes are always required…. it seems like such a basic necessity but most people travel miles and miles by foot and the shoes wear out very quickly.

    PS… there are NO laminators in these countries, and no modge-podge— so all those beautiful projects on blocks of wood or file folder games and whatnot isn’t available…

    I want to help! How can I help?

  17. Shannon,
    How awesome is this project. I served a mission in the Dominican Republic. I agree that scriptures for each member of the family is huge. I also would like to suggest the scripture readers were something I would give families to help them teach their children. Often the poorer adults we came in contact with had trouble reading. Resources to help them understand the scriptures was extremely helpful. Then they could read the same story in the scriptures and understand it better. Just a thought.

  18. My husband served in Tonga, and they are also very impoverished. I think those Islands would greatly benefit from Church resources as well!

  19. I would love to help too! I think file folder games would be great. Scriptures, scripture marking pencils, journals, pictures. We are so spoiled in this country and we forget how much is needed in other parts of the world. CTR rings are great for the kids too.

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