Rabinal is the third town and branch we visit when we go north. It is located about 45 minutes beyond Salama; to get there we take a
very windy road over the mountains and into the next valley. Rabinal used to have a thriving citrus industry, and we hear that their famous Rabinal oranges were trucked all over Central America. During the long Civil War, their Mayan population suffered greatly. In addition, at about the same time the citrus orchards were hit with a blight. As a result of these two disasters, Rabinal never recovered its original vigorous growth. We only went there a few times; in fact, this is the only photo we have in Rabinal...the Elders in front of their house. The little branch is struggling, with only about 20 members in attendance. But the missionaries work hard to build it up. These two Elders are exceptional, Elder D. on the left from the U.S., and Elder Nefi T. on the right from Ecuador. Remember when I mentioned that I love missionaries who have Book of Mormon names...like Nephi, because of all that it tells me about their family? Well, here we have an example! This Elder wears one of the ties his father took on
his mission, and he also has his father's name placard. I'm sure these items help connect him to home, and remind him of who he is. Both of these missionaries have been assigned to the new mission, so although we won't be serving with them anymore, the people in the Cobán Mission will be blessed by their service.
