by Beth Paullin
Clark and Rose Sandberg were visiting a humble home in San Andres, Guatemala. It had dirt floors, concrete block walls and a corrugated metal roof — but there was excitement inside. They had just given a storybook to Carmen, 6, and Miriam, 8, the first book the sisters had ever owned. “We felt happy right along with them,” said Clark.
The Sandbergs, recently returned from Guatemala, recalled the wonder of that moment and other vivid memories from their 18-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they sat in the living room of their Rancho Palos Verdes home. They have lived in Rancho Palos Verdes since 1969 and their seven children — Clark, Mark, Darren, Kara, Jana, Brent, and Breanne — all were born and grew up here.
Among a myriad of other activities, their mission involved teaching, helping organize health clinics, and giving a jump start to one library and doubling the children’s collection in another. The village, with a population of about 3000 people of Mayan descent, is located in the highlands west of Guatemala City. For those with cars, it’s about a two and a half hour drive. For transportation, they depended on walking and riding in mini-vans or in the back of pick up trucks, locally called “fletes.” both usually overcrowded and in precarious mechanical condition.
Rose, a second- and third-grade teacher in the Torrance school district for 25 years, was asked to teach part-time in the local school. Clark, a structural engineer for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for 20 years before retirement, also taught at the school. He served as he saw needs and became the barber for many of the villagers. They both helped remove kernels from corn when the crops had dried and with the aid of a basic medical text, they treated some of the minor ailments of the people. “When children ran a fever, mothers would bundle them up in many blankets. We taught them a different way,” said Rose. They encouraged the villagers to eat more of the nutritious available food such as beans, though fewer tortillas, which would satisfy hunger but not supply nutrients.
Clark and Rose both spoke Spanish before they arrived in Guatemala. He had served a 30-month Church mission beginning in 1961 in what was then the Central American Mission made up of six countries, including Guatemala. Rose’s parents were born in Mexico, but the family rule was “English only” for the children in their Redondo Beach home where Rose grew up. Her father would speak to them in Spanish but they were asked to answer in English. Consequently, “I understood everything they spoke in Spanish,” she said. The village people speak a Mayan language but most also speak and understand Spanish.
Learning to know and love most of the three thousand residents of the little town probably ranked highest on their experience list. “They were always so appreciative of anything we did for them,” said Clark. Those feelings helped them over the difficulties of life in a culture without most of the advantages the Sandbergs had known.
Passionate about books and reading for the students she has taught over the years, Rose carried these feelings with her to Guatemala. The Sandbergs discovered that the few books owned by the local small “library” were not loaned out and finding books to buy was almost impossible, even in other larger cities. Family, friends and Rancho Palos Verdes congregation members came to her aid by sending children’s books in Spanish. With “gentle persuasion” she convinced school authorities that the children would benefit from bringing these and other books into the classroom. There is now a much-improved children’s collection in the library in the lower community of San Andres and also one in the mountain area of the village, where the only available books when they came were a few basic reading primers.
Another source of satisfaction for the Sandbergs is the knowledge that many of the townspeople benefited by free clinics they helped set up, advertise and organize. Twice during their stay they learned that an opthamologist, doing Church service similar to the Sandbergs, would arrive prepared to treat the villagers. In addition to advising for medical eye problems, he was able to distribute 600 pairs of glasses in his two visits.
Another physician, a pediatrician from Northern California, also a Church service worker, treated villagers who arrived and waited in long lines for her services. People arrived early and waited for hours in line to be treated. Most were anemic and malnourished. “They suffered from headaches, stomach pains, kidney and bladder problems and a variety of other ailments,” said Rose. “They were so thankful for this care.”
Realizing that many birth defects could be prevented by adding vitamins to the diets of local pregnant women, the Sandbergs joined this pediatrician in a drive for funds for this purpose. Again, many in their Rancho Palos Verdes congregation and family members and friends joined in to help these women.
Some of the service and meetings to attend in other cities involved the problem of transportation. Walking over the hilly and often muddy terrain was the solution at times, but often the “flete” had to be used. The Sandbergs would be packed into these vehicles along with the townspeople. Once the vehicle was so crowded that Clark was perched on the back bumper as it scraped the ground, hanging on with one hand and with the other hand clutching bags and briefcases.
On another occasion Rose had her glasses bent out of shape once with the close proximity of a nearby head. On another trip, when she was fortunate enough to find part of a seat, she had seeds dropped on her head by someone above her eating an apple. They laugh as they tell these stories, made humorous with the elapsed time and distance.
While their mission call was not designated as a humanitarian mission—there are currently many senior missionaries serving such missions throughout the world for the Church—the needs around them often took priority in how they spent their days
“There are no discipline problems in the school” said Clark. “The children are eager to learn,” added Rose, “Life in the village—its full name is San Andres Semetabaj (SAS) in the department of Solola—is lived without many of such basics of western civilization as refrigeration and indoor plumbing. Meat for sale hangs from hooks outside, an attraction for insects; outhouses are generally used, and most of the one-room block houses have dirt floors.
When the water supply is cut off, as frequently happens, women haul water from long distances, carrying jugs on their heads back to their homes. “The bottles are unbelievably heavy! I don’t know how they do it,” said Rose. As for the men, they have another difficult daily task in cutting and hauling firewood on their backs for heating and cooking.
At times villagers stay within their homes when lawbreakers are at large, or torrential rains threaten flooding and landslides. Some of the men farm the land, mainly growing corn and beans, or work sporadically in construction for about eight dollars a day. The women sell wares from their homes—avocados, food they have prepared, or stitchery. Some clean houses in neighboring communities.
The Sandbergs had basic electricity and a small and well-used refrigerator in their little house. They had running water only from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and had to prepare to have enough for their needs for the other 16 hours. They traveled to Solola on their preparation days for their supplies.
“We did ask for this mission,” said Rose. She explained that the original assignment was to work in the mission office in Guatemala City. During a phone call from the mission president prior to leaving home, she expressed her wish to be among the Guatemalan people. “I was never good at office work,” she said.
Missionaries in the Church, young men and women and also seniors, finance their own missions and serve where they are called. Rose’s request kept the Sandbergs within their assigned mission but with different responsibilities
“Yes, it was hard,” she admits but emphasizes that the rewards were great. She shows a colorful embroidered wall hanging, a gift from a woman they knew well in San Andres. “We feel so connected to these people and loved that they want to learn and have better lives.”
“We found that we were blessed as we tried to meet the needs of those around us,” she continued “And we knew they felt the same.”
Will they be available for another mission? “We’ll probably be home for about a year—long enough to visit our children and grandchildren and then we’ll be off again,” said Clark.
