Week of Sept 21st to Sept. 27th Visit to District Conference in Huatulco

Monday the 21st we decided to go to the Movie Everest with the Roseberrys and the Peñas, we usually go to the afternoon matinee, that is when it is in English with Spanish subtitles, we also get the matinee price, which is  pretty cheap and generally we are the only ones in the theater. It was a great movie in many ways but it left all of us shaking our heads and saying WHY! Why would you risk your life and future for that particular goal? None of us will be trying to summit Everest, we feel there are much more worthwhile goals to spend our time, effort, energies, and money on. 

Tuesday it was back to work with Presidency meeting, missionary meeting, and evening shift. Wednesday I stayed home with another stupid migraine, if someone would come up with a surefire cure for those they would be not only wealthy but beloved! Thursday and Friday were normal days, we are still pretty slow but thinking back on the small temple in Hermosillo, it is about the same as it was there during the week. 

We woke up early Saturday for our weekend in Huatulco, the Peñas picked us up at 10 to 6:00  on the dot, we had a prayer, loaded our stuff and headed out,  Last time we went we rode a bus and traveled in the night it was also in Feb. which is the dry season. What a difference, five hours by car versus 9 hours by bus, plus everything is so green and beautiful this time of year. Ross has said many times how surprised he has been that Oaxaca is so mountainous, the roads are narrow and very curvy, I advise seat belts just to keep you on your side of the car! We understand that the way we went is the least narrow and curvy of the 3 different routes! We have had a running joke with President Peña, we always call him Jaimé (James) as in Home James, because he is always our driver. On this trip I gave him a new name, he is now Mario as in Mario Andretti, the race car driver, he can make that Toyota Sienna get up and go, it is a good thing we don't get car sick! Think of the road through Zion or over Cedar Mountain especially the most curvy parts, for nearly 5 hours! There are really no passing lanes anywhere, but that doesn't really stop anyone! It was so green and gorgeous though, and at times the trees formed a canopy completely over the road and the flowers were brilliant oranges, yellows, blues, purples, pinks, and even reds. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere there would be a village or a little pueblo or a field carved out of the jungle. It was a beautiful drive with something to see everywhere you looked to reminded you of the goodness and grace of God and how much he must love His children to have provided so much beauty and variety for us. And the people all seem so happy and content as they go about life, we passed one little pueblo with a cute little Escuela and the children were out for recess, it was a tiny little school, not much bigger than two rooms, the kids looked pretty poor, but I think they didn't feel poor, they felt happy and loved. It is all in how we look at the world and what we consider important.

We stayed in a nice little Hotel  in Huatulco that overlooked the center or Zocolo of the old part of town and each evening when it cooled down we went for a walk around the town plaza and park and had an ice cream as we walked. The park was full of families doing the same thing, along with vendors selling their wares. The restaurant at the Hotel had  great food, and we a variety of different dishes while we were there. Sunday after the conference we went to the DeWolfe's to eat lunch (they are the new missionary couple that we met a few weeks ago from Utah). While we were helping get lunch ready 2 of the young Elders dropped by and stayed and ate with us, one is fron the Salt lake area but has a Tongan back ground the other one is from Mexico, both are great young men.  We stayed after we ate and visited and played board games for a while. Unfortunately the Hotel had lousey internet so we didn't get to talk to any of the kids. 

We both felt like our talks went okay in the meeting Saturday evening, but, as is usually the case, the Saturday sessions weren't attended very well, Sunday was an overflow crowd with some  having to listen from the Relief Society room. It was a great conference. The District President Hermano Piñeda has only been a member for 4 years and is such a strong member. He loves his members and really does want the best for them. They are a new district and just lack experience, that is where the Dewolfes will be such a help to the District. They will be able to give them direction and experience.

The drive home was just as beautiful and enjoyable as the drive out, we so enjoyed our time with the Peñas and getting to know them even better, they are the absolute salt of the earth, we are so glad they are going to be here with us to the end of our mission, good friends like them and the Roesberrys make it so much easier to be away form home.

They had a wonderful adult choir and a children's choir at conference,

The kids were all in white with red scarfs and ties, they were adorable.

The Kids singing

After the meeting they take the flowers apart and give them to the sisters,

The sister on the left was the choir director, they all wanted pictures with Sister Peña and I.

Lunch at the Hotel

Goodbye Huatulco

Lunch with Rosa and Gilbert

All along the Highway are rocks painted white with scripture references, we only saw one from the Book of Mormom
We had fun trying to look them up!

It was great to get back to our little casa, we love the climate in Oaxaca, it was so hot and humid in Huatulco. It was a beautiful balmy 72 degrees this morning when we went to get groceries and run errands. Today we had a free morning because there was an inspection in the temple, our Presidency meeting and Missionary Meeting were canceled, that gave us time to catch up on our usual Monday things that we missed yesterday with traveling. 

We are looking forward to General Conference this weekend and will be excited to see who will be called to fill the empty positions in the Quorum of the 12. But mostly we are looking forward to hearing the inspired words of our leaders and being fed spiritual by the sweet spirit we feel as we listen to conference.
As always we love you all and hold our in our hearts, thoughts, and prayers. 

Week of Sept. 14th to Sept. 20th, 2015 Independence Day Week

Happy Monday, today in Oaxaca it is a beautiful sunny morning, there are a few clouds which I am sure will build into a storm front later in the day as we have had rain every afternoon or evening for the last several weeks. The weather is changing a bit and we are heading into what passes for fall and winter here, but would not be considered very cold at all back home. We still enjoy the air conditioning every day.

This past week Mexico celebrated their Independence Day, The 16 of Septiempre is Dia de Independencia. Every year on this day the President of Mexico addresses his people from the balcony of the Palacio National with the modern version of the famous "Grito de Dolores" or the Shout of Dolores. He shouts "Vivas!" to the leaders of the Mexican Revolution and ends with a cheer echoed three times by the huge crowds that have gathered:"Viva Mexico". This cry or Grito is echoed by the governor in the capitol of each state and is a traditional part of the 2 day festivities in the capital and many other parts of the nation, it's important as a reminder to the people of the origin of their nation and of those who fought and died so that Mexico could be free.
The Grito commemorates the 16 of September when a parish priest in the town of Dolores, Guanajuato, (Miguel Hidalgo) rang the church bell 3 times to call his parishioners to fight for independence.

This year in Oaxca there were rumors of trouble with the teachers union so we had a huge police presence and continue to. So far there have been no problems that we have heard of or have been aware of, we see so many state and federal troops everywhere we go, recently we found out our friend, Amalia's(she works with us in the temple and we have gotten pretty close to her) husband is a state policeman. She says with all the unrest he has had to do a lot of traveling lately and it has been a little bit scary.

We did not close the temple for the holiday so we celebrated on Monday afternoon/evening. We got together across the street under the Madsen's covered patio and had a great dinner and great conversation. The usual group, Madsens, Peñas, Roesberrys, Perezes and their kids, Sister Zarco and her daughter who was visiting from the states. Of course the food was typical Mexican food and delicious and the company was fantastic, the weather gorgeous after the afternoon rain. It was fun to get to know Sister Zarco's daughter, she is a delightful person and coincidentally lives fairly close towhere the Roesberrys are from in Idaho. We are finding more all the time what a small world it is, especially in the church.

We always prepare enough food for a whole ward party!

Monday we also went to the mission office and got a bit more done on our visa renewals and talked to the office Elders and the Assistants to the President and invited them to Sunday Dinner. Come to find out the A.P. Elder Coombs is from Smithfield, Idaho and has worked in Cub River as a referee on the city league sports teams. He also has a freind serving in the Spokane , Wash Mission, Elder Fife. The Office Elder, Elder Haderly is from Blackfoot and will be going to UVU when he returns home. (more about dinner later) I also had to go to a lab and get a test run, turns out I still have an infection and it is resistant to about everything, Ross has had to be brave and learn to give me shots, he has done a great job! He is a gentle shot giver and the last one didn't bruise, in fact his didn't bruise as much as the ones the other people gave me! Kyler maybe you got your medical expertise from dad after all! 

Tuesday afternoon after presidency meeting and getting things going in the temple we rode with  President Atkinson and the Roesberrys back downtown, Jan had an appointment with a Doctor and Ross had a dentist appointment, after the appointments we all went to dinner at a little place called The Natural, they use all natural, organic ingredients in their food, it was a great place to eat, up to now we had not found great places to eat out, turns out we just hadn't asked the right people! President Atkinson knows all the good places! We need to get a list from him before he goes home or maybe we better not!

Turns out the dentist, who was recommended by the lab tech was not that great,  he was old school, really, really, old school, not extremely clean, and not to inspiring of confidence, so Ross didn't make a second appointment and found a different dentist to finish the work, that is where he is right now. This one is recommended by President Peña. Ross needs a Crown and a little more work done. I suggest putting off getting old as long as you can, you start to fall apart when you get old and it is a bit costly and inconveient.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were pretty much normal or groundhog days, I  do think each week we get a few more people on these days as word gets out that we will accommodate their needs, in fact Friday we had three Primera Veces or Own Endowments on the first evening session. Saturday we had a large group of youth arrive at 4:00 in the a.m. and a small group also come so we were somewhat busy, I was able to help a sister with some genealogy as Jan had appointments and didn't have time to help her. I don't know if I told you President Atkinson called Jan as the Temple Genealogy Specialist and she has been able to be a lot of help to people in finding names and cleaning up their lines. She works with and helps the workers on days when we aren't busy and also helps the patrons. Sometimes they go to the chapel or her house where the internet is open to search other records or sometimes just the office at the temple. She has such a great love for the work and so much enthusiasm, it is so much fun to be there when they find a name, it is like Christmas. It always makes me think of the Prophet Joseph Smith saying that as we redeem our dead we become Saviors on Mount Zion. What an amazing thought, not only to find the names but then to be able to take them to the House of the Lord and perform their work.

Saturday Evening we had the opportunity to go to a special fireside, President Atkinson had been the Mission President for a young Missionary quite a few years ago in Mexico City, named Ruben Lopez Hidalgo, and he wanted to come do a fireside for the Presidents temple workers.
After his mission he became a veterinarian but he also had an amazing mind and memory, he ended up on a game show called Super Cerebero, or Super Brain and won. He now is a motivational speaker and travels all over doing that.

This is Ruben

One of the things he did to win was to memorize 50 bar codes of products. At the fireside he memorized in just a few minutes every name of all the people in the room and which name went with what face, he had so many scriptures memorized, he was pretty fascinating, his talk or rather presentation was on visualization, self affirmations, one of the things I wrote down is YOU DECIDE WHAT AND WHO YOU ARE! Our thoughts define our actions. My job was to ask names as people came in, write them on the name stickers, in BIG LETTERS  and stick them on them, what an interesting job. Most people don't like to stand out, they don't like to wear their name on a tag on their chest. Even if everybody else is. If left to their own they write it small, and would stick it somewhere unnoticeable, what does that say about how we feel about ourselves? I think because I have grown so used to wearing my name and the name of Christ on my chest for everyone to see and the two linked together I am more conscious of who I am and what I am doing, I feel almost naked without my name tag and it will be very hard to take it off when the time comes. But I also remember going to a conference and putting the tag they gave me on my purse. How silly that seems to me now. Food for thought. Hold your head high and know you are a son or daughter of God who LOVES YOU! And he knows you perfectly and still he loves you. And with Him you can do ANYTHING! This knowledge is truly life changing.

Sunday of course we attended church, we also got to go the the last coordinators meeting with president Atkinson, it was a wonderful meeting, a few of the coordinators bore their testimonies as well as President and Sister Atkinson, Sister Atkinson is so full of love and I know that is her legacy, her love and acceptance of  everyone here, she truly is full of the pure love of Christ! I think this next month will be so hard for them both as they go through so many lasts and so many goodbyes. Three years is a long time to live and love a place and a people.

We then came home and finished getting dinner ready for our guests, the 4 Elders and the Roesberrys, I made Chicken Carbonara, (thank you Tara for the recipe, it is easy and delicious, for  sure a keeper), cooked broccoli and carrots, and Jan brought 7 layer salad and peach cobbler and ice cream, the first 2 Elders and the Roesberrys got here but the others were helping a guy from our ward who has been sick, so Ross played the quitar and we all joined in singing a few hymns, then the rain came pouring down, by the time the other 2 got here they were soaking wet, Ross found them some clothes and we put theirs in the dryer while we ate. Needless to say Ross' clothes did not fit them very well! But it all worked! Dinner was a success and they got changed and dry, except their feet, and on their way to their next appointments, the rain stopped, we mopped up the puddles and all ended well.

Hope you all have a fantastic week we love you all to the moon and back and send you our love and remember you all in our prayers daily. 





     


  

Week of Aug 3th to Sept. 7th Late post this week

Sorry to be several days late posting this week, it really isn't that I have been extremely busy it is just that I have been a little lazy. First we want to wish a belated but heartfelt happy 18th birthday to Hailey Rae Rogers and welcome her into the fun and exciting world of "Adulthood" and all of it's wonderful and amazing responsibilities! So sorry that you get welcomed in with the news that you need surgery on your ankle, that is no fun at all. You will be in our prayers.

Monday we had a barbeque at our house, we had the Roesberrys, the Peñas, the Atkinsons, the Paveys, ( a couple we are hoping to get to know better), he is a temple worker, she is a non member, he has been teaching us about the history of the book of Mormon in this area and we are trying to fellowship her. We also invited Rosa and Gilbert DeWolf a new missionary couple from Pleasant Grove who will be serving in Huatulco as the medical and member/missionary support. The Roesberrys and us hosted the dinner but everyone brought stuff and we had a great meal of  grilled chicken and veggies, baked potatoes and beans and gelatin. Then we played games afterwards and just enjoyed each others company. We feel bad that Rosa and Gilbert will be so far away, they fit right in and we really enjoyed getting to know them.

Tuesday we got us and got everything ready for Presidency Meeting and started the week, even though the temple doesn't have the high volume of patrons we have had in the past we manage to stay pretty busy, we have been doing extra things to get ready for the new President. Trying to organize and clean up files, both hard copies and computer files. Reorganize obreros and secretaries, make sure procedures and manuals are all up to date and in general every thing is ship shape and top notch when President Atkinson hands over the keys to the temple on October 17th. It would be if he had to do it today, for the most part he has run a pretty tight ship all along!

Saturday we had 4 buses come from Tehuacan Stake, the person who organizes their trips used to be a missionary here. His name is Brother Sorcia and he is blind, he is such a neat person. He is able to lead sessions and help at the veil and he can navigate his way all over the temple. He will be in Utah in November, he has been having a series of shots in his eyes that they hope will help his vision. Anyway we were pretty busy. We had 15 own endowments! We had one set of identical twin boys, they were going on missions to the Dominican Republic, each to different sides of the island. We stayed pretty busy in the office.

Sunday we woke up with 20 minutes to get ready and get to church, we made it on time only because they started on Mormon standard time (hahaha). Pres. Atkinson taught Sunday School, he is a master teacher, we have learned so much from him and will miss him when he leaves.

We had our Secretary training meeting Sunday Afternoon, we had a great turnout with only one secretary missing and she had let us know she wouldn't be there. It was a good mtg. our secretaries are so amazing and we are growing to love them more each day. We had made a cheese ball and individual cheesecakes and Graciela brought drinks and chocolates, the girls like goodies, we will have to remember that, I think we can get them do anything for treats! (hahahaha)

I had a couple of pictures to send this week but something is wrong with me or the computer and I can't get them to download into the program so hopefully I can figure it out by next week.

My thought for you for this week comes from Doctrine and Covenants 50:23 That which is of God is Light; and he that receiveth light and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.  The word  light can also be exchanged with glory, intelligence, God, truth, enlightenment, Jesus Christ,and discernment. As we turn from darkness to Light we truly do receive more light, it just seems to be a natural consequence, the more we seek happiness and light the more we seem to find it all around us and in everything around us. The more we focus on the things that are uplifting and beautiful the more those are the things we seem to notice. It is kind of like when you get a new car or at east one that is new to you, it seems like every where you turn that is the only  car you see, every one has that kind of car! In reality your attention has just been drawn to that car. So it is with our thoughts, If we are looking and thinking about light, about goodness, about kindness, that is exactly what we will find and we in turn will receive more and more until the perfect day! God desires to bless us, he loves us with a far greater love that we can ever imagine, I know this with every fiber of my being, he is our Father, I know how much my Father loves me and how much my children's father loves them and so I know that our Father who is perfect loves us with an infinite perfect love and wants nothing more than our eternal happiness. His perfect plan will bring that happiness to us.

We love you all and miss you, you are always, always in our thoughts and prayers, have a wonderful week.