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.