Thanksgiving dinner has been eaten and thanks have been given and now all that is left are the few extra pounds that we seem to accumulate from all the good food and of course there is the wonderful memories we have all made of another great get together with family and friends. More things to treasure up in our hearts and give thanks for in our daily prayers. This coming week we will celebrate the birthdays of Heidi, on the 3rd, and Jared, on the 6th, how grateful we are for these two who have always and continue to bless our lives. Jared as the oldest has always set a great example for all of us and still does, he is always ready to lend a hand or give a word of encouragement.People are drawn to Jared because of his goodness and caring. Thank you Jared for all you do for all of us, you are amazing.We love you! Heidi has always been our Ray of sunshine, strong of will and able to do anything she sets her mind to, with so much talent and ability there is nothing she can not master, just give here the manual and the tools and she can fix it or make it. She is kind to and forgiving of everyone.You are so loved and so amazing. Monday we celebrated Thanksgiving with about 24 of our friends here, we had a great time and way too much delicious food. Some traditional some not so much, but all very good! We ate and visited and sang and ate and visited some more and oh! did I say we ate. As I was cooking I couldn't help but think of how incredibly spoiled I am, back home I have a Bosch and a Kitchen Aid, I have so many pans and dishes and gadgets to cook with that all make life easier and yet here with just the very basics we still managed to cook a pretty good meal. Dad did have to go buy me a cheap mixer as I burned up the little one that was here. (I did the same thing in Mexico City, one per mission isn't too bad) I couldn't help but think of the people who don't have enough to eat and those who don't even have a home, we truly do have much to be grateful for, I hope I can remember to always have a grateful heart.
The turkey was beautiful!
Jan and Sister Peña getting the food ready.
Taking photos while the food gets cold.
Let's Eat!
Los hijos de Jimenez
It seems strange to eat outside for Thanksgiving. but it was nice weather.
Desserts
This Peanut Butter Pie was my Favorite! The French silk was Dad's
Tuesday we invited the Serranos for leftovers as they couldn't make it on Monday, it was us the Roesberrys, the de Wolfs, and the Serranos.
Just about the time we were not too full it was time to start over!
The week at the temple was pretty good, about average for attendance,until Saturday, we had a group from Puerto Escondido come, it is only about 150 miles but it is really mountainous road and takes about 5 hours. They leave in the late afternoon and get here in the middle of the night and sleep in the church and then are ready for a 6:30 am session. They came with about 70 people about half youth and half adults and 7 Own Endowments, so we had a great Saturday. Today we went to the El Tulle Ward where we both spoke, Tule is a town about 20 minutes from here, their claim to fame is a 2000 year old tree, it is huge and very impressive, I am pretty sure I have told about it and put pictures in and earlier blog.
Obisbo Garcia de Bario Tule
Me with the 2 Missioneras de Tule
The Sister on the right has a sister serving in Richmond, Virginia and when I talked about my son
that served in Virginia she was excited.
Photos of the chapel in Tule
For this weeks thought I want to leave with you a quote that Ross used in his talk today it is from
Elder Bednar, he teaches that; "word heart is used over 1,000 times in the standard works and
symbolizes the inner feelings of an individual. Thus, our hearts—the sum total
of our desires, affections, intentions, motives, and attitudes—define who we
are and determine what we will become."
He talked about how important it is to become pure of heart and like a little child, how little children come from heaven so pure and sweet and how easy it is to feel that as we hold a new born baby. How going often to the temple helps us to become pure of heart. It is a beautiful talk and hopefully he will share it with you when he comes home. We love all of you and miss you, have a wonderful week.
Monday we had the opportunity to join with the 26 other brothers and sisters who came to help clean the temple. This was a great group, once in a while there is just a small group that comes, when this large of a group comes it only takes about an hour to clean from top to bottom! They clean light fixtures, baseboards and everything in between and when they are done the temple would pass the white glove test. Everyone works with smile on their face and seems to be enjoying the peace and serenity of being in the temple giving service.What amazing people. We met with the the Roesberrys, and their son, the Peñas, and the Cardenas at 12:00, we all piled in the Peñas van (it was a tiny bit squishy) and headed into the mountains to the town of Guelatoa. This is the birth place of Benito Juarez, he was born around the same time period as Abraham Lincoln and Joseph Smith and he made it possible for Mexico to have freedom of religion and freedom from oppression of government. He came from very, very humble circumstances and is definitely proof that one person can make a difference and of the power of education. (or maybe I should say learning) It was a beautiful drive, although the roads were very narrow and very twisty, we have learned something about the otherwise very patient, laid back Mexican people, when they get behind the wheel of a car, the patience is gone! They are crazy drivers! They pass on blind curves, drive fast on mountainous roads and if you have a weak stomach and get carsick you better stock up on Dramamine!Plus they are not shy about using their horns! Ross and I are usually okay but Jan always takes her Dramamine and Sister Cardenas got so carsick. Really though the roads are BAD! The mountains are so pretty, there are flowers all along the roadside and right now everything is still so green and lush. It made us a bit homesick.
A tile mosaic on the hiway going to Guelatoa, It tells the story of Benito Juarea and the reforms he made in the Government of Mexico.
Dad and I in front of a statue of Benito Jaurez, unfortunately it was a holiday and the museum was closed.
Ducks on the grounds by the little cabins where he was raised
Both pictures are the lake at Guelatoa
Jan, Greg, and Dan
This week was pretty much normal in the temple, we helped with several sessions and with other ordinances as well as with office work. We thought we would have a slow and early Saturday as we thought we had no excursions and no own endowments, but we were surprised with several unscheduled groups. We ended up with over 50 youth and 3 own endowments and a fairly large group of adults. So we had a great day.
Saturday evening we were invited by the Roesberrys to dinner at their house with the family of one of the coordinators, Jared Pulido. He has 3 darling kids and his mother in law who is also a coordinator came along also. Jan made a deliscious lasagna, the Pulidos brought dessert and after we ate we played Tensies, (a fun dice game). then grandpa got beat in a game of chess by the 8 year old, he is a chess whiz kid, he starts chess competitions in a month! They are a great family, together with the mom in law they own and operate 4 appliance parts and repair sotre and employ over 20 people. Brother Pulido is also the head of the "For The Strength of Youth" Programs for this part of Mexico and according to the Normans, who spoke in it last year he really puts on a class program. It was a fun evening and before they left they invited us to join them for Christmas Eve.
Me with one of the cute Families at Zimatlan
The rest of the Family,Mom and Dad with thier 3 kids, Dad's mom and grandmother! ( I think dad and mom look about 14 years old)
Brand new building at Zimatlan
This is a picture of one of our obreros who just left on his mission, Omner Sanchez, He sent this from the MTC in Mexico City, He is on the left. His grandpa is a Temple Sealer and his dad is a temple worker. He has a wonderful heritage in the gospel and is an amazing young man!
Sunday we spoke in the Zimatlan branch the Serranos picked us up at 8:00, they were worried about
being on time, they were speaking in Zapata a branch in a town a little farther
away than Zimatlan.The meetings started at 10:00. We
got there a little before 8:30 and of course the building and gate into the
parking lot was all locked up! We had them drop us off at the Zocolo ( the park
and center of town, right across from the Catholic Church and we watched the
Catholic Church’s procession and listened as the band played, it was some
Saint’s day. I also changed my talk just a little and read through it. We
studied our scriptures and after an hour we went the four blocks back to the
church, the branch President was there with his little family and everything
was set up and music was playing. It is a brand new beautiful building. They
invited us to sit on the stand, they don’t usually, they just call us up from
the audience. He said he is trying to train his congregation to come on time,
he started right on time, there was such a sweet spirit there.
I was going to just give one of the other 2 talks I had
written but Thursday I was sitting in a session and the spirit whispered so
clear that I needed to give a talk on gratitude, I thought, no you just think that
because it is almost Thanksgiving and that is what you would do in the States,
but the impression, along with the whole talk came so strong. And I know that is why
I was able to write it in Spanish, this is the first time I haven't had to write a talk in English and then translate it. I am not sure why but I felt that some one needed that talk, several people made comments in the other classed about it. All these experience are such a testimony that our Father really is aware of us
and uses us to fill the needs of others and of how important it is to pay
attention to the Spirit, keep ourselves worthy, and be prepared to serve, we
thought we weren’t supposed to talk until the next week! So I prepared the talk
pretty quick, I KNOW I had a lot of help.
This is how I closed my talk,
Joseph P Wirthlin Said “Joseph B. Wirthlin said “Gratitude
is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those
who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel
better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more
likeable." President Monson
encouraged us all to cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude, in his conference talk
in Oct 2010 he said “ My sincere heartfelt prayer prayer is that we may in our
individual lives reflect that marvelous virtue of gratitude. May it permeate
our very souls, now and evermore.”
This week as we think of all the many, many things we have to be thankful for ( and there are far to many to list) the ones that we are most grateful for are the ones that are far beyond priceless they are the love of family and friends, our faith, and the knowledge of a loving Father in Heaven. Know we love you and you are always in our thoughts and prayers. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
We want to let all the Veterans know how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice, being away from our country has given us a totally different perspective and an appreciation for our land and the freedoms we have. They are worth holding onto and fighting for. Thank you to all those who have and are serving our country. Monday we went to our final dentist appointments, Ross got one more tooth fixed and I got the last two done. Hooray!!! We always try to arrive a touch early, I am not sure why, we get there as they are opening, this time we got there and no one was there, after about 10 minutes the dentist I see showed up along with one more, but neither had a key, we ended up waiting for 20 more minutes! It is so typical! I guess that is why heart attacks are the #1 killer in the U.S. and diabetes is the #1 problem here. We are always in a hurry and rushing and they know how to relax and enjoy life and good food! Later in the day we went to the movie with the Roesberrys, we went to see the show The Intern, it was pretty good. After the show we came home and played cards for a little while. Tuesday we had regular meetings with the presidency and then the normal 2 sessions, Wednesday was the same except the Area Authority for Mexico has made the decision that the missionaries can no longer come as a zone to the temple once a month, they can come quarterly, individually or with new members to get endowments, with permission. So now our Wednesday missionary mornings will be no longer happening. Thursday was a normal day but Friday we were short secretaries so we were at the temple from 6:30 in the morning until 9:00 at night. We also got the sad news that our head secretary Graciela will be leaving us, her husband works out of town and is going to get a permanent placement by the first of the year. She is going to spend Dec. with her daughter in Pachuca and then will be moving where ever her husband is going. I am happy for her, but she will be missed, very much. She has been the heart and soul of the office for quite some time. Saturday we had 3 buses from Tehuacan, they are a pretty self sufficient stake and bring a lot of their own workers, dad did some extra training for them but after about 12:00 we weren't even busy so we left at about noon and came home. The Roesberry's have their son from Salt Lake visiting and they invited us to meet them downtown and have dinner with them, so after I did laundry and we went to Sam's Club we hopped on a bus and joined them for dinner. Their son will be here for a couple more days and then will be going to Mexico city to meet some friends and do some more sightseeing. He seems like a great young man and we enjoyed meeting him and getting to know him a bit.
Dinner with the Roesberrys and Dan
La Iglesia Santo Domingo at
Night
Ballet Dancers inside one of the buildings as we were walking back to the Zocolo after dinner.
Saturday Evening Oaxaca nightlife is booming, we were amazed at how many people were out and about on the streets. We have never been out before on a Saturday night!
Today we went to the Donaji Ward to speak, it is fun to visit the different wards and see the areas of town where the different workers and patrons live. All the wards are alike, when they start there aren't very many there but by the time we get up to speak the chapel is nearly full. One sister, a temple worker we know, even asked dad for a copy of his talk because she liked it so much! At 5:30 today we have our Secretaries meeting I have been working on the thought that I will give for the meeting, I will start with the Scripture in 2 Nephi 6:7 "And thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me." In Spanish the word used for wait is Esperan which also means Hope, this is interesting to me because hope to me has so much more and deeper meaning than to merely wait although wait can also mean to serve. This scripture is cross referenced to D&C 133:45 which says "For since the beginning of the world have not men heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath an eye seen, O God, besides thee, how great things thou hast prepared for him that waiteth for thee." What wonderful and glorious blessings must be held in reserve for those who wait, hope, serve, for the Lord. Absolutely beautiful promises! And so I thought, in the church or in the temple, or in this life we often find ourselves waiting, waiting until things get better, or the kids get bigger, or this job gets done, or whatever but we are waiting until...... then we will be happy or go to church or get on with life or what ever. In English the word wait has 2 meanings to wait for someone or something or to wait on or serve someone or something, in Spanish it also has two meanings, again to wait for someone or something or to hope for someone or something. I like to think that I am waiting on the the Lord in the sense that I have hope in Him and that I am serving Him that my hands are His hands that he can also have hope in me that He can use my hands to bring about His work. May we all Know that He is God and not be ashamed to wait on Him. May we enjoy the fullness of His blessings now, not 'wait' until, He will bring us the peace and joy that we desire and need if we wait(hope, serve) on Him. As always you are in our thoughts and prayers always.
Monday was the actual Dia de Muertos here in Mexico, although most holidays seem to be celebrated for at least a week. We celebrated with an early temple session for the leadership of the temple.We had a full session, which was great. Everyone was encouraged to bring a family name in remembrance of their ancestors. Dia de Muertos is much more like our memorial day,than like Halloween, although I must say it is on a grander scale. you would not believe the amount of live flowers that are sold and the way the graves are decorated and cleaned during the the week. The graveyards are absolutely beautiful. The most popular flowers are Marigolds and the smell is enough to trigger anyone's allergies, grandpa was sneezing like crazy when we visited the cemetery and walked down the street past the flower vendors. The people turn out in droves to honor their ancestors, you can hardly get around in the cemetery's they are so crowded. And very few graves are left undecorated, most have food and flowers. After the session at the temple we went with Sister Pena (Brother Peña was tied up with the inspection all day) and the Perez family to Ocotlan to the cemetery and to the market, where we ate lunch. I have to say I am not a huge fan of eating dinner in the markets and I don't think Sister Peña is either. I think the cleanliness factor is a bit iffy, and whether it is the power of suggestion or the food both Ross and I had bad stomachs for a few days after. Anyway we wandered around the market and town and looked at the cemetery, Ross and I thought we were heading home so we bought a little bit of fruit, we then went to the old church and convent which was pretty cool, there was a lot of cool art and some old furniture and stuff. They wouldn't let us take picture of the art.
This monument was built to commemorate the church which was built in 1535,
Dinning room in the convent attached to the church, behind us you can see an original painting from the 1500's!
This trunk held all the regalia of a Preist, robes etc.
The church
Entrance to the cemetery
All along the street leading to the cemetery were little altars an statues.
This altar was to honor someones relative
This little booth warned about the dangers of smoking!
After we left Ocotlan we stopped in Santo Tomas Jalieta, this little puebla is famous for thier weaving, they make woven belts and bags.
I tried to weave but I think it takes more than a three minute lesson, I'm pretty sure she had to pick out everything I did! We then stopped at San Martin Ticajete, this is another place where they make alabrijes, the hand carved and intricately painted wood sculptures.They were some or the most beautiful I have seen also the most expensive, some as much as 1200.00 pesos, but they were truly works of art. There was a Ram and a Deer that I would have loved to get, may be another time! By this time everyone was hungry again so we stopped at a little cafeteria type place off the side of the road and had dinner, the place was pretty busy, but seemed to be really clean and the food was good. We got home about 6:30 tired but happy, our fruit we had purchased early in the day a little worse for wear, but we had a great day with good friends and saw some interesting places we had never been before. Because of the inspection we did not have Presidency Meeting or Missionary Meeting on Tuesday, we found out that one of the things that will be changed after the inspection is that the apartments will be getting dishwashers, I thought my dishwasher worker just fine, Ross does a great job on the dishes.There are a few other changes that need to be made in the temple but nothing big and as usual the people who came from Salt Lake were such great people. Most of the week was pretty normal until Saturday although we had one fun experience riding the bus, Wednesday we had to go downtown to a follow up Dr. appointment, we took a cab to the appointment but decided to take the bus back home, buses here are funny, each driver seems to have his own personal bus and decorates and personalizes it, this one was kind of old and was decorated with a blue string of lights along the inside front that lit up in time to the very loud music, part way home a guy with his face painted like a clown got on, he had a baby strapped on his front, facing forward, the baby never stopped smiling and gigling, the guy started talking, his voice sounded like he had sucked helium. He was performing some kind of monologue about marriage and asking the riders questions, after about 5 or 10 minutes he went around collecting tips and then got off at the next stop. It is always entertaining! Saturday we had 2 buses full of people come to the temple and a small group, we had seven people come for their first time, and we had one Ward bring a group of 14 adults to do baptisms who are all fairly new converts and this is their first time in the temple. It was a great day! Grandpa said each day we come out of the temple feeling uplifted and blessed and it really is the truth. It seems like we have at least one sweet tender mercy, where we really feel the spirit each day. We are so blessed to be able to serve here with such wonderful people. Last night we went to Mitla Stake Center to their Family History Marathon. We were there by assignment from the Temple President to take his place as he couldn't be in 2 places at the same time. Our assignment was to be in charge of any investigators that came. We ended up with one couple and their little girl. Grandpa basically did all the teaching, although I found the material, his Spanish is so great, he told them all about why we do genealogy and why we have temples, we tried to show them a little video by President Eyring but the video wouldn't play, they had about 20 computers running on the Internet and I think it was overloaded and just wouldn't play. They had one room set up with all kinds of history stuff and momentos and were taking family pictures, the gym was set up with computers like a family history center and they had a bunch of experts helping people and we were there for the investigators.It was really well organized. Then they had a short wrap up meeting at the end and 3 speakers each told a little about how Family History blessed life's, one speaker was grandpa, he did fantastic. One was a little girl who is about 9, she had made a family tree and told all about her grandparents it was so cute. But she was nervous and kept trying to get her mom to help her.
Photos at the Family History Marathon
This is the little family we visited with.
The couple we talked to came with her mom, they have a cute 18 month old and the grandma is a member so hopefully they are interested and will join the church, they sure seem to be. Today we spoke in El Bosque Ward ( The Forest Ward), each week from now on we speak in a different ward. We were surprised at how many people we know. I think they have to listen close just to be able to understand me. I get nervous and stumble, at one point several of the members helped me with a word! They are so sweet and kind. It is fun to go and feel so welcomed and loved and appreciated. The thought I want to leave with you this week is from Elder Neal L. Anderson "Pray to your Heavenly Father, He will open doors, remove roadblocks, and help you overcome obstacles." I know this is true He has done so for me time and time again. He loves each one of us and wants our happiness and success. We love you all and pray for you always.
Happy Happy Birthday this past week to my beautiful mother who is 80 years young! You have always been and always will be my best friend and an example of unconditional love and of beauty and grace. Thank you for all of the lessons you have taught and continue to teach me. I love you forever and always!
Happy birthday this coming week to our wonderful daughter (in law) Tara. We are so grateful and blessed you chose to be a part of our family. Thank you for all you are and all you do to make us better.
This week we started out with an early morning Monday getting laundry done and a little cleaning then another trip to the dentist, this time I had two more of the cavities filled, two more to go! We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and then got ready to go to Laura and Luis Perez' house for Tamales and Family Home Evening. We went with the Peñas and Roesbrry. (Jan is still in the states). The Cardenas' were going to go but had something come up and they weren't able to come. We went to their house where they were finishing making the tamales and getting things ready,then we loaded the cars and went to what they called their casita de peros (dog's house). It is a piece property where they are building a new home for when they retire. luis keeps his dogs on the property, so they call it the dog' house. We had Alote(a drink made with corn), corn on the cob, corn tamales, Itmus style,( no filling just corn) Cornfritters with shrimp, mole, and I took a carrot cake. I swear I don't know how anyone down here stays thin! Part of Luis' family also came, he is the only member in his family as is Laura in her family, after we ate we played Dominos until we ran out of light, the only power they have at the Casita de peros is a generator and it wasn't worth the effort to turn it on. We enjoyed the afternoon and evening. when they get the casa all done it will be a nice place with a big yard yard and lot's of room for grandkids.
Tamale dinner at the dog house
Tuesday we had normal Presidency meeting In the temple, and although President Cardenas is much more relaxed personality wise that president Atkinson our meeting still lasted 21/2 hours. Much of the time was spent in training as he is passing on much of the training he received in Salt lake to us. We feel vey blessed to be able to receive these instructions. We can already tell that the Cardenas' will be easy to love. here is the information from the Church News about them.
Victor Manuel Cárdenas López, 66, Mira Azul Ward, Mexico City Tepalcapa Stake, called as president of the Oaxaca Mexico Temple, succeeding President Donald W. Atkinson. President Cárdenas’s wife,Aurora Ibarra Herrera de Cárdenas, will serve as temple matron, succeeding Sister Cathy M. Atkinson. He serves as a ward young single adult adviser. He has served as president of the Mexico Merida Mission, stake president, bishop, high councilor, and branch president. An independent sales representative for a medical software company, he was born in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico, to Reynaldo Cárdenas Savori and Alicia de Cárdenas López.
Sister Cárdenas serves as a ward single adult adviser. She served with her husband as he presided over the Mexico Merida Mission. She has also served as a counselor in a stake Relief Society presidency, ward Young Women president, and seminary teacher. She was born in El Rosario, Sinaloa, Mexico, to Ibarra Montijo Gustavo and Aurora Herrera Ayal.
Word is starting to get around that there is help with genealogy in the temple, besides helping several obreros this week I was able to help some patrons who came with information and their account numbers but needed help to figure out how to navigate the website and learn how to correct information, add information, and then learn to submit names and print. It is such a joy to watch their faces as they receive the family cards for grandparents and parents and know that very soon the saving ordinances will be done! ( Jan hurry back I don't know enough to help everyone and people are waiting for you!) I have an appointment Tuesday morning at the house with a sister from the ward who is hoping I can help her,she is hoping,I am praying!
I added another English student this week, I have been helping Sister Araiza already, she is taking classes through Pathway, an outreach program from BYU. They are all in English and the students have to have and English mentor. Sister Araiza has 2 classes, English and Algebra, I think I should also get credit right along with her! They aren't easy!
My new student is Erika Vasquez, her class is English 101, the first assignment was getting to know each other. She is amazing! She joined the church in 2012, the only member in her family, both her parents are dead, she is about 25 or 26, she was raised by her grandparents and uncles, after she had been a member for 1 year she decided to serve a mission. Her family was against it. She went anyway after working for a year to earn enough money. No one wrote to her or supported her. She loves her family and she lives with some of them, her grandparents died almost a year ago and she can't wait to do their temple work. She is also an obrera in the temple,she loves sports,doesn't like to cook,and has her own network marketing business. She also values her time and believes in being on time or being early! (my other student not so much)
Our engineer, Alan Meza , has been frantically getting prepared for the triennial inspection. He is very preoccupied with how everything looks and how the inspection will go. There are 3 people coming from the temple department for 2 days to inspect all the temple properties and to do training. He has been cleaning and repairing any and everything he can. They even hired a cleaning crew to come in and clean our house, I wasn't sure whether to shout for joy or be offended, I chose the first option! They washed windows, window tracks, scrubbed all the hard water stains off the faucets and the shower tracks, all those things that are hard to find time to get to. After it was all said and done I hired them to come once a month to do the heavy cleaning! Whoo Hoo! The company belongs to a guy named Victor who also works at the temple doing the cleaning. He is quite the entrepreneur.
Yesterday was Sister Peñas birthday, we went with them and the Perez' to dinner for her birthday, we went to a place that is the equivalent of a steakhouse. It was delicioso! We tried different things, Ross had the ribs and I had shish ka bobs, we both had salads. It was great. Everywhere we go it is decorated for Dia de los Muertos.
La Katrina, the princess or queen of the dead
A gift for Dia de los Muertos fron the Familia Villanueva
Bread, Chocolate,tangerines,&mole,
my kind of trick or treat basket!
Pan de los Muertos
Oh how we love the people here, they are so kind and generous. As I sat in church today my heart was so full and I knew that it really would not matter where in the world we were if we were in an LDS church we would be with family. I keep thinking of the Scripture in Matthew 18:20"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." This scripture is talking about being united in Christ, as we become united in Christ there truly are no more strangers among us but we are brothers and sisters, possessed of that love and understanding that binds us together as one in purpose and unity, that purpose being to take upon us the Name of Christ and to become like Him. Of course this is not something that happens overnight or even in a month or a few years but is the pursuit of a lifetime and even eternity. Is it worth it? Richard G Scott said "Stay on the lord's side and you will win every time." Henry B. Eyring said "Conversion will not be a single event or something that will last for just one season of life but will be a process. Life can become brighter until the perfect day, when we will see the Savior and find that we have become like Him." I know with my whole heart and soul it is worth it, the times in my life when I experience the greatest joy are those times when I am the closest to my Savior and I hear the Spirit whisper to me keep going this is the right path, good work. I also know that no matter what our Savior loves us and He will help us and does help us,through His atoning sacrifice, accepting and putting this great gift to use daily in our lives is the only way we can every find true and lasting grace and happiness.
We love each and everyone of you and pray for you all, have a wonderful week.
