This week we need to wish a belated Happy Birthday to my baby brother Bill, when he was young he loved to tease me, he could annoy me like no other but he was also my best little bud. He has been and will always be one of my heroes. He is an excellent example of a loving, accepting, compassionate, father, son, and brother. Thank you for all you do, we love you.
Today is our Grandson Waylon's 10th Birthday, Happy Birthday to you Waylon! We love you, you are such a sweet, kind, intelligent, thoughtful, hardworking, funny, responsible young man. We can't wait to ride 4 wheelers with you when we get home.
This week has been busy and fun and a little weird with a break in the middle! Monday we did our normal Monday things, shopping, cleaning, laundry, etc. In the evening we had our friends the Paveys and the Roesberrys come over to play cards and have snacks. I think I told you that the Paveys had received bad news about his health. Well they had been back to their heart specialist who gave them much better news, he does have emphysema and it is pretty advanced, but with medication and exercise he will be okay for quite some time. The other Doctor told them he only had a bout 2 to 4 months. This doctor said years. That is much better news. So it was more of a celebration. We are going to their home tomorrow to get together again. I think I have told you about them. She is from Switzerland, he is from Canada, they have been married 50 years, he joined the church 10 years ago, she is not a member but is active! They have a daughter who lives here and several other children who live all over the world.
They are great people. We really enjoy them and hope she decides to join the church.
Tuesday was back to normal with meetings in the morning, we start the preparation at 8:30, this week we had a special sealing at 11:00 with a young couple that came from the coast. In Mexico you have to be married civilly then come to the temple within a reasonable time to be sealed (the Church has said a reasonable time is the time it takes to travel to the nearest temple so approx. 24 hours) Any way our Meetings were short for a change. Usually they are about 3 hours.So we had a short break, then we went back for Missionary Training Meeting and the afternoon shift, my secretary called in sick so we got home at about 9:00 pm usually Tuesday is our longest day.
Wednesday was pretty normal although we did have nice sessions, I think everyone wanted to get one session in before the year was over. We also got to help with a Young lady who came to get her endowment before going on a mission. Neither President Serrano or President Cardenas came in for the morning so Ross was in charge and I had the privilege of giving her the new endowment instructions. So I guess it really wasn't normal at all.
Thursday was a short day as we closed at noon but again we had pretty good sessions.Ross and I got to lead a session and that was nice.
Thursday night we celebrated the New Year with President and Sister Madsen and Jan and Greg at the Madsens house, we had a simple meal and played games until about 11:00 then called it a night, thinking we would just go to bed. Silly us, that is when the fireworks started, they went on until after 1:00, they sounded like they were right in the backyard! Most of the fireworks here are just noise!!!
New Years Day we had made arrangements to meet with the Serranos, the Cardenas, Us, the Roesberrys, and the Madsens at a Buffet and clebrate the New Year, when we got there it was closed. We all loaded back up and went downtown to the Zocalo to a different restaurant and then we walked around and saw the sights, the Zocolo was crazy crowded, there were street performers and craft expos and tons of people, it is so hard to explain the feeling and energy to someone who hasn't been here. I love it and while I wouldn't want to live here it is fun and exciting and exhausting! The sights and sounds and smells and colors and feelings. When you are at the top of the walking street and and look down on the crowd below and it is a mass of humanity enjoying life, families walking together, couples arm in arm, friends together, and in the distance the Christmas lights in the Zocolo and it seems like on every corner there is a nativity set up, it really is a beautiful sight. President Serrano wanted to show us everything.
Los dos Shaylas, Pres. Serranos daughter and grand daughter
Santo Domingo Cathedral
One of the street performers, notice he is not sitting on a chair or anything else!
Street Expo
Little Miss Shayla as the 3rd King
Shayla really likes Elder Ray
We went back to work on Saturday, once again we did not have any excursions but the good members of Oaxaca kept us pretty busy. We had a nice morning. We also found out it was Sister Serranos Birthday so Jan and Greg went and got her a cake and after everyone left we presented her with the cake and sang Los Manaitas and Happy Birthday, It made her cry, we didn't think we were that bad! They then invited us all to go to dinner with them. So we all went back to the Zocolo for dinner.We had a great meal and President Serrano ordered several extra dishes that were from the coast so we could try things that were typical to his part of Oaxaca, he is such a gracious host and an extremely kind and generous man. But also very stubborn, he insisted on paying the entire bill.
Today we actually attended church in our own Barrio, Fast Sundays we do not have speaking assignments. I really enjoy the Sunday School teacher and miss his lessons, although we have had some awesome lessons in other wards also. After church we joined Jan and Greg and Sister Zarco and her daughter for lunch/dinner and everyone brought what they had and we had a delicious potluck. As always the conversation and spirit of camaraderie was the best part.
I had to post this from the temple parking lot, it is a moto taxi (three wheeled). Looks like a helicopter. You don't need a special license to drive this one Zoe.
All in all it has been a great week, we love the people we work with, we are pretty sure you couldn't find better people any where. That is definitely one of the biggest blessings of serving a mission, you meet some of the very best people one the earth and you make make eternal friendships.
I guess the best way to end a New Years post is with an invitation to join me in trying to be the best we can be in 2016, I am not really big on making a huge list of resolutions that fall by the wayside in a week or two, but I do want to do my best to become like Christ by doing a little better each day. I think the scripture for the youth for this year is perfect for all of us "Wherefore, ye must press forward with steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting on the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: ye shall have eternal life." 2 Nephi 31:20
Love and prayers to all.
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