Jan. 24th to Jan 31st, 2016 Good Friends, Good Food, Sunshine, and Beaches

Sunday the 24th we went to church in our Universidad Ward in Oaxaca and then had dinner with the Roesberrys and President and Sister Cardenas at our apartment, we all put what we had together and enjoyed a potluck and especially the company. It has been so nice to be able to have good friends when we are so far from family. It seems to me that where ever you go in the world when you find the church you have an immediate family of loving, kind people.

The rest of the afternoon and evening we finished packing and hung around, skyped with family and waited  until time to catch our bus to Huatulco. At about 11:00 pm President Cardenas gave us a ride to the bus depot, which was very kind and thoughtful. We arrived in Huatulco at about 8:00 am and Rosa DeWolf picked us up, we ate breakfast at a little cafe near their apartment, checked into our room and took a nap. We had a great time with the DeWolfs and the Roesberrys in Huatulco, we went out on a fishing boat and snorkeling, we ate great seafood, visited,walked through town, cooked the fish we caught, and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Preparing the boat for the day fishing and snorkeling.

I stayed in the room this day with a bad migraine.

Rosa and Gilbert DeWolf, Greg and Jan Roesberry and Captain Chava's Cousin

(Chava is a very active member from Huatulco)

Pancho the owner of the boat (another ward member) 

Gilbert with his first catch

Gilbert and Greg

Chava (This is a common nickname for Santiago)

Gilbert with a puffer fish

Catch of the day Bonita (similar to black tuna) cooked with a pesto of onion and garlic, sliced poblano chillis and chipotle mayonaise. Deliscioso!

We hiked down to Violina Bay, it is called violin because when the water is high as it goes in and out of the cave on the shore it sounds like a violin. It was very isolated and a beautiful place to snorkel.

Jan with her Catch

I love the contrast of the cactus and the ocean.

The lighthouse at Huatulco

I bought a cute blouse from this sweet lady, she is dressed in native costume, notice how tiny she is, her and her sister do all the hand work on the blouses they sell. She told me the blouse would cost more if I wanted a picture!

Wednesday afternoon Ross and I caught a bus to Puerto Escondido, just over 2 hours way. We thought we were so close and don't know that we will ever be here again so we thought we should see as much of the area as we can. We arrived and got checked into our motel, it was in the main part of town, it was an older motel but very well maintained and full of character. I would say in it's heyday it would have been extremely classy. There were hand painted murals on the walls in the room and in the shower and the yards and gardens were beautiful. We wandered down the tourist area of town and had a great dinner of shrimp overlooking the ocean, we looked at the different tourist shops and enjoyed the evening together. The next morning we went for a long walk on the beach, We watched the surfers and the fishermen getting ready to go out for the day, it is a beautiful area but the surf is much stronger than in Huatulco and the area draws a younger crowd although as we walked we did see a lot of  retired age people walking also, so apparently we weren't the only ones in our age group there.
We did decide that we liked Huatulco better of the two places, there seemed to be more to do and the beaches were a little more user friendly.

Our room in Puerto Escondido, the doors lead out to a balcony, notice the hand painting over the window seat and the mirror.  

Beach at Puerto

Fishing boat and net

Our name tags on a rock on the beach, just for fun!

Grandpa

Kind of a Fun Picture

This looks like a Hard way to fish to me

He really didn't like me taking his picture!

This was from the bus on the way back to Oaxaca, we went over the Sierras, we were right up in the clouds part of the time. It was a beautiful ride home. 

This is the van we rode home in, the road was so curvy that there wasn't a 1000 yard stretch without a turn.

We got back to our apartment in Oaxaca about 8:30 Thursday evening to find all well, we spent Friday getting settled back in, getting groceries for the week, doing laundry, housework, etc. Saturday we went to Mitla, a town about 20 miles away where they make a lot of clothing and other textiles, there is also a small ruin there that we have seen before. We wan't to buy a little dress for our new little Ruby girl and a few other things. Jan went with us, Greg hasn't been feeling well, he ate something that didn't agree with him. 

We found some pretty table clothes and a cute dress for Ruby.

 

These are the fabric looms in Mitla

It has been a great week but we have so missed being in the temple, we look forward to going in to help do some cleaning tomorrow morning. We talked with the Peñas at church today and they said that they can use our help the next two mornings getting ready to open Tuesday afternoon, we are ready to be busy! 

This week we have been saddened to hear the news of the death of our friend Lavoy Finicum, regardless of anyone's politics this was a senseless death and we pray for  peace and comfort for the family. Our thoughts and prayers are with all who are affected in anyway by this tragedy. 

President Monson said " Only the Master knows the depths of our trial. He alone offers us eternal peace in that time of adversity. He alone touches our tortured souls." I know this is true, I know that through the atonement He understands our heartaches and will bring us peace. May His  love fill your hearts and homes this week.

Week of Jan. 18th to Jan. 24th, 2016 New Babies and Mexico City

The big news this week is grand baby number 25! Little Ruby Fern Ray was born early Saturday Morning (around 5:30) weighing 8 lbs 5 ounces and 20 inches. She has quite a bit of dark hair, which is different for Jared and Jen's babies, they have all been little blonde's. Mom and baby are both doing great last we heard and Ross and I are having a hard time not being with them.

Baby Ruby Shortly after Birth

Baby Ruby With Abby

New babies are such a special gift from God, we feel so very blessed to have this sweet new spirit in the family  and can't wait to meet her and cuddle and kiss and love on her. In the meantime we know she will be getting lots of love from her family. We also feel so blessed to have her wonderful mother as a part of our family, thank you Jen for putting up with our crazy family and for loving us, we love you more than cake and ice cream and we really love cake and ice cream!

We have had a wonderful week! We left Oaxaca at 2:00 p.m. with the Peñas and the Roesberrys, the Peñas had to go to Mexico City to take of some business to do with selling their home and packing some of their belongings, so they gave us a ride. We had an enjoyable ride until we hit the city traffic and got stuck in a traffic jam. I am not sure why the traffic was so bad, but none of us had ever seen it that bad the entire time we were on our last mission! We were in one intersection for over 30 minutes. The worst part was we all needed a bathroom and there wasn't one anywhere in sight! We finally arrived at the temple and got checked into the hospedaje, the rooms were on the 3rd floor and were dormitory rooms with 2 sets of bunk beds in each room and a common bathroom down the hall, but the price was right, it cost 100 pesos a night or roughly 6 dollars a night! We were in the temple complex with purified water, security guards, and it was very peaceful and quiet, or at least relatively so. The Peñas stayed the first night with us and went to the temple with us Tuesday morning and then went on to their house to take care of their business. We (the Roesberry and us) spent most of the day in the temple then went to dinner at Panda Express. Next morning we got up and went to the temple again and then we went to the Zocolo. We had never been to the National Palace as it was always closed on Mondays, we finally got to see it, it was amazing, there was an art display in the courtyard of Photos of Mexico that was fantastic. The walls of the palace were covered in Diego Rivera Murals that told the history of Mexico, they were indescribable.President and Sister Ruiz part of the Presidency from when we were here before knew we were coming and wanted to get together with us so they had arranged to take us to a show at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, or Palace of Fine Artes the premier performing arts theater in Mexico City. We met them at the theater at 8:00 pm to see the Folkloric Ballet de Mexico, it was tremendous, very hi energy, with great music and fantastic costumes. The building was gorgeous inside and out and was another building that had been on our list of laces to see!
 The Palacio was started in 1912 and is one of the most prominent cultural performing arts centers in Mexico City, it wasn't finished until 1934, it is absolutely gorgeous inside and out. The performance we saw was a folkloric ballet, or folk dances of Mexico, it was fast paced, the costumes were stunning, and the music was beautiful. We were enthralled!
Thursday morning we went back to the temple again, we took some of our family names with us and were able to get a lot of them done, we did 4 sessions, initiatory, and sealings and we felt the Lord's love for us through His sweet tender mercies during the week as we saw many of the good people we worked beside during our previous mission, including the entire temple Presidency.

Our room in the hospedaje at the Temple.

Jan and I in front of a bronze statue at the Zocolo

Ross with anothe Statue

This is a photo of one of the Photos in th Palacio Natioanl

Isn't she cute!

Rivera Mural

More Mural

Some of these Murals showed how cruel the conquistadors were to the natives, they were very graphic and very sad.

On the walking street downtown, you can find just about anything!

From one extreme to the other!

Local Color

Inside the theatre, this was the curtain.

More of the Ballet

Drummers, The front stage rose out of the ground with the drummers.

The tree was lowered from the sky for this number

This guy and the orchestra were on the sides of the theater part of the time.

Visitors Center

   The newly remodeled Visitors center is very modern and is said to be one of the best in the world. Ross and I did not spend a lot of time there but we did spend some time in the section that told about the history of the church in Mexico, we had heard most of the stories before but is was very interesting to review it again. It is a beautiful visitors center.

On Tuesday evening we were sitting in what used to be the main building of the CCM but is now the Perpetual Education Fund Building and the Family History Center so we could get internet.A couple about our age came down the stairs and greeted us and then started to visit, we had seen them in the temple earlier, they introduced themselves and we found out they are missionaries and are in the apartments where we lived, we talked a bit then they invited us to go home with them to eat, we had already eaten, they also volunteered to take us downtown the next day or anywhere else we needed to go. That is just the way people here are, they are so kind and gracious and so willing to do anything to help others. 

We are looking forward to another great week as we travel to Huatulco, it will be fun to see the DeWolfs and to spend a little time at the beach, but we are also looking forward to being back to work in the temple the following week. We miss seeing our temple family. Yesterday and today we had dinner at our house with the Roesberrys and President and Sister Cardenas it has been fun to spent time with them and get to know them a little bit better. They have offered to stay up late and take us to the bus station at 11:00 tonight so we don't have to worry about finding a cab so late, such sweet, thoughtful people.

The thought I want to leave you with today comes from President Uchtdorf's confernce talk "Be Not Afraid, Only Believe" 
" I wish I could help everyone to understand this one simple fact: we believe in God because of things we know with our heart and mind, not because of things we do not know. our spiritual experiences are sometimes too sacred to explain in worldly terms, but that doesn't mean they are not real.
Heavenly Father has prepared for His children a spiritual feast, offering every kind of exquisite food imaginable- and yet, instead of enjoying these spiritual gifts, the cynics content themselves with observing from a distance, sipping from their cups of skepticism, doub,t, and disrespect.
Why would anyone walk through life satisfied with the light of their own understanding when, by reaching out to our Heavenly Father, they could experience the bright sun of spiritual knowledge that could expand their minds with wisdom and fill their souls with joy?"

I truly believe that the light of the gospel and the love of Christ is what fills our souls and hearts with joy and peace and that this is a lasting joy and peace that we can not find any where but in and through our Savior Jesus Christ, it is what He wants for us, what he paid with His life so we could have, I am and will be eternally grateful to Him for this amazing gift.
We love you all.

Week of Jan. 10th to Jan. 17th. 2016 Food with Freinds

This week was Ross' brother Jay's birthday, Happy, Happy Birthday to you. Brothers are a blessing in life and we are thankful for each and every one of our brothers, we hope you had a wonderful day brother Jay and our wish and prayer is that you will have many morehappy birthdays to come.

This past Sunday we had a wonderful dinner with the Roesberrys and the Martinezes, the Martinezes are in our ward, work with us in the temple and also sang in the group at the Christmas Temple Workers Devotional. They are wonderful people and have become great friends. They brought their grown daughter, who is a temple worker, and her boyfriend . Unfortunately we had to hurry as we had coordinators meeting and didn't get to stay and visit.

Monday we had been invited along with the Peñas and the Roesberrys to the home of the Villanuevas for the afternoon for dinner. He has been sick and we had visited them before Christmas. He is doing much better. They are the family who let us stay in their condo in Huatulco last year. They are such gracious and wonderful hosts. The meal was all traditional foods from Oaxaca and very delicious. They then surprised us with gifts and we toasted  ( with sparkling apple juice)  the new year, eternal friendships, the work of salvation and the temple, families, including ones you choose, the gospel, and life and love in general. What a wonderful afternoon with amazing people. We have been so blessed to have the opportunity to serve with such amazing, loving, and open hearted people. We have learned so much about love, acceptance, and hospitality from them. They are all so giving and loving.

The temple has been busy this week with everyone trying to get a session in before the maintenance closure.We have also been busy trying to get year end things finished and ready to send to Salt Lake, everything ready for the maintenance work and everything ready for when we open back up. Then there are always the little everyday things that require attention and workers that don't come or call or coordinators that don't show up etc. President & Sister Cardenas were gone the first of the week and President &Sister Serrano the last 2 days of the week so Ross and I were in the temple early and late all week. We both got a variety of experiences for the week which is always great, the week went by fast and as we look back it seems as though there are days that seem to pass slowly, all of a sudden another month has passed in the blink of an eye. It is hard to believe that we have only 3 months left here in Oaxaca.

These aprons are the gifts we were given, we admired Sister Villanuevas at an early visit in Dec. We had to take a photo of all of us in our aprons! Sister Villanueva, Jan Roesberry, Me, Sandra Peña, Adele Villanueva (she will be going on  mission soon)

Brother and Sister Villanueva with Adele

Fountain with plants in the front courtyard at Villanueva's

We leave tomorrow right afternoon to go to Mexico City, we will ride with the Penas and then come back on the bus. We are excited to see the changes in the temple there as well as tour the visitors center. It was under construction the entire time of our Mission in Mexico City. We are hoping to see a few of the people we served with there also. We will come back on Thursday and spend the rest of the week here in Oaxaca. Then the next week we will go back to Huatulco and Puerto Escondido.

We originally thought our break was in February so we could go to the Ray brother and Sister reunion in Cancun., we feel bad that we will have to miss it, we were looking forward to seeing everyone. Hopefully next year.

Today the lesson in Relief Society was from the teachings of Howard W. Hunter, I was so impressed with the lesson it was about the Peace that comes from our Savior. 

For some reason one section just really touched me and I want to share it "As we search for the shore of safety and peace, whether we be individual women and men, families, communities, or nations, Christ is the only beacon on which we can ultimately rely, He is the one who said of His mission, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6)

Consider for example, this instruction from Christ to His disciples. He said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matt.5:44) Think of what this admonition alone would do in your neighborhood and mine, in the communities in which you and your children live, in the nations which make up our great global family. I realize this doctrine poses a significant challenge, but surely it is a more agreeable challenge than the terrible tasks posed for us by the war and poverty and pain the world continues to face."

As I pondered this statement I wondered what I could do about this and if I even have any enemies, and it hit me that this applies equally to me personally and to all of my relationships, my friends, my family and even my relationship with myself. How often have I gotten angry or gotten my feelings hurt and nursed a grudge. By the way that is an interesting phrase, to nurse a grudge, to me nursing something signifies that we are caring for and nurturing something. I have a problem oft times with nursing grudges and keeping them safe and warm and growing. In reality while it may harm the person I am angry with it also harms me and turns me away from the peace I so desperately need and seek in my life. How important this principal of  being quick to forget and forgive is to each and every one of us. Anger and hatred truly is a cancer that if left unchecked destroys. But as we lean on the Savior and follow Him we can always remember His words, "Be of good cheer; it is I;be not afraid." (Matt 14:27)

Week of January 4th to January 10th 2016

Here it is Tuesday and I am finely setting down to write my weekly notes, first order of business is to wish Miss Essie Kate a very Happy 6th birthday! Her brothers kept telling her she couldn't turn six but she just went ahead and did it anyway! She is such a spunky, full of life, sweet, beautiful, precious, girl and we can't wait until we get to see her and spend time with her.

Monday we went to our friends, the Paveys, and spent the evening visiting and playing games. It was a very enjoyable evening, unfortunately within a couple of days Brother Pavey got quite ill again and is not doing well at all, we are praying his health improves again, with his lungs so weak he is very susceptible to any cold or illness and then he is very ill.

The temple stayed fairly busy this week, I think everyone is trying to get their sessions in before we are closed for the 2 weeks for maintenance. We are still trying to get everything organized with the new schedule and the workers schedules, It is interesting! My favorite thing is still doing the ordinances and neither of us get to do that very often! I also like to work in the laundry, it is quiet and peaceful and you have time to just think and ponder but, I seldom get to do work in the laundry anymore.

Sunday we went to the Barrio Reforma, when we walked in I looked down the hall and one of my secretarys was rushing down the hall toward me, she threw her arms around me and told me she had just visited with her bishop and had a date set for her temple sealing. When she and her husband got married she was pregnant so of course they didn't get married in the temple. She was pregnant with twins and at almost 5 months they lost them. They have been working hard on preparing to be sealed. She is such a cute girl. Her parents are the ones who let us use their condo in Huatulco last year. His parents also are temple workers. We are so happy for all of them.

There is a family in the Reforma Ward that had a true miracle, the dad, Brother Pino fell from the second story of a building onto the cement and split his head open, it was pretty bad, the doctors basically gave him up for dead or a complete vegetable, his wife wouldn't accept it. He is probably about Uncle Jared' age and a very nice looking, very kind and nice man. She called the temple and had his name put on the prayer roll and as soon as she could she came to the temple to pray and of course he had priesthood blessings. This happened in Oct or Nov., he was in church yesterday and he has been back to the temple! He uses a cane. His speech is not back to normal but he recognizes everyone, he remembers pretty much everything, he is always happy and smiling, and expected to eventually make a full recovery! Miracles do happen! 

We had a fun tender mercy in the temple Saturday, grandpa had been searching for some of  the Ray family that had moved to Oregon and finally found them, so he had printed the cards and sent them through, one was Mary Belle Ray, he was able to officiate when she was baptized, then we were officiating at the veil together, which doesn't happen very often anymore and the sister we helped had Mary Belle's name, it was touching to us and a sweet tender mercy. These little experiences help me to know that God is aware of me, they are like a little notice to me that He knows me and sees me and that He isn't to busy to let me know He loves His daughter personally. It gives me a sense of my worth in His eyes, that He would take time to make these little thinks work out. Kind of like love notes from Heaven. He really does know and love each one of us personally, he wants us to be happy, just as our earthly parents want us to be happy and to experience love and joy.

We love all of you and keep you all in our hearts thoughts and prayers. 

  



   

Week of Dec 28th 2015 to Jan. 3rd 2016 Happy New Year!

I don't know about any one else but I just can not wrap my head around the fact that it is 2016,  I think in my imagination I am still living in the in the 1980's with my own young family on the farm in Cedar City. Time has just flown by so incredibly fast. I walk by a mirror and do a double take because I don't recognize that old person looking back, I'm not sure when I got to be this age, the days and weeks passed so quickly! Not that I would change much, life has been very good to me and I have so very much to be grateful for I am just selfish and want to enjoy it all for a lot longer.

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.

Tis the season to be busy! Weeks of Dec.14th to 27th. 2015

You would think that the weeks leading up to Christmas would be more calm and relaxed in the mission field, after all, we really have no shopping to do, I am not doing a lot of baking, my house is much smaller and a whole lot easier to keep clean, but life is life where ever you are and it seems that the busyness of life creeps in no matter what. I guess the key, as in all things is to set priorities and stick with them, remember what is most important and what is best and let the rest go! It is so easy to get distracted by the things of the world, I am so grateful for the gentle whispering of the Spirit to remind me when I am getting to far off track and the reminders that this Season of Christmas is and should be all about Christ.

Friday the 18th we had the opportunity to attend a beautiful program put on by some of the missionaries in the area, it was amazing. We kind of drug our feet a little about going as it had been a busy day at the temple and we were tired, I had come home early with a migraine, but was feeling better, so we (the Roesberrys and us) caught a taxi and went. We were all so glad we did, the purpose was twofold, to celebrate Christmas and to introduce investigators to the Gospel. As we listened to them sing and play piano it is so evident to see that the Lord really has saved the best of the best for the last days, these kids are all so talented and beautiful and the light of Christ shines brilliantly in their eyes and faces making them even more beautiful. One of the missionaries that we know is a big Samoan, Elder Anono from Salt Lake, you would think he would have a big booming bass voice, nope, he has the softest, sweetest, most beautiful tenor voice. He sang several duets with different sisters and as well as a solo. This program was just what I needed to remind me of what is really important and connect me with Christ

 With flowers blooming and weather that is warm enough to cause sunburn it has been hard to believe it is Christmas. These are the Noche Buenas (Poinsettas) outside our front door. 

Sunday the 20th we spoke in the Independencia Ward of the Atoyac Stake, we always leave with plenty of time so we are not late, it was a good thing. We have been to that building twice, but we still got lost! We ended up taking a cab and a moto taxi to get there.

 This is a moto taxi, quite often they will put 3 people in the back seat and one next to the driver.

One of the cute families from Barrio Independencia.

When we went home we could not find a yellow cab anywhere, we needed to get home early as we needed to be there to help prepare for the Temple Workers Devotional. We finally ended up taking 2 buses and 2 moto Taxis, travel is quite often an adventure when you don't have a car. Ross has teased since we first got here about buying a car and driving home, I have been pretty adamant about the fact that when it is time to go home I want to get there in a few hours by plane! But, oh there are times a car would be nice! Except then we would probably really get lost!

The temple workers devotional went well, we thought at first it wasn't going to be well attended but as with most things here by the time it was about half over there was a pretty good crowd. Ross and Jan and the rest of the Choir did a great job. We planned a family night for the next evening (Monday) to get together with the choir and sing in the neighborhood ( just for fun) and have hot chocolate, we ended up making dinner for the group instead. Unfortunately only one couple was able to come, we still went caroling to the neighbors and took cookies, we got hugs at several houses, then we came back and ate, they were pleasantly surprised when we served Mexican food. We all had a great time and feel like we are good friends now.

 The couple that came to eat are the Alcazars, the man next to Ross and the Sister with the long hair next to Jan. He has an amazing voice and has sung in choirs a lot and is the go to guy for funerals etc.

I keep starting and stopping on this blog, I work on it a little here and there, eventually I ill get it done and posted!  Merry Christmas everyone! We hope and pray you are all enjoying this special time together and that you feel the love of  the Savior as you celebrate. We had a very enjoyable Christmas Eve, we met with the Cardenas' at their home, The Pena's, Sister Zarco and her daughter from Provo, and some surprise guests. The Cardenas' brother, who is the temple recorder in Mexico city, along with his family and two of the Cardenas' boys came and surprised them. We had a wonderful dinner a very nice program of songs and thoughts and great visiting. Christmas day we all got together again, this time with the Roesberrys and 4 sets of young Elders and had another amazing meal and wonderful conversation. In the evening of Christmas day we got together with the Roesberrys and President and Sister Madsen and played Tensies and cards and ate more treats! We are going to really have to up the diet and exercise program after this week.

Dinner at the Cardenas' house, they are very gracious hosts, both thier son and Sister Zarcos daughter are great musicians. They both play piano and sing so beautifully as does Brother Marco Cardenas' daughter. 

The best part of the day was skyping and talking to each and everyone of our kids and grandkids and knowing they are all well and happy. We even got to see and talk to AndiJo through the miracle of technology. What a blessing it is to live in our day and age!

You can see Andi on one screen and us on the other, it was almost like being together! We also had several sets of the Elders skype home from here. It was fun to say hi to their families, but more fun to hear the joy in their voices as they talked to family. Joy sounds the same in any language. 

Christmas Eve or Buena Noche is the big Celebration here, families get together for the evening and spend time together playing games and singing etc. At Midnight if you are Catholic, you go to mass, or you go set off fireworks, if you have been good, while you are gone, Santa comes, usually with one gift. Then when you return home you have a big middle of the night meal and it's off to bed. Then on the 5th of Jan. you set out your shoes, with hay for the camels, and the wise men bring gifts again. 

We went back to work Saturday and the group we expected turned out to be 6 people in a car not 60 on a bus. We had a bit of a slow day but still a great day, we were home by 2:00. The cutest little 2 year old was sealed to her adopted parents. What a happy day for them. 

Today we went to the ward that Greg and Jan usually attend, La Noria. It started at 12:00, all 4 of us gave talks. (The talks went well, Jan and Greg did  fantastic.) It was Greg and Jan's last week in that ward as they are now officially in the same ward as us, since they have moved. 
We will have a week off of speaking and then we start our assignment strictly in the Amapolis Stake until we come home in April.

During this last two weeks we managed to sneak away and watch the new Star Wars Movie, we enjoyed it, although it wasn't a lot different than any of the others, just upgraded special affects. Still they are fun movies and a good break. Jan said it is kind of like seeing old friends. It is amazing how many parallels you can draw to the gospel and Star Wars if you look, and you don't have to look very hard either! I like movies and stories with clear cut good and evil and not all the grey areas. 

We are busy in the office trying to organize for the  New Year and the change in horarios, we are going to be open different hours, and the workers will be changing to different shifts, it is up to me to get it all organized. We have decided that we need to start training the secretaries to take over as many of our responsibilities as we can so that we can spend the last month as back up for them. It looks more and more unlikely that there will be a replacement for us. There will be some of the things that Ross does that he will have to train the Presidency to do but there is a lot that the secretaries can take over. We do love the work and the temple but we plan on coming home in April!

It has been a busy two weeks filled with reminder's of Christ's birth, His mission, His great love for each and every one of us, the joy of family and friends, the privilege of  serving in His holy house, visiting new wards, listening to and singing sacred music, all this celebration has been centered in and pointing to Christ. It brings to mind a Scripture from 2 Nephi 25:26 " And we talk of Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." And I would add that they would know where to look for true joy and happiness in this life and in the life to come for it is only through our Savior and Redeemer, he who is the Light and the Life of the world that we can and will find peace, he said 
" Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
We pray that your hearts may be at peace now and throughout this coming year we love you! 



  

  

Happy,Happy Birthday on Wednesday to our sweet, silly, happy, fun, beautiful, 7 year old Eliza. We wish we could be there to eat birthday cake with you and play games and have a party. We have missed a lot of parties so maybe we will have to have one big party when we get home! We could eat all our favorite foods and cakes and play all our favorite games.

This week seemed to go by pretty quickly, I suppose that is because we stayed busy, Ross has been practicing to sing in the temple workers devotional. Who knew it could be so hard to get a small group together to practice or that finding a piano player would be like pulling hen's teeth! If Jan doesn't have a panic attack between being in charge of her ward program and this performance, before it is all over it will be a Christmas Miracle! hahah, Really though it is coming together and sounding good. We have also been getting things in the temple ready for the new year, new hours, new schedules, etc. It makes life interesting and keeps us all on our toes.

Monday we went downtown with the Roesberrys and found a few things to make gifts for our secretaries and neighbors then we ate lunch in the Zocolo. We were joined by a pigeon who thought he wanted to share our lunch as we dined in the open air and watched the people. The Zocolo was very busy with people bustling about trying to get shopping done and others trying to sell their hand made items. We also had entertainment in the form of a marimba. The Zocolo is always so colorful and fun. One little boy came to our table selling necklaces, Greg asked him why he wasn't in school, he pointed to a group of teachers across the square who were protesting and said because the teachers are here. Pretty quick response, although not entirely true as they were college teachers.
One day this week Ross and Pres. Cardenas had a Conference call training with Salt Lake on Recorder training and finances that lasted about 11/2 hours. he really needs a replacement soon as he has a lot to teach the new recorder.

Friday night we had a dinner for the Stake and District Presidents at President Cardenas' house, it had to be at 8:00 pm to accommodate everyone's schedules. It was a great evening although everyone couldn't make it, but it was a bit late and we didn't get to bed until late and had to be back to the temple by 4:45 for the group that came from Salina Cruz.

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Dinner at Pres. Cardenas' House

Pres. Andrade and family Stake Pres. of Monte Alban

Pres.Peña in front Pres. and Sis. Villanueva of Atoyac

Pres. and Sis. Junco of Amapolas

Pres. and Sis Leon couldn't make it, they had sick kids and the other stakes and districts are a long ways away. It really was a  nice evening, these people are the salt of the earth and are so enjoyable to associate with, at times we wonder how we got so blessed to be able to rub shoulders with such great servants of the Lord. We pinch ourselves to see if it is a dream and we are going to wake up and be back in our own reality in Fredonia.

Saturday the temple was very full, we had  well over 200 people in our little temple, 86 were young people in the baptistery.(It was great because we got a lot of family names done) Sometimes I think that the Lord  somehow manages to stretch the walls to fit everyone in, you would never know by the sound inside that there are that many people, the reverence is incredible! Even in the office people speak in whispers. I got to help a sister prepare her papers to be sealed to her deceased parents again, she was so happy. Chris Norman thank you so much for helping me learn how to do genealogy, you have helped me on the path to fulfill a part of my patriarchal blessing. We also had 2 families become eternal families. It is such a blessing to see the joy on their faces as they leave the temple arm in arm knowing that they are now under covenant to be eternally together. They are so joyful as they take pictures together on the steps. 

Today we were able to go the the dedication of the new Tijuana Temple, that makes 13 temples in Mexico! It was such a wonderful, inspiring and spiritual, President Uchtdorf did the dedicatory prayer and it was amazing. There are times I really wish I had a photographic memory and that I could remember and record the things I hear for later reference. I take notes but I can't write fast enough and I miss things, and sometimes when I am writing one thing I miss hearing the next thing, especially if it is in Spanish! Maybe in Heaven we will  have that kind of brain or ability.

With this being the Christmas season we want to leave you with a Christmas thought from John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son , that whosoever believeth in Him  should not perish but have everlasting life". And in John 12:46 "I am come a light unto the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness." This Christmas season as we string lights and enjoy the decorations and all that Christmas brings of light and joy we pray we remember the true Light of the world, the one who dispels the darkness and brings us the hope and joy of eternal life. He truly is our Savior our Redeemer, our best friend, our Light in a world of darkness Jesus the Christ.

We love you and pray for for each of you always.