December 11, 2016

December 11, 2016\

Hello all my chickadees!

A few tidbits from my journal.  Yes, my letters are pretty random I know.

This past couple of weeks have just flown by and have really been a blessing to so many people because of the love and help from many others.  I want to share some of the details.

A couple of months ago I shared with our children the condition of our elders’ clothes that I noticed one day as I was helping them to do their laundry at our home.  Many of the missionaries, especially the Latinos, have come on their missions with so little clothing because of the poor economic condition of their own families and are unable to replace what they do have…tattered shirts, paper thin pants, holes, stains, etc.  They are so humble, washing, ironing, and going out each day to serve the Lord in the best clothing they have.  We asked our children if they would consider sharing some of their Christmas with these missionaries (and so many others here in Pinotepa), and they and many others have responded so very generously.  Not only shirts, pants, ties, and socks have been donated, but several hundred dollars to buy other clothing for the sister missionaries who may be in need.  And candy for the kids, CTR rings, puppets, Books of Mormon.  The generosity of our extended family has been inspiring.

Geoff had business meetings in Mexico City last week and so he and Lezlie made the trip to Mexico for business and then to be Santa Claus for our mission.  They delivered boxes of clothing and some money to our mission president and his wife with a bunch of gifts bags so she can divide up the donated items and buy what other things are needed for the other missionaries who are in need. 

Today Ken and I talked with the District RS President, who has been assigned to plan the District Christmas party, with zero money, to find out what we could do to help.  The decision was made to give her some of the donated money to purchase refreshments, and then Ken and I are going to put together little packets for the kids with suckers and peppermint sticks donated by others, and then he and I are going to be making tons of cookies and popcorn balls and putting these packets together for the kids, which I know will be a real treat for them because the families have so little extra money for Christmas gifts.  We’re excited to be a part of this Christmas blessing for our District.  This is what Christmas is all about!!!

While Lezlie and Geoff were here she offered to help train whoever may be interested in Family Search.  Some of the members were so excited that “someone from Utah” was coming all the way to Pinotepa to teach them about family history that they asked if she would spend more than just one night, and so she taught three nights how to do Family Search.  She was able to help some of them find ancestors that they were unable to find on their own.  Louise was also able to find several generations for President Bautista. Today a couple of the members spoke in Sacrament meeting about the experiences they had with Lezlie and Geoff and how their lives have been blessed because of these experiences.  One of the sisters said that they consider them to be family now!  Geoff was able to figure out why one of the computers in the Family History library wasn’t working, and we’ve also been in contact the “right” person about getting the Family History all of the other equipment needed to be fully functional.  Since the building has absolutely nothing in the “library,” President Avila has also approved us ordering library materials, such as manuals and pictures, etc., so we’re hoping to have a fully functional library in a couple of months.

It’s very exciting for Ken and me to see progress being made in many areas for the people in this District.  With his calling in the District Presidency he also has the opportunity to do leadership training from the top down. Today we offered to teach piano to those interested and had about 8 of the youth respond.  So our first piano lesson will be this Wednesday.  Tonight at the branch presidency training meeting Ken mentioned that we were going to start music lessons this week.  One of the Presidents from an outlying area talked to him afterwards and said that he wanted to learn how to play the piano also!  President Bautista, one of the branch presidents, has been extremely supportive of any help we can give because he knows our time is limited, and since it has been at least 8 years since the mission has had any senior missionaries, he wants to take advantage of our time and experience. We really appreciate his support and encouragement.

One of the branches planned a temple trip this weekend and since we got permission from President Avila to attend the temple in Oaxaca with them we made plans to travel on one of the really nice buses the 8 hours or so it takes to get to Oaxaca.  It was the bus ride from HELL!!!  I keep wondering how many other “tests” are yet to come our way…I just hope I can pass them all!  Anyway, the temple is 220 miles from Pinotepa, but the road is so curvy, narrow, and full of speed bumps, that it took 9 ½ hours to get there.  The buses leave at night when the trip is so long so the passengers can sleep, but I don’t understand how any of them could sleep!  About midway Ken and I were so motion sick that we were both looking for something we could throw up in!  No kidding. Ken was dripping wet with sweat he was feeling so gross (this is the guy who has had zero compassion for those of us who get sea sick when fishing in Mexico, a little payback I think!).  We figured out that we traveled 220 miles in 9 ½ hours, which is about 23 MPH!!!!!!!!!  Of course, when we got there we swore we would never make that trip again and decided to take advantage of the time we were in the temple.  We did 9 baptisms, 20 initiatories, and 6 endowments in the two days we were there.  The trip home was much better, even though it took 11 hours because the driver took a different route with fewer curvy roads but neither one of us got sick (the Dramamine pill helped). And Oaxaca was beautiful, with cool temps day and night.  We met a gringo couple in the temple, the DeWolf’s, who are temple ordinance workers from Pleasant Grove, Utah, and it was so fun visiting with them both days. They asked if we would like to go to the Zocolo (city center) with them last night, and it was awesome!  Lots of people and vendors galore and a dance contest with girls in their beautiful colored skirts and caballeros in their fancy boots and hats.  The plaza was decorated with colorful Christmas lights everywhere.  It was a wonderful ending to our wonderful temple experience.

So, this is the PERFECT mission for us both.  I have never felt especially talented, but the little amount of talent we can share with them seems to be so appreciated, and that makes it all worth the effort, the challenges, and the frustrations of serving here.  It’s still stinkin’ hot and humid, I didn’t appreciate one bit that a big old black tarantula decided to make MY kitchen HIS home this week, and walking up and down our hilly streets is pretty tiring for these oldsters, but we are very happy because what the Lord sent here to do is having an impact on lives, and nothing can be better than that.  I hope that when we leave Pinotepa they will know and remember how much we love them and the Lord.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

We hope that this Christmas season is bringing joy to you and yours.  We love you all and miss you.

Love,

Mom and Dad