Catching up: Five weeks at home, broken wrist, and a wedding!

[23 May 2016]

Well, we’ve got some catching up to do.

We left Bolivia on April 18th due to the wedding of our daughter Emily. The intent was to spend two weeks in Utah, culminating with her wedding on the 30th, returning to Bolivia on May 2nd.

But, as they say, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. So did ours.

Week 1
We arrived in Salt Lake City at about midnight on the 18th, grabbed a rental car, and headed home to our condo in West Valley City. Emily and Sam were there waiting for us, which was very fun. We visited briefly, then went to bed.

On Tuesday, the 19th, we went up to Woods Cross to visit our daughter Becky, followed by a trip across town to Centerville to visit with Matt and Lisa (our son and his wife) and their family. They added a daughter to their family last August, whom we had obviously not been able to hold and love. Molly really wanted to get to know little Violet.

We arrived, and Lisa and Matt came out to greet us with Nicholas, their 3 year old. We had only been there about 5-10 minutes when Molly, after kicking a soccer ball to Nicholas, fell backwards on the driveway and broke her wrist. It was a complete fracture of the radius, with a displacement of the bone. Fortunately, Matt knew exactly where to go, having broken a bone in his hand only a few weeks earlier.

We went to the Centerville Urgent Care clinic, where they X-rayed Molly’s wrist, gave her some pain killers and a splint, and sent us on to the Emergency Room at the University of Utah. While there, they set the bone and splinted it with a more permanent splint. Both before and after setting the bone, they X-rayed it at the ER, and the X-Ray technician spoke Spanish, which made Molly a bit happier.

In setting the bone, they had to numb Molly’s forearm, wrist, and hand with Lidocaine. To get enough in her arm to numb it completely, they put a tourniquet on her upper arm. That prevented the Lidocaine from getting into her system and causing other problems. According to Molly, the tourniquet hurt worse than the broken wrist.

Molly's hand and wrist just before getting the bone set in the ER.

That was Tuesday. Not as successful as we had hoped to be. We had yet to visit our newest grand-daughter.

We spent the rest of the week visiting family – Molly did get to hold Violet on Thursday, which helped ease the trauma from Tuesday. Wednesday was spent visiting with my parents in Orem, our daughter Stacy, Emily, and her fiance, Scott. We had dinner at the Brick Oven restaurant in Provo.

Thursday, as indicated, we visited Matt and Lisa again. We held Violet and played with the boys. Finally!

Molly holding Violet for the first time! The splint and sling
got in the way a bit, but they both loved being together.

On Friday, we visited Molly’s Aunt Lilly. She lives in Draper in a care center. It was nice to see her.

We filled spare hours helping Emily get ready for her wedding and visiting family. Sunday, we went to dinner with Scott’s mom and his step-father, then went over and visited with one of Scott’s brothers and his family and his dad. What a sweet family.

Week 2
On Wednesday of the second week, Molly got her wrist evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon, who informed us that she really needed surgery to place a plate in her wrist to align the bones correctly. We scheduled that for May 2nd – the day we were supposed to return to Bolivia. The follow up for the surgery would require us to stay here an extra two weeks, after which, if the doctor felt good about it, we could reschedule our return. We contacted our Temple President, President Jensen, and requested a three week extension to our stay, which was granted.

Molly's hand before the Dr.'s evaluation.

The big reveal. The bone alignment was not optimal, thus surgery is required.

We were also able to visit with a good friend from American Fork, Miriam Alvez, and her kids. She fed us a wonderful lunch. We were also able to visit my parents again.

Thursday night we had dinner with all our kids and their families, short Seth’s wife, Shalana, and their three children. Seth had come out from Wisconsin, and Holly and Jeff and their family had come from Missouri to be with Emily.

Friday evening was Emily and Scott’s “Pre-ception”. Stacy helped decorate, and we all helped set up tables and chairs. Sam provided the music. Scott’s nephews and nieces helped in the kitchen – it was fun to watch their interactions. Many friends and family came. It was fun to see many of the members of our old American Fork ward, and some dear friends from our Jordan Meadows ward.

Saturday was the wedding at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. While we all waited in the sealing room for Emily and Scott to come, Molly went around hugging everyone. When Emily and Scott came, she was still hugging and kissing folks, and the sealer asked what had happened to the mother of the bride. We all indicated that she was just doing missionary work.

The wedding was very special. It was so fun to see family and friends their to support our sweet Emily in her new life. Seth took pictures of everyone afterwards, and in his usual way, made it really fun. We had a nice luncheon afterwards.

The new couple with their moms at the temple.

Holly and Jeff and their family had to leave right after the luncheon, and as always, our sweet little Dani cried, which made all of us cry. It was so fun to be able to visit with Holly about her farm in Missouri, and talk to her children about all the fun they are having.

We visited our Jordan Meadows ward on Sunday. We hadn’t informed the Bishop that we were going to be there, so he was surprised to see us. In the afternoon, Molly’s sister, Mel, and her husband, Duane, came by to visit us. We hadn’t seen them in about two years, since they were serving a mission in New Zealand when we left for Bolivia.

Week 3
Monday, May 2nd, instead of flying back to Bolivia, was spent at the U of U hospital with Molly’s surgery. As they finished, and she started to wake up, the nurses kept reminding her to speak in English so they could understand her. When I first learned Spanish in Bolivia forty years ago, I was told that you could feel successful in your learning when you realized that you were dreaming in Spanish. Nobody said anything about waking up from surgery, but I figure that Molly must feel very comfortable with her Spanish since it has become the language of her subconscious!

Post surgery.

On Wednesday, the post-surgical splint was causing a lot of pain in her pinky finger, so we called the doctor, and he said it was OK for me to loosen up the wrap on her wrist. That helped a lot. We also got a sweet visit from our daughter-in-law, Shalana (Seth’s wife), and their daughter, Zoey. If we had gone back to Bolivia on Monday, we would have missed them. It was so fun to see them.

On Friday, we went up and visited with Matt and the kids. Lisa was at her chemotherapy appointment with her parents. They came home in the afternoon, so we got to see them, as well.

On Saturday, we got to go to the new Provo City Center temple with Stacy. It is very lovely. The restoration of the old Tabernacle was so beautiful.

On Sunday, we got to go to Becky’s ward and I got to stand in the circle while Paul, her husband, ordained their son, Gordon (our oldest grandchild) to the office of Deacon. It was sweet to hear his special blessing on their son. Another blessing of the broken wrist. We also got a visit that afternoon, from another of Molly’s sisters, Jo, and her husband, Pat.

Week 4
On Monday, May 9th, we drove to Fallbrook, California, to visit Molly’s mother. We got there late, so we just got a hotel room, and went to visit her Tuesday morning. We hadn’t told her we were coming, so it was a surprise. Molly’s mother just hugged her and cried.

Molly and her mother, with Sissy.

We spent the whole week there, just visiting, except for a brief trip down to the beach in Oceanside, just to get our feet wet in the surf and walk on the pier. One fun thing about Fallbrook was the market there. The announcements overhead were in Spanish, and there were products on the shelves that we have seen in the ICNorte market in Cochabamba. It felt a little like we were back in Cochabamba.

On the Oceanside pier with a friend.

Saying goodbye. Molly with her mother and sister.

On Friday, we returned home to West Valley. On Saturday, we tried to go to a Spanish session at the Mt. Timpanogas temple, but got the times confused. So we went to a regular English session. Since Molly was still in a cast, she needed help, and it was sweet for her to have sisters in the temple ready and willing to lend her a hand (literally).

On Sunday, we went to church with Stacy, where she sang in a mixed octet with other ward members. She has a beautiful voice. The number they sang was truly beautiful.

Week 5
On Monday, May 16th, we had lunch with Marina Valdizan, with whom we had served in the Temple in Cochabamba. She returned from her mission in February. It was fun to see her again and visit. Her brother owns the La Carreta restaurant in Orem, which serves native Peruvian food. It was very tasty.

On Wednesday, Molly had her follow up appointment with the surgeon. He said everything was looking very good, and gave us permission to leave the country. Hooray! The Occupational Therapist in his office made a brace for Molly's arm, and gave her a bunch of exercises she need to do five times a day for the next four to six weeks to get her mobility and strength back. Her brace is purple!

The purple brace - looking much better.

The brace is two-toned. Molly's favorite color.

On Thursday, we tended Matt and Lisa’s kids while Matt took her to her chemotherapy appointment. They also found that the spots on her liver have shrunk, but have not disappeared. Matt came back while Lisa’s sister-in-law stayed with her at the Hunstman Center. He went back in the afternoon to pick her up and bring her home. It was good for us to be there with them.

On Friday we had dinner with my brother, Richard, and his wife, Karen. It was very good. We all went together to the viewing of my Aunt Barbara who passed away this week. She was 85, and my memories of her and her family are very sweet. We talked at length with my cousin, Bob, and his wife, Diane.

On Saturday we called my mother, who celebrated her 87th birthday. She has been such a strength and help to Dad through these past years with his physical struggles. They make such a good team, and such wonderful examples to their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Sunday was spent listening to Emily and Scott speak in their Sacrament Meeting, and then visiting with Matt and Lisa again, along with her parents. Matt gave her a very special priesthood blessing.

And here we are on Monday, May 23rd, in an airplane flying to Dallas, Texas, on our way back to Bolivia, finally. We have really missed being in Cochabamba, and serving in the Temple each day. We have missed all the sweet associations we have with the missionaries, and all the temple workers. It will be nice to be back to our Cochabamba home.

At the La Paz airport, at 5:00 in the morning, with a nice
cup of hot chocolate to warm us up.

Special Temple Workers Devotional

[April 17, 2016]

Sunday April 10th  about 3:30pm we took the 3 bus down to the University Stake Center for a Temple Devotional for all temple workers and employees and their spouses. We got there about 4:30. It started at 6. The Escaleras were there along with another sister. A few more trickled in and about 4:50 we were able to get inside the gate and at 5:00 we were able to get into the chapel. By this time there were about 30 or more of us including about 12 missionaries.

We missionaries were asked to sing a musical number. Charlie found and arranged a medley of Families Can Be Together Forever and I love to See the Temple. I was asked to direct our little choir of 12. As none of us are professional singers by any stretch, my goal for the choir was to bear our testimonies as missionaries of this great work that all in attendance believe in as well. Also to express our love for these beautiful, faithful, Bolivian brothers and sisters that we serve with every day in the Temple.

We were going to practice at 5 before it started. Charlie wanted to practice on the piano beforehand as he was going to play for the congregational hymns, which is why we got there so early.

We were able to practice and get our seating situated. Presidente Garcia of the Temple Presidency was so sweet to share his personal hymn book with me as there were no hymn books in the chapel and I was leading the congregational singing. I left him a thank you note in his book.

I'm so grateful  that I got to lead the singing. The chapel was full to overflowing with wonderful, dear people that I know and love as well as their spouses that I didn't know so well, but some that I have met. I couldn't stop smiling at them and nearly cried, my heart was so full of love for these dear, faithful people. I did go down before the meeting to use the rest room and hugged everyone in the chapel that was there so far.

The choir did a great job. They looked up often and they smiled and sang from their hearts. I think we were all feeling the same thing. Love for this work and these dear people. I felt especially grateful that I got to stand in front of them and see their smiling faces and feel the spirit in which they sang.

President Jensen and his wife spoke, and then two of the Quorum of the Seventy assigned to this area spoke. Next was our turn to sing. After we sang we heard from Elder Hugo Montoya of the Area Presidency. He gave such a powerful, moving, talk. He loves temple work and you could feel that in everything he said. He served for many years as an ordinance worker, which he loved. When  he was called to be a General Authority he asked President Monson if he could still still serve as an ordinance worker in the Temple. He was given permission. He was amazing.

The whole meeting was very inspirational, even if I couldn't understand all of it, I could feel it. There were lots of hugs afterwards. Many of the workers that come once a month for a week from La Paz and Santa Cruz came for this special devotional.

In the picture below, we're standing with Hna. Zambrana. I had warned Molly about complimenting Bolivians about things in their homes, clothing items, etc., but she wasn't thinking one day when Hna. Zambrana came wearing a very colorful sweater. Molly complimented her about it, and sure enough, Hna. Zambrana gifted her the sweater right there in the Temple. Fortunately, it fit Molly very well.  In the picture at the bottom, Molly is modeling the sweater.

Molly and I with Hna. Zambrana.

Molly modeling her new sweater.

More Adventures and Sweet Experiences

[April 8, 2016]

While Charlie was coordinating the afternoon shift at the temple  I ventured out of the gates and for the first time in 9 months went alone. I just went to the little store across the street to buy some juice. Percy Avila was the guard. He was surprised to see me without my companion. We talked briefly. I also went to the distribution center here.

Once "safe" back home, I washed the bottles of juice. Then I proceeded to make pancitas (little breads) from the recipe that Hna. Altamirano gave me. My first authentic Bolivian bread recipe. Very yummy.

When we got home from our shift one afternoon there was a package for us at the office. A dear sister that I met in the temple who was staying in the hospedaje left it for us.  It was two kinds of sweet breads. One big round one that looked like it had a "tree of life " design and the other was something I've always wanted to try. Everywhere we go we see these big round donut-like breads that are covered in a thick, gooey, white sweetness. Very interesting and very sweet of her to think of us.

We finally found the pizza place open. We have tried several times and it has always been closed. You can see the big round brick ovens from the sidewalk. It was delicious and so fun to watch them make it. There were about four working at the same counter space. They are very generous with their toppings and the pizza cooks in about 5 minutes due to the hot temperature of the oven. We also watched them make a big calzone that they cooked on the edge of the oven, for a longer time of course. It was very interesting and delicious. I think we've found the place to satisfy my pizza cravings.

On Monday we had a real adventure. We went with the Hills, Russells, Hno. Angle (Sue Ellen, his wife was sick) and Hna. Butler. Hno. Hill arranged for a driver with a nice big van and a guide who was a daughter of one of the gardeners here at the temple. We left about 8:00 and got home around 3:30. We would not have been gone so long if the main roads hadn't been blocked due to some disgruntlement in the workforce of Cochabamba who caused the bloqueo. We went up towards Mount Tunari, a mountain close by. The scenery was beautiful. We drove through some interesting and quaint little towns. The road was narrow, windy, and paved with cobble stone. We saw lots of llama, alpaca, sheep, some donkeys, horses, one bull and a few cows. Sister Butler and I also saw some really cute woolly worms.

The summit was about 15,000 feet. We stopped up there for lunch by a lake. There weren't any trees to speak of at that high altitude and the "grass" was little clustering plants clinging to the ground mixed in with beautiful, delicate, tiny flowers. We sat on big rocks to eat our lunch until it got extremely cold with the wind and the cloud it brought with it.

Eating lunch by the lake

A panorama near Mount Tunari.

We thought we were headed home and finally found the pavement "ahhhh", when our guide decided we needed to find a route to Liriuni that wasn't blocked off. We stopped and asked someone for directions. Back to the cobble stones and the narrow winding road. We found the turn off which was dirt now and more narrow and steep. We even forded a stream where people were washing their clothes.

Liriuni is a balneario or spa. With natural hot springs to keep everything warm and healthy, they have two large pools, one with a scary cement slide that was not in use. There were some families vacationing with their kids and swimming in the pools. They had small rooms you could rent with your own tiled hot tub. There were also rooms with twin sized beds for longer stays. It was a regular resort up in the middle of these gorgeous mountains. Somehow people find their way through the narrow windy roads to this "fun" vacation spot. There was also a comedor (dining room) and a gift shop of course. By our standards it looked a bit run down, but it was still being used and people looked happy to be there.

[In the picture below, you see the BAÑO - they had toilets, but you had to carry a bucket of water in with you to pour in it to "flush" it.]

Liriuni "Resort"

It was a fun day. Another reason to love this place.

One of my Temple assignments this week was the sealing coordinator, which means I get to welcome and help the sisters who are coming to the temple for the first time as well as help those who are being sealed. Hna. Camacho was one of these sisters. She was receiving her own endowments and then being sealed to her living 98 year old mother and deceased father who died three years ago at the age of 95. 

Her sister was her acompañante (escort)  and her nephew was proxy for her father. Such dear people, the Spirit was very strong the whole time with them, especially in the sealing.  I love these experiences.

Another day I was assigned the Baptistry.  There were 8 boys and 8 girls. They were a very talkative, not disrespectful, just talkative, group. After Pres. Mogrovejo gave the bienvenida (welcome), I gave the instructions. I felt inspired to testify that this is the House of the Lord, He loves them and will give them inspiration and even revelation if they are reverent. They were quite receptive and cute. It was a good experience. Hno. Chalmers was in charge and his wife Sally came down to help me. They are cute together. A good example for the youth to see.

On the home front our  Danielle Renae Freese had her 7th birthday on the 5th. We enjoyed Face Timing with her before she went to school. We even got to see the yummy pink cupcakes that her mother was making for her to take to school.

We love visiting with our children, grandchildren and parents each week via the internet. What a great time to be a senior missionary.

We even got to view all of General Conference in real time via The Temple President's satellite service from their home. We enjoyed every minute of it. 

Easter in Bolivia

[March 29, 2016]

This last week has been very busy, so I haven't gotten out to take any pictures... So, if you don't like words, you might as well stop now.

Last week was "La Semana Santa" - Holy Week here in Bolivia. As Bolivia is predominantly Catholic, the population at large knows about Easter. On Friday, Good Friday, we were walking around, and it was clear that it was a holiday - no trufis, very little traffic, many places closed, and lots of people gathered at the Cathedral at the Plaza Recoleta. It is one of the seven (?) major cathedrals here in Cochabamba (I may have the number wrong - there may be more major ones).

As we walked past, the cathedral was full to overflowing, and although we didn't get close enough to actually look in, we imagined they must be having Mass. There were vendors outside, interestingly enough, selling chocolate Easter eggs, and other paraphernalia - I'm suspicious that this is a borrowing of traditions from other cultures, since there really wasn't a lot of it. All said, the people of Bolivia are generally pious and believing in their religious traditions, even though they are sometimes blended with more ancient, non-Christian kinds of beliefs as well.

What was maybe even more interesting was the lack of any real focus on Easter in our Sacrament Meetings on Sunday. Molly and I both thought it was a bit strange. It was Fast and Testimony meeting because of General Conference next Sunday, so there really wasn't an opportunity for an Easter Cantata, or talks focused on the Atonement and Resurrection. But, we thought they might sing some Easter hymns as opening and closing songs. I think part of the problem is that they don't know those hymns, so they don't choose them.

Nonetheless, I started asking members about Easter. Some of them didn't realize it was Easter. None of them seemed to be bothered by the lack of focus on the Atonement and Resurrection. As I was pondering this, one comment from a conference talk (I think. I don't have the reference at hand and am too lazy to look.), came to mind. Basically (much paraphrased), the sense of it was, we celebrate the Atonement every week with the Sacrament. We don't really need to focus on it specifically if we understand that, and are worshiping effectively each week as we take the Sacrament.

Even so, in our home, our tradition has been to de-emphasize the Easter Bunny, secular traditions, and to use Easter as a time to teach and remind ourselves of the eternal significance of the Atonement and Resurrection. Over the years, it has certainly helped me to direct my thoughts and understanding of what Christ did for us, the supernal doctrines of the Atonement, and my appreciation of it more and more each year.

I wonder if, in the process of converting to Mormonism, the members have consciously tried to distance themselves from their old Catholic traditions and beliefs, since the prominent presence of the cross in their worship seems to emphasize the pain and suffering as opposed to the joy and salvation that we tend to emphasize in our worshiping. Who knows? It's just an observation of a difference that was hard to miss.

In that light, though, President Jensen taught a Family Home Evening last night focused on Christ and the Atonement. He started by quoting Jacob 4:12:

" . . .  for why not speak of the atonement of Christ, . . . "

Since he spent a number of years as one of the Seven Presidents of the Seventy, he had many opportunities to be taught, literally, at the feet of prophets. In one of their meetings, they were asked to ponder three inspired questions in their teaching:

1. When was the last time you taught doctrine?
2. When was the last time you taught the Atonement?
3. What scriptures did you use?

He then proceeded to teach our missionaries about the Atonement from three perspectives:

1. Events of the Atonement, oriented around how Christ was always revealing Himself as the Son of God, how he was constantly training leaders, how he increased in popularity, while simultaneously feeling increased hatred and efforts to take His life. All of this culminated in what President Jensen called Christ's "divine rendezvous" in the garden, on the cross, and at the tomb.
2. Doctrines of the Atonement, especially focusing on His roles as Advocate, intercessor, and Mediator, using many scriptures to highlight these doctrines. One comment he made was that where you see the word "gospel", you can replace it with "doctrine" and vice-versa.
3. Application of the doctrines, again focusing on how Christ's role as mediator, pleading  our cause, and advocating with the Father in our behalf, again using the scriptures heavily. He taught us again about how the translations of the word that is translated "atonement" in one place is translated as "reconciliation" in others. Literally, reconciliation (from Latin), means to "sit down again with" - and then he cited Alma 38:15:

• 15 And may the Lord bless your soul, and receive you at the last day into his kingdom, to sit down in peace. 

It was all very uplifting and insightful, and helped me really appreciate the Atonement more fully.

So, despite the fact that we missed a focus on Easter in our Sacrament Meetings on Sunday, we had a very sweet opportunity to reflect, appreciate, and renew our commitment to and love for the Savior in our work here at the Temple.

The Temple from last July.

Yummy Food and Dear Friends

[March 24, 2016]

Hermano and Hermana Vasquez are some of the sweetest people. They live in La Paz and come the third week of every month to work in the temple. Brother Vasquez and his son picked us up from the airport in La Paz and took us to their home where we had a lovely lunch. We wanted to invite them for dinner to thank them and to spend time with them. We had a wonderful visit with them and plan to do it again.

One day Hna Vasquez came over and taught me how to make empanadas. It was fun and they were very yummy. The best part was learning how to make the dough for the crust. I want to try filling it with fruit. She is going to teach me how to make salteñas next. They are my favorite.

 Filling the empanada, notice the piece of egg and one olive.

 Ready for frying.

 Cute Herana Vasquez "folding and pinching" to make the pretty edge

 Fried, finished and yummy

A very dear sister, Lilly Arosa, invited President and Sister Jensen, the Thomases (who are going home this week) and us for lunch at her home. It is customary when invited to somone's home for a meal to bring something. Hna Jensen brought Lindt chocolate, Hna. Thomas brought some lovely flowers and we brought some chocolate chunk cookies (they don't have chocolate chips here but Bakers makes some yummy chocolate chunks that you can get here, a little pricey, but hey it's chocolate). We all fit in the President's 5 seater van. Charlie climbed in the way back. He said it wasn't any worse than riding in some of  the trufis we've been in.

Hermana Lilly Arosa is a very interesting and fun woman. She was a representative for Bolivia in England and has had some other very interesting jobs as well. She speaks several languages, has a great sense of humor and is very generous. Her home is very beautiful inside and out, but the food was amazing. Her son was our cook. He has studied in Italy to be a chef. We had sopa de mani with an island of meat (lamb, beef and chicken) in the middle with crunchy yummy garnish on top. Very tasty. The second course was beautiful! Looked like something on a cooking show. There was mashed camote (sweet potato), a side of cooked pea pods and mushrooms with herbs. A piece of fish was beautifully placed over the camote with a drizzle of yummy sauce. It all tasted wonderful. For dessert we had individual lemon meringue pies. Quite gourmet. We drank fresh apple juice. The conversation was wonderful as well. Her cousin, another sister from the temple and her son joined us. There were ten of us in all around a very lovely set table.

Johnny Chambi, one of Charlie's companions in Punata, started working in the temple this week. It's so sweet to continue these relationships. President Garcia was in charge that day and had them both stand up in Prayer meeting and told everyone that they were companions 40 years ago. 

We Skype or FaceTime our children every week. Holly's Gary (almost 3) is usually there when we Face Time Holly but he doesn't ever talk to us, only makes faces and interesting noises. Well this week he talked a lot. They had an Easter egg hunt at the park with some neighbors and I guess the excitement of it all overcame his shyness and opened his mouth. He told us all about it. I just had to put that bit of historic trivia in.

There are always sweet tender things that happen every day in the temple. Here is one that Charlie and I both shared.

I was assigned to the baptistry, so I went down to check if anyone had come. I was told a young couple wanted to be baptized for the wife's grandparents and then do their initiatories, endowments and seal them as well. Charlie was the veil coordinator and was determined to help them get it all done in the morning shift. It was already 10:30, starting the second session. The third and last session of the morning shift begins at 11:30.

When I learned who the couple was I was very excited to get to help them. Yesterday a brother knocked on the dressing room door asking for Hna. Paula, she was in Initiatory. No Hna. Paula, maybe Paula was her first name. It was, her apellido (last name) was Paredes. So when I saw her I called her Paula. She had the most beautiful smile and was tickled that I knew her name. Charlie was the officiator of their session and they were the witness couple. We also saw them as we were walking down to catch the trufi . So we felt we had some connections with this cute young couple.

Charlie told me the brothers were ready to help them in the baptistry and a temple employee was going to do the baptizing. So I brought them down to the baptistry. I had a good visit with them while they were waiting. About 11:00 they were dressed in their whites and ready to go. We had to wait a while for the employee. While he was getting dressed the husband baptized his wife. Charlie came in about this time. Hno. Paredes was so sweet  with his wife. She had a hard time getting totally immersed. After about 4 tries they finally got it. Charlie took the name cards upstairs to get stamped and ready in the Initiatory booths. I waited for the Paredes to get dressed and took them up in the elevator. By this time Charlie showed up so he rode the elevator with us. He took the Bro. and I took Paula. I got to help with her initiatory and walked her into the chapel for the session. They made it and were the witness couple again.

Charlie talked to Pres. Garcia about doing their sealing after the last session (by this time the sealers are gone). He agreed to do it and Charlie, along with Bro. Sandoval, the shift coordinator, were the witnesses and Hna Sandoval and I were the invitados (guests). We saw them through to the end. When I walked her back to the dressing room I told her we were family. She hugged me tight. They are from Santa Cruz and hopefully will return in June. I believe this young couple so far away from home needed "family" here and we got to be it.

They were out front taking pictures when we came out of the temple and we got to be in a picture with them.

I love these connections, they are like the yummy dessert to an already delightful meal. 

Sweet Service, Family History and Hermana Lopez

[March 16, 2016]

Charlie has a new assignment in the temple as the coordinator for the Wednesday afternoon shift. This week was his first time. We are serving on the morning shift this month so I stayed home and did some family history and then came up to attend the last session with our Cobija Stake. I love to participate with them. It was a full session.

In my family history searching I found Amanda Rodgers, who is an ancestor on my mother's line. She needed all her work done and her father needed his work done as well, so last week we got to do their work and seal Amanda to her parents after sealing her parents to each other.

I also discovered that my mother's Aunt Katie has all of her work done but she is not sealed to her parents or her husband. So I called my mother and found out all I could about Aunt Katie. I remember my mother and her sister visiting their Aunt Katie in New Mexico often. She was a minister of her own church in Farmington. Aunt Katie lived in the basement apartment of the church she preached in, which was just a building she bought with a basement apartment. She helped a lot of people.  In fact she died in the home of a young couple who took her home from the hospital when she was no longer able to care for herself. They took good care of her because they said she saved their lives and their marriage.

I love learning about these people. Their stories need to be told.

I'm so grateful that I am able to call my mother on the phone and talk to her and see her on Skype every week. This is a great time to be a senior missionary (you can be so far away, yet through modern technology still be connected). I'm also grateful that we can Skype with our children and grandchildren and Charlie's parents as well. We feel The Lord is watching over them. We are also grateful that they watch over each other.

We got to wish our little Nicholas Blair Lyon a Happy Third Birthday this week!

One day this week I had the assignment of Sealing Coordinator. This is the one assignment that intimidates me. I want so badly to say and do the right things for the people that are coming for their own ordinances. So I pray and The Lord helps me. I knew it was going to be a busy day and this assignment would be a busy one. When we left the prayer meeting one of the other sister missionaries could tell I was a little nervous about doing this job. She told me if I thought it was too much for me I could ask the coordinator to change my assignment. I told her about turning down the prayer in Prayer meeting once and how it made me feel and I would never do that again. After all I am a missionary. I also know that Sister Guaman (the coordinator) prays sincerely to know who should have what assignment each week and if she wanted me to have this assignment then I could and would do it.

It turned out to be a lovely assignment. Their were only three live sealings. Two of them had good sized groups so I got to instruct them and get them to where they needed to be. I also got to witness all three sealings, which is so sweet.

I have a funny story to share: I was working in the baptistry one day and a young sister was asking me a question I didn't quite understand so I asked her to tell me again "Otra vez?" She said "si, otra vez" It went on like that for a while and finally I realized she was asking me what time she could come again to the temple "otra vez". It was kind of a "Who's on first" moment.

I found out that Hermana Elva Lopez, from Charlie's mission was very sick. She works on Saturday morning and hasn't been there for a while. We have been wanting to visit her again. Charlie called her when we got home from the temple and she said we could come Sunday after church.

We took the 207 Trufi there, stayed about an hour and walked the four miles home. She lives with her daughter and her 3 children. It was a lovely day and she was so dear. I brought no bake cookies that I had made the night before. They seemed to like them, but Hna was the sweetest. She is looking so frail. She cried and cried to see us. She misses the youth that she has taught for so many years and has helped in the baptistry in the temple.

She and Charlie reminisced and she told us of her family, her siblings etc. I love this woman. She asked Charlie why he says that he left part of his heart in Punata. We both answered at the same time "you". She truly is a big reason why he loved Punata so much. She represents the people of Bolivia to Charlie and that's why he loves them so much. I do too. He told her when we go home from this mission we will leave two hearts here this time. He's right. I love these dear people.

One thing I thought about as we were walking home from visiting Hna. Lopez was about when you spend so much time in the temple with the good Bolivians that come. You associate all Bolivians with these good people. The best part of that is, if you look at and treat people like they are the best they can be, they will respond in kind. I love the Bolivian people.

Back to the Temple

[March 8, 2016]

It was good to be back to the temple after two weeks off. They really worked hard to paint the exterior of the temple, get the lawn spruced up, etc. This was a picture I took just as we were leaving Monday morning to get some shopping done.

Along the way, we went by a park that has some "exercise" equipment, so Molly decided to do the circuit:

Some Bolivians saw her trying out the equipment, and as we walked away, they had started to copy what she was doing on one of the pieces. It was like they'd never seen such a thing, and didn't know how it worked until they saw her.

On another walk, we saw these - selling cotton candy on a six-foot pole, and painting stripes and crosswalks on the street near the temple:

Carrying cotton candy to sell.

Hand-painted crosswalks!

Sunday, we went to the home of Hna. Vargas, Saul Montaño's sister. The Montaños have been our good friends for many, many years. Saul served his mission here in Bolivia at the same time I did, and I got to know him then. He is from La Paz. We spent a few days with one of his sister's family in La Paz during the closure, so getting to know another sister and her family was very nice.

They served us a very tasty dinner of lasagna, salad, and a mango mousse. Two of their daughters were there, with four of their grandchildren. It was fun visiting with them.

The temple has been slow this week - not many groups come during the school year, but when they come, it's always fun to serve them. We had one group come from Santa Cruz, and they filled the temple for two days. They had five individuals receiving their endowments in one session, with four of them getting sealed the same day.

The baptistry isn't as busy, but we make special efforts to help those who have come with their own family names. It's always enjoyable to help them serve their ancestors as they do the baptisms and confirmations, and then the endowments and sealings.

[This is Molly - I had the sweet opportunity today to do the proxy baptisms for a sister who brought names of her ancestors but needed someone to do the baptisms. I really enjoyed that. I also got to serve in the baptistry two days in a row when the group was here from Santa Cruz. It's fun to see the same kids from the day before. They are so fun and energetic. I often think of our grandson Gordon, who will be turning 12 in May. He will be old enough then to go to the temple and do baptisms for those who have passed on. I can just picture him in his white clothes. What a special young man he is.]  

So, as you can see, we're still enjoying it here. It's getting on into Fall, although it looks just like Spring and Summer. This is a lovely place, and there is a special spirit here that we love completely.