Tracy Got the Job!!

     Great news today. Tracy just landed a job with the Twin Falls Sheriffs Office as a deputy jailer. He has been looking for a job in law enforcement since October. We are so excited that he and the family will be living so close to us. Sarah has a job in Twin also! They have enrolled the kids in a charter school in Jerome and will be living in our house for now. He asked me to thank all the family that have been praying for him. He said that he didn't get this job on his own and thanks all of you for the prayers in his behalf. They have a lot of work to do now, with having to move us out of our house, move down, and get his ready for renters by the 25th.

 

      We lost a dear friend again this week. Sister Alicia Colina passed away on Saturday morning.

Marti and Alicia were both ordinance workers in the temple until his legs got so bad that he couldn't stand for long periods of time. He has diabetes and has not been well for a year. Alicia was the Young Womens President in her ward, she is the same age as I am. We are saddened to have lost another friend but are so thankful that we were here and got to know her in this life. We look forward to renewing our friendship in the life to come.

 

      On Friday, we went to visit Parque Bicentenario with the Walls and Halls.

It is the dry season so it is not as beautiful as it will be in three months, but we will be in Idaho in three months so we took the opportunity to visit it now while the Hall's are still here cause they were good tour guides for us. They leave next month. We walked only on the south side of the park cause it is huge and it was getting real hot by noon. The Bamboo trees were huge.

   It was an up and down trail through the trees

Right smack in the middle of the park is a group of shanties where people live. We can't believe that they didn't kick them out when they made the park. It has only been opened about a year.

 

      We have gotten to go to dinner with several of our friends this past week and have several more invites this week as well. It is good to visit with them now while the temple is closed. We do miss the temple and will be glad to get back next week. The Petersen's fly in tonight.

 

      As we drive around this beautiful country, we see street venders everywhere. This is a normal sight along any of the roads.

 It is sugar cane harvest time, and the trucks are everywhere, carrying the cane to the factories for processing.

Lon and Eric Behner went golfing for the last time here on Saturday. They went back out to Corintos and had a great day. The caddie got paid and left so fast that he forgot to give Lon his card so he is not sure what he scored this time. But he played with one set of clubs on the front 9 and a different set of clubs on the back 9 so he didn't expect to golf his age this time. But he had a lot of fun and gave away all his tees cause he won't have an opportunity to golf again until he gets to Jerome.

 

      We are well and happy and thank you for your prayers in our behalf. We know that we are being watched over and protected and given extra health and strength to be able to serve this mission. You are all in our prayers also. We love you Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma.

Our Vacation Has Begun

     Our temple closed for the next two weeks for cleaning and repairs. We let our closest friends know that this is the time to take us anywhere they want us to see and we are having a few over for dinner. We need to use this time to say goodbye as we won't have the time or energy once the temple opens again. It is so strange to know that our time here is so short. The Petersen's flew out on Monday to Minnisota to be with family, especially a grandson they have never seen. They will return next Monday. We always miss them so when they are gone.

     Our new missionary couple, the Clarks, arrived last Thursday. They are great and will be a great asset to the work here. They are from Arizona. They came to the temple for the Saturday PM shift and they are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and dig in. This is their second mission to a Spanish temple, having served in Monteray, Mexico. There they were the only English Couple so they are thrilled to have a family this time, not only us, but Sister Clark's sister is the wife of the Mission President, the Glazers!!

     Today, Carlos Ortiz arranged to take us and the Walls on a trip to the center of town. (the Clarks were with the Glazers all day) We went first to the Presidential Palace.

He hired two taxi's to haul us around and the drivers and Carlos were our body guards and guides for the day. The palace is being renovated after a fire and an earthquake. They are not quite done yet but it is beautiful.  This is in the Blue Room.

The royal family doesn't live here anymore and most of the government business has been moved as well. It is more of a museum on the top floors with offices and a library on the ground floor. Below is the Red Room.

It has pictures around the walls of all the Presidents of the country in it. It was facinating to read about some of the history of El Salvador from the governments point of view. We visited the Yellow and Pink Rooms and the grounds were amazing. You will have to come to visit me when we get home to see the rest of the pictures though. I just can't post them all here, I think we took about 50.

     We were amazed that after we left the Palace, we actually WALKED right down the center of town to the Excuarter.

 This the the down town that no one has ever allowed us to even get out of the car to see. But with our drivers and Carlos, we felt very safe, except for Sister Wall. She was real glad to get out of here. The Excuarter is a huge market filled with hundreds of shops selling any kind of souvaneir you can imagine, and some you have never imagined. It was almost overwhelming because it was so big. Carlos made sure that anything we wanted to buy was at the lowest possible price.

     We send our love to all. We hope that spring will be kind to you and you will not have too much wind. We have decided that the Lord is preparing us for our trip home by sending a lot of wind here. Our backyard has been torn up and they are putting in a subdivision so we have dirt blowing, really looks like home. We can't even eat on our patio now because of the blowing dirt and loud machines that work 7 days a week. Have a great week. You are in our thoughts and prayers always. Lon and Nancy, Grandpa and Grandma, Dad and Mom

Trip to Cojutepequ​e

     We took a trip to Cojutepeque following the Panoramic Route on February 11th.. Several people advised President Lopez not to take us on this route because it is not safe, lots of robbers. They have built very nice wooden platforms for tourists to look over the valleys but these are where the robbers hide, under the platforms. He wouldn't let us stop at any of these lookouts but would stop in the middle of the road and President Petersen and Elder Wall would jump out and take a picture. We were in the back of the van and couldn't get out quick so we have been waiting for the others to share their photos so we can send this letter.

      It is a windy road up the mountains. We rode right along the ridge of the mountain and on one side you could look down into Lake Illopongo and on the other side deep valleys and ravines. It was beautiful, even in the dry season. I think we have been here long enough not to notice the garbage along the roads anymore. We just enjoy the flowers and trees. Along the way we saw one of the locals driving his cart, pulled by two brahma bulls. We had to stop and President Petersen talked to him.

He had the ropes tied to one ear of each bull so he could pull on the rope and the bull would turn. We passed lots of people cutting and hauling wood for their cooking.

When people from these small towns come to the temple, you can smell the smoke from their camp fires that they cook on. We had lunch and then visited Saint Fatima Park. It is a Catholic park in honor of the virgin Fatima. It was a very beautiful, peaceful park just outside of Cojutepeque. 

We were surprised at how large Cojutepeque is. They only have one set of elders in the town and only one branch. However this branch is amazing. We drove to their new chapel, only 8 months old, and got a tour of the building by the branch president.

It is a two story building, the chapel is upstairs. This branch has 150 members and 130 are in attendance each Sunday. It has an elevator if you can't do stairs. Sister Petersen rode up in the elevator, only to have the doors not open on the second floor. Luckily Elder Wall was with her and he forced the doors open about the time she was ready to scream!! Needles to say, she walked down the stairs after touring the upstairs. The whole building was tile flooring and the classrooms would hold 10 people at the most. It was so cute. The soccer and basketball court are outside. It is on a gated street for protection.

     President Lopez was our driver and tour guide. It was fun to see this section of El Salvador through his eyes. He used to visit Saint Fatima Park with his girlfriends, just to walk along the paths and enjoy the peace and quiet. We came home on the main highway, circling Lake Illopongo. When we travel and see just how far and difficult it is to get to the temple, we have a deeper appreciation for the members who sacrifice to come. We rode in a nice, air conditioned van. They come in school buses that are older then we are. One of our temple workers is from here and rides 3 different buses for 4 hours to arrive at the temple, works for 4 hours, then rides the 4 hours back home. We have learned a lot about dedication from the members here.

     I've spent a lot of time trying to learn "Popcorn Popping" in Spanish this week so I could sing it in the nursery today. Of course the words aren't the same so I had to learn new actions as well. It actually went pretty good. Elder Thompson has spent the week getting ready to give a talk tonight at 5:00 at a meeting of the temple worthy members of our stake. He only has to speak for 10 minutes so that will be the hard part. He always has more material than he has time for.

     We hope you have each had a great week. We send our love and prayers to you. Thank you for your prayers in our behalf. We are well and enjoy serving our Heavenly Father here in El Salvador. May God bless you this week with health, and peace and happiness. Love Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma

It is so hard to loose someone you love and admire

     We are saddened to hear about the passing of our dear friend Patsy. She will be missed so much. Patsy has been such a great example to all of us over the years. She truly lived her life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. She was always there in our trials, our triumphs, and our losses. Whenever she had an assignment or a calling, she magnified that call and we were all blessed because of it. The Jerome Second Ward will feel the void of her passing for a long time as we have lost a valiant servant of our Heavenly Father.

     We want to bear our testimonies to you all that we know she is in a better place, with family and friends who have gone on before. She will be watching over her family and prompting and guiding them still.  She and Al will be together again and their family with them if they will but follow her example and become disciples of Christ as she is.

     We send our love to Al, Tami Lane, Valerie, Danny and their spouses and children. We mourn with you and pray that we will all be fortified with the spirit of our Father in Heaven to get through the tough days ahead. May God bless us all with the peace and strength that we need to go forward. We will never forget our friend and will look forward to meeting her again one day in the kingdom of our Father.

Cojutepequ​e

     Just want you to know that we are alive and well. We took a great trip to Cojutepeque on Monday the 11th. Elder Thompson and I were in the back of the van and couldn't get out to take all the pictures so we are waiting for Sister Petersen to forward her pictures to us. So, for now I will just send the picture of the "plastic bag tree". When we stopped for lunch, I saw a tree that had these big white looking leaves or flowers in a distance. I asked President Lopez to come with me to see the tree and tell me what kind of a tree it was. He got real serious and told me that it was a "plastic bag tree", and didn't we have them in the States? When we got close enough for me to recognize what had been done, he just laughed and laughed. Anyway, it is a quayaba tree. They put the plastic bags over the fruit to protect them from birds. Maybe we should try it with strawberries? 

  Poinsetta tree with a couple of old missionaries in front of it.

     Anyway, just a quick note and I will get a full detail of our trip to you next week. We are enjoying our mission and look forward to each new day. It is so fun to know so many of the regulars and look forward to their visits to the temple. We send our love to all and hope you are well and enjoying life. Love Lon and Nancy, Grandpa and Grandma, Dad and Mom .

San Miguel

     Well, I had your letter all written, hit a wrong key, and erased the whole thing!! We want to share with you a little about our trip to San Miguel on Sunday. San Miguel is about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours by car and 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours away by bus. It is right at sea level so it is at least 10 to 20 degrees hotter than here. The terrain is so different than here. The PEF missionaries, Elder and Sister Hall had to go there for Stake Conference so we went with them. We had never had the opportunity to see this part of the country. Elder Hall is from California and drives just like the natives, fast and faster. We wish he would have gone just a little bit slower so we could see more but it was a great trip.
Pictures of the chapel. This is the design of most of the chapels here in El Salvador. They have two buildings hooked together with a "patio" in between them.

    This is the basketball court, right in the middle of the parking lot. Since most don't have cars, that is usually not a problem with the games.

     The conference was great. They had a 40 voice choir and I couldn't keep my eyes off the piano player. He was a piano teachers nightmare. He played by ear and had taught himself to play. He never looked at the keyboard, they actually had a real piano here. His fingering was so weird. He even played with the side of his little finger. He did a good job with the melody and a few notes in the left hand. He played with the sustain petal held down during the whole song. I was amazed that the choir could stay on their parts when he didn't play any of them. It was fun to watch.

     In this area there are lots of sugar cane fields and the factory was here too. We saw quite a bit of corn also. When the farmers pick the corn, they take the kernals off the cob and bring it to the road. They spread the corn out along the side of the road, on the concrete to dry it. Then they grind it into flour. Not so sure about the cleanliness of that flour!!

     In San Miguel they have two special foods that we don't have here in San Salvador, thank goodness!!! We were real glad that it was Sunday so we didn't have to go to a restaurant to try it. We will definately come home without ever tasting it. The full time missionaries have eaten it and shared their pictures with us.

Iguana

Armadillo 

The young Elders claim that it tasted pretty good but I just can't eat something that is looking at me. I think we will stick to pupuses. We had a good week and are enjoying no alarm clocks. We do miss the people who always come to the temple in the mornings though. We hope you have all had a good week and are healthy and happy. We send our love Lon and Nancy, Grandpa and Grandma, Dad and Mom

Blessing

     Kurt, Yesterday I was at the desk and a mother and her 33 year old daughter came to do a session at the temple. I asked them what lineage they were from. The mother told me Manasah and the daughter told me she hadn't received her blessing yet. She was 33 years old and a return missionary and I asked her why she hadn't received her blessing and she told me that her bishop told her that she needed to learn to walk before she could run. I found that interesting that a thing like that could happen. You would think that she would have received the blessing before her mission. It's a different world down here.

     Need to tell you about Brother Delgado. He's a father of 6 children and has a son on a mission. He is currently serving as a bishop and has been for 7 years and is also serving as 1st counselor in the Stake Presidency. Seems a little over worked. Every Friday he brings his ward to the temple at 4:00 pm for ordiance work and his youth for baptisms. Usually 20 to 25 youth with a complete team of 7 to serve with him in the baptistry. He used to be a temple ordinance worker too but now only comes and serves with his word. Now I don't think that I should ever complain about being over worked. What a hero!!!

     Have a good week. We are going to go to San Miguel Sunday with Elder and Sister Hall since we have not seen that part of the country yet. It is there Stake Conference and President and Sister Petersen will be speaking. Hope you have a special Sunday with Elder Holland and the others. Can't wait to hear how it goes. We have a G.A. coming to our conference in March. Love you Lon