Hope you enjoyed Memorial Day

Another week has come and gone so fast.  We have had rain almost every day now and everything is even more lush and green than before.  We are so glad that we were here long enough to enjoy this season once more.  Compared to Idaho, even the dry season is green but with a few rains it is so beautiful here. 

     We had a great week in the temple, especially Friday and Saturday.  We had full sessions and lots of activity.  We just love to be busy and see the people come. 

 

     Sunday we were asked by Bishop Ortiz to come to his ward and speak and sing.  Lon was very happy to speak and I was thrilled to be able to sing.  Bishop Ortiz wanted me to sing one of the songs that I had sung at the Temple Devotional but I didn't know how good his piano player would be, so I suggested that we just do a hymn.  He asked for " Did you think to Pray" and "All Creatures of our God and King".  Those who play will understand how difficult the second one is.  I was very worried about this one.  I had never sang it in Spanish before so I really worked on it.  The pianist was trying to play out of the hymn book, but really needed the simplified one.  We did "Did you Think to Pray" as a prelude piece just before the meeting began.  In the middle of the song, she hit the organ key by mistake and we had organ accompaniment about three different times in the song.  She was so embarrassed.  I just kept singing and we finished on the right notes together so it was successful.  I smiled and encouraged her and the meeting began. 

 

     Lon was told to speak about 20 minutes, but only had 10.  He did a great job of cutting and still getting his message in.  He got to talk about temples and the importance of attending often.

 

     The second song, "All Creatures" was worse than the first for the little piano player.  My prayer was that we could end on the same notes again, the right ones.  But that didn't happen.  Bless her heart.  She did her best.  At least it was in her ward where they are used to her playing so I don't even think most of them even noticed.  I am so glad that I wasn't relying on the piano for any of the notes.  This ward, the Merilot Ward, is a very small ward in a very small building, but we recognized many of our faithful temple workers and patrons.  It was fun to visit them. 

 

       After Church we went to the Ortiz's for dinner.  Bishop Ortiz and his wife Miriam are temple workers.  Their daughters are Laura, 12, and Andrea, 9. 

Their home is on a street where you have to park a car, if you have one and they don't, on the street then walk up a sidewalk to your home.  There are houses on both sides of the sidewalk with only about 2 feet of yard.

It is very typical of the houses in the city.  There are so many people here.  The houses are just rows and rows of buildings touching each other.  You know your neighbor real well cause you can hear everything from next door.  It began to rain during dinner and the skylight just above the table began to leak.  They had no running water in the kitchen.  We had a very good dinner of chicken, beans, rice, apples, and potato salad.  The potato salad was made with potatoes, beets, celery, and mayo.  They even went out and bought rolls and "butter" for us.  None of the locals use butter on their bread. Of course the best part of the meal for Lon was the ice cream for dessert.   We felt very pampered and loved.

     We really miss the Wall's and have come to really love the Clarks.  They are not afraid of work and are fun to be with.  Our next two couples will both arrive on the 14th of June.  It will be fun to get to know them a bit before we leave.   The Winters are from the Boise valley and the Haroldsons are from the Idaho Falls area. 

 

     We send our love to all and keep you in our prayers.  Thank you for your prayers in our behalf.  You have helped to keep us healthy and safe.  We love you Lon and Nancy, Grandpa and Grandma, Dad and Mom

We Have our Flight Plans!

   Well, I guess it is really going to happen.  We got our flight schedule today and we really are heading for home in just 5 short weeks, June 25th.  We leave El Salvador at 8:10 AM.  We will have to leave our apartment around 5:00 AM.  We will arrive in Dallas at 12:40 PM.  We will go through customs there and leave for SLC at 3:25 PM.  We are flying on American Airlines to SLC.  We will arrive in SLC at 5:05 and leave for Twin Falls on Delta at 8:04 PM arriving at 9:03 PM.  Only a 16 hour day of travel, unless between now and then they reschedule something. It feels like we just got here and already it is time to go home. 

 

     This week has started our "last" times for dinners and parties for us.  On Wednesday evening, all the missionaries got excused from the temple at 7:00PM so we could attend the final good-bye concert given by Rene Hernandez and Sherilee Broadbent.  Rene is the second chair violinist in the National Symphony here and Sherilee is a graduate from BYU in music.  This picture is the two talented kids with the old missionary that they allowed to sing with them. 

 

They are so good.  They played for over an hour and the music was amazing.  They both play with such passion and love for the music.  They will really miss playing together as Sherilee and her family are moving to Vancouver Canada for Brother Broadbent's new assignment with the American Embassy. 

 

     On Saturday, the Behnar's took us out for dinner.  Eric Behnar is the man who took Lon golfing the 6 times that he golfed here, either he or his son.  He is not a member but his wife and children are very active.  They took us to the country club.

It was beautiful and we had a very gourmet meal.  They have a flower here that they make juice out of, jamica.  We have tried the drink but this was the first time we ate the flower.  We had 3 taco's made out of the jamica flower, cooked with onions, served in a 3 inch taco shell with goat cheese for the appetizer.  The main course was shrimp covered in a tomato sauce with grilled asparagus and zucchini.  It really was very tasty but not something that we would ever order on our own. 

 

    Sunday, Luciana Figueroa and I sang in Sacrament meeting for the last time. 

  We sang " Song of Testimony" by Janice Kapp Perry.  The first time I sang with Lucy, I had to sing real soft as she sang so soft and mousey.  She now sings with conviction and she and I really blend well and I can sing full voice with her.  We are really going to miss the music that we have enjoyed so much here. 

 

     We just found out that Donna Bagley Herfel passed away.  We are so sad to be coming home to the void of friends who have passed away while we have been gone. 

 

      We miss the Wall's who are now in Utah with their family.  We are the last of the original "first" temple missionaries.  We are so happy and content here in this terrestrial world.  It really will be hard to say good-bye to our friends and family here.  Lon is working on a talk for next Sunday and I am working on two songs to sing in another ward.  I will tell you about it next week.  We love you and hope you are well and enjoying life.  We will see you soon.  Love Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma

One last trip, one last letter

We took our final trip to see this beautiful country with our Mission Family on the 6th of May.  We went to visit Suchitoto.  It is a quaint little town on the shore of a huge lake, Lake Suchitlan.  Our driver is a normal El Salvadoranian.  These people will never admit that they can't do something or don't know how to do something.  We asked him if he knew how to get to Suchitoto and of course the reply was "yes".  It is only a 45 minute drive from here but after he took us right through downtown trying to get out of the city, we knew we were in trouble.  Luckily we had invited Bishop Mendez and his wife to go with us.  It only took us an hour and a half and three turn arounds but we finally made it to the lake.

It is the rainy season here so we decided to tour the lake first incase an afternoon rain storm came in. I definitely did not want to be on the lake if it started to blow and rain.  This is our group.  The Mendez's have three nephews that they babysit with them.  The lake was huge. We spent about three hours visiting the islands around the lake.

Here is a picture of the birds.

They really are segregated.  The black ones on one tree and the white ones in another.  By the end of the rainy season, these islands are under water as the water will raise about 8 feet. 

 

This is an island that is almost completely covered after the rains.  The family that lives here have a little souvenir shop.  They move up the rock as the rains come.

It was so beautiful, peaceful, and hot!!  As long as the boat was moving it wasn't bad.  The heat and humidity really had the moss and algae growing in the water.  We had to share this photo of the color of the water.  It really reminded us of home.  You know, the lagoons at the dairys, soupy and green. 

But the smell wasn't there.

By the time we got back to shore, everyone was exhausted from the heat and we decided to head for home.  This time we put Bishop Mendez in the front seat and our trip home was a very short one. 

    

Our time here is going rapidly.  We only have a few weeks left.  Our Saturdays from now till we come home are filled with invites to homes of our friends for good-bye dinners.  Lon has to speak in one ward and I am singing in two wards.  We are going to start figuring out how to pack all our treasures and hopefully will have room for a few clothes too.  It is so hard to believe that we will be home next month.  Thank goodness it is warming up there!  We send our love to all.  Thank you for your prayers in our behalf.  We are so happy and love serving in the Temple with our dear friends here.  Love Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma

Dentists in town

 Today is "Labor Day" here so we are expecting a big crowd in the temple.  So far we have 3 big buses and 5 or six coasters and micro-buses.  The funnest one is the truck with benches down both sides of the bed and about 30 people pile out of it.  There are lots of youth for the baptistry.   We just love to see the temple filled.

     This week has been a big week for prospective missionaries in all of El Salvador.  A group called "Sonrises de El Salvador" are in town.  Once every three years, this group comes to El Salvador to help the prospective missionaries get ready for their missions.  These are dentists, doctors, nurses and technicians who pay their own way and bring their own supplies.  The dentist chairs and other big equipment are stored in Honduras and are delivered to whatever country has its turn that year.  Each ward calls "parents" for one young person between the ages of 16 1/2 to 25 who are interested in serving a mission.  These "parents" help the youth fill out mission papers, visa papers and passport papers.  They make sure they are at the church for their appointments with the dentists and doctors. 

 

     The Stake center in Illopongo is set up as the headquarters this year.  These dentists do everything from cleaning teeth to implants and bridges.  We were shown a film of their last visit in 2010 and were amazed at the things that they accomplished in just 5 days.  This year they will pass their mark of treating over 1,000 youth. (Just heard that they treated 1077).   The oral surgeon performed more than 300 procedures. There are about 130 people who have given up their time to share their talents and expertise this year.  They are doing a great work here for people who probably haven't ever seen a dentist or doctor in their young lives. Pictures of the "clinic" in the stake center in  Illopongo.  As you can see, there were no chairs that would rise up to fit all the tall dentists, but Shayla, you could work real easily here.  It really was back breaking work for a lot of them.

     On Thursday 103 of them came to the temple.  They scheduled 43 for the 7:00 AM session, 32 for the 8:30 session and 28 in the baptistry.  All the missionaries had to be there as everything was in English for them.  It was a wonderful morning.  It was the first time we had heard the ordinances all in English for almost two years.  Wow.  The spirit in the temple was so sweet as our El Salvadorian friends worked so hard to speak English and meet the needs of these North Americans.  As the group left, they literally gave us the "shirts" off their backs as they donated their temple clothes to be given to Bishops for people who can't afford to buy them.  As they put the clothes in a basket, the women all apologized for not having them cleaned and pressed.  We missionaries spent from 11 to 2 washing and preparing these.  We then returned to the temple for the PM shift as they continue to be so short of workers that some evenings, it is only the missionaries who are left in the temple to close. It was a real long day but one of the best days we will never forget.   

 

     Sister Clark continues to have health problems.  We are all praying that she will soon be feeling better as the Walls only have two weeks left and we really need her help in the evenings.

 

     Wish I could tell you about all the experiences that this group of dentists had, but this letter is getting way too long already.  We send our love to all.  We are so thankful for people who are willing to share all they have to help our dear friends here in El Salvador.  We love these sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.  Love Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma      

Hope you are all having a great week

  Time just keeps getting away from us.  Either it is going faster than before, or we are getting slower and not getting as much done in a day.  It just seems like it is Tuesday morning and we are ready to head to the temple for our shift and then it is Saturday night and another week has gone by. 

 

    On the 15th of April, we were all invited to the home of the Reyes's again, this time for a Family Home Evening and celebration of President Petersen's birthday. This is the home where we spent New Years. 

The front stairs to the Reyes home and Picture
 

 This is a typical home in the country made of corrigated metal.

 This is not one of the poor homes.  We haven't been able to get a picture of the shanties yet.  We are not allowed in those areas.  But the contrast between rich and poor is amazing.

     Sister Reyes designed the home.  Her serving kitchen is amazing.  There are three kitchens in the home, one for breakfast, the serving kitchen and the kitchen were the meals are actually made by the employees.  This one looks like all the other kitchens in El Salvador, with both gas burners and wood burning stoves.  In the serving kitchen is a closet that is from floor to ceiling with nothing else but dishes in it.  

It had every color and style you could imagine.  The three tables were each set with a different style and color of plates.  We had 26 people here for dinner and Family Home Evening. 

      The Reyes's are wonderful people who love the gospel and love to share all that they have with others.  They only have one daughter and she and her husband and child live in Utah.  They really miss having them close.  All the money and belongings can't make up for the love and companionship of family. 

     Our dear Sister Clark has been battling with diarrhea and stomach cramps since she arrived.  She finally went to the doctor and she has amebas (bugs).  She got really sick in Mexico on their first mission and we think that she never got rid of them there.  She wasn't feeling well the year that she was home before coming here and thought that she was allergic to milk products.  They have her on some real strong medicine so hopefully in a week or two she will be healthy again.  We told her that we have to get her well before the new couple arrive so they can take their turn of being sick. 

 

      We are doing great.  We continue to walk an hour at least 5 days a week.  On Tuesday as we began our walk, it looked like it had rained bugs the night before.  There were dead beetles  everywhere.  They are about the size of a quarter.  The chigotes start to die off when the seasons change.  The rainy season has officially began and we have had rain every other night.  Everything is starting to green up.  We are glad that we will be here long enough to see the country bloom again.

 

     Our little temple has now been open for 20 months.  We continue to be amazed at how smoothly everything runs and are reminded daily that it is truly the House of the Lord and He is in charge.  We are so thankful for this opportunity to serve here and it will be very difficult to leave.

 

     We send our love to all.  Have a great week and enjoy each moment of your days, they go by so fast.  Love Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma

The Pacific Ocean is beautiful

     For our monthly p-day outing this month, President Lopez wanted to show us the coastal route and take us to Acajutla.  We first drove to La Libertad, the fishing warf.

Liza Wegkamp went with us.  She and husband are back after being gone for almost a year.  He works for a company here.  They have lived here on and off for 12 years.  April is the hottest month of the year here and boy was it hot and humid.  We have never tried dried fish, but here it is a real delicasy.  This picture is the fish laying on tarps along the seashore to dry. 

The drive along the coast was up and down and through 5 tunnels, without any lights in the tunnel or on the vehicles. 

There are lots of dairy's in this area, a big dairy being around 20 cows, and sugar cane everywhere.  This stretch of the seashore is where the surfers come as the waves are nice for this.

As we entered Acajutla, we were met by Bishop Juavier who became our guide.  Acajutla is the port city that has been fought over for centuries.  First the Pirates, then the Spaniards in 1524, another peasant uprising in 1932 and finally the civil in 1980-1992.  The port itself is closed to the public, but with the help of Bishop Juavier, we were able to enter.  Being right on the Pacific Ocean, the heat and humidity was the worst we have felt.  This picture is of the employee parking lot.  With bikes and motorcycles, you don't have to have such a big parking lot.  They have over a thousand employees here. 

Their main exports are sugar, coffee, and balsom.  One of their main imports is vehicles.  They were unloading some while we were here. 

 

There were three Taiwan battle ships anchored and the big cargo ship from Panama loaded with 600 vehicles unloading. 

 

The city itself was one of the smaller cities we have visited and the Bishop was so thrilled to show us the new church building that is being build.  Right now, the ward meets in a house but soon,  their new chapel will be done. 

They are expecting to move into it in May, but this is El Salvador and things are never on time so we figure June or July.  This ward comes to the temple faithfully.  We are so thrilled for them to finally be getting a chapel. 

 

     We have lots of other photo's from our trip to the ocean, but cannot send them all.  We met more warm and friendly people in this area as in the rest of El Salvador.  They may not have much physically, but their spirits are so loving and we always feel so welcome where ever we travel.  Money does not bring happiness.  We can choose happiness or misery by our attitudes, not by our possessions .  We are so thankful to be serving here.  We love the labor in the temple and are so happy.  We send our love to all.  May you have a great week and are finding true happiness by the attitude you are embracing is our prayer.  Love Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma 

All Is Well!

Our Easter week (Semana Santa) turned out to be a great week with 2 to 4 buses here every day.  Of course when we have buses it means youth for the baptistry, which equals laundry.  We did a lot of washing, drying, and folding of baptism clothes and towels this week.  It is so fun to have the youth come.  Their spirits are so special.

     On Friday morning, Elder Thompson was given the assignment to talk to a Stake Primary from Sonzacate.  They only brought the kids from ages 8 to 11.  I told them a little about us, bore my testimony, and then Lon reminded them of some of the things they need to do to be ready to enter the temple. 

 They were so cute.  It was fun.  I think they liked to hear my funny accent and would ask me questions just to hear me talk. 

 

     We are excited to have the opportunity to watch General Conference this weekend.  The Hall's, our PEF missionaries, are heading home the 29th.  It is so hard to believe that their two years are gone.  We will miss them.  They are busy trying to get everything ready for their replacements who should be here around the 22nd.  I guess the El Salvadorian government has changed some of the Visa rules and it takes about 75 days to get your visa now.  So from the time you get your call to when you can enter the country will take a little longer.  I guess if you are called to go to Brazil, it takes 8 months for the visa. 

 

     We send our love to all.  We hope you have a great week and are enjoying a beautiful spring.  We are anxious for the rains to start here.  Everything is so dry.  We love you Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma.