Sacrifice, We Have No Concept of the Word!

     This week we had saints from Honduras at the temple again. They are so anxious for their own temple to open and we are not looking forward to the day when they will stop coming here. As I watched them arrive and helped them through the two days that they were here, I got to thinking about sacrifices.

      When Lon and I were first married, we had to drive CLEAR over to Idaho Falls to attend the temple; three hours in an air conditioned car with the sun in our eyes on the way over and the sun in our eyes going home. Wow, that was a tough trip! What a sacrifice! Then, the Boise Temple opened; 1 hour and 45 minutes from our door to the temple in an air conditioned car with the sun to our back going and coming. Then, the Twin Falls temple opened; 15 minutes from our door step. We did not sacrifice to attend the temple. The Lord really made it easy for us. Did we appreciate it and take advantage of this blessing? Not like we should have.

     I want to share the story of one family who came here this week from Honduras. This family could not just jump in the car and come to the temple. It took years to get ready to come. First of all, they
all had to have passports and visa's to leave Honduras and enter El Salvador. These are time consuming and not cheep. The father had died earlier, so the mother brought her three children to the temple to be sealed to them. The two boys had received their mission calls and the daughter and her husband also were here to be sealed. Five people who had to pay for passports, visa's, transportation (in a bus)  motel room for one night, and clothes for the temple. I can't magine how much it cost them. But they sacrificed for years, saving to come to the temple. They just beamed in the temple and spent every minute there that they could before they had to get on the bus for the 8-hour ride home. There was no complaining about being tired or ungry. They just radiated with the spirit while they were here. Most of the people from Honduras and Nicaragua who come to the temple are only able to come once a year. Then they save up for a year for the next trip. We in North America are so blessed. Most of us do not have to travel more than 2 hours and we can be at the temple. I really feel bad for using the excuses not to attend more often: it's just too far to drive, gas is too expensive, I just don't
feel good today so I'll go tomorrow, or tomorrow, or tomorrow.

       It has always been said that each calling we receive is to help us grow. Well, this mission call has helped Lon and I both appreciate our ancestors who really did sacrifice so we could live in a free
country with all of our privileges and blessings. We will never take them for granted again. We hope you all enjoy this Memorial Day with sweet memories of our loved ones who have gone to live with our Heavenly Father. Don't take life for granted. Enjoy each day and be thankful for all that you have. We love you. We still do not have a date for the return of Pres. and Sister Petersen. We do miss them.
Love Dad and Mom, Lon and Nancy, Grandma and Grandpa

We Survived Another AM Shift!

     Well, last week was the AM shift again. With President and Sister Petersen gone, the Walls and the Thompsons are trading each week, one week AM then one week PM. We love being able to do both shifts because we have so many friends on each shift and really miss seeing them when we are on the opposite shift, but that AM shift continues to be a challenge for me. I am just not an early morning person anymore.  President Petersen hopes to be able to return on the 2nd of June. He
has started Physical Therapy and is getting stronger each day. We look forward to his return. It just feels like part of our family is missing.

     I got to sing on Mother's Day in Sacrament Meeting with Andrea Luciana Figueroa, picture #1. We sang the Janice Kapp Perry song "My Mother/My Daughter" in Spanish. Lucy is only 20 so I had to sing the Mothers part, the high part. My sister Sharon and I used to sing this and I always sang the low part. It has been years since I have been able to share my testimony through song. My ward here doesn't believe that I am just a funeral singer at home. My Father in Heaven has really blessed me here to be able to grow and share this talent with others. I don't have enough words to share my testimony, but through music I have the opportunity.

     The rains have begun! It is now winter here and the rainy season. Every day we get at least one rain storm, with thunder and lightning. Some days it is just a light rain and others it pours.
The temperature hasn't varied more than a degree or two since we arrived last August. The rains really effect the attendance at the temple. Mud slides are very common and the people just don't go
anywhere when it is raining.

       On Mother's Day, Sister Perez arranged for a microbus to pick up all the missionaries and Pres. and Sister Alas (2nd councilor) in the Temple Presidency) picture #2 and take us to her chapel for the
baptism of her twin girls. Sister Perez is a temple worker. On Saturday, she gave us an invitation and that is when Elder Wall found out that he was to give a talk. Missionaries are always to be prepared but he was real glad that he had a night to prepare. We arrived at the chapel and the mother and daughter who were to sing the special number saw me and begged me to help them sing the song. So I sang with them, also played the opening and closing songs. Lon ended up helping to confirm the girls. It was a wonderful day. We just had two of our grandsons baptized this month and we really missed being with them. So Ashton and Aydan we thought of you as we helped at this
baptism.

     We had missionaries in the temple each day last week. It is so fun to be with these stripling warriors. They carry such a powerful spirit with them. They are coming again this week and we will miss them because we will be on the PM shift. We have two missions here in El Salvador, the east and the west. Each mission has over 100 missionaries. They are allowed to attend the temple twice a year so they come in 20's to 30's each day for two weeks til each has had the opportunity.

      Well, that is probable about all the news from here. We haven't been too far from home and don't plan on it til the President is able to go with us. Lon and I did go out for Pupusa's with the Figueroa
family picture #3, and all the missionaries had dinner today with our Stake President and his wife, the Lopez's. It is really strange to be on the other side of the coin. We have always fed the missionaries
and tried to help them however we could and now we are being fed and looked after.

     Please know that you are all in our thoughts and prayers. We thank you for your prayers in our behalf. We are well and enjoying the work here. It is so wonderful to be able to attend the temple
five days a week and feel of our Heavenly Father's love each day. Have a great week. We love you and miss you but are so thankful to be able to be here serving in this part of the vineyard.

      Love Dad and Mom, Lon and Nancy, Grandpa and Grandma

  

Happy Mother's Day

WHY GOD MADE MOMS
Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?

1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.

2. Mostly to clean the house.

3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.

2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.

3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?

1. God makes Mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice
in the world and one dab of mean.

2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly
use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?

1. We're related.

2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

What kind of a little girl was your mom?

1. My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other stuff.

2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.

3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?

1. His last name.

2. She had to know his background. Like, is he a crook? Does he get
drunk on beer?

3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES
to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?

1. My Dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.

2. She got too old to do anything else with him.

3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.


Who's the boss at your house?

1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because Dad is such a goof ball.

2. Mom, you can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.

3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than Dad.


What's the difference between moms and dads?

1. Mom's work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.

2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.

3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power
'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your
friends.

4. Mom's have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.


If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?

1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get
rid of that.

2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who
did it not me.

3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the
back of her head.

Sunny, Hot and Humid, Love it!

We have had an eventful week in the life of our Temple President, President Petersen. On his 78th birthday, he was having cake with a few of the workers in the break room of the temple when he stepped back and his leg gave out and he went down hard, hitting his head on the tile floor. He admitted later that his back had been bothering him and he was afraid that an old basketball injury was giving him trouble. His son, also a doctor, convinced him to get an MRI. Before we got the results of the MRI, he fell 3 more times and was using a walker by Thursday as his leg wouldn't hold him up. He has a bulging disk in his back that is pinching a nerve. The neurosurgen here said that he has a 1-2 week window for surgery before the nerve is dead and cannot be fixed. That would leave him using a walker from now on. The Temple Department got them on a plane on Friday morning, the 27th with an appointment with a Dr. Rich in SLC today, Monday at 9:00am. He is on blood thinning medicine for his heart so he cannot have surgery until all the Coumadin gets out of his blood. Please include him in your prayers. We miss them both so much and want them to be able to return and finish their mission here. We are praying for the micro-surgery and that they will be home in a month. Luckily Brother Carbajal was here at the time. They have called Elder and Sister Gibbons to be assistants to the Presidents. They will take President and Sister Petersen's shift at the temple. It was fun to work with them on Saturday as they took their first turn. You could just see the mantel that has been given them to accomplish this new assignment. The shift coordinators will miss them as workers on the shifts but at least if they have time they can help when needed. Free enterprise is alive and well here. On Monday Lon walked over to the housing project to check out their progress and on Tuesday we walked by and there was a new restaurant opened up, over night. The restaurant Bambo picture #1 is now open serving pupusas and rice and beans daily. As the big construction trucks fly by and the dust and bugs fly by, we don't think we will be trying it out soon. Our temple gardeners have been busy trimming trees and planting new flowers in all the beds. The tree trimmers were fun to watch. Picture #2 shows Herman with his machete. He cuts the branches with the machete, using it as an ax. Then the rest of them bundle up the branches and carry them off of the temple grounds into the forest. Picture #3 and #4. It sure would be faster to pile them into a pick-up and haul them off, but then someone wouldn't have a job. We are on the AM shift this week. Tuesday is Labor Day here so we are expecting a huge crowd at the temple. It is hard to believe that it will be May 1st. We pray that each of you are healthy and happy. We are enjoying the sunshine and the work that we are doing here. Life is wonderful. Please keep President Petersen in your prayers and thank you for your prayers in our behalf. Love to all, Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma.

Good Weeks

     I will write this letter as it will be short. We had a very busy week and are very tired. It's amazing how tired we get just doing fun things. We had buses from Honduras, Nicaragua and a lot of local
patrons that filled the the temple and made it such a spiritual week.  Sunday night we performed our Easter concert and it went over really good and we had a good turn out and it was a very spiritual
time.  Nancy performed "Oh Divine Redeemer" and did so well. We have a violin player and a pianist that are outstanding and I can say there may be better and I know there are but I haven't heard them. I am very prejudiced but I put Nancy in with that selected group. We now have a three month break and will start up in August. This week we have Elder Carbajal from the seventy over all the Central and South American Temples to train and teach. It should be a special time. We are well and happy and love where we are at and what we are doing. We miss you all but will see you before to
long as the time just flies.   Nancy will take over now.

     Today we decided to walk to the " Mercado" as President Petersen is busy with meetings and could not take us. The Kitley's and us walked to buy fresh veggies and fruits. We have never walked
there before, thinking it was too far. But it was only a half hour walk and we took back packs for the Elders to carry home our purchases. Now we really feel independent and only have Price Smart
that we need a ride to. It still takes all three stores to find the groceries that we need. But going to the Mercado really saves money as the prices are so much cheaper there. We got a dozen bananas,
radishes, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a quart of flax seed for $7.50. In the stores we would have spent that much on potatoes only. They have anything and everything you can imagine there, lots of items that we could not name or know what to do with. We tried making our own Pupuses for dinner on Saturday. They turned out looking right, but I didn't get enough filling inside so it was just like eating a tortilla. Need more practice!!! We send our love to all and hope you have a great week. We are looking forward to ours. Love the Thompsons, Lon and Nancy, Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma.

Friday the 13th!!! Yea!!

     We will never again think of Friday the 13th as a bad day. It was the day that we finally got HOT WATER!!!. Yes, one month to the day we now have hot water. It is so nice to turn on the faucet and have hot water to wash hands, faces, and dishes. And I have to admit, our showers are a little longer than needed. We are enjoying the luxury of hot water again.

 

     This week. on Monday the 9th, the five missionary couples, the Lopez's, the Mendez's and the Pena's took a trip to La Palma. We also took "Flat Stanley's cousin Bronco Plano". Our Grandson, Chandler and his class sent Flat Stanley all over the world with the instructions that we were to take pictures with him and send them back so the class could learn about different parts of the world. Well, Flat Stanley has never arrived so his cousin had to be found so we could get the pictures taken and returned. He is in the mail now so we hope he will returned without any delay. We were told that it was in the mountains so bring a sweater because the air is very fresh there. La Palma is about 2 hours away from San Salvador, on the Honduras border. It is amazing that this small country can have so many different looks to it. Picture #1 shows a little of this landscape. There were a lot of evergreens here. It is a lot higher than San Salvador, but no, we did not need even a long sleeved shirt again.
 

     La Palma is known for its paintings. The walls of the city were painted.  Picture #2 shows one of them. The streets were cobblestone and very narrow. The factory was interesting. They had one room where all sorts of items were cut out of wood. They did have electric jig saws for the cutting. Then in the paint room, women, picture #3 painted free hand on the items. There were no stensils. They just painted all day. They had hammocks strung across the room where their children could take naps during the day as they bring their little ones to work with them. They export all over the world. Picture #4 is the sales floor where you can buy the items made here. Picture #5 is of a truck full of beans heading to market. Instead of picking the beans they pulled the whole plant up and took it to the market.

 

     This town had no real poor houses in it, the ones made of cardboard and corregated metal. They were all made of concrete and block. It is a very quiet, simple town away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. We really enjoyed our day here, then headed home. We got into San Salvador right at rush hour and they have closed one of the main roads of the city for construction. It was bumper to bumper for an hour. Our bus driver decided that we should get gas so he cuts across two lanes of traffic to the station. The station doesn't have his bus registered so he is going to have to pay $1.30 in taxes to fill up, so he won't do it. We continue on, getting about a mile from the Temple and run out of gas. Luckily we had pulled off the main street onto a small one that was not busy. The men walked to the Temple and brought back cars to get all of us home. Another adventure.

 

     This week San Miguel came to the Temple. This is a poorer section of El Salvador. One little lady comes every time San Miguel comes. She can't be more than 4 feet tall, has greasy hair and dirt under her nails and smells of smoke from cooking on an open fire. I know she has no running water in her home (and I complain about no hot water) She walks with crutches because she has only one leg. But when you meet her, all you really see is the twinkle in her eye and the smile on her face. She is always so happy. She is such a good example of being at peace with your self and not always wishing for more. Having the right attitude about life will help us all be more at peace and happy. I hope I can become more like her, always finding the bright side of life and not complaining about the little things, like no hot water. We have so much to learn from these special people and we are so thankful to be here serving with them. We just got word that we have a new Bishop at home. Mom and Connie, our new bishop is Norm Kump. He got sustained today. His counselors are a Brother Brown and Brother Van Tassel. We don't know them but we are thrilled for the ward to have Norm and Bev. They will be great. We send our love to all, Have a great week. Lon and Nancy, Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma

   

Happy Easter!!

     We had no idea what to expect for Easter week as it was our first since the Temple opened. WOW What a week it ended up being. School is out the entire week for "Semana Santa" (Holy Week) and a lot of businesses close also. Friday almost everyone is off and most of the town is shut down and the people all go to the beach. Well, on Tuesday and Wednesday we ended up with 2 buses from Honduras and 1 bus from Nicaragua so the temple was pretty full those two days. Thursday we had another bus from Honduras and one from El Salvador. Not quite as busy so we were getting worried that Friday would be real quiet. Well, we ended up with 12 buses on Friday. People were everywhere. The Temple was overfull. The baptistry was in use every minute of the day. But all the buses left by 5:00 to get home and we ended up canceling the 7:00 Session cause no one was left. Saturday we only had 6 buses, all from San Miguel, El Salvador. It was so great to have so many people remember the Savior and come to the temple instead of going to the beach for Easter.

     Today I sang in Sacrament Meeting. Sharon, I have never sang O Divine Redeemer before. That was your song and I played it for you. Remember singing in the Prespyterian Church? They had a great pipe organ and the sound was awesome. Well, Rene, the violin player wanted me to sing this and ordered in the music. It was the lower arrangement, and went clear up to an F#. There is no way I can hit an F#, Sharon can but not me. Luckily we don't have a piano in our chapel, only a keyboard. We were able to lower the music three half steps so I could hit the high notes. It really went great and I think it added to the meeting. We had a great Easter lunch with the other missionaries.
 

     In the temple this week, Lon ran into Elder Rodriguez, who served in Jerome in 2010. He remembered Lon right away. Lon recognized his face but didn't connect him with Idaho till he introduced himself. It is so amazing how small this world really is now. Picture #1 shows us with Elder Rodriguez and his wife. He now lives in Ogden and they are expecting their first baby. He remembers the people in the Branch well and still has a twinkle in his eye when he talks about them. Maria and Ysidro and Cierra, he said to say hello to you. He was there for Cierra's baptism. It was fun to see one of our missionaries from Jerome and know that he is still grounded in the gospel.

Picture #2 is of Elder Johnathan Alas. He is headed to the Boise Idaho Mission. His grandparents are the second counsellors in the Temple Presidency. He flies to Provo and will be in the MTC on Tuesday. Be looking for him. He will be a great missionary. He has a sweet testimony. One comes home and another leaves. Elder Rodriguez's English has improved greatly and Johnathan speaks very little English. By the time we get home, we are sure Elder Alas will be speaking English very well.

We are still using our electric showers as we still have no hot water. They think they have found the problem and have ordered a part from the states. If it takes as long to get here as our last package, we will not have hot water for another month!
 

     We went down to a section of town called Antiguo Cuscatlan. It is the cleanest section of town we have been in. Picture #3 shows you the town cemetery. Yes, those are houses inside the cemetery walls. The kids play soccer around the headstones. This country just has more people living here than there is room for. There are over 6 million people here, Idaho only has around 1 and a half million. They say there are about 800 people per square mile.
 

     We had a rain storm on Friday. The first since November. The dry season is coming to an end. The humidity is higher now than ever. Our temperatures average about 90 but with the humidity it really feels hotter. The winds have stopped also. As we watched Conference last weekend, we really started to miss the spring flowers and smells, then saw the morning temperatures in Jerome and decided we didn't miss it all that much. The sunshine is nice.Well, dear friends and family, we miss you all but are happy and very content to be here, serving in this temple. The El Salvadorians are so friendly and watch out for us. We are protected and loved. We pray that you are happy and healthy and enjoying life. Recognize your blessings and remember to thank your Heavenly Father for them. We have been so blessed to live in the United States. We send our love, Elder and Sister Thompson, Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Papa and Mama Smurf!