New Shoes

    Just thought that I would share with you what we did for our day off yesterday. We started out at Price Smart to develop pictures. The machine was broken. We went to lunch and the only thing that I wanted on the menu, they were out of. My tennis shoes, the ones that I bought for the See Jane Run that we did in Boise, finally gave up the ghost. They had holes on top and on bottom. This pavement that we walk on at least 5 days a week really is rough on shoes. We figure we are getting 4 miles in each day and my feet needed some TLC. I also needed a second pair of white shoes for the Temple that were more comfortable. We started out at a store that sells nurses shoes. We figured that these would be the most comfortable shoes we could find. They had one pair that would have worked, except they were all scuffed up and I would like to be the one to scuff up a new pair of shoes so we didn't get them. We went to the Multi-Plaza and began the hunt. They have a dozen shoe stores. As we went from store to store, we discovered that I was Goldilocks again. All the shoes were either too big or too small. They didn't have any that were just right. None of the stores had half sizes. We walked to the Walmart shopping mall and checked out 4 of the stores in that mall. But the same thing, no half sizes. I have just got to get a whole lot bigger or get a whole lot smaller. We walked back to the Multi-Plaza and walked into a little store that we hadn't visited before, just to say that we had checked everywhere. We couldn't believe it, shoes that fit!!! I asked how much they were, and Dad said it didn't matter, we were buying them because they were the only ones that fit. We even found a pair of white shoes for the temple that fit. Your Dad just hates it when I need to buy anything for myself cause we can never find the right size. We didn't get our nap in but did make it back in time for Family Home Evening. It was a long day but finally ended up better than it began.

     We spent an hour and a half today at immigration. We are legal again for the next three months. We will have to do it again one more time before we come home. It is time to read our scriptures and head to bed. We are excited about Tracy's job offer and we all need to remember to keep him in our prayers that he can pass all the exams that he has to take. We love you all so much. Have a great week and we will talk to some of you on Sunday. Love Dad and Mom

Re-certification

   We had a busy Friday and Saturday in the temple. We had a bus come from Nicaragua to attend the Temple. The bus broke down on the way here and the people had to spend the night on the bus. (Sure glad that it only gets down into the high 60's at night) They were very poor and had no food left and no money for food, or milk for the babies. Our Stake President took over and arranged meals and  milk and they had a wonderful day and a half here. We were able so seal 3 families together forever and really enjoyed their spirit in the temple.

     With the new year, the Presidency is trying to have all the workers re-certify, meaning that they know all that needs to be done in the temple and the right way to do it. Elder Thompson made the mistake of looking for me on Saturday night so we could walk home together. I was in the laundry with 4 loads of laundry to fold before I could go home. I taught him how to fold the towels and match slippers and socks. He is the only man in the temple who is half certified in the laundry. He just needs one more day to learn how to load the washers and dryers and he can have it. He is not so sure that he wants to get the certification. He is sure that I will expect him to help when we get home!! He keeps wondering what he will do when he gets home without our rental business. I am just trying to show him that there is a lot that he can do to keep busy. ( I don't think that he is buying it.)

     We really do miss our friends, the Kitleys and Gibbons, but they made it home safe and sound and are enjoying their families. I have included a photo from Family Home Evening tonight of our  missionary family. We are a small bunch now.

     Because there are so many more workers on the AM Shift than on the PM Shifts, the Wall's and us are only working on the PM Shifts for now (oh darn! No more 4:00 AM alarms!!) Our bodies really like the PM shifts. We will miss the workers on the AM shifts, but good news. We have a couple coming the first of April, the Clarks. They are from Arizona and have served a previous mission in the Monterey, Mexico Temple. We look forward to their arrival.

     Well, we want to tell you all how much we love you and appreciate your prayers in our behalf. We are busy, happy, content, and warm. We hope spring will be early for you so you too can be warm. We send our love to all, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Lon and Nancy

Our Missionary Family is Changing!

The day that we thought would be a long time in coming has come. The Gibbons and Kitleys leave on Friday, the 25th. They will work in the Temple on Tuesday and Wednesday and be done with their missions here. They have been busy trying to organize and pack and figure out how to get their treasures home without anything breaking. The dinners and parties in their behalf began last week and will continue tonight, tomorrow and Thursday. Everyone wants to be able to say good bye and every time they go to dinner with a group, they get a new treasure to take home. It is wonderful to see the love that our friends here have for these missionaries. Elder Thompson, the party animal that his, NOT!, has decided that we will tell everyone a date that we are leaving and then leave a week earlier. It won't work but if it will give him some peace I guess he can dream. Sister Petersen has made sure that everyone knew when the others are leaving and she will make sure that everyone knows when we leave too. We are going to miss these family members. We have come to love and appreciate them so much. We still have no replacements that we know of, so as for now, the Wall's and Thompson's are all on the PM Shift. That is the only bright spot. We expect to be on the PM shift for at least 6 weeks so no more 4:00 AM's. We are hoping for replacements in March.

This week was a fun one. We didn't have big crowds until Friday and Saturday but we had a steady flow of people in the temple so it was good. Yesterday, I was able to help a sweet little lady in the temple. It was her first time in the temple and she was 96 years old. We put her in a wheel chair so the day wouldn't be so tiring for her. She had her daughter with her, only her 2nd time in the temple, 72 years old, and a granddaughter and a great granddaughter. Four generations of beautiful daughters of our Heavenly Father. It was a sweet experience for me and I hope to be in the temple when they come back to be sealed as a family one day. It is experiences like these that make all the tired feet and exhaustion worth while.

      We were walking one afternoon when we spied our "bag lady", Sister Diaz. She carries those big bags with her where ever she goes. On Sunday at church, to the temple, to parties at the church, those bags are always with her. The women at the temple tell me that she has lived in almost every ward from time to time but never have they been able to get an address. She just seems to exist. They are sure she lives on the streets. She comes to the temple on Wed, Thurs, and Fridays at 8:00 in the morning and stays till 4:00. The sisters on these shifts have started bringing her a lunch each day so she can eat. They say that the temple is such a blessing in her life as she has a place to go all day to get out of the sun, wind, or rain (they added cold!!) You would love to hear her bare her testimony. It is fire and brimstone!! She has a sweet spirit and we enjoy being her friends. She sits with us at church now.

     It was great to hear from so many of you this week. Thank you for your emails. We enjoy hearing how you are doing and what you are doing. Thank you for your prayers in our behalf. We are feeling good and enjoying our work here. We just wish that time would slow down a bit. Have a great week We send our love to all Lon and Nancy, Grandpa and Grandma, Dad and Mom.

Hope You are all Staying Warm!

     I had to check what our forecast for the coming week was and I have to tell you, I don't know if we can stand the "cold". It is only going to be in the 60's at night. However it will warm up to the 90's again each day. And yes, I am bragging and letting you know how much we do not miss those single digit numbers you are experiencing now. We hope you are able to stay in doors and keep warm.

     We have had a real slow start to the new year in the temple. Last week a bus strike started so many of the workers and patrons were unable to get to the temple. We have never lived in a place that is dependent on buses before. This strike can really stop a city. Today, we had protests going on with many main roads leading in and out of the major cities closed. The government is claiming to be out of money and not paying pensions that they owe and the people are not happy. Don't know how long this will go on, but we don't expect to have a very busy January.

     We are on the AM Shift this week and are enjoying being with these people again. It is fun to be able to work with everyone and get to know all the workers. Lon and I are trying to speak only Spanish in our home so maybe I can learn to speak! It is hard and very tiring for our brains, mine especially. I can understand a lot and read and understand a lot, but the talking for me is hard. I definitely do not have the gift of tongues. We don't have a lot of time to study either with putting in 8 to 10 hour days in the temple but hopefully in the 6 months that we have left, I can make some progress. I want so much to be able to communicate with my dear friends here. I remember Willis, Lon's Dad, telling us that in the temple he could understand and speak Spanish and I can relate to that. The Lord helps me in the Temple to accomplish all that I need to do with Spanish but I have a long way to go.

     Well, hope you are all safe and warm. We thank you for your prayers in our behalf. You are in our prayers and thoughts always. We love you and look forward to being with you again, just not too soon as it needs to warm up a lot before we come home!!!!!! Love ya

Happy New Year!

     We hope you all had a great New Year's celebration. Ours was amazing and will never be duplicated in our lifetime. Let me set the stage. Here in El Salvador, as in all countries, we have the rich and the poor. The very poorest are like our dear Hermana Diaz who comes to the temple three days a week and to church carrying all that she owns in a big black bag because she has no home. The next class of people have a corregated metal sided home with no windows, only curtains and dirt floors. They cook outdoors on an open fire. You can smell them when you are around them. The third class have cement block homes with windows and floors, but none of these have hot running water and some of them only have running water a few days a week. These include our friends the Figueroa's, the Lopez's, and a lot of our ward family because we do live in a very well to do part of town. And then you have the Reyes.

     We were invited to spend New Year's Eve with the Reyes's. Brother Reyes is our Gospel Doctrine teacher, a commercial pilot, and the owner of a trucking business with 200 trucks that carry fuel and oil all over Central America. Sister Reyes is a temple worker and an architect. She spent 11 years designing their dream home and 5 years trying to get permission to build where they wanted to. They have a "palace" in the mountains. It is huge!! One wing of the house is for the 7 employees who live with them. Bro. Reyes was traveling to Guatemala just before we got to El Salvador and was pulled over by a "policeman" who shot him, robbed him, and left him for dead. He is a walking miracle. They now have armed guards with them at all times and servalance cameras all over the house and grounds. We need to think twice before we wish for wealth. The entrance to the home has two staircases, one on each side

It has 5 bedrooms upstairs, each with its own bathroom and two downstairs, not counting the employees wing. It has two kitchens, one that they actually cook in and the other that they serve buffets in. And the bathrooms took on a whole new meaning when you say that you are going to visit  the throne. 

 

All of the furniture was designed by Sister Reyes.
     We started the evening with a family home evening lesson by Bro. Reyes from a talk given by Jeffery Holland. Then we moved outside for a circus act. We have a circus visiting San Salvador and one of the acts happen to be members of the church who have been co
ming to our ward. The Reyes's invited them to the party and when they found out that the missionaries and temple presidency would be there, they asked if they could perform for us. This is the husband decked out in his costume.

He shoots compound and cross bows at balloons or oranges that his wife holds in her hands or on her head. After they performed for awhile, he asked for "volunteers" to come. Now who in their right mind would volunteer to be shot at? So they started pulling people up, President Petersen, Sister Gibbons, Elder Kitley, and me.

That was an weird feeling. I could feel the air as the arrow popped the balloon. We ate at 10:30, there were about 50 people at the party, and then the kareoke and dancing started. At ten minutes to midnight, the fireworks started. It sounded like world war 3 as the noise from the valley floated up the hills. Brother Reyes had a fireworks display that matched any we have seen in Jerome. As we came down the mountain into the city, the air was thick with smoke and the fireworks and firecrackers continued most of the night. We arrived home at 1:30 AM. What an evening, we were wined and dined, shot at, sang and sang to, danced and watched a fireworks display. You didn't have time to get tired or realize what time it was. And so, 2013 literally came in with a bang! We have lots more pictures of the house and grounds of the Reyes home that we can share when we return. The Kitley's and Gibbons have begun to try to pack. They only have 3 weeks left with us and then home to the cold. We still have no replacements for them so February could be very interesting.

     Well, this letter has gotten real long so I had better close for now. We send our love and prayers in your behalf. Thank you for yours. Elder Thompson and I served in the temple every day that it was open this year, without being sick. We know that this health and strength came as a gift from our Heavenly Father. Thank you for your prayers. We love you Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma

Christmas El Salvadorian Style

     We hope you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to a fun New Year's celebration. Let us tell you about our Christmas here. It really started on the 23rd. Our Sacrament meeting set the tone for the next few days. I was able to sing a duet with Luciana Figueroa, The First Noel, with Rene on the violin playing Cannon D, and Sherilee at the piano. Then our bishop and a friend played a viola and violin duet, Rene on violin and Sherilee on piano and me on the organ did "O Holy Night" , Sherilee and Rene did a piano duet and a violin and piano duet. Our Bishopric each talked for about 10 minutes and the spirit was so strong. It was a great beginning.

 

Rene Hernandez, Sherilee Broadbent, and me.

     Sunday evening was our Stake Choir Christmas Devotional. Our choir performed above their ability. I got to sing "O Holy Night" with Rene on the violin and Sherilee at the piano. Luciana and I sang our duet again, we really blend well. I also sang "And He Shall Feed his Sheep" from the Messiah. It was an old fashioned Christmas program with a scripture read then a song to tell the Christmas story. We had children dressed as animals and Joseph and Mary come in as we sang the Friendly Beasts, which Rene and Sherilee translated from Engish to Spanish. It was a wonderful program and we had a great turnout to it. Afterwards, we had the Figueroa's over for an all American hamburger feed. They liked everything, but especially the cheese dip. I haven't found velveta cheese here yet, but cheese whiz works real well.

Monday morning, Elder Thompson and Elder Kitley got to go golfing with the Behner family again, Eric, Alex, and Andres. They went to the same course where Lon golfed a few months ago and had such a bad score. He improved his score by over 20 stokes so he felt good. It was a beautiful morning and they had a great time.

     We had a progressive dinner with all the missionaries at 6:00. We started at the Kitleys for ordurves, then to the Thompsons for salad. The Gibbons and the Walls furnished the main course, ham and funeral potatos and home-made rolls. On to the Petersens for dessert and our $5.00 gift exchange. Our evening ended about 10:00 pm and the Figueroa's picked us up and took us to their house for an El Salvadorian Christmas. Families start about 6:00 PM going from house to house wishing their family a Merry Christmas. There is always finger foods to eat and presents are left, usually a basket of food. One of the houses is the gathering place for the Christmas feast. We arrived at the Figueroa's with an hour to spare before the feast. They had a beautiful tree with not one present under it. We visited with their Aunt and two cousins and then at 11:00 PM dinner was served. We had roasted turkey and pork covered with a tomato based sauce. It had mushrooms and green olives in it. The rice had creme dulce, whipping cream not whipped, asparagus and two different cheeses. The salad is only made on the 24th of Dec and Mariela is the only one in the family with the recipe. It is shrimp, carrots, potatos, eggs, peas, onions and a sauce of creme dulce with mustard. Everything was delicious, just too much. This was our second dinner! 

     At the stroke of midnight, everyone hugs and wishes each other a Merry Christmas and the fireworks blast. They rocked the house. The sky was lit up all around. Still no presents?? About 10 minutes later. Grandma Gladys comes downstairs with a gift for the Aunt. She opens it and we sit around for another 10 minutes when Mariela, the mother, brings in a gift for her daughter Luciana. She opens it and again we sit around. Then another gift for the cousins. Paola left at 12:00. The teenagers have to stay with the family until midnight then they can leave for a few hours to celebrate with their friends. This was the routine for the next hour and a half, even the two dogs got their gifts.  We get home at 1:30 AM totalled. I really like our traditions so much better. On Christmas day, most just head to the beach to sleep and relax after being up all night. There is nothing planned for the 25th.

     Have a Happy new Year. We are celebrating at the home of the Reyes so we will send a letter after with pictures for you to see. It is supposed to be quite a house. We love you all Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Lon and Nancy

Merry Christmas Dear Friend

     I just have to share this with someone who will understand that I am not bragging or blowing my own horn, I truly believe that I am just a funeral singer, but the past week has been amazing!!!! Last Sunday was the Temple Worker's Devotional. Our Stake Choir sang two numbers and I was privileged to be asked to sing "O Holy Night" with Rene Hernandez on the organ and Sherilee Broadbent on the piano. The spirit was so strong. I was able to share my testimony to my fellow workers through music that I know my Savior lives and loves us. It was a wonderful gift to be able to give to these special people that I have come to love so much. I got asked again if I sang with the Tabernacle Choir. They just don't understand when I tell them that "no", I am just a funeral singer.

     On Friday afternoon I got an amazing Christmas present that I really needed. President and Sister Petersen decided that I needed to have more sleep so I would be ready for our Choir Christmas Devotional so they told Lon and I not to come into the temple before 7:00 AM on Saturday. Being on the AM Shift all week, I really was starting to wear down and those extra three hours were welcomed!!! I was able to come home at 12:30 and take a nap but poor Elder Thompson ended up there till almost 3:00. He was so tired. We had our dress rehearsal at 5:00 so he didn't get much of a rest.

      Sunday was the most spiritual Sabbath I can ever remember and I sang better than I can ever remember.  In fact, I'm not sure it was me at all. Sacrament Meeting started with Rene and Sherilee playing a piano duet. Then, our Bishop Figueroa and a friend did a viola and violin duet, WOW. Rene and Sherilee did a violin and piano duet and I got to play the organ, Sherilee on the piano, and Rene played "O Holy Night" on the violin. Luciana and I sang "The First Noel" with Rene playing Cannon D on the violin and Sherilee on the piano. It was fantastic because we had only practiced once because Luciana was at LOY (EFY) all week. The music was so amazing. Our Bishopric each spoke and the Christmas Spirit was so amazing. We didn't want the meeting to end. Then, I was in charge of our missionary Sunday meal. I had frozen the turkey carcass so I made home-made noodles. The Wall's weren't supposed to be here so we invited the full time missionaries and then the Wall's got home early with the Mendezes. So that pot of noodles ended up feeding 16 with a bowl left for Lon and I for dinner one day. Talk about loaves and fishes!

 

     Our Devotional started at 5:00. It was an old fashioned Christmas program with scriptures by the narrator followed by a song to tell the story of the birth of our Savior. Our choir never sounded better. Luciana and I again sang and it was perfect. I sang "O Holy Night" this time with Rene on the violin and Sherilee on the piano. It was the best I have ever sounded. It was powerful and the spirit was again so strong. It was a WOW moment for me. I also got to sing "And He Shall Feed His Sheep". After the program, President Petersen hugged me and whispered in my ear that he knows that I had been preparing for years to come here and testify of my Savior through music. I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father has given me this choice experience, not just to testify to others, but to feel the spirit so strong that my testimony has been strengthened also.

 

      I want you to know that I have a testimony of the power of the priesthood. When I was set apart, I was promised that my talents would be renewed and magnified. Wow has that ever come true. I love my Heavenly Father and I am so thankful for His Son and His redeeming sacrifice for me. Merry Christmas and I pray that your New Year will be filled with tender mercies and miracles for you and your family. May God bless you in all you do With all my love, Nancy