Happy 4th of July

Today we celebrated the 4th of July with the other missionaries for our Sunday lunch. We decided that we were not late, just getting used to Salvadorian time. We had an all American picnic with hamburgers, potato salad, and Independence cake (thanks Deb for the recipe). Picture #1. The afternoon rain storm even waited til we were done to roll in. We had to eat inside last Sunday because the rain was coming at an angle that was getting the deck wet. It is raining almost every afternoon or evening now. Time to carry your umbrella with you all the time. You can have a beautiful sunny day one minute, then raining cats and dogs the next. Boy, did I ever get funny looks when I used that expression the other day. That was something none of my friends here had ever heard before.

     We need to tell you the story of the "Sewing Brigade" Eleven women from the States arrived in San Salvador. They came mostly from Bountiful, Utah. These women were organized about 5 years ago. They pick a country, work through the Church Welfare Office, and come to the country to teach women how to use sewing machines and sew. They spent 2 years in Costa Rica, 2 years in the Dominican Republic, and this year here. They will return again next year to teach sewing and advanced sewing to the 15 women who they taught this year and 15 new beginners. The women who took the class were hand picked by their Bishops and Stake Presidents. If they finished the course, they were given the sewing machine that they learned on. These 11 women were amazing. They needed to be close to the institute building where they held the classes so they stayed in a not so classy hotel, experiencing the electric showers and real bad beds. But they were happy and praised their students. They had found out that one of the students from last year has opened a shop and makes drapes and clothes for others to make a living for her little family. They are hoping for more success stories as they return here next year. What a selfless act of love! They pay their own way and give away 15 sewing machines each summer. They are definitely making a difference in the world. None of them speak Spanish. Each year they try to bring someone's son or grandson who has just returned from a Spanish Speaking mission as their interpreter. They were here for a week. We hope they return early next June so we can see them again and find out how their students are doing.

 

     We had some real good news today. The Walls have been asked to extend their mission and they have agreed to stay for 4 more months. The Kitley's and Gibbon's will leave the end of January but the Wall's will stay here with us. We were real happy. I guess there is a real shortage in Senior Temple Missionaries as new temples are opened each year. We can't imagine running this temple without 4 sets of missionaries, and even then we are real short of workers on some shifts. Hopefully, the Temple Department will be able to find replacements for the Kitley's and Gibbon's and that they will already know at least some Spanish. But that is not a requirement if you have the desire to serve, the Lord will help you become qualified for the work. He has certainly helped me with the language.

We love serving here and are happy and healthy. We don't know where all the time goes but wish it would slow down a little. You are all in our thoughts and prayers daily. We hope that you will have a great week. We send our love, Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma