June 13th through June 19th

  June 13^th through June 19^th:  Monday I took the missionaries shopping and mom stayed home to get ready for Family Home Evening.  Family Home Evening was a farewell for the Province’s and welcome for the Madrid’s and the Reyna’s.  Bill and Flor did a great job talking about the restoration of priesthood keys and the accompanying ordinances.  They taught about Moses and Elijah appearing at the Mount of Transfiguration with Christ and then appearing in the Kirtland temple to restore the keys of the gathering of Israel and the sealing power in our dispensation. They have had the assignment at the MTC of teaching the apostasy and restoration during the Sunday devotionals.  They each bore powerful testimonies.  They have been great friends, temple workers and Bill has been the area medical advisor.  

Family Home Evening with new full-time temple workers.
Brother and Sister Madrid (front right) and Brother and Sister Reyna (second row left). Eldon is in the back to translate for the Latins.

The North Americans

Refreshments for FHE

Tuesday we had the afternoon shift.  Wednesday was presidency meeting and then in the afternoon we both went to an oil painting class.  I asked mom if she wouldn’t like to take the class with me and she said yes.  We are taking three private lessons this week since the teacher has stopped her classes on Friday until Aug.  Everyone travels in June and July.  Thursday we had the morning shift and then went straight to another painting lesson.  Friday we had the afternoon shift.  Saturday we had another painting lesson.  On Thursday I finished the painting I had been working on and started another.  

I finished this painting this last week.

Mom''s painting after 3 lessons.

Mine after one and a half.

We went to the adult session of the Amatitlan stake conference in the afternoon.  Amatitlan is about an hour away, so we left at 3:30pm and got home at 8:30pm.  We both spoke during the meeting.  Sunday we went to the general session.  Elder Luis Chaverri from Costa Rica was the visiting area seventy.  This is the second conference we have been to with him.  He is very friendly and good to us.  It was a very nice meeting and mom gave a great new talk on having the light of Christ in our lives.  Mine was a rehash of how to have a better experience when you go to the temple.  

The Choir for stake conference.

The general session on Sunday morning.

L to R  Pres. Baltazar second councelor, Pres. Morales first counselor, Pres. Markham, Pres. Tejeda stake president, Elder Luis Chaverri and me.  We all got a new tie for father's day.

Elder Chaverri is from Costa Rica.

On the way home, we went through an amazing thunder and lightning storm.  I have never seen it rain so hard.  The streets were rivers.  It was an adventure getting home.  

This is water coming off the front tire of the car.

The roads were like rivers.

Lots of intersections were the confluence of two rivers.

Good size river on the side walk and the first lane of this street.

We did family history in the afternoon and talked to the kids.  

My Happy Father's Day gift from the grandkids.  Can you tell they are spelling out Happy Father's Day?

We waited all day for the arrival of Martha Cooper and Elsie, the mother of her grandson, Andy.  Martha visits Elsie and Andy every year.  They live in El Salvador.  They took a bus to come and visit us.  It rained hard most of the afternoon.  They finally arrived about 8:00pm in a rainstorm.  They got dropped off in front of the Missionary Training Center and the guard  called the security at the temple and they let us know where they were.  We drove over and got them.  Mom had made a big pot of taco soup.  We fed them and went to bed knowing we had to be up at 4:30am to take the Province’s to the airport.  It was another great week and we got the notice that the Winkfield's will be arriving in August.  That was a very pleasant surprise.