June 19th through June 25th

June 19^th through June 25^th: Thursday we went to the temple for a couple of hours in the morning and then we had to go to immigration to be finger printed for our temporary resident visa.  This took a couple of hours.  Everything is now done and we just have to wait for the card and it should only take a week or so.  Not as bad as the battle to get a visa in Bolivia, but still a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy.  We were back to the temple by noon and worked till about 3, took a break for lunch and then I was the sealer for the evening shift and Mom worked in the office.  Friday I was at the temple before 6:00am to be the Entrance Coordinator--new job and title.  I met with the leader of the group that came by bus and helped him organize his people into the different groups that we needed in order to get them all into the temple in an orderly fashion.  By 7:20am, we had about 90 people in their proper places.  This is a little temple, but with the Mexico City members, we have to function like a big temple and accommodate a lot of people all at once.  This requires some unique organization.  I got the official word that I have been approved to be the assistant recorder and can now be granted access to the programs that I need to manage all the technical aspects and reports of the recorders job.  I was the backup sealer and did 2 sessions of sealings in the morning. I also registered my first new patron.  I had never done this and the secretary did not show up and so I was on my own.  I made a few mistakes, but in the end I got the right papers printed and he made the session on time.  Mom was on a different shift because she was filling in as the secretary for the afternoon shift, so she wasn’t there to help me.  She is much further along on the registering process than I am.  I also performed a marriage.  (See the picture)

One of the couples that got married this week.

One of the couples that got married this week.

It was a very busy morning and I was running from one thing to another.  Mom worked till about 5:00pm.  I spent the afternoon watching World Cup.  Mexico won their game so everyone here is happy.  Saturday I went early and was once again the Entrance Coordinator and after everyone was in the temple I went home.  Chris had not yet gone over and when I told her that the big group that was supposed to come had canceled and Pres. Allred had said that we should take the rest of the day off, she was delighted.  We went to Walmart for some groceries and she spent at least 3 hours working on her talk for Sunday.  We invited the Sorcias and the Allreds to come to Sunday dinner.  I had seen a recipe for a slow cooked pork roast on Facebook and it looked real good so I made another trip to Walmart for some things we didn’t have.  We also made a trip downtown to try and get more acquainted with where everything is so we won’t feel lost when Ginny and her family come in about 3 weeks.

Mom exploring Oaxaca.

Lots of great architecture.

This is the courtyard of the public library.

Lots of great architecture.

I did a whole blog on the doors of Sucre and Potasi. Maybe I should do one on the doors of Oaxaca.

Sunday we gave our talks in 2 different sacrament meetings.  When they were over I think we felt relieved that they were over, but also happy that they went well and the Spirit was definitely present.  It is fun to testify of Christ and His church.  It makes us feel like we are really missionaries.  We got home and the house smelt wonderful.  The sauce had honey and garlic and basil.  I didn’t have any basil so I used oregano.  It turned out ok, everyone said it was good, but I would only give it a 5 or 6.  I think I could make up a better recipe and I will next time try mine own recipe.  Mom had made a cheese cake pie and the Sorcias also brought a pie.  So we did not say anything about ours, but in the evening we had the Allreds back over for more pie. 

Sunday dinner, L to R Elder and Sister Sorcia, Sister and Pres. Allred,  and mom and me.

Monday, we made a trip to Office Depot to buy name tags for the restricted workers that come from the new stakes.  We then went downtown and visited a couple of museums.  We want to know which ones are worth taking time to see when Ginny and family are here.  We found a really good one with pre Hispanic pottery pieces and glyphs. We came home and had leftovers for lunch.

Downtown you can see the neighborhoods that are growing up the hillsides.

One of the many churches in Oaxaca.

I think there are more than 25 churches in Oaxaca.

One of the glyphs in the museum.

A serpent head.

Lots of great architecture.

Lots of great architecture.

Tuesday, I was at the temple at 7:00am working on agendas.  We had the FM meeting and the Presidency meeting and I got done about 1:30pm.  Mom left early and went and got a haircut.  We went back and worked from3:30pm till 7:00pm. It had been raining lightly all afternoon, but when we left the temple it started to really come down hard.  Mom got too close to the road and got drenched by a passing bus and by the time we got home we were both soaked to the skin and had to wash everything we had had on.  Wednesday we went to the temple and worked the morning shift.  I am the assigned the sealer for the shift and I did about one and a half hours of sealings.  I went back over in the afternoon and worked with Pres. Allred.  He is trying to get me up to speed on the recorders duties before he leaves next week.  Thankfully there is a help line I can call 24/7.  We went back in the evening and attended a session.  I got access to all the programs except one and they are going to call back on that one.  The weeks are flying by and we are starting to feel more comfortable with our duties and things are not so overwhelming.  Tomorrow the new mission president arrives and we can only imagine how the two of them must feel.  They will live directly across the street from us and we hope to become good friends with them.

Just outside our front door.

Just outside our front door. 4 days later.

Just outside our front door.