September 22nd through September 28th:

 September 22^nd through September 28^th:  Monday, we did our grocery shopping and had a very lazy day of blogging and reading and just hanging out.  I did make some pulled pork that turned out to be incredible.  Tuesday, I cooked fish tacos for Pres. and Sister Atkinson and then after dinner he explained his new power point on “The temple is the answer”.  Since we are going out of town this weekend to a district conference and will be speaking in the meetings, he wanted to share some of his ideas.  He is a very good teacher and we enjoyed talking to him about the blessings that come from temple worship.  Wednesday, after our temple shift, we had lunch at the Pena’s with Pres. and Sister Atkinson.  They prepared a Pambazos, delicious kind of Mexican sandwich with some special bread they had brought back from Mexico City.  They had made a quick trip home over the weekend.  We then went back and worked the afternoon/ evening shift.  Thursday, after the morning shift, we had the Penas over for pulled pork sandwiches.  Pres. Atkinson had already left to speak at a Young Single Adult conference.  Friday, we worked until 11:00am and then headed south to the coast to the city of Huatulco with the mission president, Pres. and Sister Madsen.  We will be speaking with them at the District Conference there.  It was a 7 hour ride over the Sierra Madres mountains.  The road is nothing but switchbacks and the curves are so tight that buses can’t use the road.  Mom got pretty car sick and we had to stop a few times for her to empty her stomach. (Ginny-- she was wearing her wristbands, just in case, but  it wasn’t enough.) 

Cute little villages along the road.

So many beautiful vistas.

That is corn being grown on a very steep hillside.

The beautiful Sierra Madre mountains.

Hot Chocolate at San Jose de Pacifico at the top of the mountains.

Life in 4 bottles.

Rock slides are very common.  We were able to get around this one.

That is corn being grown on a hillside that is about 70 degrees of slant.

At over 9000 feet, there is fog in the valleys.

We saw a lot of waterfalls on the way to Huatulco.

We arrived about 7:30pm and after we got cleaned up, we went to dinner.  Mom only ate half of my baked potato.  She was being nice to her tummy. 

Our room

Dinner on the square Saturday night.

 Entertainment at dinner.

Saturday, we spent the morning seeing the beaches and the sites.  Everywhere, the vegetation is thick and lush and it is very clean.  This might be the next Cancun. 

Fun at the beach.

Ceiling of the Catholic Church in Hautulco.

Close up of the ceiling of the church in Huatulco.

This is a tile mosaic.

Breakfast at a beach-side restaurant. Pres. and Sister Madsen.

A US Coast Guard ship docked while we ate breakfast on the beach.

Just so we remember where we were.

Another one of the beautiful bays.

Looking down on the bay where we had breakfast.

Beautiful views.

Some pretty nice homes on the hills along the coast.

Mom was happy after she got to walk on the beach for 20 minutes.

Vicente Guerrero, one of the patriots of Mexico.

At 3:00pm we started our meetings.  I spoke in the priesthood session and then mom and I both spoke in the adult session in the evening.  Mom’s Spanish is still improving and she doesn’t need to have everything written out anymore.  Sunday, we both spoke in the general session.  There was a great spirit at the conference and it was a real treat to be part of it.  We got some good pictures of the saints and then we headed home. 

The hotel we stayed in.

The Choir.

http://youtu.be/8BLECE4DhQc

Link to a video of the choir.

About 250 in attendance in 3 rooms.

One of the many cute families at the conference.

Mom and some of the sisters after the conference.

The missionaries in the Huatulco zone.

After District Conference, L to R the son of Pres. Pineda, Sister Pineda, Pres. Pineda, me , mom, and their daughter.

Mom had bought some Dramamine and we took a different road back.  We went through Salina Cruz and only had about 4 hours of switchbacks. 

Sharing the road with some of the locals.

Thatched roof but you have to have your satellite dish.

Salina Cruz

Mom made it without getting sick.  We got home at 8:30pm.  We went over to the Pena’s home before going to bed.  We wanted to find out how Saturday had gone.  They had 8 buses arrive, 7 before 7:00am and 1 about 11:00am.  That’s over 350 people.  He had asked 4 extra coordinators to come in and help.  Each one was in charge a one thing: one the baptistery, one sessions, one initiatory and the dressing room, and one sealings.  He also had another sealer come in.  The two sealers did 5 hours each of sealings. But they got everyone in the temple and everyone left happy and fortified.  Long day and a busy week but they are flying by.  We have competed 25% of our mission and are loving it.