November 23rd through November 29th

November 23^rd through November 29^th:  Monday Mom 

made pumpkin pie and I got the turkey in the oven.  I did a last minute run to the store for whipping cream and some more eggnog.  We then had 21 missionaries over for our Thanksgiving dinner.  It was just our temple missionaries and then all the area missionaries that live here in the temple housing.  We had a great time and I have to say the gravy was particularly delicious.  

Elder/ Doctor Province carving up the bird.

Potatoes, Gravy and Dressing.

Jello salad.

Our Thanksgiving table in our carport/garage.

The table for all the starters.  I can't spell ordervs.

L to R, President and Sister Rosado, Spencer and Amanda, Plaskett's daughter and boyfriend, Sister and Elder Lynn, Elder and Sister Allred, Elder and Sister Plaskett, Sister Lowrey.

L to R, Sister Rosales, Sister and Elder Wilson, Sister and Elder Province, President Rosado, Mom, Sister and Elder Price, and President Rosales. 

There were lots of left-overs and I will be eating turkey and potatoes and gravy for days.  Someone has to eat them. We can’t be throwing food away;)  Tuesday After our shift in the temple, we went downtown and I had my blood drawn to see how the blood thinners were working.  I got the results later that evening and everything was in good shape.  I feel so much better this week, except for the persistent cough.  I think I am about 90% recovered.  We are finally feeling like we know how this temple runs and we have now worked all the shifts.  We will be having our first coordinators meeting on Sunday and we can begin to teach and train on the things that we learned in the new temple president’s seminar. Mom got out the Christmas tree and we (mostly mom) started setting it up.  It is really old and each branch has to be put in a hole and it takes quite some time to get it to look good. But it made Mom happy to have a tree.  Wednesday We went walking in the morning with the Provinces.  We are trying to walk at least 30 minutes every day that we are not at the temple early.  I have lost about 10 pounds and I would really like to lose at least 10 more.  We had presidency meeting and then did our afternoon shift.  We didn’t have very many workers and without the temple missionaries we could not have functioned.  We are so grateful for their devoted service. Thursday We went with the Provinces to the MTC and watched the worldwide MTC devotional from Provo via satellite.  Elder Oaks and his wife were the speakers.  They spoke about gratitude and being thankful for whatever we are experiencing in our lives. It is sometimes hard to be grateful for struggles and challenges. I told mom I am grateful for good doctors, but not that grateful that I have to go back on blood thinners.  After the devotional, mom wanted to exchange some lights she had bought for the Christmas tree.  Boy what a hassle.  You can return stuff, but only for store credit.  She wanted incandescent lights, not LED lights.  They were less money than we had spent so she had to run back and get another box.  When we got home she realized she had grabbed a box that had white wire not green wire.  So now we have to go and exchange them.  It is almost not worth the hassle.  We went shopping in the afternoon with the recorder, Brother Adadillo and the engineer, Brother Lopez.  Brother Abadillo has been the recorder for 8 different temple presidents and he is a stake president here in Guatemala City.  Brother Lopez has worked in the temple for many years also and serves as an area seventy.  We have been having problems with our dryer and so they want to buy us a new washer and dryer.  We also went shopping for a new mattress.  They say that ours is too old and it has to be replaced.  

We went shopping and this is where Chris found me after 30 minutes.

We finished up in time for us to get ready and drive to the Victoria Suites, where many of the area missionaries live.  We had been invited to another Thanksgiving dinner.  We left about an hour before the dinner was to start.  The traffic was horrible and it took us an hour and 40 minutes to get there.  We have decided that we will not go out during rush hour ever again.  It only took us 35 minutes to get home.  It was fun to get to know what everyone is doing here.  We met the humanitarian missionaries, mission office missionaries, area IT missionaries, and 3 different dentist missionaries.  There are so many different ways to serve.  Friday We were back in the temple for the morning shift.  I wouldn’t say that weekdays are busy, just steady.  Some sessions are almost full, others just a hand-full.  But we are happy that members come and worship every day.  We got the lights returned and then I got the lights on the tree and mom finished it.  She says that having a Christmas tree makes her happy and I say that having eggnog makes me happy.  So we are both now happy.  Saturday   We worked the middle shift.  Part of the middle shift’s assignment is to do the training for all three shifts of workers.  I enjoy doing training and teaching the workers about the temple.  I have been telling them that I want them to have spiritual experiences in the temple and that they deserve to have them.  In the temple is the only place I can share some of the experiences I have had helping patrons do the temple work for their ancestors.  I want them to love the temple as I do.  Sunday   We got up and drove about an hour south to Cuilapa.  We spoke at the Cuilapa District conference.  President Caffaro, the mission president who presided, had invited us to attend.  

Primary Choir at the District Conference in Cuilapa.

District Conference in Cuilapa.

3 Volcanoes on the way back from Cuilapa.

Riding above the cows.

Many pineapple stands on the way home.

We then hurried home and had leftover pizza for dinner.  We then went to the temple and got set up for our coordinators meeting.  We had almost 100 percent attendance.  It was very rewarding to see the faithfulness of these workers.  One of our coordinators drove down from Cuilapa, where she had also spoken in the district conference.  We had bought some cookies and water for them.  We love them and feel so blessed to be able to serve with these good brothers and sisters.  Just before the meeting started, we Skyped into the blessing of our newest grandson, Campbell Walker Norman, James and Kirstin’s little boy who was born a week before we left.  It was so fun to be able to hear and see this blessing.  James is a good dad and did a nice job, giving him a name and then blessing him.  Congratulations Kirstin and James.  In the evening, we went over to the Price’s home and planned a trip to Tikal for the closure in January.  We also talked to some of our kids.  We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We are so thankful for all the many blessing that we enjoy.  How can we not move forward in so great a cause?  D & C 128:22

Merry Christmas