May 9th through May 15th

May 9^th through May 15^th:  Monday, after our shopping run, I decided to try a new recipe for Kung Pao chicken.  Sister Derby, who we spent so much time with in China, had sent me a recipe from her Chinese housekeeper for Kung Pao Chicken.  So I had to try it out.  We invited all the North American missionaries that live here at the temple housing to join us for dinner.  It was a little different than other recipes I have used, but it was great and everyone loved it. 

Chinese dinner for the North American missionaries.

There were leftovers.

Tuesday we had the morning shift.  During the shift, an Elder came who had long black hair braided down his back.  I knew immediately that he was from Otavalo, Ecuador.  We had a nice talk about Otavalo.  He told me that there are now two stakes in Otavalo and that 60% to 70% of the inhabitants are members.  When I was there in 1971 or 1972 there was only one little branch with just a handful of members.  What a miracle. I stepped outside and had to have a picture with him.  He was at the temple to be the escort for one of his converts who was receiving his endowment prior to leaving on a mission. 

Elder Munoz of Otavalo, Ecuador.  I knew the minute I saw his braided hair to the middle of his back where he was from.  I went to district meetings in Otavalo every week for 6 months.

Wednesday, we had presidency meeting and the afternoon shift.  Thursday I took the Mays and Sister Price and picked up Aimee and we went to Roosevelt Hospital and delivered baby kits.  It is always fun to see the newborns and their moms. 

Elder and Sister May, Sister Price and Aimee, from our ward,  on our hospital visit to deliver baby kits to newborns.

One of the mom's that we delivered a little gift to.

I am still spending a lot of my spare time doing family history.  When I got home Sister Duncan was here and mom was helping her learning how to combine duplicates and add sources.  She in turn taught us about an app called “Hope Chest”.  It is a Google Chrome app used in conjunction with Puzilla.  Anyway, the long and the short of it is that it does what I have been doing that takes days and does it in about 5 minutes.  It is amazing.  It finds all the available temple work for an ancestor’s descendents.  You still have to check for duplicates and add sources, but it is way faster.  Friday we had the morning shift and Saturday the afternoon shift.  I had a wonderful experience Saturday afternoon.  The sealer was busy with a session of sealings with a group of patrons.  We had a couple that had finished their session and needed to be sealed.  I took the paper work to the sealer and asked if he wanted to do the sealing for the live couple and their child and I would continue with the group of patrons he was with or did he want to continue and I would seal the couple who were waiting.  He invited me to do the live sealing.  What a wonderful experience.  When both the husband and the wife are wiping tears from their faces, you know the Spirit got through to them.  After we were done and it was just me and the couple in the sealing room, I gave them a hug and the husband with tears in his eyes looked at my name tag and said “Norman, I will never forget you.” I, of course, also had tears running down my cheeks.  We got done at 7:00pm and all the North Americans went to Applebee’s for dinner.  I had the Cowboy Hamburger and it was truly the best hamburger I have had in 6 months.  It doesn’t beat a Crown Berger, but it was really good.  I will be going back for more. 

Saturday night dinner.

Saturday night dinner after our shift at Applebees.

I want to mention that my son John did his first Triathlon this last week.  He placed 4th in his age group.  Not bad for some that only swam 3 times for training. Way to go John B.

Sunday we got up early and headed to Patzicia which is about 30 minutes north of Chimaltenango.  We invited Elder and Sister Hurst to join us.  This is an area that has a lot of early church history and the community is very strong.  The majority of the women still wear the traditional clothing and it was so fun to see all the colorful huipiles and skirts.  The conference was very nice.  Mom and I both had the opportunity to speak.  We felt good about our talks.  I haven’t prepared a talk for the last 4 or 5 stake conferences.  I just try and get there early and think about what I should talk about. 

Stake conference in Patzicia.

The choir at stake conference in Patzicia.

Most of the women in the choir were dressed in traditional clothes.  So pretty and they sounded great.

Photo by Dawn Hurst of one of her bench companions.

Dawn's photo of 3 generations.

Thanks for the photo Dawn.  This little girl came up on the stand and gave me a kiss on the cheek and then asked for a piece of paper so she could draw.

These children were adorable.

The majority of the women were dressed in traditional clothing.

More cute girls.

We got home just after 2:00pm.  Mom made dinner and I started nursing a cold.  Mom has had one for a few days and she gave it to me.  Bad Chris.  We talked to some of the kids and we went to bed early.  It was a wonderful week and I certainly had more than my share of tender mercies from the Lord.