July 3rd to July 9th:

July 3^rd to July 9^th:  Thursday morning we went to the temple before 6:00am and there were already 3 buses there.  I hurried and got my clip board and the sheet I fill out with all the information about the group and went outside and found the stake president.  We got everything organized and everybody in the temple shortly after 7:00am.  I was the second sealer for the morning and I stayed busy sealing for most of the morning.  I got the second group who came at 12:00 going and went home about 1:30pm for lunch. We went back for the evening shift and I was the assigned sealer for the evening.  Friday, I helped get things going again early and again was a second sealer so that we could accommodate more patrons.  I got home around 3:00pm.  Chris spends her days in the office, registering ordinances, printing family cards, and solving problems.

Another bride and Groom and Kids.

 Saturday, I was at the temple before 6:00am again and coordinated the 3 buses of patrons that arrived.  For the third day in a row, I sealed most of the morning so that we could have the maximum number of patrons in the temple at the same time.  I finished up at 2:00pm.  Pres. Atkinson called in the afternoon and told me he had a proposition for me.  If I would cook Sunday dinner for he and his wife and the new mission Pres. and his wife he would pay for the food.  That was a no brainer for me.  So I took his car to Walmart to shop for Sunday dinner.  Sunday, I got up early and started cutting up all the veggies.  I planned on cooking 3 dishes.  Sweet and Sour Chicken, Kung Pao Shrimp and a Eggplant dish with hamburger.  I had been trying to call one of the Stake Presidents for a couple of days.  We decided to go the church that is right next to the temple and guess who was at that church for the meetings?  Yep, President Leon!  So after sacrament meeting, I got to have a meeting with him and discuss the things that I needed to get updates on.  There are no coincidences in the church.  After sacrament meeting, I made friends with Alan and Diego, twin 7 year olds boys.  Mom took a picture of them with me and during Primary one of them made me a card.  It was so cute.

The card from Alan.  It says "have great days Elder John, happy days, thanks for being my friend, you are a good person, ??, have a good trip Elder John, thanks because you took a picture of me with you, kisses and hugs.  This made my day.  It made me think of my grand-kids back home.

My new friends Diego and Alan.

After the block of meetings, I got serious about cooking.

That is Sweet and Sour Chicken.

We had a good dinner and everyone enjoyed the food.  I thought the Kung Pao was a little salty, but all in all it was good.  It was fun to hear about the training that President and Sister Madsen received from the brethren.  It followed a lot about what we read in the Deseret News, that there will be more emphases on getting new converts to the temple “Begin with the End in Mind” (Elder Nelson) and that missionaries are to stay in contact with their converts for at least a year. 

Sunday Dinner with the Atkinsons and the Madsens

Monday, we went over to the temple and helped Pres. Atkinson get a report finished and sent off to SLC and prepared training materials for the new temple counselor and his wife, the Penas.  In the afternoon, he let us take the car on a little excursion.  We are trying to make sure we know where we want to take Ginny and Sam and the girls when they come in 2 weeks.  We can hardly wait.  We visited 5 little towns about 30 minutes south of Oaxaca.  Ocotlan, is the birth place of Rudolfo Morales, an internationally known artist.  He set up a foundation to help his home town.  They have restored an old convent into a museum that was quite interesting.

Mom and our guide.

 

Some of the restored walls of the 16th century convent.

Some of the restored walls of the 16th century convent.

Many of the pictures had been beautifully restored.

Many of the pictures had been beautifully restored.

It had some neat old furniture.

On the roof of the convent.

This was the last painting that Morales painted before his death.

This is a tapestry designed by Morales.

These are columns Morales painted.

The building had also been used for a prison for almost 100 years.They also had a beautiful church, Santo Domingo Templo, attached to the restored convent.

Outside the Santo Donmingo Templo.

Mom outside the Santo Donmingo Templo.

Mom outside the Santo Donmingo Templo. Beautiful carved doors.

Mom outside the Santo Donmingo Templo.

You can't believe the size of these doors.  They are about 5 inches thick.

The convent is attached to this church that has also been restored.

Santo Donmingo Templo

The dome of then Santo Donmingo Templo.

The municipal building in Ocotlan.

Next we visited San Antonino  which had nothing to offer in the way of things worth seeing. 

The only picture I took in San Antonino.  The church was closed for renovations.

Next we went to San Tomas which is famous for textiles.  We will go back and shop there when Ginny is here.  Then we visited San Martin which had many workshops that produced carved and painted animals, both real and imagined.  It was interesting to stroll through these, but the prices were high. 

The 3 alebrijes that mom bought.

Mom in one of the shops that sell alebrijes.

Our last stop was San Bartolo which has a nice museum and is famous for black pottery.  So all in all, it was a good trip and we have somewhere to take Sam and Gin when they get here.  Tuesday, I started at 7:00am working on agendas again and finished with pres. meeting at 1:30pm.  We took a quick lunch and then we were back at the temple at 3:00pm.  Chris went on a session and I worked on all the things I needed to get done in the office and went home at 7:30pm. Chris stayed in the office until about 9:00pm.  I was asleep when she got home.  Wednesday, I worked the morning shift and a couple hours in the afternoon.  The Penas arrived this afternoon and we had them and Pres. Atkinson and his wife for dinner.  I made tortilla soup and mom made brownies.  They seem very sharp and eager to help.  We are glad to have them here.

Dinner with the new Counselor and his wife the Penas.  They are on the right.  Pres. Atkinson and his wife in the middle.

We got more flowers on our bird of paradise plant.

June 26 through July 2nd:

June 26 through July 2^nd: Well this week has been very interesting and at times very busy and at other times an adventure.  Thursday, I took President and Sister Atkinson to the airport.  They were going home for the wedding of a granddaughter.  I then went to the temple to help with the big group that was coming from 

Tehuantepec.  After everyone was in the temple, I went home and blogged.  I went back to the temple for the late shift as the assigned sealer.  Friday, I was again at the temple before 6:00am to help with the organization of the big group that came from Puebla.   If we can get them organized outside the temple, we can get almost 100 people into the temple and in their different places in about 30 minutes, but if we just open the doors, it is chaos.  I worked until about 1:30pm helping get the group in place that came in the afternoon. 

Another Bride and Groom outside the temple.

Saturday, was “ground hog day” again.  I was at the temple before 6:00am, but we were swamped with people and I had to be the second sealer for most of the morning to help accommodate more people.  I had one couple in the sealing session whose last name was Ahuacatitan. I said that the names of the deceased people were hard enough to pronounce and that it wasn’t fair to also have hard names for their live representatives.  The name is Nahuatl, one of the Indian dialects here in southern Mexico.  I don’t think I will ever forget Brother and Sister Ahuacatitan.  I did learn how to pronounce their name.  I was the Entry Coordinator for the afternoon group.  Mom came mid-morning and stayed till about 6:00pm. I was done about 1:30pm.  In the evening we went downtown with the Allreds.  They wanted to buy a couple of last minute things.  They leave next Wednesday. 

While the cat is away the mice will play.

Mom found a new friend downtown Saturday night.

Sunday, we talked in the Ixcotel Ward here in Oaxaca.  Our talks are getting better.  We enjoy speaking in church and testifying of Jesus Christ and his restored gospel. 

L to R The bishop of the ward we spoke in, me, and one of Pres. Crayk's missionaries.

I had put on another pork roast before church and made my own sauce this time.  We had a good-bye dinner for the Allreds and a welcome to Oaxaca dinner for the Madsens.  The Madsens are the new Mission President and Nurse.  That is a joke because we went over to visit them on Saturday to invite them to dinner and Sister Madsen said the first day she had at least 20 calls from sick missionaries.  Oh, the life of a mission mom.  The dinner turned out great and my sauce was better than the one from last week.  We also had fresh asparagus. 

L to R  Mom, Sister Madsen, President Madsen, me, President Allred, and Sister Allred.  They are showing how many texts they get, even on a Sunday.

Me and Mom and Pres. and Sister Madsen.

Monday was a great P-Day.  We left with the Allreds about 7:30am for a trip into the mountains.  Remember President Atkinson and his wife are in the States, so we have the car.  We first went to Guelatao, the birth place of Benito Juarez.  Benito Juarez is considered to be the Abraham Lincoln of Mexico. 

On the way to Guelatao.

On the way to Guelatao.

On the way to Guelatao.

At the memorial to Benito Juarez.

Not quite as big as the statue of Abraham Lincoln.  Mom and Sister Allred.

Me at the Benito Juarez memorial.

There is a picture of this lake in the temple.

Next we visited Ixtlan de Juarez.  It was market day and we had some interesting food off the street-cheese and calabasa (pumpkin) flowers in a tortilla. (see picture) 

Market day in Ixtlan.

Market day in Ixtlan.

A band passed by the market in Ixtlan.

President Allred and me waiting for our quesadillas.

Squash blossoms and cheese.

Ixtlan also has a great church that was started in 1640 but not completed until 1734.

The church in Ixtlan.

The church in Ixtlan.

The church in Ixtlan.

The church in Ixtlan.

(see picture below of the baroque bas-relief of doubting Thomas confronting Christ.)

The church in Ixtlan.

View from the church in Ixtlan.

Finally we visited Calpulalpam, a Pueblo Magico, (magic town).   It has this designation because it has met certain criteria.  It was very clean and all the buildings were newly painted, but all in all it was a little disappointing because everything was pretty quiet and closed up.  They assured us it was a “happening place” on a saint’s day or market day. 

Mom in the little town of Culpalalpam.

Mom and me in the little town of Culpalalpam.

Chruch in the little town of Culpalalpam.

We headed home and stopped in the mountains above Oaxaca and had a trout dinner. 

After they caught our dinner they had to get them ready to cook.

Our fish dinner on the way back to Oaxaca.

There wasn't much left of the fish.

We skyped with most of our kids in the evening, because we had missed talking to them on Sunday. Tuesday, I held the meeting with the FM Group and we had Presidency meeting by phone.  We were done by 11:00am and so we worked in the office in the afternoon.  Wednesday, we worked the morning shift because I am the assigned sealer for that shift.  I did 2 sessions of sealings and the session was full.  Wednesday mornings is the only day that the young missionaries can come to the temple and so it generally is full with missionaries.  In the evening we went to dinner with the Allreds.  It is their last night in Oaxaca and they wanted to eat one last time at the restaurant called “LA CASA DE LA ABUELITA,” Grandmother’s house.  It was a lot of fun to eat out with them their last night here in Oaxaca.  The restaurant is on the second floor of a building right next to the central plaza. It has a great view of the plaza and surrounding area. 

Allred's last meal. At least here in Oaxaca.

Mom had 4 different kinds of mole and I had a pork dish.

Dancing as seen from our window at dinner.

Some of you have asked about Oaxaca.  Oaxaca sits at an elevation of just over 5000 feet about sea level.  It has a very mild climate, but in the raining season it can really rain cats and dogs.  (see video)  My guess is it has a population of about 500,000 people in the city and surrounding area.  We love it here and any of you would love it here also.  So get those papers submitted and let me know that you would like to come and serve with us.

Our bird of paradise keeps changing.