July 17th through July 22nd

July 17^th through July 22^nd:  Thursday was another busy day at the temple.  We had 8 first-time patrons and 3 weddings.  We both worked for about 10 hours in the temple.  Mom again was holding down the fort in the office and me outside organizing the different groups and then being the second sealer for most of the day. 

This is the last of the flowers to bloom.

Friday was not quite as busy but was just the same a long day.  Saturday was really busy.  We had 5 different groups show up in the morning, two of which did not have appointments.  We had every part of the temple at more than capacity.  I did 4 sessions of sealings in just the morning.  After 10 hours I was dead but mom hadn’t started until about 10:00am so she stayed till about 7:00pm.  We set a record for the temple with over 2600 ordinances performed.  One a sadder note, we got word that they took Nickie off life support today and soon after they took her to harvest her organs for donation.  We are so sad that this tragedy has happened and we are praying for our son-in-law’s family at this time of loss.  We then packed and got ready for our trip to Puebla to meet Sam and Ginny and the girls.  Sunday, we were up early and off to church at 7:15am.  It was ward conference in the ward we went to and they had a choir and had beautiful flowers on the pulpit. 

The flowers for ward conference.

The choir getting ready for conference.

We hurried home and changed clothes and took a taxi to the bus station.  We then had a 5 hour bus ride to Puebla. 

On the road again.  This stretch of road could have been in southern Utah.

The road to Puebla.

We got to our hotel and Sam and Ginny had not arrived, so we anxiously awaited their arrival.  It was so fun to see them.  We were waiting outside the hotel and were there when their taxi pulled up. 

Sam and Gin's arrival in Puebla.

We got all settled in our rooms and then went to dinner and then a walk around the Zocolo (main plaza) and a visit to the cathedral, interesting note this cathedral has the tallest bell towers on the continent.

 Dinner in Puebla Sunday night.

The zocolo.

This is how Willa got around town.

At least she got her calories for the day.

At least she got her calories for the day.

The Zocolo early in the morning before they have turned off the lights.

The cathedral at the Zocolo in Puebla.

Mom and Gin outside the cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

This is the ceiling in our bedroom on the second floor.  The ceiling was at least 15 feet tall.

Sitting outside their room.

This is what little feet look like when socks are not worn.

Monday we went to breakfast and then took a taxi out to the Africam Safari.  Yes it is spelled with “m” at the end of Africa.  We spent the next 4 hours riding around in the taxi amongst the animals that walk around the cars. We did have to roll up the windows in the tiger and bear enclosures in a taxi that had no AC.  I will do a post on just our visit to the zoo in a day or two.  One the way back to Puebla, we had the driver drop us off at a food court and we all ended up eating cemitas, a sandwich with deep fried breaded pork or chicken and onions, potatoes, avocado and tomatoes.  We walked back to the hotel and crashed.  Tuesday, I went walking early in the morning and took pictures of entries and the facades of some of the different types of architecture in the historic part of downtown.  Chris came with me for the second hour. 

Another small church we came across.

Interesting mural of the last supper and the washing of the feet of the apostles.

Another small church we came across.

I never knew the Apostle James road a horse and carried a sword.

We bought fresh pastries and chocolate milk to take back to the hotel. 

Buying fresh pastries for breakfast.

We then tried to squeeze in a quick visit to the Chapel of the Rosary, one of the greatest Baroque chapels of the seventeenth century;

In front of Santo Domingo, the church where the chapel of the rosary is found.

Santo Domingo.

Santo Domingo.

Santo Domingo.

The chapel of the Rosary.

The chapel of the Rosary.

The chapel of the Rosary.

The chapel of the Rosary.

a Talavera pottery factory

The Talavera factory.

The Talavera factory.

We watched Javier draw with the glaze that in the oven will turn to cobalt blue.

This is Javier Guzman who painted this bowl we purchased.

The Talavera factory.

The Talavera factory.

The Talavera factory.

and the Palafoxian library, the oldest library in the Americas with an intact collection and original shelves and furniture. 

The Library.

The Library.

The Library.

The floors of the library were really worn between the talavera tiles.

We took taxis in between each and then hurried back to the hotel in order to catch the taxi we had ordered to take us to the bus station.  We got to the bus station with an hour to spare, but when we got to the front of the line to buy our tickets back to Oaxaca the bus we wanted was sold out.  So we had to wait in the bus station for 3 hours for the next bus. 

Waiting for the bus to Oaxaca.

Mom waiting for the bus.

Nana and Popa taking their turn with Willa.

Then a 5 hour bus trip and a taxi ride to our apartment.  We were all tired and hungry, so I cooked scrambled eggs and cheese tortillas.  We got Sam and Ginny and the girls settled in the apartment next to us and we all got to bed about 10:00pm. 

Willa on the bus ride to Oaxaca.

We are so happy to have them with us for the next 10 days.  We have a lot of things planned and plenty of time to just hang out and cook and eat and play cards.  I took a lot of pictures of doors and buildings in Puebla and plan to do a post of “Las Puertas de Puebla”, The Doors of Puebla, and the Buildings of Puebla.  I know some of you liked the ones I did of the Doors of Sucre last year when we visited Sucre and Potosí.  I hope you will like these pictures of Puebla.  Puebla was founded in April of 1531 and was the first city laid out by the Spanish and has some of the best colonial architecture mixed in with centuries of great buildings.  We loved our time there and plan to visit again before our time here in Oaxaca is over. 

July 10th through July 16th

The car that our grandson was in last Saturday.

July 10^th through July 16^th: Thursday I went to the temple at 5:45am and organized the entry of 2 buses from Cuautla.  This group stayed for 3 days and they were amazing. 

This is the youth group from Chuautla.

They brought with them thousands of family names.  One sister brought 981 names by herself. I worked until 1:30pm and went home for lunch and then was back at the temple for the evening shift because I am assigned as the sealer. 

This is the lady that brought 981 family names to the temple.

Friday, I again was at the temple early to help get the groups organized and into the temple in an orderly fashion. 

This is what the temple looks like when I get there in the morning.

I worked again until 1:30pm but mom stayed and worked until the evening, 13 hours straight.  I went home and fixed her some lunch and took it over to her.  But she really had a long day.  Saturday, a couple had a reservation to be sealed, but we were surprised when they showed up in a bus with 30 people in their group and wanted to be on the 7:00am session.  The stake president from Cuautla, Pres. Ziga, agreed to let them have their space in the session if they would do family names from his stake. What an example of charity and love he demonstrated.  I was the sealer for the young couple getting married that came from Puebla with the group of friends and relatives. 

This is the couple I sealed on Saturday.

The group from Cuautla had another bus arrive on Saturday and so this stake set a record for ordinances done in a 3 day period-- 5400 ordinances and 3000 of them were family names.  There was such a great Spirit in the temple with this group from Cuautla and it really inspired all of us. We hope to see more and more of this kind of temple attendance with the hastening of the work. 

This is part of the group from Chuautla.

In the evening, on Saturday, President Atkinson and his wife invited us to go to Tule to see “The Tree” and to have dinner out there.  The tree is amazing; it is a kind of Cyprus tree and is more than 50 feet in circumference at the base.  They estimate that it is over 2000 years old. 

President and Sister Atkinson and Mom at the tree in Tule.

"The Tree"

Dinner was great and it was a lot of fun to just sit and chat with Pres. and Sister Atkinson. 

Dinner with the Atkinsons Saturday evening.

Sunday, we made cinnamon rolls before we went to church.  Thanks, Helen Kennedy, for teaching us how to make your delicious cinnamon rolls. 

Can you say Cinnamon Rolls? Not bad for our first time making Helen's recipe.

We attended the ward we live in.  It was the first time we have been there.  They probably think we are inactive.  Mom wanted to check out the primary for Xela who will be here next week.  In the afternoon we got word of the accident that our son-in-law, Alex’s, two sisters were involved in on their way to a family reunion in Cedar City.  They also had 5 kids in the car, one of them was our grandson, Luke, Charlotte and Alex’s youngest son.  The long and short of it is that the car rolled 4 times and one of Alex’s sisters is in very serious condition and is not expected to live.  It is a miracle that the 5 kids and the other sister were all released from the hospital the same day as the accident.  Our grandson, Luke, was not hurt at all.  We have been praying for days now that Nickie will be ok, but it looks like they will have to decide when to take her off life support.  She has two little girls, 5 years and 2 years.  Monday, I went over the Sorcia’s apartment and learned to cook a couple of Mexican dishes.  She was preparing dinner for the Family Home Evening planned for tonight.  It will be their farewell party along with 2 other sisters.  They will be leaving at the temple closure on the 21^st.  We went downtown and bought our bus tickets to go to Puebla to meet Ginny and Sam and their girls.  We will leave after church next Sunday.  Mom did laundry and made some cupcakes and jello for desert for the FHE tonight.  Family Home Evening was great and the food even better.  I have got to learn how to make the dish Sister Sorcia brought.  It involved bacon, cream cheese, garlic, chicken and cream.  It was delicious.   She didn’t use a recipe so I have to get her to write something down for me before she leaves. 

The farewell dinner and FHE for the Sorcias and Sister Rojas and Sister Araiza.

Tuesday, I started at 7:00am working on the agendas for the day.  We finished up at 1:30pm.  We went home for lunch and then we were back at the temple until 7:30pm.  Presidency meeting was 3 and ½ hours long, but left me with about 8 hours of new work.  Wednesday, we went to the temple at 8:00am for the morning shift.  We took a break for lunch where we cooked lunch for the Sorcias and one of the secretaries, and then went back to the temple until 7:30pm. 

Mom with Graciela, the leader of the secretaries at the temple.

There is a lot to get done before the closure.  We are putting in a lot of hours and are tired at the end of the day, but we feel good and love being in the temple every day. Our internet is out so I am sitting outside of President Pena’s apartment trying to upload pictures.  Please pray for Alex’s family and all those touched by this tragic accident.

Our bird of paradise plant continues to add new flowers.