THOUGHT: It matters not what you are thought to be, but what you are.
Publilius Syrus
We had to arise early on a Saturday (go figure) to drive to Querétaro to train some service doctors and the mission president and his wife. We made it in a record 2 hrs and 20 minutes. For lunch we had Nutella on Croissants with sliced fresh strawberries - very good. We then were successful in finding the little house where I started my mission. It also served as the chapel (downstairs). Someone had painted over the blue but chipped paint revealed its previous color. I have great memories of this little house. We then set out for Peña de Bernal. It is the second largest monolith in the world (just behind Rock of Gibraltar. It is out in the middle of nowhere but since it is a tourist draw, the small quaint colonial town at its base was really fun to visit. We even bought a few things and found a public restroom (4 pesos to enter - that also earns you toilet paper and a towel to dry your hands.) The rest of the drive home was uneventful. We took a new toll road from the outskirts of Mexico to the very rich area up the hill from us. It cost 71 pesos ($4.50) but it was worth it - wonderful smooth drive with very little traffic. We will drive this road again. Since we drove right past the very large and modern mall on our way down the hill we had to stop for dinner at Chilli's. Peg tried her darnedest to take a picture of a lady by us who looked like her plastic surgeon got things a little tight on her face but she left her table before Peg could discreetly take her picture. Her lips were huge and skin on her face just a little too tight.
 |
| Our Saturday training with the Mission Pres, wife and one Dr. Pres. & Sister Mejorada |
 |
| Driving around Queretaro looking for Greg's old mission house! Little narrow cobblestone streets |
 |
| These two were sitting on the edge of the sidewalk peeling the thorns off the cactus People eat this stuff here called napal! It takes like green beans when cooked. |
 |
| Driving around still looking for the right street! |
 |
| I like taking pics of the houses here- so small, just off the sidewalk and looking old! |
 |
| I like this guy just standing in his doorway watching the street!! |
 |
| We finally found the right house! This is the house Greg lived in when he first got to Mexico on his mission! The church was on the main floor and the missionaries lived on the 2nd floor! It used to be painted blue, but he found it! The blue sticks through some of the chipped paint! |
 |
| I am always amazed anyone here has power!! |
 |
| The decorative posts to save parking spots in front of your house and decorative things hung on the wrought iron window bars! |
 |
| Nice and clean streets here |
 |
| I like taking pics of the little kids! They are so beautiful. No one down here has a stroller. Everyone carries their kids around! |
 |
| A typical front door with the iron gate, big lock and thick chain! Who needs home security!! |
 |
| Sorry this is blurry! I caught it as we were driving by! The moms carry their little ones on their backs or fronts and the poor other kids have to follow along! |
 |
| These guys were really struggling to get all of these balls to stay up on top of their truck! They kept tying them down! I hope they don't all blow away when they start going! |
 |
| Nice, clean shop filled, fun street! |
 |
| The park in the town square! Every town has a park in it's square! |
 |
| A little store! There are millions of these stuck in little nooks! I don't know how anyone makes any money around here! |
 |
| More parents walking their kids around! |
 |
| As we drove out of town we noticed this whole hill is covered in fairly new housing! That whole area was desert dirt when Greg was here! |
Sunday, Apr 19th
THOUGHT:
"We should look to and have our focus firmly fixed upon the Savior at all times and in all places."
Elder Bednar
Sunday started out with Peg up a few times in the night with illness so she slept in and missed church. She did make it to choir practice at noon (choir for stake conference next week - lots of enthusiastic off key singers.) Today I had to send my report to Elder Schwitzer - there was one real miracle. A sweet sister from Rocky Point Mexico came to the mission president's home last Tuesday night for the farewell dinner. She asked if she could go out in their back yard and when told yes she proceeded to run through a glass door (not safety glass). The mission president's wife said it was just like the cartoons - the hole in the door was hourglass like her body. She was cut badly on her foot - severing a tendon, on her face and knee but when they laid her down they noticed blood over her abdomen. The mission president's wife is a nurse and lifted up her blouse to fine a 10 inch cut across the L side of her stomach and said she could see intestines and the spleen. It wasn't bleeding badly but she got a towel for compression and called an ambulance. The ambulance arrived 15 minutes later (she would have surely died had her spleen been cut) and was taken to a hospital. In surgery the surgeon stated that the shard of glass hit her rib in front of the spleen and one cm either way it would have sliced open her spleen and she would have died We drove her back to Mexico City to meet her mom who flew down to accompany her daughter home (in a wheelchair due to repaired tendons in her foot.) We have choir practice again tonight, but it is just a quiet Sunday afternoon.
 |
| The monolith! Pena de Bernal |
 |
| The great little town by the Bernal |
 |
| Market square |
 |
| My favorite pic with the jacaranda tree! |
 |
| The mariachi band walking around the square! |
 |
| Nice pic with the trees and church behind Greg |
 |
| A trolley car will drive you around on a little tour. We need to come back and take the tour! |
 |
| Driving out of that town towards Mexico City - look at this nice open road! I love it!!! |
 |
| We stopped to get gas and Greg has to get a special receipt called a factura. This security guard with his big gun and other things was trying to help him. There was a person inside this little hut that Greg was dealing with! Also, they wouldn't take our credit cards so Greg was digging for cash!! |
 |
| Lots of fires in this country! People burn everything with no thought to pollution! |
 |
| We stopped at the fancy mall here in our neck of the woods! We ate at Chilis and Greg took a pic of the ice skating rink right there! Fun! |
No comments:
Post a Comment