Crazy Times!

Monday, Apr. 13th

THOUGHT:  "FOLLOW YOUR HONEST CONVICTIONS AND STAY STRONG!"

We got up early, got to the airport and flew back to Mexico City.  We got home around 4 pm.  We just had time to unpack, get a bite to eat and we were off to FHE.  Pres. Pieper was sick so we had a discussion about "keeping the Sabbath day holy"  It was quite a discussion but we all came to the same conclusion that keeping the Sabbath day holy is all about your attitude and and level of conversion!  It really is between you and the Lord what it means to keep the Sabbath Day holy and all the other commandments for that matter!  I hope your heart is in the right place!

Saying goodbye to the Georges after a very fun weekend!

Tuesday, Apr. 14th

Today was a fairly quiet day.  We did little piddly things around our place.  We walked with Sis. Anderson down to Office Max and to Telcel to pay our bill there. We walked there and back which was a good long walk for today.  Greg bought me roses on the way home!  He was only 4 days late, but the flowers are very pretty! It has been a beautiful day! - 78* Unlike Salt Lake where the wind has been blowing at 60-70 mile/hour.  It blew our backyard fence down!  The poor Porters are getting stuck with an old dumb fence in their yard!  Who knows how we are going to fix that!!!  I guess the wind blew a huge snow storm in to town up there!  Sara drove back from Denver today and got home just in time before the storm started!  Good timing Sara!
I colored by hair and now look years younger!  We went with the Andersons to lunch at an Italian place not far from us and we had pizza for the first time in over 6 months!  Greg had missionary stuff to catch up on and I have been in a rush to finish my project so that's how we spent the evening!

Flowers Greg got me for 5 months anniversary!

We got some green dots and have put them on all the places
we have been so far in Mexico!
Hard to see!  I will have to take a better pic!

Wednesday, Apr. 15th

THOUGHT:  "OUR BUSINESS IN LIFE IS NOT TO GET AHEAD OF OTHER PEOPLE...
                              BUT TO GET AHEAD OF OURSELVES!"      Maltbie D. Matlock

Today didn't turn out anything as planned!  We have a few of those days, but this one was the worst so far!  We did stuff at home this morning and headed off to the Temple clinic for the 2-4 shift this afternoon.  We saw a few missionaries, but it was fairly slow today.  At about 3:30 we got a call from Pres. Anaya (East Mission) and he had an Elder that was passed out on the floor of his apartment barely breathing and unresponsive.  We were told they were putting him in an ambulance and taking him to this hospital.  We packed up and headed over to that hospital.  We waited for an hour, but no one came. We finally got ahold of the President and they had taken him to another hospital very far away from where we were!  We drove over to this place in a poor part of town to this itty, bitty hospital.  The people at the hospital let us in this big metal gate, then closed it and locked the gate.  Pres and Sis Anaya don't speak English and Greg went in to see the Elder that they decided was having seizures!  The doctors decided to do a CT scan and had to take him somewhere else to do that!  Greg was asked to go in the ambulance with the Elder.  We got to the hospital at 5 pm.  Greg and the Elder left about 5:20 to go to get the scan.  They got back at 7:45 pm.  They drove clear past downtown Mexico City to the place for the scan.  Oh my!  That was a long wait in this little place with a little pharmacy, a shrine of the Savior hanging on the cross and a bunch of Spanish speakers -- locked in this place.  It was a long afternoon!  We missed out choir practice and I missed my English/Spanish class with the other sisters.  We got home about 9 pm, had a taco, did our laundry and went to bed because we have to get up early in the morning to drive to Puebla.

As we are driving around the city looking for the little
hospital, I took pics of some houses, people and things!

Another house, quite fancy!

Not sure what this is?
Probably some kind of church!

We would drive in and out of poor and rich areas.

A panaderia is a bakery!

Sorry this is blurry!
I have to drive and take pics while
Greg does ?????????

Here is a pic of the inside of the little hospital
I sat in for 2 1/2 hours.  Straight ahead is a
pharmacy and to the left is a shrine
of Jesus hanging on the cross!
The whole waiting room was 20 ft x 20 ft.

Greg went out and go in the ambulance with the Elder
I wanted to take a pic but was locked in and couldn't
open this metal gate to walk outside.
We finally had to shut the door because
the exhaust from the ambulance was
asphyxiating us!  And we couldn't get
out to save ourselves!!
That was a very long 2 1/2 hours waiting for Greg!
He owes me more flowers for this one!!!

Nos Vamos!

Holy Cow!

Saturday, Apr. 11th   CONGRATULATION TO MARK & CAMI STEVENS ON YOUR WEDDING

THOUGHT:  "In an age dominated by the Internet, which magnifies messages that menace faith, we must increase our exposure to spiritual truth in order to strengthen our faith and stay rooted in the gospel."                                                                                                          Dallin H. Oaks

Again - I am in blue.  Saturday started off with a great breakfast in the mission home then off to multizone conference.  I gave my presentation and then saw a few sick missionaries.  Peg and Sister George went to get us lunch and we ate it at home.  The Georges are dairy farmers from Cody Wyoming - she grew up in Byron Wyoming where my Grandmother was born.  We learned all we wanted to know about dairy cows.  They have to get them pregnant every year so they keep producing milk - $20,000 a month for bull seman.  I don't think that is in my budget.  I didn't ask how they collected the bull seman.  After the mission president had an interview from a young missionary going home to Chile we went to San Cristobal de las Casas.  It is a quaint little village up in the mountains and for some reason lots of German tourists go there.  We spent a couple of hours in a huge market buying some things.  We left about 8 pm and met up with Dr. Moreno (mission doctor) at a Brazilian Steak House - not so sure about the meat offerings - cow udder, beef tongue, beef salivary glands, etc.  Don't feel bad for us - also had sirloin, Filet Mignon, etc and great salads.
 YES FEEL BAD FOR US!  THAT WAS SO GROSS!!!!!!

Mark & Cami coming out of the Newport Temple
Congrats!

Sunday - I had to get up early to attend an area council with an area 70 and all of the stake presidents from the area.  They gave me 15 minutes to discuss the need for more mission service doctors - these stake presidents are phenomenal - they arranged 5 interviews with 6 doctors that afternoon and they were all excited to help take care of the missionaries.  They recognize the blessings that come from selfless service.  I was then excused and they continued on with their meetings - according to the mission president - they spent much of their time talking about keeping the sabbath holy - that is what the 70's were taught after general conference - they came back to their areas and instructed the area 70's and they went to their areas to teach the stake presidents - all in a matter of 2 weeks and the message of the first presidency is at the stake level.  Amazing.  They also said that since the first of the year and emphasis on fast offerings Mexico has gone from its fast offerings taking care of 55% of their needs to 85% - the goal is to make Mexico self-sufficient in fast offerings.  That is going to happen.  After eating a great meal of salmon to break our fast we had to hop in the car and rush off to a city called Arriaga about 1 1/2 hours away.  A recent convert had said something to a drug cartel about the sisters being involved in something (not sure) - the drug cartel Saturday night was roaming the streets with their guns.  We went to the sister's apartment and loaded their stuff and took them back to Tuxtla.  They are sweethearts, both latin.  We got home late enough that all we had time to do is go to bed (got up at 5:45) to be ready for our plane trip back to Mexico City.  

Greg likes to take pics of zone conferences.
This pic was taken in the chapel of their church!
No church benches - just chairs

Here is one of the walls in the church filled with
missionary plaques.

A big cathedral in Arriaga

Pic of driving around southern Mexico

Another pic of pretty vegetation.

Sis, George took me to a taco shop in Tutxla
Her favorite drink is this - Posol which is
chocolate and burnt corn!
I could not drink any more than this.

Tutxla Temple
It has two fences around it because
somebody got in and put graffiti all over the walls!

Maybe the river Sidon??

Pic of this church literally out in the middle of nowhere!
It has a basketball court!

Pic as we were driving in to San Cristobol
which is a tourist town like Park City!
People come from Europe to stay here!

There are always people wanting to wash your windshield
This kids wanted his pic taken!

Another pic of San Cristobol

Driving down the street to the markets in San Cristobol

Another big bright church!

I love these fancy buildings 

This is a very old church!
I don't know why it isn't painted a bright color!

Yet another church - the prettiest of all
with it's carved front!

This is the gross pic.  We are at the Brazilian Restaurant
like Rodizio Grill.  This guy brought us
things like  Filet mignon, Sirloin tips, and THEN....
COW UDDER, COW TONGUE, BULL BACK HUMP,
AND THIS PIC....
COW SALIVERY GLANDS!
HOLY COW!!!!!

Down here in Tapachula and Tutlxa! 5 months on our mission!!!

Thursday, Apr. 9th

THOUGHT:  "WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME I CHOSE TO BE HAPPY...
                          RATHER THAN DEMANDING TO BE RIGHT?"      Linda K. Burton

So the fun began today!  We got up early and drove to the Temple and parked our car there.  The Pococks - who live there- drove us to the airport so we could catch our flight to Tapachula by 9 am.
The air was so smoggy today you could hardly see the city as we took off!  I took a pic of Popo the big volcano for you to see!  We arrived down in Tapachula around 11:30 and had to wait outside in the humid heat for President and Sister George.   We were next to the border of Guatemala.  We had a nice time with the Georges today.  They took us to the Holiday Inn and we unpacked, then off to explore the city.  We went to the beach and saw the ocean.  They don't take care of their beaches here!  Garbage everywhere!  We drove around there and then went to the ranch where the big rock that has the Tree of Life carved in it!  The people found it somewhere down there, but haven't taken care of it so it is all worn down.  You can hardly see it anymore!  There is a live tree there in the meadow that looks so beautiful.  It looks like it is trying to compete with the tree of life! HA!  I also took pics of the animals and other things in the yard.  The tree of life stone is owned by a family, not the government so it is on a family ranch!  They finally covered it to protect it a little!  We also visited Dr. Arriaga that takes care of the missionaries in that neck of the woods!  We saw his tiny clinic and took a few pics there as well.  He is such a nice, friendly guy!  I can see why the missionaries love him! We went to a taco shop and had tacos and quesadillas for dinner with jamica to drink!
Good times in the heat and humidity!

This is Greg's favorite mountain - Popo!
Covered in smog!

The front of the little clinic in Tapachula
Dr. Arriaga

Greg wanted to try out the office chair in the Dr's office!

The Georges on the right -
the Arriagas in the middle and us!
Would you like sitting in this Dr's office
if you were sick - with these green walls???

Driving around the city - just a colorful house!

This monument stands in the middle of the city
The inside is the shape of a crayon!
No one knows what this monument is for!

That green blob growing on the trunk is
cacao - chocolate!

This is the yard or ranch where the Tree of Life stone is!

You have to have a Guadeloupe shrine
in your yard! Duh!

Really cool plants down here!

This is the Tree of Life carved stone
You can see carved waves at the bottom
of the big stone and the tree in the middle!
Too bad they didn't take better care of this!

I love this huge cool tree!
This is probably what the tree of life looks like!

They call this a living fence!
A bunch of plants and bushes growing together!

A baby chick walking around the yard.

The King! (or at least he thinks he is the king!)

Other carved heads!
I don't know the story behind these -
they were just sitting in the yard!

The lady that owns the property!

A big coconut laying on the ground!

From this tree!

As we were driving to the beach we came across a pyramid!
Out in the middle of nowhere

At the beach - if you can see the land far off -
that is Guatemala!

Greg is still very happy to be on this mission!

This is what I was dealing with at the beach!!!

I love this lighthouse

A stand where you can buy floaties to get in the ocean with!

We drove around the area by the beach and here are some
beach houses I found!

A view of the area with the lighthouse!
The ocean is off to the right!

This is how we finished off a fun sightseeing day!
Tacos and Jamica juice!

Friday, Apr. 10th   OUR 5 MONTH ANNIVERSARY!

We were up and off to a big zone conference in Tapachula!  The missionaries are cute as ever here.
The meeting went well, just all day!  These are long days when I have to sit and listen in Spanish all day!  The missionaries love to talk to me!  They all try to teach me Spanish words and give me advice!   I love them!  I sure have met a lot of missionaries from Utah!  Greg saw a few of the missionaries after the zone conference that were sick!  I took care of one Elder that had a fever and kept throwing up all day!  A lot of the missionaries get Chikunguna down here!  It is a very bad bug they get from mosquito bites.  They get fevers, swollen joints, dizziness, headaches, rash!  It is a bad deal and a lot of these kids are getting it!  Sometimes they don't feel good for 6 months.  Bummer!!!
They all take it in stride and try to work hard preaching the Gospel!  Then there is the sister in another mission up north that swallowed a needle.  She said on accident yesterday, but told the mission President today that she did it intentionally so she could go home!  I'll bet that was a fun endoscopy to get that thing out!  She should just try talking to the President if she wants to go that bad!
We left the church about 3 pm to drive to Tuxtla.  We had the AP's with us so it was a packed car and we had a 5 1/2 hour drive, but then added another 2 hours to make a stop to see a sister that is having ear problems.  Oh my it was hot there!  I took pics of their house, but can't begin to tell you how hot it is in there.  At least 105 inside!!!  No fans, no nothing!  No wonder they don't feel good!
I would die!  We finally made it to the Presidents house about 10 pm.  There are sisters staying there for health reasons and they fixed us dinner which was very nice!
Adios!

This is a huge mango tree on the church property!

All the mangos falling all over the basketball court at the church!

Also an avocado tree!
This fruit was too high to reach!
We did pick up a few mangos to eat!

Driving out of Tapachula

Beautiful trees and plants

Not sure!

Church is Chihuates-
the town where the sisters are
that need their ears looked at!

I love seeing the horse and wagon sight!

Sisters in front of their house!

Another horse and wagon!
This town has them everywhere!

The sisters living room!
It is quite a big room

Their kitchen!
Those orange squares up on the wall are
tape covering up some holes in the walls

A brick archway to their backyard!
Can you see the guy in the hammock over there???

This is my favorite! Their kitchen sink faucet!

There are also a bunch of those little motorcycle things
that are used as taxis!

Here is a sad place because drug people were
fighting and 3 people got killed in these shops!
No missionaries were hurt but there were
Elders here that saw it all happen!

Nos Vamos!