March? What happened to February?

    With not much else to do but lay around waiting for these legs to heal, I really thought that time would go so slow.  But I have no idea where February went.  It started and was gone before a blink of an eye.  We are sure that those of you in the cold are thrilled that spring is just around the corner.  Our weather here has been beautiful.  It can get a little warm in the middle of the day, but cools off nice in the evenings.  Our temperatures are around 78-80 during the day and cooling off to the high 50's at night.  We have had lots of sunshine and blue skies.  We still have about another six weeks before the rains are supposed to come. 
     As for your medical report: the right knee is healing nicely and getting stronger with more flexibility daily.  The left ankle gets a little achy at times but the swelling only lasts for a couple of hours after I have been on it for 3-4 hours at the temple.  The right ankle--yes that is right---I tweeked my right ankle on Tuesday so it has been swelling and aching worse than the left one.  We had to go to the embassy on Tuesday morning, the 25th, to get our pictures taken and sign some papers as part of our residency process.  The van we took was a very tall one and by the time I had walked across a very uneven street, up and down a flight of stairs, back to the van and tried to get in, I twisted my right ankle.  With two ankles that complain about walking, it has been a very interesting week.  We have been on the AM shift so after about 4 hours in the temple, I come home and ice and keep both feet up the rest of the day and by morning all is well and we do it again. 
     We have been assigned the AM shift for the next couple of months.  We have to be at the temple by 6:45 and are done by 1:30.  This is not our favorite shift.  We like to trade weekly so we can meet more people, but right now we think that this is the best shift for me.  I don't have time to do anything before we go to the temple so my legs are fresh and I can stand and serve longer.  By the time our shift started in the afternoons, my legs were already tired.  So we are following the council found in Doctrine and Covenants 88:124.  "retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated."  (and we are trying to do it with a smile!)
     This week was our Stake Conference so once again we had to get into the temple vans for the trip to the Stake Center.  This time, Sister Burk brought me a step stool to help me get into the van.  I also used it during Conference to put my feet on because the chair was too tall and I couldn't reach the floor.  This was a wonderful idea.  It saved me a lot of pain.

We have to use two vans and 7 went with family or friends in cars.

        Thompsons, Roberts, Sister Guzman, Cuellars, Sister Burk, Olsons, Svensons, Murris

   Our dear Sister Dick, a single sister, is never late, just always on the button.  She is always the last to arrive and Elder Thompson just loves to tease her.  She goes home in three weeks to Arizona and will be greatly missed. 

Sister Dick with Sister Svenson

        The Stake Center is the biggest chapel that we have been in.  We left early so we could get good seats, but the earlier meetings were not over yet so we had to wait to get into the chapel.  We still ended up just out of the chapel on chairs.  The place was packed.

We were taught by Elder Carlos Amado of the Seventy who is our Area President, our Stake President, and our Temple President and his wife, President and Sister Burk.  We really enjoyed Conference and getting to see so many of the faithful who are in the temple daily. 

     When we returned to the Temple, we got some photos of our dear Sister Dick with President and Sister Burk.  Every month from now to October, we will be loosing one or two of our mission family as they complete their missions.  We know of two senior single sisters who are headed our way and one senior couple.  The President is always looking for replacements.

President y Hermana Burk y Hermana Dick

President y Hermana Burk

     Elder Thompson has gone with the other missionaries to do our grocery shopping.  He is really getting to know his way around the stores.  He made us another batch of bread this week and his zucchini bars for Family Home Evening turned out great.  My job each day is to serve in the temple, then keep my feet up the rest of the day so I can serve the next day.  He continues to do all the cooking, cleaning, and laundry.  To make things a little easier on him, we have hired a woman to help with the cleaning.  We were told of a single mother of 5 who lost her job and was looking for some work to help support her little family.  She works in the temple laundry 3 days a week, has one child serving a mission and another getting ready to leave on a mission.  She will come in one day a week and clean the bathroom, mop the floors, dust, and vacuum.  She only charges 60 Quetzales a week which is about $7.50.  It will be nice for Lon to have some help with the heavy load he is carrying.  The cooking and laundry will keep him busy enough. 
      We thank you for your emails.  It is always fun to hear about your lives and families.  We are enjoying our time here.  It is fun to meet so many different people.  Elder Thompson has threatened to put me in a padded cell if I hurt anything else so I am trying to be very careful and have a very uneventful week.  You are always in our thoughts and prayers.  We love you Lon and Nancy, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma