Christmas Tree for Ty

I sent the Christmas Tree to Tyler last Monday - and he got it on Wednesday! That's what sending it FedEx can do - I won't even mention how much it cost - but it was more than I thought it would be. It is worth it to me, though because we really haven't sent much to him during his whole mission, and now he only has six months left.

I think it turned out really cute! Russ made the tree, it's about six feet tall. Tyler wrote that he already has it up on the wall by his desk. :) Thanks to everyone who made ornaments and sent them.

(Jill, I know your family's ornaments are still floating around Mexico somewhere, when we get them I'll let you know!)

I wish I knew why sometimes I can click on pictures and they go big, and sometimes they don't. If anyone can help me with this, please comment or send me an email. Thanks!

Baby Boy is here!

Our grandson Luke was born on Tuesday! He weighed 10 pounds - 4 ounces, and he is 22 inches long! Yes, he is a BIG BOY :) We got the news on Tuesday night, and we are so thrilled - when I figure out how to post pictures from email, I'll put some on :) Congratulations Brandon & Camille - we love you all.

Re-dedication of the Temple

Last weekend was a wonderful time to be in Mexico City as a missionary. We got to participate in the Re-dedication of the temple here, and also the Cultural Celebration at Azteca Stadium. Here are a few pictures from last weekend. Some I took myself, and some are from the Church News.

President Thomas S. Monson, his daughter Ann Dibb, President Henry B. Eyring and his wife Kathleen Eyring came to Mexico City. Russ, Ryan and I attended the second dedicatory session. The music was so beautiful! The last song actually sounded like angels were singing with them. I loved it!

This is part of Azteca Stadium where the cultural celebration was held. It has a capacity of 110,000. I read that there were 87,000 people in attendance. The crowd loved waving their white handkerchiefs to say hello to Pres. Monson

Russ and I got to sit in the box where Pres. Monson sat. It is a large booth and probably holds over 100 people. The Area Presidency, Area Seventies, and other mission presidents from Mexico were in attendance.

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The front row of missionaries are from our mission. Somehow they got positioned on the front row facing the prophet! It was great.

All the missionaries from six missions sat together. Ryan got to sit with them, we think he is the one standing right in the lower middle of the picture. That's the area where he was anyway.

Our mission provided parking attendants for the re-dedication, and they are also featured in the Church News this week. They all loved being a part of this extraordinary event.

Zone Leaders Council for November

We held the Zone Leaders Council here on Thursday. Eighteen zone leaders, two assistants and three secretaries. What a really great group of missionaries. They work hard at keeping the mission on track and really are dedicated to finding those who are searching for the gospel. It was great to have them here again.

Back row, left to right: Elder Puga, Elder Flores N, Elder Magdaleno, Elder Ojeda, Elder Adams, Elder Beltran, Elder Porter, Elder Mead, Elder Munoz, Elder Sander, Elder Inalef

Middle row: Elder Bolles, Elder Rush, Elder Zapata, Presidente, Hermana, Elder Lopez A, Elder Flores Y

Front row: Elder Bryan, Elder Fillerup, Elder Pena, Elder Alpuche, Elder Carretaro, Elder Camacho, Elder Jaramillo

Four Zone Leaders and one secretary will be leaving in the next end of the cycle. We'll miss them, they've been very good missionaries.

La Casa del Senor

Last night we took Ryan over to the Open House of the temple. This was only his second time touring a temple. The first time was in Mt. Timpanogos and he was only six years old. It was great to walk through with him and discuss the different rooms and have him feel the beautiful, reverent spirit of the temple.

Tens of thousands of people have toured the temple in the past two and a half weeks. The open house ends this Saturday. The cultural event will be held on Saturday, Nov. 15th. The re-dedication will be Sunday, Nov. 16th. What a great time to be a missionary in Mexico City!

I didn't take these pictures, they are from the church web site, but I love these. The celestial room is so beautiful. The ceiling has an Aztec pattern, so does the carpet. Every temple has the same elements, but somehow the Church manages to personalize each one to the location. It's a really beautiful temple.

Dia de los muertos

On our way over to the other side of the city last night we went down Paseo de la Reforma, probably the most famous street in Mexico City. There is always something interesting to see whenever we go on this street. There are lots of fountains, monuments, and people! Last night there were these large paper mache sculptures for Dia de los muertos, or Day of the Dead. They are really large and colorful. Here are some of the favorites.....

No More Hospital Time, Please

Yesterday Ryan had another football game in Guadalajara. Russ and I decided not to go since it is about 6 hours away and also the second largest city in Mexico. We were worried that once we finally got there, we wouldn't be able to find our way around.

During the 2nd quarter, Ryan was hit pretty hard and injured his right shoulder. He had to be taken out of the game. At half time he and another player - his friend Intenso - were taken to the hospital by ambulance. (One of the coaches went with them) They x-rayed his shoulder, and found that nothing was broken. They figure one of his bones probably popped out and then popped back in. Ryan isn't sure how Intenso's shoulder was, he thinks he dislocated it.

Anyway, his shoulder is pretty sore today, and he has his arm in a sling. We are supposed to take him to see Dr. Aguilar on Monday or Tuesday. Dr Aguilar is the team doctor and an orthopedic surgeon. We are hopeful he will tell us that Ryan just needs to rest his shoulder and will be just fine in a few days.

So Russ, Ryan and I have all been to the hospital while we've been here now. Ryan and I have both been in an ambulance. We've all had x-rays at the hospital. I think that this is enough medical to last us another ten years!

P.S. Ryan's team lost the game :(

Christmas In October :)

We've received some of the ornaments for Tyler's Christmas Tree. They are all so cute! I can hardly wait to get it all together with the tree and send it off! I think he's going to love it. I know I do! Thanks to everyone for helping with this little project. I know it will mean a lot to Ty.

New Assistant

On Tuesday Russ called a new assistant - his name is Elder Zapata. He was in the first group that arrived here after we did, back in August 2007. He'll do a great job. He will be the companion to Elder Lopez A.

Here's a picture of Elder Lake and Elder Lopez A - Elder Lake was released as the assistant and called to train a new missionary and work in a new area for his last cycle. He'll be going home in November. Elder Lopez A will be going home in December, so I think we'll probably have another change in the next transfer, too. Both of these Elders have a done a wonderful job and have been a tremendous help to Russ. We hate to see them go, but are anxious to see what they do in the next chapter of their lives.

A New Temple in ITALY!!!

We are so thrilled to hear the news of a new temple in Rome, Italy. We could only imagine the cheers of delight that went up from the missionaries and members there as President Monson announced this exciting news! We can't wait to hear from Anziano Bulloch - I'm sure he'll let us know all about the reaction.

Another win for the Bears!

Ryan's whole team had a great game last night. Ryan contributed two touchdowns to the winning score of 26-7. It was great to watch him play. He has really improved - and so has the rest of his team.

Here are a couple of action shots and one of him after the sweet victory! :)

Way to go Ryan! Way to go Bears!

Unity

In an effort to help create unity between the stakes in our mission, under the direction of Elder and Hermana Cabrera, we hosted a dinner for some of the Stake Presidents and their wives last night. We have a total of 14 stakes, and invited seven to the dinner. We had six that said they could come, and five couples showed up.

This picture includes the Cabrera's, the five Stake President's and their wives, and also the second counselor in the mission presidency, Pres. Torres & his wife, and their cute little son Alan.

They all seemed to have an enjoyable time, talking and sharing experiences. We are planning to hold another dinner next month for the rest of the couples.

Zone Conferences

Last Week we had three days of Zone Conferences. It was great to see all the missionaries again. This time we had Elder and Sister Thomas with us. Elder Thomas, a psychologist, is the mental health advisor for the area of Mexico. He and his wife visit each mission periodically and give a presentation during zone conferences.

I really enjoyed hearing his message - he taught that the key to our mental wellness really begins with controlling our thoughts. If we get depressed or down, by examining our thoughts, we can change ourselves. Negative thoughts bring a negative result in our lives. Replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts can make all the difference.

He gave each missionary a gratitude rock. Each time they start feeling down or depressed or discouraged, they are to get out the rock and put it between their thumb and index finger and rub it while they think of all the things they are grateful for. By the time they have named several blessings, the discouragement will be gone! I've tried it and it works - and I'm grateful that Elder and Sister Thomas were able to be with our mission this week.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!!

Today is a big landmark for Ryan - 18 years old! Hard to believe that many years have passed since he joined our family. He's done a lot in those years, including attending seven different schools, soon to add an eighth (BYU, baby!) in the winter. He's moved four times, and has had a good, happy attitude each time.

He has been a lifesaver when it comes to reading maps and getting us around this city. I think when he goes home, and when he goes on his mission, we will be sending a map and a cell phone with him. If we get lost we'll call him and he'll get us home!

Ryan loves to laugh, and he laughs really hard. It makes me laugh when he is laughing :) He is a great young man and we are very, very proud of him.

Here are some pictures of him with his brothers in the past year or so. I don't have any others of when he was younger, they are all packed away at Grandma and Grandpa's house :)

Xochicalco and Taxco

While we were at the seminar in Cuernavaca last week, we got to go to some ruins called Xochicalco (So chee CAL co) It was really green and beautiful. The ruins are pretty large and impressive. We got to go inside one part called the observatorio, where they have sort of a cave with a hole drilled in the top. The sun shines through the hole, and somehow they could tell the seasons, (we don't really have winter, fall, etc here, so I guess they had to use the sun to know when to plant and stuff) Elder and Sister Holland went with us to tour the ruins. This is for you Camille - Elder Holland wore Nike, but Sis Holland wore New Balance! :)We brought umbrellas because you never know

when there is going to be a downpour.

What little girl wouldn't love a necklace like this? :)

I got my shoes shined in a little town called Taxco (Toss co) He only charged 12 pesos, (about $1.20) to do this. My shoes looked better than when they were new. What a great deal!

This is the view from the edge of the ruins at Xochicalco

This is more of the beautiful green view. We had headsets to guide us through the ruins and through the museum. It was really interesting and fun to see something new. Yes, Russ got to wear casual clothes for the day - no tie! The women were asked to wear dresses, though. Oh well.

Temple Square Meeting

Last Wednesday Russ, Ryan, and I went over to Temple Square to attend a special meeting with all four of the Mexico City missions and the MTC missionaries (about 900 total) with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Sis. Holland, Elder L. Whitney Clayton and Sis. Clayton. Elder Holland talked to the missionaries about establishing deep roots for the church in Mexico. It was great to hear his counsel.


The Temple has been closed for about a year and a half, but will be rededicated on Sunday, Nov. 16th. We have heard that it will probably be President Monson that will come to do this.
After the meeting, Elder Holland directed our mission president's seminar in Cuernavaca. What a great opportunity for us to be with him for 3 days! The first evening we got to sit at the Holland's table for dinner. On the last night, we also got to sit at their table, and I got to sit right next to Sis. Holland. She is a very sweet, beautiful lady. I enjoyed talking to her very much.

A Busy Week

Our 3 delayed American missionaries are finally here! Only 4 weeks late :) Two arrived here on Tuesday afternoon, and the last one arrived Thursday evening. In between this, we had four elders go home 2 weeks early, leaving here on Wednesday. (They had personal circumstances that they just needed to be home a little early)

Last night, one of the elders scheduled to go home in two weeks called - he has been struggling with some health issues for the past six months, and wanted to hang in there. In the last few days, the issues have become a little more serious, so Russ and the elder decided that he needed to go home. He's on his way home today, he really gave it all he had.

Russ also finished up the Zone Conferences/Interviews this week, now he is working on the transfers. He has had a very busy week. Sometimes it feels like we are running down a hill pulling a wagon - and one of the wheels is just about to fall off! This week has been like that. Hopefully, next week will be calmer - and Ryan starts back to school, he only had 2 months of summer vacation, with football almost every day, but I think he is ready. :)

It's Hard to Say Goodbye

We had 22 missionaries go home in our last cycle. It was our biggest group so far.

We lost a lot of leaders this time; four zone leaders and one secretary.

Sometimes they have to wait a long time to have

their final interview with the President.

This missionary - Elder Tanner - got everyone to sing hymns while they waited.

It was great to hear them - sometimes in Spanish, sometimes in English.

Elder Anderson and Elder Utley's parents came to Mexico to pick up their missionaries. They wanted to meet us, so they came over later in the day after the others had gone home. It was great to meet them, it was actually our first time meeting any of the parents of our missionaries.

I Looked Out the Window and What Did I See.....

Here are a couple of our little "pets" that are in the front yard.
None in the house lately, thank goodness!

Mexican Funeral

On Thursday afternoon I was driving toward Constituyentes - a large 6 lane road - toward Ryan's school. As I turned the corner onto this road, six men were walking along the side with a white casket on their shoulders. A large group of people were walking behind them. At first, I smiled and wondered what in the world was going on, but after a few seconds I realized that this was a real funeral procession. It was quite humbling to realize that these people were walking with their loved one to the cemetery, with the pallbearers actually carrying the casket on their shoulders.

Sometimes I will see a full sized bus, painted gray, with the word "Funeral" or "Funerale" on the front. I'm not the authority on this or anything, but it seems like the people have the funeral at a church and then go together on the large bus to the cemetery (There are a lot of people in Mexico City that don't own a car at all). I think that this group of people I saw on Constituyentes had just left the bus and they were walking down the street to the cemetery, which was very closeby. So different from the funeral processions I've seen at home. It was quite a touching scene.