Saturday, March 10, 2012

3/10/12

Nothing makes you appreciate life on the ranch like life in a  great big city!  We have needed to shop for things for the apartment (lightbulbs, garbge cans etc)  for a week now but didn't know where to go  Then we found out that there is an IKEA here.  We went into a store called the Americas - which I know must have covered half of a city block.  When we couldn't find anything Scott stopped this young woman to ask directions.  She immediately recognized our name tags and said she was a member of the church and had a sister being married in the temple in April.  She showed us where to get lunch and sat and ate with us so it was lots of fun.  These people are amazing.  If you smile at them they get these great big smiles on their faces and will do anything to help you.  Ikea was about the same size so we were exhausted by the time we left.  They have these crazy wheels on their carts that stick in the grooves on these flat escalators so when normally the carts would roll down the ramp type escalator they just stick in the groove.  Kind of cool!
   Another missionary couple, the Yturraldes, live two floors straight above us.  We went with them to dinner at the Fords.( A couple from Bountiful)  It started sprinkling and ten minutes later it was pouring so hard water was running down the roads.  There are many roads here that are like following a puzzle, especially with the one-way roads, so we wound around for an hour before we found their apartment - and that was after asking for instructions three different times.  This is the Ford's fourth mission so they had many stories to tell! Elder Ford reminds me so much of my brother, Brent.
   So far we have one stake that has a high counselor or a stake person over music.  We are trying to encourage the stakes to assign someone in their stakes so we can organize the training for those who want it.  The missionaries are told not to go so far out in the country that the people they teach could not get to church if they were baptized.  That just makes you want to rent a bus (?) and pick them up every Sunday!  Scott is at a priesthood meeting for a stake conference now meeting the stake president and bishops then we will go tomorrow to their stake conference. When we start organizing the teaching it is going to be a madhouse but trying to get these people to move on something is foreign to their nature.
   Today we went with the Buttons (the area office couple) Sister Cornish and her son, Reid. to the beach.  This island seems to be mostly lava rock so on many of the beaches they have actually hauled sand in.  Reid is a DownsSyndrome young man and you can feel his special pure spirit from a mile away.  What a blessing it is to associate with someone like him.
   We have been very sad to learn of our dear friend Sherie'a  plight but like all of you who know her know - she will just move on where she can serve others at the breakneck speed she is used to,  I have never known a woman who gave as much of herself as Sherie.  What an example she is to all of us!  She and Kelly have shown such amazing strength through this heart wrenching trial.  Our thoughts and prayers are with them always.  I believe Sherie thought she was going to get well - she kept telling me that she was.  What a great friend and example she has been to me. In ways it is easier to be farther away physically but my heart aches just the same.
  One great thing about being senior missionaries is they encourage you to call home..  We have really enjoyed the blessing of being able to call our friends and family.    So if you get a call from our home phone number - answer it!
   Our apartment kitchen has cabinet space of 15"x20" total.  So while Scott is gone I'm going to try to rearrange our three small cupboards so I'd better get going.  This is going to take some creativity.
  
  
  

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