We pulled it off!

Wednesday was the first day of Zone Conferences with Elder Benjamin DeHoyos and his wife as our tour authorities. Elder De Hoyos is the lst Counselor to Elder Johnson the Area President of Mexico. They are joined by Elder Tenorio as 2nd Counselor. Things went really well in all the conferneces, Elders Trejo, Martinez and Salazar conducted their respective conference in a very dignified manner....Elder De Hoyos was impressed with all the missionaries.After our first conference with enjoyed a comida with Stake President Navarro and his wife from Irapuato. Hermana was quite gutsy and asked for pictures....a no-no, we were told earlier for the missionaries...but for a wife of a Stake President, why not? Thursday was a full day with zone conferences in Aguascalientes, comida with President Cruz and President Lopez and their wives in this really beautiful restored hacienda from the late 1880s. Later we attended a fireside for the Young Single Adults and returned home to meet up with Esteban (their son who needed to stay behind a day to work on visa issues for his mission to Portugal) for tacos at Guerros. Friday was zone conference in Leon and later comida at the mission home....We spent the evening hanging out together visiting (I could understand maybe 70%) At one point, I was fixing an evening treat and sandwiches and Elder De Hoyos comes walking into the kitchen speaking perfect English. I was delighted! My brain cells were about dead at that point and I was so relieved. Saturday morning they left after 10 to join their family in a shoe shopping expedition....I then had 6 hours to shop and prepare appetizers for all the Stake Presidents and their wives. I had to call upon the services of our secretaries to come to my aid. I never would have made it, but it turned out great. Wish I had taken pictures of the table.

Sunday Departure

We tried to cover all our bases.
We got up early to attend our Ward mtgs in Arbide. They have no one to play the piano and if I am not there they sing without. So whenever I am in town, I really try to attend...besides we really like to be there to support our missionaries and meet their new converts and investigators. We also attended Echeveste Ward with Elder De Hoyos, Hna De Hoyos and Esteban. His sister attends this ward and a family reunion was planned for later that day for them. We rushed home from that mtg to find Elder Holmes and Elder Herrera waiting patiently by the locked mission office door....Quickly....we both went to work. President interviewing all the Elders returning home and I preparing food for our LAST SUPPER together. Each Elder receives a little bag with 14 parasite pills at this last supper. They are shocked that they have to take pills for the next 4 days....but it is either pills or parasites...they can choose. We always enjoy this night together...listening to testimonies and plans for their future....remembering specials days shared in the mission field. Pictures were taken which include Elders Herrera, Pitalua, Laredo and Torres, Holmes, Moffitt and Perry. Elders Call and Pickett were part of this generation as well but had gone home earlier for school.

It is official. Elder Sherman is finally leaving the office. We love our secretaries in such a special way. It is hard to imagine them leaving us....but it happens. Elder Sherman will be training Elder Hansen to serve as the new financial secretary and he will serve thru the new President as well...so that will be a great experience for him. The picture is of 3 generations of financial secretaries, Elders Maxfield(now Asst), Elder Sherman and Elder Hansen.

Elder De Hoyos and family returned home later that evening and we enjoyed our last evening together. Esteban will be leaving for Portugal in 2 months for his mission. He will be a great asset to his mission as he speaks English, Spanish and Portugese.
We all have enjoyed such special times together these past few days....We will always remember special lessons learned from these great leaders...."Hermana or Hermano".....¿Lo harán?.....Que lastima!.... personal examples of service and sacrifice to build the kindgom of God in Mexico

The last lap

Monday was the last lap of our race. It started at 4am when the alarm went off. I had 30 minutes, because at 5am sharp Pres. Cox likes to be standing in line at the airport to turn in Visas with immigration...so we were off and running with the Elders close behind us in the mission van at 4:30. It was a wet morning here. The night before we had enjoyed thunder and lightening...an unusual sight for us in January and February. I need to record here how much fun it is at the airport. Our missionaries going home are so unsettled, unsure and uncomfortable about the whole departure experience....and our Assistants are taking mental notes of all they need to remember for their departure day...in this case our Assistants will be leaving on the next change so they were priming their engines and thinking ahead....

We returned home...I prepared our lasagna dinner for the 18 we would be feeding later that day, said our goodbyes to the DeHoyos' family, met up at the Central for changes, picked up our 6 new Elders from the CCM, interviews, training, put the lasagna in the oven and then off again to the airport for our 4 Americans. Bonus point....our Elders Moffitt, Holmes and Perry, returning home.....met up in the Dallas Airport with our Elders Braithwaite, Scott, Salazar and Loveland who were arriving and shared their best wishes for a great mission. That must have been a fun time for all of them. It is so great to finally meet our Elders. We have their pictures after their assignment is made and for Americans we think of them for 2 months....The Mexicans we have about 1 month...but it is great to finally be able to put our real missionaries with these names on the board. Probably the best part of this day is when assignments are given out. President interviews all the missionaries and while they are eating....he prepares their first assignment. Each Elder is ushered into the President's office and he is given his slip of paper with all the details. President Cox shows him on his board ...a picture of his trainer, the name of his area and then locates his city on our mission map. The Elder is then given an opportunity to share with everyone else where he will be serving and who is trainer is. Such fun we have. Last but not least pictures are taken so the missionaries can send a quick note home to Mom and Dad with proof....caz here he is with Presidente y Hermana Cox.

Preparations for.....

I have no pictures yet but I want to record my thoughts before everything takes place. This is the week we've been preparing for, so wish us luck. Yesterday and today was our concilio for the month of February. Our Assts did such a great job, training and carrying out their responsibilities. Two new Zone Leaders were invited to participate and will receive their assignments this coming Sunday. They were Elders Su'a and Luis. As they all participate in a capacitation on Tuesday....we reflected on the progress we are witness to as these young men step up to the plate and prepare themselves each month to effectively lead their zones. We love these great young men. Tomorrow will be our first day of our Mission Tour. We will travel to Irapuato and meet up with Elder De Hoyos and his family there. Elder De Hoyos is the lst Counselor to Elder Johnson the Area President of Mexico. Thursday we'll be in Aguascalientes with their 2 zones and San Luis Potosi and their 2 zones traveling to meet with us. We will also be having a Fireside that evening and several mtgs with the Stake Presidents of these 4 zones. Friday will be time for Leon and then Saturday we'll have a mtg with the Stake Presidents and District President that were not able to meet earlier with Elder De Hoyos and also a Fireside in Leon for the YSAs. At this point we are not sure what the plans are for Sunday other than attendance at Echeveste Ward in Leon. We have scheduled our Farewells on Sunday evening and New Arrivals on Monday with changes squeezed in between. So I am just going to hold my breath and hope everything and everybody enjoys the flow of this week. It should be interesting.

¡Estamos tan Frio!

This is our first year to really experience the cold of Leon. We have been miserable this past two weeks, but today we awoke to sunshine so we are hoping we've weathered the worst. All the homes here are made of brick and have zero insulation...We have bought a small room heater and try to stay inside this one room....but life has to go on, so we are bundled in layers of clothing. Special prayers are being shared for our missionaries who are out and about and for the people who live in homes without floors, tin roofs and holes in their brick walls. Snow was reported in the mountains of Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosi and San Miguel de Allende...So this has definitely been our coldest year in Mexico.

We spent our Sabbath Day with the good members in Celaya. They had their Stake Conference and there Stake Center was filled to the brim for both sessions. We are hoping that we will be witness to the creation of another Stake in Celaya before we are released but they are still missing 9 SMAPIES....so time will tell. Leon Stake is also hoping for a split this Spring...so this would be a welcome addition for the good Saints in our mission.

We were visited by Elder Mancillas Sunday evening. He is working in Leon this week and stopped in to say hello. He was our special Elder who had his appendix removed the week before we arrived and was supposed to be recovering nicely....he had his stitches removed and was moved into the office to recover. He never complained...but we were concerned. I will always remember our very first zone conference in Leon, he was sitting in the front row and Elder Montoya had to help the Elder stand because he was suffering so and his color was so darn yellow......it scared me. Immediately we called Dr. Hollingsworth who recommended he be taken to the ER for blood tests and sure enough he was losing blood through an ulcer and Dr. Hollingsworth told us afterwards that from the results of the blood tests, if we had waited through the weekend, he might not have made it. What a scare that was and how grateful I was for the whisperings of the Spirit that caused us to ACT so quickly. Elder Mancillas is happy. He has been home for a year and 3 months now. It is incredible the feelings of love and gratitude we feel for our dear missionaries with each reunion.

New Year's Eve

We stayed up late New Year's Eve and just visited. It was such a fun night to welcome in 2010 with our family. Tina surprised us with party favors for this special night. At one point I stood on the balcony with the kids and blew my horn as loud as I possibly could so all could hear. We even climbed up on the roof and watched the fireworks........ We have a lot of mixed emotions about this year. At one point in the mission...I thought it would never arrive...and yet here we are. We will really hate to have this mission experience come to an end...but you know what they say, all good things must...so we look forward in faith that we will be able to finish our assignment here with gusto...and move forward trusting that we will find our place in the world when we return home.

Our Return Missionaries

During the Christmas holidays this year we received many a phone call from missionaries that have returned home. It was so very nice to hear their voices again and learn of their faithfulness in the gospel. We love them all and they will always have a special place in our hearts. Reunions will be great as we will have opportunity to see each other once again. Elder Buzis and his family stopped by the mission home for a visit. This was such a pleasant surprise. We received several calls about engagements...Elder Checketts...unknown date; Elder Crea in March and Elder Neibaur in June. Felicidades to one and all as they continue forth and participate in this great plan of happiness...established by our Heavenly Father for all his children.

The Zoo in Leon

Actually the zoo in Leon is quite nice. We have enjoyed taking our children to the zoo each visit. This particular trip we found our favorite baboon eating a sucker....the rhino awake and up close to the fence so the children could grab on to his horn...feed him sugar cane ....this was incredible. I had never seen a rhino eat anything.....the drool coming from his mouth was gross. The hipos were awake and standing ...their massive weight supported by their short little legs (most visits they are in the water) We listened to the Lion of Leon roar ...on our last visit in July he was mating with a Lioness...how cool was that. We fed the giraffe and visited the aviary where birds, ducks, peacocks run wild. Wesley was attacked by the brightly colored pheasant. It really caught him off guard. What fun we have had at the zoo in Leon. Wesley has learned to run...it was so fun watching him throw back his shoulders and run like a big boy...The picture captures him running to catch up with his Grandpa. He loved Grandpa Bob

Family Time

Our children arrived after Christmas and stayed through New Years. It was a great time to have everyone together. We missed Steve and Bradley but with the last minute changes to our gathering....it was not possible to change work schedules. We stayed close to home....went to Parque Explora, bowling with President Morales and family; shopping in Guanajuato with only Melanie; Centro to feed the pigeons, walk through the Mercado and visit with the Tres Magos; (3 Wise Men...on January 5th children write their wishes and attach them to Helium balloons and let them go...on Jan 6th the 3 Wise Men delivery gifts to children...tradition) Tacos and quesadillas from Guero's were ordered and brought to the mission home whenever possible. I think they all knew it was their last chance.....personally, President and I have had enough of them. Our last visit to the zoo was Monday afternoon, Jan 4th. I´ll write more about the zoo in another post. The weather was a little cooler than we like...but much warmer than it was at home so for the most part the kids were quite comfortable in short sleeves and sometimes even shorts. Not me! Our house this winter is so darn cold. I find myself many days wrapped in a blanket just to try and stay warm. Cental air and heating sounds so good. Some of these niceties we just take for granted.

Dos por Dios...2010

Revelation is so very evident in the mission field. Elders Callen, Maxfield and Salazar met with President Cox in preparation for the January Concilio held December 23-24th. Expectations and ideas were shared openly as they discussed ways the mission could improve in the new year. As a result, "Dos por Dios" was created as the Vision for 2010...two baptisms each week for each companionship. It was felt that they, the Assistants had the responsibility to create this vision within the hearts and minds of the Zone Leaders so capacitations were developed on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Sacrament Meeting Attendance and Love as the motivating force behind all our labors. We were so impressed with their training. This past week they have accompanied President and I in each of our Zone Conferences and presented their training as well. Tears come to my eyes as I reflect upon the personal growth we have seen in these 3 young men. They truly are spiritual giants....and could stand in front of any group of church leaders and teach with power and authority. I am so very grateful for this special experience we have to Serve the Lord in the Mexico Leon Mission and witness the changes that can take place in our lives as a result of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christmas eve 2009

My tamale maker was put to use Christmas eve. I bought all these strange ingredients like acelga,masa,caldo de pollo,chile cuaresmeño,manteca de cerdo and went to work. Teri was nice enough to come and help me with the salsa...since I had never learned this step. It was delicious. There are some important things to learn here....gloves are important when working with chiles; the aroma is more powerful than an onion...and can make you cough up a storm....but the end result was incredible. The missionaries from the office and the Morales family joined us for a late Christmas Eve dinner of tamales....supper nacho....frijoles y ponche (hot fruit punch). I had baked sugar cookies...so after the dinner we had a cookie decorating party. It was great fun to see everyone's creations. Elder Callen and Elder Salazar were quite secretive...with their cookies...(2 por Dios was Elder Callens' and Elder Salazar had the Star of Leon..... I loved this picture of Elder Salazar with Celaya around his neck....she even got into the Christmas spirit and enjoyed the festivities of the night. Christmas Day was filled with phone calls home....breakfast of hot oatmeal and a smoked turkey dinner at the home of our Stake President........It was a great day. We enjoyed our phone calls with family and friends. Truly Christmas was a merry day.

Going, going and gone!

So many farewells this week. It is crazy to think but my 57th year in mortalidad has come and gone....President and the office Elders surprised me with some beautiful flowers for my birthday and in exchange we shared breakfast together. I love the fresh squeezed juices here. On our street Algercias we have a juice man and he makes the best. I particularly like the "green juice" made with napal, (cactus) celery, cilantro and other green things....plus some orange juice to give it alitle sweetner. The next picture is of Elder Grecco from Argentina. He had to leave a bit earlier than the rest of his generation because of his Visa expiration. Elder Grecco converted to the gospel a year before the mission and has served faithfully in leadership positions of the mission. We will miss him and wish for him the best. Our next farewell was of Elder Steimle. We were so sad to see him leave us early but due to medical complications he needed to return home to Alabama to receive proper medical care. His last area of service was in Valle de Santiago and many of the good members called to express their love and concern for Elder Steimle as he returned home. Last are pictures of the Farewell on Friday, December 18th. We were saying goodbye to 10 more. Hermana Cornelio was part of this group. She has been the force behind our Hermanas encouraging and leading in her own special way. I am not sure...but she was probably the recipient of cookie plates (10baptisms a week) for 5-6 weeks during her 18 month service call. Both of the Assistants are gone.....that is different. How do you replace two giants in their own rank.......Elder Schow and Elder Hatton had their own styles and work ethics,but for the most part were together helping the vision to take place in our mission. We have appreciated their determination and desire to make their service here count. Many wonderful new converts will remember their service and teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have enjoyed having them part of the office Elders. I took a cute picture of Elder Hatton. He became soooooooo lost as his responsibilities came to a close. At the farewell dinner we like to serve those who are leaving....but Elder Hatton had to get in there with Elders Salazar and Callen and be apart of the evenings' service. The group picture was taken after everything was finished and we were ready to say goodnight. We try to get to bed early because we have to get up between 3:30 and 4am.....to get everyone to the airport by 5........ But, you know how hard it is to sleep when something big is going to happen in your life...well, imagine....the mission office with 9 missionaries(top row in group picture: Elders Schow, Velasquez, CruzM., Quintana, middle row: Elders Camargo,Hatton,Medina,Gutierrez,Erekson and Hna Cornelio in Front) trying to go to sleep........you're right, it just doesn't happen.

One more Entry...

This is definitely the best. At 7 pm, Saturday evening we were invited to attend the baptism of Carlos. He is a brother of Fernando who was baptized by Elders Emery and Checketts in 2008. Fernando's wife Carolina was also baptized with her husband and the two of them have been such a wonderful influence for good to their family. Since their baptism the father, Daniel has joined and then it was Margarita his wife. They were taught by Elder Diaz and Elder Wille. Somewhere in this period of time Juliesa and Berenisa joined as well, sisters of Fernando. Later this week, Christian, the wife of Carlos and sister to Carolina will be baptized and this is how families are joined together forever in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Schow and Elder Hatton join in the long line of Elders called to invite, teach and baptize. We are so grateful for righteous young men who choose to Serve the Lord and offer Eternal Life to the good people living in the Leon Mexico Mission. There are two older brothers that are part of this family. At some future date, we hope to read of their conversion as well.

The Christmas Comida

If you eat between 2-4pm it is considered "comida"; if it is later it is called "cena". I am catching on...slowly but surely. My hope and prayer is that Heavenly Father will help me remember this new language ....or that I have opportunity to use it at home as well. Time will tell. Bob and I decided earlier this month that we wanted to gather all the Stake Presidents and their wives, our Counselors and their wives and Elder and Sister Guzman ....together for a COMIDA and share some thoughts for the direction of the new year and express appreciation for their support in the year past. I spent most of Friday baking all the goodies for the dessert table and then Saturday was spent cooking the real stuff.... They all know by now that when they come for a gathering at the mission home....it is American food and I think they enjoy my cooking. We did serve Horchata, the Mexican rice water drink with cinnamon. Hermana Marlene was in charge of this special drink and it was delicious. I'll have to try and make this at home. Our Assistants, Elders Schow and Hatton came and Secretaries Elders Verdeja and Sherman to help serve and do whatever. I was so grateful for their help. It made it possible when the guests started arriving to leave the kitchen..... We are so blessed in our Mission Home to have a big room, called the Capacitation Room. It is so very functional for such occasions as this. If you could believe it, before President Martinez, it was part of an indoor-outdoor swimming pool. I am so grateful this conversion was made in preparation for my service...because, as much as I love to swim, it has been a great blessing for President and I to host these special dinners in our home and has created a special bond between all of us who are called upon to serve with all our Hearts, might, mind and strength. Pictures included are of Elder and Hermana Guzman, our Seventy; our Mission Presidency, President Aguilar and President Rubio and their wives and our group.

All with the Spirit of Christmas

We completed zone conferences on Thursday this week. It was with mixed emotions as well. They are alot of work for me...remembering birthdays, baptisms that need to be recognized with candy letters, cookie plates; picture board for zone and district
pictures and then all the little extras for this special month...gifts, food, nativity, music, etc. But, I know the missionaries really appreciate this special time and that is what makes it all worthwhile. The highlight, all three years, of our Christmas zone conferences has been the Christmas Story tradition. I love this time with our missionaries. We have done it different ways each year and it is always special. This year....I suppose, it was so special because it was our last....but, as we read the Christmas story from Luke and sang as a choir or angels or, solo or duets, the Spirit was so sweet and the message so strong of the divinity of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. How grateful I am for this special time in my life to feel of our Savior's Love and share that with our missionaries. We love them so very much. I am posting a picture of the Silao District with Elders Tenney, Ray, Lopez J, Guajardo, Guthrie and Conde. This is just a sampling of our special missionaries that serve the Lord in the Leon Mexico Mission. The zone picture is of Aguascalientes under the direction of their fearless zone leaders Elder Ditto and Elder Ruiz I am not sure what is the message behind their creative poise.....

Christmas Zone Conferences 2009

Friday we traveled to SanLuisPotosi for our first of 4 zone conferences. Elder Verdeja and Elder Sherman, our secretaries prepared with the help of some talented young investigators, our Christmas cards for this year. They turned out great and have the pictures of all our Elders and Hermanas...this will be a special keepsake for our missionaries. Bob and I personally purchased the new Spanish Bible for all the missionaries, I wrote a little message for them and Brenna and I wrapped them during Thanksgiving holiday. We also gave out a water filter bottle...which will purify water from whatever source.....this should help with our diarrhea problems....we hope! All and all, Christmas zone conferences are so much fun. Capacitations are taught by the zone leaders and opportunities are given to practice teaching techniques that will improve our efforts to Find,Teach and Baptize those who are prepared to receive this glad message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We are so grateful for this special responsibility we have to participate in this great cause.... The pictures are of the Benito Juarez Zone; Elders Brown, Perry, Whittle and Delgado checking out their Christmas Card; and Elders Velarde, Martinez, Fife Brubaker and Hansen enjoying their pizza.

Why not?

We love the saying of George Bernard Shaw..."Some men see things as they are and say WHY. I dream things that never were and say WHYNOT? This has been a week of training with our regular concilio with Zone Leaders and another mtg with District leaders. We love to meet with our missionaries and try and instill within them a vision of the potential they have as future leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They are great young men with so much to offer. The mission is a time for them to learn how to communicate with their peers, to love and inspire their missionaries to do everything possible to be worthy teachers of this great message of the restored gospel. We are so very blessed to work with these wonderful young men and women as well. We have 10 Hermanas serving in the mission at this time. They do an incredible job for the mission and we love and appreciate their service. Okay at the concilio our new Asistants were introduced (picture with President of Elders Callen,Maxfield & Salazar). They will take over officially, December 19th when Elders Hatton and Schow return to their homes with honor....It is really strange losing both at the same time...Unusual activities were part of the capacitations this week...Elder Leininger(our spiderman) demonstrated giving his "all" for the cause 13=1,000 baptisms...he actually climbed up the drain pipe to reach the top. It scared me to death. Also Elders Hatton & Schow use their techniques to spin Elder Peña C crazy....I also captured all the District Leaders for a quick picture with President Cox before they were shipped back to their area. Such special memories our pictures make!

Gobble-Gobble

I hated for Thanksgiving to come...because that meant our visit with Matt and Brenna was coming to a close. It was so much fun to have them both here and spend time with them as our newly married family members. We love Brenna and she and Matt make such a great little family of their own. We know it was difficult to work us into their busy schedules but,oh....how we enjoyed being with them. Our Turkey dinner was great with all the trimmings, potatoes, gravy, yams(camotes in Spanish)green bean casserole (ejote in Spanish), rolls, fruit salad and pumpkin and apple pies. We fed 6 hungry missionaries who were craving a home-cooked Thanksgiving Dinner. We shared our thoughts of gratitude and enjoyed one another's company. Dinner guests included Elders Schow and Hatton, Elders Verdeja and Sherman, Elders Salazar and Maxfield. We were expecting Elder Granillo as well but he was not able to join us. Elder Granillo is part of the December Generation but was interviewed early on Thanksgiving Day and his parents were here to pick him up. He needed to be released a bit early to attend school. We will miss Elder Granillo, his calming influence and steady, faithful service.

Day excursion to San Miguel

Treasures galore...every door we entered. It is a little mind boggling. San Miguel de Allende is in our mission and approximately 2 hours from Leon...but with Bob driving we can get there in 1 1/2 hours. It was a fast trip with a short period of time to wander the streets. Bob always has ants in his pants when in comes to seeing the sights and enjoying the moment....something we've got to improve upon. So for the short time we shared in this tourist city, founded in the late 1500s...we enjoyed our selves. Hermana Mickelson had told me about the pewter and yes, I found my Nacimiento de Mexico in San Miguel.....it was a great price and I am really excited for this addition to my collection. All the Centros seem to have the same layout. A Cathedral with a Jardin and then shops all around them. The picture was taken from a bench in the Jardin where Bob patiently waited while we checked all all the goods. Behind each door was a unique shop featuring the talents of local artisans. It was amazing....I could have spent hours exploring. Maybe next time, I will.

Gingerbread Houses of Leon

It was an all day labor of love. I was so grateful for the willing and cheerful attitudes of my dear family. Matt became the master architect and Brenna took charge of the detail work. At the end of the day we felt our creations were spectacular. At one point Elders Verdeja and Sherman were here and assisted in the project. Our woodsman, Elder Sherman created the trees and Elder Verdeja cut out and hung stars. Bob even had a few suggestions....Our biggest obstacle was the molasses. We hunted all over town and then converted to honey. It all works the same...just smells a bit different. What a fun time I had reliving special times we've shared through the years at Granny's house building gingerbread houses...and enjoying time spent with Matt and Brenna this Thanksgiving holiday.

Mexico's Most Wanted Men

This past week President Cox felt impressed to gather around him the Zone Leaders of the mission for a short concilio. Normally we meet together every month, at the end, to plan for zone conferences, discuss issues of concern for each zone leader and to empower them with the skills and vision of the mission. But...this was different, somewhat more urgent and President needed and wanted his "Mighty Men" to gather. We love the teachings of Jarom 1:7 .."mighty men in the faith of the Lord, and they taught the people the ways of the Lord".... Truly an example of the Zone Leaders of a mission. For the meeting I put together this special poster..... It is amazing how we are inspired in our own special way...I really have a testimony of the Holy Ghost and the role he plays in our lives and truly "out of small things proceedeth that which is great"..... Our leaders were sooo impressed with their position in the mission as "mighty men". We will continue to have reference to this Wanted Poster and use this to inspire and motivate our leaders to prepare their zones for this great work of the Lord.

Excitement in the Mission Home

We met up with our 10 Elders and 2 Hermanas at the Bus Central at Noon. Hermana Garza was as excited to see us as we were to see them. She and Hermana Vela have beautiful smiles that will win their way into many homes to teach the restored gospel. Before we met them..........we had changes in the Central and I was able to get three to poise before catching the bus to San Luis Potosi. Elders Gladwill, Fife and Herrera(ZL) will be traveling together, about a 3 hour bus trip. Elders Schow and Elder Hatton were able to train all the Mexican missionaries while Bob and I drove back to the airport to meet our one and only American...Elder Hollingsworth. We feel so connected to him. He is the grandson of Elder and Sister Hollingsworth, our first Area Medical Doctor. As we arrived back to the Mission Home we found the group together singing Christmas Hymns........They had been up since 3 am and were bouncing off the walls at this point. We enjoyed our normal lasagna dinner....assignments were made.....pictures taken and off they went back to the Central to travel to their areas. What a day. I captured a few extra pictures....one of Berta. She stopped by and was good enough to help with the brownies and icecream....and Elder Sherman is always THE MAN to serve ice cream. This weekend of changes requires everyone to pitch in and help ....... we all have our assignments but Hermana Cox really appreciates the extra little kindnesses shown.
I have to add one more thought. I wish I had taken a picture of our dinner tables. I had gone the extra mile with flowers, netting, beads...etc and the tables looked so festive. None of the Elders commented. So......I had a little teaching moment with my office Elders and I explained to them the importance of noticing and expressing appreciation for niceties...(for the benefit of their mothers, sweethearts and future wives) Elder Hatton was so cute. The next day he was quick to comment on the beautiful (fake) roses on the table. I love this opportunity to help our missionaries open their eyes to the needs of another. They are all such wonderful young men who want to learn.

The Last.....

The last of everything in the mission field took place this past weekend for 10 Elders and Hermana Licona; the last dinner in the mission home, the last interview with President Cox, the last sleepover in the office, the last testimony shared as missionaries, the last pictures......This generation consisted of from bottom to top, Hermana Licona, Elders PerezK., FloresM.,GonzalezA.,Robles, Bolio, Robledo, Garza, Leo, Buzis and Saucedo. The parents and families of Elders Gonzalez and Buzis were here to attend church with them, meet some of their families and just hang out. I was able to take a picture of Elder Gonzalez with his family while they were waiting for interviews with President Cox. Elder Gonzalez was always one of these Elders President could depend upon to carry the load...no matter what he was called upon to do. It is always so fun to meet the families. I also was able to capture a picture of Elders Hatton and Robles sharing a few LAST thoughts as they walked together through the airport. They had served together for 9 months, first as Zone Leaders and then as Assistants. We will miss the focus and motivation of Elder Robles in our mission........It is always hard to say goodbye to great missionaries.

What happened to Thanksgiving?

We put up our Christmas wreath just to poise for this picture.(We took it down...but I can hardly wait to put it back...for real). We are in the process of preparing our Christmas Card for 2009 and took a couple of pictures for this purpose. The Elders are so good...I think they really like pictures as well...It is just President Cox. Everyone knows how much he loves taking pictures.(NOT!!!)But really, I think he looks so handsome...with a special celestial glow about him. The group picture is with Elder Verdeja and Elder Sherman our Secretaries and Elder Schow and Elder Hatton our Assistants. We are all anxious to get this Christmas holiday rolling. Navidad Blanca is just around the corner.

Halloween vs Dia de Muertos

Saturday evening we were visited by our favorite trick-o-treators with one extra...Sylvia (witch with orange hat). The Morales Family came tricking and treating. It made my night. Candy bags had been prepared special for them and the office Elders as well. But other than that...all was quiet around the mission home till Sunday evening. Then......you guessed it. We had children ringing the bell for several hours. The crazy part of the whole evening was that they didn't even dress up. They just walked our streets asking for candy. Today, is actually my favorite day. School is cancelled and it is a family day. Fresh flowers and fruits and vegetables are sold in tianges and families are together visiting their dead. Elder Verdeja says that some families have miariaci bands come and play for their dead and everything. But for the most part, they leave fruit,veg.food for their dead and flowers. Some might think that is strange but I remember the first year Michael had died...we did some pretty strange things at the cemetary that year...like a christmas tree with battery operated christmas lights, valentines tied to the tree branches, special flowers for special occasions....I just didn't think about music.....oh how I love living in Mexico!

New Technology in Mexico Leon?????

The first ever videoconference call with our Area Presidency was scheduled for this week. Our FM group were given directions and responsibility to assure the conference ran smoothly. They arrived the day of and hooked everything up.....but as usual....nothing really runs THAT smoothly in Mexico. The idea was for President to be in communication with the Area Presidency and 10 of the Mission Presidents from the northern portion of Mexico all at the same time. We could see and hear everyone.......but when President Cox was asked to share his input........things fell apart on us. The end result....President Cox listened. So if this is going to be the normal format of communication...there is room for improvement on our end and the picture of President Cox captures some of his frustration. Also, I am including pictures of our Sunday get-together with office Elders. They decorated their own halloween pumpkin cookie...Elder Robles' cookie captured our VISION....1000 BAPTISMS FOR DECEMBER

Rewarded .........

We received such a wonderful email from Hermana Velazquez this past weekend. She Returned with Honor from the MLM during the month of May 2009. She was so very kind to attach a picture of a group of our missionaries attending the Mexico City temple together.Included in the photo are Hnas Ordoñez,Velasquez, Ortega and Elders Piña and Lara. My heart was so full as I thought of each of them and their faithful service to the Lord. We also received a phone calls from Elder Diaz, who was starting a new job; Elder Black, who was getting married and an email from Elder Emery and letter from Elder Markham this week. Our hearts have expanded to include so many dear, faithful young men and women who are choosing to be actively engaged in this great work of the Lord....wherever they are called upon to serve. We pray for each of you with fond memories of the times we have shared together.

WALKING IN THE RAIN

President invited me Saturday evening to enjoy a nice, leisurely walk through our neighborhood with him. It was after 8pm, the night sky was threatening but we were excited to get out of the house and get some fresh air. It started about 4 blocks from home. We were walking on Coahuala and the rain clouds from all directions came together, lightening, thunder first and then.......yes, we were drenched by the time we got to the mission home (from head to toe). It was dark, and no one was on the road but us.....it just made for a funny evening shared. Now, imagine my missionaries doing the same but being miles away from their apartments. How grateful we are for their dedicated service to the Lord and His gospel message. We love them and pray for their safety and good health.

We're making plans to make Celayita an international cat. This week Bob and I bought her a travel box. She's climbed into the box with a little coaching once or twice....but to have the door closed on her was a little more than she was prepared for. I am wondering if they will let us drug her to travel from Leon to Tipton (a 6-7 hr. trip)???.....Any great ideas?

We completed our week of zone conferences and all the missionaries seem happy and adjusted in their new areas and with their new companions. In the picture Elder Maxfield, a Zone Leader here in Leon is settling reimbursements with his missionaries. Elder DeLaRosa, Elder Tenney and Elder Policarpo seem so very excited to get some money in their pocket once again. We enjoyed a surprise sleepover with Elder and Hermana Spencer. They were traveling from Mexico City and came through our fair city. While here they attended to the medical needs of our mission and Cindy and I slipped away from the mission home to visit an outdoor tienda that sales some incredible frogs....Melanie, there was one as tall as me and others smaller....I just knew you'd love them. Thinking of all you dear friends and RMS.

100 PLUS

It took us a good 3 hours this time to put together our tamales. They are cooked early Sunday morning for about 2-3 hours. It is quite the process but they are enjoyed by everyone, especially the hungry missionaries. Juanito and Victor are always quiet observers of the tamale-makers. They are stuck with us because they are tooooo young to attend Priesthood Mtg with all the men.

Tamales and General Conference

I love the tradition of the Leon Stake for General Conference. Members who are staying for the second session bring lunches to share, tables and chairs are set up under the few trees that are in the yard of the Stake Center and the next two hours become a social event for the Stake of Leon. The members usually gather in ward and branch groupings but members, missionaries and new converts (sometimes investigators) mingle as goodies are shared. I usually bring a big chocolate candy basket which Pres and I enjoy sharing with the large group....this is a big hit especially with all the youth. Saturday evenings while the men are in Priesthood is tamale making time with Teri, her daughters Marianna and Deanna. I have had so much fun making tamales with Teri and her girls. We've made them with banana leaves, spinach leaves and another green (Ican't remember the name) filled with chicken and salsa, onions,chili and queso. They are delicious. In April....my last Conf.....I am in charge...so wish me luck. This year our group included Sylvia and her daughter Sylvia from Delores Hidalgo. They brought their own special recipes for tamales from D.H. (made with flour,butter,sugar,cinnamon,raisins,pecans and another with queso.) They joined the church this past summer and are enjoying the many facets of fellowship in the church. Hermana Sylvia reminds me so very much of my mother when she joined the church. She is so eager, and willing to do and learn. Her older son, Ramon joined the church in Brussels as a student and has now received a mission call and will be serving in Portugal...leaving in November. His membership and mission call prompted his sister Sylvia to learn more and become a member and probably a month later Hermana Sylvia joined. Their family is incomplete with another brother and father....that still need to be touched by the Spirit. So, our work continues forth.

I am posting a scattering of pictures of the weekend.

The last leg of change day

The Assistants are responsible for the training of all the new Elders and because they come at different times...this capacitation is done twice. First in Spanish for those from the CCM ....then they are sent off to a District Meeting and do some contacting with Elders from the Area. Tacos from Guerro's are purchased and they are bedded down for the night at we head back to the Airport to pick up our American Elders arriving around 10pm. By the time we get them back to the mission home it is 11pm and we are all exhausted but our new missionaries are buzzed. Their excitement, curiousity and animo.....is felt by all of us and gives us reason to continue on. President tries to complete all the interviews Monday night...while they join together in the mission home for their first tacos. We have such a great time visiting with these valiant young missionaries who are prepared to do whatever to participate with us in this great work of the LORD. (This group includes Elders Leaming, Oborn and Hatch on the Back Row with Elders Tenney, and McNeill in front.) I took a great picture of Elder Robles, our Assistant. He couldn't make it a minute more and crashed in my kitchen Monday night. Today I was up again at 5:30 preparing breakfast because our missionaries from the MTC had appointments at 8am for pictures for immigration. We served breakfast burritos, sweet rolls and fruit cups, juice and milk. They ate in shifts this morning....We experienced the typical frustration with no show at the photo shop and missionaries waiting and our well-laid plan..... frustrated. But oh well, we do our best. The bus central is our last stop. I have pictures of Elders Gomez and Guajardo, two new Papas (trainers)waiting from their American sons and Elders Pallares and Flores C...a new companionship mtg for the first time and traveling to Celaya Oeste, their new area. We are glad when this day is over....and everyone is in their new area ready to go to work.....

Thank goodness for Marlene/Office Elders and Assistants

Sunday night the office secretaries are good to help me with clean up. But Monday, Marlene is there to do whatever she can to lighten my load. We have a lot to do in a short period of time so I am always appreciative of whatever........especially in regards to washing dishes and cleaning up after my messes. We get up at 4am Monday morning after a late Sunday night and take the missionaries to the airport. The Assistants are responsible for getting everybody up on time, dressed and ready to leave promptly at 4:30am. We get them all checked in and say our final farewells and head back to the house for a couple hours of shut eye. We have to be at the Bus Central at ll:30am to pick up our new Elders from the CCM and so at some time that morning I prepare the Lasagna, green salad, corn and brownies, set the table so that we can eat our comida soon after interviews with President are completed. This change we received Hermana Sarao and Elders Martinez, Aguirre, Hernandez, Soto and Guzman. They are excited to join our forces. This part of the change day runs surprisingly smoothly...because we have no outside contributors. I love this picture of Elder Verdeja and President Cox. Our biggest challenge is dealing with immigration for our American missionaries....We've tried so many different approaches but still struggle. Elder Verdeja is patient and works through each difficulty with exactness. We appreciate his service.

Cookies and Grapes

After 2years or 18 months (Hermanas) of missionary service, the missionaries have opportunity to have a final interview with President Cox, farewell dinner, testimony meeting and pictures galore. All this takes place on Sunday afternoon. I really enjoy this time because they all come into the mission home at different times and while they wait for their interview I have time to visit with them in my kitchen as they nibble on grapes and cookies. It is a great time to hear about their favorite area of service, their favorite companions, what they have learned on the mission, things they will miss about their time in the mission field and people that have become special to them. We visit about their future plans for education, work and girlfriends. For the most part they are soooo unsure of what tomorrow will bring. I love to assure them of future happiness as they apply the same counsel to their lives that they have taught to their investigators for the past 2 years. We love all of our Elders and hate to have them leave but in the same breath we are excited about their futures. This generation includes Elders Yañez, Wells and Hansen on the top row. Elders O'dell, Raya, Lopez V.,Candia and Elders Kay, Lara and Motolinia on the bottom. They were a strong force of our missionaries and we'll miss each of them individually......

Qualifications for a great Mission Home!

There are weeks that it seems like all I do is cook. You can only imagine. This past week I have fed 5 hungry Elders who live across the street, 23 hungry Elders for Concilios on Monday and Tuesday, Elders who have received cookies/brownies during interviews with President, Elders who've received cookies with 10 baptisms, Elders who just do not have food/money and are starving. What is a Mission President's wife to do when she has been blessed with a kitchen like this one. Literally, this home is perfect for this job. I hope to duplicate some of these niceties in my kitchen in California.... I know it was my choice to open up my kitchen....not every MP & wife have this luxury. So I count my blessings. Especially since I try and utilize my hired help to clean up after I make the mess. Do you suppose Bob will be willing to clean up after me when I return home? Actually, after another 9 months of cookie baking....I am not sure I am going to want to see another cookie for a long while....

The picture of Elder Sherman kneeling in my kitchen surrounded by peach cobbler and a chicken casserole was taken on Sunday evening. We love our office elders and they work so very hard behind the scenes to take care of President and I. Elder Sherman serves as our financial secretary and was eternally grateful for the smells that were coming from the kitchen......Also, Elder Grecco celebrated his birthday with us Tuesday morning at the Concilio...A typical breakfast includes 6dz eggs, 50 sausage, +75 silverdollar pancakes.... I've got a great routine and can produce this breakfast in 90 minutes, rain or shine. The hardest part is we start feeding at 8am and by 8:30 we are supposed to be sitting in our seats ready to begin the concilio and I have the first presentation. Often in the middle of the scrambled eggs, pancake-flipping, I find myself in the pantry saying a little prayer that all my words will come out okay in Spanish and that I can share the message of my heart with these special missionaries. We are so blessed to be able to serve with some of the Best missionaries in the World....We love them all.

Rainy days in September

The rains are a bit late this year. We love our rainy days unless we have to be outside(we have the most incredible thunder and lightening and buckets of water falling from the heavens). This past weekend we had a District Conference on Saturday and Sunday in Guanajuato. Bob had his Priesthood mtgs starting at 4 so I was going to sneak away to Santa Rosa to buy a couple more pieces of pottery....but our plans were spoiled as we approached our fair city. The heavens had opened and the rain was falling like we had never seen before. The city is built on a hill so in every stairway or driveway there were rivers of water flowing down the cobblestone streets. The picture is of our church building (my camera is not the greatest but you can almost see the river flowing)....The downstairs chapel portion was standing in about 4-5inches of water, so the leadership mtg was spent for the most part...in service. We love our little District of Guanajuato. Today was PDay/Interviews/District Mtg all put together at the Mission Home. I started early in the morning cooking Chocolate Chip cookies for the missionaries. Today we had 42 missionaries from the 2 zones of Leon in and out of our kitchen, office and planning areas. It really is a fun way to be with our missionaries. Elder Robledo is 8 weeks from his departure day and received his carta de salida today....(It is the form they fill out so the arrangements can be made for their return flight home) The missionaries always have such mixed emotions about this letter. I am also posting a picture of a District mtg in our patio area. Elder Cruz is the District Leader and is leading a capacitation. In his district are Elders Pitalua,Perez,Pehrson,Raya,Trejo,Schow(Asst)Trevino. Notice the Carpetas on top of the table....they have been reviewed with each companionship and recommendations made to improve upon their record-keeping skills (definitely not a strong point with alot of these missionaries...but we keep trying) It has been a wonderful day as we've participated in this great work of the Lord.

A hodge-podge of thoughts

We've spent the week on the road for zone conferences. Elder Robles, one of our Assts was our traveling companion and taught about obsession at each conference. He has the ability to motivate all of us.......AguasJardines zone had prepared a special musical number to demonstrate their zone spirit. They were so excited to share their talents. They converted a hymn with lyrics that expressed their faith, hope and animo for the coming 1,000 baptisms. They are working under the leadership of Elders Kay and Holt as Zone Leaders. It was great. Wednesday evening we celebrated with Elder Schow his 22nd birthday. He is seriously contemplating his wishing power before the candles are blown out. I am sure that the wish had something to do with baptisms, but who knows for sure. Also, our heart strings were pulled as we bade our farewells to "THE BEAST". After 103km the beast was washed, waxed and returned to Mexico City. She served our mission well and performed over and beyond the call of duty. There were trips that she was soooooo loaded that we thought perhaps the front tires might come off the ground. You can only imagine....each missionary going home is allowed 2 suitcases/50lbs each, a backpack or carry on and on at least one instance when we had a flat tire...I think the Beast was carrying 14 Elders. You figure that one. So after a week, our hearts are full of gratitude for the blessing we enjoy. It has been a great week.

Grinning from ear to ear..........

I wanted to add this picture to the week's blog. Our Assistants were so excited to report the number of baptisms for the month of August. Our goal for this 5 week month was 400 and we were pushing to set this new record. It was a sacrifice month and all the missionaries were working extra to make it happen. They know they have to pass by me before they report to President Cox and this was their report.......
Oh how we love our missionaries. Our Assistants, Elders Robles, Hatton and Schow are responsible for the success of the mission and they eat, sleep, study, plan teach, think some more...then with constant communication with their zone leaders.......they empower others with enthusiasm for this great work of the Lord.....We are grateful for the 417 (one more was added later tonight)new members of the church who have access to the saving ordinances that can bless their lives.

Mexico City-Mission President Seminar

8/19-22,2009 Our last...and a wonderful experience for all. We stayed in a Marriot Hotel de Polanco downtown MexCty. The weather was comfortable and inaddition to training from our dear Apostle, Elder Christofferson; we were also taught by Elder Walter Gonzalez. We attended the temple together on Friday morning and then spent the afternoon exploring the City of the Gods, Teotihuacan. The Pyramid of the Sun is the 3rd largest pyramid in the world and we really had no intention of climbing it...but once we were there...it just called our name and up we went. Pres. & Hna Johnstun from Culiacan are our dear friends...we were glad to spend the day together in high adventure. Bob did a little Sun worshipping after he arrived at the top. The group picture was taken of our generation after the seminar was over and we were quite sober thinking of the special blessings we have shared as we've been spiritually fed by an Apostle of the Lord, one of the Seven Presidents of the Seventy and our own Area Presidency. Our hearts are full of gratitude for this special occasion that allows us to come together.

How can I describe my experience?

Pictures say a thousand words...so I am so very grateful for cameras. It is just that they have a hard time capturing the feelings of my heart. So, I'll just start rambling. Monday, August 17th Elder Christofferson, Elder Daniel Johnson and their wives arrived at the Leon Stake Center about 3pm for a 2hour meeting with all the missionaries of the Mexico Leon Mission. It was our second Apostle in 3 months. Our hearts are full with gratitude for this special privilege. Each missionary was individually greeted by an Apostle of the Lord after this meeting was over. (Picture with Elder Motolinia) The group of leaders then traveled to our mission home for a visit with Bob and I and dinner which I had prepared earlier that morning. We enjoyed getting to know our new Area President, President Johnson and his wife as well.

Only Seven More

I think these farewells are getting harder every six weeks because we are getting closer to our very own farewell. It is hard to believe we only have 7 more. This particular farewell was a bit different. We hosted our farewell dinner on Friday evening, August 14th but on Saturday, 5am only 4 of the 8 (Elders Jensen,Vore,Pina and LopezG) boarded their planes to head home. Elders Escobar, Velez, Lopez A and Hernandez will stay with us a couple more days so they can enjoy Elder Christofferson's visit to Leon on Monday. We had such a wonderful evening with these great Elders....For the most part, we probably will not see them again... I am also posting a picture of Elder Schow,Verdeja,Sherman and Robles...the cameramen for the evening. Hermano Bonilla is the man in charge of the repairs of our house....he has been busy most of the week trying to take care of water pressure issues, garage doors, pruning, etc. I even talked them into repairing the crack on my fountain. My Elders must think I am a quack some times. Friday evening while we were BBQing dinner, I had them all come out and enjoy my fountain with me. I put some sea shells in the different tiers to remind me of the beach. (Am I quacking up, or what?) The funniest part of this story is that the Area President's secretary called us last week to inform us of their plans to have dinner with us and spend the night ..... but President Johnson, the new Area President called yesterday and informed us that they would be having dinner but staying in a hotel???? The church changed beds in our guest room to accomodate the President and so I have a K bed in our guest room now and no one to sleep on it. So who is up for a stay at our INN?

August Zone Conferences

We completed our zone conferences for the month of August. We were privileged to have Dr. Spencer and his wife, Cindy, or Hermana Spencer with us. They stayed through the weekend and we enjoyed our time together...They really like the idea of moving their base to Leon because the weather is so much more agreeable than in Monterey and my thoughts race around my head...thinking how much fun it would be to have another adult couple here in Leon as well to do things with...so time will tell.
Elder Spencer and I shared our pie making recipes taught to us by our mothers....he made the crust and I made the filling. We invited the office Elders that evening to try our creation...Guanajuato was on the agenda for Friday evening. Bob says it was his last trip...I am not sure why? I can never get enough.

Our goal for the month of August is 400 baptisms. It is a 5week month and
WE ARE JUICED! Every month during Zone Conferences we take pictures of the zone and districts and then in our Cosecha(monthly newsletter) we publish the picture of the zone/district with the most baptisms. For the past 5 months Aguascalientes has been in the #1position. For the month of July they share the lime light with Irapuato. It is so fun to witness the excitement for this great work. This picture is of the Elders serving in Aguas..during July and August....time will only tell if they can do it again. TopRow; Elders Toutai,Tolentino,Grecco,Ditto,Roberts
Bottom Row;EldersIbanez,Mendoza,HermanaLicona,ElderAguilar,ElderCano,ElderJeronimo,
HermanaCruz,ElderLeo and Elder Pasos.

A Return Visit

Sunday Morning, August 2nd we were greeted at the Chapel door by two of our "old" Assistants. It was such a treat to visit with Elder Barajas who left in January and Elder Diaz who finished in April. They visited some of their converts and then came by the mission home for our Sunday dinner. Paybacks are wonderful...the missionaries who have served with us will always have a special place in our hearts...and we are eternally grateful for their desires to remain faithful to their covenants and move forward in their personal lives. Elder Barajas attended BYU Idaho for 2 quarters and was able to give us a report on many of the missionaries who have not corresponded but are busy in Idaho and Provo and Elder Diaz reported on missionaries he has been in contact with in Mexico. Are they handsome young men....or what? And then there is that "really" handsome older man who will be turning even older this month????

Sandor & Karina.....Marlene/A temple excursion

July 25th was a special day here in Arbide and Loma Bonita wards. A temple excursion was planned to Guadalajara; Marlene,my housekeeper received her endowments and Sandor Pollido and Karina Ramos were Sealed in the Temple (Sandor was a nephew of our first Bishop in Arbide and Karina the daughter of Bishop Ramos from Loma Bonita. WOW, what a day. We left the chapel at 4am...loaded on a pretty sad looking bus (not a Premier Plus) It is my first bus experience. Bob didn't go......I'm beginning to think, what am I doing? We tried to sleep...but things were really tight. I couldn't move even if I wanted to. We arrived about 7:45 and promptly went to the temple. I was glad to see President and Sister Sorenson (TemplePresident and wife) and decided to do the session without headphones. It was a beautiful experience in the temple for both Marlene and Sandor and Karina. The temple in Guadalajara is built just like our Fresno Temple. After pictures were taken we traveled to the grooms mother's home in Guadalajara for a reception with music and dancing, chicharon (cooked pig skin), carnitas,pizole,wedding cake,etc. It was a great day....long, but great. We loaded back onto the bus after 8pm and headed to Leon...mission accomplished. The last two pictures need a little explanation. The groom is demonstrating how they cook the pig skin to make the "tasty" chicharon....and the last is the money dance. A traditional dance at the Mexican Weddings....friends and family dance with the bride and groom and pin money on their clothing or in their hair for the expense of their honeymoon.

The Obsession

On Sunday evening after all the meetings are over with President Cox, we share a dinner with our office missionaries. This particular Sunday I had prepared supper nacho, at the special request of Elder Robles and Elder Escobar, our Assistants. I was busy getting things ready and Elder Robles volunteered to help....This is his creation. They are so focused on the work of the Lord....baptizing those that are prepared to receive this beautiful message of the restored gospel...that even the food he eats represents THE VISION. We love these great leaders. This picture is of Elder Maxfield, who is moving out of the office as a new Zone Leader (we will miss him), Elder Verdeja our Executive Secretary, Elder Sherman our new financial secretary....Elder Robles (the creator of this masterpiece) and Elder Escobar, his equal in every way. These Elders share the Obsession to do all that is required to be Instruments in the Hands of God to bring souls unto Christ. The number 400 represents the number of baptisms we are planning for the month of August. Remember us in your prayers.

Missionary Interviews while hanging in Leon

Friday we completed our interviews with all the Elders from Leon. They came to the house and visited with our little family. I think we probably made 8 batches of CC Cookies and went through 5 Gallons of Milk. What a JOY they are. It was Elder Wells birthday so we treated him to a special cookie serande....Wesley loves water...so every chance we got....we had him in the pool with the hose. He is such a happy little boy. Saturday we took a trek to the Parque Metro and rented bikes with surrays and rode around the lake. Afterwards, Bob was agreeable...so we headed to Plaza Mayor to pick up a few essentials for his new weight lifting program...Wesley found a few fun activities, as well. Wish I could put into words the joy this little boy brings to this family....He is the Sunshine that lit up Leon this past week.

Hanging out in Leon

Mark brought his family for a visit and we just hung out in Leon. It a week of beautiful weather. We started our adventures with a trip to Guerro's...our famous taco stand on Algeciras. (I think Tina had quesadillas there every night but Sunday)
We also picked up some Elote from another little stand..It is made on a stick or in a cup with butter, mayonnaise, chile, grated cheese and limon. Yummy. Monday we visited the Zoo....Dad was able to join us but the phone was busy ringing...most of the afternoon. I love the picture of Mark sitting on the rock. He really is one that can find joy in the journey, as President Monson has counseled. He is a kind, patient father, always willing to help his sweet wife in responsibilities with our little Wesley.

"Out of small things proceedeth that which is Great!"

We began the week with zone conferences by traveling to Aguascalientes. Our next stop was to Celaya where we met with the two zones there and Irapuato. Friday we traveled to San Luis Potosi and finished on Saturday with our zones in Leon. It always is a special week to meet with our missionaries. We are 156 strong. We have a lot of young missionaries and young zone and district leaders trying to learn the ropes of leadership. We are grateful for their desire to lead the mission. We received an interesting call during our first conference and we confirmed the information. It is quite likely that Mission Mexico Leon will be visited by Elder Christofferson and Elder Gonzalez with our new Area President, Elder Johnson on August 17th. We are excited about the possibility. It will coinside with our annual Mission President Seminar that is scheduled for August 19-22 in Mexico City. We have no other details...only that a mtg has been scheduled for all of our missionaries from 2-4pm. We feel so very honored to have been selected...or maybe they will visit all 21 missions while they are here. But for now our hearts are thrilled with the possibility of being in the presence of 2 Apostles of the Lord in a 3 month period of time. I am attaching a picture that was forwarded to us this week of our mtg with Elder Bednar in the Poliforum with all the membership. Please ignore my expression. I am not sure what I was thinking.....but President Cox and Elder Bednar were having a great time....

We are excited about a new convert that was baptized this week. Silvia Nunes is 18 years old and attending a universtiy here in Leon. Her older brother Ramon was studying in Belgium and joined the church there. He is 25 and has returned home to Delores Hidalgo where his family lives and introduced his sister to the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has been waiting for a mission call and told us today he received it yesterday and will serve in Portugal. He speaks French, Spanish, English and now will learn Portugese. He was able to baptize and confirm his sister. We know he will be a great leader of the church here in Mexico when he returns home. The special part of this whole experience is that Silvia's parents, her other brother Manuel, her boyfriend and another friend were all in attendance at the baptism. Silvia's mother is reading the Book of Mormon and she was in attendance today at her confirmation. My heart is full of the great potential for good this family can be in Delores Hidalgo. We have attended a sacrament mtg there. It is a very small, humble congregation that meet in a very small House of Prayer. We have two new missionaries serving there so we are hoping and praying that this will be the beginning of miracles coming forth in this area. We know our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers and it is usually out of the "small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bring about the salvation of many souls". It seems I never have my camera when I need it..but Silvia is a beautiful young woman full of desire to live the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been another rewarding week in Leon Mexico.

I need to record another personal thought. Saturday was Michael's Deathdate. As usual it was a day of celebration. We were in Zone Conferences with our Elders here in Leon and Bob and I were both able to share the gratitude we feel in our hearts for the knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation and the special privilege that is ours at this time to help missionaries teach this message that can change lives forever. Bob shared some of the details of that day and the feelings we had then and have had through the years because of our personal testimony of this Plan of Happiness that has been made possible because of our Savior's sacrifice on our behalf. We hope that as we share bits and pieces of our lives with our dear Elders that they too will be fortified for the challenges that will face them...and take comfort in the gospel...but most importantly that they will teach with the power and authority that they have been called forth to do. We love them all.

4th of July

I suppose part of the blessing of serving as Mission President and wife is the joy we feel in separation from loved ones. (Does that make sense?Can there be joy in separation?We are beginning to believe there is.) So,this weekend President Cox and I are doubly blessed. On July 4th we bade our farewells to 14 wonderful Elders who have served in the Mexico Leon Mission with us for the past 2 years. Top to bottom; EldersKlein,Wille,Thomas,Moss,Williams,Neibaur,Cobarruvias,Gonzalez,Gale,Hines,Crea,
PerezT,Leon,Urbina. We love them and have appreciated their desire to find, teach and baptize those who have been prepared to receive this glad message of the restored gospel. We will continue to pray for their welfare and happiness...they leave as a part of our mission family. Our hearts are joyful...as we say our goodbyes....but the heartstrings have been pulled tight so tears do not fall.

Our next 4th of July will be with our family,friends and traditions at the beach in Cayucos. Our family and friends were together today enjoying celebrations of our nation's independence. LaRayne & Dahl were hosting the festivities and they will never know how much we appreciate their love...Hollmans gathered as well and the BBQ was enjoyed by all. Tengo gozo en mi alma hoy!

Six New Zone Leaders

Monday afternoon, evening and Tuesday morning til noon were spent together with Assts and Zone Leaders in the concilio to plan for the month of July. July begins our third and last year of missionary labors in the Leon Mexico Mission...so for President and I, it was with great energy we gathered and surrounded ourselves with this great force of missionaries. Elders Callen, Ditto, Maxfield, Trejo, Martinez and Salazar are the new leaders that met with us for the first time,and Elders Hatton,Robledo,Kay,Schow,Lara,Herrera,Camargo,LopezV,Grecco,Jensen,Velasquez and Holt are veterans for at least one change. It is an incredible feeling to meet together in our training room for these concilios. These missionaries come searching for answers, direction and inspiration that will help them lead their zones....as they return we find ourselves fortified by one another,united to lay everything we have on the altar and Find, Invite and Baptize those who are prepared to change their lives and receive this beautiful message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. My pictures reflect some of their creative moments teaching each other their assigned capacitation. Comment about #1 The room became "quite smelly" with all the shoes in the middle of the floor. The purpose for their madness was a finding activity....you can only imagine what happened next. #2 is Elder Jensen teaching a social dance move to all the ZLs. Elder Jensen leaves the mission in August and will be leaving behind his trademark. He will be returning to a performing dance team at BYU...There was a connection between this dance move and missionary work...but I was in such awe with this move that I lost my mind..(momentarily)Elder Holt is the missionary hanging on tight and praying that his dancing partner doesn't brake his grip. We pray for these great leaders. We know Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers.

Always time for Birthdays

We celebrated with Elder Verdeja, our Executive Secretary, his 22nd birthday. His real birthday was on Tuesday, June 30th...but while we were all together for our Sunday meal....why not bring out the cake and icecream. I had some trick birthday candles and he had the hardest time trying to get them all blown out. Elder Verdeja is a relatively new convert to the church. He comes from a great family that are growing in the gospel and we are so very indebted to him. He is an Elder that serves the Lord con su corazón, alma, mente y fuerza. (Heart,might,mind and strength doesn't even sound right anymore, maybe there IS hope for my Spanish.)

Sunday Evenings in the mission home

The magic hour is usually 6pm. The Assistants gather in the office with results of the labors of each zone, each district, companionship and missionary. I have never been invited to this meeting....but the Assts usually stop in the kitchen before they enter the office and show me the numbers first.(They know I need to cook...in preparation for our dinner together at 7.) I love this time. When the number of baptisms for the week is good....we rejoice together/when it doesn't quite meet expectations, I am the buffer before they meet with President. They are great. They try so hard to do everything they can to encourage and motivate our mission. This past change we've been blessed with a group of leaders. This picture was taken after their last mtg of such. Elder Robles and Elder Escobar will remain with us for another change but Elders Wille, Hines and Moss are all three leaving on July 4, bright and early. Elder Hines and Elder Moss have been working quietly behind the scenes this change assisting personally in this labor of love we call missionary work.Each Sunday they report and receive new assignments.The report for the month of June was 256 baptisms, so the fruits of their labors and that of each missionary are truly being harvested.

The second picture of these great Elders really tells the story.

Can't wait to Get Started.

Elder Robles has needed to have hernia surgery for weeks now....but has waited because of his desire to Serve with his Heart, Might Mind and Strength....Only after several discussions with Drs.and President Cox did he agree....Elder Robles is serving as an Asst and is a powerful force in our mission. Saturday morning after Elder Bednar's visit was the day. The picture was taken on Sunday afternoon. Elder Wille and Elder Moss are carrying him into the office upstairs in our mission home so he can participate in the plans. The question is what will I do differently based on what I have learned and felt...what will my companionship do differently and what will the mission do differently as a result of Elder Bednar's visit. We are anxious to put into practice the principles we have learned. A little hernia surgery never will stand in our way.

Questions?

In PMG we are taught that our Savior, Jesus Christ often asked questions to help people ponder and apply gospel principles. His questions prompted thought, soul-searching and commitment. In every situation, whether we were together as missionaries, as Stake Presidents and wives, as the general membership of the church in the Leon Mission or alone with our dear Apostle, Elder Bednar taught by asking questions. It was an amazing experience and we continue to search our souls and change our lives so that we can live more in accordance with the sweet, peaceful spirit we felt as a result of our meetings. Elder Bednar arrived Friday afternoon, June 19th. He squeezed us into his schedule, for which we will forever be eternally grateful. He needed to be in San Clemente California for a Stake Conference early Saturday so he only had this little window of time for us and we jammed packed it with everything we could to get the most of his visit. It had been 12 years since an Apostle had been in this mission area. So the people were excited.

Elder Mickelsen, our Area President and Elder Carlos an Area Seventy met President Cox at the airport to await the arrival of Elder Bednar. P. Cox took Elders Wille and Elder Maxwell to drive the backup car. Security became quite the issue in this visit....due to some recent problems with church leaders. So we took every precaution to assure Elder Bednar a safe visit. Meanwhile at the Stake Center in Leon all 164 missionaries had gathered....transported by buses from their areas of service. It was a joyful reunion for all the missionaries to be in one place at one time....Lunch was served (we prepared with the help of the office missionaries and Sister Morales and Marlene early that morning). Elders Robles and Escobar, Hines and Moss were responsible for the activities at the Stake Center and the code we awaited to hear from Elder Wille was the "eagle is in the nest".

Elder Bednar arrived on time and was escorted into the High Council Room and served lunch along with Elder Mickelsen, Elder Carlos and President Cox. That was quite the dilemma, what do you cook for an Apostle of the Lord? But all went well and they were all very appreciative of the home-cooked meal. The next 3 hours went by so very quickly. Elder Escobar conducted the meeting and Elder Schow translated for Elder Bednar. They both did an amazing job. Elder Williams played the piano and Hermana Jimenez conducted the music. When it became Elder Bednar's turn, he taught us about the important role the Holy Ghost plays in missionary work. We are only the instruments....and if we are worthy and serve with all our H,M,M and S....miracles can take place. Truly we have experienced mighty miracles in our mission and hope to move forward and continue to improve and learn how to be better able to Serve the Lord. The missionaries asked pertinent questions of their hearts after careful study of two talks they were asked to study as directed by Elder Bednar. The only disappointment of this whole experience was that Elder Bednar, like President Cox, sees little need for pictures...so even though every missionary was privileged to shake Elder Bednar and Elder Mickelsen's hand...we have no group pictures with him.

We left the Stake Center at this point and we were escorted by security to the Poliforum of Leon; a facility that would accomodate the 2500 members that were expected to attend the general meeting. The wives of our Mission Presidency and Stake Presidency worked together to prepare an area with food for the mtg with all the Stake Presidents/wives and Area Seventies/wives in attendance for a mtg prior to the general mtg. Again, Elder Bednar was primed as he questioned these leaders of the needs of their members and then later addressed the the general membership using this same method. It was powerful as he took each individual question, many from the youth of the church and taught principles that were applicable to all of us. The time went by quickly...before we knew it, we were escorted off the podium and loaded into cars once again and escorted to the mission home. We made arrangements for security to patrol the area all night...but before our home was locked down.... we were able to squeeze a picture with Elder Bednar and all the office elders and one with President Cox and I. We have so very much to be grateful for. I have hesitated writing this post because it is hard to do justice to the special feelings I have in my heart at this moment. I feel like the prophets of old, I am not mighty in writing....my words can't adequately convey the strengthening affect this visit has had on my life....my desire to more worthily dedicated my time, talents nd energies to building the kingdom. I am amazed at the possibilites that await us as we open the scriptures and seek direction for our lives personally as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. I know that we have Apostles and Prophets on the earth today that lead and guide the church and testify of our Savior's love for each of us individually and I have felt that special love as Elder Bednar has sat in our car, at our dinner table, in our mtgs and allowed us to experience for ourselves what it means to be a Special Witness for our Savior Jesus Christ. At times....I wonder if this is all a dream. Why am I so blessed to have these special experiences and then I know to those who are given much...they too must give. I am so very grateful for this privlege to serve the Lord in Leon Mexico and I pray my service will somehow make a difference in the life of another.

A Late Arrival...but in Time for all the Excitement

Our 12 Missionaries from the MTC arrived on Monday afternoon, June 15th. They had been detained for 3 extra weeks because of the swine flu...so you know how excited we all are to finally "be in our places with bright shiny faces". This meant that our Asst Elder Wille got one more trip to the airport and capacitation of new Elders before he departs. The picture is of our trusty assistants Elders Escobar,Wille and Robles waiting for our missionaries to arrive; Elders Hansen, Conrad and Aitken walking through the security and into our arms....and a group picture with everyone here,Elders Fife,Conrad,Mouritsen,Roberts,Hendricks,Richards,Stewart,Buxton,Aitken,Hansen,Guthrie,and Brubaker.

Stake Conference in Celaya

We have been so very blessed with wonderful Hermanas that are called to Preach the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ in the mission of Leon Mexico. Because of safety issues only native Mexican sisters have served within our mission with the exception of Hermana Matarrita who was from Costa Rica. They are wonderful missionaries and are an effective force for bringing about the miracles we have experienced in the past few months. We appreciate their worthiness and desire to Serve the Lord with all their Hearts, Might, Mind and Strength. This picture was taken after the Stake Conference Meeting held in Celaya on June 14th. It is of Hermana Vasquez and Hermana Cornelio. President Garcia is ready to split the stake and this will probably happen during the month of August with our new Area Presidency....We appreciate his energy and support for the missionary program. It is always so nice to attend Stake Conferences and feel the strength and love of the members of the church.

Instrumentos en las manos de Dios

We have spent the week with our missionaries participating in Zone Conferences for the month of June. Each missionary in the mission was good enough to let me paint and imprint their hand on a tablecloth that will become a cherished keepsake for President and I. It is a reflection of the "blessing that has been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.....behold 349 have been brought into the fold of God". (Alma26:3-4) Definitely a marvelous work and wonder for all of us. The telephone call was made shortly after the numbers were calculated and true to his word, we have a date for Elder Bednar to visit our mission on June 19th. For those of you who haven't heard the story, at our very first MP Seminar Elder Bednar was our visiting Apostle. At this time we were baptizing between 70 -80 each month. This seminar was held in Veracruz and a special meeting was held with the missionaries and area members before our seminar began. Elder Bednar was the guest speaker. At this time we could envision what a great blessing this could be to our area as well....and later during the seminar President approached Elder Bednar about the possibility. The #300 became the magic number and we have been working towards that goal ever since. We know what a great blessing it will be for our missionaries, new members, converts and Priesthood leaders to be in the presence of an Apostle of the Lord and receive personal direction for building the kingdom of God in our mission area. We are so grateful for this great man and his willingness to come and teach us as only an Apostle of the Lord can.

WOW! That is all we can say. We are running now trying to get all our ducks? in order. The missionaries will meet with him from 2-5pm, we will then have a mtg with all the Stake Presidents and their wives and a general meeting for everyone 6:30-8:30pm. We have never entertained an Apostle of the Lord before so you can imagine what a special privilege this will be for President Cox and I. Our only regret is that all those who have come and gone cannot be here to enjoy this moment as well. We are grateful for all the wonderful prayers that are extended to the missionaries serving throughout the world but especially for those serving in the Leon Mexico Mission. We know Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers.

A Happy Day!

Sunday, May 24, 2009 our first group of Elders bade their farewell to the Leon Mexico Mission. We had met this group of 5Elders,ElderPickett,Pugmire,Schmidt,Smith and Bigelow at the MTC when we received our training in June 2007. It is incredible to think that their 2 years have come and gone. They combined with Elders Morales,Carhuapoma,Paz,Romero and PerezP who had been in the mission field for 6weeks and Hermanas Velazquez, Mandujano and Martinez to make this generation complete. We will miss them all...but they return home knowing they were apart of the generation that baptized 302 new members into the Church. We are grateful for their faithful service. Behind them....followed the new group from the CCM. Elders Velarde,Tepale, Jacobo, Leija,Tolentino,Marin,Ortiz,Ibañez,Policarpo and Mendoza,from top to bottom. They are very nice-looking, well-behaved, missionaries, trained and prepared to serve the Lord. We are grateful for their desire to Preach the Gospel. The 13 from the MTC have not come yet. They were detained with visa problems due to the swine flu...so this is what we do best..WAIT!

"My heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God"

302 of our brethern .............................in Leon have been encircled about with the matchless bounty of the Love of our Savior...as quoted from Ammon in Alma 26:15..."yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work." President Cox called together his zone leaders and assistants today for our first ever business meeting in the mission. It was a time to reflect on the many blessings that have been ours as a mission, what we need to do to be worthy of and continue forward in this great work of the Lord and discuss ideas for the retention of these new members
of the church. He shared with the leaders his conversation with Elder Bednar and the plans for his upcoming visit to our mission. Needless to say, everyone was a buzz with excitement for the work that lays ahead...Elder Bednar wanted to know what made this change possible in our mission. The picture of this group of leaders represents dedication,sacrifice,love,forgiveness,service,humility....all attributes of Christ they have learned from personal experience as they have led their zones forward, helping one another reach their goals. These leaders have learned from the best. Elder Mickelsen came in March and helped them learn to be empowered within their realm of responsibility as leaders of a zone. The Assistants have assisted in "closing the difficult ones", holding the missionaries accountable for their goals because they knew they had to Return and Report to President Cox...., keeping a full tank, and improving the teaching techniques of our missionaries. But the fact of the matter is that it has been a long process. A process that has evolved from 2 years of wonderful Elders and Hermanas that have come and gone and helped to build our confidence and hope for the future. We have great energy as we move forward this next month because we have proven that it is possible to DO MORE. It is possible...if we do our part, as Ammon taught, and exercise faith, repent, produce good works and pray continually (Alma 26:22) With grateful hearts we record this blog today. The group picture represents all the zone leaders minus Elder PerezP. who returned home with honor on May 25th. I am not sure any of this would be possible without our Secretaries. They work a full time job in the office and are still going to end up baptizing 8 new members for the Arbide Ward. They were in and out of the Mission Home all day taking care of the special needs of President and Sister Cox. Elder Maxfield and Elder Verdeja are so very capable of whatever assignment they are given....even if it is only BBQ hamburgers....Elder Robledo is joining in the fun...once a secretary, always a secretary?

An UNEXPECTED get away.....

Saturday we had scheduled the quarterly Consejo de Coordinación in Guanajuato, my favorite city. President asked that I attend to take pictures and do whatever...The Assts were invited and expected to attend...but Saturday baptisms were critical to the success of our mission and even though they had baptized on Friday they still had lots of loose ends to finalize before the week's work was over. President Cox assured them that Heavenly Father would bless them as they were obedient and served as they were needed. After the opening session of the consejo it became obvious that the Assts were not needed for the rest of the meeting. We had 2 1/2 hours to wait til President would be ready. So what should we do? Guanajuato, here we come. We visited the Hacienda de Cochero first, next the Templo de San Cayetano and on to the minas de San Ramon and finishing with a quick tour of the Centro. It was a beautiful day and an UNEXPECTED get away for all of us. They are a good-looking group of Assts, don't you think? Elders Wille, Escobar and Robles.

Families can be Together Forever

Fernando, Carolina and baby Abner were first to be taught and blessed with a knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Emery and Elder Checketts were involved with this conversion process in April of 2008. A year later and probably a half dozen missionaries later....Bernaisa, the oldest sister joined, then Daniel the father. Not long after Julisa and on Friday, May 15th, Margarita the mother was baptized by Elder Wille. It has been such a rewarding experience to share with each of them our testimonies of the Plan of Salvation and the joy that can come to families as they embrace the principles and ordinances of the gospel. Fernando is now serving as a counselor in the Bishopric and Carolina, a counselor in the Relief Society. The Loma Bonita ward will be blessed as the Torres family continues to grow and share their testimony with other family members and friends.

"Now is the Time for Labor"...Brigham Young

I received a letter this week from my trainer from the MTC, Jeff Jardine. He and his family have been so very good to keep in touch and encourage and inspire us in our service here in the Leon Mexico Mission. He shared a quote Elder Bednar had used from the Prophet, Brigham Young that I really have enjoyed and captures the essence of our needs in the mission field. Quoting Brigham Young, "Now is the Time for Labor; let the FIRE of the COVENANT which we have made burn within us like a flame unquenchable." We are so very grateful for the 153 missionaries that are serving with all their heart, might, mind and strength 4 x 4 =300. They are not perfect but so very many of them are feeling this FIRE of the COVENANT burn within them as they sacrifice (1/2 Pdays) and work to find, invite, teach and baptize new members into the Church. We were able to add another 79 baptisms to our goal bringing us to a total of 235 with 2 more weeks to go. The missionaries are beginning to believe. It has been so rewarding to watch this process as they have caught the vision and are beginning to push themselves....because they know it is possible. Next week we should be able to accomplish our goal.

Wednesday, May 13th was Elder Wille's 21st birthday. We had celebrated his 20th birthday in the office when he was our financial secretary and now here we are again...Is it possible? He has been with us a whole year, except now as our Asst. At the end of a long day, there is always time and room for cake and ice cream.

A Happy Mother's Day In Mexico Leon Mission

Mother's Day in Mexico is always May 10th. This year Mother's Day in US and Mexico is on the same day so we are celebrating together...Today. It has been a beautiful day. I attended both the Loma Bonita and Arbide wards and visited with all of our investigators and new members. The missionaries are working so very hard to find the very elect and have some great people coming to church with them. Inspite of the swine flu epidemic....our baptisms continue to climb. We have 156 baptisms now after 2 weeks so our goal of 300 is getting closer and closer. Mother's Day in the Mission is a special time of the year because all the missionaries have opportunity to call home and visit with their mothers and family members. I took pictures tonight of Elder Maxfield and Elder Verdeja visiting with their families in our home while the Assts were meeting with President Cox. They are only allowed a 30 minute call so they have to talk fast and try to answer everyones questions. Bob was in Mexico City this weekend for his quarterly concilio with the Area Presidency and the Area Seventies of Mexico...so the Office Elders took care of my Mother's Day from Melanie, Mark and Matthew. The kids had made arrangements for Dad to buy me flowers ....so what do you think? I think they were a little nervous when they found out he would be in Mexico...but the Elders did a great job. Thanks. They were beautiful and I put them in a vase I had bought at Santa Rosa Pottery store. I hope they last all week. They will remind me that I am loved. I took a picture of our office Elders....Elders Wille, Escobar and Robles are our Assistants and Elders Maxfield and Verdeja are our Secretaries. We love our Sunday evenings with these great young men. It'll remain status quo until July 4th.....then we loose Elder Wille. We are enjoying our time together...and miracles are happening as they motivate and encourage our missionaries to serve with all their heart, might, mind and strength (4 x 4)

A HISTORICAL MOMENT

We received word early this week that missionary work/church meetings could resume their regular functions this weekend. Yah! We were elated. Then 2 days later we received another bulletin from our Area President that we should carry out our missionary responsibilites WITHOUT TIES. The Mexican Government feels like the Swine Flu Virus could be carried in our TIES so they have asked that our missionaries wear only their white shirts???.(Could that be possible?) We obey the laws of the land so I am attaching some pictures that look so abnormal. I told Elders Perez P., Ray and Ramirez in Celaya that they look......naked?? without their ties. They felt that way as well. But after the first day, I think the missionaries are really enjoying the unbuttoned shirt and a little cooler atire.(Elder Schmidt and Elder Tucker, 3rd picture) The missionaries from Leon are in the Mission Home enjoying Hermana Cox's cookies and milk, planning and waiting for their interview with President Cox.(Elders Neibaur,Brown,Delgado & Lopez V) They have to resume regular missionary dress on Monday so I guess they should enjoy it while they can. But it is a moment in our history that we will remember. (President is excluded from this requirement...he is still in TIE)

4 x 4 or "Cuatro por Cuatro" = 300

We are so charged and prepared for the month of May. It is another 5 week month so our theme 4 x 4 reflects our goals of 4 in the Chapel, 4 New Investigators, 4 Baptisms with the developement of serving in 4 dimensions, 1) With all our Heart, 2)With all of our Might, 3)With all of our Mind and 4) With all of our Strength. We have the obsession and we are off and running. (But so is Satan) Our first hurdle presented itself April 25th; the obstacle, Swine Flu. Our Church mtgs in San Luis Potosi were cancelled and this weekend they are cancelled all over the country of Mexico. We are experiencing some hesitancy for the missionaries to enter homes to teach their investigators...but we are trying in every way to have a positive attitude...We know the Lord will bless us. I am posting some pictures of our recent Zone Conferences. They were all centered around the
4 x 4 Theme with great capacitations by zone leaders and class room participation. President Cox even got into the action....competing against Elder Sherman. He was defeated by Elder Sherman 60 to 50...But he still can compete and is in fine form. I think the Elders were impressed. What fun we have with these special servants of the Lord. Pictures of Elder Camargo, ZL in Leon Oeste; Elder Saucedo blindfolded and trying to convince his District to help him....using his 4 strengths...heart, might, mind and strength; and Elder Callen and Elder Martinez working together as a team to pass the egg.....demonstrating that everyone has to do their part....WE ARE OPERATING AS A TEAM....Can you tell how much we love this Work we have been called to Do. What great joy we have Serving the Lord.

A Big Welcome

Monday we took the Elders to the airport at 5am. We came home made preparations and were back at the Central to pick up the 6 Elders and 1 Hermana from the CCM at Noon. President took care of all the interviews and we sat down and enjoyed a nice meal together....had capacitations and pictures. District Meetings were attended then the contacting took place. They all met for Tacos at Guerros and then it was time to head out for the airport again to meet our 3 Elders from the MTC. President interviewed them, they enjoyed tacos. The Big Welcome took place Tuesday morning, 4/13 when they were all together. Our new group includes Elders Pehrson, Pallares, Jirano(top), Elders Gartner, Mozo, Blain, Gonzalez, Ramirez, Rodelo and Hermana Jimenez. Assignments were given to all the new Elders and Hermana and off we went to the Central again to begin the missionary labors. BUT BEFORE THAT.....it was time for a picture with the Hermanas. Hermana Gonzalez and Hermana Velazquez were the companions for Hermana Jiminez...her first day. Thanks.

New assignments

With every farewell comes new assignments for the missionaries in our mission. Those who Return home with honor, start careers, education and dating (Elder Diaz, our Assistant for the past 4 months)Elders Escobar and Robles are joining the ranks of Assistants with Elder Wille. Some assume ZL responsilibities. (Elder Robledo has served as our Exec. Secretary for 8 months) Elder Verdeja is our new Executive Secretary. We are excited about these new faces in the Office but we always hate to say Goodbye.....The pictures are of our new Assts Monday afternoon helping me prepare for our meal with the new Elders coming from the CCM. Elder Robles was enough or a "man" to wear my BYU Mom apron. Also posted is a picture of Elder Robledo at the Central with Pres & I before leaving for Benito Juarez; Also one with him and all the new office staff.

Easter Sunday Farewells

Easter in Mexico is so strange. President Cox and I were both assigned talks for Sacrament Mtg with Elder Robledo. Our topics were fast & offerings, prayer and the Book of Mormon. We don't sing the Easter Hymns or have flowers, Easter dresses or egg hunts. It is crazy. So needlesstosay....Hermana Cox introduced some of her family Easter traditions, like Granny's foil egg, and tied it all together with the traditions we can establish with family and personal prayer....it was a stretch but necessary. The Egg Hunt has been such a fun tradition in our family and how very appropriate. The egg represents "new life", the very essence of the Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are truly all in search daily for this wonderful gift. We had 12 Elders in our home for Farewells, Elders Caamal,Cabrera,Castillo,Davis,Diaz,Eckman,GarciaV.Pacheco,Panoaya,Montes,Terminel and Zertuche. I decorated the dinner tables in the training room with plastic eggs and chocolate rabbits for everyone. (I really had to search for the rabbits) I think they all appreciated their special evening. After dinner we have a special testimony meeting. Elder Terminel played a special musical number on the piano for all of us...I will really miss his musical talents....We sang our song, #88 "Placentero nos es trabajar"....the picture captures Elders Escobar,Eckman and Davis feeling the spirit of this special hymn that is only found in the Mexican hymnbooks. It is our very favorite.

LIMPIEZA DE PRIMAVERA -2009

You guessed it. It's time for Presidente y Hermana Cox to check all the houses once again. The best part about this whole experience is being with the Zone Leaders and letting them show us around their zones. For the most part the houses were clean and orderly and I appreciated the efforts made to prepare for our visit. In one particular apartment, Elder Brown had baked brownies for us. I am not sure if he was bribing us or if his mother had just taught him great manners. No, I know it was the latter. His apartment was one of the nicest. There were several apartments that we recommended a "MOVE" because the conditions were really bad....but they were all about the same. The picture is of ZLs Elder Schow and Elder Gonzalez with Elders Garza and Flores C in their home. They were given "thumbs up" for a job well done.

Aguascalientes...Top Baptizers for March

Elders Robles and Hatton are the Zone Leaders for Aguascalientes. Their zone includes Elders Castillo,Toutai,Buzis,PerezM.,Callen,Martinez,Carrillo,PerezF,Urbina,Leininger,Cobarruvias,Whetten. The zone baptized 35 out of the 220 New Converts added to the Leon Mexico Mission during the month of March. We are grateful for their faithful service.

Interviews in Leon

We´ve been serving here for 19 months now and this is the first time we considered bringing the missionaries to the Mission Home for interviews. Talk about "thinking outside the Box". It took us a while but, we tried it and we liked it. It was so fun having them gather around the kitchen and eating hot cookies out of the oven while they waited to visit with President Cox and so many of them never have opportunity to come to the Mission Home except when they arrive and leave...so I hope we can continue this throughout the rest of the mission....time will tell. I have pictures of Elder Su'a, Elder Delgado and Elder Leon with President and I, and Elders Lara and Lopez V (I have a little confession. I am not sure we would have ever thought of this idea...but Elder Emery was playing a morning NCAA game and Pres and I wanted to watch him...so we rearranged our interview schedule to accomodate our personal pleasures...but don't tell)

Thinking outside the BOX

life is good in the Leon Mexico Mission. We are busy about the Lords work trying to improve and find new ways to reach the goals our zone leaders have set for the mission this year. The goal for March was 300 baptisms and we had 220 Convert Baptisms. That was a new record...our Buzz word was "¿Tiene Hambre? and the missionaries really worked hard to find, invite and teach others about the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ...hence, satisfying their hunger to baptize. We added an additional Assistant to our Office Staff. Elder Pacheco has been our traveling Assistant. He has served in Irapuato and Celaya and finishes with San Luis Potosi this week. We like the results we are seeing and are considering 3 Assts in the future as well. He and Elder Diaz will leave for home this coming Sunday and Elder Wille will be "the man". Our Office Staff has increased from 4 to 7. We have in the back row, Elders Pacheco, Verdeja(new Exec Secr), Wille, and Maxfield(financialSecty); front row, Elders Robledo (leaving the office to be a new ZL), President, Elder Hernandez(his companion, Elder GarciaH, left early) and Elder Diaz.
Also I am posting a picture from one of our Zone Conference capacitations. Our Elders are so very creative in their teaching. Elder Hines is the Zone Leader in Leon Oeste and is capacitating on #Tangue Lleño(which means Full Tank). Elder Gray and Elder Yañez are trying to fill the garafone with water and keep all the water in the garafone but there are holes and they need to be creative in keeping the water in the tank. They did the best they could. The water represents new investigators and there were many ideas shared of effective ways to keep the missionary tank full so we can baptize every week. It is so fun watching and learning from our missionaries. We appreciate their example and hard work. Elder Hines is one of the best and we appreciate his creativity.

Birthday Celebrations

In the midst of all the missionary activities going on since I returned home, we had the special opportunity to celebrate with Elder Robledo his 20th birthday on February 21st. Elder Robledo has served so patiently and faithfully as our Executive Secretary since Elder Mendoza left....I think that will be about 8 months in the office. He has always "cheerfully and willingly" performed his assignments. I love this picture because it captures the special ability he has to always make others happy. He will start training a new elder beginning with the March transfer...so we will enjoy this special time for only 6 more weeks.....Elder Robledo we love you!

Wide-eyed and bushy tailed

This expression of my mother's came to my mind when I think of our new arrivals for March. We spent an unusual morning Monday. We checked in our farewells,said our goodbyes and then needed to pick up our new arrivals from CCM at 7:30am so we decided to just wait in the parking lot. The Assts tried to sleep in the "beast" and Pres and I slept in our trailblazer. I was the only one with a blanket ....so the rest of them froze....as I enjoyed sweet dreams. Hopefully we won't have to do this again. For some unknown reason the CCM is sending us their missionaries by plane rather than by bus....but Elder Mickelsen is checking into the additional expense involved..so probably by next transfer we'll be back to the norm. Our MTC missionaries arrived at 2:30pm so we pretty well spent the day coming and going to the airport. Pictures are of Elder Terminel a trainer with his "kid", Elder Tucker. They will be working out of San Pancho and Elders Leach, Whetton and Reuckert waiting for their bus. I also have a picture of Pres & Elders Richards...glad to see each other at the Central. I love this day of confusion & excitement because I have no responsiblity for the outcome...I can just go and enjoy my visits with all those with changes. What a good life is mine!

turnovers in march

Sunday, March 1st was our Farewell for Elders Bishop, Dalton,HernandezC., RodriquezK and Soto(he went home earlier); Hermanas Galicia, Hernandez and Matarrita. The hermanas were especially hard to say goodbye to..they were our lst group of hermanas to report to President Cox and I. They were powerful missionaries. We have loved all of this group and appreciated their service. Elder Dalton was a ZL in BJ and left the mission with his zone"on fire". They baptized 17 that week. We enjoyed our farewell evening together and the early 5am trip to the airport.

Life in the Fast Lane!

The mission is running in the fast lane and there is no way out. We were privileged to have Elder and Sister Mickelsen in our home February 24-27th. It was a very productive training period for our Assts, Elders Diaz & Wille, and all of our ZLs, except Elder Velez who was down with chickenpox? We also had a mtg with all the Stake Presidencies and our Area Seventy, Elder Guzman. We love our dear leaders and appreciate their efforts to help our mission.

Open House and then off I go............

I have no pictures of this day. We all returned Friday afternoon to our homes. I babysat my little Wesley...my first time alone....while Mark and Tina enjoyed a Valentine's Dinner with their friends in Fresno. We had so much fun. We played, read stories, took a bath...had a little dinner and then rocked and sang til Wesley fell asleep. Early Saturday we were back ironing and preparing for party. Actually, Tina had everything in order, we just needed to iron and set up table and chairs. We had a special candy table an dessert bar catered by Natalie Wilbur. They were delicious. Susan and Dave arrived and I took them down to the ranch for a tour....and we dressed for the party. Everything went like clockwork from here on out....we enjoyed the visit from all of family, friends and neighbors. Matt and Brenna arrived in a limo an stayed for pizza and opened gifts before returning to the beach for the rest of their honeymoon. We cleaned up....attended church in Tulare ward.......had birthday dinner for Mel, locked up the house once again and then off I went...back to where I belong for another 16 months. It was a wonderful 10days....but I am thankful to have the opportunity to return to our Mission and our missionaries.

Wedding...continued

I have a few more pictures of the wedding day, and the reception...but I am having difficulty posting them. I´ll try a little later. But....I need to record how very cold it was Thursday morning. It snowed on us as we drove to the Salt Lake Temple As we parked and prepared the bride for her pictures...the snow melted away and we had clear skies.(a tender mercy) Pictures were taken of bride and groom........temple sealing took place with special friends and family, mission president and wife, Bishop and wife. Covenants were made and the Bride and Groom kissed a sweet kiss across the altar. They shared glimpses into their future posterity as they looked into the beautiful temple mirrors and reflections of their ancestors who have passed on as they turned and looked again. Rings were exchanged and greetings extended by all those in attendance. A beautiful beginning for a new Eternal Family. We are so very happy for the both of you.

The night before? The morning of...

Matt spent the night with us in our motel Wednesday evening. He didn't arrive until after midnight...that's why I put a ?. He needed to pack and get everything in order for his honeymoon. We stayed up til the wee hours of the morning talking and sharing time together. It was great fun. (Mark even woke up for his big brother sex talk with Matty) We laughed so hard....my face even blushed........The next day was full of excitement. Wesley was prime for the ocassion and helped his uncle Matty

Wedding trip...continuation

Tuesday we were able to meet Susan, Brenna's mother for lunch and attend a Bridal Shower at the brides home that evening. Mel flew in this afternoon and was able to join us. We laughed so hard when we discovered that both the mother of the bride and mother of the groom would be wearing the exact same suit. Brenna had not chosen a bridal party...so we would not have to color coordinate our clothing...but Susan and I have great taste....need more proof...look at Matt and Brenna. Wednesday our friends from California joined us...Jerry and Heather, Joe & Cathy, Dahl and LaRayne. We had a rehearsal dinner at Tucanos that evening........It was so nice to meet Matt and Brenna's friends and be together as families.

The Wedding trip home filled with love and laughter

I had the opportunity to slip away from the mission for 10 days. It was really weird traveling without Bob. It was harder than we expected be separated during this special time...but sacrifice brings forth blessings and so I went and he stayed.

It was so very special to be with my family. Mark and Tina had made special preparations so all would be in order and I enjoyed sleeping in my own bed, cooking in my own kitchen....walking around the ranch and visiting with neighbors and friends. (Tina was so very kind to loan me her car so I could take care of all my errands) Thursday evening we enjoyed dinner with Mel's family, Friday...I spent the day in the dentist's office...did a little shopping, bought my dress for the wedding and had dinner with friends and family. Saturday we all drove to the beach house...it was a rainy weekend but I had opportunity to walk on my beach and enjoy a beautiful sunset with my little Wesley. We decorated the house special for the honeymooners and then returned home for dinner at Tina's. Monday morning we were off to Utah and enjoyed a reunion with Elder Emery, Elder Checketts and Elder Black. It was so very wonderful to be in home of Elder Emery and meet his parents and family, his wife and the girlfriend of Elder Checketts. They only thing that could have been better would be to have President Cox with us as well...but that time will come.

Assistants coming and going

For a short while we had the special blessing of having 3 Assistants in our office. Elder Rhodehouse joined forces with us first in August replacing Elder Checketts...then came Elder Barajas in September replacing Elder Moreno. It was necessary to bring Elder Diaz on board in mid November because both Elders Rhodehouse and Barajas were finishing their mission in mid January. So once again a new Elder?? is needed. Elder Wille becomes the new Asst after having served in the office as the financial secretary for many months. This assignment came after alot of prayer....but it became very clear who the Lord wanted in this position. We are so very grateful for these special young men, their testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ, their willingness to accept leadership assignments and then work diligently to serve as great leaders, teachers and missionaries. We love and appreciate them.

The Vision for 2009

This has been an amazing month for the México León Misión. With alot of planning,preparation and prayer the Vision for the mission was created for the new year. Zone Leader Council was held and barriers for each zone were discussed and a Action Plan set up for each Zone. I was so impressed with these amazing young missionaries......as future leaders of the Church, family and businesses. We are so blessed to be called to serve in this position and assist in this great work of the Lord.

Los 3 Reyes Magos

I need to record what I've learned about Christmas in Mexico. Christmas Day is not the day to receive gifts from Santa Claus. Infact, there really is no Santa Claus in Mexico. On Christmas Day there is an exchange of gifts between family and loved ones. BUT, the important day for children here is January 6th. This is the day the 3 Reyes Magos (Three Kings) bring gifts for all the children ages 0 - 12 yrs of age. I found out that on Saturday in the Centro de Leon, children wrote letters to the Reyes Magos of their Christmas lists and sent them in the air in Helium balloons. Berta told me that people with money, business people and others donate toys and games each year for this special day and then the toys are delivered to the poor colonias by bus. There is a special bread here for this day called Rosca de Reyes. It is a braided sweet bread with candied fruit on top and PLASTIC BABY DOLLS IN THE MIDDLE. The person or persons who eat the piece with the doll ....has the responsibility of making tamales for February 2nd. (Feb. 2nd is some Special Saints day, I am not sure who)

I found this out when I took down and put away all my Christmas decorations on December 31st....Elder Robledo informed me that in Mexico they do not take their decorations down until much later....some until this Feb 2nd, others until after January 6th. I love to learn about the different traditions of this culture....tomorrow I am going to buy a rosca de reyes for our concilio....

Surprise, surprise, surprise

Yes, we were all surprised. Saturday Elder Black and Elder Cardon showed up at the mission home...to do a little tour of the mission. What a liar .....that is all I can say. We had gotten wind from Sari Martinez that Elder Black was coming but when we approached him about the visit...he lied his way out and said that he needed the money and would be paid doubletime at the MTC etc...So we dismissed the rumor completely...but to our surprise there he was in real life. What a JOY! Elder Cardon had been with us only 1 transfer before he left so we hadn't known him well before... but it sure was great having them both with us and spending time together Sat and Sun before they scattered. TACOS DE GUERROS turned out to be our favorite hangout during the holiday visits and the owners became quite accustomed to our dinner requests. I think we ate there 4 times with Mark and Tina, once with Elder Paul our new Elder arriving on the 29th...once with Mel, Steve and Bradley and then again with Elder Black and Elder Cardon and our Assts, Elders Diaz and Barajas. Matthew was a good sport because he joined in with each of the new groups arriving. What a treat it was to have one and all with us during the Christmas Vacation.

Not complete without.......

I love to visit Guanajuato and look for every opportunity to walk the streets, shop at their little shops and really feel like I am in Mexico.....Bob was not able to come with us much....and he really doesn't have the same feelings as I do...so we went on our own. He was dealing with discipline issues so we had a few hours and drove up to Pipula...the monument built in honor of the Mexican immigrant that put a slab of concrete on his back and with a torch in his hand broke down the door of the granary where the Royal Spanish forces were contained. The Monument is located on the top of a mountain and overlooks the entire city. We had such a short time to visit so we observed from this vantage point and shopped in the little market at this level. It was great fun.

Last but not Least

Mel, Steve and Bradley arrived early Monday morning. They would be our last arrivals for the year 2008. We had welcomed all of our children and Matthew was still with us so he and his sister and her family were able to spend some quality time with him before he gets married. It was wonderful being together. It was Bradley's first time to fly, first time to visit Mexico, first time to do a lot of things...like visit a zoo in Mexico and feed monkeys, baboons, giraffe, etc. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time being together with all the crazy animals of Mexico.

Ingrown toe nails and Christmas Celebrations

After our Christmas dinner Elder Moss' big toe needed some special attention. There are always special needs in our mission. We set up the apple cider vinegar soak in the living room and enjoyed our time visiting about missionary experiences....phone calls home.....family, friends and traditions of years past. We were happy to have our Zone Leaders Elder Castillo and Elder Moss join our office Elders.....Elder Diaz and Elder Barajas, Assts and Elders Wille, Elder Robledo and Elder Maxfield in training as Secretaries.

BYU Mom and BYU Dad

We served breakfast burritos and Swetish Tea Ring to our office Elders Christmas morning. It was their P-day and they were a treat to have around....They performed Feliz Navidad and it is recorded on video. Matt presented us with matching aprons for the special moments we share in the kitchen??? You guessed it, mine will be faded and worn before Bob's is even washed. But isn't he handsome...

Jingle Bells Ring before Christmas

The bells rang in Leon Mexico on December 16th when Baby Wesley stepped off the plane and into the arms of his Grandpa and Grandma Cox. At 8 months of age....Wesley was a perfect house guest. Mark and Tina are great parents and it was so fun to watch them work together to care for their little son. He was full of giggles, and smiles and lots of laughter. He didn't actually crawl but sits up and rolls over and is in motion continually. He cuddles and gives kisses and was a delight for all of us. Matt came in on the 20th and was able to spend some time with Mark, Tina and Wesley as well. Mel, Steve and Bradley are coming after Christmas...the only thing that could have been better would to have them all here at the same time. Wesley traveled to Guanajuato, the beauty shop, Arbide Ward, everywhere he went there were lots of "oohs and aahs".

Tis the Season to be Jolly!

Sunday, December 7th was the farewell dinner for Elders Young, Monson, Robertson, Malagon and Bautista. We met together early so all could attend the Christmas Devotional at the Stake Center. Monday we greeted our new missionaries, Elders Gray, Broderick, Trevino, Rico, Cruz, De Los Reyes,and Martinez. On Tuesday the changes were made. Elder Rhodehouse left the office as an Asst to become a ZL in Celaya Este for his last change and Elder Maxfield joined the office as the financial secretary in-training. Farewells and Salutations to all. Elder Maxfield is the Elder licking his fingers. Wednesday thru Saturday we had our Christmas Zone Conferences. Dahl Cleek was so good to collect ties from our Porterville Stake for a Christmas Gift to all of our dear Elders. The Hermanas received hair clips that I purchased. We also gave them a cookie plate and Christmas Card with pictures of all our missionaries. I think I made over 800 cookies for this JOLLY SEASON. But after it was all said and done, President Cox and I had such a special feeling of love and appreciation for our missionaries. We were able to personally hug each of them and give them their Christmas gifts...I even had a special missionary-hug handshake that we shared. It was truly a special time for all of us.

Engagement Proposal in Mexico

He proposed early Thanksgiving morning...just after 12:30am. How grateful we are for the soon-to-be new daughter-in-law. Brenna Anne Jackson is her name and she is Matt's match in every way. We were so grateful for the time we were able to be together this Thanksgiving Holiday.....Wedding plans are in motion...call Matt for more information. I took pictures of some of our outings...the cow parade in the Centro of Leon, The Lion Fountain and CristoRey...Matt is learning patience. Last, is a picture from our Thanksgiving dinner. We had all 9 missionaries from our 2 wards and a couple of Interns from BYU working in Irapuato...Laurie and John. Laurie had been in Matt's ward at BYU so they were friends. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving Day for Bob and I.

Brownies/Interviews

We traveled all over the mission this week as President Cox needed to interview all the missionaries serving in our mission. We are now back up to 150 missionaries so it takes us 5 full days to complete. We picked up Elder Gonzales, from Kansas on Monday evening at the aeropuerto. He had been sent home on a Medical leave with kidney stones and after several months was able to return. At the same time we brought Elder Diaz into the office to serve as a 3rd Asst. Every month for interviews I bake brownies for the missionaries. They look forward to this special treat. I used to be able to buy a 4 pkg Brownie Mix at Costco for 54.90 pesos....but it has gone to 82.90 pesos now...So I am trying to figure if I can afford to continue this treat (they really look forward to interviews because of the brownies)....really that is about $4.00 a zone for $36 a month......We'll have to see how that plays into the budget this coming year. My picture this week represents a Sociedad de Socorro Mtg in Guanajuato. I have been taking Chocolate Cookies to Guanajuato for some time now...and they all wanted to learn how to make them...so we had a Galleta de Chocolate class. It was fun. They help me so much with my Spanish and it was so much fun being with them. I've been invited back for a chicken class...and they are teaching me Salsa...so we'll see how that all plays out.

A Historical Weekend

Thousands of Latter Day Saints gathered to attend the long-awaited Rededication of the Mexico City Temple. We left Pres. Doxey's home about 6:45am to attend the 9am Sunday Session. We were seated in the third row in the Celestial Room and had eye contact with our dear Prophet, President Eyring, President Mickelson, Grow and Tenorio. It was personally a very rewarding experience to be involved with this historical moment of the church in Mexico. The Spirit was so very sweet as the messages, prayers and hymns were shared. We feel so very privileged to be called to be apart of this great latter day work of the Lord. A cultural event was held in the Aztec Stadium in Mexico City the evening before the rededication of the temple. President Monson and President Eyring attended with Sister Eyring and Sister Dibbs, President Monson's daughter. We were seated in the box seats directly behind our General Authorities. It became cold in the night air and they were moved up closer to us. We were actually just one row from them. At times, President Cox was on the video directly behind them...he even waved...to his missionaries at home watching. President Monson's bodyguards were close and we were not able to even directly speak or shake hands with them...but they were the focus of our attention all night. We witnessed 7,000 good LDS young men and women perform the history of Mexico in dance and song. It was amazing. As the air turned cool, President Monson and Eyring were given ponchos to keep warm...and at one point there was a "Danza de los Viejitos" (dance of the old men) and they got up in their box seats and President Monson led President Eyring in a old man dance.....it was so cute. President Monson seemed so very fragile and I could sense the weight of this responsibility on his shoulders as he carried forth with determination this great work of the Lord. I loved to watch him as he waved to the groups of the youth performing. His hands represent his dedication, devotion and personal consecration to building the kingdom of God on the earth in these latter days....I am so grateful for these tender mercies of the Lord.This picture was taken as they waved to the 1,200 full time missionaries on the field singing "Called to Serve".We spent Saturday evening with Presidente & Hermana Doxey of Mexico City South Mission. They are completing their last year here. They came with 6 children...so it was interesting comparing our experiences. Presidente Bulloch and his wife are on our right and the Doxey's are on our left. We were invited to attend because we have two stakes in our mission that are in this temple district. We drove and President Cox actually did quite well.....I can actually say, now that it is all over that we had "Joy in our Journey".

Gozo en el Trayecto...continua....

This has been a joyful week for President and I as we have traveled throughout the mission and held Zone Conferences for the month of November. The spirit has been so sweet as missionaries from each zone have shared with one another things that they are grateful for...The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, his Atonement, their families, a living Prophet, the Priesthood of God, the scriptures, their companion, a new convert, their health, the Gift of the Holy Ghost and on and on and on. President Monson has taught us during Oct. General Conference that expressing gratitude makes our journeys so much more joyful....There were times this past week that it was diffult to contain within our hearts all the feelings of gratitude we feel as we associate and serve these great missionaries. We enjoyed the birthday celebration with Elder Barajas, November 4th after a day of missionary labors and President also extended a new call to our District President in Guanajuato. We will attend a District Conference on Saturday and Sunday and then travel to San Luis Potosi to speak at a Youth Fireside for that Stake. We have much to do to build the kingdom...and find joy in our journey each and every day

"Gozo en el Trayecto"....Joy in the Journey is the theme of my thoughts this month....

There are so many routine, scheduled missionary activities that occur month after month, week after week but each in their own rite are unique and special. I am posting pictures of our farewell in October with Elders J. Brown, Richmond, Escamilla, Rodriquez, Mancillas, Mendoza and Hermana Gaona departing; a picture of our current Zone Leader Council with President Cox(l new zone leader has joined our ranks...Elder Schow,from Canada); Marisol (a neighbor convert) and her family visiting for Dia de Muertos (This is the day after Halloween and it is like our Memorial Day, Mexican's remember their dead Nov. 1 & 2 with family activities at the cemetary, etc.; a baptism in our ward (Arbide) of Juana and her family by Elders Maxfield and Elder Morales.It is hard to believe the month of October has come and gone. We are actively engaged in missionary labors and search for ways to better utilize our time and talents to build the kingdom here in Leon. We are so grateful for this privilege to serve the Lord.

¿Porque Bananas?

The health of our missionaries is vital to the success of our missionary labors. We continue to battle "diarrhea" (the dreaded disease of our mission). Parasites are easy to come by...they are in the water, the meat, the fruits and vegetables....They are manageable...but, it is not fun. After a week of diarrhea...they have to send their stool samples to a laboratory to be tested...now tell me, how humbling can that be. It is really funny because most of these Elders have never referred to their bowel movements before the mission and for them to have to explain the consistency of their BM to Sister Cox....must be an interesting experience....Every six months we do a parasite rx for all the missionaries and this was the day. At zone conference in October I shared a power point presentation about the value of bananas in the daily diet of our missionaries and then they took their parasite pills. What fun we have. In the picture is Elder Raya,Salazar,Velez,Call,Laredo,Leo,Peña,Richmond,Gale feasting on a banana.

A run for Crepes?

Elder Robertson and Elder Crea, Zone Leaders from Leon Este were motivated to run the 6-8 mile track to the mission home on P-Day for the crepe reward. Elders Young, Castillo,Zone Leaders from Leon Oeste joined us as well as the Assts, Elder Rhodehouse and Elder Barajas and Secretaries, Elder Wille and Elder Robledo. Notice the muscles on these Elders....(I can no longer call these muscles puny) They are running the streets of Leon faithfully, trying to stay mentally awake, physically in-shape and spiritually alert....or something like that. I cooked somewhere between 50-60 crepes this morning and they were filled with berries, whipped cream, syrup and/or peanut butter ....What a breakfast for champions. We love them all!

A New Presidency

President Romo was released and called as a new Bishop in Echeveste Ward...so a new Presidency was organized and President Cox set them apart in between the two sessions of General Conference, October 5, 2008. President Aguilar,was called and set apart as lst Counselor and President Rubio, 2nd Counselor. President Aguilar had been serving as the 2nd Counselor for the past 16 months. Wives are included in the photo, Juanita Aguilar and Annie Rubio. We look forward to a great working relationship as the Mission Presidency in the Leon Mexico Mission.

Breakfast before Beginning........

This is absolutely my favorite time of the month. We gather together each month all 18 zone leaders of the mission for our Council Meeting. They start arriving the night before and are fed, usually lasagna, green salad, corn and rolls with some sort of dessert. (I do vary from that menu...but this is the fastest and easiest.) This picture was taken before breakfast the next morning. We are missing from this picture Elders Bishop and Diaz from San Luis Potosi and our Assistants, Elders Rhodehouse and Barajas. Otherwise, we are all gathered for the blessing on the food and the beginning of a day full of evaluating, planning and training. It turned out to be a very productive day full of good ideas and plans for the month of October. Aren't missionaries the greatest! Do they look hungry? Always!

Words of Counsel

I love this picture. Elder Moreno served in the office for 12 months...first as our Executive Secretary and then later as an Assistant. He was the Elder of "faith". Names of investigators were put into his lap and he taught with great power and authority and converted many good people to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My favorite memory is of his injuries....his sunglasses, because of an eye infection and Elder Mickelson's reaction; his foot injury and having to rest in my recliner...studying and drinking Hma Cox's milkshakes. We loved serving with Elder Moreno. He continues to write and call...to share with us his plans for the future. We love to receive updates of the lives of our missionaries after their mission is completed.

Shoes and more shoes

We've enjoyed so much rain this year. Our trip across country is so very beautiful with wild flowers and green grass and hills mixed in with cactus. I was able to sweet talk Pres. Cox into stopping long enough to take a quick picture of the beautiful countryside on our trip to San Luis Potosi on Friday. The next picture captures the fun experience I had with the missionaries there. I wanted to encourage the missionaries to serve one another...in an effort to become more Christ-like in their behavior...I gave them the scripture from St. John 13, where the Savior washes the feet of the Twelve.... and then I opted to shine the shoes of all the missionaries in these two zones. I figured in the course of 4 hours I shined 54 shoes. My arthritic thumbs were not too happy at the end of the day...but I only have 188 more shoes to shine...before my work is over ....wish me luck. This is my project for the upcoming week. The scripture in John teaches that "if ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them". So off we go..

Icing on the Cake

To top it all off,we released to their families 6 wonderful missionaries that have served faithfully here for their two years. The picture was taken after an evening spent together reminiscing of special missionary moments,reassuring them that life will be different/but better because of their service, listening to testimonies and sharing a home-cooked meal. There is so much of this mission life that we love....and this night is at the top of the list. This generation includes Elder Soto, Ramirez, Pichardo, Kerry Brown, Moreno and Ronquillo. Elder Moreno is going home after spending 12 months of his mission in the office, first as our Executive Secretary and then back again as our Assistant. We always hate to see our missionaries leave....but there are some that we become especially attached to because of their service to us personally and to the Mission. Elder Moreno is one of those that will always have a special place in our hearts.

Girls Night Out!

This was so fun. After District Meeting on Dia de Independencia....4 Hermanas came to the Mission Home for Pizza. President felt like it was unsafe to have the Hermanas and Missionaries on the Streets after 8 pm...so the Elders hung around at the Arbide Ward Party and the Hermanas came over for a visit. My Spanish is getting better so I can understand alot of what they are talking about and Hermana Matarrita is learning English really well now....she just needs to practice. Hermana Ramirez is our new Hermana and her trainer is Hermana Hernandez. They are all great missionaries. During the month of August all our our Hermanas baptized. We were so proud of them. Hermana Velazquez and Hermana Licona had 7 converts baptized for the month. The picture includes Hermana Ramirez, Hernandez, Mandujano and Matarrita

Dia de Independencia

This weekend we have celebrated Dia de Independencia....I joined the ranks and decorated for the special ocassion. See picture of dining room. Taxis are driving through the streets of Mexico with the Mexican Flag...stores, homes and even people are dressed here special for the celebration. There was a ward party in Leon Moderno on Saturday and one in our ward on Monday....of course President Cox and I were doing missionary work, a baptisms on Saturday and a District Meeting on Monday but there was a bit of excitement in the air...no matter where we went.

Double the Pleasure, Double the........?

We have enjoyed a week of weeks. We received 2 groups this week. Our first group of 8 missionaries arrived 5 weeks late but it is like Christmas for Hermana Cox when new missionaries arrive in the Mission Home...so come whenever. We also received our regular scheduled group 4 days later...all from the CCM. Arrangements have been made to put these missionaries with the best trainers possible so that they can Serve the Lord with all their Heart, Might, Mind and Strength....that's what has happened today as we met at the Bus Central for changes.

¡Tengo Gozo en mi Alma Hoy!

Bob and I had the pleasure of traveling to Cuernavaca for our Mission President Seminar for 2008 this past week. Elder and Sister Holland and Elder and Sister Clayton were the General Authorities attending the Seminar. His opening remarks were "Tengo gozo en mi Alma Hoy" (I have joy in my soul today)and you can be sure that we have come home filled with this "Joy".I am not sure I can adequately capture into words the special love we felt being in the presence of these wonderful leaders of the church. We were upclose and personal with this dear man and for us Californians that is a special treat that will go down in our journals as unforgetable experience. After our instruction, tours and time spent together...we were bading him our farewells and he took each of us, individually into his arms and embraced us as would the Savior and expressed his love and appreciation for the sacrifices we and our families were making for this service. Wow! Needless to say, it was hard to say goodbye and come back to the real world. But we have returned with powerful messages and stronger testimonies of this great latter day work of the Lord, Jesus Christ. How grateful we are for this special privilege to serve. Bob had his birthday during this seminar. Can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday...than with an Apostle of the Lord. The picture was taken on the ruins of Xochicalco,observing the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpents. I also took of picture of his birthday celebration with the office Elders, Elder Robledo, Moreno, Wille and Rhodehouse.

Forever Friends

Last week my pictures and captions were all mixed up....I wanted my Grandbaby pictures first..."first things first"...but they were at the bottom, go figure! I haven't quite figured this thing out. But this week my only pictures are centered around our very short, but so.....sweet visit with our dear friends Dahl, LaRayne and Jeremy. Elder Cleek was released from his mission July 21st (after extending for 30 days), and was touring his mission with his parents. They were so kind to make a trip to the neighboring mission...Leon. It was so good to see them and give and receive hugs from our dear friends. Dahl and LaRayne thanks, our only regret was that the visit was too short. We hit the Guerro's for tacos and just sat and talked in our living room or the office...we had so much to catch up on. Please come again!

Too many blessings to Count!

We said goodbye to some great missionaries and future leaders of the Church on August 4th...Our group consisted of Hermana Alonso, who served as a summer missionary, Hermanas Ortega and Hernandez, Elders Checketts, Leber, Valderrabano, Gontes, Rex, Cabrera, Casado, Markham, Maxwell and Theodore. We wish for them the very best and look forward to hearing from them as their lives progress.





This past week we have welcomed into the mission Elder Holt,from Draper,Utah, a late arrival...due to Visa problems; and Elders Perez, Luis, Hernandez and DeLaRosa. Again, our 8 missionaries from the MTC are in limboland....
First things first. We enjoyed 6 wonderful days with our boys, grandson, and Tina. Wesley is 4 months old. He laughs, smiles, cuddles, drinks his bottle, spits up and sleeps with his silky. We sang songs, read stories, changed diapers, bathed in the big tub, played silly games in hopes that he will remember. Matt was a good sport. He spent alot of time on the phone talking with a special someone from Orem...You'll have to ask him!

"Only in Mexico"

President Cox and I were invited to attend a wedding reception for Hma Vargas, one of our ex-summer missionaries. She and her "novio" (groom, a new word for me)were married civily and then were sealed the next day in the Guadalajara temple. Our Bishops, Stake Presidents, Sealers do not have authority from the Country of Mexico to legally marry so our members have to have a judge marry them prior to their sealing. But anyways, President and I thought we would be smart. The reception was supposed to begin at 3 pm...so we arrived at 3:30pm because everything starts late here. But the joke was on us. We waited for 1 1/2 hrs and the "boda" (wedding reception) never happened....tables were set ....but no flowers, no tablecloths, no presents no bride and groom....I am attaching a picture!

We enjoyed a birthday lunch with Tere Morales and family. She is our Stake President's wife and they have such a cute family. She was born after Bob and I were married...that's crazy, I just don't think of being that much older than they are....Wow! Do I look old enough to be her mother?

They are the best.....

Okay, I am still learning about blogging. I have had some wonderful experiences this week...but no camera. How bad am I. I spoke at a Relief Society Visiting Teaching Conference in Benito Juarez Stake....about "Manos Fuertes y Corazones Amorosos". The hermanas had prepared a perfect program....special musical number, handouts, dinner and even a beautiful flower arrangement for me to take home. It was impressive...I should have had my camera. We interviewed about 1/2 of our missionaries....and they are all willing to poise for a photo...but I had no camera; I've enjoyed some beautiful early morning walks this week...but no camera....and life just keeps passing me by. Last night was the last opportunity for the week´s blog. I mentioned to our office missionaries my dilemna and they knew exactly the poise I needed. Mind you, Elder Checketts, our fearless leader leads the way. At one time immediately below this second story ledge...there was a swimming pool, half outside and half inside the house. I wonder how many missionaries have actually jumped? I also wonder if that is why the pool area was filled in with dirt before we arrived...
Poising for this picture are Elders Mendoza, Moreno, Wille, Checketts and Robledo. They really are the best.

Bradley Stringer

While Melanie was here visiting I was given a really cute picture of Bradley. He is 10 years old and hates to have his picture taken. But Melanie and Steve were able to take this picture of him in Cayucos this summer(see my pier in the background). Thanks Bradley. I really needed this to add to my collection. You are the best.

Coro de Cumpleañnos con Mis ayudantes

This year we are kicking off birthday celebrations with a special choir number performed under the direction of Elder Moreno; each missionary with a birthday is given a Leon Mexico Mission label pin. Zone conferences are completed for the month of July. I had so much fun with my presentation. I used Elder L.Tom Perry's conference talk about the 5 ingredients for eternal life....and chose 5 ayudantes(helpers) to mix up a cookie recipe with 5 ingredients. I taught the importance of having an image...of eternal life in our minds, like a illustration in a cookbook of a perfect dish or cookie. The missionaries loved wearing my aprons and they all took on a Martha Stewart imitation as the spotlight was placed on them to do their part. This was Michael´s death anniversary week and I was able to share my testimony of the plan of salvation and how our family is trying to do what is necessary to follow this 5 ingredient recipe of faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost and then enduring to the end in righteous living. Melanie came for a visit on Friday and Saturday and was able to participate in our zone conference in Leon. That was such a treat for Bob and I, Saturday we ventured to my favorite city... Guantajuato. The pictures attached are of our birthday choir and chefs in the Leon Oeste and Este Zones, Melanie and I at the Catarina store in Guanajuato.

My Cat Lover

President Cox hurt his knee this past week jumping rope. It has really crippled him to doing things he doesn't want to do...all he has to say is "I need to keep my knee elevated". Right! Celayita, our kitten gets stuck in our big pine tree in the front of the house and what does he do? Right again! He climbs the ladder and saves his darling little kitty ...who most likely could have found her own way down. We enjoyed the 4th of July from Leon. It was a quiet day here and our children kept us updated through our vonnage phone, videos and pictures via the internet. We are so grateful for friends and family...that they keep our traditions alive. We've enjoyed our first year and look forward to two more.

Annual dinner Mtg with Stk Pres.,Area Seventy and Wives

June 28, 2008. Everybody was here for our second annual dinner and mtg with our Area Seventy. They must have liked my food last year. Elder and Hermana Guzman, our Area Seventy were grateful for the special ocassion to present the material received from our Area Presidency and our house was the perfect place. There is some talk about selling this house, because of all the repairs.... and purchasing a newer home. Hope they wait till I leave. I love my home here in Leon. It is perfect. We have a nice training room where we hold all of our meetings with the zone leaders, new missionaries, district leaders and our area authorities when they visit. The kitchen is perfect and I have a great backyard for outside meetings. So I am crossing my fingers....

Cox family birthday traditions never die.....

This has been our transfer week. Gathered around our kitchen island are Elders Mil, Reeves, Jackson, Jaech, Hess, Galvan and Emery. They have been interviewed and are just waiting for their "last supper" in the mission home. We said goodbye on Monday, June 23rd and then picked up from the CCM Elders Trejo, Peña, Solis and Hermana Cornelio. Our Elder Holt from the MTC is delayed with Visa problems again.....Within our groups of coming and going we celebrated 2 birthdays. Sundays night we were able to celebrate with Elder Emery #21 and Monday morning we celebrated with Elder Moreno, our Assistant. It was a happy two day celebration for all involved.

Better late than Never

We met our 4 missionaries from the MTC at the Airport about 10:30pm on June 9th. They were originally scheduled to arrive May12th..but were delayed for 4 weeks with Visa problems. We were so happy to see their smiling faces...feel of their energy and excitement;they had finally arrived in our fair city. Elder Callen, Maxfield, and Ditto had been placed in the Provo spanish-speaking mission and Elder Salazar was sent to SLC to serve for their interim period. We were delighted with the twinkle in their eyes and enthusiasm for their assignments. Tuesday morning pictures were taken, processing and training began and by mid-day they were sent to meet their trainers.

An Emotional Yo-Yo

Sunday evening, May 11, 2008 (Mother's Day) we welcomed into the mission home our beloved elders who were returning home....Elders Skousen, Wassing and Rojas. We enjoyed our evening together reminiscing about our time together, sharing testimony and a home-cooked meal. The next day we said goodbye at the airport and hurried to pick up our new group (minus the 4 from the MTC, because of VISA problems)and smile and welcome with open arms 3 new replacements....Hermana Licona, Elders Pasos and Elder Chagola. My heart struggles with this transition each transfer cycle. But life goes on.

Grin and Bear IT!

Elder Emery,the taller of the two missionaries served as Asst with Elder Black and then with Elder Checketts until May 13th transfers. He replaced Elder Zartuche in November 2007 and is finishing his last transfer as a DL in Azteca. Elder Emery has served as a gentle, dedicated, spiritual leader. We miss him. We've enjoyed our Sunday meals together, our visits about BYU basketball and his career, plans for marriage, etc. He recorded an embarassing find about me in his journal. He was so cute as he shared this experience with everybody. He found lipstick on a milk carton and teased me about chugging...a very unladylike habit. I was embarassed but was able to blame it on the influence of my boys....(But Mike, Mark and Matt, I wouldn't change you for the world.)

Our New Addition - Wesley Michael Cox

Wesley was born April 2, 2008 and is the first grandchild born into our family. We were not able to be there in person but Mark and Tina were so considerate to keep us posted with pictures and phone calls throughout the whole birthing experience. Wesley is a beautiful baby boy and I love visiting with him over the phone...hearing all of his little baby noices. He is in he process of getting his first passport so he can come and visit his Grandma Becky. I Can hardly wait.

Yes, I am spoiled rotten!

And it is all Berta's fault. I am not sure I will ever be able to live without a housekeeper again. Not really. But it is so very Nice. Berta comes whenever I need her...but she works at least 15 hours and sometimes 20 hours a week. She is a hard worker and very dependable. She has a cute personality and is the sole supporter of her family. She is not a member of the church and we have had wonderful opportunities sharing the gospel with her. She is learning English and helping me learn Spanish. We laugh so hard at times when we are trying to communicate with each other and just quite can't say what we feel. Berta loves our little Celaya and attends to her every need when we are on the road visiting missionaries.

Training from the Best....Elder Mickelsen

On Saturday, May 31, 2008 Elder Mickelsen and his wife joined our Zone Leaders about 9am and taught for about 6 hours. He and Sister Mickelsen had been in Guatalajara Sur for a mission tour and they were on their way home. President extended an invitation and they graciously accepted. We love these dear sweet leaders. Elder Mickelsen is 73 years old now and expected to be made emeritus status but instead was extended a call in 2007 to Preside over the whole,combined Mexico Area. Elder Grow and Elder Tenorio are his counselors and are equalled yoked for the responsibility here. We pray for their health, happiness and leadership. We are always looking for direction on how to take our mission to the next level...and so President Cox goes right to the top....a personal habit. We can hardly wait til our next zone leader council meeting when we can implement this material. Berta took the picture of our group in our patio area. It was a nice warm afternoon in Leon, Mexico.

La obediencia una atributo de Cristo

Elder Timothy Young was riding bike in the Leon Mexico Mission. (Against mission rules) His pant leg got tangled in the chain. He toppled over the handlebars and ended up in the Hospital in Celaya with a fracture to his skull below the left ear. It was a traumatic weekend, for everyone involved. At one point it was felt that he might need to go home but the Catscan was clear and after a 3 day hospital stay and 34,000pesos later he came home with us to the Mission Office. The first picture depicts our well-trained zone leaders, Elder Galvan & Elder Dalton....feeding their injured missionary. The second picture illustrates the talent of our office secretaries. Elder Young had to receive 5 injections....after he left the hospital. President felt comfortable about this assignment after all....how many cattle had he given shots to ....what could be that different. Elder Wille, our financial secretary wants to be a doctor...so President Cox trained him and he practiced on an orange and before long, he was a pro.... (Elder Young wasn't as confident about Elder Wille's new-found profession as President Cox was. But what could he do.)

Celaya...the Cat

Three weeks ago we were to attend a Zone Conference in Celaya. Standing at the door to greet us was this starving, dirty and injured little kitty. She followed us into the chapel and crawled under the podium and curled up and took a nap. President and I have been longing for a pet to keep us company....so between the training sessions I bathed her in the sink, bought her some milk and cat food and gave her lots of TLC. To make a long story short, she has moved in with us. She is a darling little kitty and is growing so quickly. She sleeps in the laundry room at night and wanders the house during the day...playing with anything that moves. She loves to sit up on my desk, play with my fingers while I am typing, etc. We have a nice back yard and she enjoys being outside as well. Of course the talk is now......how do we get her home to California in 2 years.

Who said I can't have Favorites?

Elder Black and Elder Checketts thrilled with a fresh fruit sundae, with yogurt and granola and a MARASCHINO CHERRY on top. All the zone leaders were delighted with their mid morning refreshment. Late, after a full day of teaching, contacting, serving the Lord....I was surprised by serenaders. It was almost 10pm on my 55th birthday and the Elders in the office were downstairs singing Happy Birthday. It has created a happy memory in my missionary memory box.....Elders Pugmire (barefoot in the mid of December),Muehle, Moreno,Leber and Black singing and presenting me with a birthday cake. How very sweet. Elder Pugmire was our Financial Secretary. We love Elder Pugmire. He was with our first group arriving in the Mission field. He tackled the finances in the office efficiently and with his own little flare...barefeet, guitar-playing,the object of most personal jokes....We love Elder Pugmire. He served from November - April 2008. Elder Wille in the next picture with Elder Mendoza and Elder Pugmire...prepared to assume his new responsibility. Elder Mendoza is our Executive Secretary and Elder Wille is our financial ...........the work moves forward. We have no Senior Couples in our mission so all the work is handled by these faithful Elders. They work til 2 pm in the office and then go forth preaching the gospel to the people in the Arbide Ward boundaries. We appreciate their diligence and effort handling the affairs of our mission

The Asplunds.....our first visitors

Diane and Allan will never know how special it was to share a few days together.
We really didn't do alot but enjoy the beautiful December weather....80 degrees;
visiting, catching up on old times and making plans for future missions we could share together. They are reporting to the MTC the end of February for a CES/PEF Mission to Bangelore, India. We are excited for them. We are looking over the city of Guanajuato in this picture...above the parking lot at the ward building. We recruited Moises to be our tour guide and saw some of the sites in this fair city.
We hated to say goodbye....

Once a matchmaker, always a matchmaker

We love President Romo, 1st Counselor in the Mission Presidency and his family. We have enjoyed several meals together in eachothers homes. Dianna is such a beautiful, smart, young women...I just thought I had the responsibility to match her up with Matt! Aren't I a good mom. She and her Mom were visiting Provo in December for 2 months. They have a sister/daughter that lives there with her husband....Matt was great to show Dianna around campus, etc., before he came here for the holidays. We are standing outside of the Silao House of Prayer. It was a beautiful Sunday morning in October. There were approximately 12 people in attendance, including our two families.

Hermanas in Action

It is always good to invite the Hermanas into the Mission Home. We enjoy the ability they have to sweeten the work, and brighten our day. Hermana Matarrita and Hermana Ordoñez were invited to have breakfast with the the new Hermanas they had been asked to train (Hermana Velazquez & Hermana Mandujano) They were quick to jump in and help with breakfast preparations. We are so grateful for our Hermanas and the work they are able to accomplish in the México Misíon León.

Elder Zartuche

Every 6 weeks Elder Zartuche and Elder Black help us welcome and say goodbye to our missionaries. It is alot of work. But probably a highlight for the whole mission. On October 17, 2007, it was time to say goodbye to Elder Zartuche. He had served as such a dependable leader...it was so funny when we got him to the airport.....he had forgotten his own packet of information for his Stake President, airline tickets, etc. He was so rattled leaving the mission field. We loved serving with Elder Zartuche.

Three Musketeers, oops! Three Missionaries

Elder Montoya (right)was our trusty Executive Secretary upon arrival in the mission. He was replaced by Elder Moreno (in disguise, because of eye infection)...Elder Mancillas (left) is our missionary that just about died.
We were informed that he had an apendectomy and was released from the hospital the day we arrived. He recuperated in the office...but the office missionaries felt that things were progressing okay and Elder Mancillas did not complain at all.
At our first Zone Conference he sat in the front row and the contrast in color was so dramatic. His skin was yellow. He could barely stand up because he was so weak.
It was an incredible experience for me because I was strongly prompted that he needed help. I excused myself, called Elder Hollingsworth and to make a long story short....he was taken to the hospital for blood transfusions. He had a bleeding ulcer created by the medications he was taken. Elder Hollingsworth informed us later that if we had waited through the weekend...Elder Mancillas could have died. That was our first Wake Up Call.....How grateful we are for the whisperings of the Spirit to help us in this important responsibility.

Elder and Sister Mickelsen, our first official visitors