We went to a family home evening with all the senior missionaries. Elder Marvin Gardner was on the committee that put together the most recent 1985 English hymn book. He talked about how they winnowed down 6,000 songs into the present selection. He wrote the words to Press Forward Saints and told how the current melody for the song was chosen.
For my birthday, the big 70!, Patsy baked about 60 cupcakes that we handed out at the area office. She made them from scratch and had to improvise on some ingredients that we couldn't find. They were red velvet with a cream cheese icing. One of the senior missionaries ate three of them at lunch, maybe he was just being polite. We went to a steak house that evening for dinner to celebrate another senior couple's 50th wedding anniversary and my birthday. We met two of the new dental couples. We took half the meat back home and finished it the next day. We eat a lot of chicken down here, so it was nice to get a good steak.
We took the two senior sisters that live in our apartment building, and who don't have a car, to one of the Pacific beaches at San Jose. It's a big fishing port. The sand is gray volcanic grit. We took beach chairs down and put them under a canopy. To get to the water, I had to walk across about 60 feet of the sand. Ok, the gray sand was really hot, and I had to run across it to get to the wet sand. The water was really warm, maybe 75 or 80 degrees. We had lunch: fish or shrimp, at a restaurant there, well prepared and the shrimp were about four inches long. The sisters rented a 4 wheeler and drove it around on the beach. Both are in their seventies, but they were flying around the beach, it was great. Men walked up and down the beach selling just caught tuna and dorado of ten to thirty pounds. A mariachi trio came and serenaded us. It was fun.
Seafood lunch
Senior Missionary tracting on the beach
The sand isn't dirty, it's volcanic ash!
Senior missionaries tearing up the beach
Hermanas George and Olson
Can't help but wade in the warm Pacific
District meeting
More senior sister shenanigans
Sunday we took some higiene kits to Sister Petrie for distribution at the hospital in Cuilapa. Some people who come in to the hospital and have to unexpectedly stay overnight may not have family close enough to bring them anything. Sister Petrie lives about 1.5 miles down a bumpy dirt road, but has a nice house and yard with a fruit and vegetable garden in the back yard.
After that we visited a family we've been assigned to minister to. Down here, it's customary when visiting members to sing a hymn. We asked what they'd want to sing, and the kids all wanted to sing the song Patsy had just taught them in primary. We pulled out the Children's Song Book and let them sing from it, and then they kept looking at the book afterward, so Patsy gave it to them. We also gave them the children's illustrated Book of Mormon. Most of the people down here don't have television or video games and many don't have books in the home. The granddaughter is being baptized by her grandfather. We talked to the grand parents about going through the temple. They indicated that they are taking temple prep classes and we encouraged them to continue. The next Sunday, the grandfather baptized the grand daughter. Patsy had crocheted a Baptism Bear for her and we gave her that and the Spanish version of the CTR ring. [HLJ haz lo justo] She was very excited.
Patsy's Baptism Bear Regalo
President Hill, the MTC president, baptized his grandson in the same font that he baptized his daughter in many years ago when they were serving here. It was fun to meet their Natalie and her sons! Natalie volunteered to bring from Utah 2 big duffel bags of baby kits. Patsy was so happy to get them!
We went to Chiquimula, a town farther east. It is low in elevation and was 97 degrees. We trained a new mission nurse, an elder from Mexico who hasn't had any medical training at all. He is bright and motivated and I think will do a good job.
Training the new mission nurse (on the left)
After the training, the elders went with us to the hospital there and we passed out 50 newborn baby kits and 30 teddy bears that Dolls of Hope kindly sent down. There were a lot of kids with broken arms.
A little blurry, but she loved that bear
Elders helping pass out the new born baby kits
Notice I'm looking at the camera and mom's looking at her baby, she's got her priorities right
If it's broken and you know it
hold up your arm
Tuesday we went to a painting class with the temple president, his wife, and the mental health nurse. Patsy thinks my driving here is too fast, too agressive and too jerky, but after riding with the temple president, she probably thinks I'm not so bad after all. Just kidding President Norman! The class was fun, I'm painting a village scene and she's painting a teddy bear to give to Jenni for the baby's room. I oil painted when i was in junior high but haven't done anything since. It is creative and fun.
Last Wednesday was the intake day for almost a hundred missionaries at the CCM. Patsy helps the CCM nurse. Last time they finished about 7 pm, this time they finished about 4 and were positively giddy about it. Hermana Olsen the CCM nurse is having a birthday, and she insisted on taking us and the mental health nurse out for dinner. It was good food and fun, we kept trying to pay and she wouldn't let us.
Patsy started developing a cold Wednesday and has been pretty sick since. It appears to be a virus, she had headaches and body aches then it's gone to her chest. I am trying to take care of her and keep her from being discouraged. Yesterday she read and we watched TV and I cooked for her.
