Segovia

Our week started off with a trip to see the city of Segovia. This is where there is the Roman Aqueduct that dates back over 2000 years. It is really an interesting site. We climbed to the top and got a bird's eye view of it. It stretched from the mountains down through the town and onto the famous castle that Disney used as their pattern for the Disneyland Castle. In this castle is the stained glassed window of our relative King Alfonso. It is really something! He is on a beautiful white horse dressed in his armor and carrying his huge spear. We saw the Cathedral and walked around looking and doing a little shopping. On the Metro going out 3 South Americans were being really friendly and by the time we were getting off they were trying to get stuff out of my old Segovia bag that I carry all the time. It doesn't have a zipper or any snaps so the darn thieves think I am an easy target. I was onto to them so they moved onto some other easy target but it made me want another bag from Segovia so I got a great new bag with a ZIPPER. After our trip we had a wonderful FHE listening to a CD that the Skousens brought on the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was really great. There are 13 CDs is all so we will have a wonderful time listening to them. We were busy in the temple this week and the MTC. Our missionaries are all leaving tomorrow. They are ready! We will have a little time with them tonight for last minute advice and treats. We had a small 24th of July lunch and shared Pioneer stories that helped us all feel a little less homesick for all the celebrations back home. All our missionary apartments are full right now so the work in the temple is humming along beautifully. We are always grateful when the saints from out of Madrid show up to work. One other thing I wanted to mention about the MTC was that a group of the misssionaries wanted to sing so they practiced and practiced with Dick. Yesterday morning(Sunday) one of the Italian sisters who was our sololist woke up with a major problem of bleeding gums. It reminded us of when Leslie had her problem with her tonsils. Pres. Earl took her to the ER and got medicine and she was able to sing beautifully for the fireside last night. The Lord is ALWAYS in charge is He not? We love seeing His hand in the lives of our missionaries and others. One of our Elders reminded us of Jory and Jared with a terrible ingrown toenail. He too received medical help and is ready to hit the streets tomorrow. They are great and we have confidence in them. Just a thought for all our Junior High grand kids. Michael Wilcox on BYU yesterday said that Jr. High is a hell created by Satan and that in their family all the kids receive their Patriarchal Blessings at age 13 to fortify them for their Jr. High years. It seems a little young for blessings but the part about Jr. High being tough is sooooo true. We are busy with housekeeping chores this morning and baking cookies for the missionaries and later we are off to see the Palacio Real. Have a great day, week and month. We were so happy to receive the email about Jory's ordination. Vance sent us the picture of the "Power Group". It definitely made our day. Hope the pictures come through so you can get a feel for some of the things we are doing.