June 2008 Sunday 22

My turn to blog a little. We just returned from our Ward meetings where we had ward conference. The stake presented the new Bishopric and pronounced us with a new Ward name. In turn they organized a new Branch which was divided off from the East area of our Ward and is called the Sacaba Branch with A new Branch Presidency. The Ward name was changed from Puntiti to Esmeralda. There were close to 300 people present filling the chapel completely up. Our Choir sang as the closing song, "This is the Christ - El Cristo Es " and they did a very nice job with this difficult number. Mom was excellent as the Director.It warmed up considerably today and the sun shown brightly on everything. A very beautiful day. We are headed to President and Sister Dalene's for dinner and it is ready so got to go.

We love you All,
Mom & Dad

update

Hi Everyone! The days and weeks are flyingby. We had a full week in the temple . Daddy had 2 really special sealings on Sat. Both couples were very attentive and prepared for the experience. We got to help with all of the ordinances so we felt very blessed and grateful to be here. We are having really cool weather right now so we are wearing our sweaters and jackets. The changes here have been interesting but we are adjusting really well. We hope that all is well with you and yours. Love, Mom and Dad

update

Hi everyone, This has been an interesting week. The country of Bolivia has been in turmoil and because of this our temple president put us on lock down which is that we cannot leave the temple block. We were instructed to have at least 10 days of food and supplies on hand plus water. We complied with all of these things. Today, Sunday, we had our church meetings in the president's home. It was very nice! We are about to have our break the fast dinner with the other gringos. Tomorrow we are in charge of the early morning devotional for the temple employees. Skousens will help us with this. We are so grateful for the chance to do many different kinds of things. Last week one of the stakes here in Cochabamba came in force to do baptisms, sealings, initiatory and sessions. It was outstanding!! The president of the stake is about 30 and one of the greatest leaders we have ever seen. They are blessed to have him. Pres. Hinkley promised the church members that if they would e faithful in their temple attendance their country would be blessed. We saw this blessing realized this week when Bolivia's President did not send his troops the Pancho Rojas into Cochabamba as he had threadened. We continue to love our mission and all that we are doing. Please continue to pray for us and we will continue to pray for all of you. The gospel is true!!Con much amor, Mom and Dad Grampa and Gramma

Hey everyone! Here it is Sunday again. Hope you all have had a nice day. Our ward choir sand the Battle Hymn of the Republic today and really got into it. It was fantastic!! We are so proud of these young people. Our new bishop is 27, newly married and an engineering student. He conducted today for the first time and did an excellent job.
We are having cooler weather now while you all are starting to melt. This week in the temple a little Cholita walked a long way to the temple and sat down to rest in the dressing room. After a few minutes she asked if she could do inititory. She cannot read or write so we all helped her with the names. She stayed for several hours. She does not have money to rent clothes for a session so she comes for inititory severalo times a month. Can you imagine the missionaries who took the time to teach her and help her gain her tiestimony? I am so touched by the faith and strength of these people. We love them with alll our hearts. Tomorrow is our preparation day so we will be busy getting ready for another wonderful week in the temple. Be faithful to your covenants and go to the temple. Love and Kisses, Mom and Dad

This could be fun!! I can't believe we can eally do this. Thanks for your comments. We had another early day in the temple so this afternoon we did some laundry, entertained a young ward member and worked on some genealogy. Tommorw is our Break the Fast dinner here with the other gringos. We are having a Mexican Fiesta. Hooray!! Have a wonderful Sabbath. We love you all and are grateful to be your parents. Love, Mom