We are here!

Our home is very nice and comfortable and about a 15 minute walk from the Tampico Temple. We have unloaded our bags and are making ourselves at home here and just about remember which light switch goes with which light.  Today was our first day serving in the temple and we are tired.  We have spoken more Spanish today than we have in many years.  We were willing and we were needed so it was a good match.  On Saturdays, people get together and come in buses from different stakes so the temple is busy.  The temple is small but it has every needful thing.  

Brother and Sister Day are also serving in the temple.  They are a couple from Layton and have taken us under their wing.  Paul wore his first short sleeved white shirt in 30 years to walk to and from the temple where he changed to his regular long sleeved white shirt.  The weather is very nice and warm and Brother and Sister Day told us to plan on a trip to the beach a week from Monday.  Apparently Monday is a national holiday and usually our P-Day but a stake has arranged to bring a busload of people to the temple so we will be there.  Last Friday was the start of Mexico’s big  “Black Friday” weekend where shoppers go crazy with reduced prices and the shopping will continue through Monday.  

It is our first weekend here and we aren’t sure if the nighttime singing that we heard will happen each weekend.  We aren’t sure if these guys are drunk or they just can’t sing but a barking dog added a new note to their song as they continued their ballads this morning when we left our home to walk to the temple. 

We send our love to you and thank you for your support in our new adventure.

Our Journey South

Well, we have arrived in Tampico. We were in the Salt Lake Temple from Monday through Wednesday of this week for training along with 28 other temple missionaries who will serve in temples all over the world:  Hong Kong; Philippines; Boliva; Peru; Washington DC; Palmyra; Nauvoo; Tahiti; Canada; London.  Our training was in the Salt Lake Temple where we saw the temple training films, were able to ask any question that popped into our heads and had a rare historical tour of the Salt Lake Temple.  Then we were all off to our different temples.   

Our trip into Tampico via Houston only had one small hitch when the agent couldn't read Sherryl's visa number clearly.  So we ended up being the last to get through customs but finally made it.  As it happens, Sherryl remembered a small magnifying glass in her purse that she handed to the agent to help in the process.  So that's a tender mercy for sure!  I mean, how many of you have a magnifying glass in your purse?!  We were to be met at the airport by Brother Briones who is the 1st counselor in the temple presidency so we called him Brother Briones all evening only to find out today in the temple that we were actually picked up by President Soriano who is the Tempico Temple President.  Oops! 

Our granddaughter Marian and her husband Damon are living in our house in Farmington and taking care of it for us.  I have attached a photo of Marian and us in our official missionary name tags.

Day 4: Tampico. Here we come!

Mom and dad should be arriving this evening in Tampico. Here they are with all of their luggage, leaving the hotel. Their name tags are still in English, because using the temple as an MTC is so new that they haven't had time to get all the badges ordered yet. 

We stopped by the hotel to pick up Grandma's winter clothes, since they won't be needing them. The kids took Grandma up the elevator to the 15th floor, then down to the 2nd, then up to the 5th, then down to the 1st, then back to the 4th floor. They had a blast!! Grandma, was happy to be on solid ground again. It's amazing to think that it will be 2 years before we see them again, and how much things will change by then (and how much the kids will grow!).

Mission: Day 1

We now have name badges AND our passports AND our visas AND our airline etickets so now we just need to finish the training.  We spent the day in the Salt Lake Temple watching training videos plus we went on a session.  We had a lecture on security and they told us how to be safe--no matter what country we are in...like "walk with a purpose" and "vary your routine" and "if you drive, don't stop to help anyone" and don't take anything of sentimental value and if you are robbed--let them take whatever they want.  We are part of a group of about 26 people and each set of couples are going to a different temple to be ordinance workers.  We are finding "small world" stories--like the couple from Farmington NM who know Kay and Ellvert because they served in the Albuquerque Temple with them--they will serve in the Manhattan Temple.