Today we were invited to speak at a small ward up one of the many mountains the city is built around...Los Planes in the San Salvador Stake.  
When we arrived at 8:30, this little group was waiting outside for the building to be opened. The Elder's Quorum President picked us up and drove us the 25 minutes to get there.
The couple on the left had walked 15 kilometers to get there...it took them 1 1/2 hours in the rain.  They are investigators.

Here are the beautiful lilies that a member brought.

Yes, that's the pulpit they are in front of.

So we got to speak through the flowers.  But they were very pretty flowers. And they gave us some of them to take home.

Here are some of the members. Normally we only speak at stake conferences because we could never get around to all the individual wards, but this was a special request because many of the members are very poor and discouraged.

They rent this building, but have purchased land to build their own chapel.

They had a lunch for us after the 3-hour block.  This is the primary president who had prepared the food.

Here is a a photo of the Bishop, his two counselors, his wife, and us.

And here we are with the primary president and the bishop's wife. The primary president also led their ward choir of 6 Hermanas.

The bishop reminded me of what Father Lehi might have looked like.

On our drive back I tried to capture some photos of the city down in the valley, but never had an open space long enough.

I did get a photo of pictures painted on this wall.

Our driver got us back in great time, and then he had to rush off to work as a policeman.

We didn't eat very much at the ward lunch so that they would have food to take to their homes.  So we joined our temple missionaries for dinner.  I didn't get a group photo, but I did get a photo of the hosts, Elder Jerry y Hna. Dora Winter.   They have the Wall's apartment - 205. They for the past 30 years are from Nampa, Idaho.  He is originally from Independence Missouri, and she is from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

She served the main dish of her version of Spanish Rice...with chicken, scrambled eggs, cabbage, and I think she said it had some other meats.
The Clarks brought cooked squash, the Utts - watermelon, grapes, bananas, and strawberries, and delicious fresh bread from a Dispensa Don Juan's. We brought watermelon, but didn't have the pineapple we had also planned to bring because the traffic was so busy yesterday to drive over to Price Smart and we had to speak at 2:00 to 3 busloads from San Vincente.  We had also bought some rolls but when we saw the Utts had the bread, we didn't take the rolls. The Haroldsens made banana bread for dessert.  

Then from dinner, Walt dashed over to the temple at 2:10, and I followed shortly after to be ready for the 3:00-5:00 semi-annual training of temple workers from 1/3 of the stakes.  We had 68 Hermanas and 33 Hermanos. But I think there were more who didn't get to sign the roll.

President Petersen locked the temple at 5:50 and a temple worker took a photo of us as we near the end of a busy but fruitful Sabbath Day in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Then, of course, I got a photo of a few lingering members by the temple, which include Presidente y Hna. Alas.

We hope you have had a peaceful, fruitful, and relaxing Sabbath Day also.

I gave the two investigators each a Snickers candy bar I had in my purse (it was there to give to our security guards at the temple -- but I can always get more for them) and said to this couple that were about to walk an hour and a half to their small village: "These candy bars are sweet, but the true Gospel of Jesus Christ is even sweeter."

Onward to a new week of adventures...

Spring 1820

   A boy of 14 asked a question...

The Standard of Truth
 “The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”― Joseph Smith Jr.

June 27, 1844 - The Martyrdom

San Salvador...

Today we went to the Juayua Stake Conference...
I'm glad I snapped this photo of Walt when we first got there because after the conference there were so many people that we couldn't see these fun palm trees that are behind him.

President y Hna. López came with us again...he drove. Thirty years ago President López was on his mission here for 6 months. It was part of the Guatemala Mission then. Well, I guess it was all of Central America...or most of it.

At 4:00 we were at the Worldwide Leadership Training Broadcast...the Lord had the computer and World Wide Web created so His missionary work and other work of the Church could go forward. And the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are on top of how to carry "The Work of Salvation" forward in a better way.

Here's a photo from a fun ward Father's Day dinner yesterday.  Our Relief Society President, Karina Artiga, is the best Relief Society President in the world.  She does so much for us, and for everyone. She is standing between Hna. Clark and Hna. Winter.

Elder Clark "staged" his biting into the hamburger.

Here's some more at the "Father's Day Fiesta"...Karina with her mother and grandmother...they always work hard to make our ward fiestas wonderful for everyone.

Here's some more of the members who attended...Figueroas y Peñas...

Here are the Climicas, Berta Amaya, Hna. López, y Hno. Santos...

Here's...Bishop Figueroa with his daughter Sofie...

Here's...on the right the Bishop's mother-in-law, and I don't know the name of the Hermana on the left.

Here's sweet Melanie, age 13, and I think her Mom at the head of the table, and I don't know the names of the others.

Here's Hna. Amaya singing to the temple missionaries who got off their Saturday afternoon temple shift at 6:00, just in time before the last table was put away and the food gathered up.

Here's

Here we are with the Haroldsen's and Clark's just before taking the 2 minute walk back to our apartments...

C A R R Y   O N . . .

     I have some other projects on the computer to finish...

Help....

I've spent about an hour getting the new gadget on for the countdown to Nov. 1, 2014 when our calling ends and we return to Idaho.  Then I tried changing the photo on the title of our blog, but can't get the photo to reduce in size, even tho I have "shrink to fit" checked in the layout edit box.
     Now I don't know how to get that original wedding photo put back in.
         I know just enough about computers and blog editing to foul it up.

Hope you are having a great day.
I haven't received a group photo of the WEPR Reunion which was June 16-19 at a large, family reunion cabin in Heber, Utah.  When I do I'll post a photo.
Here's a few of the reunion photos we've been sent....
Here's last year's WEPR group photo - WEPR = Walt & Eileen Petersen Reunion

Here's some June 2013 WEPR photos.  Theme: "Mission Impossible" Thanks Jen & Jerry Brewer for all the planning and preparing for this year's WEPR.
Jackson and Jacob in their Mission Impossible t-shirts.

Anna, Sarah, Jacee, Kimble...

Here's some more...Brian, Julie B and David.
Brian & Michelle and 4 daughters get the prize for flying the farthest...from Tennessee...

Jen & Jerry Brewer and 6 children get the prize for driving the farthest from Rochester, Minnesota...

Gary led the Mission Impossible Boot Camp...

...guess I haven't loaded those photos yet....but here is Gary catching some zzzzz's after the strenuous activities.

Who says all the cousins can't fit in the hot tub at the same time?

Well, this isn't quite all 33 cousins...but a lot of them.

     Our grandkids are growing up fast!

Looks like William found the watermelon good to the last bite...

YES...

 F A M I L I E S

    A R E

       F O R E V E R . . .

Happy Father's Day . . .

Yes, Walt got biscuits and gravy this morning...

Be back soon....we're just up from a nap. It's been such a busy day that I had forgotten that we haven't had time for Walt to receive his Father's Day present.
  Now he's opened his few small presents.

Actually, he found this new shave kit last week in the new Don Juan's Grocery Store we've discovered here.  I've been looking a long time for one since he told me the one he's had for 30-40 years is falling apart.

    His main present was the apple pie I baked for him.  I baked two yesterday because it was our turn to furnish dessert for our pot-luck Sunday dinner with the other temple missionaries.

We had 12 today at dinner...Elder y Hna. Clark hosted with Chicken Alfredo over pasta, and Hna. Thompson made a delicious lemon jello salad called "Sea Breeze."

Here are the couples...Left to right: Us; Elder y Hna. Haroldsen, arrived Thursday from Idaho Falls; Elder y Hna. Utt, the Perpetual Education Fund missionaries for El Salvador; Elder y Hna. Winter, also arrived Thursday from Nampa; Elder y Hna. Clark here since Feb. 28 from Arizona; and Elder y Hna. Thompson here from Jerome since entered the MTC July 25, 2011.  They finish their 23 months on 25June2013. (We are so sad to lose them.)

After dinner and a long nap, we were surprised and delighted with the Skype call from Midvale, Utah, where our 7 children and their families have gathered for a 3-day family reunion.  Jen & Jerry are in charge this year and have chosen the theme: 
       "Mission Impossible."  We'll post more about that this week.
We loved talking with and seeing each of them gathered.
They each wished "Dad/Grampa" a Happy Father's Day.
    Here's a photo of us all together two years ago for our 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

This morning President López drove us an hour to Santa Ana to the Pariso Stake Conference.  We spoke about the temple and the blessing of being sealed as a family for eternity.

Walt also spoke about how Satan doesn't want families to succeed and be families forever because he can never have a body and therefore never have a family.

And now I say "Happy Father's Day" to the father of our children...
WALTER RAY PETERSEN...here he is at he was graduating from the University of Idaho in pre-med...1959.

Here we are in August 1960 as we were pinned after dating that summer...he was home from his first year of medical school, and I was home between semesters at BYU. After we had been dating one week, my roommate and friend Sonya Gibbs asked me how I liked Walt Petersen.
   "Oh, he's great, but I'm not getting interested in him. He's a medical student and who would ever want to be a doctor's wife," I naively replied.

Then we married....June 14, 1961...yes, two days ago was our 
52nd Wedding Anniversary.
     Then....

And now...

Happy Father's Day Tribute to our fathers...
Ray O. Petersen...Walt's father 1907-1970...We still miss him.

And Arnold G. Albertson...Eileen's father 1912-1982...We still miss him, too. 

We hope you have each had a wonderful Father's Day being with or cherishing the memory of your father.

F A M I L I E S     A R E    F O R E V E R !