This week in San Salvador...

Today Walt had a Regional Correlation Council in Santa Ana and I got to go to our ward.
   Walt was up at 4:45 a.m. and left the apartment at 5:30 for the hour's drive to Santa Ana.  President Majano drove, and Sergio Oliva, the executive secretary to the Area Seventy rode with them.

The temple looks wonderful any time of the day...here they are driving past it just after sunrise.

We did not have a combined dinner today. As I was leaving Church, Elder y Hna. Haroldsen invited us to dinner for when Walt got back.  Luckily he arrived about 1:30.

It was a delicious "Mormon Sunday Dinner," with roast, potatoes and gravy, green beans, jello, and for dessert chocolate cake and ice cream.  Elder y Hna. Haroldsen are from Idaho Falls and arrived here June 13 for their 18-month temple mission.  They have served two previous missions in Chile--I think about 2005 and 2010.

We had the Saturday morning shift, opening the temple at 4:00 a.m.  We walked over in a heavy rain storm.  We got back to our apartment at 12:00 noon, and were asked to speak with a group of primary children from the Mossaret Ward that afternoon.  

What precious children in this generation of El Salvadorians.
   After we spoke with them, they lined up to walk over and touch the temple.

Walt took several photos of them lined up by the temple.

From there we dashed over to the Mall for Walt to get a haircut barely getting back in time to leave with President y Hna. López to a dinner we had been invited to as a welcome to the new mission president, Kai Hintze and his wife Diane. Their daughter Kimberly is also with them for the summer, having just returned from her mission in Hong Kong.

The five stake presidents and wives were there who are in the area of this new El Salvador San Salvador West Mission. (The mission also includes Belize.)
  Pictured below are Presidente y Hna. Alfaro of the La Libertad Stake, and Elder Angel Durate, the Area Seventy and his wife. The dinner was at the new LaPampa Restaurante on the mountainside going to the El Bocquerón Volcano.

Presidente y Hna. Calderón were also there from the El Salvador Santa Ana Mission.  And seated to their left are Hno. y Hna. Oliva, the executive secretary to the Area Seventy.

Across from us were the Presidente y Hna. Henriquez from the Sonsonate Stake and Presidente y Hna. Soto from the Sonsacate Stake.  They are both an hour or more away from the capital.

Presidente y Hna. López, of the Los Heroes Stake, who drove us are on the top right.  He is also our full-time temple recorder.

And the Cuscatlan Stake, represented by Presidente y Hna. Menijivar are here with their backs to us across from Presidente y Hna. Hintze.

Walt and I are sitting by Sergio y Betsabe Oliva.

Most got some kind of steak with seafood, but since we do not like most seafood, we just ordered steak...I had a 6 oz tenderloin, and Walt said his filet mignon was one of the best he's ever had...very tender and cooked all the way through without being burned on the outside.  Reminded him of the ones at Burley's Ponderosa Inn back in the day.  (Sorry I didn't get a photo of his filet mignon). My tenderloin was well done and tender.  Most of the beef here is very tough.

I tried to get a photo of the night view of the city below that would show the temple.  Even tho we could pick out the temple very easily, it doesn't show up on the photo.
   Oh, now I can see it....almost in the very center right to left...and just above the dark of the trees.

Here it is from LaPampa when we went to lunch there the last Monday the Thompsons were here--June 24. I had to make it large size to see it, so I don't know if it will show on the space the blog allows for the photos.

Friday was the Gringa Brunch...L-R: Lisa Wegkamp, the hostess; Kristin Freestone, her last week here, she and her family fly out July 17 via Montana for a family reunion then over to the San Francisco Bay area; Marilee Clark, me--Eileen Petersen, Dora Winter, Sharon Haroldsen, Delena Markland, whose twins were born June 8, and her Mom, Jodi Lewis, here from Ogden for 6 weeks, helping with her new twins grandbabies.

This is Dixie...the youngest twin by 1 minute.

And this is Mateo. They are 1 month and 4 days old in this photo.

Friday afternoon as we went to dash out the door by our elevator to get to the 4:00 session (it was our day with no shift), this little family was sitting right in front of that door.  So as they all got up to let us out, we took a photo of them.

Thursday, July 11, before our afternoon/evening shift at the temple, I saw the National Bird out our south window.  Torogos--it has a long, double tail and is very colorful.

Wednesday, July 10, was a fun baby shower for Delena and her twins, hosted by our Relief Society Presidency...

She received many delightful gifts.

Mateo didn't wake up to get a photo of him by the "blue" table.

Here's Margarita, a ward single sister, holding Mateo by Delena who is holding Dixie Delena, and the happy maternal grandmother, Jodi Lewis, who arrived from Utah the day before the twins were born on June 8.

Many friends took turns holding these precious babies whom the whole ward helped Delena through many days of being in the hospital and being put on bed rest during her pregnancy.

Here are Lisa, Kristin with her daughter Kira behind her, and Shaulee.

This is the only photo I got of Karina, our wonderful Relief Society President who makes all these fun events happen for our Sisters.
Everyone had a great time.

Tuesday, July 9...these two service center men came to clean our terrace patio and our apartment.  We are very thankful for all the help.

Edwin comes to fix anything that needs to be repaired in our apartment.

Monday, July 8, we had lunch at Shaws...after grocery shopping.

It's a wonder I could eat after Walt put this in our shopping cart.

We had family home evening at Elder y Hna. Winter's. They had us share miracles we've had in our lives.

And that's our 103rd week here in San Salvador.  Next Saturday, July 20 will mark two full years that we have been here.

We are thankful for this call to help in this beautiful 

San Salvador El Salvador Temple.

Here it is at sunrise this morning.

Because of the restored Priesthood Temple Ordinances, we have the hope of being sealed as families for time and for all eternity.

We are thankful to the Lord for restoring these truths through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

And we are daily grateful for the Atonement of the Savior which makes it possible for each one of us to look forward to being resurrected.

We look forward to His Glorious Second Coming!

We hope you have had a good Sabbath Day and have a great week coming up.