This week in El Salvador...

2 0 1 4: Monday, April 28 to Sunday May 4... 
Monday is always our Preparation Day because the temple is closed.   After grocery shopping at Price Smart (like Costco) and Wal*Mart, (Romel drove us this week; last week Hugo drove us. Walt is not to drive until 6 weeks after the surgery) we worked on our presentation for Family Home Evening.

As you see in the photo above, it was about President Petersen's heart surgery.  Two hours before it was to begin, Walt said: "I don't want to do this. I don't think anyone is going to be interested in hearing about the details of my heart surgery."
I assured him they would be interested in how an aortic valve is replaced.

I learned quite a lot.  When they talked about sawing his sternum (breast bone) open, in my mind I pictured a saw--like my Dad's old hand carpenter tool--sawing back and forth.  Was I ever wrong.
It's like a small jig saw.  The sternum is only an inch or two wide and a half-inch thick. It only takes 30 seconds to do the zig-zag cut.
More later when I get back to the post for Walt's heart surgery.

For the photo at the end of this FHE, we had the men sit in the chairs and their wives stand behind them. Walter Petersen, Eduardo Alas, DeVar Haroldsen, Rafael Majano, Mike Udall, Roberto Caballero.
Standing: Consuelo Alas, Sharon Haroldsen, Aida Majano, Jeanne Udall, Irma Caballero.

Hna. Haroldsen took a photo with me in it.
Didn't get a photo of the snowballs we served for refreshments, with fresh grapes and pineapple, along with some Mini-Cadbury chocolate eggs and M&M's.

They were all very interested in hearing about the heart surgery.

Tuesday, April 29 - President Majano drove Walt to the lab to get a blood test. 

Then we did our 4-hour temple shift from 11:00-3:00.  It was really windy when we walked back over to our apartment.

Wednesday, April 30 - I didn't take any photos, but we went back to the temple after our temple shift and did a 5:30 temple session.

We were so happy to do a session. We hadn't been able to do one in March and April was ending without our doing one.

That evening I put together some "May - Day" baskets for our 10 neighbors on the second floor.  They had homemade frozen strawberry jam and homemade whole wheat bread.

M A Y  2 0 1 4

Thursday, May 1  

"♫♪It's May, it's May, the merry month of May...♪♫" from Camelot

The rainy season is May-November...and yes there was a big thunder storm this afternoon, and then again this evening.

Friday, May 2 - No photos. We did our 4-hour temple shift, and later that day watched our hour of relaxing TV: "Wheel of Fortune," and "Jeopardy."

When we came out of the temple these three young men from San Miguel talked with us for a few minutes: Yassir, Saul, and Salvador.  They are ages 14 and 15.  They had come to do baptisms for their ancestors who are waiting in heaven for these temple ordinances.

Saturday, May 3 - Our temple shift on Saturday is 

9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  Early that evening Walt was doing some catch up on the computer.  He loves the new Toshiba computer that his kids gave him for his 80th birthday.  They are trying to keep us old fogies up-to-date in this electronic world we live in.

But we still love ♫♪our music from the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's.♪♫

Sunday - May 4...

Walt was up at 5:00 this morning to leave before 6:00 for the quarterly Regional Correlation Council in Santa Ana--an hour drive. Presidente Majano drove the temple president's van. The Temple Presidency was given 40 minutes, which is double the time they have been allotted before.

They were planning to leave at 5:45, but Hno. Oliva didn't arrive to car pool until 5:58. They made it on time okay.

Here's how our temple looked just after sunrise this morning.

The lights in the sky were changing rapidly.

We had our "Sunday Fast Breaker" at 5:00 p.m. at the Udall's apartment. She served Beef Strogonoff over Noodles. The others brought veggies, salad, fruit, flan, and strawberry shortcake.

It's always nice to be together.

Elder Udall took this photo on my camera so I didn't get one with him in the group photo.  He will have to send me the one I took on his smart phone.

I put this photo from 07-07-07 to surprise Walt at the end of his "Heart Surgery" power point slide show.  After all the talk about "hearts" I wanted to tell him that I love him with all my heart.

Here is the angel Moroni looking out over the city of San Salvador this morning.  I was starting my Book of Mormon reading for today as I was out on our balcony patio and this is what I read as I was there with this view of the Angel Moroni:

"O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

"Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

"But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me."

--Alma 29:1-3

The Angel Moroni represents this verse in the Bible--Revelations 14:6

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."

     We hope you have had a peaceful and restful Sabbath Day.

 God is our Father in Heaven who loves each one of us. Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son who is our Redeemer and Savior.  They appeared to Joseph Smith in the Spring of 1820 when he went into a grove of trees to pray for an answer to a question he had.  

Here are his words: 

"...I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)--and which I should join.

"I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong;..." --Joseph Smith--History 1:18-19

We leave our testimonies that thus was the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ ushered in, in these latter days, never to be taken from the earth again.

      Con amor, Walt and Eileen Petersen - San Salvador, El Salvador.