This week in El Salvador...

2014 - October

October 6 - Monday

"I'd like waffles for breakfast," I said.

Even though we'd served waffles for breakfast and lunch on Saturday, I made a new batch.  You can see we still have the tables set up from Saturday.

After breakfast we drove the temple missionaries to Price Smart, then Wal-Mart for grocery shopping.

Hna. Caballero chose "Rusticos" for lunch.

Walt and I sat inside for a photo...

While we were leaving, a man carrying a big bag of oranges on his shoulders walked by...

Then we lined up by the "Rustico" sign...

Family Home Evening...
Elder Haroldsen gave a great lesson about the Savior--different descriptions of Him from The Book of Ether.

The Savior - Jesus Christ
Ether 3:5-6...great power
Ether 3:7-8...flesh and blood
Ether 3:16....His physical body will look the same 
                                as His spiritual body 
Ether 3:18...Ministered; Know that He was God
Ether 3:19...No more faith, had exact knowledge
   ...more about the Savior from Isaiah in the Sunday School lesson on Sunday, Oct 12
We always enjoy learning together...
Hna. Haroldsen served fresh fruit... 

...including the "lychee fruit" that look like this...

When cut open, they look like this.  The locals don't cut them open they just pry them open with their finger nails.

And when these white fruits are cut open, they look like this.  They didn't taste like anything we can describe.  They actually didn't have a whole lot of flavor of any kind.

October 7 - Tuesday
We had no shift...
Walt's "To do's" were:
1. Fill out the forms for moving--about 7 pages.
2. List all our medical costs for August to October.
3. Work on the "Stewardship Report" for this calling.
Eileen's "To do's" were:
1. Work on power point photos of our 3 years here.
2. Do some packing.
3. Have the furniture moved back in from the terrace patio.
Here's a photo of #1 and #2 and #3 for Walt... 
He got #1 finished and e-mailed to the gal in Boise who is in charge of our move with Uni-world.
He got #2 finished on Friday.
He is still working on #3.

For my #1, I think I put some jewelry in my suitcase. I'm trying to put at least something in the suitcase every day.  We are trying to just have one big suitcase each to check in for the plane, and our carry on for each is our laptop.
For #2 I think I got to work on for a couple of hours.
And #3 the service center men came in the morning and got done.
Here's the before -- the empty room after they took the tables back to the two empty apartments.

Here they are carrying in the love seat. The other sofa is a lot heavier because it is a bed couch.

Here's some more of what they carried in from the terrace patio.
Oh, just the sofa cushions and the end table with lamp go in.  The plastic covered chairs and sofa are the terrace patio furniture.
They had all the inside furniture also covered in plastic, too, during the time it was out on the patio because rain can blow in during the cloudbursts.

Here they are standing by Walt after finishing.

Victor, Edwin, Ricky, and Ruso chided Alex who got there just in time for the M&M treats. We give our service center men chocolate each time they come to help in the apartment.

And that's way more than anyone wanted to know about what we did on Tuesday, so we won't mention all the other things we did.

October 8 - Wednesday 
We had the morning shift - opening the temple at 5:30 a.m.  Then Walt always has his temple presidency meeting from 9:00 to about noon on Wednesdays.   The temple matron and my assistants only meet with the Presidency on the first Wednesday of each month.  Then I meet with my assistants every other Friday morning.
I didn't take any photos on this day.
(This photo was taken in November 2012.)

October 9 - Thursday
We had the afternoon shift from 12:30 noon till 10:00 p.m.  Walt usually goes over about noon.  That morning he shined our shoes.

Then we got to be in this Holy House for about 10 hours.

October 10 - Friday
It was our day with no shift, but it was the meeting for my assistants and I. Walt always comes to translate for me.
We finished our meeting a little after 11:00 so we decided to stay and do the 11:30 session.
Coming out of the temple, this patron was thrilled to talk with President Petersen.   Everyone loves their temple president.

There are ten full-time gardeners for the temple grounds.  These two were redoing the flower boxes at the front entrance of the temple.

October 11 - Saturday
Our last Saturday morning shift of getting up at 3:00 a.m. to be ready to open the temple doors at 4:00 a.m.
As we were leaving the temple at 12:00 noon, Walt stopped to talk with this new temple worker as he was preparing to return to his home on his motorcycle.

We usually collapse for a couple of hours after our early-morning rising.  But today, before we did that Walt took me to lunch at our cafeteria (comodor in Spanish) since we had been too busy to take time out to eat the lunch we had taken with us.
Before we got upstairs to our apartment, this couple asked to have their photo taken with us.  

And this is how we look close up after rising in the middle of the night and working in the temple for 8 hours...

We did get our nap and then finished some chores around our "home away from home."
October 12 - Sunday
First of all -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SON, DAVID.  We love you and hope you have had a wonderful day.

This is our last Sunday to be in our Campestre Ward here.  Next Sunday we will be speaking at the La Libertad Stake, and then our last Sunday we will be at our Los Heroes Stake Conference.  We probably will not speak, however, because they are releasing our stake president and calling a new one.  So the Area President who will be here told us President Petersen may be called on to give his testimony if there is time.
Here's a photo of our young-married couple who asked President Petersen to perform their sealing in the temple this past May. She had been baptized three months after they were married. So when she passed her one year of being a member, they were sealed.
And now they are starting their family.  She is expecting twin boys in February.
I told them I would take this photo of them for Daniel and Kelly, our grandson and wife, with whom they became good friends this past summer while Daniel and Kelly were volunteering at the orphanage and also a hospital.

Herbert Castillo y Daniela Hernández Castillo

As we were leaving Church Herbert was talking to Walt about our Farewell Dinner at the home of Waldo y Silvia Reyes next Saturday, October 18.

Here's a closer view.

We met a new couple from London, England--Andy and Sharon Short.  She is supervising ages 3-11 at the British School here, on contract for 2 or 3 years.  So we invited them to dinner.
The guests of honor always get to sit on the side of the table that looks out directly at the temple.

Sweethearts, Sharon Haroldsen and Irma Caballero, helped so much in preparing and cleaning up after.  And their husbands, DeVar and Roberto, also helped in the preparation.
(Elder Haroldsen, Hna. Caballero, Elder Caballero.)

Here's the other side of the table with President Petersen, Hno. y Hna. Short, and Hna. Haroldsen.

Then Hna. Caballero took a photo with me in it.

We had most of the food on the snack bar.

President Petersen had to leave to go open the temple for our 3:00-5:00 training for temple workers from San Miguel, so he wasn't in the group photo.

I had to leave then to get to the temple, also, with the kitchen in a mess.  But came home to a "magic house" with the kitchen spic 'n span.  The sweethearts I mentioned above are the "magic makers."

After the training was over, we took photos outside of the ones who made it from San Miguel.  They said a lot of their workers are sick.  There is an epidemic of Chicuguna going around the country--like Dengue, only worse.  It's transmitted by a mosquito.

I'll see if I can get the other half of the photo to show.

And there they head home for their 2-hour drive to San Miguel. We are so thankful for these temple workers. They do not have a definite shift, but come when they can.

Then we went directly to the missionary setting apart for Hna. Tuti Peña. She leaves in the morning (or maybe it's Tuesday morning) to go to the MTC in México City for her 

México Guadalajara, Mission.

Then we headed back to our apartment.

We pray you have had a restful and peaceful Sabbath Day.
We loved the Sunday School lesson today given by Liz Behner:
Purpose: "To help us understand that Jesus Christ is incomparable in his devotion to his people and that he has a great work for them to do."
"Beside Me There Is No Saviour" from Isaiah 40-49 and other scriptures.
"What think ye of Christ?" Matthew 22:42
"What manner of men ought ye to be?" 3 Nephi 27:27
"Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?"  Matthew 16:13
"Whom say ye that I am?" Mathew 16:15
"Have ye received his image in your countenances?" Alma 5:14
"Isaiah teaches that the Savior is incomparable.
Isaiah describes the Savior's incomparable qualities."
"No one counsels or instructs him."
"He is never weary; he strengthens us."
"He planned and created the universe and knows every part of it."
"He hears us when we are in trouble and blesses us abundantly."
"He will not fail or be discouraged till his purposes are fulfilled."
"He lights and straightens the way for his people who are lost."
"He will help his people through their trials."
"He blots out our sins and remembers them no more."
"He pours out his Spirit on our families like water on dry ground."
"He carries his people from birth to old age."
            (Walt and I related to the 'old age.')
"He will never forget us. We are 'graven' in the palms of his hands."

"The world (Babylon) competes with the Savior for our devotion." 
"The world will be brought down to the dust and become silent and dark." 
"Despite the world's thoughts that it is invincible, it will be destroyed and lost the things of greatest value, symbolized by the loss of husband and children."
"Because the world declares that it is greater than God, desolation will come upon it.
"Isaiah describes the mission of latter-day Israel."
"We were called from birth to fulfill the Lord's work in the last days." Isaiah 49:1,  5; also Jeremiah 1:5
"The Lord has protected us and prepared us for our great responsibilities."
"The Lord has asked his servants to raise up and restore the remnant of Israel and to be a light to the Gentiles." 
     It will be a wonderful when we can see the Savior in true life and not just have artists' portrayals of what they think he looks like.

Of these truths of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we testify. 

In the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.  
Walt & Eileen Petersen - San Salvador