Spanish Keyboards...

drive me nuts. Our Apple died, or is dying, so my only option is our Dell with Spanish language keyboard and all kinds of keys I cant find. Like that last apostrophe.

Its hot here during the days now, and the farmers are burning the sugar cane fields, so every night we watch fires burning against the night sky. We wake up to huge chunks of ash on the house and surrounding lawn. Since I get bronchitis so easily, we try to get in the house early and stay in until morning. Its worked pretty well, except last week, when the particles gave me a sinus infection. The pain drove me to ask for pain killer, and the ones the Mission Doctor gave me are taken rectally. Not sure what I did to make her so mad, but they worked. Shout out to my sister, Linda, who once ate a sepository because she didnt listen to the doctors instructions. I was using my teeth to open the packet, thinking Id just swallow the capsule when it slid out, when the word sepository on the packet caught my eye. Thank you, Linda.

These young missonaries, and right now theyre younger than ever before, lots of them just 18 and fresh out of high school, keep me hopping. As their president, they sometimes want my advice, especially when they struggle. One North American stopped by the other day to tell me that he wants to go home. Why? Because he doesnt like Mexico and he doesnt like the Spanish language. All I could think to say was that this is a challenge because this is the only country he will serve his mission in, and they speak a lot of Spanish here. He left disappointed. Another came in to tell me he doesnt like his companion. The only thought that came to mind was get over it. I think the words getting out because interview requests have dropped dramatically. These are kids, though, and sometimes that fact hits you square in the nose. Like last night, when the stench from the feet of the two Elders sitting next to us at the baptism almost made us barf. My job is to gently teach, so after the baptism, I told them their feet reeked, gently. They said they were out of soap and water at their house, and had been for awhile. This a 24 hour teaching job.

The mission home is beautiful, but nothing works for more than 30 days. The guy who takes care of the house forgets to pay the bills, so every month or so we arrive home to a dark house, or a house with no gas, or no internet, or a host of other things. And the outages go from 2 to 6 days. Our helper in the house is great, but every time we leave and she does laundry, some article of Jannas clothing disappears. We figure she needs it more than we do. But last week, Hayley visited us, and after we went hiking for the day, Hayley discovered that her favorite shorts were missing. She paid $1 for them at a thrift store in Utah, so she was really ticked off. She had to return to Utah before our helper returned, which was a secret blessing for our helper.

Speaking of the hike with Hayley, she is famous for dragging whomever is fortunate enough to host her on hikes, or better said, death marches. This one was to a pyramid, hiking 3200 feet straight up a mountain, clinging to rocky ledges. The view at the top was great, but my hell, Hayley, your mom and I are too old for this stuff. We had a minor accident on the way down, well Hayley did, but Im running out of space so you will have to ask her.

The missionaries are encouraged to contact people in the street. In a role reversal back in January, two of them, Elders Celis and Elder Berger, were walking through a neighborhood when an 11 year old girl asked them if they would like a peanut. Elders are always hungry, so of course they said yes. They asked the young girl where she lived, and she said right over there and led them to her front door. Dad was not thrilled when he opened the door and saw the Mormons standing there, but at his daughters insistence he let them in. That led to a discussion of religious things, and last night the entire family, dad, mom, and 3 daughters, were baptized. Pretty neat. One of our missionaries, a Mexican woman 32 years old, wasnt a member of the Church and couldnt read just 5 years ago. While learning about the Church with the missionaries, she attended one Sunday and the bishop promised her that if she read the Book of Mormon, she would learn to read. She just arrived in the mission field, and reads beautifully. Thats the sort of faith we see, and its inspiring to be around it every day.

We are said at the passing of Jannas brother, Mark, but grateful for our memories of him.

Soon, Easton and Jude, our grandsons, will arrive, okay, Bryan and Maren too. Anybody want to see a pyramid on top of a mountain?

So, Greg Nelson, what do you think? Those of you who dont know Greg just need to know that he recently told me that Jannas blogs are better than mine which, if you know Janna, set off all kinds of crowing around here. Been hard to live with her since :)

On the topic of family, we can never find Harper home because of some boy named Andrew, so we call Blair... And Paige and Anthony?  Gypsies drifting between Idaho, Utah, Arizona and Louisianna, all while attending BYU-I. Reid face timed Janna the other day and we learned that he lives on a rocky Hawaiian cliff with an incredible view of the surf. We dont know how he always does it. Hayleys back at work and looking great. Even wearing mascara. Maren and Bryan? Busy. Go Aztecs. Thanks, Reid and Bryan, for the website.

Mexican Christmas!

I glanced at the ugly Christmas trees at Walmart a few miles from our home, and decided instead to climb 2 miles up a mountain trail to "Corta Su Arbol" in Amecameca. At the top, I learned that "Corta Su Arbol" supplies Walmart with trees. I saw a few Posadas, and witnessed thousands of hikers clog the freeways on their trek to worship the Virgin in Mexico City. Of three freeway lanes, two were impassable by car for the hikers for days and days. Impressive faith. Makes me glad to be a Mormon. Not that our ancestors didn't do their share of walking, but now we just drive to Salt Lake City. I loved how Christmas in Mexico means family gatherings, mostly without presents. We could hear the laughter from their homes as we passed by in the days of Christmas.

It was fun for Janna and I to host Reid & Malinda and Blair and Harper for Christmas. Reid's spanish came roaring back, he lit every firework we could buy, and everyone loved the day in Taxco, the silver capital of Mexico, way up in the mountains. The flu made the rounds between us, but no one seemed to pay too much attention. As a mission, we focused on service to the communities we're in, and helped out a lot of people. Then, on the 24th, the missionaries caroled in the "Zocalos" of those same towns. Hundreds stopped by, listened, and mingled with the missionaries. It's cold here, so they all had jackets and scarfs, beanies, it was fun. 

Missionaries can be pretty competitive, so I worried about our first mission wide soccer tournament, zone against zone. A zone is a group of 26 or so missionaries, and the faces change over time as missionaries are transferred to other areas. The zone "Meyehualco" won the tournament, and Humberto, the stone cutter on my way home, cut a stone trophy which sits in the mission office. When they think I'm not listening, the elders tell the newly arriving missionaries that they were part of the winning "Meyehualco" team. Hmmm, I went to San Dieguito High School in the 70's, so I could have the math wrong, but apparently all 126 missionaries played for the "Meyehualco" zone that day and the other zones had no one.

We are reflecting on our first six months in the mission field with these incredible young men and women. They carried us the first few weeks. We could see they were sharp, but we didn't know much. Being a mission president and his wife is like jumping on an Amtrak at full speed. No time to train you, just get up here and start working. So, we watched them, and learned from them, and we're now beginning to understand our role. It has just about killed us to let them go home when it's their turn. When you're asked to give what they are asked to give, you bond real quick. I won't try to list their names because there are so many and I might leave one out, but we have watched them go through something tough yet rewarding, and we will never forget them, not one. We worry what will become of the mission as each leaves, and takes their experience and love for the Mexican people with them, but the younger ones step up and fill in the holes. We have never laughed or cried more in six months. The assignment is relentless, but we're not tired.

On my birthday, Elders Buchanon, Pleites, Ojeda and Ramos invited us to the baptism of two families of 5 each in one baptismal service, or 10 people, and Elders Zufelt and Parker invited us to work with them and gifted me a Bolivian looking sweater and beanie. On the 18th of December, the entire mission gathered to enjoy a Christmas Conference. Janna directed games and a gift exchange (126 gifters!), and she and the Birds, a senior couple on assignment from Utah, baked cookies. We hired a local to cook tacos, al pastor con pina, suadero, and gringos. And great skits poking fun at their lives as missionaries. I guess we're too new because no one poked fun at us. I don't think the man before me reads my blog, so I'll say this, Elder Lauritzen does a perfect impression of him, including "Bueno, bueno, bueno".  I laugh and think "ugh, it's just a matter of time." But what could they come up with? I mean ... . We finished with Christmas Carols and testimonies, then the mission gifted them a pair of socks and a few pieces of candy. It was the only gift many of them received.

Janna and I witness miracles every day, practically every hour. Our favorite time is spent out with the missionaries, walking the streets, sometimes late at night, in small pueblos in the country or in the big city, from one appointment to another, teaching and working with the people. As we do, we are silenced by just how good these missionaries are, and just how much they strive to emulate their Savior, Jesus Christ.

Man, I want our kids and their families to move here, and then I want this never to end.

Our best wishes to everyone that 2014 will be a great year!