Spain 8th Week 9 15 June 2008

Spain 8th Week 9-15 June 2008

There has not been much action this week, because we have our big trip June 16 thru the 24th. The temple is closed for cleaning for two weeks. We will be reporting all about our trip when we get back.

We did do some grocery shopping because of the truckers strike. Every one else has been shopping as well because a lot of the shelves are getting bare.

Particularly the produce section. There are small stores closeby our apartment, but you ususally have to go to about four different ones to get everything that you want...some carry this, some carry that, this brand is better, and so on and so forth-you really appreciate being able to go to one store and get everything that you need or want. What is sad is that the dairy’s are having to throw a bunch of milk away because they have to keep milking the cows and they have no where to transport all the milk. One thing that makes us feel like home is that they play English music in most of the stores! That seems a little odd! They have little plastic carts that you can will around or you can use a middle shopping cart. The floors are all tile so if you use a shopping cart you can not keep it straight , it goes on an angle. So you look like you’ve had a bit to much to drink going down the aisles! They actually have a huge store that they call the European Wal-Mart (CarreFour). It has food and clothes, so it’s a super store!

They have farmacia’s (Pharmacys) all over the place, so Sharon can keep her own pharmacy in tact!
They also have tons of shoe stores, which are always a temptation for Sharon! Boy, you can say that!There are also a lot of dollar type stores that are called Hiper’s - Tom’s favorite place! I can see that we will have to have a ladie's day" sometime, so that we can actually check things out! These stores are run by Japanese people. It seems pretty funny to hear them speak Spanish instead of their own language!

This is for Miles, here is a street side Churros stand...they serve churros any way you can imagine and chocolate....um, um, good!

Also, due to the mostly high rise apartment buildings throughout the area there are a lot of playgrounds and common areas so the children have some place to play,most appear to be used frequently by the local parents and children. All are bright colored and are in almost every single block.

The closest METRO stop is about a block and a half away from our apartment it leads to connections with like 15 different routes under the city of Madrid....it is very simple to get around the city-the only problem with the metro is that it is underground and you're not able to see the scenery. When we went to sign our papers for residency a couple of weeks ago, we went through the longest tunnel in Europe...it was almost 10 kilometers long (6 miles)....to think that both something like this and the metro is underground boggles my simple mind?

Most importantly we worked in the temple all week. We had people here from Porto, Portugal. They came in a bus, and stayed all week. Some of their youth came on Saturday to do baptisms. They drove most the night to get here. It takes 9 hours to and from Porto. Then they left for home Saturday afternoon to head back! A lot of bus riding, but they were excited to come.

A couple who is going to get married came to receive their endowments. Apparently they will have to get married civilly first, because Spain does not recognize Temple Marriages as being legitimate. A lot of couples (men and women) have two gold bands. One on the left hand and one on the right. Apparently when they get engaged they wear the ring on the left finger. Then when they get married they wear the wedding band on the right hand.

The people here in Spain seem very family oriented which should be a plus for conversion to our Church. They are very friendly people, especially those in the church. Sharon has kissed more women since we have been here then ever! Every time a women greets another they kiss each other on both cheeks! If they see you and they are not close enough to kiss you they blow you a kiss! Just so long as the men don’t start that I guess we’re okay! Tom taught the Sunday School lesson today and did an excelante job!

Our new Temple President was announced in the church news yesterday. His name is Gary Moore. He and his wife should be coming the first part of November. They look like a nice couple, it will be interesting to see if they change many things when they take over. One of the missiionary couples serving here in the Temple worked with him when they were serving in Argentina-he was the Mission President at that time. He is the third in charge of church Seminaries and Institutes and they live in Bountiful, Utah.

Happy Father’s Day to all you special Dad’s out there. Thanks to all the kids for their special notes and cards, they mean a lot to him. You are all such wonderful examples to us, and we love and appreciate each and every one of you. The Temple work is incredible. The language here is coming despite our frailties. Thanks so much for your Faith and Prayers. We love you all tremendously, till next time Mom and Dad