Wow! It was really neat to be able to see all of the sessions of General Conference and to feel of the spirit of the brethren. We were able to watch in the confines of our apartment as KBYU showed all of the sessions. They were both Saturday and Sunday beginning at 6:00 pm, 10:00 pm & Priesthood at 2:00 am Sunday morning local time. It appeared that the heavens were weeping in Salt Lake City again as the saints met. Call it our mission and being away from loved ones, but the messages seem to have more impact this time and we were anxiously waiting for the words to flow out of the speakers mouths. We totally enjoyed the sessions. They were also broadcast in Spanish to the Stake Center next door and the MTC above us. They were a lot of people that came to watch and listen to the sessions at the Stake Center. The MTC carried them live in English, Spanish, French and Italian.
Following a couple of the sessions KBYU played the “World Report of the Church” segment and part of it showed how religious freedoms had come to Spain. Our Madrid 6th Ward Bishop and his wife were interviewed during the segment and the Temple and grounds were shown.
It’s always fun to see someone that you know on a program such as this. I will ask him (Bishop) for his autograph on a “glossy” picture next Sunday. He is a great, young man…he appears to be about eighteen years old and has a smile that is priceless.Due to conference the last session in the Temple on Saturday was the 1:00 pm session and it (Temple) closed at 3:00 pm so we could all go and watch the proceedings. This past week was pretty slow, there were very few people each day that came to the Temple, so the sessions were usually small (6-15 people). You would think it would be more simple when there are fewer people, but it is really just the opposite….you are constantly running around to augment certain portions of the endowment sessions which has an effect on all the other ordinances that are ongoing.
On Monday, we went the with Lunt’s down to the Palacio Real of Madrid-by the way this small palace has over 2,080 rooms
and has the ability to serve 140 people at the same time in a formal setting for dinner (just a little overkill). We have talked about this before and have shown pictures. This trip we visited the gardens and spent some time sitting and watching people. 
The gardens are beautiful and you can only imagine the amount of people and time that it takes to keep things looking so nice. Again, I find it hard to believe that some few had so much in the olden days.On Wednesday, the Temple President (President Howard) came up to me at the Recommend Desk as he was leaving for the day and told me that he was going to have to pull a dirty trick on us (Shaw’s).
By that he meant that he was going to change us from one group of Temple workers to the other group. There are two couples going home this month and that would leave that group with only three couples and it would be extremely difficult to do what they have to do. We have really loved being with the group that we are presently assigned to and we have grown very close to them over the past six months.Just wanted to show you all one example of how hard of a time the Spanish have with our name (SHAW)….it seems pretty simple to me but…? This is a schedule that mom got for one day last week, note the spelling of her name.
We were surprised this week by a phone call from the receptionist that we had a package waiting for us at the desk (we were not expecting anything). So I went down to see what it was and to our surprise it was a package from our dear friends Lynn (Pete) and Cindy Peterson. It was packed with muffin mixes, spices, smores treats, rice crispy treats, hot tamales, gravy mixes and more. What a great surprise.
The BYU Cougars won again, beating Utah State University by the score of 34-14.
We didn’t stay up and listen as it didn’t begin until 2:00 am local time (guess this means that we are only fair weather fans?). We knew they would win so we just waited until the next morning to find out the score.Our friends (Gil & Heidi Bowden) from the Siberia, Russia Mission came back to renew their visas.
We had dinner for them on Sunday afternoon, watched a session of conference and went for a walk with them. As we listen to their stories we realize just how blessed we are to be here in Madrid. It sounds like the accommodations, food, transportation and everything else is kind of primitive. The language is extremely difficult and they are having a hard time getting everything coordinated through the humanitarian system. We know that we are here because we probably couldn’t take the rigors and challenges of such a mission.We also received from new pictures from Paul, Kellie, Hallie and Maddie this week, they are beautiful and just have to share a picture of a picture of Hal Lou and Maddie.
It is hard to believe that we have now been gone for six months, the time is really flying and we hope that we have been able to scratch the surface of what we are supposed to be doing? The work is so rewarding, especially, when you see people come here for the first time and leave with a totally different view of life and of their purpose and potential. We see a lot of big, strong men get tears in their eyes when they feel the spirit of the Lord and allow themselves to be lifted and guided.We love our assignment and know that we are here for a special purpose. Thanks to each and everyone of you for your love, support and prayers. We love you all with all of our hearts. We pray the Lord’s choicest blessings to be with each and everyone of you….He knows you individually and your most secret desires. Love Mom & Dad
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