Well, spending Thanksgiving in Spain was a little bit different, we dearly missed being around family members, although we were with some very dear friends (Temple Missionaries) and we worked in the Temple. We had our Thanksgiving celebration of Monday, our Preparation Day and it was a wonderful feast! Sister Silvia, the Temple secretary arranged for us to buy some turkeys to cook….when we picked them up, they were fresh, but still had many parts of the feather and skin on them. We had to finish plucking and cleaning the birds off, but as you missionaries know, nothing will stop a hungry crew from doing whatever you have to do to eat some great food. We cooked the turkeys because there is a new law if you have any employee cook something other than what they are supposed to, you have to pay them overtime. We had been hoping that the cooks in the Missionary Training Center would do the job as they had done in previous years-but this was not the case this year. We had gone to the store “Taste of America” - a little hole in wall place, and had seen the oven cooking bags so we purchased a couple of boxes and used the old cooking bag formula-
you can never go wrong with this approach!We also cooked and made mashed potatoes for 10 people (we fed a total of 30 people).
There were the typical trimmings; turkey dressing, sweet potatoes, various vegetables, rolls, and of course pumpkin pie.
It turned out really good and the native missionaries (Spanish, Portuguese and French) loved every bit of it. Most of us overate and suffered a little bit during the first few days of the week.On Tuesday, a stake from Setubal, Portugal came to the Temple, there were not too many of them until Friday when two more busloads showed up, then on Saturday another bus with 60 youth showed up for baptisms. The two busloads on Friday were sisters from the stake Relief Society, there were about 50 of them. They had scheduled three special Temple Sessions for themselves and seeing that the ordinance rooms only hold about 40 (without chairs), we split the session and one session started at the appointed time and another one about 25 minutes later. Of course, this upsets the published Temple schedule, but what a joy it was to have the Temple really busy. In one of the sessions the room was so hot that one sister passed out and this caused quite a stir, we were running around trying to revive her, get her some water, get her up and about and down to the Infirmary …but she refused to leave and said that she had to finish the work for the person that she was officiating for. The faith of some of the people is simply amazing!
On Saturday, the 60 youth came to the Temple to do baptisms and I had the opportunity to be the director of the Baptistery and it was really a challenge. They broke their group into two and sent one group at 8:00 am and the other one at 10:00am, they had to be complete by 12:30 pm because their bus was leaving at 1:00pm. Needless to say, this took some help from a lot of people, mainly the Lord. The kids had traveled one way, 7.5 hours to do the work, they wanted to perform enough baptisms that made the trip worthwhile and yet they had to be back on the road for another 7.5 hour trip home. They were amazing youth and if you ever wondered what the church will do in Portugal for leadership in the future you only had to be with these youth and feel of their spirit and the love they have for our Father in Heaven.
Jumping back to Wednesday, we (Moore’s, Thomas’s, Rust’s and us) went to the city of Alcala. This is about an hour ride each was (Metro and Train), we left at 2:30pm and arrived safely. This city is where Cervantes was born and spent most of his life. He wrote many books, but is perhaps best known for “Don Quixote-Man of LaMancha.”
By the way Brother Thomas and his wife were professors at BYU, he teaching in the English Literature field and so he was able to give us quite a bit of information concerning the book and the authors’ life. This work was very offensive to the Catholic Church/Spain and they would have done away with anyone who had made some of the accusations that he did in the book, but he was considered insane and this saved his life. We took pictures of many things, sitting by Don Quixote and Pablo, his sidekick, 
Cervantes home, Cervantes’s Plaza, 
the University of Alcala and much more.
We even sat down to eat a Kabob at a corner restaurant. 
The city is very picturesque and we definitely want to return in the summer time. They claim to have had the oldest university in Europe (many cities claim this) but they had one that was moved to Madrid a couple of hundred years ago, because Madrid did not have one at that time.
Since then they have started another university in the buildings that existed. It is a very beautiful city. We also visited what they call a "Palace" this was very beautiful and was a combination of Islamic/Arabic/Chiristian decor and finishings. 
In this building they had one of the first copies of the Bible as translated in Hebrew/Arabic/Islamic and another language, it was pretty impressive. 
They also had a first edition of the first illustrated Bible. We have two full-time Temple workers (both the recorder and assistant recorder) that live there, I am sure they would love to show us around when it is warmer.Thursday was Thanksgiving and we had the privilege of working in the Temple with the saints from Setubal. It was a special day and really didn’t stop to think about all that we were missing because there is such a wonderful feeling in the house of the Lord. Sure we always think and pray about our family(s) and their welfare, but there was a real sense of peace and love that permeated our souls. We look forward to next Thanksgiving when we will be with our family, but for now we know that what we are doing is the RIGHT THING! Without our service we would not be receiving so many blessings and I am sure that our children/family would not be so blessed.
Friday we invited the sister missionaries for lunch (Sisters Layton, Davenport and Miller) and had a wonderful time.
It is a blessing to have the missionaries in our home and to feel of their spirits and to be taught by them. Sister Layton will be returning home in a couple of weeks and we wanted her to know how much we love her. She had to serve in Atlanta for almost six months waiting for her visa. We have heard other horror stories about Spain visas, so we know for sure that us getting our visas in less than two months really was a miracle/blessing. We also put up our Christmas Tree and some other decorations. 
The tree this year is in a color that is near and dear to us. We really look forward to the Christmas holiday and pray the Lord's choicest blessing to be with each of you as you prepare for this Holy Holiday.
The tree this year is in a color that is near and dear to us. We really look forward to the Christmas holiday and pray the Lord's choicest blessing to be with each of you as you prepare for this Holy Holiday.We usually don’t write much about our Temple experiences because of the sacredness of them, but yesterday (Saturday) I had a wonderful experience in the Baptistery. Brother Reina (about 45 years old, 6’ 5” tall, 280 lbs) who served as a Stake President when he was 34 years old and who at present is a volunteer Recorder in the Temple and a counselor in the Presidency of the Madrid Spain Mission, plus he holds a full-time job. He came to the Baptistery with his son and wife, he wanted to do the work (baptism and confirmation) of his father-he had died exactly one year before. He was so humbled and excited, he brought a real special feeling/spirit with him. I quickly worked him into the process, he and his son (who was representing his grandfather) entered the font and got in position. He raised his arm to the square and then paused, fighting back the emotion of the occasion. He finally performed the prayer with great dignity and when he brought his son up out of the water they just hugged each other for about 30 seconds. He then confirmed his son (representing his father) at the edge of the font a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was simply holding the card with the father’s name on, it was again a very special moment and he was again taken by emotion. I put my arm around him and he completed the ordinance with great dignity. When he finished, by the way both him and his son were still wet from the baptismal font, but they were warm with the spirit. I felt the spirit (more strongly on this occasion) and the presence of his father that it was something that I will never forget. Both Brother Reina, his son and wife that was watching from the rear of the Baptistery all felt that his father’s spirit was there and that he had accepted the opportunity to join the Church. Later in the day he completed the other ordinances and to complete the process had his father sealed to his mother and then he was sealed to them for time and all eternity. Other people that saw this family through the day knew that something special was occurring because of the strong, strong spirit that was radiating from them. This is what it is all about, FAMILIES TOGETHER FOREVER!
We love our family very, very much and can only express our love for you through emails, letters and webcams. We are dying to put our arms around you and give you all a big squeeze…the time will come, sooner than we think, and the joy that will fill our hearts will be indescribable. May the Lord bless each and everyone of you with all of your righteous desires….this can and will happen as you qualify for them by obedience to His commandments.
Today in Sunday School class we received this wonderful quote from Elder F. Enzio Busche. “ There is a simple lesson we each have the opportunity to learn in life. It is that in each of us is the potential for two opposing situations. A person can experience feelings of joy that become almost unbearable. Or a person can experience unhappiness to the extent that there seems to be no way out….Some individuals reach such a state of depression -- or become so empty and hollow -- that they want this life to come to an end. Both extremes are within our reach and both extremes seem to be based on circumstance. Many who have not come to a state of spiritual awakening, may in fact, believe that circumstances are the deciding factor in happiness…[We must] follow the longing of our souls and search for the Living God…[We must] spend all our waking hours under the influence of the Light that emanates from Him…We alone decide where it is that we stand on the continuum between total frustration and completed fullness of joy.” (Yearning for the Living God)
May the Lord bless each of us with His spirit and may we live worth of His many wonderful blessings. Love Mom & Dad
Her Father is the first general authority called from France and he was put in as a seventy in April’s General Conference. His name is Gerald Casse (Tom told him to be quiet in the Temple, not knowing who he was). They are/were very gracious people. This daughter was their oldest and has four other siblings. They took pictures outside afterwards and I was able to get a few. I felt very honored to have that opportunity . By the way it was not because I knew French but because the bride and her mother spoke English!
The tie I bought from a Russian Elder who was here to get his Visa. The Rust’s invited us to lunch at their place which was very sweet of them. In his dessert he got a candle and we sang Happy Birthday to him.Thanks to all of the family and friends who sent emails, he loved them.
She is starting a new job tomorrow. She is going to be taking care of an elderly person in her home each day . She is very strong in the church and has a strong testimony of the gospel. 
It’s always great to see her and to have her come over.
Spanish, but are wonderful people. He is a sealer in the Temple and so they both know the ordinances very well….but in French. This will come in very handy when the French saints are in town and I would imagine that all of us will start to learn some of the simple French phrases so that we can communicate. The other couple (Thomas’s, Gordon and Kathy) just arrived from 
their eighteen month mission in the Canary Islands…they extended six months and came here. They speak Spanish very well and have worked in a Temple before, so they will be up to speed in no time. Sister Nancy Lafertt also arrived, she is from Spain and has come several times to the
Temple while we have been here, she is here for at least twelve months this time. Also, Sister Martins from Portugal has arrived, has come to the Temple many times and is now here on a 
mission for at least twelve months. These great people will greatly add to our abilities to do the things that we are supposed to do.
downtown Madrid. We heard that they served a pretty good steak, so we decided to try it out for Sister Lunt’s and my birthday. The food was excellent, and yes, you can get a decent tasting steak in Spain (although they advertised this meat was imported from Argentina). The cost was a little more, but very much worth it.
saw the city wall of Moorish dynasty that occupied this part of Spain before Christ, then close by we saw the city wall of the Islamic dynasty,
the walls are just different enough that you can tell they are not pulling your leg. We also were shown the two remaining Christian towers that have
been restored from the 16th Century. I believe they said there were twelve, but these are the only two that have been restored (but you can see the Moorish influence in the construction). As the Islamics moved in, the Moors either left or just moved outside of the city walls…the same with the Islamics when Christianity came to the area. This picture shows a man standing and gazing at what it used to be like (he’s a bit stiff and not very talkative). 
If you look closely at this picture you can see rows and rows of flowers in racks/rows leaning 
against the front of the Cathedral….they had just celebrated their “Veteran’s Day” and these were all in honor of those that had given their lives. 
This picture shows an example of the beautiful exteriors of many of the buildings in the older part of Madrid. 
here you can see Mom in all of her Flamenco splendor and her and Sister Lunt standing next to the “headless” man. 
Tom is the next great Matador of Spain and is constantly in demand for pictures. 
In Plaza Mayor (every city has a plaza which is/was central to the city) and in the Madrid Plaza Mayor there are always a lot of Mimes doing their things (nothing…until you pay them). Here is 
the "Mud Woman” I can’t imagine getting that stuff on you a couple of times a day?
following our shift at the Temple. She is a single gal that has been here twice since we arrived…she comes for three weeks at a time and does a lot of work and is also a Temple worker. She is recently widowed, her husband died about nine months ago, he was the Stake President in Madeira-it was unexpected, but got pneumonia and died rather quickly. She is 28 years old and has a great attitude for having just gone through an ordeal such as this. She lives with her mother and they are extremely active.
This is the little older couple that we have written about before. This is the second time they have been here, they also come for three weeks and work, work, work. They do 5-6 sessions a day plus other ordinances. They were both born in Venezuela (Caracas) moved to Portugal many years ago. They are the most humble people that we have met and we have learned much from them. He is 85 years old and she is just a little bit younger. They brought us some homemade jam (Quince?) this time, it tastes pretty good. 
All three ate and ate and ate. We fixed small pork chops, funeral potatoes (had to make our own hash browns) and corn. He ate about five pork chops, three helpings of potatoes and about a pound of corn. She ate just a little less and Claudia ate her fair share also. We hear they have been living on soup and sandwiches since they have been here. There was a little bit left over so we sent it home with them. This experience was one of the paybacks for being away from your own family. 
Really caring and loving to everyone and they both speak great Spanish. The next couple is President Gene and Sister Joan Hill (Missionary Training Center President). They are great people and we appreciate all they do for the young missionaries as they strive to learn the language of their mission (Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and other).
We thank each of you for your love, support and prayers. Without them we would not know what to do or where to go. We really love this experience, but can only be here because we know that our Father in Heaven is mindful of each of you and blessing you with blessing that otherwise might not be available. We want you to know that we love all of you and look forward to hearing about your holiday traditions. Love Mom & Dad 
It is located in the Las Rosas Centro Comercial (Mall). 
We went there this week to return the space heater that I already broke! No worries though I got a replacement. It is at this Mall where we go to eat at the Kabob place we love so much.
Close to where we got on the Metro was this cool fountain with dolphins and water coming from their mouths.
They were very appreciative and Tom and Berkley’s back have never been the same since! 
I’m sure it won’t be long before they don’t have any leaves left.
Today we had been asked to talk at the MTC at their sacrament meeting. We had done this once before when we were new here. It is a great experience to be with them. The CES couple (Bob & Susan Sproul) have been called to be the MTC Presidents' counselor and they were the ones who asked us to speak. 
They told us to keep our talk because when we speak again we will have a whole new group! They have fewer Missionaries there now than they have had since we’ve been here. Half of the ones who were there were Russian Missionaries who had come to get their visas renewed. When they sing out on the temple grounds after they are finished we have the opportunity to talk to some of them and find out a little more about them. They stay for 6 weeks here so we are able to get close to some of them.
The food was pretty good, reasonably priced and you could eat all you wanted….most of the guys got more than their money’s worth, while the women barely scratched the surface. We also saw a part of Madrid that we had not seen before. 
These twin towers were really impressive and they actually do lean towards each other.
They made a few changes inside the Temple but said the basic structure, mechanical and everything else “physical” was sound and so no new major projects were scheduled this time around-they go through and check all the Temples every three years for wear and tear.
We had a great time and they left us with a great message and a challenge to do whatever we could to share the gospel with those with whom we come in contact with. These sisters are really enthusiastic and add a tremendous spirit to the work.
We had not been there for several months and it was fun to enjoy the beauties of this area and to see all of the people there. 
There were a lot of people enjoying the decent weather, there were puppet shows, people rowing boats around the small lake, people visiting the Crystal Palace and much more. 
(notice the cat on the leash...the leash would have held a full grown tiger). The trip to and from the Park is usually on the Metro (underground) and it is always an adventure.
Here we have the Lunt's and Sharon with the Metro in the background-these are two of the beautiful riders that we often see aboard the trains. 
We received emails from many family members this week and it was wonderful to hear about how things are going. We are looking forward to seeing the grandkids in their Halloween costumes - hopefully, they got enough candy to last them until this coming weekend? I know Paul said that he was shooting to have Hallie’s candy gone no later than Sunday afternoon (some things never change).
