Spain 74th Week 14-20 September 2009
We survived another morning shift this week! It seems like it is hard to get enough sleep on those weeks, but once we’re up it’s not so bad. Last Sunday after Tom wrote the blog we had the Wilson’s (Kevin & Karen) and the Ford’s (Rodney & Marcia) for dinner. The Wilson’s are the couple who are living here in Spain while Kevin (United States Air Force) works for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
They had invited the American’s to a 4th of July party at their house. They brought us gifts which were so nice; a table runner, which is beautiful, and a “NATO” shirt for Tom. We had an enjoyable time together. The Ford’s are the new kids on the block at the Temple.
On Monday, we took the Ford’s and the Picard’s to our favorite Mall, La Gavia. This is as modern as any mall in the United States and has a great food court. We are trying to show them the ropes before we leave. Of course we ate there!
The Portuguese (Lisbon) were here in the Temple all week. They kept us hopping which is always great. They had big baptismal groups and a lot of adults doing a lot of family work. Many times in initiatory we had one worker speaking Portuguese, another speaking French, and another speaking Spanish. Thankfully the spirit is felt even though the language may be foreign to the patron.
Wednesday we took the Ford’s and the Picard’s to another Mall called La Vaguada. This is also a mall like many back home only older. We ate there too! When we came home we got rained on which is the first rain here in a long time. The temperature dropped quite a few degrees so summer could be over? The Picard’s are the couple from France who came before and left for three months and have now returned to serve for another four months.
Friday, after we got home from the Temple, we had the Elders assigned to our ward to lunch (Elders Stearns, Scott, Forberg, Ogden and Padrones).
They sure can put the food away! Elder Padrones is from Spain waiting for his Visa to go to the MTC in Provo and then to Ogden for his Mission. He spoke English quite well already. They left us with a challenge to get better acquainted with the “Preach My Gospel” book. They are great Elder’s; our favorite is Elder Stearns (reminds mom of Scott).
Friday night we took Elisa Monteiro (Portugal) to get a Kabob. She comes to the Temple once a month and brings others with her in her car. She has been doing this for eight years. She definitely does not have a lot of money but she has a strong commitment to attend and work in the Temple.
She grew up in an orphanage in a Catholic Monastery. She joined the church twenty five years ago. She is quite the little fire ball! She has gotten to know most of the Temple Missionaries through the years.
Today we spoke at the MTC for the last time. They have a totally new group of nineteen missionaries. About half are Spanish and the other half American. I had to have an interpreter which I’ve never done before, but somehow we got through it. Tom did his own interpreting and did a great job. We ate with them again afterwards. We are going to miss experiences like that and the spirit that we feel from them.
We have exchanged many emails and given out pictures to many friends here. Our hearts have been touched by many people here both in the Temple and out. Our Mission has been a wonderful experience. We are so glad that we set the goal to serve together many years ago. The Lord blesses us daily and has kept us healthy and safe. We look forward to being reunited with all of you. We look at pictures of the family often, and count our many blessings for all of you. Our kids are all very anxious for us to get back; in fact they are all going a little crazy!
We love you all Mom and Dad / Nana and Papa / Elder and Hermana Shaw
We survived another morning shift this week! It seems like it is hard to get enough sleep on those weeks, but once we’re up it’s not so bad. Last Sunday after Tom wrote the blog we had the Wilson’s (Kevin & Karen) and the Ford’s (Rodney & Marcia) for dinner. The Wilson’s are the couple who are living here in Spain while Kevin (United States Air Force) works for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
They had invited the American’s to a 4th of July party at their house. They brought us gifts which were so nice; a table runner, which is beautiful, and a “NATO” shirt for Tom. We had an enjoyable time together. The Ford’s are the new kids on the block at the Temple.On Monday, we took the Ford’s and the Picard’s to our favorite Mall, La Gavia. This is as modern as any mall in the United States and has a great food court. We are trying to show them the ropes before we leave. Of course we ate there!
The Portuguese (Lisbon) were here in the Temple all week. They kept us hopping which is always great. They had big baptismal groups and a lot of adults doing a lot of family work. Many times in initiatory we had one worker speaking Portuguese, another speaking French, and another speaking Spanish. Thankfully the spirit is felt even though the language may be foreign to the patron.
Wednesday we took the Ford’s and the Picard’s to another Mall called La Vaguada. This is also a mall like many back home only older. We ate there too! When we came home we got rained on which is the first rain here in a long time. The temperature dropped quite a few degrees so summer could be over? The Picard’s are the couple from France who came before and left for three months and have now returned to serve for another four months.
Friday, after we got home from the Temple, we had the Elders assigned to our ward to lunch (Elders Stearns, Scott, Forberg, Ogden and Padrones).
They sure can put the food away! Elder Padrones is from Spain waiting for his Visa to go to the MTC in Provo and then to Ogden for his Mission. He spoke English quite well already. They left us with a challenge to get better acquainted with the “Preach My Gospel” book. They are great Elder’s; our favorite is Elder Stearns (reminds mom of Scott).Friday night we took Elisa Monteiro (Portugal) to get a Kabob. She comes to the Temple once a month and brings others with her in her car. She has been doing this for eight years. She definitely does not have a lot of money but she has a strong commitment to attend and work in the Temple.
She grew up in an orphanage in a Catholic Monastery. She joined the church twenty five years ago. She is quite the little fire ball! She has gotten to know most of the Temple Missionaries through the years.Today we spoke at the MTC for the last time. They have a totally new group of nineteen missionaries. About half are Spanish and the other half American. I had to have an interpreter which I’ve never done before, but somehow we got through it. Tom did his own interpreting and did a great job. We ate with them again afterwards. We are going to miss experiences like that and the spirit that we feel from them.
We have exchanged many emails and given out pictures to many friends here. Our hearts have been touched by many people here both in the Temple and out. Our Mission has been a wonderful experience. We are so glad that we set the goal to serve together many years ago. The Lord blesses us daily and has kept us healthy and safe. We look forward to being reunited with all of you. We look at pictures of the family often, and count our many blessings for all of you. Our kids are all very anxious for us to get back; in fact they are all going a little crazy!
We love you all Mom and Dad / Nana and Papa / Elder and Hermana Shaw
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