Happy Halloween!

This week I am grateful for Hermana Trone.  Because Hermana Irigoyen left on Monday morning, and Hermana West did not come until Wednesday evening, Hermana Trone was our companion for three days.  She is a wonderful missionary and a wonderful young woman.  I just love her.  We have been asked several times if she is our daughter.  I'll happily take her.  I never felt like I had enough daughters.  She has a fun sense of humor, a positive attitude, and a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. She works hard as a missionary and has a desire to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as she can.  It was great to have her with us.

We were very sad to say goodbye to these two missionaries, Elder Wiltbank and Hermana Irigoyen.  

 Hermana Larsen and Hermana Trone at District Meeting

Elder Hansen is our district leader.  He told us a great story about when he lived in Boston and was a big Red Sox fan.  He always wanted to get a foul ball for a souvenir.  Finally as they were seated on the wall in foul territory, a ball came their way on the ground.  His dad told him to jump forward and he would grab his legs to keep him falling out of the stands on to the field.  He still has that ball today.  Elder Hansen used this as a great analogy.  Just as he needed his father to help him accomplish his goal, we need our Heavenly Father to help us accomplish our goal of returning to Him. Elder Hansen had tried before to get a ball, but it took the help of his father.  But our Heavenly Father is just like Elder Hansen's father.  Heavenly Father will help us, but we have to do our part. We have to put forth the effort.  And we have to trust our Heavenly Father that He will hold onto our feet, and He will not let us fall.  Great anaology!

 Hermana Trone, Elders Tanner, Hansen, Bybee and our new missionary Elder Moreland

After our district meeting, while we were eating, one of the missionaries referred to the first two weeks of being with a new companion as the "honeymoon" period.  They said that right at first, both companions are trying to get along and have a really good attitude, and that things go really well. Since Elder Moreland just arrived on Monday, then he and Elder Bybee are in that phase.  Then we all died laughing when Elder Bybee and Elder Moreland decided to split the last pumpkin cookie and Elder Bybee fed the cookie to Elder Moreland.  Too funny!

We loved having Hermana Trone with us.  She was a great help in the kitchen and was willing to help out in anyway possible.  But I am sure she was more than ready to get back to her regular schedule and get to work training Hermana West.  We are excited to get to know our new missionary.

Wednesday we received a package from home for Elder Thunell.  He was very happy when we delivered it to him on Wednesday night.

Spaniards don't trick-or-treat and don't celebrate Halloween the way we do in the U.S., though there were a few stores that had a few Halloween things.  Friday night, the missionaries put on a Halloween Party at the church.  They had games and a spook alley. I played scary music in the dark as they entered into the spook alley.

Some very clever costumes for our Missionary Ninja Turtles!

 Hermana West as Daisy Duck and Hermana Trone as Minnie Mouse!

 Ninja Turtles and Apple Bobbing

 Two of our fine-looking young adults, Fran and David.

 And couple of my piano students looking very scary!

 No costume for Josué, just a messed up knee.

 These missionaries had too much fun trying to pop each others balloons.

I baked all afternoon and made a huge batch of spider cookies, monster eyeballs, and green Rice Krispie Treats.  They were supposed to be decorated as Frankenstein heads, but I ran out of time. They all got eaten, even though they weren't decorated.  

Because I was baking for the party, and was with my companion all day, I couldn't bake a cake to surprise him.  So, my thanks to Hermana Trone for baking a decorating a Red Velvet cake for Elder Larsen.  The whole ward sang a rousing round of Happy Birthday to him!

Then they all cheered for a "beso."

Happy 58th Birthday to my Sweetheart!

Saturday was Hermana Trone's birthday and we surprised her with hot cinnamon rolls and A&W Root Beer.  She ate cinnamon rolls in the morning and shared the root beer with the other missionaries that afternoon by having root beer floats.  Nothing like a little taste of home!  We are so blessed to have a British/American store right across the street from the church.  They do have some good things sometimes, if you are willing to pay the price.

We have been a little homesick this week.  One of our grandchildren, Sawyer Lutes, was baptized on Saturday and all of our children and grandchildren were together for the weekend, and went trick-or-treating together on Friday night.  We love them all so much and are happy that they could be together for the weekend.  We are so proud of Sawyer for wanting to be baptized and for being ready to take Christ's name upon him and try to live his life in accordance with the Lord's will.  We love you Sawyer!