We started off last Monday very early, since the missionaries wanted to drive to the south to see the sunrise from the sand dunes. Elder Larsen and I left here at 6:00 a.m. to drive both cars down to Las Palmas to pick up those six missionaries. Then we met the other four missionaries in Telde, and made the rest of the trip down to Maspalomas. We were a little late for the sunrise, but couldn't have seen it anyway because of the clouds of to the east. We did get some pretty pictures.
Then some people played in the sand.
While other people just sat and watched.
And of course, lots of pictures were taken.
Elder Bartholemew shared beef jerky from home, and then he passed out fruit roll ups to everyone. The little kid in Elder Ruiz quickly came out!
Afterwards, we stopped at the grocery store and everyone pitched in to buy food for breakfast. We came back to the house and fixed breakfast and everyone helped!
We had cheesy scrambled eggs, French toast, bacon, fruit, and juice.
Yummy!
It was sad to see this group leave, knowing that for two of them, it was their last time at the house.
On Tuesday, we had our usual grocery shopping, lesson preparation, piano lessons, and English classes. Afterwards, we had a meeting with President Santana. We had a great meeting as we talked about our young adults and the things we can do to continue to try to meet their needs. President Santana shared a scripture that I have thought a lot about this week.
2 Nephi 5:27:
"And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness."
I love that message and I have been pondering the things that we need to do in our lives so that we can live after the manner of happiness. I know that by keeping the Lord's commandments, and trying to live by the example of the Savior, that we can have true happiness in our lives.
Wednesday, we had a zone training meeting by Elder Ruiz and Elder Moreland.
At the end, Hermana Trone and Elder Moreland spoke for a few minutes and shared their testimonies and a few of the meaningful experiences that they have had on their missions. They both end their missions this week. We will miss them so much.
One last good meal together before tranfers---sweet pork burritos, cilantro-lime rice, Texas caviar, and scotcheroos for dessert.
Friday, we had to head out first thing in the morning to Vecindario to pick up one of the cars that a senior couple from Germany had been using. They were touring some of the medical facilities in the area. Elder Larsen took them to the airport. That was the first of fourteen trips to the airport that he will make between Friday and Wednesday. Elder Larsen's last run to the airport, on Friday night, got him home at midnight. We had ten missionaries stay with us from Tenerife and the Hatches from La Palma. I cooked chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles and Jewish Sweet Bread. We had BYU mint brownies for dessert. They were happy missionaries.
Half of the missionaries were going to shower that night. We don't know why, but the electricity went off twice while they were showering. Elder Larsen was not home, so I was very grateful that I was able to get the electricity working again. During the night, it went off in the entire house. Because we have an electric water pump, if there is no electricity, there is no water. We were getting worried about how we would be able to get everyone ready to leave by 7:00 a.m. with no electricity and no water. With flashlight in hand, Elder Larsen was able to get the electricity back on again, but we were not able to get anymore sleep for the night.
This is Elder and Sister Dyches with Hermana Trone. Elder Dyches is a relative of Hermana Trone's on her mother's side. Elder Dyches is a Seventy and is in the Area Authority Presidency over Europe.
We had a wonderful meeting. We heard from the Dyches and the Jacksons. They gave wonderful talks and many of the missionaries told me that they received counsel that they would be able to apply to be better missionaries.
We are grateful for the opportunity to serve with these wonderful people.
The Hatches, The Larsens, The Jacksons, The Dyches
Elder Bartholemew played a beautiful arrangement of "I Know that My Redeemer Lives."
I am so glad that he is willing to share his talent.
These two elders finally remembered to return my plastic dishes that I had sent home with them at Christmas. They were so proud of themselves. I was happy to get them back. We will be sad to see Elder Maxfield leave us. He has such energy and enthusiasm.
Elder Maxfield and Elder Norrell
Fabio was invited to attend the meeting since it was in English. He leaves in a little over a month for England. He was very happy to visit with Elder Gentry. Elder Gentry is now serving as an assistant to the president. It was fun to see his smiling face again.
We enjoyed spending some time with these two sweet hermanas.
Hermana Staker and Hermana Costogliola
We attended church in Vecindario. Aora was baptized on Friday night. We were sad that we were not able to attend her baptism because of our meeting. She is very happy. Elder Sarango is headed to Madrid. We will miss him. He has served well for the past six months.
After church, we drove to Las Palmas for Elder Larsen to pick up Elder Moreland and Hermana Trone. It was a little sad taking the last pictures of this group.
Hermana Trone and Elder Moreland ate a quick bowl of chicken noodle soup. Elder Moreland, true to form, got soup on the sleeve of his suit jacket. I had to work quickly to try to clean it for him.
These two have served well, and now it is time to go home.
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