This week I have been so grateful for modern technology. I remember when I was a little girl and we might be able to hear one session of general conference. Now, living on an island in the Atlantic Ocean, not only was I able to watch all of the conference sessions live, all this week I have been listening to the conference sessions and rereading them, and have been blessed by the beautiful messages. How grateful I am for this opportunity to learn and grow. Here is one of my favorite talks. (I have lots of them.)
Monday was a wonderful "Girl's Day Out." I love these two hermanas and I am so grateful that they like to hang out with me. It makes me feel young again. Elder Larsen drove the hermanas and me to Las Canteras. This beach is right on the edge of Las Palmas. There are some fun touristy shops where we bought a few souvenirs. And of course we took a few pictures.
And we saw some more amazing sand sculptures. I would love to actually see someone making one of these.
And this is a statue of a lady in the traditional dress of Las Palmas.
We also enjoyed the hermana's favorite Chinese Restaurant.
It was a beautiful day and we walked around some of the touristy areas.
Here they have flags of all of the major countries of the world and they are grouped according to continents.
Of course, we had to get a photo of Hermana West by her beloved Canadian flag.
Tuesday night, while we were at the church for piano lessons and English classes, we ran into these three young men who have decided to serve missions. I am so proud of each of them. They were at the church, waiting to have their interviews with the bishop. They will be awesome missionaries. After English classes, we purchased a washing machine for the Las Palmas missionaries. Theirs had died. They were very happy to know that a new one would be coming on Thursday.
Wednesday, we attended district meeting in Las Palmas. We had apple pork chops, baked potatoes, salad and Jewish Sweet Bread. Everyone was full and happy!
And then our dessert was cheesecake, in celebration of Elder Priest's birthday!
Thursday night, Elder Larsen went with the elders to teach a lesson and I went with the hermanas. It was nice to watch them as they contacted people on the street to share their message. They are both so positive and happy.
On Friday, all the missionaries surprised me at the church with a poster that the hermanas had made and everyone had signed for my birthday. And they gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. They are they best!
Elder Ruiz and Elder Priest peeked in on us right before our class started, always smiling.
And we snapped this photo of everyone enjoying a cinnamon roll after Institute. We always love being with these wonderful young adults. It will be sad to leave them.
As our departure is growing near, we have been trying to visit with some people before we leave. This is Annie.
We have been so sad that she is no longer part of the young adult program. We love her dearly and enjoyed spending time with her at Las Canteras. She gave me this beautiful bouquet of flowers and treated us to an ice cream cone.
We enjoyed a beautiful spring day. I am trying to enjoy the beautiful beaches and the wonderful people that we are about to leave.
We attended church in Telde for the last time. The first Sunday that we attended church in Telde, we were asked to share our testimonies. I said a few things about our family and that was about all I knew how to say. Today was testimony meeting. I know that my Spanish was not perfect, but I was able to share some of my thoughts and feelings and speak from the heart. I am grateful that my Spanish has improved enough that I can share my love for Jesus Christ and for His gospel. I know that He is our Savior and I am grateful for His atoning sacrifice. Hopefully, when we leave 11 months from now, by Spanish will be even better.
I was glad to get this photo of Elder Norrell and Elder Bigelow. Elder Norrell is being transferred. We will miss him as he goes on to his new area.
Then we headed to Vecindario to teach Institute. All the women and young women came to find me in the kitchen where I was getting the sandwich makings ready for our young adults. They wanted to sing Happy Birthday to me. They are such sweet women and I have enjoyed getting to know them this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment