Transfer #14

This week I am grateful for the beautiful weather that we have been enjoying for November.  The mornings are very crisp and cold, but the afternoons are warm and beautiful.  This girl from the South, who hates winter, is very grateful for this warm blessing!  This is a photo that I took when I was out exercising one day.  We are grateful that we can walk just a few blocks and we are out in the country!

Monday, Hermana Pack and I made a grocery store run.  We bought sandwich makings for the choir practice that I had with the missionaries, groceries for the dinner meal that night, and also for the Missionary Leadership Council that we had on Tuesday.  After the choir practice, I cooked with Hermana Pack for both meals.  We had a nice dinner with the Browns who were going home after serving a one year mission in Gijón.  We also had the two counselors who are serving with President Pack in the mission presidency.  It was a delicious "American" dinner of roast, potatoes, carrots, gravy, fresh green beans, and Jewish Sweet Bread, with cheese cake for dessert!

Daniella had a wonderful time with Caroline.  

Monday night, we had Elder Dugan and Elder Hathaway spend the night with us.  They were here from the islands for the MLC on Tuesday.  We were at the mission home before 7:30 a.m. and we started cooking pancakes for 40.  I had several hermanas helping me and things went very smoothly.
While they were having their meetings, I made taco soup and we had pumpkin bars.  Then the hermanas met with Hermana Pack in the family room, and the missionaries were outside.  I enjoyed visiting with these good young women.

We got pictures from the primary in our Lehi ward back home.  

They also sent a nice letter of appreciation.

On Thursday, Hermana Pack and I did a major shopping trip to Makro and our new favorite, Costco. We did find something amazing at Makro.  They have shredded potatoes that we think we can use for harsh browns, our for Cheesy Funeral Potatoes.  

We had arranged to have lunch with Hermana Marsh and Hermana Irigoyen.  We had too many groceries in the car and not enough time to go anywhere, so we brought Costco lunch to them.  We had a delicious rotisserre chicken, pita chips and roasted pepper humus, baby carrots, provolone cheese, plums, and chocolate muffins.  It was so yummy and delicious.  Hermana Marsh felt like she was home again, and Hermana Irigoyen loved her first food from Costco.  I love both of these hermanas.  How blessed I am to have this opportunity to serve with them! 

This week was incredibly busy because we were getting ready for transfers.  It is unbelievable all the moving parts there are for a transfer.  But Elder Daniels has been training his replacement and he is on his way out of the office, so he was not feeling the stress that Elder Barlow is feeling.  Elder Barlow buys all the tickets for travel that is involved with the transfers.  It is a bit crazy for him because most of the things he is responsible for happen at the last minute.

Saturday I spent the day cooking for our Sunday dinner and also for an activity that we had at the church that night.  They were celebrating Dia de la Hispanidad, which is usually celebrated on October 12th, the day that Columbus landed in the New World.  We have about a dozen countries represented by people in our ward.  We had a great turn out and enjoyed watching the performances.

Bolivia

The Young Women Dancing

                                   El Salvador                                                                 Argentina

              

Ecuador

                    Peru

Our missionaries were amazingly creative.  Although we only had one Hispanic country represented by the missionaries, we do have a very international group: USA, Canada, Columbia, Switzerland, and England.  Elder Regher, Elder Barlow, and Hermana Harper shared their talents at the piano with

                                  

Take Me Out to the Ball Game,

O Canada,

 God Save the Queen,

Columbian National Anthem, 

and some good old Square Dance music. 

They did the bobsled for Switzerland

                                      

and a hockey game for Canada.

Let's just say it was very entertaining!

Afterwards, we enjoyed some delicious food from many different countries.  I brought a pot of taco soup with chips, sour cream, and cheese and of course chocolate chip cookies.

We are sad to have Elder Daniels leave us as he is being transferred to the Islands.  Hermana West and Hermana Harper are also being transferred to other wards in Madrid, so I will still be able to see their smiley faces! 

We had this fine group of elders for Sunday dinner, Elder Daniels' last one. 

Elder Daniels requested pot roast.  Hermana Pack and I had found what we would call rump roast at the store.  So I fixed my first roast since we left home, with potatoes, gravy, baby carrots, fresh green beans, fresh fruit, and Jewish Sweet Bread.   It was absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself.

While we were eating Chocolate Lush, another request of Elder Daniels, Elder Larsen started telling some of his crazy college stories.  We told the missionaries that they would have to come see us in Utah when we all get home, if they wanted some of the details.  They laughed so hard.  He really had them going!

I love serving with these missionaries.  They teach me everyday.  I see how they literally try everyday to let the Lord guide them and help them through their next steps. How grateful I am for their selfless service.  They are blessing the world with their goodness!