MLC and a Nasty Cold

This week I am very grateful that I have been blessed with very good health for the past two years of our mission.  I actually got sick this week with a terrible cold in my chest.  It totally kept me down from Wednesday to Sunday.  While I was convalescing, I had plenty of time to count my many blessings.  Overall, I have had good health throughout my life, but have been plagued by colds and sinus infections.  I have had only a few colds, and no sinus infections since I have been here.  Also, in the past, I seem to make regular trips to the dentist for fillings that need to be replaced, root canals, and crowns.  I even had to have some major work done right before leaving on our mission.  But I have not had one problem with my teeth since we have been here.  I will take that as a blessing from the Lord, for which I am most grateful.  

Monday, Hermana Pack and I started out with a shopping trip for the fresh produce that we would need for our Tuesday meal.  Then we proceeded to cook for the most of the day. We made four pans of lasagna for MLC the next day, and we also made two smaller lasagnas for us to eat for dinner that night.  President Pack and Elder Larsen have been eating no carbs, so we made a lasagna and used sliced mushrooms and sliced zucchini in place of the noodles.  I heavily seasoned them with garlic and onion powder, and the noodle-less lasagna actually was my favorite.  Yummy!  Hermana Pack made a big batch of "Jimmy Dean" sausage.  It was her best batch ever.  The secret was lots of salt! We also made my banana cake recipe in two large jelly roll pans.  It cooked up great!  Then I sewed for several hours. Last week we had bought fabric for valances in the kitchen of the mission home.  I was mostly measuring and cutting, but at least I got it started. 

Tuesday morning, I was back at the mission home early to help with breakfast.  We used the sausage for breakfast burritos and we also had fresh fruit.  Then I made the icing for the banana cakes.  I prepared countless loaves of garlic bread, and I made a huge salad with Hermana Pack's famous Sensation dressing.  It is amazing how much time it takes to make food for 45 people.  Everything went very smoothly and the food was delicious! 

I love these missionaries who all served with us in Las Palmas!

Hermana Larsen, Marsh, Rossberg, Elders Priest and Bartholomew

What a great group of Hermanas!

Hermanas Pack, Marsh, Spencer, Rossberg, Devereaux, Judd, and Smith

After cleaning up, we headed to the office where I had a couple of hours of paperwork that I needed to do, and then I came home and collapsed because the cold symptoms were taking over.  

That is it for this week.  I will not give a day-by-day of the hours that Elder Larsen put in at the office while I was at home in bed.  Hermana Pack did bring a couple of delicious pastries one night.  She is always so good to me.

I did take a picture of a tree in the Pack's neighborhood that is in full bloom right now.  It seems a little early, because we definitely are having winter temperatures, but these trees are in bloom all over the place right now.  I love springtime, and this makes me happy to see these bright yellow blossoms.