The first picture is Debbie and I with Jimmy Olvera, head of security, and Brother Pimental, the head gardener. The picture is in front of the security house (cubicle) where I was getting a Spanish lesson when Debbie and the gardener happened along.
Jimmy is an ex stake president who is now a bishop, and has been in on the growth of the Church in this area since the beginning. In my lessons, Jimmy has made frequent reference to the scriptures. Something very abstract will remind him of something and he has me turn to it and read it. I have met scriptorians before who impress me, but he beats everbody. I commented on his ability, and he said, pick a scripture in the Book of Mormon. I opened it and flipped and stopped somewhere in Alma. I gave him a chapter and verse. He pressed his fingers to his temples for a moment, and began reciting as I followed along. It was as though he were reading. He knows the entire B of M by heart. He is now reading it in English to help him learn English. I asked him before I knew he knew the B of M by heart how reading in English would help him learn English, and his reply was that it is because he knows it in Spanish. Now I know what he meant when he said he knows it in Spanish. He doesn't show that to everybody. He is nearly as gifted with the bible. On the side he is going to college and working toward a degree in marketing.
I am reading the B of M in Spanish in hopes that it will help me learn Spanish. Apparently one of the prophets promised that reading the B of M in the language you want to learn will help. It is helping with pronunciation and helping to limber up my tongue. I notice that since I have started reading in Spanish that I am becoming more willing to try talking, whereas I used to avoid it.
Jimmy is the one in the dark suit. He is going to college in his spare time working toward a degree in maketing. Brother Pimental is also a great guy. He has a great sense of humor. What do these guards and gardeners do in their free time? They come to the temple and put on white shirts and jackets and work in the temple. The temple is the center of their lives.
I am reading the B of M in Spanish in hopes that it will help me learn Spanish. Apparently one of the prophets promised that reading the B of M in the language you want to learn will help. It is helping with pronunciation and helping to limber up my tongue. I notice that since I have started reading in Spanish that I am becoming more willing to try talking, whereas I used to avoid it.
Jimmy is the one in the dark suit. He is going to college in his spare time working toward a degree in maketing. Brother Pimental is also a great guy. He has a great sense of humor. What do these guards and gardeners do in their free time? They come to the temple and put on white shirts and jackets and work in the temple. The temple is the center of their lives.
Picture two is of our Ecuadorian friends, whose house I am renovating, the Valero family. They are visiting in our apartment. We shared pictures of our family and some snowy scenes in Nova Scotia. On left is Marianna, Alfonso is next, in the red is Paula with her daughter Valentina. Next is Isabella who is studying to become an engineer. That is slightly different than how we think of engineering. She will be able to read blueprints and do cost and material estimates on construction. Valentina and I have become very good friends. She sat on my lap for a good part of sacrament meeting today. It is an honour to be liked by a little kid. She often gives me a hug and a kiss when I leave after a few hours of work or when I arrive. She was afraid of me for a long time, so it is nice to see the change.
Bro. Valero spoke in sacrament today. He teaches the YM, he hometeaches 20 families, and he and his wife give up every Saturday to run the baptistry. Marianna is a domestic engineer and looks after Valentina while Paula works 6 days a week. She is an awesome cook and feeds me well on traditional Ecuadorian food.
The third picture is of the misionaros en el templo. It is in the living room in the alohamiento where we live. The occasion for the gathering was a going home party for the Morris' who are seated in front. This is their second mission. They served first in Nauvoo. The second was in the Galopagos. They wound up with us for the last two months of their mission.
Just to the left of the chesterfield is Sister Pryor. Her husband died this past year. They had gone on 7 missions together and raised 11 children. Her good friend of many years (in the last row directly behind Elder Morris) also lost her husband recently. They had been on two missions together. These sisters decided that rather than sit around feeling sorry for themselves that they would get out and keep the missionary spirit going that they had started with their spouces. They are sharing an apartment and expenses. They just got here. On the left is President Rojas, the temple president. He has spent most of his life serving in the Church, and was a seventy until becoming the temple president. His wife is beside him with her hands on Sister Pryor's shoulders. They are from Mexico. On the right is President Fuhriman, second counselor in the temple presidency. Beside him is his wife Pepa, whom he met when on his mission as a young man in Mexico. Both the Fuhrimans and Rojas are fluent in Spanish and English.
I give you my guarantee that all the rest there are faithful dedicated folks with big hearts. They are a pleasure to work with.
Lawrence Martin of Liverpool, NS, said that his father always advised him to , "always associate with people as good as you are, better than you are if possible." That seems like good advice. We have a lot of catching up to do with these folks who are setting the standards for us in Ecuador.
Here is what happened in the Guayaquil temple in April:
Just to the left of the chesterfield is Sister Pryor. Her husband died this past year. They had gone on 7 missions together and raised 11 children. Her good friend of many years (in the last row directly behind Elder Morris) also lost her husband recently. They had been on two missions together. These sisters decided that rather than sit around feeling sorry for themselves that they would get out and keep the missionary spirit going that they had started with their spouces. They are sharing an apartment and expenses. They just got here. On the left is President Rojas, the temple president. He has spent most of his life serving in the Church, and was a seventy until becoming the temple president. His wife is beside him with her hands on Sister Pryor's shoulders. They are from Mexico. On the right is President Fuhriman, second counselor in the temple presidency. Beside him is his wife Pepa, whom he met when on his mission as a young man in Mexico. Both the Fuhrimans and Rojas are fluent in Spanish and English.
I give you my guarantee that all the rest there are faithful dedicated folks with big hearts. They are a pleasure to work with.
Lawrence Martin of Liverpool, NS, said that his father always advised him to , "always associate with people as good as you are, better than you are if possible." That seems like good advice. We have a lot of catching up to do with these folks who are setting the standards for us in Ecuador.
Here is what happened in the Guayaquil temple in April:
48,802 total ordinances
18,982 baptisms
18,638 confirmations
5,615 initiatories
2,681 sealings
2,976 endowments
Love, Pete
Love, Pete
No comments:
Post a Comment