In spite of how our picture posts look, we are on a mission in Spain. The best mission anywhere. We are still working hard in La Casa Del Señor. I can't think of a better place to be, or to work.
Our beloved temple president, President Tenney, and his wife flew home yesterday, after three years of dedicated service. It was really hard to say goodbye to them. We are going to miss them so much. President Somoza and his wife are back from the new temple president's conference in Salt Lake. They are going to be wonderful at the helm of the temple. They are such sweet people. He was President Tenney's counselor for the past three years. They are from Madrid, and have been living in their own home. Now they will be moving into the Tenney's apartment on the 6th floor. The new counselor, President Duffin, and his wife have arrived from the States, and moved into the Alves' old apartment two doors down. They are great people, and both of them speak Spanish and English, which is of great relief to me. He served his mission in Spain, as a youth, and has been a mission president in Panama and an Area Authority Seventy.
Goodbyes have been rampant around here. It seems like someone is headed for home almost weekly. The Schellenbergs left for home a few weeks ago, due to serious health issues. The Zundels have finished their time here, the Tenney's are gone, and the Sullivans and Monteros leave this weekend. The Grieves will go in two weeks. By the end of the year we will lose the Duartes, and Sister Cioban. It doesn't seem like they are being replaced very quickly, but so far we have one Spanish couple, the Salgados, who moved in next door to us. Another Spanish couple is supposed to arrive in the next couple of weeks. The American couples are dwindling in numbers. I believe the idea is to eventually have all Spanish missionaries.
There has been a lot of illness lately. The missionaries have been hit with the flu, colds, ear infections, allergies and bad backs. Today our dear friend, Dave Hawkins, had an emergency appendectomy. His wife Charlotte is suffering from a really bad cold, after just recovering from two weeks of serious intestinal problems. I guess that's what you get when you have a bunch of old people hanging out together. Several of us got together last week to have a flu shot party. Sister Sullivan is the mission nurse, and gave all the shots.
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We also had a farewell dinner for the Zundels and the Sullivans at our favorite Mexican restaurant.
The last couple of weeks we have had Stakes from France visiting. It has given Greg a good workout with his French skills. He's done well, and we would have a hard time getting by without him. They have been great to work with and we have been pretty impressed. I'm getting much better at not speaking the language. I seem to get by, but I don't know how. This week I have been able to use my English a lot more, since so many of the French speak English. I give them the option of receiving the ordinances in Spanish or English, and most of them choose English. It has made me think hard, since I don't often do the ordinances in my native tongue.
This Sunday we are going to be part of Meridian North Stake Conference via Skype. It is the Sunday early morning meeting. We're kind of excited to talk to our home Stake.
Well, that's about all the news on our end. We are well, happy, and busy. We feel so grateful for this opportunity. The Lord has really blessed us.
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