Wow, another month gone by and no blog. We have
been very busy learning our new assignments in the temple and looking for an
apartment to live in for the remainder of our mission.
Let’s talk about the work we are doing in the temple. Rosa
is in charge of the 15 temple secretaries and I am the assistant recorder/executive
secretary. In addition we are both ordinance workers. So we have been spending
about 10-12 hours a day in the temple. Since this is a small temple we have to
learn/memorize all the ordinances performed, in Spanish. However that has been
a blessing in disguise because it has increased my language skills greatly.
Also we have a stake that we are responsible for and so we have to speak every
Sunday, except fast Sunday, in a different ward. There are seven wards total in
the stake. These two facts are helping me to learn Spanish at a much faster
rate than I was doing in Huatulco.
We have one day for preparation for the week, that is right
we have a set P-day. So we don’t get to do as many fun things as we did in
Huatulco. We did have the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to go to the city
center with a pair of sister missionaries that were here from Salt Lake to redo
the flowers in the temple. The center is very cool with some beautiful
cathedrals and a really cool Mercado. So we spent Tuesday morning and early
afternoon showing them around the center. They really enjoyed it and were very
grateful. We were happy to get out and do something other than search for a
place to live or go to the grocery store.
Yesterday we went to a movie, “Miracles From Heaven”. It was
the first movie we have seen in Mexico and the theatre is very modern, like the
one at Thanksgiving Point. The movie was Very good and very inspiring. It
really drove home the need to always have Faith in The Lord. I highly recommend
it to all of you.
We are expecting to start moving to our new apartment either
this weekend or next Monday and hope to be in by Monday night and completely
unpacked and settled by the following weekend. When we get moved in I will send
some pictures. It is a great little apartment with lots of “Mexican” character
ie, arched windows and doors, solid wood cabinets and doors, beautiful tile
floors, etc. Rosa really wanted a place that would feel like we are living in
Mexico because the end of town we live in looks a lot like the United States.
You look down the street and there is a McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut,
Dominos, Sam’s Club and a Home Depot. It is very different from our beloved
Huatulco.
We are really enjoying working in the temple every day and I
have caught the genealogy bug. I have found over 100 new ancestors, most on the
DeWolf side of the family. I still have not been able to figure out my Great,
Great Grandfather and Grandmother DeWolf so I need your prayers in that regard
and/or any info any extended family members may have. I have also been documenting and "cleaning”
up some of the records in Family Search that were not completely accurate. It
is amazing how much easier that program has made researching ancestors and
finding documentation. I always knew that I was a typical American with lots of
different cultures in my blood, but this has just confirmed how much ; )
Well hopefully as my language skills increase and we learn
our roles in the temple more fully we will free up a little more time for
writing in the blog, once a month just does not seem like enough, or seeing the
sites around here. On our list is the church from the Movie “Nacho Libre” which
is about 10 minutes from where we live. There are also a couple of other ruins
we hope to visit before we leave. Also I am hoping to get a chance to visit
with a friend of a friend who makes Barro Negro, the black pottery that Oaxaca
is famous for, and make a pot or two on my own.
Until next time, may The Lord Bless all of you and keep you
safe until we see you again.
Love,
Elder and Hermana DeWolf
