Sunday May 4, 2014

The day started out beautiful--sunny, blue skies, warm.  Now it is gray and cloudy outside, the wind has picked up, and it looks like it will rain again like it did yesterday.  Thunderstorms in Mexico City are a far cry from the violent thunderstorms in Kansas City.  We watched a movie last night with the windows wide open, enjoying the sound of thunder in the distance, rain pounding down, but NO SEVERE WARNINGS, and NO TORNADO WATCHES!  I guess we are into the rainy season here--at least the weather forecast for the next week shows only a few days without thundershowers.  AND, our temperatures have dropped from the high 80's to the mid 70's.  I might have to break the sweaters back out.  Everyone at church today was huddling and shivering--we still think the climate here is perfect!

This week was marked by a venture to a new part of the city--Del Valle--which is further north (really, on the northern edge of the mission).  It is close to the airport, and the homes are more expensive, the streets wider and better kept.  We have two sets of sisters living in an apartment in Del Valle, and they had a repairman coming, so they needed chaperones.  We sat and waited with them for 2 hours--no repairman.  Eventually all of us left to do other things.  It was an interesting trip, though.  Del Valle is completely different from our part of the city--more modern buildings, office buildings, high rises, modern apartment building, etc.  An interesting look at how a 20 minute drive can completely change your surroundings.

We started the week out in the office again--I baked chocolate chip cookies and took them in.  Over a hundred cookies disappeared in about 10 minutes.  We had several groups of missionaries in for English evaluations, and did an update on our incoming missionaries.  All are from the CCM, and I think we are ready for them.  Tuesday we did an update on missionary telephone numbers.  Seems that a lot of missionaries have been shifting phones out of their areas--so we are trying to get the phones back where they belong.  That is an important issue, because referrals and other messages go to areas, not specific elders.  If the phones are moving with the elders, the messages aren't being delivered.  We think we are update now (we called EVERY area to check), but will be waiting to hear about updates....

We also have a new referral program--which took three calls to SLC to straighten out.  It looks easier and better--it will certainly be great if it gives access to the Elders to the Google Map aspect.  I'm waiting to hear back from the Elders this week.

Friday we had an all-day leadership meeting with the ZLs, APs and Presidency.  It was long but a good discussion.  Sure love listening to the leadership evident in these young missionaries!

Saturday we got up early, did our housework and headed for Plaza Hidalgo to take a tour on the Coyoacan trolley.  It was a quick 30 minute tour in Spanish, but a great look at this very old, very significant city we live in.  We learned all about Leon Trotsky (who died in Coyoacan, killed by agents of Stalin), Frida Kahlo (a modern artist, wife of Diego Rivera), saw the "house" where Cortes' men bivouacked, saw the street where there used to be a pyramid, which Cortes ordered dismantled and the stones used to build a church (which we also saw), plus lots of other things.  When we finished the tour, we went to our favorite pasteleria and got goodies, then hit the artisan's mercado and bought a light blanket (red and orange weave), and a hat for Tom.  We also took time to go into St. Juan Bautista, the church on Plaza Hidalgo, to look at the paintings, etc--since the church dates to shortly after Cortes.  There was a wedding in progress, so we stood in the back of the church and watched the wedding.  (Lest you think us rude, there were tourists all over the place, wandering almost to the altar as they examined the murals, ceiling, sculptures, altars built to saints, etc.)  We have been in the church 3 times now, and there has been a mass, wedding or other service going at all times.
Tomorrow we need to kick into high gear and be sure all is in readiness for our 9 new missionaries.  We think we are ready--but the week promises to be a busy one.