Si tu te vas

This week has been generally quiet, thank goodness.  Our P-day last week got used up and it is surprising how much we felt the lack.  The tasks at the office were mundane and now that they are familiar, not such a challenge as at first.  That makes them easier to get done, but we have less  sense of accomplishment.
 Sunday evening we got to meet  Elder Valezuela's parents. He was one of the APs when we started. We visited with them a little and served them the strawberry pie Rod had made.  Of course then we had to say goodbye to him as they were taking him home with them  The nerve!

Some of you know why Elder Valenzuela is smiling so big.
Notice the name badges.  Spanish shirts don't have pockets so Rod copied Elder Valenzuela's solution,
 plus the hat was a gift from him to  'Elder Castillo'.

He is getting really good at strawberry pie!

There are plans to take at least Elder Valenzuela on a Havasupai hike someday so you may get to meet him.  A great young man and wonderful parents too!

We happened to have Elder Jackson in the office on his birthday (he had to come in for specialized training and his bus was the early one) so we had to celebrate, of course!

We were glad there is a bakery down stairs from us.

You can just see the end of one of our purchases in his other hand.   One of our office elders is a big golf lover and the other is a hunter, so to unwind after our last transfer, we found a golf set and some guns (nerf type) as gifts for them.  Rod  made 'targets' with photos off of the internet and hid them around the office for Elder Butler. We set up a 'water trap' and used silk plants from around the office for a golf course for Elder Norton.  Then we left early so they could enjoy them.   Those guns have appeared from time to time and a couple of the bullets have gone missing, as is the nature of such things.  These Elders are still just boys after all, and my dear Elder Castillo is very good at playing!  It is a skill I don't have, at least to his degree.  My grandkids will have to help me develop it when we get home.  It really is important to have fun in the midst of our work.  The harder the work, the more important the fun becomes I think.  We are beginning to do the preparation for the next wave already...we will get 37 new missionaries in Sept. and as of now, some of them will come from the US and some from the Spain MTC.  The ones that come from the states have to be handled a little differently (they are so tired after 14 hours in airplanes), and the timing is much harder to pin down as luggage and such can increase the time needed.  This will be our biggest group. That means lots of planning and preparation for us and President, plus he has to decide where he wants apartments and whether it will be a sisters area or Elders.  See?  Lots of work and lots of it is thinking. Hence the need for diversions!
After that things are slowing way down.  I think we only get 12 new ones in Oct.  A piece of cake!
We had our 'diversion' on Saturday.  As part of our anniversary present, Rod bought tickets to see Julio Iglesias and that was last night!  Some of you may not know, but I would guess that he has more name recognition worldwide than any other musician.  The note on the tickets said he has something like 300 million records sold. He has a smooth, crooner's voice even now as an old man.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  The venue is rather cool too.  They built it in an old quarry. 

Driving to the concert we met the first traffic jam we have encountered here in our area.  The sun was really cool looking  though. This was at about 8:45.  The concert started at 10:00 PM  

We had a lady take a photo of us both.  We were on the back row, a good thing given the speakers and the age of our ears.

That is the stage and you can see the colored lights on the rock in the background.  They changed through the concert.

From that distance, and at night, not a bad photo!

I was impressed with his grace and graciousness.  He went directly to the music, there was little talking, and no 'cover act'. 

We had a really nice time.  We even ran into a friend of Bruna's that was at munch and mingle last Sunday.  The strangest things happen.
Today I helped in primary because I wasn't sure the 3 kids spoke fluent English.  They did though.  The family comes from Marseille and the Dad is French but the Mom is from Oklahoma and the kids are fluently bilingual except for the 3 year old little girl who really doesn't talk much.  That is usual for bilingual kids though.  I really enjoyed playing with them.  Next week I am back on deck to teach Relief Society.  I guess I will get to studying that now.  We are so blessed to be part of this international church.  It really is a world wide church and we really are trying to serve all mankind by raising them up one at a time.  There really isn't another way. The Lord loves each of us, so Keep up the Good Work!