Taking missionaries to the temple for the first time

Each week there are Latino missionaries who come to the MTC without having been first to the temple.  Since the Mexico Temple was closed for two weeks for cleaning Dennis and I took 2 Elders and their companions with us this week.   Of these four elders one has been a member all his life and the other three are converts.  The  bigger elder on the end is 25.  He said his parents are moderately bothered by his going on a mission.  He and 2 other elders said they left girlfriends home and three of them said they have received a "Dear John" since coming to the CCM.  Each of them are between 21 and 25 years old.  They will be good missionaries because they truly have a desire to serve.  They have been working and will return to work and going to school after their missions.  The majority of Latino missionaries both Hermanas and Elders are a year or so older that the typical American missionary.

It is always nice to be able to go to the temple with them for the first time.  The one by the the 25 year old is from Colombia.  He has a temple 45 minutes from him in Bogota but no family support so he came here to go to the temple.  What a great bunch of Elders.  I hope they will take a wife to the temple someday and make eternal covenants with the Lord.  That is the whole purpose of our coming here to earth to make eternal covenants with God.

Beautiful Day!

pizza party and remodeling of Benemerito to CCM

I am not completely sure why but the office personal decided to all chip in some money and have a pizza party for appreciation of Dr Harston and myself.  

Griselda, Catty and Hermana Torrez spent the whole morning in her kitchen making 6 very large pizzas and cinnamon rolls for dessert.  They brought them into the clinic and we had a little suprise appreciation lunch at about 2:00.

This is Doranelle's  office She is the Latino counselor for mental health.

Mosiah is the nurse along with Catty.

Juan does a little of everything around the CCM and Dr. and Herman Montoya will be leaving in August.  They aree trying to find someone to replace him. 

They are systematically going through the CCM campus and remodeling it.  This is the main administration building.  The whole campus is build with cinder block but they feel it has a better look if they plaster over the bricks and make a smooth wall.  They first chip holes in the bricks so the plaster will adhere better and then paint over it.  What a big job.  

The administration building lobby as seem the top floor.  I don't know if they will someday remove the mural.  It is of a real people who posed for the artist.

p-day into the city

With Dennis as our Tour guide we ventured into the city.  We went to the museum of light that is now housed in this building.  The building was constructed in 1588 as a Jesuit boarding school  The Jesuit's are a male religious order of the Catholic church.  The Society of Jesus, the Jesuits lived and studied is this building called the San Lldefonso College.  It is amazing quiet and peaceful inside this courtyard or plaza compared to the very busy streets of Mexico City.   

This is a stained glass window in the College.  At the bottom it says "Love, Order and Progress".  Is that anything like what we put on our walls now?  "Love, Live and Laugh"

We ate lunch at the top of the Grand Mexico City Hotel that overlooks the plaza of the zocalo or historic downtown area.

The hotel is indeed grand as seem from the top floor just outside the restaurant patio.

That day the main plaza was scheduled to have a protest or demonstration.  Hence all the police below.  There were every where.  The next day on Saturday there was a concert scheduled so the plaza was set with a stage.  There are police in white shirts that surround the plaza preventing anyone from entering.  The demonstration as going to be put on by the relatives and parents of the youth who were killed by the police in a student uprising many years ago.  (like 30 years ago)

Putting on their missionary badge

The new missionaries are always excited to put on their missionary badge. It is an emotion experience for them. They have worked hard to get to this point in their lives. As it turns out all these three missionaries are staying in Mexico and the two on the ends have learned that they must be cousins.  They both have ancestors from the Mexican Colonies and know relatives with last names like theirs.