p-day

Our last p-day started at the temple with the sealing of James and Doranelle Torrez then we went downtown to sight see. Actually we just didn't have what it took to see a lots of sights so we just went to dinner at the Hilton Hotel at The Cardinal Restaurant.  It was wonderful food.  Then we walked a little but I think everyone was just tired so we started for home.  The traffic getting to the restaurant was exceptionally busy and slow.

El Cardenal Restaurant at the Hilton

I dont know what it is about these skeleton people that Mexico like so much.  We see them all the time.  These at the Hilton are dressed in various attire but are still the skeleton people.  

President Call knocked on the door  and surprisingly it opened.  The palace will not be open for a few more weeks.  But at least he (as a missionary) got his foot in the door.

The downtown Benemerito monument honoring Benito Juarez

 We drove through a street that seemed to be full of meat markets.



This is a picture of men dumping ground up something out of blue buckets.  It appeared to be meat.  They brought it out of the market in the blue buckets and then dumped it into the street and then shoveled it up into the truck that also had blue bucket it it.  The traffic was slow enough that we could if we wanted keep watching this process over and over.



All in all, I resolved to eat more beans, nuts and seeds instead of meat.

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The temple is a blessing to the saints in Mexico

Actually now I am finding out that there are several Latino missionaries that have not been to the temple until they get here to the CCM.  The Mexico City Temple has been closed and this did not allow many to receive their endowments prior to coming with having to travel long distances to other temples.  Missions are expensive for families.  These missionaries come with new suits, shoes, shirts, suitcases and the like.  To travel to a temple 5 or 6 hours away would be an additional expense for the family so they go to the temple when they get here.

President Cardense who is also a counselor in our branch as is Dennis is also the temple recorder.  He tells us each Sunday when we see him at church that the temple is absolutely as busy as it can be with new endowments, sealings and regular temple sessions.  Members are also very anxious to do the temple work for their ancestors.  I can understand now why it was so important to the saints to build the Nauvoo temple and be able to use it even if they were just going to have to leave it and go west.  They wanted the blessing that come to them and their families before they headed on their trek west.  And should they die before the journey was through they would be sealed forever.

There is an Elder Lima here that is serving his mission at the CCM.  He has some heart problems that will not allow him to serve a proselyting mission so he associated here with a lot of good people and does a lot of good in the technology department and in other areas.  I just learned yesterday that he also has been waiting for the temple to open so he can receive his endowments.  He will go in a week for that.  He felt very blessed  during the dedication services to encounter Elder Holland at the temple and what a suprise when Elder Holland gave him a big hug.  (an abrazo)

Elder Lima wears a blue name tag  because he serves here rather than being trained here.

Temple trips

Dennis was asked to be the escort for a Latino missionary who came to the CCM and had not been to the temple yet to be endowed. All missionaries that I know of go to the temple before they go out into the mission field.  I felt like it was a privilege to take this elder to the temple for the first time.

We left on Thursday morning at 7:00 am. Rush hour traffic begins early so it took us almost an hour to get to the temple. I did some training to be a temple worker while Dennis went with the elder and his companion and them we were together at the 10:00 session. 

Elder Hernandez and his companion at the visitors center after the session. Elder Hernanadez (with hands on hips) said he felt like a new man after being endowed.  The other missionary has a brother at the CCM right now also.  That brother is going to a different mission than this elder.

James and Doranellie Torrez have been married for 6 years and serve here as senior missionaries like we do. They married civilly and live in Porto Villarta, Mexico (when not on a mission).  She is a mental health worker who helps the Latino missionaries. They have been wanting and trying to be sealed in the temple for some time but with their desire to also serve a mission and other things such as the Mexico Temple being closed they were not able to do it.  

Last Friday they went to the temple and our Mission President who used to be a general authority, President Tenario sealed them together for eternity.  It was a very nice ordinance and I felt it a privilege to be there.   All of the senior couples were at the temple except The Latino doctor who stayed at the clinic to see missionaries.  Elder Torrez serves as a counselor in one of the branches and so his branch president and the other counselor were there also with their wives.  On October 12 they are going to have a celebration of their sealing here at the CCM.  They will rent a huge tent and have it put up out on the lawns behind the gym.  They have hired a caterer and a band and we will all celebrate their eternal love for each other.  

That makes three times we have attended the temple  plus the a forth would be an open house tour.  

Mexican Independence Day outfit from the state of Tabasco

decorations at the cafeteria

FHE Sister Torres gave a lesson on Mexican Independence.  Dr. and Sister Montoya and Sister Beecher in traditional outfits.

Red, White and Green tablecloths for Independence day

Sweet Mexican treats for dessert

The man who was the lead actor for the cultural performance of the rededication of the temple works at the CCM and led the lunch room congregation in singing the national anthem.  

Earthquake drill

We had a scheduled earthquake drill today on Saturday.  Everyone had to leave their buildings and go to the nearest earthquake gathering center.  The blare of the horn was enough to cause deafness. These Elders came to our gathering center because the horn was not as loud here. I wondered if this drill came about because of the massive 8.3 earthquake in Chile this last week.  The workers in our green circle said that last year they did have two quakes so the drills are necessary.  

Carlos Slim Art Museum

This is the Soumaya Art Museum in Mexico City.  It houses the private collection of Carlos Slim who is the richest man in Mexico and is also considered the richest man in the world.   He wants the people of Mexico to be able to have access to art so the museum is free.


The architecture is amazing inside and out as well as the unexpected collection of art from men and women throughout the world and centuries.

Dennis outside the tiled Soumaya museum of Carlos Slim

Me at the Museum

The beautiful marble bathroom with Sister Jackie Beecher 

There were several of Rodin's statues of The Thinker.  Evidently he made more than one copy of his work.  This is small one. 

Top floor of the museum a collection of original works by many famous artists.

I like this postcard of the Cedars of Lebanon done by the artist who wrote the book The Prophet, Gibran Kahill Gribran.

This was in the Asia collection done out of ivory.  It is a doctor checking an ear.  Dennis cleaned wax out of a missionaries ear for 45 minuets one day.  

This is a Vincent Van Gogh .  A shepard with his sheep in a storm.

I loved the Asian screens

These ivory tusks were huge

A chocolate reproduction of the museum you could buy in the museum shop.  

The Lion King was playing next door.  The Telcel building (cell phone system in Mexico) is probably also owned by Slim as that is part of his wealth.  

We went to a very nice mall after seeing the museum.  I had never been to a Saks Fifth Avenue store and actually we didn't go in this time either.   What a contrast to the neighborhoods we generally see. We ate at a P.F.Chang's that was in the mall for lunch/dinner.   

temple trip with missionaries today

The Mexico City Temple opened on Monday, three days ago.  The people here were very anxious to go back to the temple.  We were also anxious to have our missionaries go through a session but with all the saints attending as well as us it is a major weight on the temple.  It took our missionaries a seven hour trip to be able to go through the session.  One of the bottle necks came when it was time to pass through the veil.  They were not prepared with English speaking veil workers and our missionaries just didn't know enough Spanish to make it a quick process.

Dennis and I were supposed to accompany a group of 30 missionaries through a session today but the trip was changed so they just went to the visitors center instead.  Ours was a 4 hour trip.  Dennis and I were also set apart as veil workers today to help in getting our missionaries through the veil faster.  Perhaps next week when we take some missionaries we can attend a session with them instead of just going to the visitors center.

Tonight I think we experienced the biggest rain, lightening and thunder storm we have seen in three months.  We had a meeting to go to right in the middle of it and I felt like I was crossing a river just to get there.  The streets and sidewalks were literally flooded.  I had a trash bag and an umbrella for protection. Dennis had an umbrella. His suit was soaked and his pants looked like someone had dumped a big bucket of water on him.  I took off my shoes and dumped out the water  but they  were heavy and wet and I could hardly keep them on with the current of water I was wading  through. I thought I had seen heavy rain but tonight the street was literally flooded with 3 inches of water. We had our meeting and met the new members of our branch and by the time it was over we walked back to our dorm room with only a few drops here and there falling from the sky.