This week started out with Lynn's surgery on Monday morning. We had to be there about 6am for him to get registered and had the surgery at 8am. It was a very modern and nice hospital. Every bit as nice as anything we have in the US. His surgery went very well and he was up and walking that afternoon. Because of his history of having blood clots the doctor wanted him up and walking as soon as he could. I even gave out a Book of Mormon to someone who was waiting for his wife to have a procedure done. He spoke English and I had him interpret for me what the reception was trying to tell me. Lynn gave out four Book of Mormons; one to his doctor, two to nurses who cared for him and one to a women who brought him his meals. He came home on Tuesday morning with doctors orders to walk as much as he can. Those orders aren't too hard for Lynn to follow because he loves walking. It's the bending over and getting up from sitting that bothers him the most. This past week he usually takes a couple of long walks each day.
Tuesday night was our Monterrey Temple Workers devotional/dinner. President Tenorio asked me a couple of months ago to sing a song for it so I agreed and sang “Estrella de Luz” (or the English version is Star Bright) It's found on the last page of the Spanish Children's Songbook but not in the English Children's Songbook. It went very well, even though I was shaking and had just gotten over a cold. Right after I sang President Tenorio asked me to bear my testimony in English and asked Pres. Hall to interpret for me. I basically just told them how much I loved them and that I knew that Jesus Christ was our Savior and Redeemer. After the devotional they had just half of the group go into the cultural hall. After we were in there then they had the other half go to the door and they did what is called “Las Posadas” with the ones outside the door singing a part of a song and then the ones inside responding. It had something to do with Mary and Joseph trying to find a place to stay. I didn't understand what was said but it's something that's done here quite often. They will go from house to house singing this song. The piñata is part of it also. Anyway after everyone was in the cultural hall they did the piñata and served dinner. First they had a piñata for the hermanas and then they had one for the hermanos. It was a wonderful evening.
Thursday night, which was Christmas Eve we spent the evening at the home of Ester and Carlos Walter Treviño. He is the son of Emma & Carlos Treviño who I've talked about before. The one who wrote a history of the church in Monterrey which was put into the cornerstone of the Monterrey Temple. It was mostly a party for her side of the family with cousins and both sets of grandparents (Torres and Treviño) there. The cousins did a program that was fun to watch. First, as the Handel's Hallelujah chorus was playing they had cue cards with words that matched the song and they put up as their part was song was sung. It was really fun to watch. Then they did their own version of the Nativity story, acting out the parts. Several of the children were home for the holidays from BYU. The children all spoke English and I had fun getting to know them. We then had a delicious dinner and then played a couple of games. One game was where they had a large package to be unwrapped. You got a chance to unwrap it when you tossed a six on the dice or the total was six. The catch was that before you could unwrap the present you had to put on a hat, a scarf and mittens, but then were stopped as soon as someone rolled the right number. It was not just one package. There were several inside each other until a small one was unwrapped and the last one to got to keep it. It was fun to watch and play. Then we did a version of the white elephant gift exchange where the host would go around with a deck of cards and draw a card for you. If it was red then you got to choose a present either from someone who already had one or from the stack of presents. It was a fun version to play. After that they pulled out large 3 foot sparklers and we lite them on the patio which overlooks Monterrey and the temple. This home is a very large, beautiful home that is up on the hill overlooking the Monterrey Temple. It has a gorgeous view.
On Christmas day we called all our children and enjoyed talking to them. It just didn't seem like Christmas morning without children waking me up at 6am. I called my youngest, Brin, and woke her up at 7:30 just to get back at her, sweet revenge. Our landlord brought us Christmas dinner at midday. They are very nice people and have shared several meals with us when they have had family over. Christmas night we spent with our FHE group and had dinner and did a white elephant exchange. This has been a very different kind of Christmas for us. Even though it was very enjoyable, we missed our family but have had a wonderful time with new friends.
Today we had the Halls over for dinner after church and spent an enjoyable afternoon visiting.
Well, I guess that's it for this week. We hope you are having a great holiday season and pray that your new year will be prosperous and that the Spirit of Christ with be with you.
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