Week 22 from Mexico

23 January 2010

Last week I told you the story about our Stake Patriarch Hermana Gonzalez. I have something more to share about him. It is so fun when I do a search for someone in this area or about this stake and find stories to share with you. It sure helps me appreciate them a lot more for the example they are by the kind of lives they have lived.

This is from an article “Foundation of faith laid by early members” in the Church News, Saturday, Jan. 28, 1995. The whole article is about the beginnings of our ward, Campestra and the church in this area, but this part is about Patriarch Gonzalez and his brother, Guillermo found at the end of the article.

Humberto and Guillermo Gonzalez
Humberto Gonzalez was 19 when he heard the missionaries posing three very interesting questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going after death?
The missionaries taught him the first lesson and he asked for more lessons. "No," the missionaries told him. He was instructed that he had a reading assignment to complete and meetings to attend before he could receive the next lesson. "After two months, I was baptized," he said.
His brother, Guillermo, was not as patient. One day the missionaries came at 8 a.m. to Guillermo's home. They taught him the first lesson and were about to leave when Guillermo asked for more information. Missionaries told him he'd have to read first and wait until next week. Guillermo jumped up, locked the door and secured the bolt. "You can't leave until you teach me all the lessons," he told the missionaries.
At 8 p.m., the missionaries said they had more no teachings they could give.
"Tell me about the stakes of which you spoke," asked Guillermo.
So the missionaries told him of the program of the stakes. Satisfied, he unlocked the door. A short time later, he traveled to Salt Lake City and was baptized by Elder LeGrand Richards of the Council of the Twelve. Guillermo Gonzalez Garza was the first president of the Monterrey Mexico Stake when it was created in 1970.
For his part, after his baptism, Humberto Gonzalez became deacons quorum president, teachers quorum president, assistant to the branch president in the priests quorum, elders quorum president, and full-time missionary. He was branch president six times, the second president of the Monterrey stake and later president of the Mexico Guadalajara Mission. [He now serves as our stake patriarch.]
"I have seen much progress of the Church," he said. "Now, with the area presidency here locally, the Brethren are a valuable influence for the work and organization of the Church."
On Monday we had a going away party for the Oliver's. They are sure going to be missed. As we were visiting during the party I was listening as Sis. Oliver was talking with Sis. Romney, the wife of the president of the Monterrey West Mission. Sis. Oliver was telling her about a family that is in the branch that the Oliver's have been serving in as support leadership. She said that the little branch had a project of making blankets which she was teaching them how to do. One of these blankets was given to a family that was very poor. Sis. Oliver had gone to visit this family. She noticed that the blanket they had given the family was still wrapped. This family had three children and two double beds which they put together, sleeping together to keep each other warm through this very cold spell [below freezing] that we had the first part of January. Each child would be wrapped in a blanket and the parents were sharing one. Sis. Oliver asked them why they weren't using the blanket they had been given. The mother just smiled. Sis. Oliver took the blanket out and spread it out over both beds and said that they needed to use it to keep warm. This family had sold everything they owned of any worth just to survive. Sis. Oliver suspected that the reason they hadn't used the blanket was that they were probably saving it to sell. As she related this story I thought how sad and how ashamed I felt for all my complaining of how cold it's been the last few weeks. As least I had some heat and had warm blankets to keep me warm at night.

Our son, Jarom, wrote, telling us that his Stake President, Kurt Alexander, had served in Mexico as mission president [Mexico Torreon Mission] and that the Monterrey Temple was their temple while they were there. He was saying that Sis. Alexander was telling him some stories of when they were in Mexico and told a story about President Hinckley when he was touring the Monterrey Temple prior to the dedication. He said that President Hinckley was looking at a wood carving in the temple and he said, "He will like that when He comes to visit." Referring to the fact that Christ was a carpenter. As I was looking for the wood carving he was referring to I couldn't find it. Then, I realized that the whole temple is full of beautiful carpentry woodwork. Each room has beautiful wood accents. This is even more unique because, as I've observed the different buildings and homes in Monterrey, most everything is made with cement, tile, bricks and stucco. There is very little made in wood, so the temple is very unique to this area. When we were first taken on a tour of the temple by President Tenorio, when we arrived, I thought that it was a very beautiful temple but now as I sit in the session rooms with this new perspective of what Christ would think I see the beauty even more so. Thanks Jarom for sharing.

Tuesday was a special day at the temple. A sweet, young family, the Moreno's, that the Spencer's and Shaklee's have befriended and been helping were sealed as a family together forever in the temple. I was able to get away from my duties at the temple and attend their sealing. There was such a warm, sweet spirit there. They have only been members of the church for a little over a year. The missionary that helped in their conversion was able come and be the escort for Roberto. Sister Spencer was Margarita's escort. Brother Moreno has had a real struggle. He had to quite his job because he injured his back and now is having a hard time finding another job that doesn't require manual labor. Elder Spencer has been helping him find another job.

Attendance at the temple continues to increase as well as the number of temple workers coming on shift. We're getting back up to normal with the exception of Saturday. Because of the area conference this weekend that we had the temple closed after the 11:20 session on Saturday. Because of that we had none of the bus loads come in that we usually have, not even the two stakes that are not part of our northern Mexico area. I guess they just didn't think it was worth the long trip in for just half of a day.

Yesterday I was sitting in the reception area greeting people and Hermono Vincent Torres was at the desk. He got out the new Spanish Bible and showed me a scripture and said that I should show or read it to my husband. 2 Corinthians 11:1 “Ojalá me toleraseis un poco de locura; sí, toleradme.” If you do a literal translation it comes out “Hopefully you would tolerate a little madness [or insanity or craziness] in me; yes, tolerate me.” Not knowing what it said for sure I looked in the English Bible and it comes out a little better. “Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.” Hermano Torres has a wonderful sense of humor and he and Lynn get along wonderfully, always kidding with each other and he always has a warm greeting for me. He was one of the first ones that we met at the temple that was from our ward and greeted us at church the first day we attended.

At our adult session of Stake conference yesterday, President Taylor invited Roberto and Margarita Moreno, the couple that was sealed on Tuesday, to bear their testimonies and they did a wonderful job. I only understood a part of what they said but the spirit came through loud and clear. They are such a sweet couple. I've really enjoyed getting to know them through the Shaklee's and Spencer's. They have three children, Xitlaly, José, and Milly. They are very much like my grandchildren, just as mischievous , rambunctious and full of energy.

The Sunday session was a satellite broadcast from Salt Lake and I understood every word. Of course that was because they had an English translation for us English speakers in the Relief Society room. The speakers were Walter Gonzalez of the presidency of the seventy, Silvia Allred of the General Relief Society Presidency, Elder Neil Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve and President Thomas S. Monson. They were all wonderful talks and it was great to hear it in English.

This afternoon we were invited, along with the Halls, to have dinner at the home of Vincent and Palmira Torres. They are great couple. He's the one I just mentioned above and she was just recently released as our ward Relief Society President so that they could both be called to give support leadership to one of the inner-city units that are struggling. It is also the same area that Sister Torres was living in when her family first joined the Church in 1970. They both work in the temple, mostly in the Recorder's office, he also as a temple worker and we have enjoyed getting to know them. Vincent and Lynn have become good friends. Also joining us for dinner was their youngest son, who is not married and his friend/missionary companion that was visiting. They served together as missionaries in the Phoenix Arizona Mission. As we visited, Sister Torres shared a little about her family. Her mother was Petra G. de Hernandez and her conversion story was printed in a book “Inspirational Missionary Stories” by Leon R. Hartshorn. They had a copy of it and let me read it. Part of her story is also in the church manual “The Latter-day Saint Woman: Basic Manual for Women, Part A”, as follows:

Sister Petra G. de Hernandez of Monterrey, Mexico, told her story:
“Nineteen years ago my husband died in an automobile accident. It was then that I felt the need to find God, so that he could help me with my family. My youngest daughter was eleven months old.
“One night, in the midst of my desperation, … I prayed to the Lord as if I were talking to another person. I asked him to show me the path to take in life. I told him that I knew he existed, but I didn’t know where. I asked him to show me how or where to find him. I did it with such faith and desire to find the truth that I shall never forget that prayer.
“The answer to my prayer was not long in coming. One morning two young missionaries knocked on my door and said they were from the Mormon Church and that they brought me a very important message. I had heard about the Mormons, but I had not been the least interested in them. I let them come in and they began the first lesson. As I received the first lesson, I felt that what they were saying was true, and I told them I wanted to be baptized with my family. …
“Since the day we accepted the gospel our lives have changed completely. I was now sure that God hears our prayers. …
“I can say with assurance that we are a united family due to the gospel and to those two missionaries who knocked on my door fifteen years ago.
“I will always be grateful to them both for having knocked on my door, and I know there are people who are grateful that my children have been the missionaries who knocked on their doors to bring them the gospel” (“A Missionary’s Mother” in Leon R. Hartshorn, comp., Inspirational Missionary Stories [1976], 123–25).
What is not shared here is even more inspiring and is found in the book was that she and her husband had four children, Palmira Torres being the youngest and Juan Sergo Hernandez, who is the sealer at the Temple on Saturday mornings, being the only son. All four children went on missions, each with great sacrifice, both for the family and for themselves.

As we were enjoying the delicious food Sister Torres mentioned that she learned how to cook from her mother. Her older sisters weren't interested in learning how to cook that much, but she did. When she was eight years old her mother had to go to work. She would give Palmira 10 pesos and told her to have dinner ready when the family came home for lunch at mid-day. It was evident from our enjoyable dinner that she learned her lessons well.

It has turned warm here this week, being in the high 70's and low 80's, such a contrast to a couple of weeks ago when it was below freezing. They say that it usually doesn't get as cold here as it did this winter. Our landlords were really shocked when they got their electric bill for the last two months. It comes for two months at a time and increased from 400 to 3000 kilowatts used from the previous two months. They asked us to help pay some of the difference, splitting the increase three ways between our landlords, their son, who lives in the other apartment and us. We were glad to do so, knowing that we used a lot of electricity to try and stay warm.