Week 49 & 50 from Mexico

1 & 7 Aug 2010 – Week 49 & 50

We spent the better part of the last two weeks in Mexico City.  It has been a wonderful week, tiring but wonderful.  Before we left on Wednesday, the 28th, we had lunch with the Halls at Jaime & Gloria Meneses' home. They and the Herreras  hosted us for lunch, which was very delicious.  The Meneses are the family history directors and have only been members of the church for about five years.  Brother Herrera is our home teacher along with President Hall. Sister Herrera was in the Relief Society Presidency when we first got here.  Their son-in-law was put in the bishopric just a few months ago and is the son of Bro. & Sis. Casanova, who is a sealer at the temple. During our visit Sister Herrera told of a young family she had met and helped several years ago.  They had come to Mexico from Bulgaria and had ended up staying here because the living conditions here were so much better than in Bulgaria.  Having children in Bulgaria is very restricted, only one allowed.  They obtained Mexican citizenship, had a couple of children and sent for one of their mothers to come and live with them.

We left for Mexico City on Wednesday night.  Our flight was about 1 ½ hours late taking off, so we got the Mexico City around midnight.  I was a little nervous when we first got there because the guard was not at the gate and didn't respond to our call on the intercom.  But there were some workers replacing windows on the Visitors Center so they helped us get the guard to open the gate and help us get to our housing.  We stayed in the patron housing for the Mexico City temple. It only costs $40 pesos (which is about $3.00 US) a person per night so we decided to stay there the whole time of our visit. We didn't have Internet connection so I felt a little disconnected from the rest of the world, but that was probably a good thing. The transportation was very convenient from there and very cheap. We could catch a bus right in front of the temple that took us right to the Metro. It costs just $3 pesos (abt. .23 cents) each to ride the bus to the Metro and the same for Metro and once you get through the gate you can transfer to different lines without paying again. The Metro has lines all over the city so we were able get to just about everything we wanted from it.

We spent the whole day on Thursday at the temple and the surrounding complex.  We did initiatories and two endowment sessions and visited the Visitors Center.  The complex is very large and includes: the temple; the visitors center; the CCM (or MTC); the institute building which also serves as a stake center and meeting house for three wards. The complex also includes housing for temple patrons (where we stayed), for the temple president, the visitor center president, housing for both the temple missionaries and the visitor center missionaries and housing for the MTC missionaries.  We were able to have our meals in the MTC cafeteria on off hours from when they served the missionaries.

There were several times when someone came up to us and asked us if we were from Monterrey.  They had been to the temple there and recognized us.  We even met a couple, Martin & Leslie Johnson, who are serving as missionaries at the visitor's center. When they said they were from St. Joseph, Missouri we asked them if they knew, Roger and Bernadine Smith, relatives of Lynn's who live in St. Joseph. They just happen to live in the same ward and have known them for over 30 years.  Later we found out that Martin had also served in the same mission that Lynn served in only about 1 ½ years apart, so they were there at the same time, as Martin was just at the last part and Lynn was at the beginning.

On Friday we visited the Zocalo where we visited the Catedral Metropolitana and Templo Mayor.  I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to get very many pictures at the Templo Mayor and it's museum because the batteries ran out on my camera and I didn't have any more replacements.  The Catedral Metropolitana is a mish-mash of architectural styles from three different centuries that somehow turned out beautifully. It was originally constructed by Cortés in 1524 over the main Aztec temple. The small church was replaced by a larger cathedral, begun in 1571 and completed in 1667.    During our visit they were holding a catholic mass which was very interesting to see and took us a little longer because I waited for them to finish before taking pictures. Templo Mayor was especially interesting.  The whole downtown Mexico City was built over the ancient Aztec city and temple by Cortés and the Spaniards when the Aztecs were conquered in 1521.  One of the first things Cortés did was destroy the Aztecs main center of worship, the Teocalli, stealing its stones to build his magnificent cathedral across the street. The temple and surrounding plaza were paved over and almost forgotten until 1978, when workers unearthed them while laying wires and piping for the  Metro. From 1978 to 1982, the site was extensively excavated, revealing layers of pyramids and artifacts.  The Templo Mayor is just one part that has been uncovered.  In 1985 Mexico City had a major earthquake that destroyed many of the buildings, especially in this one particular area.  The government gave permission for the buildings to be demolished and not rebuilt.  The archaeologists were very glad because that meant that they could uncover the ruins and study the whole area.  The museum houses many of the things found, much of it from the Moctezuma II period, including a couple of  very large monoliths, the Tlaltecuhtli and the Coyolxauhqui. I wish I could have gotten pictures.

One disadvantage to staying at the housing at the temple was that we had no Internet access.  Friday we  found out that Burger King, which was down the street from the temple, did have a wireless connection so we went there to try and connect with home.  We wanted to find out how our daughter-in-law, Joy, was doing. She was expecting a baby, which wasn't due until the first part of October but her water broke on Monday and she was in the hospital. When we got online we had messages for us to call, which we did on SKYPE and were able to talk to Joy. She said that their baby, Julia Eve, was born at 2am that morning, which gives us 30 grandchildren.

On Saturday we went to the Bellas Artes area where we saw Alameda Central, which anciently was  the site of an Aztec marketplace and is now a large park where many vendors set up shop. I bought a scarf and a blouse from a couple of the vendors.  I even got a picture of two policemen with their horses who patrol the park.  We visited the Palacio de Bellas Artes, which has large murals covering the walls of the third floor.  This is also where they have a theater where they have ballets and other performances. We also visited the Palacio Postal or La Quinta Casa de Correos, a beautiful central post office and the Museo Postal with artifacts and history of the postal service in Mexico. We also visited the Museo Nacional de Arte which houses the city's most comprehensive collections of Mexican fine art.  I was completely exhausted by the end of the day, with hurting feet and back.

On Sunday we attended church in the Institute building and met a couple, Milo & Maria Gomez, who used to be neighbors to the Halls in Orem and are now from Spanish Fork.  They are serving as temple missionaries in the Mexico City temple and just have a couple of months left.  They said that when they applied for their mission President Hall put in a request for them to serve in Monterrey and they requested the Monterrey Temple on their application but were sent to the Mexico City temple, which was a disappointment at first but ended up being a good place for them because they were able to get the temple housing which we don't have in Monterrey.  They showed us the complex at the back of the temple grounds, where the temple missionaries and the two counselors in the temple presidency live. They invited us to attend their FHE group who meet on Sunday evenings.  Sister Jimenez, who is the wife of President Jimenez, a counselor in the Mexico City temple presidency, gave the lesson.  She had it as a Powerpoint presentation and I was able to understand most of what was talked about.  It was President Jimenez who President Tenorio made the arrangements for our stay here.  President Tenorio used to be their stake president in Mexico City.

The Gomezes said that a group of the senior missionaries were going on a trip on Monday to Cuernavaca, a city south of Mexico City.  One of the couples had canceled out and they had room for us to go.  They only go on these excursions every few months so it was just happen-chance that we happened to be here when they were going.  They had actually planned it for the week before but due to a mix-up with the van company it got postponed one week.  We were going to visit a museum that was in a palace that Cortés built but it was closed, as are most museums in Mexico closed on Mondays.  That makes it hard for the senior missionaries to visit museums because that is usually the only day they get off.  But, we did do some shopping at the local marketplace close by.  Lynn got a chess set and I got a couple of blouses and a skirt.  Afterwards we spent the afternoon enjoying a very lovely hotel/restaurant called Las Mañanitas.  To see it from the outside it didn't seem like much, just a brick wall surrounding the whole block, but inside it had a beautiful garden with cranes, peacocks, flamingos; a swimming pool; a spa, which they gave us a tour of; a hotel; and a restaurant were we ate a very nice meal.  It was very expensive but I enjoyed the day and the ride to and from was a great view of the Mexican countryside.  We made some new friends on this little trip: John & Linda Monte from Hayward, CA serving as temple missionaries; Bryce & JoAnn Bennett from Layton, UT serving as temple missionaries; Neil & Sandra Cardon from Spanish Fork, UT serving as temple missionaries; Ken & Kathy Beck from American Fork, UT serving as temple missionaries; Martin & Leslie Johnson from St. Joseph, MO serving as visitor center missionaries; and Milo & Maria Gomez from Spanish Fork, UT serving as temple missionaries.  I was fun getting to know them.

On Tuesday we went to see the pyramids at Teotihuacan.  What an impressive site. Lynn even was able to climb to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun and got a great view of the surrounding area and climbed part way up the Pyramid of the Moon.  I wasn't up to the climb but he took pictures.

Wednesday we went to the National Museum of Anthropology and History.  Wow, what a gigantic place. We had been warned that it was impossible to see it all in one day but we decided to see what we could.  I got over 800 pictures and was exhausted.  It basically went from pre-historic man to the period of the Spaniards in the whole of Mexico and Guatemala area, including the Teotihuacan people, the Aztecs, and the Mayans.  It was very fascinating.  On our bus ride to the Metro that morning was the only time I've seen any really aggressive, angry drivers. I guess our bus driver had cut someone off and they came up along side the bus and scraped along side the bus and moved on.  He did more damage to the side of his truck then he did to the bus so I don't know what he expected to accomplish. Neither vehicle stopped and just moved on. The bus driver didn't seem the least bit hassled by the incident.

Wednesday night we headed home and got into our apartment at about 2am, exhausted but having felt that we had experienced a wonderful week.  I will try to post some of the pictures to my Picasa web site and send you the link. But it might be a while because I have so many pictures to get through.

We spent Thursday getting ready for Brin & John's arrival and getting our replacement cell phone, which I had somehow lost on the previous Friday, during our day at the Zocalo.  We went to their apartment, talked with their landlord, Ricardo, and took a look at the apartment.  Mariecarmen did a great job of making the apartment very inviting and homey. This is the same apartment that the Spencer's had when they were here.  We got a few groceries so they would have something to eat the next morning, went back to the apartment and got the keys. It took us more than 2 ½ hours at the Telcel office to cancel our old phone and get a new one. Brin and John didn't get in until after midnight.  John said that their crossing at the border was kind of interesting.  To save some time in getting people through the boarder they have a system, red light/green light, where if you get the green light you go through, if you get the red light you have to stop and have everything checked.  When we went through we were unlucky and got the red light.  With buses, which is the way John and Brin traveled from San Antonio to Monterrey, they randomly choose someone on the bus to get off, go to a button and push it. If they get a green light then the bus goes on through. If they get a red light then everyone on the bus has to get off and get checked.  John was the one pointed at and told to get off and go push the button.  Luckily he got the green light. When he got back on the bus, everyone was anxiously asking how it went and cheered when he said it was good and they could go on. It saved them hours at the border.  Brin was very excited when she saw the apartment. It was much more than she expected to find and had everything they would need.

Friday, while John spent a good part of the day at the Tech getting registered for classes and other business for school, we took Brin to the store so she could get what they would need and drove her around to see a few things. The apartment is only about a 15 walk from the Tech so is very convenient for them. In the evening John had a mandatory meeting and reception for them to go to.

Saturday we spent the early part of the day taking Brin and John to the Obispado, which is a high hill in the middle of Monterrey with a large, old cathedral, which has been turned into a museum with a little history of Monterrey.  You climb just above it and can see the city of Monterrey all around it. It was a bit hazy this day but we could still see quite a bit of the city.  We were able to get a pretty good view of the Catalina River, or what's left of it and the damage it caused.

We had all been invited to attend a luncheon that afternoon at the Campos home with the Halls and the Tenorios.  We picked up the Halls and drove to the Campos home.  We weren't aware but this was actually to celebrate Hermana Campos' birthday.  There was a pretty good size group in attendance: us, Brin & John, the Halls, the Campos and some of their relatives, and the Tenorios with two of their daughters and their families.  The one daughter, Monica, and granddaughter, Daniela, lives with them  and the other daughter and her family, the Peñas, we have see before.  They had been here in December  and had been to the temple Christmas party.  They remembered me from my singing on the program and when President Tenorio had me say a few words during the program.  This daughter, her husband, Luis, and two of their four children, Horacio and Megan, had lived in Provo while the husband attended school there for about five years, so they all spoke very good English.  The two youngest, Samuel & Camelot, were born when they returned to Mexico.  They presently live in Mexico City and were here for a visit with the Tenorios.  We enjoyed getting to know them.

Sunday we took Brin and John to our ward for their first Sunday so we could introduce them to the members of our ward.  They will normally attend the Roma ward, which is within walking distance from their apartment. Brin wasn't feeling very well, probably the effects of the Mexican food we had at the Campos home the day before.  It's going to be great having them here and we look forward to the next four months with them here. It's going to be a bit of a challenge for Brin but I think she's up to it and she will fit right in before too long.

Sorry that this has turned into a novel to read but there was so much to tell.  Hope you have a great week. I'll send a link to the pictures soon but it might take a while so be patient.  I'm attaching a few pictures here.