Week 62 from Mexico

31 Oct. 2010

Hola! ¿Cómo esta? ¿Qué hay de nuevo? Happy Halloween to all!! There have actually been trick or treaters in the neighborhoods this evening. John said the taxi driver the other day was mad because he said that trick or treating wasn't something that was done in Mexico until recently. I guess H.E.B. and Walmart get the credit for bringing it to Mexico. As I've been sitting here in our apartment I can hear the children crying out, “Hall-o-ween! Hall-o-ween! Hall-o-ween!” I guess they haven't learned the right words that go with the tradition. Oh, well, they can do things their own way. As for us Americans, our FHE group will be visiting the cemetery again this year. Afte all, it's a whole new group, except of us. They can't leave Mexico without seeing a Mexican cemetery. The Clarks took a ride up there this afternoon and said, “You just can't do it justice with pictures. It's something you just have to experience in person.” She said there were lots of people having picnics under awnings right over the dear departed graves. I guess that's the tradition here. It's more like Memorial Day in the US, only it lasts for about two to three days. Sis. Clark said that it looked like there was some damage from the flooding of the river back in July from Hurricane Alex on the lower end as well. Anyway it will be fun to see again.

We now have a new temple presidency. Yesterday was hard, with several tears shed in goodbye. But, also excitement to greet the new presidency. The new second counselor and his wife, Jorge Granados H. & Marina Torres R. de Granados were at the temple most of the day Thursday and Friday and the president and his wife, Juan Antonio Machuca Cañas & Isabel Santana Guirado de Machuca, were there most of yesterday. I gave each of them a notebook I made with all the pictures of the workers in the temple to help them get acquainted. They seemed very excited to have them.

Here is some background information that I found on the Church News site about them:

President Juan Antonio Machuca Cañas & Isabel Santana Guirado de Machuca
Juan Antonio Machuca Cañas, 63, Acueducto Ward, Mexico City Arbolillo Stake, called as president of the Monterrey Mexico Temple, succeeding President Horacio A. Tenorio. President Machuca's wife, Isabel Santana Guirado de Machuca, will serve as temple matron. Recently released as an Area Seventy [sustained in Apr 2005], he has served as president of the Mexico Puebla Mission [1999-2002], mission president's counselor, stake president of Tijuana Mexico la Mesa Stake [198?-1996], high councilor and bishop. An instructor & regional coordinator for the Church Educational System, received bachelor's degree in educational psychology from Juarez Autonomous University of Tabasco; he was born in Santiago Ixcuintla, Nayarit, Mexico, to Gregorio and Socorro Cañas de Machuca. Was living in the Monterrey Mexico Mitras Stake when called to be president of the Mexico Puebla Mission in 1999.
Sister Machuca served with her husband as he presided over the Mexico Puebla Mission. She has also served as a counselor in stake Primary presidency, a ward Relief Society president and counselor and in a ward Young Women presidency; school teacher; received teaching degree from Benemerito de las Americas. She was born in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico, to Alberto and Esperanza Guirado de Santana. They are the parents of three children.
[from Jan. 9, 1999 & June 12, 2010 Church News]

NEW SECOND COUNSELOR - Jorge Granados H. & Marina Torres R. de Granados
Jorge Granados H., 53, Mexico Tijuana Mission; Viveros Ward, Mexico City Mexico Tlalnepantla Stake; stake mission president; former stake president's counselor, high councilor, bishop, high priests group leader, and missionary with his wife in the Mexico Oaxaca Mission; medical assessor; received veterinary medicine degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and a license in marketing management from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico; born in Anganguea, Mexico, to Jose Piedad Granados M. and Maria Del Carmen Hernandez L. de Granados; married Marina Torres R., two children. She is a Primary teacher; former Relief Society president and counselor, Primary president, Relief Society teacher, and missionary with her husband in the Mexico Oaxaca Mission; received a nursing degree; born in Mexico City to Luis Torres A. and Ignacia Rangel O. de Torres.
[from Church News, published: Saturday, May 11, 1996]

I'm attaching a picture of the Machucas but don't have one yet of the Granados. Hopefully, I'll get one this week.

Monday was a wonderful but sad going away party for the Halls. Ricardo didn't let us down. His steaks were as delicious as always.

We worked the morning shift all this week. What a difference it is from the afternoon shifts. Very quiet and not a lot to do, except initiatories. There were usually only two or three that come to be baptized so they were done hundreds and hundreds of times. There was not much to do in the laundry room, usually just one load at the end of the shift. The sessions were usually at least half full, but not over full. On Wednesday, with not much to do, I decided to make myself useful. I noticed that some of the women't baptismal undergarments had the lace around the edges coming loose, so I went through them all, pulled out all the ones that needed fixing, set up the sewing machine and set to work repairing them. When Sis. Perales came in and noticed what I was doing, she smiled, nodded her head and left. A while later she came back when I was done and asked if I would fix a dress that needed to have some tucks put in to raise the hem. She brought it in on Thursday. I ended up doing the session so I worked on it after the session, along with one of the temple dresses that also needed to be repaired. I'm glad that next week we'll be working the afternoon shift. Mornings are nice but seem long when there's not a lot to do.