APRIL 26, 2015  My Birthday!

We have been in Mexico City since Friday.  It is Sunday morning before Church.  We have meetings today at 9:00AM, 11:30 AM, 2:00 PM (President’s message),  4:00 PM (Presidency’s Message) and 7:00 PM one of 6 rotating Church videos:  “Meet the Mormons,”  “How Rare a Possession”, “The Stonecutter”, and I don’t know what else.   Missionaries stay here 6 weeks.  Tuesday nights, we have Devotional at 7:00 PM. 

Right now we have the lowest census they have had since the MTC inception—under 200 missionaries I think.  It is predicted to rise to over 1,000 by end of summer.  We haven’t been on campus a lot because of shopping, but when we have been here, we have seen only a few elders, no sisters.

The flight was only 4 hours—really nice, although your dad didn’t get a window seat, and I thought he was going to cry he was so sad about it.  We sat across the aisle from the MTC Pres’ daughter-in-law, son, & 3 young grandkids…so nice.  Two of our 3 stewards were LDS RMs

and sooo nice to us.  By the way, checking the bags at the curb was way worth the $2 each we paid the porter.  Oh my goodness…lugging 2 big bags, 1 carry on & a big purse/computer bag, & the map EACH would have been awful. 

We had a bit of a hassle at immigration, but that was because the official was new.  Xio Brown & husband met us at the exit (we were so glad to see them).  They are so nice.  The MTC has 3 vehicles—and local LDS drivers.  It took about an hour to get here to the apartment from the airport. 

CAMPUS:  We were amazed at the beauty of the campus….so lush…so green…so large park-like.  Tree lined streets (purple flowering-Jacaranda), birds everywhere, walking trails (cement).  There is nothing 3^rd world about the campus….it is gorgeous.  It reminds us of  BYU or the MTC because each building is named for a prophet.  Everything is new, white, clean….

WEATHER:  Balmy to too hot.  Rainy season is just around the corner.  Walking at night is

romantic and lovely.  I don’t know if that will stay the same once the big group of missionaries arrive. 

ACTIVITIES: We hadn’t been in our apartment even 5 minutes literally, before Dr. Gill (we share the clinic with them) & his wife, a nurse, were at our door to hug us in welcome.  She is the choir director for the MTC choir, and Elder Bednar will be here May 8, and she desperately needs an accompanist and wants Neal to sing.  So kind and gracious. 

We left almost immediately for dinner with the Calls, 1^st Counselor in the Mission Presidency & wife—she is in the Mission Relief Society Presidency. They are former mission presidents in Tampico, MEXICO & have served an inner-city mission in SLC.  They are YOUNG…I bet 50s or early 60s from Sandy, Utah, a retired Business CEO. 

Besides the Calls, we went with the Gills—the doctor (pediatric allergist)—from Portland—They are about 61-2 yrs old.  WE are the oldest.  And, of course, we went with the Browns—she is the Area Mental Health Advisor.  Everything we did the first two days was with these three couples.  Often Dr. Gill stayed behind, being on call.

TRAFFIC:  It is busy, but everyone stays in his own lane, and mostly, they don’t cut across two lanes to get a left turn—not always.  The malls we have seen rival and surpass the University Mall—way more upscale.  We haven’t been to the really wealthy part of Mexico City or the malls there that have marble floors and walls, really posh.  That isn’t my cup’o tea—I’d rather peruse the Salvation Army Thrift store:)J 

The problem with traffic is density, not hazardous driving so much.  The missionaries are very safety conscious to stay on the right side of the police.  We were stopped (a common occurrence) on Saturday, but then let go again.  Your dad has NO wish to drive here (something unusual for him—for that very reason.  We could not speak Spanish to try to explain anything.

MEALS SO FAR:  We went to very, very clean restaurants, very upscale, nice, modern.

In both situations, they brought Neal & I English menus, & everyone else at the table spoke Spanish, so received theirs in Spanish.  The couples don’t eat lettuce or drink the water—even in these nice establishments.  We don’t drink the water in our apartment, although the water from the tap comes from the MTC’s own well.  Every apartment has a big water cooler.

At the restaurant I had hot chocolate—won’t do that again—very bitter chocolate.  They eat heavy breakfasts with meat or fish, beans, rice…things we would choose for other meals.  They also had pancakes, French toast, eggs etc.  We had oatmeal with strawberries, mangos, papaya, pineapple, raisins, and nuts in it.  Yummy.

At home we have only had breakfast of oatmeal and bread. 

At the MTC for lunch today we had two main entrees:  barbequed chicken & broiled chicken in gravy, salad, fruit, chips, mashed potatoes, juice, beans, corn.  Very filling.  They are refurbishing and making a brand new cafeteria.  Our cafeteria now is makeshift, and many of us ate outside on tables, but the campus is far, far more beautiful than the Provo MTC or BYU put together. 

CAMPUS:  It is just huge.  I just didn’t imagine how big it would be or how beautifully kept the gardens all through it would be.  We’ve just missed the blossoming of the Jacaranda Trees that line the streets in here (lavender flowering trees like lilacs).  They are just fading, but even just the green is beautiful.  And then, there are Bougainvillea  bushes with bright, bright beautiful flowers everywhere.  The gardens are cultivated rather than random.  It is just almost dream-like, it is so beautiful.  And, because the windows in our apartment are very large (ceiling down to my waist), you feel like you are part of the lawn. 

WALLS:  There is a high masonry wall surrounding the campus with razor wire on top—probably 10 feet high I’m guessing.  You see graffiti everywhere here, but not on the outside of the wall.  The missionaries think people honor the Church as people of God, also it was a high school for years and years…but it is right in the middle of some really rough neighborhoods.

We have an elaborate checkpoint for entry into the gates (similar but more elaborate to the Provo MTC)

We have a small mountain (bigger than a hill) out our back window with houses clinging to the edge of the cliffs all the way up.  Neal asked about running up there, but they said it is very dangerous, and you could easily be carjacked (if you had a car) and be totally vulnerable on foot—particularly as a Gringo….So we are definitely on an island encompassed by high walls.

SHOPPING:  We went with the three couples to Sam’s Club, Walmart (for 2-3 hours), and through an upscale expensive mall.  We came home for brief lunch, (we unpacked) and then left for a trip about an hour away with the group to go to an outdoor market where you could buy handmade crafts—embroidered dresses, Aztec Calendars, ceramic dolls, and stuffed animals, and beaded nativities (almost $100).  Things are not cheap here.  I’m not attracted to native crafts here.  We have kind of gone that route other places, and the bright colors don’t appeal to me, so it was a lot of walking and very, very hot.  My arthritic feet are just killing me with all this walking.  We walk everywhere here.

Walmart was daunting because we needed to buy stuff to set up the apartment.  I had made a detailed list, and the other couples helped us.  It is hard shopping because even if we find something that “looks” like what we want, we can’t read the instructions to know if it really is the real thing, and we have no concept of costs.  We could not find Dial Soap or matches (we have a gas stove).  I drew pictures for the clerks because not one spoke English.  The couples came to our rescue so many times to translate.  I can’t imagine what it would have been like without them.  Even at that it was a challenging experience because we wanted to hurry so they wouldn’t have to wait for us.  Even at that, it is easier here than either the Philippines or Kenya because it is so much more modern.  In fact, EVERYTHING IS EASIER—MORE MODERN,

CLEANER, etc.

Even though the streets are often slums, it is a better standard of living than what we saw in the other places, even for the very poor. 

THE APARTMENT:  The apartment is so nice.  We love it.  Big windows, bright, white, new, clean.  We have I think tile floors throughout (although some couples have carpet).  We have white floor length curtains throughout.  Our living room is the size of a small bedroom with two quite large pieces of brown overstuffed furniture (loveseat & chair).  We also have two end tables and a computer table & chair there.  The living room looks out over the west side of campus and the bus parking.  We have 4 buses (transport to temple). 

The front bedroom is for guests:  two single beds, nice bedding, big double dresser, new with two banks of drawers (8) and lots and lots of closet space. 

The back bedroom is ours:  beautiful headboard, king-sized bed, lovely new bedding, same drawers and tons of hanging space.  We have drawers and shelves we don’t use.

The kitchen is small with modern table & chairs, microwave, nice fridge (similar to ours at home) and a gas 6 burner stove.  One whole wall is cupboards floor to ceiling for food & dishes.  We have tons of drawer and shelf space, and don’t use it all.  We will cook very rarely there anyway.  No dishwasher, but that is ok.   The whole apartment has cinderblock walls.

Several people have told us how cold the apartments are in the winter.  It is hotter here than the missionaries can ever remember right now.  There is no insulation in the buildings so it gets hot and cold.  

When we arrived, they had purchased new dishes, silverware, cooking utensils, blender, etc (still in boxes on the table for us).  They treat us like gold.   There are still a few things like a crockpot or electric frying pan we would like to get, but Pres Call said he would ask if administration could help us get them for the apartment that others could use when we are gone.  It is the most comfortable, nicest apartment we’ve had on a mission.   Aside from the many mosquitoes, we have seen no bugs.  Yippeee!

All in all, it has been wonderful.  We don’t have Internet yet, but hope to tomorrow. 

My biggest complaint is my feet.  They are just killing me.  I didn’t bring any OLD shoes, and all this walking and standing is just excruciating.

THE CLINIC:  The Clinic is right kiddy-corner from our dorm.  We live in a building with about 18 apartments.  The bottom floor holds 3 couples:  the new Mexican doctor who is coming in May, the Executive Secretary, and us, and some empty apartments being renovated.  When the census is high again, we will have 8 missionaries to a room and I think about 9 apartments up above.  The washer & dryer are on the bottom floor with us—no cost.  We can also get dry cleaning cheaply at the same place every week.

The clinic is brand new.  There is a very large clean, beautiful reception area with a receptionist, and right now there are two beautiful offices for mental health.  One is being used by a Spanish- speaking missionary sister (she speaks no English) (Bachelor’s degree psychologist).  We don’t know what will happen when we all three need offices.  Here in Mexico, they don’t have Master’s level Social Workers, so we are referred to as Dr. 

We’ve only just walked in the front door of the reception area of the Clinic, so we will report more later on this.

FUN:  Last night we walked over to the Reception Center (like a Union Building—only no couches—just offices) and had popcorn, cookies, and watched “Arranged.”  The 3 other couples really liked it, but we cringed in the show when the Jewish girl went to the wild party with the mission president’s counselor sitting there watching it with us.  It wasn’t that bad, but you still worry when you haven’t seen it for a long time.  They were eager for our new supply of movies.

They are such a nice group of people.  So kind to us.

SUNDAY:   Well, your dad was asked to serve as the 2^nd Counselor in the 12B English-speaking branch presidency this morning.  He feels overwhelmed already.  I haven’t seen him since Sacrament meeting and it is 5PM as I write this.  The members of the branch are missionaries who are native ENGLISH speakers learning Spanish, so most of the meetings are in Spanish.  The Branch Pres is a Chemical Engineer in his 70s, Mexican.  His daughter is getting her doctorate at BYU in Chemical Engineering as well.   The 1^st Counselor looks about 20 years old but really is 35.  He is a classical guitarist, and principal of a Catholic School K-12 run by nuns.  He and his wife are natives.  He learned about the Church from Mormon musical friends who attended this campus when it was a high school.  Both he and his wife (3 kids: 5 mos, 3 yrs, 6 yrs) are returned missionaries.  He served his mission in New York.  She served in Mexico.  He lives 40 minutes away and spends all day Sundays here, and Tuesday nights, and Thursdays when the new missionaries come in, so it is a BIG time commitment for him and hard for her to be alone so much.  Good people here.

I went to English-speaking Relief Society taught by Sister Call in the big auditorium.  It was wonderful!  She just did a wonderful job.  I loved it.  

Neal sat down beside me at Sacrament (I hadn’t seen him all morning) and said, “We can still be of service.  We can help here.  We may not know all we need to know or be the best there ever was, but we can serve.”  He just loves it too.  We are so happy, so thankful, so grateful.

We have Relief Society/Priesthood at 9AM,

District Meeting with the missionaries at 10AM (like their Sunday School)

Sacrament at 11:50 AM in a large classroom

Lunch in cafeteria at 1PM

President’s Message at 2PM on Specific Prayer

Presidency’s Message at 4:30PM

Church video at 7:00 PM.

It is a busy Sunday, and these events are all over the campus, so lots of walking.  I’ve called Tiauna to ask her to send me some old shoes, because I can hardly get around.

We are loving it.  What is there not to love.  The people are wonderful.  We love the missionaries.  They are so endearing.   I had to speak this morning extemporaneously and talked about how grateful I’ve always been that I served in England as a kid, and what a blessing it has been in my life, and several of the girls (it was RS meeting) came up to talk after.  It was really so nice. 

The surroundings are the Garden of Eden…the birds, the breeze, the beauty.  It is lovely.  We feel so blessed.