Flowers, Dinosaurs, Enchiladas and Kisses

 

Dear Family and Friends,

The hibiscus flowers that grow on the temple grounds are huge. Next time I'll get Lewis to put his hand in the photo so you can see how large they are. They are beautiful.

We went on a fun adventure. There is an exhibit of dinosaurs in the botanical garden on the Malecon that runs along the river downtown in Guayaquil. These dinosaurs move and make noise. It was a fun walk through this lovely setting. We really needed some small grandchildren with us to be appropriately impressed with the large creatures that moved and made loud, unfriendly noises.

The last two are not dinosaurs but rather, patient husbands waiting for their wives to take photos to send home to their grandchildren.

We had brought a large package of corn tortillas from Costco. We also brought dried chili peppers from WalMart. Lewis made enchilada sauce and we made a whole lot of enchiladas, both chicken and cheese. We invited everyone on our floor to come for dinner. The USA missionaries were delighted to have some Mexican food. Sister Chiza ate them but I think she liked the rice and beans and salad better. The others brought a table and chairs, dishes, salad, jello and a pie and all 9 of us enjoyed ourselves.

I want to give you an example of how sweet and loving these Ecuadorian saints are. There is a mother and daughter who work in the temple on Fridays. The husband of the mother works also. The dad is a good man, large and tall. The mother and daughter are particularly beautiful. They are both so kind and sweet and encouraging. I find it amazing. It seems a bit "over the top" from my perspective but not at all insincere or unnatural for them. Last Friday, the daughter happened to walk by me as I was sitting on a bench at "punto uno" in front of the office in the temple. She lightly ran her fingers under my chin and made a tiny kissing noise as she passed. Wish I could demonstrate my love and affection for my children and grandchildren half as well as they do to everyone in the temple. It is both their culture and their talent. I need to work on developing a bit of what they do so gracefully and naturally. They remind me of the love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us - so freely and generously given. We also need to learn to be more open to receive it.

Love, Jeri/Mom/Grandma