Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving,

We celebrated on Monday because that is our day off. It would be too rushed to try to have dinner ready and eat between shifts today. We enjoyed our lovely dinner that Sister Bottorff planned. She made the turkey and dressing and gravy and coordinated our fun feast. Everyone contributed and we were grateful for the food, our families and the chance to serve together in the Guayaquil Temple. Everyone wrote a favorite blessing they were grateful for. Grandpa wrote "eyes". In Spanish it looks like this: OjOs. Imagine a dot inside the center of each O and it looks like eyes separated by a nose. I wrote that I am thankful for the many patient Spanish speakers who take the time to communicate with me each day.

Sister Johnson made this cute turkey on her relish tray. 

This is the kitchen/dining room available for all the people who stay here while they are attending the temple. On Saturdays they also sell food here because the cafeteria is always overcrowded with the many faithful people who come. Grandpa wanted an ice cream bar out of the blue freezer you can see. Good thing none of us has a key. This is the table before the turkey was added.

We had lots of good food and there was another table full of desserts that I failed to get a photo of.

President Groberg is looking down at his hymnbook. Sister Groberg is leading our song.

The first couple is the Ripples from Nova Scotia, Canada. They served as temple missionaries here a couple of years ago and have returned for two months to serve as patrons in the temple and continue the remodel of the Valeros' home. The Ripples believe that the Valeros prayed them to Ecuador. Neither of the Ripples speak Spanish but Brother Ripple is an amazing builder with indefatigable energy. We wish they could stay for years but their family is happy that they will be returning.The Valerios are an amazing family. The father serves as a counselor in the bishopric currently and for many years he and his wife have come every Saturday to work in the baptistry. They both work out of town and sacrifice an incredible amount of time serving others. They are the only reason we survive Saturdays in the baptistry. They have it down to a science and can provide a wonderful experience for the hundreds of young people who are able to come every Saturday from all over Ecuador. We also have a couple of stakes in Peru and Columbia who attend our temple because it is closer to their homes than the temple located in their own countries. Yesterday we talked with two young adult sisters who live in Columbia. The older one just returned from her mission in Paraguay a week ago. They are delighted to come to Guayaquil because it is only a 14 hour bus ride. It takes 24 hours for them to get to the temple in Columbia.

Today seems like a just normal day here in Guayaquil. We hope that each of you is enjoying a special meal with people you love. It is good for us to remember that we have much to be grateful for. Know that you as individuals are on the top of our list of favorite blessings. Thank you for your good lives and the contributions you are making to improve this old world of ours. There are lots of problems but each of our children and grandchildren are bright spots of hope for the future.

Love, Grandma/Mom/Jeri