Dear All -
Another week has gone by with amazing speed, although I thought that this week lasted a little better than some have. In the midst of all that is going on the service in the temple is a continual blessing in our lives. I was talking with President Garcia last night, and we commented on how freely the Lord blesses us. Even after all the Plan of Salvation and the gift of his Son, he also blesses us with joy, love, and personal revelation.
I know I have commented before, but one of the joys of serving in the temple presidency is the opportunity to interview and set apart new temple workers. A couple came in Friday evening who live 10 hours away from the temple. They figured they could make the trip once a month and work Saturday mornings. I felt such joy as I set them apart in their callings. When we were done they asked "Can we start tomorrow?" Then yesterday morning a younger sister came in for an interview. She still has small children at home, but she is anxious to serve, so she too wanted to work on Saturday mornings. I set her apart, and then she asked "Where do I go to now?" She started serving immediately. Such dedication is an inspiration to me.
Something else a little more sobering has been helping Delkys collect the names for the prayer roll, since she can't go in to collect from the brothers' locker room. As I open the box and discover a huge stack of names I am always struck with the thought of how many people there are with special needs for whom we are asked to pray. I think of the counsel President Eyring received about treating everyone "as if they are in deep trouble and you'll be right over half the time," and I can certainly see the truth of that.
We did take time earlier in the week to go to Amador Causeway with the Rodriguez's. Whenever we go I see families riding in the pedal carts, and have always thought it looks like fun. So we decided to rent one for an hour. Delkys contributed this picture.
I discovered that the cart is pretty heavy and does not pedal very easily, but we still had fun riding up and down the causeway. Of course, "up" and "down" are relative terms since the whole causeway is at sea level, but that was a good thing, because even riding up any incline at all was a challenge. As we were riding this hawk stopped right next to the walkway. Again Delkys snapped the picture.
A couple of days ago we went to a bank close by to take care of an errand, so while Delkys was inside I walked around a little. There was a park-like area behind the bank, so I wandered over to see what it looked like, and discovered there was a canal running through it. I then noticed this guy sunning himself on the opposite side of the canal.
He was a little over three feet long from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail.
As long as everyone was talking about the extremely hot summer in the States I had little trouble thinking about the weather there, but now that things are truly turning to autumn I find myself longing for the cooler mornings. However, I think I am getting somewhat acclimated to the climate here, so I'm really doing pretty well. We hope you are enjoying the weather and all else in life.
Love,
John and Delkys
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