From my Window...

 To my dear family and friends in freezing rain and snowy days in Utah and Idaho....just wanted to post some pictures to bear up your hearts...  I did not know that orange and lemon trees produce all year around....and I do love that there are always some type of flowers blooming.  I am taking many pictures to pull out in the snowy days in my future!!

We had a delightful dinner at Modesto and Peria Garcia's home.  They have such a sweet family that we enjoyed being around.  It was Itzel's birthday and she was five years old.  They started coming to

our ward because they wanted to practice their English!!  The second week there she was put in the RS Presidency and now a counselor in the Primary Presidency, he is YM and in the High Priest Quorum.  He has been in the Bishopric and a Bishop in the Spanish wards.  I have a lot of admiration for people learning a new language...trying to speak of things of the heart when the words don't come easily.

We finally got the RS visiting list, the missionaries list and our list together.  The missionaries came over to say they had complied what we found out so far (several more pages to go) and 56 members have moved out of ward area.  Our goal is to work through the whole ward list so the ward will know exactly who is in our ward!!

Brother Paul Watkins was one of the first men we met when we first came out on our mission.  I wrote next his name in our book...."interesting opinionated man, don't see him becoming active again".  Those of the words of a greenie missionary that doesn't understand how the Lord works.  I have watched him come to support a little 6 year old "granddaughter" who adopted him, and ask him to come when she sang in the Primary Program.  He has been coming ever since, his wife comes occasionally, she has health problems.
Today the Bishop ask him to speak in church on what prayer has meant in his life.  I was blown away, it was from his heart and was probably one of the best talks I have heard on prayer.  He made one statement I really liked  "Prayer grows as we grow".  I love witnessing miracles...over and over and over!!!  Love being a missionary!!

A big congratulations to Jake and Kandis Summers who made a goal to go through the temple, worked hard and accomplished it.  They went through the Brigham Temple on Saturday, January 26th.  We are so proud of them and very, very excited!!