Another Week in La Concepcion

Sister Chevita, who came with us to move, introduced us to her friends of the Baha'i faith, the Harpers. They invited us to dinner. They are vegetarians and the food was delicious. Look at this salad and eat your heart out. She served homemade dressing of yogurt and lemon. Wonderful!

Here is Olga. talk about presentation!! She also introduced us to a tiny bakery next door. It is clean and the treats are a bit sweeter than in most bakeries, and I'm not baking any more.

Our student, Marvin, makes animals from seashells for sale. He gave me an armadillo which will come home to live in my armadillo sewing basket.

Rod snapped these photos of cacao. We haven't tried the fruit yet, but the fruit is attached directly to the trunk. Rod wonders if the fruit of cacao qualifies as chocolate. I vote no.


We tried a new fruit, mamon chino, in Aguadulce and it wasn't much good. It is very common here. A woman we visited offered us some and I accepted. This was fresh and juicy and as good as it gets. Rod has a bit of a different opinion.

This is Chanis' mom in Puerto Armuello on the coast. She has a duck with 11 ducklings. It is wonderful to watch them. Makes me think of Make Way for Ducklings.

Rod introduced a family to the stomp rockets here on the beach. We had a great time.

We have geckos that play on the windows at night. I caught one of them. I love to watch them.
We returned from Volcan last Thursday night and went by the church to find out how many of our students were going on a temple trip and wouldn't be able to study with us the next two days. We met a family from Canada who were here visiting her mother in Volcan. The mom had an aunt here in Concepcion and hadn't visited her yet. We offered to give them a ride to her house while we were waiting for the bus. Rod took as many as would fit and I stayed at the church to watch their luggage. They visited and returned. Rod had promised to bring me by to meet her later. We went by on Saturday afternoon. She met us at the gate and didn't want to open it. I think the family had tried too hard to offer the gospel. I convinced her that we weren't trying to force anything, and she consented to a visit. She was distant until I told her how much I enjoy some of the hymns they use in their church. One says "How can I pray when I am angry with my brother? God doesn't listen to prayers unless we repent" It sounds a bit middle eastern and is very beautiful. After we sang that, she got out her hymnal and we searched it a bit. She talked about being a teacher and we enjoyed the visit. At the end, she offered us manon chino, "Bien Dulce", and it was. This is the second time I have used this hymn to thaw very cold women of about my own age. I love the power of music and the power of love. I think it is possible to forget that Christ says if we have not charity, things just don't work. (mas o menos) It makes me think of Brigham Young who said (mas o menos) that it is foolish to offer the gospel by trying to snatch away the doll that someone else values. Only we show what we have in love and see if they are interested in the blessings it offers.
I love our life here together. Rod is a huge blessing to me. [I AM NOT GETTING FAT!]
We currently have at least 47 students. Many are sharing keyboards and we are about to say "NO MORE!" It is hard to come to that point.
Last Saturday night I played for a wedding. They asked me to play at 4:30 for a 5:00 wedding. I started at 4:30, but the wedding didn't start unto 6:45. A student told me the next day that the groom's hair wasn't right! I had a sore shoulder and neck for a few days, but the ironic thing was that, after practicing hymns for the 2 hours, when I played for the congregation to sing I messed up royally. Go figure! A dose of humility?