Friends with fruit, rain and called to serve (kinda)

 We were richly blessed with fruit this week.  Students gave us a hand of natural bananas.  The same day we received a box of mangoes from our friends in Aguadulce.  They are the best we've ever tasted and we have eaten LOTS.  The Lord certainly has made wonderful things for us to eat.  We fill our bowls with mangoes then add raw oatmeal and milk (whole, of course).  The adjustment back to powdered skim may be a bit stiff.

 We had to have both of us pose so we could send the photos back to the Trejos family in Aguadulce.

 Maria, our friend who is organizing the music in one ward and allowing us to teach her to direct (including changing from left hand to right hand), gave us a melocoton.  We use that word for peaches, too, but this was different. 

 Here it is cut in two.  There weren't really large pieces of fruit even though it is large, because the two large seeds were REALLY cling peach pits.  You had to dig the fruit off each one of them.

I refrigerated some of it, and it was just as fresh the next day.
For flavor it was a hit, but I haven't seen it for sale.

We are down to 10 weeks, and I admit we are counting.  Our girls have sent videos lately and we're eager to see the kids in person.  They have certainly grown.

Interestingly, we are counting perhaps as much for the students as for ourselves.  Many just can't seem to feel the need to practice, yet they say they want to continue.

We are in to winter and have had "aguacerro"s or downpours each evening for the last 4 days.  One could get tired of it.  Our neighbor says that these are the nights for robbers to break into cars because the noise of the rain on the roof is so loud you can't hear the glass break.  So far we've been protected. Our problem is that here we are in the house and could call family, but we can't hear the computer at all.  Edyn sent videos and I listened to them again and was surprised to hear voices.  It is LOUD!  Friday night we were taking our usual route home during the rain when we looked ahead and saw a taxi submerged in water and unable to get out.  We reversed, but we found a few big rocks in the bargain and our car's nose is not as happy as it used to be.

We now have 4 of the 7 units who have a music director for us to work with.  It makes a difference for the youth to have someone to organize.  We're hoping the other three units will see the light soon.  One sister who directs poorly (and about whom some have complained) told us how wonderfully grateful she was to have someone offer to teach her because she'd accepted her calling expecting training and had not received any.  It makes me rethink how easily we judge others.

This week Rod was playing while I taught a sister to direct.  He can also direct while I play so that the students get "real" practice.  We are becoming more and more an equal team.  We keep marveling at the magic of being able to work together so much. We would have to go far in order to improve on this mission. 



This is so unprofessional that probably only family (or only we) will enjoy it, but it captures memories with a remarkable young man, Kenneth Acosta,  as well as Rod's persistence in learning.  Both admirable.