Where we live...

These are some pictures of the house we're living in. We really like it and it's very comfortable...

the front door... it's inside the garage, not off the street. it's actually quite convenient and the only thing you see from the street is our garage door...










This is the living room and it's right inside and to the right of the entry way. President Reeves has an office to the left of the entry and the kitchen is straight ahead. The dining room is right next to the living room. They make one long room.

























the kitchen is very spacious and it's very easy to keep everything clean. We also have a sister from the ward come in every day to tidy up and keep things looking nice. We love Magdalena!






















This is the upstairs sitting area. There are five bedrooms that are off of this area.










This is the family room upstairs and it's where we spend most of our time. It's right between our bedroom and Brian's, so it's the natural gathering place for games, computers and hanging out.
We love it!

Two weeks down...

Well, we've been here for two weeks and it seems so normal! Aside from the fact that everyone speaks Spanish... We had a great week. Not as busy as last week.

On Monday we dropped off our first missionary to return home from the mission. Sister Munoz impressed me greatly even though I only spent one morning with her. As we sat in the Bus Terminal waiting for her bus to depart, she approached a family sitting near us and asked if they would be interested in learning more about the church. She is a sweet and beautiful young woman.





After seeing Hermana Munoz off, we waited for the 11 missionaries coming in by bus from the Mexico City MTC.

Our first group of Missionaries!

These missionaries will be the first group of missionaries to be with us for their whole two years. We were very excited to meet them and start their training. They were very excited to meet their first companions and trainers.



As soon as we were done at the Mission Office, we drove two hours to Mexico City with the assistants to meet another sister coming from the Peru MTC. When we got there, we found our good friends (past Stake President and co grandparents of our grandson, Van) the Hickens! They are presiding over the Mexico City East mission and were also waiting for missionaries, so we got to visit with them for two hours while we waited for our missionaries to come through customs (how fun!). Sister Nunura is very sweet and I think she will be a very powerful missionary. After driving back to Puebla, we drove out to the Puebla airport and waited for our last missionary of this transfer... Elder Painter from the Provo MTC. We had the opportunity to meet Elder Painter while we were in the MTC for the Seminar, so we were very excited to meet him again. It was a long day, but very fun and exciting to welcome so many missionaries to the mission.
President Reeves spoke at a stake meeting for the youth who didn't go to EFY on Wednesday. Usually when he speaks, he asks me to bear my testimony. I'm fairly confident in doing that in Spanish and I've started to venture out in the things that I say, but did you know that the word in Spanish for "sin" and "fish" are very similar?



We have been having the Assistants drive us around town because it is very confusing here and we don't really know our way around yet. But... President Reeves successfully navigated us to the Mission Office and back home yesterday. Woo Hoo! Of course, the Assistants were in the back seat...






Today was Zone Leader Council. We had the Zone Leaders from the 8 zones, the Assistants and the Office Elders for a meeting in our home that lasted from 9 am till 2 pm. They received training about finding new people to teach and being obedient, among other things. We have such good assistants. They are amazing teachers and they are so loving towards the other elders. After the meeting we served Cafe Rio for lunch and it was a big hit. Elder Alvarez got very excited when I told him there were jalapenos in the dressing...

Zone Conference Week

We started out our first week in the Mission by having Zone Conferences in each of the Zones so that we could meet all the missionaries in the mission. What an amazing week! The first Conference included 4 different zones, but we met all together in Puebla at the Stake Center right next to the Mission Office. We had 97 missionaries and the Stake President in attendance. We introduced our family to the missionaries through a slide show, listened to testimonies of several of the missionaries, were instructed and uplifted by the Assistants, the Stake President and finally by President Reeves. It was a long meeting, but so good. Brian and I couldn't understand most of what was said, as it was all in Spanish, but the Spirit was strong and I could feel the testimonies of those in attendance.

On Wednesday, we traveled to the Tlaxcala Zone and along the way we got a good look at Popo, the volcanoe which borders one side of Puebla. We had the same format each day, but would have a Stake President speak to the missionaries from the Stake in the area. Brian was a good sport to come with us and sit through 5-6 hours of Zone Conference in Spanish. He did enjoy meeting the missionaries and getting to know a lot of them. He even bore his testimony in Spanish.

This is a picture of the two zones in the Tlaxcala area. We had 30 missionaries in attendance. Brian was a great help to me in preparing and presenting the slide show. I couldn't have done it without him. We showed pictures of each of our children and their families in an effort to let the missionaries get to know us. We have to thank Mel & Linda for the idea. We loved their presentation to their missionaries and so decided to do the same.

Elder Hurtado with a couple that he worked with when he was working in this area. This brother was recently baptized and his wife is serving as the Relief Society Secretary in their ward. Elder Hurtado was so excited to visit with them for a bit before we headed back home.

Thursday we traveled an hour and a half to Atlixco and again had a wonderful time. There were 24 missionaries in this group. I really love the missionaries. They are so humble and friendly and are so eager to learn. I'm so impressed with their willingness to sacrifice so much to serve the Lord for two years.

On Friday we traveled two hours to Tehuacan. I love the traveling! I usually fall asleep in the car, but there's so much to see and the countryside is beautiful, I enjoy it so much. Tehuacan is a beautiful city and when President Reeves asked the missionaries if any of them were ready for a change, they all said no! They love this area and I can understand why. This was our smallest group, with only 18 missionaries. I was a little worried about being with such a small group, but I loved the fact that I was able to learn ALL their names while we were there. Again, I was impressed with the missionaries and their willingness to serve.

Welcome to the mission...

On Sunday we went to church at our new ward and it was a great experience. The Assistants went with us as we don't know our way around Puebla yet. It is a crazy place and we don't know any of the streets yet or where we're going. Because it was Fast Sunday and we wanted to get to know the members of the ward better, we decided to bear our testimonies. So we did and we did it in Spanish... It went well and after the meeting a lot of the members came up and introduced themselves to us and welcomed us to the ward. They all made us feel very welcome and it was a great first Sunday.

On Monday Brian got to play soccer with Elder Dominguez, Elder Hurtado and Elder Alvarez. He was a little worried because he hasn't played soccer in 4 years, but he did great and had a good time. It was a little hard playing at this altitude (7,000 ft.) but he survived!


Robert was very busy with meetings with the Assistants on Sunday and Monday getting ready for the Zone Conferences. He was able to go with us to watch Brian play soccer, though. Even when he's home from the mission office, he seems to be on the phone a lot with the Elders.

Mexico, here we come!

We left at 7:30 Friday morning for the airport. Our flight was at 10 and we had plenty of time so we didn't feel too rushed or anxious. By the time we got to our gate, they had already boarded everyone and we were one of the last ones to get on! So much for not rushing... We flew to Houston and had a 3 hour lay over there, but we were able to eat and have a bit of dessert while we waited. We also took a little bit of a nap...




The flight from Houston to Puebla was on a smaller plane, about 50 people were on the flight. It was a great flight, but a little bumpy the closer we got to Puebla.


this was a very small plane!



We landed at 8:30 pm and it was dark, so all we could see were the lights of the city as we came in. As we exited the plane onto the tarmac we saw 3 armed Federales at the bottom of the stairs... armed as in carrying machine guns... I thought about taking their picture, but decided they might not like that so I didn't. It took awhile to get through customs, but eventually we did and I didn't get my bag of jelly beans confiscated. So relieved! However, two of our bags were left in Houston! We were told that they will arrive on the flight tomorrow night... we'll see.

The departing Mission President and his wife, President and Sister Rex, were there to meet us and they drove us to the Mission Office where we met the office staff and the Assistants, and also the Counselors in the Mission Presidency. They are cousins and so they are both Hermano Sandoval! Makes it easy to remember... We had a little bit to eat and then visited and they all expressed their love and gratitude for the Rex's. It was very touching and I can see that we have some big shoes to fill. The missionaries love the Rex's very much. It was about 12 when we left the mission office and headed for the Mission home. After a lot more instruction we finally got to bed at 2:45 am! I asked Sister Rex what time they were leaving because I thought I could make some breakfast for them, but she said they were leaving in an hour! They were catching a bus to Mexico City and catching a flight from there. Wow! I guess they will sleep on the plane!

Saturday was busy with meetings for Robert and the Assistants. They worked at the house for a couple of hours then continued at the office until 3 when they came to get Brian and me to go shopping at Costco. It was the same but different...

Elder Hurtado and Elder Alvarez, ate dinner with us that evening. They are wonderful missionaries and they already have a spot in my heart. We've spent a lot of time with them in the last couple of days! They have shown an interest in Brian and are trying to teach him Spanish every chance they get. He likes them, too, and has been invited to play soccer with them on Monday, their preparation day.



The Mission Home is beautiful and I feel at home here already. I have been looking at pictures of it for a couple of months now, so it doesn't seem so foreign to me. It's very comfy and welcoming.

Moving Out

This week was spent packing up our house and moving out. On Monday morning we arrived back home from the Seminar. Taylor surprised me at the airport (Dad already knew he was coming) and that was so fun to see him! We got a call from Brian that the movers were at the house and ready to start. They were amazing! They packed up everything after we identified which things were to go into storage and which things would go with us to Mexico. We had to be careful about leaving things laying around because they were so quick that they packed a few things that shouldn't have been packed! But they were good to find them again for me. By Tuesday evening this is what our house looked like...









On Wednesday, we cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. Thanks go to my sons Taylor, Brian and to Maria and her son, who did all the hard stuff. Jerry and LaDeane Garner also helped immensely by fixing things that needed to be fixed and by taking all the "stuff" that I needed a home for. Also, my children were so good to take a lot of things that we didn't want to put into storage but that we couldn't take with us. The renters had already started moving in their belongings and by Thursday they were completing the job. Kimber and Ryan opened their home to us and Max for a few nights before we left for Mexico.


Wednesday night we went to dinner with the kids and grandkids one last time! How fun it was to sit and visit with all of them. I will miss them all terribly. We dropped Taylor off at the airport and on Thursday Robert and I took Max to the airport to put him on a cargo plane headed for Atlanta, Georgia. It's funny to me how many family members we have on the East Coast right now... Anyway, after an hour and a half delay in Atlanta, Max arrived in Norfolk, Virginia and Taylor picked him up. He was happy to be out of his kennel, I'm sure.



sorry, I didn't know how to turn it!

















This is his favorite thing to do...






Friday morning Larry came to pick us up for the airport. When we got there, we noticed some children who looked a lot like Catherine and Ethan... wait! It WAS Catherine and Ethan! Melanie had brought the kids to the airport to see us off... so sneaky! Then we found the Garners and Rick Hansen there also. We had a wonderful time visiting and reminiscing at the airport before we had to board our plane. Such good friends and family!

A great Five days...

Monday... We got back from the Seminar at 10 this morning and immediately got back to regular life. How strange that was! But that will be another post. Friday and Saturday were full of instruction on the programs that we will be using with the missionaries and practicing how to teach them. I loved it all. Each day was full of listening to General Authorities, taking notes, meeting new Mission Presidents and renewing friendships with those who we just met. Even though we have only known some of these people for five days, it's as if we've been friends forever.



One group that we tried to get to know better were the Presidents who would be working in Mexico. There were six other Presidents called and we became fast friends. We will see them at our training meetings while we serve.





On Friday we had a special wives breakout session which was very helpful. We discussed our different roles while serving... as a wife and mother, as a companion, as a teacher and as a leader. All of these were very helpful to all of us as we contemplated what we could do to make this mission the best.
That evening we had a devotional with Elder Bednar. He spoke about the requirements to become a Preach My Gospel Missionary... they are called by the Lord, they understand that they represent Jesus Christ, they are worthy, they treasure up the words of Eternal Life, they understand the Holy Ghost is the ultimate & true teacher and the understand that teaching is more than talking and telling. There is a link on the Church website that gives some highlights from the Seminar. It gives you a small glimpse of what we experienced in our meetings.


After the devotional we were able to meet four of the missionaries who will be coming into our mission in July and August. It was so fun to meet them and talk with them. These are some of the first missionaries who will be with us for the entire time of their mission.
This is Elder Peterson, Elder Wigington, Elder Shipley and Elder Painter






On Saturday night we were privileged to have dinner with Elder Bednar and his wife. She is so darling! We had a great time listening to stories of BYU Idaho. He is really passionate about the school.

These are the Mexico Presidents and wives with Elder Bednar and his wife.





















Elder Gonzalez also had dinner with our group. He set me apart earlier in the week.








On Sunday we were able to hear from Elder Holland, Elder Nelson and testimonies from others of the Twelve who had been there all week. We also had a Sacrament Meeting where President Erying spoke. His remarks were so positive and uplifting. I felt very encouraged with his thoughts. He is such a sweet, sensitive man and happy. I think he smiled the entire time he was on the stand!
This whole week has been so uplifting and I have a feeling that I can go to Mexico and do this. I know that the Lord wants us to succeed and I know He loves His missionaries and with His help, Robert and I will be able to serve the missionaries and the people of Puebla.

First day of instruction

Thursday... first official day of the Seminar and training. What an amazing day! We started out by hearing from President Monson. He instructed us on how to better motivate our missionaries and gave us many ways to positively encourage the missionaries in our missions. We also heard from Elder Nelson, Elder Hinckley, Elder Hallstrom, Elder Snow and Elder Christofferson. All the classes were highly motivational and uplifting. During lunch and dinner we had the opportunity to visit with other couples who have served as Mission Presidents and were able to ask questions of them. It was so helpful to us to feel like we can do this!



We also had the great pleasure of meeting President and Sister Martinez. They are going to be Benjamin's new Mission President in Chile. It was wonderful to visit with them and get to know them. Benjamin is very blessed to have them coming to Chile and taking over for the Swensens.











Our nephew, Ryan, is in the MTC and we found him and visited with him. He has received his Visa for Spain and will be leaving soon. We were glad that we were able to visit with him before he leaves.

New President's Seminar

We started out our day by going to breakfast with some dear friends of ours, Nick and Julie. Nick and Robert served together many years ago in the Spain Madrid Mission. It was all one mission then and they became great friends. I was also in the same ward with Nick and Julie after Nick's mission at BYU, so we've been friends for a long time! After breakfast and doing some serious catching up, they dropped us off at the MTC, just like a couple of regular missionaries! Matt Beecher met us at the security gate of the MTC and welcomed us with "Good morning President and Sister Reeves! Welcome to the MTC!" We had 128 Presidents and their wives at the seminar and those good brothers and sisters knew our names before we even arrived. The MTC is truly an amazing place.
The day was spent in verifying information, taking a new picture, getting lots of handouts, eating lunch and dinner and meeting lots of new people. The food was incredible, the meetings were informative and meeting all the new presidents and their wives was so fun and exciting. There are so many faithful, wonderful people who are going to be serving as Mission Presidents. I know our missionaries are in good hands!

Where to Begin...

Today Robert, Brian and I flew to Utah for the New Mission President's Seminar in preparation for our Mission in Puebla, Mexico. We immediately drove to the Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City (I didn't know that there even WAS a Mexican Consulate in SLC...) to finish getting our Visas for Mexico. We had our pictures taken, we were fingerprinted and signed the papers. All ready to go!

Some of our children and their wives were able to come up for the day also, as we were going to be set apart for the Mission. Kelli & Adam, Richard, Larry & Melanie, Kimber & Ryan, Lindsay and Brian were there. Nickie had to stay home with their kids, and Darren surprised Lindsay by flying her out here for Van's first birthday and the setting apart. Darren had to stay in Georgia and work. We missed both of them! We all met for lunch at Tucano's after finishing at the Consulate. My mother and my sister, Cindy also met us for lunch. It was so yummy! I think my mom has a new favorite restaurant... After lunch we parked at the Church Offices and walked around the Conference Center and Temple square, then headed over to Elder Holland's office to be set apart. Elder Holland set Robert apart to be the Mission President and Elder Gonzalez of the Seventy set me apart as his companion and Mission mom. It was wonderful and the start of a great week.






Richard, Brian, Lindsay, Sister Sue, Grandma Heagle, Robert, Janet, Elder Holland, Melanie, Larry, Adam, Kelli, Kimber, Ryan











Richard getting some advice from Elder Holland. Doesn't get much better than this...




We stayed the night at the home of Robert's brother Dave, and his wife Vickie. I think they might be considering putting a nameplate on the room where we stay because we're there so often! We love them both and are grateful for their love and support.

June Already!

How the time flies when you're so busy! It is June already and we are that much closer to leaving for Mexico. We spent a few days in California last week visiting Robert's brother, Mel and his wife, Linda, in Riverside where they are presiding over the Riverside Mission. We had so much fun visiting with them and their sons, Eric and Ryan, and experiencing a small part of their mission with them. Mel & Linda were so gracious and always make us feel so welcome. We look forward to having them visit us in Mexico so we can return the favor. We were able to see Ryan off at the airport, also, as he prepares to enter the MTC on Wednesday of this week and then he will be off to Spain to serve a mission. We hope to see him when we attend our Mission President's Seminar in a few weeks.
Our home is getting emptier and emptier as we loan out our furniture and belongings to our children and pack up lots of boxes. We have rented our home and found homes for most of the animals, so we're getting close to being ready. It was very sad to finally give Dakota to a new family, but we think he will be very happy with his new owners. He has his own little brother, another Aussie, named Jet. I'm sure they will have lots of fun playing together!
We were able to find homes for all the kittens and even though I only had them for a few weeks, I miss them already. I look forward to seeing Sadie and her kitty, Chloe, all grown up, when we return.
These next two weeks will bring lots more packing, organizing, and finding a home for the rest of our stuff. Wish us good luck!

lucky us…

So, some of you may know that over the last few months we have been slowly finding homes for all of our animals.  We can’t take them to Mexico with us… We have been successful in finding homes for everybody but the dogs.  But that’s another story…

So last week, on Thursday, Richard and I were taking some things out to the trash and Richard noticed a cat cuddled up next to our shed.  He said something about “you might have some kittens, Mom” and I got very excited!  But, wait!  I’m going on a mission!  I’m supposed to be giving my animals away, not acquiring more!

Well, we couldn’t just leave them there.  The mother is a stray and we didn’t want them to become strays also, so we took them in and started feeding them.  Luckily, they are old enough that we were able to wean them pretty quickly and they are eating well.

Sadie has been wanting a kitten for a long time, so Richard and Nickie will be adopting one and the other two will stay here till they are old enough to be adopted out.  What a great way for me to end my time here!

this is them in their new home in Brian’s room.  Wish I could keep them!

from start to finish...

Friday, April 22 We drove to Utah in preparation for Lindsay's upcoming marriage to Darren Dickerson, the love of her life! It was a fun trip, but a little different this time. Robert drove by himself in our car and I drove with Kimber and Van, so I could help keep Van happy. What a fun trip! I loved singing to Van and playing with him and watching him sleep. What a precious angel! We stopped in Aurora to pick up Grandma Heagle and then drove up to Provo where we planned to stay with Robert's brother Dave, and his wife, Vickie, for the week.

Saturday, April 23 Robert and I went to the MTC for another tutor session with Brother Bird. We love our tutor sessions with him because we learn so much.

We stopped by the Dickerson's and planned where we would arrange everything, then had lunch. After lunch, we headed to the temple with Lindsay. It was such a wonderful session and she loved everything about it. She got pretty emotional when she saw how many family members were there to share the day with her. I loved being there with her and helping her to understand the temple. It was a sweet experience to share with her.

We had several family members there as well as Darren and his family. We all went to Cafe Rio afterward for dinner. Cafe Rio is delicious! After dinner Robert and I took Grandma back to Payson where we met my sister, Cindy, who took my mom home. Cindy and Grandma were headed to Hawaii on Tuesday for a little vacation.

Sunday, April 24 Easter Sunday Robert and I, Kimber and Van attended church with Kelli and her family and then went to her house for Easter dinner. Richard, Nickie and the kids also joined us for dinner. It was very fun to be with everyone and the children enjoyed being together and looking at the chickens in the back yard.

Monday, April 25 What a full day! Kimber is a very creative person and she had this idea to make cute tables for the reception. So today we painted, sanded, stained, and attached legs to some doors that we brought up from Arizona. They turned out way cute! We had dinner at the Dickerson's (they fed us a lot while we were there) because it was so late by the time we got done. I got to play with Van and take him on a walk after he woke up from his nap, while a lot of the work was being done.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Sadie and Mason couldn’t wait for Darren & Lindsay to come out of the temple doors!

Mr. & Mrs. Darren Dickerson

The day started out very cold and so taking pictures was a challenge…

Brother Dickerson had a sleeping bag that he kept throwing around Lindsay in between pictures in an effort to keep her warm!

 

Larry did manage to get some pretty awesome pictures…

Taylor flew out from Virginia to be here for his little sisters’ wedding day.

 

After the sealing we attended a luncheon, which was held at the Northampton House in the Pleasant Grove area.  It was beautiful and we had a great time visiting with friends and family. 

The reception in the cultural hall (not plan A) turned out beautifully thanks to Kimber.  She spent a lot of time and energy and it paid off!

These are the cute tables that we made out of doors on Monday.  All Kimber’s idea!  She’s amazing…

We had a really great day!