Almuerzo en el campo

Well, guess it's time to blog -- what an interesting word -- congers up images of slogging through the fog -- blogging along one sluggish step at a time -- 'course maybe it's just because we have a computer that just slogs along in its own fog.  Well enough of that, on to some news.  We spent an absolutely wonderful day a couple of weeks ago out in the "campo" (country) with the Avalos family. He's been a branch president for some 13 years now and lives about 15 kilometers out of town, but comes in a couple of times a week to take care of his church responsibilities -- sometimes by horse-drawn cart when his beater car is broken down.  He and his wife and 5 kids live in a tiny 3 room brick house that he built himself, with no electricity or running water -- they have to haul water from a well about a mile away.  They raise their own food -- a little livestock and a few crops if the weather cooperates, i.e., if it rains, which it hasn't very much the last couple of years, so they've lost a lot of their crops -- corn mostly.  Yet they inivited us and the sister missionaries out to their home for lunch on P-day and we ate like kings.  Here's a few pics of our experience.

First, the Avalos family at Church -- with their five kids and an extra little member girl in front of Sis Avalos.  The oldest just to the right of Mom is Marina who is waiting for her mission call.  (The Church pays most of the cost of Latin missionaries' missions in this area.)

     

We had a picknic outside in the shade of some trees which was thoroughly enjoyable.  Our two sister missionaries are to the left of Mom -- Sister Jimenez and Sister Chung -- both fairly new in the mission but excellent missionaries.

 

Our group out in front of the Avalos' home -- built up on a hard dirt slab for water run-off -- pretty stark, but they're as happy and loving a family as we've ever met.  They have nothing but they have everything -- they've been sealed together as an eternal family in the Asuncion Paraguay temple.

Well, we have several other photos we'd like to post but this mini HP isn't cooperating so we'll see if we can do this much and try to put some more on in a separate post.  Meanwhile we've enjoyed the individual e-mails back and forth.  Love you lots.  Thx for all your love and support -- you're the best people on earth and we're so glad we get to be together forever.

XOS,  Dad & Mom