I have something unusual to share today.  Below is a quote from the blog which the second counselor in our temple presidency, John Norman, writes each week.  I thought this entry was so exciting I just had to share.  (The italicized paragraphs are John speaking.)

Thursday, after our shift at the temple, we met with Brother Luis Garcia, the public affairs director for all of Cochabamba, Brother Meneses, the public affairs director for the Jaihuayco stake and Fito, the director of the Fundacion Sinfonica Cochabamba.  We now have a date for 2 concerts, one on July 31^st in the Universidad stake center and one on August 1^st in the Jaihuayco stake center.  The concerts will feature the Juvenil (Youth) Orchestra from the foundation and the 5 visiting BYU students.  We took on the job of getting a flyer made by next Monday so that President Dyer’s missionaries could distribute 4,000 flyers.  We then met with the BYU students over lunch to bring them up to date. 

Sister Norman and the 5 visiting BYU musicians (they are violinists, cellists, and pianists, but I don't know which is which.)  They are here teaching the youth/children of the Youth Symphony, I believe.

Friday we worked on the flyer and during our afternoon shift, we got the samples back from the printer.  We settled on one and got them in the queue and hopefully they will be done on Monday. 

The finished flyer for the concert.

Isn't that just the coolest thing?!?!  We are still on the morning shift the week of July 31st so we will be able to attend either or both concerts.  I assume the program will be the same for both.  We will probably go to the one at the Jaihuayco Stake Center since that is the stake we attend each Sunday and - since it's on the south side of the city - my feeling is that it might not be as well attended as the one up here (University Stake Center), though what do I know?  With 4,000 flyers going out, we should get an SRO crowd at both concerts.  I am just thrilled!

Now as to other odds and ends of this past week . . .

 

As we were leaving the temple after our morning shift, we saw this family preparing to leave for home also.  The lady in the center is what we call a "cholita".  Let me hasten to say that you do NOT want to use that word in North America; it is a racial slur there.  Here it means the following:

All of those of exclusively Native American ancestry (i.e., the indigenous Bolivianos);
Those with predominantly indigenous ancestry, independently of their social status;
Those with any noticeable amount of Amerindian heritage further categorized by socioeconomic status (the poorer classes).

Anyway, it was a unique chance to get a picture of one of these indigenas with her trademark hat.  The American couple with them are Diana and Lynn Crayk.  Lynn asked how this lady keeps her hat on, but all she would say was that it just "stays there".  Apparently there are no pins or anything.  None of us can figure out how it works.

 

 

We had a couple of weddings at the temple Saturday.  This was the family group of one of the couples.  Both bride and groom are returned missionaries so they have a lot of family who are also active members of the Church.

 

 

This couple below are converts of one year.  Obviously they were married civilly some time before (see the pictures with their children below), but as you know, civil marriages are "until death do you part".  In the temple, they are married "for time and all eternity" - something that can't happen anywhere but in a temple and something which means a great deal to all of us who have temple marriages.  They wanted to have their picture taken with us.  The wind was blowing like crazy, as you may be able to tell if you enlarge the picture.

  
Here's a much better picture of this lovely couple with their two children.  Aren't they beautiful?



Yesterday (Sunday) a new family were confirmed members of the Church at the ward we attend (Jaihuayco Ward, Jaihuayco Stake).  They are the Choque family and really lovely people.  Here they are with the missionaries who taught them and, on the right, President and Sister Dyer (he is president of the Cochabamba Bolivia Mission and she is the "mission mom").

Also on Sunday, President and Sister Norman (mentioned in my first paragraph), visited the Sipe Sipe Branch about an hour west of Cochabamba.  (That's pronounced  see-pay see-pay.)  Most of the people there speak Quechua, which means they are mostly the indigenous people.  Brother Norman took pictures of two of the little children and they are so cute I wanted to share them.  Here they are:

 

Okay, that's everything for this week.  Vayan con Dios!