Hello, All -- sorry for the hiatus with the blog.  We are back to full health now, and though we haven't had any unusual adventures in the last week or two, here are a few random pictures of places and "events" . . .

On May 5th, we had our combined Latin/North American Missionary Family Home Evening (we do this every first Monday).  We always have departing missionaries bear their testimonies, so this first picture is of Elder Chalmers doing so.  I realize you're looking at the back of everyone's head, but I'll tell you who they are anyway.  L/R, back row, President and Sister Jensen and the Delgados (from Arica, Chile).  Middle row L/R, you can barely see the back of Sister Chalmers' head, then President and Sister Dyer of the Cochabamba Mission, the Westovers (from Coeur d/Alene, Idaho), and Sister Lara (from Mendoza, Argentina).  Next (2nd row from front), L/R, the Paredes (from El Alto, Bolivia) and the Otondos (from Tarifa, Bolivia).  Directly in front of the speaker, the Benitez from Pleasant Grove, Utah (though she is originally from Bolivia and he from Ecuador).  Out of sight on the right are Sister Lara's companion, Sister Monroy from Colorado (whom you can see in the picture below this) and Farron.

President Dyer was our speaker and his presentation was WONDERFUL.

He told us about the growth of the church in the remote village of Quiriza, Bolivia.

He served there as a 19-year-old missionary, back in the 60s.

The missionaries and the members BUILT the chapel there, from scratch, 

with only $2,000 worth of materials.  (See picture below.)

It is still in use and is a beautiful building,

the only LDS chapel in South America with a bell tower and a bell!

This picture of the chapel and the members was taken in 1968, but it looks the same today.

Now to other miscellany . . . this is primarily for my family (our children especially) who know that I have a "black thumb" where plants are concerned and it is really "planticide" to give me a living plant of any kind.

HOWEVER, this is proof that under extraordinary conditions (i.e., here), even I can keep a plant alive.

This is a picture of the plant the Hursts gave me when they left on May 4th (almost a month and I haven't killed it yet.)

Furthermore, it has put out a new shoot (or leaf, or whatever you call it).

See it there in the center? I call that downright amazing.

I don't expect this good fortune to last when we return to California,

but for now I am actually enjoying have a live plant in our apartment.

A week ago we were walking the mile or so down to the grocery store and this street crew were getting ready to start their day.  They didn't look very happy when I took this picture, so I waited until we got past them to take the other two.  Notice that almost ALL the workers are women!  (I haven't figured out why or I'd tell you.)

 Also notice the very primitive tools they are using.  Talk about hard labor!

A block further down we passed this parked truck,

and Farron wanted to show you a picture of it 

because that is a natural gas cylinder underneath it.

Almost all of the vehicles here have dual-power, if that's the right word.

They are made to run on both natural gas and regular gasoline.

Not yesterday but the previous Sunday we rode home from church in the ugliest taxi I've yet seen.  I wasn't quite rude enough to take a picture of the outside (with the driver watching me), but I took these two pictures of the inside (this is looking back at the hatchback space) while we were driving.

This is the inside of the back seat.

Not all taxis are this bad; we have ridden in some very nice ones, actually.

But many of them range from beat-up to downright scroungy, which is what I would call this one.

I seriously wondered if it was going to get us home because the engine sounded as bad as the inside looked!

Next some pictures of my FAVORITE tree here in Bolivia.  I thought maybe it was the national tree, but they don't have one (according to Google).  I did find out the tree is called the "African Tulip Tree" and is considered an invasive species - how about that?  Apparently once it takes root it is exceedingly difficult to get rid of.  (I wish I could figure out how to get one home to our backyard.)  Anyway, to me there is nothing more beautiful than one of these trees in full bloom.  Unfortunately, whenever I see one covered in flowers, I am seeing it from a taxi and can't get a good picture.  This is the best I could do on the way home from church a week or so ago.

This one is right on our way as we walk down to the grocery store.

Unfortunately it has been trimmed lopsided because of the power lines on the right.

And here's a closeup of the flowers.

Aren't they gorgeous?

I really want one of these trees!!

On May 30, we had a huge group of young people come by bus to the temple from Santa Cruz.

That's a 12-hour trip.  It was their Stake Youth Conference, and they came to do baptisms.

That evening, Farron was invited to speak to them.

This is about 2/3 of the group; the others are in the hall, waiting to come in.

Eventually about 30 of the boys sat on the floor (the empty space you see in front),

so the girls could have the chairs.  The adults stood at the very back.

It was a wonderful meeting and Farron did a great job speaking to them.

Lastly, a couple of pictures that I didn't take but that are precious to me.
The groom in this picture is Elder Richard Córdova of Otavalo, Ecuador.
He was a truly remarkable missionary (all the Otavalans were), and this is his wedding picture.
He was married in May at the temple in Guayaquil, Ecuador.  Luckily I am friends with him on FB, so I could copy these pictures.  What I wanted you to see was the traditional Otavalan Indian clothing he is wearing. Notice the shoes as well as the hat and vest.  I think the other couple are the bride's parents,
and you will notice the father is wearing the same kind of shoes. The mother is wearing the traditional Otavalan dress.

One other note . . . Elder Córdova is only about 5'2" tall and that is typical of his tribe.

I used to wonder how these Otavalan elders would find anyone shorter than they,

but of course the lovely Otavalan girls are really tiny.

This beautiful bride is probably only 5' tall, if that.

Aren't they a wonderful-looking couple?

When I saw this picture on Facebook, it made me SO happy I just had to share it with everyone.

Okay, that's all for today.  Have a safe, happy, healthy week . . . y vayan con Dios!