Mary is at the MTC for her first of four days of intensive Spanish lessons. She will spend four hours a day there. Some of the time she will be using the computer to study and the rest of the time she will have a tutor or what is called a ‘study buddy.’ We are not sure what that is but we should know later today.

While she is learning Spanish I am going to go to the temple. The temple is just starting to be build in Fort Lauderdale so we will not be able to go very often. It is always so peaceful to be in the temple and as I came out a sister who exited right after me mentioned how brisk and beautiful the morning was.

Yesterday – Monday the 17th – we had lunch with Ted and Vanessa Baldwin from Richards Bay, South Africa. President Baldwin is the RB district president and I had the privilege of serving in his district council while I was there. They have been visiting family and friends here in the US for the last few weeks. We had a wonderful time catching up on everything that was going on in the district and the people who we got to know and love.

Mary started packing up the kitchen items she feels we will need in Florida. Of course anything we do not pack but will need should be available at our local Costco or other stores.

I have been spending some time on FaceBook chatting with RMs and other friends in Indonesia and Africa. We find it a wonderful way to stay in touch with them. It seems that they are pleased that we remember them and want to  know what is going on in their lives.

What a wonderful time to live when the gospel is filling the whole world and we are able to chat at the same time with people in England, South Africa, Uganda, Indonesia, Hawaii and Salt Lake. A world of friends are just a few keystrokes away.

John and Donna Bell, two of our Redondo friends, are serving in the Philippines and wrote in their blog the other day that they were able electronically to be in the delivery room when their latest grandchild was born in California. They noted that if they had been at home they would have had to stay in the waiting room. Of course they will have to wait until they get home to hold her but they can watch her grow via Skype.