Friendship and Love

As I write this entry, my heart is full. There are so many people here in Mexico that I care about and want to continue to know. For example, there is a boy, named Victor, who we helped teach and baptize. He is very shy and gives the appearance of being angry. When he comes to Church he sits by himself at the very back. I’m always very glad to see him and let him know so. Today, while I was teaching a young mother, someone else that I have really come to care about, in the chapel, Victor came in. When he saw us he turned back through the door, but I called him to come back and gave him a hug. He went past us and sat down at the chapel piano and began playing some beautiful music, which I sure he made up. After I finished teaching, I went over and told him that I was going to try to arrange for him to have some lessons. He gave the closest thing that I’ve seen to a smile.

Today also Miguel came to Church. I wanted to jump up and down for joy. We’ve worked for so many months with him and his wife, trying to get them to come to Church. Miguel is an alcoholic. During the months that we have known him, he started on the wagon, fell off, and recently returned. I really want him to be baptized. I know it will be a big catalyst for change in his life. Both he and his wife are the same age is my older children. I’ve told them more than once that I think of them as my children.

Then there’s Dr. Ortiz and his family. This week they took us with them on a family trip. This is the second such trip. We went far to the south to some fantastic caverns and then to one of the prettiest towns in Mexico. On the way there and on the way back, his beautiful young daughters asked me to read them stories. Chrise and I have drawn so close to this family and feel so overwhelmed and undeserving of the love they have showered upon us.

Finally, I have to mention Hermana Arenas. She works in the office with us and has been a tremendous blessing in our lives. Yesterday, she took us on a trip to Mexico City. She wanted us to know the Mexico that she loves. We went to the National Museum of Anthropology and the ruins and museum of the Temple Mayor of the Aztecs, both were incredible, but not as incredible as the friendship of this young woman. After visiting the last museum, she took us to one of the best restaurants I have been to anywhere in the world. For an hour we sat and talked and laughed together.

The afterglow of this week and the love we have both given and felt is the reason my heart is so full and it is only the tip of the iceberg of what Chrise and I have experienced here in Mexico.