A Sweet Week

The week of May 2 through 8 began and ended with sweetness.  Monday was a bank holiday, meaning that governmental offices and many businesses were closed .  As happens with some temples in the US, the Preston Temple ran five Monday morning sessions to accommodate patrons who would normally be working that day. 
It was our first time inside this lovely temple, and we relished every moment.  It is a small temple in the sense that there are only fifty seats in the endowment rooms, but the central spaces were spacous and inviting.  And of course the people were wonderful--gracious and kind.  Needless to say, there will be no pictures from inside the temple, here is Blackie who found a comfortable place to wait for us outside.

Here is a proper shot of all three of us and the beautiful Preston Temple which is actually in Chorley.

Thursday we were back to the Temple Complex to attend a Multi-Zone Conference at the Chorley Stake Center.  It was a great one as usual and featured NO role-playing (whew!) and a "Preach My Gospel quotation " chase wherein the missionaries vied to be the first to stand with their finger on the quote.  Elder Hinton and I got to run one of the preliminary rounds and were astounded at how well these young folks knew their way around that manual.  The sister who won our session (one of seven sessions) came in second place overall, surviving a semi-final round of the fifteen prelim winners, a final round of the top eight, and then going into a tie-breaker.  We were very proud of her. 

Friday evening we had tea (dinner) with our office partners and four other missionaries.  We were treated to a southwestern cuisine favorite--chicken enchiladas, good company, and an evening stroll around their pleasant neighborhood. 

And here is the sweet way the week ended (or the next week began.)  A friend, mindful of American Mother's Day, made me these cupcakes.  She chose the outdoors theme because we were spotlighted in the Primary newsletter and it mentioned that we liked hiking and had hiked the Grand Canyon.  The little pink thing is a tent, and you can recognize the hiking boots, the marshmellow roasters, fishing pole and campfire logs.  It was a thoughtful gesture and touched me deeply.  The world is full of goodness.