Feliz Navidad en Mexico

Too early, you say? So we thought, but actually things start turning red and green with touches of silver and gold, right after Dia de Muerte. Since the people do not have a day of Thanksgiving here, Christmas is the next big thing. Decorations are everywhere, and each day more go up. They have lots of nativities, and shrines to the virgin of Guadalupe. They also have little stands in the mall where you can buy religious art, from pictures of the Savior, the last supper, angels, and other religious figures, with whom I am not familiar, to Santa’s elves, and reindeer, snowmen, and other traditional Christmas themes. Then there is the “real” Santa with reindeer (anywhere from four to eight) usually six, and of course snowmen and winter scenes with snow. Most of the people here don’t even know or can’t even imagine what snow or cold is. Nevertheless, the stores are completely stocked with down coats, sweaters, ski caps, gloves, scarves, and snow boots. As we walk down the street in our short sleeved clothing people stop, and ask, “No tiene frio?” We just smile and say, “Somos de Utah.”
We found out the other day that the celebration begins on the second of December, Feliz cumplianos de la virgen de Guadalupe, and runs consecutively all the way through to the sixth of January which is the day the three wise men come bearing gifts. Every day from start to finish there are piñata parties. On the 25th, the children receive a few small gifts from Santa, but on the sixth of January, there is the grand outpouring of gifts coming from the three Wise men. In between they have the “Fin del ano” celebration, for the adults, or those who think they are.
Then of course there are the cannons. The Mexican people cannot celebrate anything without shooting off cannons. The Christmas salvos began about a week ago, and we hear a dozen or so shots every day, spaced out from about 5:30 am to 10:00 pm.
All the big stores and malls we go into are totally geared up for Christmas. The big thing is nativity sets; they are everywhere. They range in size from life size to tiny little miniatures that fit in a teacup sized globe. They range in price from a few pesos, to thousands of pesos.
The food displays and holiday offerings are varied as well. The traditional favorite is Pozole. This is a large kernelled, very tough maize that you cook for hours and by itself is quite boring and tasteless. But when it is embellished with chicken, lettuce, avocado, sliced radishes, onions, cheese, cheecharon (deep fried pig skin) chili sauces of various colors, and degrees of picante, it is really quite tasty, and filling. It is served in a bowl of broth, with all the fixings in bowls on the table, and people just doctor it up to suit their individual taste. To add a special flair to this they also serve crispy tostada shells with crema (sour cream without the sour, Mmmm) and grated cheese. You eat these along with your Pozole, or you can just throw it in with the rest of the stuff and eat it all together.
The first time Mom and I saw Pozole in the store it looked pretty good. We thought it was just another kind of corn. So we bought some, and mom cooked it as a side dish for about ten minutes, Yuck! It was awful and we just threw it out and vowed never to buy it again. Then we got invited to eat at a member’s house, and they served Pozole. Wow! What a difference. This stuff is really very good. Of course it is not so much the Pozole that is good, it’s all the stuff you add to it. Kind of like mashed potatoes or steamed rice, not too tasty by itself but with gravy or other stuff, Yummmy! We don’t see a lot of turkey in the stores, and the ones we see are very expensive, anywhere from $320 pesos to $650 pesos. There are a lot of fancy rolled roasts with rich stuffing of chipotle, jalapeño, cheese, various types of chilies, herbs and spices, garnished with pineapple, cherries, mangos and other fruits or vegetables. Since the 24th falls on a Monday, and we usually have a zone meeting on Monday, we’re thinking about bringing something very special for the elders to eat, but we’re not sure what the actual plans are, so we’ll have to wait and see. Maybe we will just make a big pot of Pozole, and take all the trimmings. The neat thing for us to realize is that all over the world people celebrate our Lord and King, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. And they remember Him buy showing forth a greater amount of love for their families, and neighbors. Let us all as a family draw closer together in peace and love, and let that love reach out and touch all those we work, play, and associate with in our daily lives. May the joy of the Christmas season permeate our very souls no matter where we are, and let our hearts be united through the power of the Holy Ghost, let us be one in the spirit of love

Jeep T-Boned, Boys OK

Following thanksgiving dinner Andrew and Sean went to meet a couple of their friends that they had planned on going to the movies with. Billy went with and away they go in Corinnes Jeep. Andrew was driving and was making a left. The kind of Left where you have to cross the lanes of the oncoming traffic. He was late into the intersections and a woman coming towards him was even later getting into the intersection and She T-bones the Jeep totaling her car and putting the hurt on the Jeep. So the Jeep was full of Young Men every seat taken and now one was really hurt. The airbags deployed and Andrew got a black eye from that. Billy was in the passenger seat and didnt see the car coming until the last fraction of a second and he received no noticeable damage. I understand that he is bruised and a bit shaken. Sean and their friends were in the back seat and none of them are damaged. The woman in the other car initially said she was fine and made a phone call but when the Ambulance arrived she complained of a Sore neck and went to the Hospital. We have not spoke with her but hope she is doing well. All in all it was a pretty luck thing to have so much damage to the cars and so very little to everyone else. I will try to get a picture of the Jeep up some time.
Cordell

Thanks for the great pictures...

Dear family...
Thank you so much for the new pictures. It´s great to see all the additions and they really make our day. To the Steever family, you all look happy. The boys new hairstyles are awesome!
Please keep us updated with all the changes in the family, we are looking forward to the farewell pictures and thanksgiving too.
All our love to all of you...
grandpaandgrandma
dadandmom

The latest from Mexico

The computer is back but I still can’t download my pictures of the last two baptisms. Hopefully that will be fixed soon. In the meantime I think I should give you an update on what is happening. We have a couple of families we are working with and we hope the work will result in some more baptisms. We will have one baptism this coming Sunday, the 11th November. Then there are several families that we are trying to follow up on, but they are hard to catch at home, which means they are either really busy, or else that they are avoiding us, because they aren’t interested but they don’t want to tell us so.
Last week we went into the Central Federal District to get our Flu shots. While we were there we went to the Church book store and picked up a few little things to give to our new members. While we were with the doctor I asked him to look at mom’s foot, because it is still giving her trouble when walking. He looked, pushed, prodded, asked her how bad it hurt, and then dismissed the whole thing by saying, “It’s just old age.” Mom is still mad, and I’m not too thrilled either.
We baptized Aldo the eight year old son of Alma on Friday October 26th and three members of the Sanchez family were baptized on Saturday, they were all confirmed on Sunday the 28th. We still have some dry members in both families that we are trying to work with.
One of our responsibilities is to find and fellowship less active members. We only have two or three right now but we know there are lots of them. We need to develop a system for keeping track of them but the language is a problem. We are working on it, plus we are trying to keep in contact with our new members to make sure they are being taught and fellowshipped. One of the ways we are hoping to have some success with is family home evenings. We have had three so far, and have attended three others. When we find a less active person attending we need to get their name address and phone, if we can and follow through. These are all skills that will take some training to develop. We’re working on it.
At their last interview with President Castillo, the other senior couple that has been here for almost a year, got word that they would be moving. I think it is a blessing for them, because their quarters are dark, dingy and damp. The winter is coming again and I think that a move would be good for them. I hope they don‘t move too far away, because we like to visit with them once a month, when time and commitments allow.
We are enjoying the family photo album. It is so nice to go in and browse. As soon as I get my camera and my computer so that they are speaking to one another, I’ll add the photos of the most recent baptisms.
We are so happy to be serving here in Mexico; I think we would be happy no matter where the Lord would choose for us to serve. Missionary work is such a great experience. Other than raising a family, we both feel that this experience is the best experience we have ever had. We have grown even closer together than we were before our call, and we have met so many life long friends that we love so much. I think every retired couple who enjoys relatively good health should consider going on a mission. We have had so many miraculous experiences since we left home, and they all tell us that God loves us and will bless us as long as we try our best to do his bidding.
We are planning to continue doing missionary work with the Hispanic community in Logan, when we return. It will probably take me that long before I am able to teach effectively. In the meantime We’ll just keep on doing our thing, and trying to increase or language skills.
We are thrilled to know that our first grandson will be serving a mission soon, we wished we could have been their when he went to the temple and for his farewell, but we wouldn’t give up this missionary experience for anything. Every week we experience the miracle of God’s work moving forward to fill the earth, and we know that this is one of the signs of the second coming. We are privileged to be here in God’s Promised Land and to know that the remnant of the house of Israel is being gathered in and taught the gospel. We are so happy to be part of the fulfillment of ancient prophecies. We know that the last days are truly upon us. As long as we all stay true to the faith we can have peace and tranquility in our hearts and know that God will sustain and keep us through all the trials and tribulations that are to come.
We will be thinking about all of our family at home during the Holiday season. Please try to get together as much as you possibly can. Remember What you know in this life, and family are the only things you can take with you into the next life, and without family, the next life will be a whole lot of loneliness and remorse all wrapped up in sorrow.
God bless you all, and may He keep you safe in his arms. That is all for now, until next time, Love, Grandpa / Dad

Family News

Dear Family...
Dad´s computer had to go back to the hospital. He will post our adventures later. However, we really wanted you all to know how much we appreciate the pictures and notes and posts on the blog.
We will be thinking of you this weekend as you celebrate Andrew´s farewell and eat all that good food together. We wish we could be there, but we know that we are where we belong at the present time.
Please remember how very much we lovc all of of you. We know Andrew will be a great missionary and we are very proud of him and his parents for raising such a great young man. We are so excited for him.
All our love to all of you...
DadandMom

PS: Billy...the pictures are so awesome! Many thanks and much love. D&M

Hello From The Steevers

Hello everybody! Our computer is feeling a little uncooperative lately, so I am at the Library updating you all on everything! All is well here in Logan! We had a fun Halloween and even got to go to Lagoon's Frightmares the Saturday before Halloween! That was fun! Loren got a big kick out of scaring EVERYBODY in the haunted walk throughs! (even the spooks!) I got a big kick out of seeing how scared he was on some of the rides! He hates heights and going upside down! Speed has never been an issue, as long as he's the driver, but I've never seen a roller coaster that allows the passenger to control the speed or flight pattern! The look he gets on his face when you're strapped in to a chair a couple hundred feet in the air and then suddenly drop back down to Earth, only to fly right back up again, is something everyone should get the oppertunity to experience!

The whole family is looking forward to Andrew's farwell on the 17th! Loren shouldn't be on call that weekend, and I've requested Saturday and Sunday off, so we should be there either Saturday afternoon, or if Loren's not to tired after work, we'll leave Friday evening, and see you all Friday night! It'll be fun to see everyone! Don't worry mom and dad, we'll take lots of pictures for you!

Not much else to report! All of us are healthy and happy! We love and miss all of you! You are in our thoughts and prayers constantly! Love you lots! You are all in my Heart............Always! Jenn=)