To Friends and Family Everywhere

As 2016 draws to a close the Heders want to wish you the best for the coming year and thank you for your love this past year.  As most of you are aware, we have been in Mexico City serving a mission for our church since May of this year. We have grown to love Mexico and its people and would love to share some of this joy with you.

1.       Hugs - Mexicans greet each other warmly each day with handshakes, hugs and kisses. I am actually learning to hug everyone , which is a real change for me, but I love it.   

So to all of you - we send a big HUG!

2.      Soccer (Futbol) – OK, I’m not that crazy about soccer, but the Mexicans are.  Every restaurant you go into has a huge screen with a soccer game going.  Even the fancy ones that have cloth tablecloths and fresh flowers on the table will have a soccer game going in the background.  It is generally annoying, but I find it funny and so very Mexican.  I guess it is just fun to see them so passionate about something.

So to all of you – go enjoy a soccer game!

3.      Music and dance – everybody does it – whether they are any good or not.  You can’t just sit in a corner – you just have to do it!  And like all the other Latins you know, parties are mandatory for everything.

So to all of you – go dancing and partying this year.  You won’t       regret it!

4.      The weather – so it is just about perfect.  Between 60 and 80 degrees F year around.  During the rainy season it pours everyday, but almost exclusively at night.  That makes for almost perfect days everyday!  I really love this!

So to all of you – enjoy the sunshine wherever you are and whenever you can!  We’ll be thinking of you.

5.      Mangos – for the first 6 months we were here, they were everywhere:  all kinds of varieties (all of which I like).  They are out of season right now and I’m not sure when it will start again, but you can bet I’ll be the first in line to buy them when they do come back in season.

So to all of you – enjoy a mango and savor every bite. 

6.      Traffic – Ok so I don’t love this, but it truly makes life interesting.  The biggest adventure so far in our lives is on the streets of Mexico City.  As crazy as it gets the Mexican drivers tend to be amiable in the end.  I’m surprised that there are not more accidents considering the insanity of the roads, but they manage to work it out with each other.

So to all of you – enjoy your normal traffic and say a prayer for us on the roads here.

7.      Crazy Architecture – Crazy, fun buildings everywhere.  I just love it! It speaks to an amazing love of art and artistic expression in so many things they do.

So to all of you – find something arsty near you and embrace it.

8.     The Mexican People – Almost always kind and polite.  Very loving people – easy to love.  I think they are a very choice people and we can learn much from them.  Their culture differs quite a bit from those of us with mostly northern European roots.  They are generally less stressed and more relaxed.  They are often less organized and often not on time (something that drives us US missionaries crazy), but they will try anything and can usually do anything –they just often do it differently than we do it!

So to all of you –make a friend of a Mexican and enjoy their wonderful company.

9.      Food – Picante (hot), and different from Mexican food at home.  Jim always loves it and I am much slower to embrace it, but it is always an adventure trying it.

          So to all of you – Have a taco or tamale and think of us

10.  Poinsettas – They are everywhere this time of year. Every street  corner, planted along the streets and in the parks.  So very beautiful.  They are called noche buena or beautiful night

So to all of you – a lovely poinsettia to grace your home.

11.   How they value family – Family is most important and they include anyone they love in their family.  When we meet Mexican friends out and about they frequently have an entourage of relatives with them.   Everyone always seems to be included.  They always seem delighted to see you and want to include you in any way they can.

So to all of you – Know that you are all family to us and we love you.

12.  Missionaries, mission presidents and others serving the Lord – We are         surrounded by loving people who are here sacrificing to serve the Lord and each other.  They are a continual joy and inspiration to us and we are grateful to be a part of this wonderful work.

So to all of you – May the light of our Savior’s love always be with you.

We are grateful to be able to serve our Heavenly Father in this beautiful land and to have lives blessed with friends like you.

                                    Much love, Jim and Helen Heder

It has been wonderful going to the Mexico City Temple regularly.

The Temple grounds full of Nochebuenas!

A highlight of the year was the visit of Rachel and Doug to Mexico.  Here we are in the central plaza in Puebla.

Exploring the bell towers of the main cathedral downtown México City.

Fun architecture!

Day of the dead celebration.

                                           A little song and dance while we ate lunch.