We really are on a mission

Some of you may wonder about what we really do here on our mission.  It may look like we just play.  We do a lot of that, but we really work also.  When we first arrived Jim was overwhelmed with phone calls, driving, etc.  He quickly came to realize that missionaries would call their Mission President or him at the first sign of sickness and that we were advising and giving the same instructions repeatedly. It took a lot of time and he was never sure that the Spanish speaking missionaries got all the instructions.  So for a great deal of the first 6 months that we were here he (with a little help from me) developed The Manual de Salud Misional, which contains comprehensive

Putting the manuals together with the help of friends.

information on preventing diseases and what to do for themselves and when to call the Mission President.  We gave one copy of the Manual to all the Missions and every mission had it copied and distributed to all the missionary apartments ( about 2,500 apartments).

Jim and I in our office in our apartment working on something important!

Jim during one of our mission presentations

I even help with the presentations!

Now we are going around to the missions and presenting the Manual to them at zone or leadership conferences.  In addition to that, Jim takes calls 24/7 from mission presidents to advise on how to deal with the medical needs of the missionaries.  I assist him with missionary applications from Mexico (the medical portion), calling president’s wives with messages, updating information on the database used to assist mission presidents, and any other things Jim needs help with.  I am definitely an assistant, he is the boss, but we try to work together.  We both love most of the work.  I especially enjoying meeting and visiting with so many missionaries and the mission presidents and their wives.

The Georges in Tuxtla Gutierrez taking us to a breakfast of taquitos
and pozol (a drink made from cooked corn and chocolate).

Some sight seeing in San Cristobal de las Casas while in Tuxtla Gutierrez.  Take a close look at Jim's tie.

One of the George's missionaries is Issac Short (a close relative to Jason) from Dallas Oregon. 
So fun to see him and hear about what a great missionary he is.

With the Williamsons in Queretaro.

With the Hernandez in Aguascalientes.

Missionaries spellbound by our presentation.

With the Ávilas in Cuernavaca taking their first P-Day in over a year to see the Toltec ruins of Xochichalco.

With the Reynosos in Cancún.

With the Claytons in Colima

With the Claytons in Guadalajara.

With the Claytons in Tepic.

With the Ruiz in Mérida (Uxmal) taking a P- Day.  It was their first P-Day in over a year!  We insisted that they take some time off to enjoy the sights of their mission,  replenish their tanks and show us around. It was the least we could do!

With the Williamsons and Sloans (Bernal) also taking a P-Day.  They weren't hard to talk into taking a day off.

All in all we are having quite the adventures and meeting some of the most amazing people while providing satisfying service to our young missionaries.  We are truly blessed.