Mission Leadership Training 13-17 NOV 2018

PUERTO RICO

We spent a few days in Puerto Rico for some Mission Leadership Training.  We had the Area Presidency there as well as Elder Christofferson from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  It was an absolutely incredible week.  We received some amazing training and came back totally ready pass on what we have learned to our missionaries.  We were also able to take some time to do some sight-seeing one afternoon and a few people took advantage of being able to go to Costco.  I didn't feel the need to go there because we are able to get most things we need in Curacao or Aruba but I guess in some areas in the Caribbean they are not able to get things that we "Americans" are used to.  

Leaving Curacao....It's a good thing we like flying!

 SUCH A GORGEOUS MORNING!!

President Baird, Sister Baird, Sister Gulbrandsen, President Gulbrandsen

They are MTC Presidents in the Dominican Republic
We had a special connection with them because
Their son, Matt,  is married to a really good friend of ours
Sarah (Ramsay) Gulbrandsen, so not too long ago we got
to have Sarah and Matt in our home with their cute baby Londyn.  

President & Sister Smith...It was fun to meet them.  President Smith was mission companions with Bob Bills who was in our ward in Heber years ago.  It's always fun to make "small world" connections.  I sent these pictures to Bob and he said that not only was President Smith his favorite companion but he was his best companion.  

It was really good to see that after all the devastation Puerto Rico has received with all the hurricanes, they are slowly recovering.  It is such a beautiful place.  To hear what they have been through is absolutely heartbreaking.  The mission president & his wife here (the Smarts) had to evacuate their missionaries and they were without missionaries for 5 months.  That would have been really hard for me because it is the missionaries that really "lift" me when I struggle or miss home.   

We got to spend part of a day sight-seeing.  This was our tour guide.  He did a wonderful job.
I'm so glad we got to learn some of the history of the island as well as see
so many historic areas.  You learn so much more with a guide.  

An old cemetary on the edge of the Castle (an old fort to protect the city)
You have to be pretty important to be buried here

On our way to tour the Castle

This is a replica of the entire Castle so you can see what it looks like.
It had different levels of protection that were built at different stages.
Pretty amazing archetecture for it's time - quite a fortress

Sister Gaverett
 (I love this woman! - she is amazing and so much fun to be around!!)

I really like these blue bricks that line a lot of the streets.
 They are made from lime stone dipped in the "waste" metal after it has
 been refined to make swords, armor and other metal products.  Apparently the more
gray streets are from a more modern process and the blue ones are older.  

President Baird & President Parker
(President Baird looks really short because President Parker
is already taller and he's a step up on the stairs)

Look how tiny this building is.
 It used to be an empty alley and they built a building in it...

I loved this Picture!!!
And the accordion reminded me of my Grandpa Horner

We're still not very good at "selfies" but we really
enjoyed the ice-cream on a stick.
Such a hot day!

President & Sister Fisher, President & Sister Baird, President & Sister Parker
We were all in the MTC together and it was so fun getting together again!!