NOW IT IS SPRING!!!

Hi everyone!
Well, I might get this right one day....but all the pictures ended up at the bottom so you have to wait to see them at the end.


It is getting very beautiful here now.  The weather is much warmer in the daytime and the skies are so blue.  It really is spring now.  Some of the lovely trees with the purple and pink flowers are blooming now.  We are trying to get out and walk more often.  The streets are steep and it really gets our hearts beating hard. 


We will really miss seeing the ocean everyday when it is time for us to leave here.  We are up high enough that we see over the buildings down below us and have a 180*degree view of the ocean.  The rambla in front of our house is active with people walking, talking, kids, dogs, and bikes.  The street is dangerous though because of the racing that goes on with cars and motorcycles.
It is really amazing to think about this little speck of an island on the map has so many, many people living here.   


As always we report we love the people here.  The church members are friendly and great to us.  They treat us very well and are feeding us toooooo good.  Something will have to change!!

Our JAS kids continue to be fun and rewarding.  Their lives are always changing at this age because of getting married, going on missions, going to school, getting a new job etc.  So they are always coming and going.  The crisis has hit everyone pretty hard and they worry about their jobs or when will they get a job.
We are trying to get all the kids that want to go and can to get over to a conference for Young Adults in August on the peninsula  (2 hours north of Madrid)  Money is an issue so we will be doing some fundraising, carwashes and bakesales.

We had a wonderful project at a member's home this past Saturday.  We spent much of the day cleaning out a backyard of a lot of old tile, building materials, old wood etc.  It was quite a project and then to add chopping down catus plants that grow like trees here.  They spread and have thorns too.  We have to go back for several more days to finish it up  After the work, the food started coming out....chops on the bbq, spanish tortilla's, cheese, potatoes, mojo sauces, beans, chocolate chip cookie bars, juices and homemade lemonade.  Wow, it was good.  As we were saying about something has to change!!!

We continue to enjoy the companionship of the missionaries here.  They are wonderful and fun.  We now have only 2 spanish elders and 4 american elders. We are always impressed with their work ethic and their faith.  They say the most profound things that will come to our minds for years to come.  They are truly an example to us in many ways.  We hope to be helpful to them. 

Our friend Natalia is coming over once a week to help me with my spanish.  It is coming along!  Who knew there were so many verb conjugations?  It is so cute to hear the little kids speak spanish here.  Grandmother is "abuela" and dad's are "papie". 

Mike is working with the local leaders and the missionaries to update the membership rolls here.  There are many addresses that are not correct or are nonexistant.  That is very frustrating when you would like to go out and visit people just to find their address is not correct or there is no such address. So hopefully this work will help future missionaries to be more effective.

We will be going over to the other island in a few weeks for zone conference.  That is always something to look forward to.  Being with the other senior couples is a great opportunity to ask questions, talk about worries, solve problems etc.  They are a lot of fun too.  And guess what....the food is always great the Eynon's prepare.!!

We got to participate in a first ever satalite meeting with the other senior couples all over spain.  It was wonderful to meet everyone.  Some had just gotten then 2 days before so they were a bit tired and stressed.  This meeting will be helpful to get out information about even the littlest things that makes life tough when you are trying to figure everything out in a foreign country.  Even food shopping is a challenge at first.

Thanks to everyone back home for all their love and support.  We love the skypes and the cards, letters, drawings, and pictures from home.  The other seniors say they are so thankful for skype!  We know how it is.  Technology helps everyone so much.  The young missionaries get to email home once a week.  That is progress.!  Thanks for thinking of us.  We pray for each and eveyone of you often and love you lots.  We wish you much health and safety first and foremost.  Also to be happy is right up there too.  Life brings many challenges to all of us but if we just put one foot in front of the other everyday we seem to somehow get through the tough times.  Again, much love coming your way from the Canaries!   
 

OUR NEW ELDER PLUIM!  HE IS A GREAT GUY ALONG WITH OUR OTHER ELDERS.  WHERE IS ELDER BAGLEY?  I WILL PUT HIM IN NEXT TIME.

Our sweet friends Juan and Mayi with their new baby Barbara.

On a Pday we went to a few museums.  This one was in a very old house and this mat was all made out of flowers!

Natalia!  She is a bundle of energy.  She is my spanish tutor. 

Here are some typical Canarian clothes from the past.  There is a holiday coming up where the people here all dress up in these traditional clothes.  There is a lot of dancing and eating of the special foods like papas arugadas with mojo sauce.  We hope we can make it for you all one day.

 

Big adventure hike to Masca.  It was very beautiful.  The winding road are treacherous. 

Some of the kids that went on the hike.

Anna is one of our favorite people.  She can get Mike laughing in one second.  When he laughs his face turns red and she calls him a big red tomato.....all in spanish!  Hilarious!

What is Mike doing with his face here?  We took our own picture.  This is on a pday when we walked on the beach with the sand from the Sahara.  All the other beaches have black or grey sand. 

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Thank you Evie for this great piece of artwork for our wall!