La Gran Aventura Day 28: Sunday and Alicia's Birthday

Sunday, January 7, 2024

This morning we woke up and went to church at the Cuautémoc ward in Hermosillo. I love visiting different congregations throughout the world. The church is the same everywhere -- and different everywhere.

Kimball had a classic Kimball moment at church. We got there a few minutes early, and we sat down to wait for the meeting to start. Kimball was sitting with his Ayala friends behind Betty and me, and he breathed out -- but loud enough for everyone to hear: “Estoy list para salir de este país (I’m ready to leave this country).”

Oh the honesty of autism.

It was fast Sunday, and that means testimony meeting. I especially love hearing people from all around the world testify of Christ.

River also had another great church moment.

This is our first Sunday of the new year, which means Ian has now aged out of primary, and River has aged into primary. She’s out of the nursery. And River loved the nursery. She loves the snacks and the toys. In primary, generally, there are no more snacks and no more toys. So she wasn’t thrilled about going. I decided to take her and sit in with her to see how she would do.

Well, right at the beginning of the lesson, the teacher pulled out a big gift bag that read: “De: Mi Padre Celestial. Para: Mí.” River looked at me and said: “Dad, it’s a present, for me!”

Oh boy.

I tried to explain to her that the present was probably a metaphor or some kind of pretend thing, but she just looked at me and said, “No. It says it’s a present for me.”

As expected, when the gift turned out to be the teacher’s personal copy of the Book of Mormon, River was not happy. Now she looked at me, and her eyes said: “Why would someone play a trick like that on children?!”

One of these days River is going to love primary. Today is not that day.

After church, I had to make a couple of calls for my bishop calling. And we took some pictures with the group as well.

After church we went -- you guessed it -- to the Ayala’s house. We really love hanging out with them. The kids went to the park for a bit, and we also played our new favorite game: spoons.

Then we went back to Alma’s house, where I snuck away from the group to go and take pictures of the Hermosillo Temple at sunset. I really want to get great pictures of as many temples and Catholic churches as possible on this trip. There is something so valuable in these sacred spaces. They are definitely becoming a theme on this trip.

In the night, everyone (Ayalas, Yolanda and her family, etc.) came over to say one last goodbye, and to celebrate Alicia’s birthday. Betty has a thing where she just celebrates people’s birthdays when it’s a good time to celebrate -- not necessarily on their birthday. Alicia does not like having this kind of attention. I told her it wasn’t really a birthday party, it was just us saying goodbye. I tried to tell Betty and the rest of the crew to NOT make a big deal about it. Then they lit the birthday cake, and I realized nobody had listened to me. The candle was like a 4th of July sparkler. I’m certain there is nowhere in the US that you can buy a candle like this.

We had such a great time visiting and eating, and we even did another piñata. River loves piñatas. Heck, everyone in Mexico loves them. In the parks they even have these poles for hanging piñatas that look like gallows. And these sweet and mild-mannered kids go after them with serious aggression.

Anyway, it all turned out to be a beautiful night and a perfect way to end our time in Hermosillo and Mexico.

La Gran Aventura Day 27: Birria, Carne Asada, and Good Friends

Saturday, January 6, 2024

This morning I woke up early and tried to get some work done. It’s been really hard to find a rhythm with my college and church work. Traveling is just difficult that way.

I also spent some time going over the budget -- and it’s looking pretty tight. I’m thinking a lot about our upcoming time in Europe, and just need to stabilize a bit. So Betty and I had a good talk, and I told her that I think we shouldn’t go to California for now. This trip to Mexico has been great -- and we have really been frugal, but it’s time to go back to Utah and re-group.

For breakfast today, Alma and Victor took us to the Birriería la Purísima in a little pueblo just outside Hermosillo called San Pedro el Saucito. It was much busier than the last birriería we went to. Ian was feeling frustrated because he’s just had about enough tacos on this trip. And now tacos for breakfast?! It reminded me of that great scene in The Three Amigos when Dusty asks the Mexican woman in Santa Poco if they have anything besides Mexican food.

Well, it turns out that Ian was pleasantly surprised by La Purísima. Not only did they have tacos de birria, but they also had something called a quesabirria -- it’s a quesadilla with birria meat in it. And it’s delicious. The tortilla is crunchy and the cheese that oozes out from the middle is toasted on the edges and gooey on the inside. When paired with jamaica or horchata or even Coca Cola, it’s just amazing!

After the birria, we drove out to the church of Nuestra Señora de Fátima again to see if we could find Betty’s father’s niche. Marco Antonio had given us very specific instructions, so we were pretty confident we could find it. Also, Alma’s sister Alicia works IN THAT CHURCH, and she met up with us to help us look. It was a tender mercy for us to have Alicia there to help us look and to find the niche. After a bit of searching, we found it! It is such a blessing for Betty to know where her father is buried, and for the kids to know where their grandfather is. And Fátima is a beautiful church. This is one of the great highlights of the trip so far.

I also took a little bit of time to learn about the Virgin of Fátima . It’s a fascinating story. There is also a shrine to Fátima in Empalme, where Betty grew up. In 1917, three shepherd children in Cova da Iria, in Fátima, Portugal said that Mary appeared to them. There were a number of prophecies and miracles associated with the event, and it’s a huge source of faith for many people throughout the world, and in this part of Mexico specifically.

In the evening, we had more friends over for a carne asada and another Rosca. This time it was Yolanda’s turn to visit us. We also had a visit from some of Victor’s family. It was just a pleasant night visiting and getting to know new people.

River and the other kids have really fallen in love with this neighborhood. There is a little park in the middle, and the kids are able to run around free and just have a good time. Tonight River met some pre-teen girls who just fell in love with her. She was leading them all over the playground like the pied piper.

While she played, I watched and listened to the broadcast of the BYU vs Cincinnati basketball game. I’ve loved watching and listening to the games this year. We have such a good team, and they play such an exciting style of basketball. Unfortunately, tonight was not our night. We’ll have some good nights and some hard ones this year.

I actually really enjoy listening to BYU’s coach, Mark Pope, talk after their losses. He is honest and direct, but he’s also really positive and totally focused on the process. I want to be like that with my family. We have good days and bad days -- good moments and bad ones. But as long as we stay focused on the process and excited about the challenges that we face, we are going to keep learning and growing, and that’s the point of this trip. It’s the point of life.

La Gran Aventura Day 26: The Temple, Fátima, and Reyes

Friday, January 5, 2024

This morning we got to go to the temple! We love, love, love going to the temple, and it’s always exciting for the kids to go to a new one -- and even better when it’s with the Ayalas. The work we do in them is so wonderful, and each one is so unique. Except, the curious thing is that the Hermosillo temple is identical in structure to our Detroit temple. They are both “small” temples. Today was especially important for us, because it was the first time that Ian was able to go in the temple. Along with the Ayala-Córdovas and the Ayala-Luna families, we got to share our session with a big group of youth from Culiacán. They had to travel many hours to get there, but they are excited because a temple has now been announced in their city. They have been the group of saints that has had to travel the furthest in Mexico to get to a temple. Not for long.

After we finished the baptisms, Betty and Brianda had to stay behind to do all of the laundry, so I just walked around the temple with the kids and we took some pictures.

After that we drove to the Ayala Luna’s house -- Brianda and Dani’s place -- and we had a delicious breakfast. Brianda’s mom, hermana Rosalva, introduced us to sweet squash (basically squash soaked in piloncillo [molasses]) and sweet and spicy jamaica (hibiscus flowers left over from making agua de jamaica, then soaked in sugar and Tajín). The kids had a ton of fun playing around with each other. As always, River was enthralled with “The Boys with the Hair.”

After that, we drove out to the church of Nuestra Señora de Fátima where Betty’s father and grandfather are buried (actually their ashes are in a niche). Unfortunately, the church was closed, but the kids played around in the park for a bit.

By that time, we were all really hungry and tired, so we drove to a little strip mall and found a nice cafe called Jung that sells smoothies. They were awesome.

In the evening, we went to Betty’s friend Yolanda’s house. Her husband, Eduardo, brought some special Hermosillo tacos called “Tacos de nada.” They are all the rage right now, and they are delicious. I mean, they are just simple potato tacos, but the salsa was good. And the company was even better. The kids enjoyed playing soccer on the front patio.

We finished dinner off with a Rosca de Reyes and some delicious homemade Mexican hot chocolate that Yolanda made. This is a big ring-shaped sweet bread that’s covered in dried fruits. Also, hidden inside the bread are a few tiny plastic baby Jesus figurines. The tradition is to eat the Rosca on the day of the Three Kings (January 6th). Whoever gets the piece with the baby Jesus has to host everyone at their house for tamales on Candelaria (Candlemas), which is when they celebrate when Jesus was presented at the temple.

Betty got one of the Jesus figures, so everyone is invited to our place on February 2 for tamales.

LDS Temples Visited on this Trip: 3

Catholic Churches Visited on This Trip: 1

La Gran Aventura Day 25: The Half-Brother and The High-School Friends

Thursday, January 4, 2024

Betty’s leg is still a bit sore, and she’s exhausted, so this morning I went for a little run on my own. Alma and her husband Víctor live in a beautiful and peaceful and safe gated neighborhood, so I just ran around it a few times. It was good to sweat off some of the calories from the past week or so.

While I was running, I listened to some podcasts -- including one of my favorites: Church History Matters. This morning they were talking with Dr. Keith Erekson , who wrote a book on how to distinguish truth from rumor in the church.

When I finished running, I ran into Betty and Ian — who were just heading out for a walk.

Today’s discussion was particularly interesting to me because one of the show’s hosts, Casey Griffiths, along with Mary Jane Woodger, has written a book called 50 Relics of the Restoration. It sounds interesting to me because we almost never think of relics in our church. They are for Catholics ;) And yet, here is a book about relics of the restoration. I’ll have to look into it.

After my run, I took the boys over to Vale and Martha’s house to help Vale with a project in his yard. It was good physical work, and it’s always good to work hard with friends.

The highlight of the day today was a visit from Betty’s half-brother Marco Antonio. He and his 10 brothers are children of Betty’s father and his wife. Betty had very limited contact with her father when she was young (he died when she was 8), and even less contact with this side of her family. Betty learned things she never knew -- including the burial place of her father and grandfather -- in a church right here in Hermosillo. We were so grateful that Marco Antonio would come by the house and tell her about her father and some of her other ancestors.

The rest of the afternoon was spent getting caught up on email and work.

In the evening Betty went out to eat with Alma and Yolanda, another dear friend from high school. These three, along with a fourth -- Olivia -- have been best friends since high school. Betty loves them dearly, and it’s always such a treat for her to see them.

These are photos of the four in high school, and then on Christmas Eve in 2003, when I met Yolanda, Olivia, and Alma — the night before I proposed to Betty.

Víctor and I hung out with the kids. I took them over to the park to play basketball. It’s fun to see my kinds interacting in Spanish with native Spanish-speakers. The other kids here call all of my kids “gringo” or “gringa.” Only when they got back did I realize that Betty and her friends had gone out for Mexican sushi -- one of my favorite foods. I should have gone with them :)

After that it was movie night (Willy Wonka), and then to bed.

La Gran Aventura Day 24: Guaymas to Hermosillo

Wednesday, January 3, 2023

The time has come to say goodbye to Guaymas and Empalme. We spent the morning packing, and it was ... miraculously ... better. The kids are all learning to take better care of their stuff and to pack more efficiently. It’s a huge relief for us.

Before we left town, we had to say goodbye to David and Irene. They have been so good to us here. We are super grateful for their hospitality.

We also had to say goodbye to tía Cháncali. She was sweet, and the kids were good with her as well. We will miss her for sure.

Betty also wanted to say hello and goodbye to her old stake president, presidente Palestino. He’s a pediatrician in Guaymas. By this time, the kids were in a pretty grumpy mood, and Betty was also feeling a lot of intense emotions for a number of different reasons.

One of the challenges of this trip for the kids is that we never really know what our plan will be. It causes them quite a bit of anxiety. This morning, since we are moving houses, they were curious to know where we would be sleeping tonight. Betty, frustrated with their tone and dealing with her own emotions, snapped back at them: “Maybe we should just go back to the US and sleep there.”

To which the kids responded: “No! You PROMISED us we would be in Mexico until January 8th!”

It was actually an awesome moment because you may remember that when we entered Mexico they were begging us to make it only a two-day visit. But they have really come to love it here -- despite some of the challenges.

After so many visits with friends and friends of friends, Betty and I felt like we needed some time with our family. So we drove up the coast to San Carlos to the mirador (overlook).

We did a little hike down to the beach, and Ian and Alicia enjoyed climbing around on the rocks while Kimball and River threw rocks into the sea. Anahi wasn’t feeling great.

We were able to get some delicious strawberries and cream and fruit with chile. Oh, and on the way out we got coconuts with fruit and Tostitos and shrimp.

Because the kids were pretty grumpy on the way back, we didn’t let them watch movies on their phones on the drive back to Hermosillo. They weren’t happy about that, but they were happy to be back in Hermosillo with their friends, the Ayalas.

It’s not surprising that we are all a bit allergic to each other. In the past three weeks we have spent over 53 hours in the car.

Tonight there was a fireside (youth chat) in Hermosillo. Sister J. Anette Dennis , a counselor in the church’s general relief society presidency, was here in town (her husband is from Hermosillo). She gave a beautiful talk to the youth about their eternal identity as children of God. She also told some amazing stories about experiences she and her husband had when they served as mission leaders in Guatemala. God really does look out for his children.

After dinner we went to an amazing restaurant in Hermosillo called Pollo Shilo. It’s in a pretty sketchy neighborhood, and it doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the vibe inside is awesome. It’s owned by members of our church, so the place was packed with white shirts and dresses -- it looked like how the restaurants in Utah look after a Saturday evening conference session.

And the food at Pollo Shilo is amazing. Their specialty is chicken fingers. You can get them on their own or in a salad or on a hamburger. I got a hamburger called Hambur-GRUESA (fat-burger). If they opened one of these restaurants in Provo, they would be millionaires.

Instead of staying with the Ayalas again, for this little stint we’ll be staying with Betty’s friend Alma. She is the daughter of doña Lupita, whom we met in Empalme last night. She lives in a beautiful and super-secure subdivision on the outskirts of town.

Hours in the car today: 2

Total travel hours in the car: 50.5

Miles Driven: 93

Total Miles Traveled: 2,850

Distanced hiked today: .67km/.42mi

Total distanced hiked on trip: 2.84km/1.77mi

La Gran Aventura Day 23: The Osprey, The Rowboat, The Beach, and the Sunset

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

This morning Betty and I skipped our morning walk, and we just drove to a lookout point to take some pictures of the sunrise. The sunrise was beautiful, but a bit of a bust for photography, but I did manage to grab this photo of an osprey (which is Spanish is called águila pescadora -- the fishing eagle). It’s one of my favorite birds. It’s highly adaptable and what scientists call cosmopolitan, which means it can  (and does) live basically anywhere on earth. The osprey makes me think of one of my favorite quotes from the Roman stoic Séneca (born in Spain).

So eager and upright, let us hasten with bold steps wherever circumstances take us, and let us journey through any countries whatever: there can be no place of exile within the world since nothing within the world is alien to men. From whatever point on the earth's surface you look up to heaven the same distance lies between the realms of gods and men. Accordingly, provided my eyes are not withdrawn from that spectacle, of which they never tire; provided I may look upon the sun and the moon and gaze at the other planets [...] provided I can keep my mind always directed upwards, striving for a vision of kindred things -- what does it matter what ground I stand on?.

This has resonated with me since the first time I read it. It speaks to my wandering spirit.

After watching the sunrise, Betty and I went to Sergio’s bird lookout from last night to see how it looked in the morning light, and then into downtown Guaymas to see the port and the Parroquia de San Fernando.

In the port, there is a beautiful Monumento al Pescador (monument to the fisherman), with a plaque entitled “La Barca de Guaymas,” with a poem by Carlos Wenceslao López Portillo. The words of the poem really struck me. Maybe I’m still sensitive after Sunday Night’s poetry.

Al golpe del remo se agita en las olas ligera la barca. Y al ruido del agua se ahonda mi pena, solloza mi alma. Por tantos pesares, mi amor angustiado llorando te llama si te hallas muy lejos y sola, muy sola se encuentra mi alma. Cansado viajero que tornas al puerto de tierras lejanas, ¿Qué extraño piloto condujo tu barca sin vela y sin ancla? ¿De qué región vienes que has hecho pedazos tus velas tan blancas?

Te fuiste cantando y hoy vuelves trayendo la muerte en el alma. Yo soy el marino que alegre de Guaymas salió una mañana, llevando en mi barca como hábil piloto mi dulce esperanza. Por mares ignotos mis dulces anhelos hundió la borrasca. ¡Por eso están rotas las velas y traigo la muerte en el alma.

“The Rowboat of Guaymas”

To the rhythm of oars, the rowboat lightly beats on the waves. And to the sound of the water my sadness sinks ever deeper. For so many sorrows, my distressed love calls to you weeping if you are far away, and alone, so alone is my soul. Weary traveler who returns to port from far-off lands, what strange pilot directed your sail-less and anchor-less boat? From which region do you come, you who have torn to pieces your bright white sails?

You left singing and today you return bringing death in your soul. I am the sailor who happily left Guaymas one morning, carrying in my rowboat like a capable pilot my sweet hope. Through unknown seas the squall sank my sweet yearnings. That is why my sails are tattered, and I carry death in my soul.

On our way back to David and Irene’s house, Betty and I swung by and picked up Dayan -- Raymundo’s daughter and our kids’ first cousin. She’s really great, and she, Alicia, and Anahi had a good time hanging out.

Later, I took Ian and Kimball and River to the beach. The older girls have been fighting a cough for a few days, and the water is a bit chilly. Kimball isn’t really big on the water, but we had a good time just sitting on the beach and talking and watching Ian and River play. There were so many seagulls and pelicans. It was really fun just to watch the people and the wildlife.

In the afternoon, I went with David and the kids out on the highway between Guaymas and San Carlos to watch the sunset. At first we went to an overlook where there were a bunch of people. The panorama was good, but there wasn’t much else that was interesting going on, so we moved to a different place closer to the water.

Here it was rocky, and we had to hike a bit to get down close to the water, but the view there was spectacular. It takes quite a while to watch a full sunset. The colors brighten and intensify in unpredictable ways, so we stuck it all the way out. I put the camera on a tripod in the water and played around with the exposure to get these shots. I think it’s some of my best work.

When we got home it was night, and we still had to run over to Empalme to say goodbye to Betty’s mom and brother. So we loaded everyone (including Dayan) into the car and headed over to Empalme. It was hard for Betty to say goodbye to her mother, but we hope to see her again in the near-ish future. We also stopped by and saw a woman named doña Lupita. She is the mother of one of Betty’s best friends from high school. She’s 80 years old, and still spry and cheery. Her home is an oasis of order and beauty in Empalme. I was so impressed with the spirit in her home.

When we returned back to David and Irene’s, Betty’s friend Karla and her husband Arturo were there to visit. Karla and Betty have known each other since they were teenagers in church together. Like so many of Betty’s friends -- and friends of friends -- Karla is fun and energetic and has a zest for life that is contagious.

The visit with Karla and Arturo was great, but I’m feeling pretty exhausted now. Every day we wake up early and we go to bed late -- and we run from one thing to the next. This is definitely not a pilgrim’s pace.

La Gran Aventura Day 22: New Years Day

Monday, January 1, 2023

This morning we all slept way in. After staying up until 2 or 3 am every day, we really needed a break.

When we finally woke up, Betty and I went for a nice long walk. Her leg has been sore since our last days in Utah, so we haven’t been running. But it doesn’t bother her when she walks.

When we got back to the house, we found River and David’s daughter Mía playing doctor. It’s funny to watch River interact with people. They mostly talk to her in Spanish and she mostly responds in English, although when pressed she can speak in Spanish. She also always speaks Spanish to dogs and to the boys with the hair.

After a bit, we went for a little drive and we swung by the house of Dayan. She is Raymundo’s daughter and my kids’ only first cousin on Betty’s side. She lives with her mother in Guaymas -- actually quite close to David. We’ll do more with her on a different day. Today we just wanted to say hi.

The main event of day was lunch at Sergio and Chuyita’s house. They are the friends of David that we met on Saturday, said hi to last night, and now we’re going to spend the afternoon at their place. Along with our family and David’s, we also had Betty’s mom (who spent the night at David’s house with us), and tía Cháncali (Betty’s mom’s sister). Oh, and Óscar, David’s brother, and Cháncali’s ex-husband (I can’t remember his name).

I think this merits an explanation. Neither Betty nor I had ever met Sergio or Chuyita before a couple of nights ago, but this is a super common thing among Latinos. In general they are warm and welcoming. It’s not just Mi casa es tu casa. It’s also Mis amigos son tus amigos or Mi familia es tu familia.

Sergio and Chuyita are just the best people. They are not members of our church, but they are excellent Christians with deep faith. I was especially impressed with Sergio’s closeness to the promptings of the Spirit. He really tries to be led, and God has protected him throughout his life.

Lunch was amazing. Chuyita made this amazing dish that was like a ceviche (lime-soaked shrimp), but on top of spicy Tostitos. We also had regular ceviche on tostadas as well. It was very spicy, and very, very good.

As the meal settled down, the adults got to visiting while the kids played out on the patio. Then Ian came running in to tell me that he’d seen a cool bird outside. Sergio and I went out to investigate, but we missed the bird. I told Sergio about how the boys were getting into birding, and he told us he wanted to show us something. So we walked out in front of his house and down the road maybe 50 yards, and there was the ocean.

It was actually a little bay with a couple of islands -- a serene little corner of the port of Guaymas. And there were so many great birds! Of course there were tons of brown pelicans, but we also saw the much more rare white pelicans. They were swimming around in a group of five, and they have the most unusual behavior. Every ten seconds or so they would dip their heads under the water to feed, and after a few seconds, they would all pull their heads out. It was all totally synchronized -- like they were counting it off. It was amazing!

The other really cool new bird for me were a couple of black skimmers. They have long beaks that are orange and black, and the bird itself is white on the bottom and black on the top. The black on top of their head makes it look like they don’t have eyes. They are pretty big birds -- smaller than the huge pelicans but bigger than a raven. While in flight they dip their beaks in and skim across the water while keeping their beak in. It’s beautiful.

On our way back to the house, a bunch of dogs were barking at us, but that wasn’t a concern. Ian and I were getting used to all the stray dogs. One of these was a fat old dachshund. We looked at him as he barked at us, and we sort of laughed. But then, from behind him came a much bigger dog -- some kind of sheep-dog looking mutt -- and it was mad and headed straight for us. Before I could react at all, Sergio jumped out in front of us and started flapping his arms like a giant bird and making monster sounds. This terrified the dog, and it ran away. We had a good laugh, and even more of a laugh when we got home to tell everyone about what we’d seen.

You might be wondering where Kimball was during all of this. Well, the University of Michigan is playing the college football playoff, and tonight they faced off against Alabama. Kimball loves the Wolverines, and he’s content to listen to the radio call and follow the stats on his phone. As we got back to the house, the game was coming to its exciting conclusion. We all huddled around Kimball’s phone to listen to the radio call. The funny thing was, none of our friends had a clue what was going on. (A) they don’t understand English and (B) they don’t know anything about football. So we were there translating the play-by-play and also explaining the rules of the game and making diagrams out of napkins and things on the kitchen table to explain it. And it worked! They were excited and cheering along with us. And Michigan won!

As we were leaving the house, we lost track of River for just a second, and she was finally able to hug one of the stray dogs that are always around. She’ll definitely be getting a bath tonight.

By now it was night, and we had to take Betty’s mom back home. It was hard for Betty to say goodbye, and she was so sweet talking with her mom and hugging her goodbye. But it’s not a final goodbye yet. We’ve still got a day or two here.

La Gran Aventura Day 21: Church and New Years Eve

Sunday, December 31, 2023

It’s New Years Eve, and we got to go to church today. We went in Empalme, to Betty’s home ward. The church building is almost directly behind her mom’s house.

Sacrament meeting was good. The speakers did a fine job. And the Ayalas were in town (Dani and Valentín were raised in Empalme as well). That means their kids were there, which made all of my kids happy. Betty also really enjoyed being back in her home ward. She’s still got good friends there.

Primary was fun. River really enjoys attending nursery at church. She likes the toys and the snacks that they usually have. In smaller church units, however, there is no nursery, and the little children can attend primary with the older kids. In Empalme, today, they had no nursery, so River went with Ian to the primary. She wasn’t happy about it, but she sat next to Ian. After just a few minutes, he brought her to me, saying she was being fussy. She looked at me and said “They only speak Spanish!” Of all of our kids, River has the hardest time with the language here. She understands most everything, but she does not like speaking it (although she can). So I went in and sat with her.

The teacher first asked the children what their favorite primary song was. River raised her hand and said: “Sandwiches.”

So maybe she doesn’t understand everything.

I told her, no, the teacher was looking for a song.

River replied: “Snowman.”

The teachers all looked at each other like “What is that?”

I told them: “You know, the one about the little snowman?”

They looked at me like, “We don’t know about snow here.”

So then River said: “Popcorn.”

Again, nothing from the teachers. Apparently, they don’t have “Popcorn popping on the apricot tree” here either. Just palm trees and mango trees.

River looked at me like: “What kind of primary is this?” Then she said: “I Am a Child of God.”

That one they know.

After a few minutes, I was able to leave River and get back to the adult Sunday School class. After that ended, I went to pick up the kids. When I poked my head into the room, River was offering the closing prayer -- in English. The prayer went like this:

“Heavenly Father. Thank thee for this day. Thank thee that the boys with the hair could come. Thank thee that I have a crush on them. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”

After church we spent quite a while just visiting with Betty’s friends, and the kids had a great time hanging out in the parking lot. You can really tell when they are together that they care about each other. It’s one of the very best things that’s happened on this trip.

After a while of that, we swung over and picked up Betty’s mom and drove to a house kind of on the outskirts of town -- in front of the cemetery -- where the Ayalas were having a pizza lunch.

As soon as we got there, River saw that there were dogs in the front yard. “¡Perro!” she screamed, as she ran to give one of the dogs a big hug. “¡No!” we all screamed as we realized it was a tick- and flee-infested stray. The rest of the afternoon we had to play keep-away between River and these cute, but very dirty dogs.

It was a great visit with friends. We had pizza, and the kids played foosball. Ian found a guy who had a switch and spoke English, and they became friends. Anahi sat and visited with the older ladies for quite a while. Alicia and Valentina sat and talked as well.

After a while, River went over to the playground to play, and then we took a walk over to the cemetery to see Betty’s family plot -- including her grandmother’s grave.

When we were headed down to Guaymas, Betty’s cousin Fina had told her that she would find the house empty and the cemetery full. That was almost true.

The cemetery is actually beautiful, with lots of statues of Jesus and Mary. It’s surrounded by hills on which stand hundreds of great saguaro cacti. We went during the golden hour -- when the sun is dipping low and everything is bathed in a soft warm light.

The cemetery was also sad. There are very few flowers on the graves. Vale told me that people don’t put flowers on graves in Empalme because they will just get stolen and put on someone else’s grave. The graves themselves are also sad. Betty misses her grandmother terribly. Her uncle Marcos is there. He was murdered in Colorado, USA. Shot seven times by a crazy American racist during his daughter’s birthday party. Her cousin Miguel is also in this cemetery. He was a police officer in Empalme who was gunned down in front of his wife and children by narcos who were tired of him hassling them.

The melancholy of the visit continued when we got back to the house and saw a funeral procession coming down the road. Everyone was carrying pink balloons. It was the funeral of a little girl

...

On New Years Eve.

...

After a bit more play and visiting, we drove back into Guaymas with Betty’s mom, and we picked up her sister Cháncali. When we got back to David’s house, Betty sat down with her mother and aunt, and she asked them a bunch of questions about their lives. It was a great family history moment. After about 90 minutes of that, we packed up in the cars and drove to Irene’s sister’s house for a New Year’s Eve party.

When Mexicans celebrate Christmas and New Years, they do it dressed to the nines. We went in our traveling Sunday clothes, and we felt totally underdressed. The kids said we looked like vagabonds, and we probably did. Despite that, we were so grateful for the generosity of strangers who took us into their home to celebrate with them. The dinner was amazing, and the company was fantastic. As midnight began to approach, they started playing music, and people started dancing. Kimball was the first of our group to join the fray. Then Betty and I and the rest of kids jumped in.

Just before the countdown, they turned on the radio, and we listened to the “Brindis de Bohemios” (Toast of the Bohemians), a poem by Guillermo Aguirre y Fierro. It tells the story of six Bohemians (artists), sitting in a cantina on New Years Eve.

One stanza reads:

Olvidaba decir que aquella noche,

aquel grupo bohemio

celebraba entre risas, libaciones,

chascarrillos y versos,

la agonía de un año que amarguras

dejó en todos los pechos,

y la llegada, consecuencia lógica,

del “Feliz Año Nuevo”...



I forgot to say that that night,

That bohemian group

celebrated between laughter, libations,

jokes and verses,

the agony of a  year that left bitterness

in all hearts,

and the arrival, a logical consequence,

of a “Happy New Year ...”

Each of the artists then takes a turn making a toast. They toast to the goodness of beauty in life. They toast in gratitude that they have survived another year. They toast to hope. Finally, Arturo is the only one left to toast, and he toasts to his mother -- the one who gave him life, and gave her life for him.

The poem ends:

El bohemio calló; ningún acento

profanó el sentimiento

nacido del dolor y la ternura,

y pareció que sobre aquel ambiente

flotaba inmensamente

un poema de amor y de amargura.



The bohemian fell silent; no accent

profaned the feeling

born of pain and tenderness,

and it seemed that over that environment

floated immensely

a poem of love and bitterness.

When the poem finished, the clock struck. Everyone wished each other a happy new year with a hug — the warm embrace of strangers — and the dancing continued.

It was such a unique experience -- like something from a novel. Nothing I say here can do justice to the feeling of it all. The melancholy of the day. The boisterous joy of the night. It all combined in this one, unforgettably magical moment.     

But the night wasn’t quite over. On our way back to David’s house, we stopped at Sergio and Chuyita’s, and they invited us over for lunch tomorrow.

Finally, since it was now 2024, we had one last order of business. In our church, the young men can receive the Aaronic priesthood and be ordained a deacon in the year they will turn 12. That means that Ian was now eligible. And we happened to be all dressed in our Sunday clothes. So we drove back to David’s house where Kimball, David, and I put our hands on Ian’s head, and Kimball ordained Ian to the priesthood.

It was a perfect end to a beautiful day.