Dear Rising Generation,
Since returning to Tampico, Mom and I have modified our daily schedules quite a bit: we used to go for long walks at the lagoon or on the beach nearly every morning but we have only done it a couple of times this month. One reason is that the sun comes up earlier in the Summer so the temperature is also a lot hotter. We thought about getting up before dawn every morning but most of the time we simply feel too tired to exercise that early. But probably the main reason for our schedule changes is that we are getting to the temple much earlier and staying longer. Just before we went home to Utah we changed my counselors and Mom's two assistants. Just before we left I told them that the number of initiatory and sealing ordinances being done this year was lower than it was for last year and that we ought to try to do more when the temple reopened. They have really taken up the challenge! Thanks largely to them, we have quite a few workers and patrons who are willing to travel to the temple every morning and to come an hour and a half earlier every afternoon just to do ordinances. All they ask is that someone be there to open the doors so they won't have to spend too much time waiting at the door in our hot, humid, subtropical weather.
We were afraid that our new counselors and assistants would be unable to devote as much time at the temple as their predecessors because some of them are still working part time. To our mild surprise, they are spending more time there, not less. We have also been pleased to see that they are full of new ideas and have a real commitment to the temple.
My second counselor, President Garcia, is a good example of this: Although he has a relatively small income from his contracting business, he willingly stayed at the temple for the entire two weeks we were in Utah so that the other members of the Temple Presidency could go on their pre-planned vacations. He usually is the first on to open the temple and he often stays later than anyone else. He is faithful to his calling even though his health is not the best: among other things he has problems with his vision and right now he is in Mexico City having an operation on his knees. But he has a lot of faith and is totally committed to the gospel. When he was serving as a bishop several years ago, a woman told him her husband was going to divorce her because she was unable to have children. He told her he would fast with her for three days and that the Lord would bless her with a child. Not only did she get pregnant right away, but she had twins!
My first counselor, President Alfonso Lopez, and his wife were baptized only 10 years ago, but they have also shown a lot of faithfulness and dedication. All of their four children are active in the Church and those that are married were sealed in the temple. In Mexico this is somewhat unusual for convert families, even when the parents are active members of the Church. Much like President Garcia, President Lopez usually comes early and leaves late. Obviously, with counselors and assistants who are willing to sacrifice this much, the least we can do is be willing to make the same kinds of sacrifices.
These scheduling changes have forced me make better use of my available free time, but so far, by prioritizing my time, I have been able to still go to the gym and keep up on Cougar football. I go to the gym to lose weight and get in better physical condition (I've lost about 8 lbs. since I came back and feel great). I keep up on Cougar football without any apologies because I have followed it most of my adult life and this season looks as if it could turn out to be really special. My other passion, by the way, is my wife and family, which even more important to me than BYU football (except, perhaps, during the annual BYU-Utah game).
To conclude, I would like to mention another change in my life that I've been working on since before we began our first mission together. As you probably know, given enough time, a wife can have a wonderful spiritual influence on their husbands. Mom has been trying to change me for the better as long as we have been married, but only recently have her not too subtle efforts begun to have much visible success. Among other things, she now has me fully trained to open the door for her, put down the toilet seat and flush the toilet after I use it, take out the garbage, help prepare food and set and clear the table, and put on my seatbelt before driving. I'm still working on but improving in my duties as priesthood leader of the family, such as always calling on someone to pray morning and night and at meals, calling the family to read the scriptures every morning, and for family home evening activities. At this rate, I will soon be able to do it all without her prompting me first. A nice by-product of my domestication is that she is becoming much easier to live with because she no longer has to keep reminding me and I no longer feel like putting up a fight before doing them. How would men, children, and other wild creatures ever become qualified for heaven without women?
Your slowly improving Papi
