LOOK OUT!

Norte-whipped water between the malecon and the Isle of Sacrifice with its famous lighthouse, a Veracruz icon. As the waves are pushed shoreward, the ocean floor rises which thrusts the waves higher as they mount their assault on the sea wall.

A "norte" is the Veracruz version of a Nor'easter. The wind blows very hard out of the north, sometimes 100 km/h (62 mph) or more. It oftens brings rain. The temperature almost always drops to 70F or below. People bundle up in ski parkas and knit stocking caps. They don't go to church because it is too cold and windy. In the storm featured in the following few pictures, schools were closed because of the bitter wind. Honestly, it was 75 degrees Farenheit. But, closed they were. These pictures on taken on the malecon ,or levee, which is built up all along the hotel front of the city which borders the usually calm and flat Gulf of Mexico. There is a sea wall to fend off the storms, which are very real. The first picture shows the sand blowing in from right to left. The second shows the sand fluting up through cracks in the sidewalk above the malecon.

It is the sugar cane harvest in Veracruz. The harvest lasts for 6 months and brings some field labor jobs and cheap cane homebrew to hundreds of tiny pueblos in Mexico. When the cane trucks roll through town you better get out of the way. And when they are on the highways, they slow down traffic to 20 to 40 km/h. During the harvest, the highways are choked because of these overloaded trucks. The air is choked from the smoke of the sugar cane mills. It is good for the poor people but horrible for everything else, unless your like Frosted Mini-Wheats--which we certainly do.

These two young men live in Ciudad Isla in the Los Tuxtlas District. I met with each of the one Sunday, 22 Feb 2009, and worked with them on their missionary papers. The first is Eloy Solano Sosa. He is a 25 year old widower. The second is 26 year old Cruz Robles Alejo. Both required special permission to apply for missionary service because of their age and other unique factors. When their calls arrive, we will post their photos again along ith their individual stories, both of which are quite interesting.

This photo show Mom with Elders Ostler from Eagle Mountain (Lehi), UT and Elder Olvera. The little lady is 94 year old Delfina Salcedo Reyes. Two other missionaries were contacting and found a lady named Clementina Guadalupe, 58. She was baptized after a few weeks by Elders Ostler and Olvera. After her baptism, the missionaries were back giving more lessons. They saw her mother, Delfina, in the back of the house and invited her to join them. She did so and took very quickly to the message of the Restored Gospel. Her granddaughter, Susana age 38, also began lessons. In about three weeks granda and granddaughter were baptized.

Before the service, the missionaries were taking the traditional pre-baptism photos. After they were done, Hna. Delfina, who doesn't see well, walked closer to this painting of the First Vision. She touched it with her hands and began to weep, her tears coursing silently down her cheeks. Such is the testimony of this sweet grandmother. How stong are her feelings about the Restoration! Reverently and respectfully, Elder Olvera snapped the second picture.

Renewed, after her baptism she handed her cane to her daughter and said, "I don't need this anymore" and walked all the way home.

So, about a week later, on a Saturday we passed by the temple. There are always tour buses there with loads of people coming in from far away regions for temple worship. This big, red bus is parked by the stake center adjacent to the temple. Sometimes, almost always, the drivers are not of our faith. I have always wondered what they did for the hours their fares are inside. They seem to disappear. We found one!