July 2

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

          Great big drops of rain pelted us as we hurried to the temple today.  It’s a good thing my umbrella fits in my purse so I was prepared with shelter to keep our heads dry.  It rained most of the day and we could hear the occasional rumble of thunder when it happened to be quiet.

          As Glade mentioned Sunday, there were patrons from Nicaragua who filled the temple today and they will be back tomorrow. 

          I met a beautiful young woman who spoke English and it was such a breath of fresh air to hear it!  She lives in Sacramento, but was raised in Tegucigalpa.  She has been in the States with her husband for 18 years and has six children.  She has been here for ten days visiting her mother and siblings.  When arriving in the United States, she knew no English and had such a hard time learning the language.  Her accent is very strong.  She was so sweet and empathetic about my circumstance in not being able to communicate.   She said, "I know exactly how you feel." and I knew she meant it.  Her kind words really warmed my heart.

          There were so many Spanish instructions and questions flying at me today that it was crazy!   When I indicated that I don’t speak Spanish, it just fueled the intensity of the efforts to get me to understand.  One sweet lady was talking to me, using sign language and pointing and talking and I said “Sorry, I just don’t know what you want me to do.”  She didn’t know what I was saying any more than I knew what she was saying.  All of a sudden we just started laughing and gave each other a big hug, and then just kept at it until we could move on.  It was pretty funny and I appreciated her attitude and her smiles!