Tender Mercies

About three weeks we had a family come to the Young Single Adult Family Home Evening.  They were here visiting Spain from Idaho and the dad had served a mission here in Madrid.  The mom also served a Spanish speaking mission and they were here with two of their teen-age daughters; the older of the two has her mission call and leaves soon.  It was fun to talk to them.  They asked for some information so Bruce took their email address down and emailed them the info.  Two days later we were coming up the steps from the metro when another family stopped us.  They were from Park City and he had served a mission in Madrid and they had a couple of their sons with them; the older of the two has his mission call and leaves soon.  What a coincidence, we said.  We just met another family like yours.  By chance did you know an Elder Nelson while you were here?  He said he was his companion here in Madrid.  We told him he was here and so we got his email address also and sent them both an email with each other's addresses.  We heard back that after 31 one years they got together again and stayed up until 2am catching up.  We were delighted that we could help bring those two companions together again.  First time back in Spain for each of them.

Last Saturday we were asked to sing at a baptism in Barrio 1 which is in Cuatro Caminos.  We took the metro and came up and the GPS wasn't working on Bruce's toy.  So we stood there on the corner trying to figure which direction to go and starting to get a little panicky because we only had 15 minutes to get there when up out of the metro came the Elders who are also assigned to that ward.  So they walked us to the chapel.  What a tender mercy.

Also, a couple of weeks ago our dear friend Erick came to visit.  His work sent him here to deliver a speech and he had about 24 hours in Madrid.  So he emailed us for our wish list for delivering postage free anything he could fit in his suitcase. (He had to bring 2 suitcases for an overnight stay, but was able to pack the little one into the big one for the return flight.)  It was so fun to see Erick and talk to him and show him our apartment and temple square.  The only bad thing was that his wife didn't come and that he couldn't stay longer!  We felt so loved.

In the lobby of the Hotel de las Letras

       We took Erick out on the street and then into the metro to go to our apartment.

Here we are visiting in our apartment.

And finally we went to temple square and showed him the MTC and the temple.

We are so blessed!

These kids know how to have fun!

Ok, this is my third attempt at trying to post these pictures!  I will just tell you that the JAS (Young Single Adults) went to Juan Carlos Park a couple of Saturdays ago and had a lot of fun.  I will let the pictures tell the story.

June/July Missionaries at the MTC

This past week we received our new group of missionaries to the Madrid MTC.  48 in all.  Most of them are from the United States.  Three are from England, two from France and one from Ukraine.  The 3 Brits are all going to serve in Spain, the 2 from France are going back to France and the 1 from Ukraine is going to one of the missions in Russia. 
They are a very good, diligent group of missionaries.  Each group seems to acquire a particular personality, a sort of amalgam of all of their personalities.  This last Sunday, their first, we ask for a show of hands on how many had completed their memorization of assigned scriptures in Spanish and we had a very large number.  I mentioned to President Sitterud that this group seems ahead of any other groups in that area.  And yet we have no native Spanish speakers and no advanced districts.  They are all just very diligent.
Our Russion missionary, Elder Boboshko, is a convert and the only active member in his family.  He is 26 years old, the upper limit that can still serve.  He has completed his university studies, and is a registered and practicing veterinarian, with the most contagious smile you ever saw.  He makes everyone happy.  He also speaks no English and has been assigned a North American Elder as companion that speaks no Russian.  They get along spledidly.  This past Saturday when all the missionaries went to Retiro Park for the first time for contacting Elder Boboshko amazingly found the only Russians in the park.  No one else contacted or ran into Russians.  He found 2 different groups.  And placed a copy of the Book of Mormon in Russian.  He's really an awesome Elder.
As you know, each Sunday afternoon we go out on the Temple steps and sing to the people passing by and in the apartments across the street.  Here's some pictures of this latest group.

The MTC is directly in the background

Our 2 French missionaries are a senior couple: The Allanics.  She is standing directly behind Vivienne

In this group, unlike the last, most of the missionaries are Elders.  Last group was reversed, for the first time.  Of the Sisters in this group, about 3/4 of them are 19 years old.

I love this shot of the Temple in the background.  It is currently closed for 2 weeks, so this group has not yet been inside

41 Years Ago Today

I was 23, she was 20.

She was nervous and excited.  So was I.

The Los Angeles Temple seemed like walking into a little piece of Heaven that  day.

We've been married for 41 years today.  

Vivienne said to me that it's been about 25 years of marital bliss.  

I'd have to agree.  

But I wouldn't trade it for anything.  

Life is good.

El Jardine Del Capricho (The Garden of Caprice)

EL CAPRICHO Park

When looking at our blog you will be convinced that all we do is tour historic sites and walk around parks.  That's not the case, but as boring as it might be to browse through such blogs, it would be even more boring if we blogged the other places we go and the other things we do.  I mean, how many pictures of the Metro and of the grocery stores, etc would a person find interesting?  
Or how many pictures of going up and down the elevators at the MTC all day and night.  
So, thankfully, we're blogging historic sites and gardens.  
Much better.
About 3 weeks ago we took a day trip with 2 couples serving temple missions here in Madrid; the Jones' and the Zimmermans.  They are proficient in Spanish and both know the city very well, so they allowed us to tag along.  They took us walking through 2 very large parks, one covering several square miles.  But I chose to introduce you to the one that was the most enchanting and delightful.  It was a beautiful spring day with trees and bushes and gardens in full bloom.  
 So, please enjoy "The Garden of Caprice"
Though very much unknown and out of the way, the garden of El Capricho (literally, a whim) is one of the most beautiful and attractive parks in the city.
The 14-hectare garden, located in the area of the Barajas district, dates back to 1784 when the Duke of Osuna, from one of the most illustrious and powerful of the city’s families, acquired the land for the specific purpose of giving expression to the family’s artistic values as well as to give them a place to escape city life. The prime mover was the Duchess Lady María Josefa de la Soledad Alonso Pimentel. Thought to be among the most intelligent women of her time, and a patron to many artists, bull-fighters and intellectuals, she designed the garden bearing in mind a sort of artistic-nature retreat for the more illustrious figures of her day and to which the most prestigious gardeners and artists offered help in designing.
After she died, her eldest grandchild inherited the duchy of Osuna, along with El Capricho garden. The park was maintained throughout his life, but following his death the property passed on to one of his brothers, under who’s oversight the gardens fell into disrepair. Profligate and eccentric, he set about losing the family fortune, to such a point that after his death it was necessary to sell the garden in order to pay off debts. 
It was acquired by the Baüer family, which did its best to keep up the property, but the decline was already too far gone, and it was necessary to slowly get rid of some of the holdings.
During the Spanish Civil War another change came about; what was once considered a place for leisure and strolling became the Staff Headquarters of the Central Army.  At the end of the war, the property passed through a number of different hands, until it was bought by the Town Hall in 1974, followed by renovation works carried out several years later.

Entering the park one passes through a miniature bull-fighting ring.

Lovely fragrant flowers throughout the park.  I don't know what they all were, except beautiful. In the distance straight ahead, the dueling range.  I suppose that's where they settled their disputes; in a manly sort of way.  ??

All the structures, at the whim of the Duchess, were built to miniature scale, or something like 1/2 scale. This charming cottage was built to resemble something from a fairy tale, but I can't remember what.

All through the park these trees were fantastic. And lilacs were everywhere in bloom. 

Lovely maidens of the Park, Sister Zimmerman and Vivienne

Sister Jones. Someone who never learned how to frown.

This is how I want my backyard to look in a couple of years. Nice tiled drainage on the sides of the path, all leveled and manicured.

Romantic

Miniature Dance Hall accessed by boat on canals or by footpath.

Figures in relief on the Dance Hall, or Casino de Baille

Dance Hall

Entrance to Dance Hall from the boat dock.

Beautiful walking paths with a look towards the pond in the middle of the canals where small boats plied.

This is also how I want my back yard to look

A moment's reflection in a place of serenity.  Nobility certainly had its advantages in times past.

The black swan was friendly but demonstrably disappointed that we did not bring food.

If you come to Madrid and are looking for a little "down" time for peaceful pondering pertaining to particularly pressing problems, pursuit for personal progress or proper posits on life's purpose, this is the place.

The small boat dock and the end of the path leading to the personal residence.

A less-trodden path near one of the boat canals. I thought of Frost's "The Road Less Taken"

Scott Zimmerman, the man, the camera. Inseparable.

An old and unusual tree.  Seemingly continually reborn with new shoots.  I think there's some kind of lesson there.

Garish but charming battlement built during the Spanish Civil War when the Gardens were turned into a military post.  A battery of artillery was placed in the middle.

There was a wonderful fragrance around this area.  I wish smells could be blogged.  Well, OK, SOME smells........

Another "Road Less Taken" moment

A miniaturized Hellenic temple.  This stuff has all been around since the founding of our nation.  Really beautiful

Looking from the porch and staircase of the family residence.  Off to the left were gardens created just for children to play in.

Gigantic Sycamore tree.  Reminded me of Doug Olson's front yard.  Only 3 times bigger.

Large maze.  I thought I was in a Harry Potter movie, the hedges were about 8 feet tall.  They did not allow us in.  A good thing; Vivienne would never have found her way out.

Back to the beginning; the dueling grounds with the bull-fighting ring and entrance into the park in the background.  My back yard will never resemble this, but I enjoyed dreaming about it as I walked these peaceful grounds.