PART 2 Home for Holidays & Home to the Mission

Great Holiday Party for Autosuficiencia Volunteers at Princesa Marina

Look, our bags on the tarmac leaving Costa Rica

Layover in Long Beach to visit Lindsey & Joseph.  See the Queen Mary in
the background?

Coolest thing.  We shared the flight home from LA to SLC
with 24 returning missionaries from CA Ventura Mission!

Hermana had tears in her eyes.  Not sure if it was seeing the
Grandkids or her Tacoma!

Greatest joy was being with our nietos carinos

Wow real roads with shoulders and rules.  Rather cold in Utah!

One restaurant on our list to visit...Javiers with Blake Erika and
the 4 prettiest granddaughters on the planet

and Ryan Jay

With all 6 Grandkids at New Living Aquarium in Sandy

the traditional Petersen Nativity reenactment (2nd generation) 

Sawyer was less than awed by his Costa Rican Gift

Joseph bonding with his "soul mate nephew"?

Christmas eve visited Christmas light show in Uintah and the Cemetary where
dad is buried.
 

Each of kids got a genuine leather Costa Rican Rocking Chair

Melanie and Jeff opened theirs via Skype.

A blanket to wrap our dear granddaughters around our hearts!!
Now sits on our Couch in the apartment where we use it every night.

Joseph, Lindsey with Stockton and Sawyer

Even Linda got into the challenge of Mike's new "passion"

Yes it was cold and snowy.  Give me Costa Rica any day where
the temperatures stay above 59 and around 79!!!

Hard to leave the family behind but by January 8th we  were ready to
get back to where we belong now....COSTA RICA

On January 11 met with all priesthood leaders in the Country and Elders Duncan and Cordon
on 2015 Initiative for the Centroamerica Area in Autosuficiencia (Self reliance)!

Greatest joy...newest grandchild.  Baby Will!  We were closest when he was born in Alabama
as we were in the Atlanta Airport while Melanie and Jeff were in Wilson, North Carolina
trying to get to the birth of their adopted son...William Isiah Alexander Tucker!!
Welcome to the family Will!

TRYING TO CATCH UP BLOG - EARLY DECEMBER & HOME 4 HOLIDAYS

Early December spoke in El Tejar Ward in Alajuela Stake

Hermana Petersen is helping Rodrigo monitor his high blood Pressure!

Training for Missionaries en Zona Alajuela on Self Reliance

the second Tower is now complete with new move ins

Spoke in El Pital in northern Alajuela Providence and stayed at Hotel with Thermal
Poos while it rained like crazy

Groupo El Pital is part of San Carlos Ward 30km away.  the group
leader (Tellaz) is a 23 year old recently returned missionary.

Most times driving the mountains of Costa Rica are very...precarious

Always fun to see the new missionaries receives their first assignments
and companions after being in the country like 30 hours and go out
and get to work!

The Stake relief Society President of La Paz Stake and daughter-in-law (a PEF
Participant) infront of Capilla El Jardin

Workshop for recently returned missionaries in early December

We were asked to serve dinner at the annual temple workers party and sing
in a choir made up of Senior Couples (mostly working in the temple)

Festival de Luz (Christmas Light Parade) went right down our
street so from the 12th floor balcony we had the best seats in the country.

third annual choir fest on temple grounds in Belen.  7 choirs
 great & beautiful setting to set the Spirit for Christmas



The sunsets here are continuous!  We will miss them as we've been given the
green light to go home for the holidays to be with family as our
office will be closed Dec 20-Jan 4....

.

So we used some sky miles and found some snow & cold in the northern
frozen tundra.  This is in the San Jose Airport on 12/16/14.

Honor to get to be part of Uncle Bill Smiths funeral and see family and cousins.

Brother Brent retired as men's wardrobe for MoTAB Choir after
13 years.  We always love to have chance to go to a broadcast &
added bonus saw our friends Donaldson's there and sat on the second
 row next to Mitt Romney and his family

Reindeer games with Stockton at Carlson Family Party

Great to see my favorite sister

Brent & Jan & Family with us and mom.  Isn't it great that we
got to be home for holidays with family!

BUT BY JANUARY 8 WE WERE READY TO BE BACK IN PARADISE
SERVING 

Noviembre Sin Peregrinos (Pilgrims)

 

Training the Toyopan Stake Autosuficiencia Committee (Pilot Stake
for New Program-"Mi Camino)

 

The Missionaries from La Sabana District come into the office (there's 12
computers) every Tuesday to Email home!



With Staci Baird (study abroad student) at San Jose Temple to
do Baptisms For the Dead

 

"Skyping" with Melanie and Jeff.  Such exciting news...expected in January!

 

Abby and friends...Highmark Charter School Turkey Run



 

Ryan took over his mothers' traditional Thanksgiving Lemon Meringue Pie duties!

Black Friday may be even bigger here in Costa Rica!
Viernes Negro = Friday Black



We speak each Sunday in a different Ward, Branch, or Group all over
the Country...which helps feed our never ending passion to travel
and share our love for this amazing PEF Program.The wider the blue, highlighted
area gets, means that we've been there more than once, or multiple times : )

 

Helping Karla Zuniga, our hija Tica, (front in red) and family celebrate her birthday
in Santiago de Puriscal.



 

We invited several young friends over to meet Staci & one of her room mates, Brea.
 A person can never have enough (Tica) friends!

 

Yerling, Brea, Staci, Beatrice, Yumy, Hermana, Karla, & Darling

 

Sharing our message in the new Chapel in Aserri where we attended church
 13 years ago with Melanie  

 

With Anthony Oporta.  (The part on the right was new in 2001 when
we came with Melanie and the wing on left was dedicated last month.

 

November had it's share of beautiful skies

 

This is Elder Hoover, the current Migration Secretary. I snuck this foto of him one day.
His version, ; )  is that when he's not busy with migration issues, he likes
to keep busy. Hmmm..... that yellow streak is a tennis ball.

 

Training for the Los Yoses Stake C.A.S.
 (Self Reliance Committee) who opened
their C.A.S. (Centro AutoSuficiencia) in November.

 

Celebrating Maria Fernanda's 9th Birthday in Aserri with Bismark and Valeria
Oporta's family (converts taught by Melanie in 2001)

 

With the Riveras and family the day they kicked off the Christmas Season
(Nov.1st) and dedicated their new home.

 

Sunday in Orotina, Puntarenas about a hour west of San Jose. It took us 2.5 hours
to arrive by backroads, due to rockslides (after a mild
earthquake) on Ruta 27.

 

Had the missionaries of La Sabana district over for chili on their P day.
Actually the catalyst for the invitation, was that in the Petersen
family, Hna.Pete makes homemade donuts every Halloween.
She's not home to share them with the family, so
she  made them for the missionaries.
P.S. Halloween isn't really celebrated here.
Photo on top (27th floor) of our Apartment Tower

Hna.Pete doesn't make full meals here much, but she
did this night. Hence, the foto : )
(that's not a typo, photo is spelled foto in Espanol)

Lindsey's married name is Nochebuena. Everytime we see something
with their name, we have to send them a foto.
It means THE good night, or Christmas Eve.
Very fitting for this time of year.

 

We welcomed the Arias' (new Coordinating Couple Missionaries)
to the Office.  In back are our some of our amazing volunteers, Karla, Susan, and Ali.
Alexandria is the La Sabana Stake Self- Reliance Specialista.



 

Recently returned missionaries (& Pres. Babb-Alajuela Stake,3rd from left
on the back row) at RM Career Seminar. In countries like Costa Rica
& many others world-wide, it's so important to help these young
people,(that've just dedicated 1 1/2-2 years of their lives) know what
their options are locally for employment, education etc., so that they
can access the Perpetual Education Fund if they need or want it,
so they can get better jobs.
 



 

A new group of Missionaries getting their first companion and area
assignments.  An hour later they were off to begin their Missionary Experience

 

New missionaries this month, their trainers &

Presidente Wilkinson. Looks like Hermana

Wilkinson was dodging the camera that day.

 

Sister Garner the Mission Nurse returned home
to Mesa.  An amazing, successful full time missionary and
Mission Nurse Specialist 24/7.
 

This photo from home reminded us that it's autumn back in
Utah. Where the seasons are pretty constant here, it's
hard to remember what the seasons are doing back home.

 

A busy day at the Self Reliance Model Center the day of the RM
Seminar. Here they are, registering on ldsjobs.org

 

Sarchi, Alajuela (great place to shop) so a favorite destination
of Sister Petersen.



 

Another teaching op! 

 

Staci Baird, study abroad student from Twin Falls, the day we
met her at Los Yoses Ward.  Recent convert & was baptized in
 August at U of U. Amazingly, her Mom lives next door
to South Weber, in Layton. 



 

Daniela Chavez, friend of Melanie's & living
in the Los Yoses Ward. 

 

The Tuckers with Diana Miller at DC temple.  The
blessings of heaven are real...can't wait for January!!

 

Aserri friends from when Melanie served.  He was ward
mission leader and performed baptisms of Oporta family in 2001.
She did Melanie's laundry. Apologies to them as we
can't recall their names : ( Their other daughter
is currently serving a mission in Argentina.

 

Jorge and hija Melany Sanchez.  He tells the story of Melanie and Companion
reactivating them.  He is a participant of PEF studying as a radiologist at
Hospital Juan Dios de Ninos.   

Our 1st mariposa, up on our 12th floor balcony. 

THE IRONY......
<<SEE FOTO TO THE LEFT  

 

Lucky us, we got to spent Thanksgiving with the  Wilkinsons at the Mission Home!!
 Real turkey, stuffing, orange cheese salad, pies etc. etc. etc.
Hna.Wilkinson put a new twist on mashed potatoes. She tops them with
cheddar cheese. Don't know why we Petersens didn't think of that 1st.
Ticos didn't have Pilgrims so Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here.