We went out for dinner and they took this picture with the beautiful high rise hotel lit up in the background. The man in the back with Dave is our branch president, President Buckley.

We finally drove far enough to see the high rise hotels. When you get up close they are very fancy. Back a ways you can see some of the desert and weeds. It is very windy everywhere but that doesn't seem to cool it down. It never gets below 80 at night and feels like 90 plus according to weather station. During the day it gets to 94 and feels like 106 plus the humidity is at least 70-90%.

We travel the whole 19 miles length of the island often and yet very seldom see the ocean ev en though it is only at most a 1/2 mile away. There are lots of bushes and tall skinny barrel cactus in the way or homes. Over by the shopping area I took this picture of a beach. The water is very turquoise colored.

Some Scenery in Aruba

August 26
These first few pictures are in Oranjestad, the largest town on Aruba.  They have some casinos and a few hotels dowtown plus the harbor.  It is hard to find things in stores.  Everything is at least 2 1/2 to 3 times more expensive if you can find it.  We hunted all over the town for sheets and I got so excited to finally find some.  They were Chinese see through 100% polyester.  But they were so hot. We finally found a Pricesmart, very small about 1/4 size of Sam's or less and it was so exciting to find some cotton sheets. Little things are so exciting.

This is a view from our doorway into the courtyard. Now if it were only cool enough so we could enjoy the view.

ARUBA

Tues. Aug. 18

We stayed 2 days in Puerto Rico and then flew to Miami and then to Aruba. We've been going full speed ahead since last Thurs. We got a temporary internet hookup last night. This is the house where the small branch of the church is meeting. The people are so friendly and kind. They speak Dutch, Papiamento, Spanish, and English. Everyone at church gives their talks in whatever language they feel most comfortable. Our talks next Sunday will definitely be in English.

Life at the MTC

August 8,2009 We have had a great week at the MTC. We leave our room by 7:15 and arrive back in time to study at 8:15 at night. The spirit is great here, unbelievable actually. We love being with about 2500-3000 young elders and some sisters. We leave tomorrow morning at 4 a.m., arriving in Puerto Rico by 9p.m. We are speaking a little Spanish.