FARSI BAPTISMS!

Dear friends and family,
Today was a special Sabbath day. Max opened the library at 7:30 am for a meeting of the multi-stake public affairs councils. We attended sacrament meeting at 9:00 and heard very moving testimonies from a young couple in our ward who have faced an extremely serious and very rare health problem. He had to have surgery a year ago in a hospital in North Carolina, the only place in the country to perform this surgery. Their faith and courage in the face of this trial is very moving.

We missed our other meeting to open the library for a meeting of the British Genealogical Society of Los Angeles and for a Sunday School class for one of the wards that meets in our building.

This evening we attended the baptism of two new converts from Iran who were taught the gospel by the Farsi-speaking missionaries serving in our ward. They had another baptism two weeks ago. Many Iranians attended and the proceedings were simultaneously translated for them. The spirit was very strong as the new members were warmly welcomed into the ward.

Other than that our week was mostly routine. Mary started a water aerobic class on Tuesday evening. The second session is Thursday morning, the day we work at the library from 1:00 to 9:00 pm. Max started Thursday morning delivering mission mail to four districts in two zones. He drove to Carson, San Pedro, Palos Verdes, and Torrence, dropping of and picking up mail and supplies. They said it would take about two hours, but it took more than three. He believes he can do it faster next time.

Wednesday, our P-day, in another busman's holiday, we drove all the way to the family history library in Orange County to see some microfilm Mary needed. The film was there, but mostly illegible, so it as a bit of a bust. However, we turned it into a nice afternoon when we went to Newport Beach and walked along the ocean in a light fog and watched the surfers. We don't have photos, but we did bring back a bottle of sand as a souvenir. We also had dinner at Mimi's, a place we enjoyed in Salt Lake and were happy to find here.

Max is having a bout with his allergies that turned into a nasty fever one evening and Mary is feeling the effects of her new exercise class, but we both are otherwise very healthy, happy, and humbly grateful (better than grumbly hateful).

Our small pleasures include reading the scriptures, going to the temple, taking walks together holding hands, knitting (Mary), reading good books, and watching movies. We also discovered a new (to us) delight. We have kumquats growing on a tree just behind our apartment. They are now ripening (but not in iniquity). We'll sometimes go pick and eat a handful. They are citrus, but small, the size and color of an apricot. They are eaten like a grape, skin and all. Spit out the seeds or crunch 'em down. Delicious; tart and sweet at the same time.

Love you all.
Elder and Sister Evans