"Echoes of Eden" Dayle King Searle

  I know back in the United States you are celebrating Halloween, but in Mexico we are celebrating Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. It is November 1 and 2, and often the two get intermingled. With its symbols of skulls and skeletons, it would be easy to assume Dia de los Muertos and Halloween would go hand in hand, but they are really very different. The more I learn about Dia de los Muertos, the more I love it. I think when I get home, I will continue to celebrate it instead of Halloween. If you’ve watched the movie Coco , you’ve got a basic idea of the holiday. In fact, they recommended we watch that movie before we came here. At its core, the holiday is a celebration of ancestors. The tradition is that during those days, the spirits of deceased loved ones can return to earth. The celebration includes creating ofrendas, tables commemorating deceased loved ones. Monarch butterflies and cempasuchil flowers (a type of marigold) play a part in the holiday. It occurs at the time

Our new home--Teca Once We arrived in Mexico a week ago today, and what a whirlwind of a week it’s been! Last Saturday we got up really early, left the MTC, and headed for the Salt Lake airport to fly to Mexico. Travelling by plane is stressful to me—getting to the airport on time, getting checked in and making sure the baggage isn’t overweight, going through security, and now all the COVID precautions. I calmed down a bit once we were on the plane and was able to rest a littl e, although  it was crowded and having to wear a mask makes me feel a claustrophobic. When we arrived in Mexico City, there was the stress of  going through customs, getting our luggage, and maneuvering through throngs of people. Everything went well, but I was feeling uptight. Then we went over to a little secluded nook, and I waited with the bags while Ron went to the restroom. There weren’t very many people around, so I took my mask down. As I did, a scent hit my nose. We have visited Mexico a few times, but i

Today is our last day at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. We've only been here five days, but it seems like we've been here a month. What a busy few days it's been, filled with a wide range of emotions and experiences. Monday, our first day at the MTC, reminded me of the first day of a college semester. Seventy-three senior missionaries arrived that morning--thirty-six couples and one dear, intrepid sister who is heading to South Korea. We checked into our "dorms," collected a lot of paper work, stood in a lot of lines, attended orientation--Yep, pretty much like the first day of college. Standing in lines and waiting for meetings to start gave us a lot of time to meet the others in our group. The conversations always started with three questions, "Where are you from?"  "Where are you going? and "What is your assignment?" The amazing thing is that always as I'd get to know the people, I'd think, "Well of co

This is a the talk I gave at our farewell on September 26: Ron and I have been called to serve a mission as communications specialists for the Mexico area, and we leave in two weeks.             Roughly four decades ago Ron proposed to me. At that time, we didn’t do things like couples do now where the date is set and the temple reserved before they officially become engaged. The first time we even discussed getting married was when Ron proposed to me. I’m sure that was pretty intimidating for him because he had no idea what I was going to say. As he was working up to the big question, he went into what I can best describe as a “sales pitch” by telling me about all his goals in life. I believe that was the first time he told me that he wanted to one day serve a mission with his wife.             At that time I was so head over heels in love that if he had asked me to go to Mars with him, I would have headed to the launch pad. Also, I was very young, so it seemed like it would be e