"Echoes of Eden" Dayle King Searle

Elder Mark Palmer, of the Presidency of the Seventy, along with his wife, visited Mexico this week. Wednesday, they spoke at a devotional for the employees of the Church. The devotional was held at the chapel where we attend church and was broadcast throughout Mexico. We sang in the choir for it. At the end, Elder Palmer, his wife, Elder Sean Douglas (a counselor in the Area Presidency), and his wife personally greeted each of the people that were in attendance. Afterwards, we walked back to the Area offices and went back to work. About an hour later, we had an earthquake drill. We have them twice a year, and that was the day it was scheduled. So Elder Palmer, his wife, and all the Area Presidency had to tromp down eleven flights of stairs with the rest of us. Then we waited outside until we got the all clear to go back inside. As part of the drill, some of the employees who are designated as emergency personnel had to carry a volunteer, who was strapped to a backboard, down the stairs

The Davises went home on Friday. This was very emotional for me for two reasons. First, the Davises shared the 5 th floor at Teca Once with us (there are only two apartments on that floor), and we loved having them for neighbors. Sometimes when we had parties for the senior missionaries, we would both open our front doors and use both apartments. David Davis was an executive secretary to the Area Presidency, which is a very time consuming job, so they weren’t always able to go with us on our adventures, but we always loved it when they could. They both have funny senses of humor and were delightful to have in the group. We enjoyed their company and will miss them very much. The second reason that having them leave was emotional for me is that they arrived in Mexico one day before we did, and since we both originally were called to serve for eighteen months, they’re going home means we would have gone home this week too if we hadn’t extended. I received such a strong impression that we