Spain

This year I had the great opportunity of taking Tricia back to my mission. I served in the Spain Las Palmas Mission, which is the Canary Islands. They are located off of the coast of Africa (near Morocco). The mission consisted of 7 islands and I served on all 5 that were open to missionary work at the time. The church has continued to struggle there and the mission has since been consolidated back into one of the main land mission. I was only able to get Tricia to 2 of the islands. They were Tenerife and Fuerteventura. As Tricia can tell you now, they are as diverse as diverse can been. Tenerife is one of the largest of islands, very modern, and with dramatic climate changes thoughout the island. We spent several days on Tenerife seeing the sights and playing tourist. We also spent several days on Fuerteventura which widely know for their windsurfing competitions and spectacular beaches which we took full advantage of. We ended our trip by spending a couple of days in Madrid. We were able to attend church there and view the temple which was highlight for me as it was only a point of discussion when I was serving. The following are just a few photos of some the different areas. If you want to see and hear more, you will have to call, email, and or just come visit so we can tell you all about it and show you the pictures. Tricia always told me she would take me back to her mission (Riverside, CA) if I would take her back to mine.......I think she got the better end of that deal.

You can see from these photos that this side of the island lacks in traditional lushness that you would think of for islands. Mount Teide, is the highest peak in all of Spain. It's behind Tricia, who is holding her new favorite treat, Palmeras. We took the Tram to the top which why it looks cold as well. Tricia got a kick out of the fact, that they cut a road out of the lava.....I know, I know, if you look really close, some of you will think this is Craters of the Moon and the balanced rock of Castleford, ID.