Paso de los Torros

Another busy week.  We started Monday by going to Florida and Durazno to do mosquito screens and visit houses.  It was a long day but good to rub shoulders with the missionaries.  We also changed a tap and did some other minor repairs.  One of the highlights of our day was the visit to Paso de los Torros.  This is the town in the Durazno province that is the farthest from the mission home.  This is a large town that has a good ward established.  The Elders there are really ready to go.  Paso de Los Torros is right next to the Bonetti dam.  I wanted to go take a look.  It turned out that the Elders were planning to go visit it that day also.  We had a good trip and took a few pictures.  If you look on the map it backs up a lot of water.  It has a 180 mega watt capacity.  It is not real tall because they really don’t have big mountains in Uruguay to build it around.  That being said it was quite impressive.  We also took a picture of the Torro statue.  It is quite cool also.  Just as we went to bed we got a text that one of the missionaries shower faucet did not work.  On Tuesday morning we fixed it pretty quick.

We spent part of the rest of the week helping in the office and moving missionaries around.  One of the Sisters had some serious health problems and had to go home.  We helped move Sisters around to complete the transfers and also took a Sister to the Dentist.  Seems like we spend a lot of time driving.  It is so good to spend time with the Elders and Sisters.  They are so positive and happy.  They are real good to share some of their experiences with us.  It is amazing to see how the Lord helps the work along and helps people to find the truth. 

On Friday we helped bring a Sister to the chapel for her interview to be Baptized.  She was excited to come.  On the way we passed our friend, Humberto, out for a walk.  We visited for a minute and told him we would be by to visit.  We showed up about an hour later and they have made more treats for us.  We had a real neat visit.  It is amazing how we have come to love each other and how close we feel.  We have included some pictures of the birthday party that we had the other night.  The cake looks really good but actually tasted even better.  We are going to invite them over to our house in the next week or so.

Saturday and Sunday we spent in Castillos.  We had lunch again with Hermana Narda and her husband.  They cooked chicken and chorizos on the barbeque (asado).  Once again it was really good.  She told us that the District President had been to visit and told the members that the Church had some property that they would like to use to build a Chapel.  They have had it for several years and the branch has not grown to justify it.  They were told that they have one more year to grow the branch or the property could be sold.  We spent quite a bit of time talking about how we all needed to work to grow the branch.  In the afternoon we drove out to see the Elder’s Quorum President, Juan and his wife, Liliana.  We spent time talking about how we all need to do our part to help the branch grow so they can get a new chapel.  It was a real good visit.  I really love these people and what they bring to the branch.  I feel certain that they were sent here by the Savior to help because they have a lot of experience.

They live in a little hamlet next to the ocean called Esmeralda.  They retired and moved here from Montevideo.  They bought a lot with a small house on it and are building another one just like it so their kids have a place to stay.  It is really a cute house.  It is about 12 feet by 20 feet.  On the ground floor they have the kitchen, dining room and bathroom and then have their bedroom in the upstairs.  It was really neat and everything that you could ever need.  You could tell that they are happy and pleased with what they have.  This is a good lesson for us.  It is true that happiness is being satisfied with what you have. 

Probably the highlight of the week for me is that Renee was asked to say several prayers in Spanish.  She did a great job and the people were very supportive.  She was also asked to read a few scriptures in the Sunday School lesson.  Her Spanish still needs a little work but she is growing in knowledge each day.  We are grateful for your prayers.

Every day we wake up to a new adventure.  We have several lined up for next week.  We can hardly wait.  We get home every night completely exhausted but happy and content with what we have been able to do.  Thanks to all for your love and support.  We really do feel it and appreciate what you all do for us.  We are grateful to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives and to have the opportunity to serve.