Let’s Talk about Heroes

For all our kids and grandkids

September  11, 2016

We need to talk about something a little different this week.  Our week was full with office stuff as we work to get all of the contracts set and organized.  This is important but pretty boring to talk about so I thought we could talk about something a little more interesting, like MISSIONARIES!

Our Zone Leaders in Este, which is more or less our zone, are some of my heroes.  If you have been reading the blog, Elder Poulson and Mitchell are the ones that taught us how to milk alfajores.  For that they are now known as the dairyman.  They are also the ones that made the video for Renee’s 60th birthday.  They should get an Oscar for that under the category of “best missionary video for a 60 year old lady”.

Well, this week, they topped that.  We have a vacant apartment next to us that was vacated when a senior couple went home in February.  We have used it to house missionaries when they come into Montevideo but mostly it has been vacant.  When the Wall family came, we took all of the furniture out of it and moved it to Florida.  Now we have a chance to terminate the contract and need to clean it.  It has a balcony that has become the home to two pigeons.  Picture the worst case scenario and then make it a little worse.  To forever be on my number one list, Elder Poulson and Mitchell agreed to come and clean it for us.  What a terrible task.  They jumped on it with the same enthusiasm that they do everything else.  I love them and appreciate them so much.

You would think that cleaning the bird poop would be the best part of what they have done for us this week.  But no!  They topped that!  They shared some great experiences that they have had in the street.  The other night they were out working and got out of a charla about 8:50 P. M.  That is pretty close to 9:00 P.M. when they should head for home.  Instead of packing it in they decided to knock a few more doors.  A lady answered the first door and said, “Come on in Elders, I’ll go get my husband out of bed.”  When the Husband came into the room he said, “Hello Elders.”  This couple had received the lessons a few years before but had not been able to come to Church for health and other problems.  They told the Elders that their life was now more stable and their health was good so they could come to Church.  Last Sunday they came to Church and were really fired up.  So were the Elders.  What a blessing to work until the end.  They also told us that they had 6 other investigators in Church that were from a family from Colombia.  Elder Mitchell finishes his mission this week.  What a way to end!  I can’t even think about how sad it will be to see him go.  Thankfully we have Elder Poulson for two more changes.

Elder Peterson playing the piano.  He's the best!

 We had to go to Canelones to pick up a contract so to make a trip out of it we stopped off at San Ramon on the way back to listen to Elder Peterson’s piano concert.  It was amazing.  He played most of the songs by memory and even made one up from a request from the audience.  It was so good to see him again.  I think he and his companion, Elder Lane enjoyed the Pear Pie Renee made for them.

On the Saturday before change week we invite the elders that are leaving the office and their replacements to lunch.  Elder Bio is from Mexico and asked for Tacos for lunch.  Renee prepared hamburger, beef, pork and chicken to put in them.  They topped it off with Oreo Cheesecake and Pear Pie.  They are plenty full.  It was a great time.  They were a little slow to get up.

Here we are in front of the Sarandi de Yi chapel

Saturday night we headed to Durazno to stay in a hotel so we could go to Sarandi de Yi on Sunday.  We attended their meetings today to give a presentation on the Capilla Abierta in two weeks.  Even though Sarandi del Yi is a long way from Montevideo, we know many of the members as they have helped us move missionaries.  Immediately upon arrival we could feel a strong Spirit as all of the members welcomed us with open arms.  Our presentation went well and we also were invited to speak in Sacrament meeting.  We can hardly wait for the Capilla Abierta as the enthusiasm was really high.  Even the young people came up asking for cards to hand out.

Having lunch with Bishop Lemos and his family

After the meeting, we had a three hour trip to get home for lunch.  That is until Bishop Lemos invited us to lunch.  It was so good to have lunch and visit with them.  He is a very strong Bishop and you can feel his love for the ward members and their love for him.  Lunch was wonderful as we had “fideos con tuco”.  This is a staple down here and consists of macaroni and a meat sauce.  Some are better than others and this meal was at the top of the list.  I ate macaroni for the full two years I was in Argentina and am still not real fond of it but this meal was especially good.   I did get a little sleepy on the way home but what do you expect on a warm Sunday afternoon after a real good meal.

I hope you can feel some of what we feel everyday as we work with the missionaries and hear their stories and share the love of the Gospel with them.  We are so grateful to be here and learn something new every day.  We definitely feel your love and appreciate your support.  We love you all.

Gordon and Renee