The Variety of the Call

This week probably had more variety than most any other week of our mission.  We had several projects that needed to be completed including sign contracts, fix houses and do things for the Capilla Abierta program.  We started out Monday calling several landlords to line up contracts.  We also talked to several missionaries about repairs in their houses.  This never ends.  You kind of get gun shy about phone calls as most calls are a call for help.  We have built up a pretty good network to get things fixed so the repairs are going much smoother.  Monday afternoon we drove to La Paz to pick up a contract.  It was all ready.  Now we are down to one contract that does not pay electronically.  We also stopped to see the new mall.  Pretty snazzy huh?  Just like in the states only with a lot more Spanish.

On Tuesday we lined up an appointment with Bishop Dominguez to help us with Capilla Abiertas in the La Costa Stake.  He was recently released as a Bishop and is now on the High Council assigned to Missionary work.  We took the Elders from his ward in El Pinar with us.  What a wonderful time, talking about the Capilla Abierta program and how to help his Stake.  Bishop and Sister Dominguez were very willing and helpful.  We expect to see some good things come from our visit.  Of course they invited us for lunch.  Sister Dominguez made green salad and milanesas.  Lunch was excellent.  I should have only eaten one milanesa but you have to be neighborly so I made the sacrifice and ate two.  They were so good.  I wish I could express better the love the people in Uruguay have for us.  They are so kind and grateful.  We love them so much.

We have been working on a contract renewal in 33 for over a year.  I have had a hard time understanding what they wanted and also getting them to work with us.  Finally we had the contract ready to sign and an appointment to get it signed.  We took off early on Wednesday for 33; remember 33 stands for three hours up and three hours back.  We took advantage of the trip to help the Sisters in Vergara.  They needed mosquito nets.  I love this picture as they are so excited about their area.  It also shows the contrast between the Uruguayan Soccer team Peñarol and the USA custom of BYU Idaho.  We arrived to sign the papers only to find out that the guy that was supposed to sign was not there.  We left the papers with hope they will get signed.  We are praying that we will get them this week.  Then we will have all of the contracts on electronic payment.  It has been a big job.  We got home after dark on Wednesday after driving Route 5.  This is a two lane highway with lots of hills turns and trucks.  It doesn’t help that there are crazy drivers too.

Last week when we were in Castillos we stopped by to see Tito and Patricia.  We had a great visit and they gave us come Cornish Game Hen eggs.  You can call them what you want but they looked like Chukars to me.  Anyway, they gave us a bunch of them and the other night we cooked some of them up.  They were really good.  I don’t think you could tell the difference.   Well, if you fried them you could because the yolks are really small.   We look forward to eating the others and also going back to beg for more.  Actually, you can buy them in the store but they are quite expensive.  Quite a bit more expensive than free.

On Thursday we attended Zone Conference with the Este, Maroñas and Norte Zones.  President Eddy’s message on the importance of the Book of Mormon and how to use it was great.  Our main assignment was to go get lunch.  The Zone Leaders ordered 53 Pronto Pollos!  We have talked about them before.  It is essentially a deep fried chicken cordon bleu sandwich on a bed of fries.  So good!  I think you could see the grease dripping under our car with all of those sandwiches.

Friday was District Leader Training where all of the new district leaders come to a meeting.  Renee helped prepare a great meal of stir-fry while I did some stuff in the office.  After the meeting we bought some stuff for one of the houses and delivered it with the Elders.  In the afternoon we drove downtown to renew another contract.  It was a busy day, but productive.

Saturday was P-Day.  Our day to rest, clean the house and do other chores.  So we got up at 6:30 A. M. and headed to Minas on Route 8, my favorite drive, to help the Elders paint a house.  It was a big house and really needed to be painted.  The Elders had the house ready with all of the furniture moved so we dug right in with the help of a member and had it pretty much done by 2:00 P. M.  It is so good to see the houses painted with the mold under control.  The ride home was pretty smooth.  I guess logging trucks take Saturday afternoon off.

Today we drove out to Barrio 13 to do the presentation on the Capilla Abierta that we will do in two weeks.  We now have three Capilla Abiertas to do in the next month.  It is a busy time but quite productive.  Due to the blessing of technology we were able to participate in the Cultural Celebration for the Idaho Falls Temple Dedication.  We did see some of our four grandkids participating so it was real good.  Today is the dedication.  We feel bad that we are missing it but know that we will get our chance to go when we get home.

So another busy week gone by.  Winter is setting in with colder outside and inside temperatures.  We are better prepared this year so it hasn’t been too bad so far.  We appreciate all the great support we get from home.  We are grateful that we are able to serve.

Love,
Gordon and Renee