And They Were Sore Amazed

 There are several places in the Scriptures where the Savior does something that astonishes his disciples.  Likewise this week we helped missionaries clean the mold off their walls and they were astonished or “sore amazed” also.  The first instance happened last Monday.  We drove up early to help the Florida Zone clean the mold off the walls of the Zone Leader house.  It is a big house and the mold was pretty bad.  But in spite of the size of the task, it was completed in about an hour.  Several of the missionaries commented on how they had learned how to clean and would now be able to tackle the task in their own houses.  It really was a pretty fun activity including the Hot Dogs and Cookies afterward.   We always have fun when we are with the missionaries.

Tuesday we stayed pretty close to home as I am working on a head cold with the typical cough and aches.  It isn’t very fun.  I am feeling better.  We also spent some time cleaning our house and working on some office stuff.

On Wednesday we helped with the District Leader Conference.  This means that Renee cooks and I do office stuff.  In the afternoon we went to see our friend Cristina in the Hospital.  She continues to struggle from stroke symptoms.  She was feeling pretty good and we had a good visit.  The best part of the visit was when she got her fingernails painted by Sister Perales.  That made all of us happy.  We hope she can continue to get better.

Friday we did inspections on the Las Piedras Zone.  This is a big zone and is really spread out.  We were pleased by the efforts the missionaries are making to keep their houses clean.  You can see it in their eyes that they are happier, healthier and certainly can find the Spirit easier if they live in a clean environment.  While we were doing the inspections we did a little OJT or On the Job Training with Elder Holland.  He also was amazed at how easy it is to clean the walls if you get on the mold early.  It also helps if you are tall like him so you can reach way up high.    Elder Palomino and Elder Holland are the Zone leaders.  We expect that they will teach their zone how to keep the houses cleaner.

We hope you enjoy the pictures of the missionaries.  They are so happy and filled with the Spirit.  I had to take a picture of the sisters with their pajamas on under their skirts to stay warm.  It hasn’t been too cold yet but it is winter and not warm in the houses.  I wore my over coat to Church today.  One of the things you notice in Uruguayan Churches is that there are not coat racks.  That is because if someone wears a coat to church they keep it on to stay warm.  I kept my over coat on all through church and was glad to have it.

Speaking of weather, it has been quite pleasant for much of May, June and July.  Yesterday started out warm, but a front came in and it rained and the wind began to blow.  It is still blowing about 30 miles per hour and it is quite chilly.  Last night we went to dinner with Elder and Sister Jensen to celebrate Father’s Day in Uruguay.  The dinner was real good but the wind was terrible.  We are glad we are inside and pray for the missionaries to be warm and safe.

We had a neat experience Friday.  On Wednesday Elder Texeira came to the District Leader Training.  He was just transferred from the Norte Zone to the Las Piedras Zone and one of his suitcases was left behind in the transfer.  He asked me if I could go get it and bring it with on Friday.  This took a little extra effort on our part but not much.  When we showed up at his house and he saw the suitcase he gave me a great big hug.  He was so glad to get it.   It really doesn’t take much to be appreciated.  Elder Texeira is a good example of all of the missionaries.  He is happy and wants to do what he can to help the work.  He is also grateful for what he has.

We are grateful too.  We continue to have experiences that teach us about the love the Savior has for us.  As we build our relationships with the people in Uruguay we come to love them more and more.  It is going to be hard to leave them.

So while we sit here in Uruguay trying to keep warm, we hope you  can find a shade tree to enjoy the summer back home.  We love you all and appreciate what you do for us.

Love Gordon and Renee