Hitting the Road

We spend a lot of time in the car.  I mean a lot of time.  Several months ago the Elders were moved out of the La Capuera house as the missionary numbers have fallen.  We have waited to close it because we are not certain what the numbers will do.  In the meantime, some of the houses needed some of the furniture that was in the house.  So on Monday we took the mission van and trailer up to move stuff around.  We picked up the Sisters in Pan de Azucar and the Elders in Piriapolis to help.
When we arrived at the house, the owner had tied up a pit bull right next to the door of the apartment.  It was barking but not growling.  Nobody really wanted to get bitten so we were quite cautious.  Eventually we were able to calm the dog down and move it to a better place.

The first step of our little project was to take the beds to La Paloma to replace their broken ones.  We soon had the beds on board and ready for the two hour trip up the coast.  You may remember that we spent Friday and Saturday night in La Paloma on our trip to Castillos.  We don’t seem to get enough of traveling to La Paloma.  When we got to La Paloma we had to wait for the Elders to get back.  All of a sudden we had not only two elders show up but five of them come around the corner on bikes with fishing poles in hand.  It was P-day and the zone was taking advantage of the opportunity to do a little fishing.  It was fun to see them and see how happy they were.  They were real good to help us get the beds changed.

After a short site seeing trip to show the missionaries La Paloma we headed back to La Capuera for the rest of the stuff.  Renee and the Sisters did a little cleaning and Elder Rodriguez and Elder Mereles helped me load the trailer and van.  We got most everything on.  Then we had to drop off the missionaries at their houses and head for home.  On the way home we dropped the kitchen table and chairs at the El Pinar house along with the stove.  Our final stop was to drop off the fridge at the Lomas de Solymar house.  We got home about 9:30 P. M.  We were tired.

Tuesday morning we still had the use of the van so we took the closet and mattresses to 18 de Mayo.  This is only about an hour each way so it was quite a bit easier.  On Wednesday we took it easy.  We have both been battling colds so it was good to rest up a bit.

Thursday was our trip to do inspections in Melo and 33.  It is over 1,000 kilometers round trip.  As if we needed more miles.  We were curious about the trip to 33 as the missionaries had painted three houses since we were there last and we were curious about the quality.  We were quite happy with the result.  The spearhead behind the project was Elder Montiel.  You may remember him from last year when he worked in the office with us.  He is a great friend and missionary.  We are so grateful for all of the work the missionaries do to take care of their houses.  We inspected all of the 33 houses and even had time to go to Rio Branco.  Rio Branco is over 450 kilometers from Montevideo and is the furthest of any house.  By the time we got to Melo we were tired but still had time to see a couple of the other houses.  The missionaries in the Melo Zone have worked hard to clean their houses.  We really appreciated it.

Friday morning was one of the key parts of our trip.   The Zone Leader house in Melo has a real mold problem.  The whole zone met and we cleaned it.  It is a big house with tall ceilings so it was quite a job.  The missionaries were quite the troopers pitching in to help.  We were so appreciative.  We even had time to go to the Centenario house to clean their walls too.  We got all the inspections and cleaning done by noon.  It was a big job but done quite quickly with all the good help from the missionaries.

So now for another adventure.  Melo and 33 are on a main highway, Ruta 8.  Ruta 8 is a challenge because of all of the truck traffic.  But, Ruta 7 also goes to Melo so we decided to take it on the way home to see some new scenery.  We were a little worried about the quality of the road but we ventured anyway.  It is about the same distance and it was fun to see some new scenery.  So the truck traffic was quite a bit less but the quality of the road left quite a bit to be desired.  It was a fun trip but not one we will take again.

So guess what we did Saturday?  Nothin’!  We took it easy to rest up from the long week of travel.  It was good to get a little rest.  Today we traveled about 30 minutes to the Norte Stake to attend the meetings and help train a High Councilman on how to do the Capilla Abiertas.  We love meeting all of the different people in Uruguay.  They have certainly made our lives better.  Last week was filled with a world of great experiences as we were able to rub shoulders with the missionaries.  We are grateful for the opportunity.

We love you all.
Gordon and Renee