Tenedor Libre

I hope no one confuses this blog with the movie “Nacho Libre”.  Actually I do, that’s why I put the title that way.  Tenedor Libre is the name for an all you can eat buffet.  There is a pretty nice one on a main intersection in Montevideo.  Renee and I have commented several times that we would like to try it sometime.  So, when the office Elders said they were going we decided to go with.  It was an interesting experience.  It was quite a bit more expensive than we had anticipated but we were still anxious to try it.  After we tried it we were not quite so anxious.  Uruguay is on a big health kick to not use salt to improve your health.  I’m thinking with all the meat and pasta, the salt is not the big problem.  Either way the food was so-so.  Kinda bland and kinda cold.  They had a typical open flame BBQ grill so I was hopeful on the meat.  Not so good either.  Now I know what Chuck-a-rama does with their day old food.  You can tell by the picture that the missionaries thought it was pretty good.  If you have been reading our blog, you will recall that our food experiences have been great so I hope this one clunker doesn’t make you think we don’t like the food.

Another project we had this week was getting things ready to paint in Florida. We took a trip Wednesday to deliver the paint and supplies.  The missionaries had everything lined up with the members to paint the Zone Leader house on Saturday.  We still have not heard how it went but we are hopeful it went well.  We have no problem going to help with the painting but it is actually better if we don’t go.  That way, it teaches the missionaries and members to work together to take care of the houses.  It is part of our plan as we are winding things down to go home.

We still have quite a few things we need to do to keep the houses fixed.  For example, one day I received two phone calls from Elders.  One had a broken door knob and couldn’t get into their bedroom and the other had a broken water heater.  They were able to work with the members to get both problems fixed including a repaired water faucet at the house with the broken door.  I sometimes feel guilty sitting back to let the members help but in the long run it is better as the missionaries and members learn to follow the directive from the area office to have the members do more of the maintenance and upkeep on the houses.

On Wednesday we went to Pando to help the sisters with their washing machine.  As Renee worked with them I went to get them a new microwave.  While I was gone I noticed we had a low tire.  That ended up being a two hour project that ended up with two new tires.  After some troubleshooting, Renee and the Sisters found out the washing machine filter was clogged.  With a clean filter the washing machine worked well.

That brings us to Friday.  We needed to do inspections in Maldonado.  It is always good to stop in to see the missionaries.  All of the houses were neat and tidy.  You could see that they were making an effort to keep them clean.  You can also see from the picture that we are teaching the missionaries to clean the filter on the washing machine now so we can prevent a few problems.

Then we were on to Castillos.  The missionaries have been good to help set up Charlas for us.  On Friday night we had a Charla with a good member, Oreales and her family.  We showed the “He is Risen” video in the Gospel Library.  It is a brief history of the Savior's last days including his time in Gethsemane, scourging, on the cross and resurrection.  It is a powerful video that helps us understand the importance of the Savior.  We have shown it several times and it seems to be a powerful teaching tool.

After that we went to the Jhonny Lopez family.  This included Daniela’s homemade corn dogs and Renee’s fudge filled cookies.  We all ate too much and then were able to enjoy the same video.  They have such a strong family and it is fun to spend time with them.  We love our time with them.

Saturday we had two more charlas set up and had good visits in both places.  Spending time on real missionary work is our favorite activity.  In the afternoon we helped with the branch fellowship activity.  It was great fun as usual.  The missionaries had a good message about the Savior and then we played games including, button, button, who’s got the button and I have a little doggy that won’t bite you.  If you don’t know those games you’ll have to come to our next family reunion.  The kids had an especially good time.

Today I gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting on the importance of the Holy Ghost.  I used 1 Kings 19 where the Lord comes in a “still small voice.”  I likened the Light of Christ and the Gift of the Holy Ghost to having Wi-Fi or a direct line to the internet.  It is always kind of sad to leave our friends in Castillos.  If not for the fact that we are so worn out from the travel and visits we would stick around longer.

The weather has been a little cooler lately but we can see that it is starting to warm up as the days get longer.  We hope our health will continue to hold out until we go home.  We love you all and appreciate your support.

Love, Gordon and Renee