Uruguayan Summer

We just passed the shortest day of the year in Uruguay so we should be at our coldest.  Last year at this time we had had two pretty cold months where we struggled to stay warm in our house and out.  This year has been much different.  We have had a few cold days but for the most part, the days have been pleasant.  Our morning walks are cool but really quite comfortable.  This is a real good thing.  When people tell us that it is cold I tell them that where we live it gets more than minus 20.  They have no idea what that means as it hardly ever freezes here.

We had an interesting week that included some contract stuff, fixing houses and doing inspections.  In between all of this we managed to have some real good times and some real good food.  One of my friends said all our pictures show us with food in our mouth.  Sorry we don’t have a more interesting life.  Last week we found out that one of the sisters had a broken bed.  They told us that it just broke.  Too bad one of the other sisters in the house told us that they were so happy to move into this house that they jumped when they sat down.  I think they need to learn a little more about secret combinations.  Anyway, the house was close and it was an easy fix.  It’s always fun to spend time with the missionaries.

We also had to fix a water bill in one of the houses.  To do this we had to drive about thirty minutes away to Pando and speak with the real estate office.  I do a lot better when I talk to people face to face as my ears are not the same as they used to be so over the phone can be a challenge.  I don’t need to hear any static about how target and skeet shooting too much has hurt my ears.  This couldn’t possibly be the problem.

We are the last week before change week so that meant we fed the office Elders.  On Monday we fed Elder Cheney and Fix as Elder Cheney completes his four changes in the office.  They are a fun bunch and do a real good job.  They wanted hamburgers.  Tell me how you eat two hamburgers, a hot dog with jello and chips and still have room for apple pie?  Well, they did it with ease.  On Tuesday we had a repeat performance with the Assistants as Elder Richmond goes home this week.  Again, they eat like young men.

Tuesday night was a special night.  Our mission doctor, Mercedes Bregante and her husband, Alejandro, came to dinner.  We had such a wonderful time.  We love visiting with the people of Uruguay.  They have such interesting perspective on things.  They go to the states from time to time so I hope that one day we can have them come for a visit.  For dinner we had roast beef, baked potatoes and homemade rolls.  For dessert we had pear pie.  It was really good.

So when you have a big roast with a lot left over, what do you do?  How about invite the Eddy family over for BBQ beef sandwiches?  That works.  It was fun to have them over.  They liked the view from our apartment.  Hopefully we can have them over again.

On Thursday we had inspections with the Este Zone.  I had promised to take Elder Ruiz and Elder Guerra for “mega mila pizza”.  You may remember Elder Ruiz from “El Bauru” fame.  Well, we still had BBQ beef left over and so we gave them the option.  Good answer!  They liked the BBQ Beef just as much as I do.  After Thursday we were pretty tired of having dinner in our house.  To rest up a bit we went to visit Humberto and Cristina.  She just got a new tablet and wanted us to help them set it up.  There should be a law that old people are not allowed electronic devices without youth supervision.  Gratefully the sisters were there to help or we would still be working on it.  In the end we think we have them set up so we can talk to them by Facetime when we go home.

Friday was another inspection day.  We did the Norte Zone that only has four houses.  The problem is they all have grass that needs to be cut.  The houses were pretty clean and the Elders helped us with the grass so it didn’t take too long.  We also managed to get in a trip to the Temple this week.  We are feeling more comfortable with Spanish so it is quite enjoyable.

Yesterday we had a Capilla Abierta in Trinidad.  This is about three hours from here so we left at 10:30 A.M. to be there by 2:00 P.M.  It was well attended and the members helped a lot.  They invited the mayor and his brother to come.  The members were so good to escort them and answer all of their questions.  On the way home last night, Natalie face timed us so we could see Spencer get baptized.  Even though we are a long ways away we could feel the spirit as he was baptized and confirmed.
By the time this is posted the world will know that Brandon was sustained in the Bishopric in Albuquerque today.  His father passed away several years ago and so he would have liked me to ordain him a High Priest to keep the priesthood line.  Too bad I was not able to.  Nate went down last minute and ordained him.  It’s good to keep it in the family.

We are about half way through the coldest part of the year and looking forward to it warming up.  We continue to enjoy our chance to help out and especially when we can teach like missionaries.  We appreciate all of the love and support from home and hope you are all having a wonderful summer.

Love,
Gordon and Renee