Fair Week and a Whole Lot More

We had a lot going on this week as we come to the end of a change.  We spent Monday and Tuesday in the office getting some office work done and also getting ready for some Capilla Abiertas.  We have some shots of us making the invitations for the Colon Capilla Abierta in a couple of weeks.  We had to write the time on 400 invitations individually so the help from the missionaries was really helpful.  They were waiting for interviews so it helped both of us.

On Wednesday and Thursday we did inspections.  We started off in Florida on Wednesday morning.  The first house was the Zone Leader house.  It really looks good after the paint job last month.  We really appreciate it.  You can see that the Elders are happy.  We were equally pleased with the other houses.

Wednesday afternoon we hurried out to Trinidad to see the Sisters in the Durazno Zone.  Again we were not disappointed with the way they take care of their house.  On Wednesday night we had a meeting with the High Councilman of the Durazno Stake to teach him how to do the Capilla Abiertas.  He was very receptive and helpful.  We look forward to a strong relationship with him.
We stayed at the Hotel Cristina in Durazno on Wednesday night.  It was very comfortable; I mean a lot of hot water in the shower and a good bed comfortable.  On Thursday morning we took off for Paso de los Toros.  The Elders were waiting with a clean house and smiles from ear to ear.  We probably spend more time than we should in some of the houses but the missionaries are so anxious to let us know how things are going we love visiting with them.

So if you have been following the blog you know what we were going to be doing for lunch in Durazno.  That’s right, El Bauru at El Gaucho!  We had it with everything on it.  It is a super hamburger with more than everything on it.  It may be our last one.  I’m going to miss it.  After lunch with the missionaries we took the Zone Leaders to buy them a new stove.  Good riddance to the old one.  Then we were off to Sarandi de Yi.  Elder Palomino and Elder Watson had an especially clean house.  They were excited about the work in the area.  Then we had the long ride home through San Ramon to finish the job.  We got home a little after dark.

So after a pretty busy week we got to the weekend.  Friday was Oro Conference.  Renee spent the day cooking as usual and I did some more invitations for a Capilla Abierta.  Again we had a good day with the missionaries.  Saturday is our day to relax, clean the house and get ready for another week.  We spent it by first cleaning the house and getting a haircut.  At 1:00 P. M. we fed Elder Fix and Elder Bazaes along with our good friend Gordon Little.  Elder Fix is leaving the office and it was good to invite Gordon Little over.  He is leaving soon to live next to his daughter in Mexico so it may be our last time to have him over for lunch.  What a wonderful man.  He is very friendly and knowledgeable on all issues.  A real joy to spend the afternoon with.

I had to put in a picture of a banner on the road in front of a Catholic Church.  It advertises for “the French Fry Club”.  I must say the French fries in Uruguay are really good and they even have a club. 

So as if we were not too tired already, we spent the evening at Expo Prado.  This is essentially the state fair for Uruguay.   They have livestock, tractors, food and a bunch of other stuff.  It was fun to see how they do it in Uruguay.  I wish we had had more time to visit.

After that we stopped off at the Temple apartments to meet the new Temple Missionaries.  Elder and Sister Duffin are wonderful people.  Turns out that he was a companion to President Cook forty-eight years ago here in Uruguay.  It is really a small world.  We had lunch with them today and had a great time getting to know them.

I do have one real neat story that one of our missionaries shared.  He started his mission almost two years ago as a new convert and the only member of his family.  Since then, his brother and sister have joined the Church and his parents feed and entertain the missionaries every week.  He was so excited.  I can’t think of a more wonderful blessing.  We hear many stories like this every week and it really helps strengthen our testimonies and makes us grateful for our membership in the Church.  We appreciate all that our friends and family do for us.

We love you all,                                                                     
Gordon and Renee