Good Old Air Conditioning

We have done a lot of traveling this week.   We traveled to Minas, Piriapolis and Castillos besides several trips around Montevideo.  One of our great trials was the fact that the air conditioner stopped working on the mission car.  I’m saying that the heat and humidity are something that we Idaho kids are not used to.    Without air conditioning we may have to come home.  We were unable to get it fixed because all the mechanics were on vacation for Carnaval.  On Thursday I noticed that the engine was getting pretty hot also.  Then it occurred to me to check the coolant.  Well, after two liters we have a cool engine and cool occupants.  It looks like we are staying.

We have had some really neat experiences this week.  Besides spending each day with some really great missionaries, we have been able to go on discussions.  On Friday we accompanied the Sisters to teach two investigators, Kristina, who is a non member of a less active member husband and her niece, Chirra.  It was taught at a member’s home with three members, the sisters and us.  It was a full house.  They taught about the importance of family.  It went real well.  It was “a little muggy” in the house.  After the discussion we took them home and met the inactive husband.   He is recovering from an accident where he cut off most of his left thumb and part of his hand with a hand grinder.   Seems if it slips and you grab the moving blade with your hand it is really going to hurt.  We had a good visit and plan to return to have them teach Renee how to make Empanadas.  They are going to teach me how to eat empanadas.  This missionary work stuff is really getting fun. 

On Saturday we headed to Castillos.  We had lunch with Narda Molina and her husband.  Narda insists that we have lunch with her when we go to Castillos.  She served Nocchis and Chicken.  We had cantelope and “Dulce de Leche” for dessert.  It was really good.  We are going to learn how to make it.  Narda is a very strong member and one of the keys to this branch.  She can assert herself and lead others.  After lunch we visited the Branch President and his family and three other members.  We were well received and enjoyed our visits.  Another of the strong members on the Branch is Adelis.  She is retired and a strong member of the branch.  She can also lead the branch. 

On Sunday we had better attendance at Church with 18 people.  The Elder’s Quorum President even came and taught the Priesthood lesson.  I have to work hard to understand him but it is good to learn from him.  I volunteered to teach the Sunday School lesson.  It was about how Lehi’s son, Joseph, was named after Joseph who was sold into Egypt and how the one that brought forth the Book of Mormon would be named Joseph also as well as his father.  The members participated real well and I could understand most of what they were saying. 

Just as Sunday School was getting started, two of the sisters got into an argument.  I could not understand exactly what they were saying but I could tell it had to do with me.  It seems that they were upset that I had visited one and not the other.  Come to find out, we did stop by the other sister and she was not home.  I think things got patched up but I hate to be in the middle of a fight.  On another high note, Renee gave the prayer in Spanish in Sunday School.  She did well and the members were very kind to compliment her.  She is on her way to learning. 

Sacrament meeting went well also.  I was asked to speak and gave a talk about Elijah calling down fire from Heaven.  It is one of my favorite stories.  I am starting to feel more comfortable speaking and talking to others.  It is a challenge to understand what is being said.  I understand more from some than from others.  After a day of listening to Spanish I have to admit that I am exhausted.  It takes everything I have to listen.  Renee understands more each day but it is also very taxing on her.  I would like to translate more for her but I have a hard time doing that and still being able to concentrate well enough to get it myself. 

We have had a good week and are ready for another.  We appreciate our friends and family and all they mean to us.  When we talk to people we like to say that we came to Uruguay because we love the Lord and have a strong testimony that He lives and loves us.  We also want them to know that we came because we love the people of Uruguay too.  We are so grateful to be part of this work and help people gain and strengthen their testimonies. 

We love you all

Gordon and Renee

Another Great Week

Another great week.  We had several assignments and things to do.  First, we help pay the water and light bills for the 80+ apartments.  We build a file with all of the bills attached and then process it so we can get the check to pay the bills,  We pay about half on the 1st and half on the 15th.  Uruguay has an interesting system to pay utilities.  They have stores called "Abitab" all over the city.  People go in to pay the water, light and phone bills.  We take a check for all of the bills and they pay each one with one big check.  It works pretty well.  We just got a phone plan for Renee's i-phone that we will pay each month the same way as everyone else.  The gas bills are easy.  We buy gas for the stoves (all the stoves are propane) in propane tanks just like the ones in the states.  When we run out we call a number and someone delivers it and sets it up for you for about $15 per bottle.  It works pretty slick.

We also changed two water heaters.  I don't know if you can see in the picture but they are electric and hang on the wall.  They hold from 20 to 50 liters, that's 5 to 20 gallons.  We use the same hoses that they use in the states with a lot more goop to stop the leaks.  In the water heater picture, Elder Parmenter is the tall one.  He is Dave Parmenter's nephew.  Small world.  As I state in the caption for the water heater, I wish Jason from Standard Plumbing were here.  He is such an expert.  I hope someone shows him the Blog (that would be you Dave).

Our travels took us to the Durazno and Florida states this week.  Durazno is peach in Spanish.  Funny, we didn't see one peach.  We did see a cool fort and a big pile of logs.  When we left to come home we took the wrong turn and ended up about 25 miles north before we turned around.   It cost us at least and hour.  Reminds me of what John Wayne said, "Life is hard, its even harder if you are stupid." 

This was the last week for our good friends and helpers, the Andersons.  They went home a little early for health reasons.  They were such a good resource.  We hope they get settled and solve  their health concerns.

One thing I wanted to mention this week is something that I have noticed about the members in Uruguay.  They pray with all their hearts.  Sometimes when they are praying I want to open an eye and sneak a peak to see if Heavenly Father is actually here.  It would not surprise me.  Well, actually it would be way more than surprising.  But, the members here have such a personal relationship with their Heavenly Father, that you know that they know who their Father is and that he hears and answers their prayers.  

Each week we have a chance to meet more and more Missionaries and learn about them.  They come from many different backgrounds but all have the same purpose.  There are a lot of missionaries from Peru, Chili, Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia and Brasil.  They have such strength and most of them are Lamanites.  You can tell that the Book of Mormon has spoken directly to them.  I really enjoy seeing the new ones come down and imagine how successful they are going to be.  It is wonderful to see them lead and take care of things in the mission.  It makes us younger and stronger in the Gospel.  We really are grateful for this opportunity.  Every day we have the chance to serve someone.  It makes us feel so good.  Imagine leaving home every day with the opportunity to help someone in a special way and then come home every night to Dulce de Leche.  This is what Heaven is, only we could stand to have the humidity reduced a little.

Weekly Update

This is a picture of Renee after we got home from shopping.  In her right hand is a quart (liter) of milk in a bag.  That's how they sell it.  We buy the "Semidescremada" which is still real creamy.  I really like it but Renee thinks it is too rich.  I think it has something to do with liking things with cream and sugar.  She is also holding eggs that come in flats with plastic over them.  You can buy them as 6 or 15.  I think we are the number one customer for the little "Almacen" shop next to our apartment.  An Almacen is a little store where you can purchase the necessities of life.  We buy all of our eggs, milk, water and bread there.  We buy the other groceries at stores that are a little bigger but still have a good selection.  We have been really happy with the quality and availability of the food.  That coupled with bringing my own cook has made the food really good.  

We have been involved in "Temple Zone Conferences" for the last two weeks and have more in the next two weeks.  Each zone comes in a few times a year to have a zone conference and attend the Temple.  We help bring in the food and clean up.  We also have been going to the Temple with them once a week.  Last week there was four conferences so we were busy.  We also are busy with taking care of houses.  One of the houses has been plagued by attempted break ins.  The owner doesn't want to call the police because he is in trouble with them also.  I wonder if his "friends" are the ones doing the break ins.  Either way, we  are looking for a new house to move the Elders.  This is a complicated process that involves getting approval from SLC.  I still think it will be easier than getting a loan approved.

Our "tour guides" have been Elder and Sister Anderson, another senior couple that teach self sufficiency to members to help them improve their lives.  They have been very helpful in showing us around and helping us get used to where everything is.  They were scheduled to go home the end of April, but last week, Sister Anderson, had some problems with her heart so they are going home this week.  We really hate to see them go.  They are good friends and really know the country.

We have now been in the country a month and are feeling quite comfortable.  We have a GPS that tells us where every apartment and chapel is located along with other things we need so we can get around.  We are also getting to know the missionaries and really enjoy their great Spirits.  The other night we were putting screen on the sister's apartment when they came home for a discussion where the person accepted the challenge to be baptized.  They were real excited.  We also have some other meetings scheduled with the missionaries that we are looking forward to.

One of the things we are looking forward to is the visit from Elder Bednar the end of February.  We were in the middle of cleaning up some junk in the Mission Office last week when the Area President, Elder Gonzales, showed up as the head of the planning team for his visit.  I guess we will have to repent of the mess and realize that the worst they can do to us is send us home.  Anyway, it will be cleaned up when Elder Bednar gets here.

Every week we come to know a little bit more that this is the work of the Savior.  We see it in everything we see and do.  It is so wonderful to be on a Mission and feel His Spirit every day.  We know it is true and love to share it with all we meet.

We love you all and appreciate the support you give.  Thank you so much.

Love Elder and Sister Wankier

p.s.  We all knew it was only a matter of time until I had my first Pepsi.  This is my first one since I started the mission.  It was pretty good but I doubt I'll have them too often .

Busy Times

From our pictures it looks like all we do is play.  Actually we are busy doing mission stuff.

We had dinner Monday night for a Temple couple, the Hokansons, that are going home this week.  They are from Star Valley.  Great people and we had a great time with all of the Senior Missionaries.  I hope Ken Wixom sees the picture of me eating rack of lamb and a rib eye steak.  It was real good but not in the budget every night.

One of our responsibilities is to make sure the rent and utilities are paid on the 80 or so apartments that we rent.  This is a picture of me with the finance clerks in front of the "Obras Sanitorias del Estado  (OSE).  We had to go down town to pay the bill.  It is kind of a complicated process.  First we look the bill up on the internet and create a batch of utility payments.  They we have to go to the area office on Tuesday or Thursday and pick up a letter of credit.  From there we go to Citi Bank down town and pick up the check.  After that we take the batch and pay it. We are working on systems to streamline this process.

The biggest part of the week was spent helping with "Zone Temple Conferences".  The zones come in one by one and have training and attend the Temple.  We help with the meals and other logistics.  We will be doing this for the next few weeks as each of the twelve zones comes in.  They can only do so many because the Temple only holds 48 and the Mission President interviews each missionary.  Guess how tired he is at the end of the day?

We have also been running around treating apartments for BED BUGS!  Yikes!  We spray the mattresses with a bug spray and wrap them in plastic for 24 hours.  If possible we put them in the sun.  Pretty big job.  We also are busy doing other repairs and things for the missionaries.  Several nights we did not get back to our apartment until after 9:00 P. M.  That's pretty late for old people.

Friday night we were able to go out with the missionaries.  Renee went to two discussions with the sisters.  She understood a little and was able to bear her testimony.  She really enjoyed it.  I went out with the office elders.  We had some other things to do so we did not get out as soon.  We made a few contacts and tried to find a referral, but were unsuccessful.  The Elders reported to me today that they did contact the referral last night and left a Book of Mormon.  They are going back Monday night and I invited myself to go.  I'm looking forward to it.

No question, the best thing that happened this week happened on Thursday.  We received a call from some of the Senior Missionaries that there was a bus from Salta, Argentina doing Temple work at the Temple.  They come here because there is a "Hostel" where they can stay very reasonable.  We stopped by the Hostel about 6:30 and found a group eating cake.  They definitely looked Salteno with their dark complexions.  We introduced our selves and were immediately made welcome.  I told them when I had been in Salta and asked them about some of the families that were members and that were baptized.  They remembered most of them.  It was incredible to feel how much they loved us because I had served there.  We talked about the members that I knew.  One of the members later became the Stake President.  They remembered Isaac Garcia and stated that he had been faithful in  the Gospel and died a few years ago.  They also knew the Lenz family and said that the Son, Marcelo, went to the US.

It was real fun talking to them about the growth of the Church in Salta.  When I was there in 1974, they had one chapel and two tiny branches.  Now there is two and almost three Stakes and 9 chapels.  That is incredible growth.  They are very proud of what the Church has done and they should be.  It was wonderful to talk to them and bear testimony and feel of their Spirits.  It was definitely one of the highlights of my life and worth the trouble to come to Uruguay.  I hope things work out so we can go there at the end of our mission.  

Well that's it for this week.  We love you all very much. 

Branch in Castillos

Another very busy week.  I don't know if I have said much about what we do in the Mission office.  We help with the mission finances.  There are over 80 apartments that the Missionaries live in.  We help pay the rent, water, and electricity each month.  We have to make sure everyone gets paid.  We do most of it on line.  The missionaries are real helpful and have shown us a lot.  Every day brings us joy as we have a chance to serve.  

Besides the office stuff we also help with apartment repairs.  In Uruguay, a renter provides their own water heater, stove, frig, light fixtures and everything else.  If the toilet or a faucet breaks, we need to fix it.  Also, there are no screens on the windows so if you don't want the mosquitoes to get you at night we need to put screens up.  We have been instructed to do that for the apartments that still don't have them.  We did three on Saturday and have about 80 more to go.  

The other day we bought some canned beans, at least we thought they were beans.  Turns out it was canned celery.  YUM!  It tastes just like you would think.  Nothing.  We ate them and told ourselves that we were going to like it.  I did have to chase it down with some dulce de leche.  That's just like medicine.  

We had transfers last week also.  The new missionaries come in on Tuesday and stay until Wednesday for training.  On Wednesday they are paired up with their new companions.  It kind of reminded me of when you have to "mother up" the calves after a cattle drive.  There was a lot of bawling from the young ones.  One Wednesday the missionaries that are going home start to arrive and are treated to a session at the Temple and dinner with the mission president and his wife.  We helped move missionaries around and do the meals.  It is "three continuous days, just like the Ute Stampede"!  Those that know my dad will appreciate that one.  

One of the new missionaries asked how the food was.  I told him, "Elder, I brought my own cook."  Sometimes you just need to tell it like it is. 

The mission President asked us to help a struggling branch in Castillos.  This is a town about the size of Blackfoot about 4 hours north of Montevideo.  We stayed in the town of La Paloma which is about an hour away because they have a good Hotel.  I should say it is better than good.  It is as good as any Hotel we have ever stayed in.  One interesting thing.  When you enter the room you have to put the "card" you use to enter the room in a slot so the electricity will turn on.  That's kind of interesting.

We left on Friday and came home this afternoon, Sunday.  We were able to meet several families.  The Branch President has only been a member for 4 years.  He is quite young.  He and his wife have a little boy, Thomas, named after President Monson.  They were told that they could not have children, but through prayer and much faith, they now have a son.  This little branch needs more members.  Today there were 14 people in Church. The Branch President is young and does not have any counselors or clerks.  The Elders Quorum President hardly ever comes.  In spite of the small attendance, it was amazing to feel the strength of the members. They bore very strong testimonies and were willing to do whatever they could. 

I gave my first talk in Spanish about the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood.  It went better than I expected.  Renee also gave a prayer.  We are both learning.  

 Some have bad feelings but this is what I feel.  I remember when I was in Salta, Argentina over 40 years ago.  There were two little branches about like this one.  Well today there is more than a Stake in Salta and it has its own mission. I am sure that this little branch is going to grow into a ward and then a stake.  Its going to grow with the missionaries and members that are here now or it is going to grow with some others, but it is going to grow.  We need to decide whether we are going to be a part of it.  We had such a great feeling there and we are sure that we will feel other great things as we go back each month to help.

I Knew That Agreement Was a MISTAKE the Moment it Left My Mouth...

I have made a few mistakes in my life.  The first big one was when I agreed not to watch TV on Sunday when we first got married.  The second is when I agreed to iron all of my shirts in the mission field.  But, a deal's a deal so I'm ironing the shirts.  I may get to where I wear a shirt several days in a row.  Ewwwww!

Renee tried her hand at cookies in the super kitchen.  She is spending quite a bit of time trying to adjust her recipes for altitude and humidity but I seem to eat them just fine.  I could not tell if the missionaries like them or not, their mouths were full.

I don't know if there is a Home Depot in Heaven but there is a SODIMAC in Uruguay.  This is their answer for Home Depot.  It really is a nice store except everything and every one is in Spanish.  How do you say air conditioning tube in Spanish?  Ya, me neither.

We helped on  two meetings this week.  The first one was the monthly meeting of all the Zone Leaders and the Training Sisters.  I am amazed at how strong the missionaries are.  When one of the assistants to the president is speaking I catch myself wondering if he is the president.  I am amazed at their wisdom.  The other meeting was training for the missionaries that have been in country for 6 weeks.  There are native English and Spanish speakers and some that speak a native language from Peru.  

Throughout the training I was getting maybe 60-70% of what was said.  I wondered how much everyone in the room actually understood.  I think that is the key to help everyone get to a level in Spanish so we all understand.  I'm getting there a little at a time, so is Renee. Renee's job is helping cook the meals.  She spends a lot of time with two other ladies from Uruguay that don't speak much English.  It is interesting but Renee is doing well.  The cooks are wonderful.  Next week we trade some old missionaries for some new ones.  That should be fun, especially now that we have two weeks in the country so we are "experienced".

We were able to get into the mission finances last week and start to learn what we do.  It was interesting and something that we both have experience in doing.  The office Elders are really good help.  They also help old people keep their laptop running.  One interesting thing that happened last week is that on Friday all of the mission cell phones went down.  It was traced to the fact that the area office did not pay the bill.  Many missionaries were calling the office blaming the office.  I told the missionaries that they should forward the complaints to me, as they are not getting paid enough to take guff from the other missionaries.

Another one of our jobs is to take care of the apartments.  On the second day in country we visited our first apartment.  It was a site!  I think one of the problems is that the Elder was bragging that their apartment was one of the good ones.  That scared me.  Since then we have visited several apartments and the are quite clean and tidy.  The living conditions are not the best and they really work at it.  Saturday we drove to Sarandi Grande, which is about 2 hours north of Monte Video to help some sisters with cockroaches (cuarachas).  We bought some Raid and off we went.  They did not know we were coming because of the phone problem.  We had to stop and ask someone for directions to the apartment.  The store owner was very good to help.  When we got there, they were excited to see us.  We sprayed for bugs, fixed the leaky faucet in the shower, leveled the bed, put screen on one of the doors and put calking around the pipes coming in.  They were really appreciative and it made us feel good also.  I think keeping the missionaries taken care of will be a very important part of our mission. 

 On the way home we stopped to eat at Burger King.  Uruguay doesn't like to use salt and it tastes like it.  I went to our ward today for the first time and we met the Bishop.  He is making a list for his ward and we expect to get some of the ones that need a little visit.  We are really looking forward to visiting people.  We also plan to go to Castillos again this coming weekend to help in the small branch there.  It's going to be fun.

First Week in Uruguay

Things have gone by so fast we don't know where to begin.  First, after a 22+ hour flight and no sleep we arrived in Montevideo and the first thing we noticed is that everyone here speaks Spanish!  Now what?  We are learning little by little.  Elder and Sister Anderson have been our guides and have shown us around.  We have been to two Zone Conferences and spent some time in the office with the finances.  It is amazing how complicated and yet how simple the mission finances work.  I am sure we are going to enjoy it.

Uruguay is famous for their fire works display on Christmas and New Year's eve.  Were able to go up on the roof the other night and see it. The whole town was shooting them off. I would describe it as if everyone could have the fireworks that Dave Tanner wished he had.  It was quite a show.  Thousands of rounds.  I wish we could have taken decent pictures.

We visited one of the mission apartments the other day.  They were proud of how clean it was.  I told them that it was about 50% of what I expect as clean and 0% of what Renee expects.  I hope we can teach the missionaries that if they are clean that they will be better tools for the work.  It looks like the food here is going to be pretty close to the same as in the US.  First, I brought my own cook and second they have markets with the same things that we are used to.  We haven't seen any mountains move yet or other miracles.  But, I did lose my i-Pad on  the way down so we are hoping that it does show up.  The mission President has talked to us about some projects that he wants us to work on so we are excited to get going and get in the game.