Things are Heating Up in Uruguay

Things are heating up in Uruguay.  We included a picture of the downtown area in Montevideo.  We live about ten miles from the center of town.  It is typical to see big trees lining the streets.  What is unusual is the empty streets. We shot this late on a Saturday so there wasn’t much traffic.  

We also included a shot of Renee’s dinner in La Paloma.  There were several types of fish that were quite good, but neither of us had the courage to try to baby octopus.  We told some of the native elders that we had been served octopus and they seemed a little disappointed that they were not offered the chance to eat them.  That being said, we are still not going to try them.

We have had a some real neat experiences this past week.  We added another chapter or two with Humberto and Christina.  We stopped off to visit them Thursday night.  They were ready for us as they had a “Peonono con Dulce”ready. This is basically a jelly roll with blueberry jam and dulce de leche inside.  It was very delicious.  In fact, I think this missionary stuff is really going to my waistline. 

Well, when they served the dessert, they wanted to have a prayer and asked Renee to say it.  She did a great job even though it scared her pretty bad.  The family was very appreciative and you could feel the love that they have for us.  After another good discussion about their family and also about what crops they grow in Uruguay we got ready to leave.  They wanted to say another prayer and Humberto said, “well, I guess it’s about time that I said the prayer.”  He did a wonderful job and the love that we felt for them and from them was really strong.  Afterward, he thanked us again and again said, “mi casa es su casa”.  I told him that I really do feel that we are brothers.  What a wonderful night. 

So, we get to Church today and he is there.  What a neat surprise.  He participated in all of the meetings.  In the Gospel Essentials class, we discussed the role of Joseph Smith in the Restoration.  We had a few members including Humberto and three people that were being taught by the Elders and Sisters.  They were amazing as the visitors essentially taught the lesson.  We really enjoyed how they taught each other and bore testimonies of modern day Prophets.  I really liked that one of the new visitors stated that having Prophets and Apostles on the earth just made sense and seemed so logical.  To that Humberto bore his Testimony that it was true.  Some of you may think that I came to Uruguay just to eat Dulce de Leche again.  Even though that is true, getting in on experiences like this is even more of a reason to come.  We have been invited to come over Wednesday night for Christina’s birthday.  We are going to be bringing a treat.  We can’t wait.  In the meantime we will be visiting apartments and helping the missionaries do their job.

We are so happy to be here.  Serving others really makes our lives better.  Our testimonies are growing stronger every day as is our love of Uruguay and its people.  We know that the work we are doing is God’s work.  We know that we are helping the kingdom of Jesus Christ on the earth.  We are so grateful to be here.

We love you all.

Gordon and Renee

Change Week

We are late getting the Blog posted this week as we were in Castillos and Chuy, Saturday – Monday.  Last week was change week.   That is when the new missionaries come in and the old ones go home.  It is a very busy week.  We started out Tuesday morning by meeting the plane with the new missionaries at 7:30 A.M.  We put the bags into the trailer and off we went to the mission home.  The new missionaries are fed and given some training.  In the afternoon, they are paired up with the missionaries and go tracking.  I have a real neat story.  Sister Townley, one of the missionaries going home took a new sister to visit a prospective member in her area.  They taught a lesson and gave her the baptismal challenge and the prospective member accepted.  Is that a cool story or what to give a baptismal challenge on your last day and first day in the field.  Sister Townley is one of the best.  We went on several discussions with her.  She has a wonderful spirit and everyone knows that she knows that this work is true. 

On Wednesday morning we got up early and to help feed the new missionaries.  The new missionaries are then paired up with their companions and off they go.  I like this time in the field.  I reminds me of a cattle drive when the mothers are paired up with their calves.  There is a lot of milling around and bawling. 

Wednesday at noon we headed to the bus station to pick up the old missionaries coming in from the field.  We threw their bags in the trailer and headed to the mission home.  That evening we helped serve a dinner for them and President and Sister Cook.  We got home at about 9:30 that night.  On Thursday we took two different trips to the airport.  All in all a pretty busy week. 

These were the assistants until the last change.  Honestly, when they spoke to the missionaries I thought they were the President.  They are great leaders.  Elder Martinez went home last week and Elder Olivera goes home the end of March.  They will be missed.  We got to know Elder Martinez real well.  His mother joined the Church while he has been on his mission. She was the last of his family to join. He is looking forward to being sealed to his family when he returns home. 

I want to say something else about how missionary work can be.  Elder Martinez who is pictured above spent his last change from being an assistant to working in the field.  He and his companion Elder Cary worked real hard and ended up with 5 investigators at Church.  Several of them are getting ready for Baptism.  That is a great way to end a mission.  I really look up to both of these Elders for their hard work. 

Thursday night we were able to do real missionary work.  We were invited to go over to Humberto and Cristina’s house for dinner.  They are about 70 years old.  Humberto was baptized when he was 13 but still does not have the Priesthood.  We started off with a Pionono.  This is a specialty sandwich with lots of real good things.  We then moved to the empanadas.  They were ham and cheese or beef and cheese.  I ate about 10 of them because I could not decide which ones I liked the most.  We finished off with a fruit cocktail style dessert.  It was so good.  Afterward Humberto told us that he was reading the Book of Mormon and wanted to get the Priesthood.  We discussed Section 13 of the Doctrine and Covenants and visited about the importance of the Priesthood.  Humberto is really working on this.  As we left he told me, “mi casa es su casa”, meaning my house is your house.  He also told us that we are welcome anytime.  We could really feel the love that they have for us.  It was wonderful

On Friday we did some work fixing apartments and got ready to listen to Elder Bednar, who came to speak to both missions.  He was wonderful.  He spent a lot of time teaching about listening to the Spirit and following it.  He stated that the Apostles never go anywhere by accident and always go to reach one person at a time.  He emphasized that we as missionaries are the same.  We need to be sensitive to the Spirit and follow it to be an answer to some ones prayer.

On Saturday we headed to Castillos again.  We were able to meet with most of the rest of the members who come to Church.  I am so impressed that most all of them have been to the Temple.  They have great Testimonies and a great understanding of the Gospel.  Their participation in class is some of the best I have heard.  I least I think that is what I understand.  I am still a little sketchy on some of the Spanish. 

A few things that really stand out.  Norma is the Relief Society President.  She has been the President for 15 years.  Saturday, she and another sister cleaned the Church by themselves.  Sister Norma is 77 years old.  So from now on, when I think I am a little picked on, I am going to think of Sister Norma as an example.

We also were able to eat lunch on Saturday at Sister Narda Molinas.  We had Canelones.  They were so good.  I can’t believe how good the food is.  We told her we had to leave early try to see the funeral.  When she found out about the funeral she was so kind to Renee.  When we told her about the big dinner afterward and that our meal with her was our meal after the funeral, she had tears in her eyes just like we did.  It was wonderful.

On Monday we spent the day driving to Chuy to help them with their house.  We got home after 9 P.M.   We had a wonderful week.  Thanks to all of you for your love and support.  We are grateful to have the Gospel in our lives and can see it bless the lives of all the people in Uruguay.

Love Gordon and Renee

The Lord’s Tender Mercies - by Renee

This has been a special week in the mission field.  Last Sunday my father returned to our Father in Heaven after a life of service to his fellow man.  The story from the mission field goes as follows:

A few weeks ago, I could not sleep.  At around midnight I got up and face-timed my brother.   His wife said he was at Dad’s house.  Sensing something was off I asked if Carolyn was with Ivan.  She was, along with Elma and Angela.  All the family was gathered.  I face-timed Angela just as my siblings had gathered to plan our Father’s funeral.  He had taken a turn for the worse and would probably not survive.  Though I was thousands of miles away, I joined with my siblings to plan our father’s final mortal tribute.  A tender mercy!

As Dad’s condition declined over the next week or two, I frequently e-mailed or face-timed my siblings, keeping up to date on His condition.  Because of the blessing of technology, I was able to be with the family for our final good-bye as the life-sustaining oxygen was removed.  I was once again blessed to share with my family in a sweet and special moment.  A tender mercy!

On February 21^st, as I returned from church, I once again face-timed my family to check on Dad.  Angela slipped into the hall at church as Sunday School ended.  She told me they were heading in to check on Dad.  She then asked me to wait just a minute.  Ivan had just received the call from the care center that Dad had passed.  I was with my family at a special moment.  Once again, A tender mercy!

The Saturday of Dad’s funeral, February 28^th, Gordon and I were in Castillos Uruguay visiting a small branch.  When we finished lunch with Sister Narda, Gordon explained we had to leave to face-time Dad’s funeral.  We thanked Narda for serving us our “family funeral lunch”.  We truly felt her love and support as we shed a few tears and shared a very special moment with her.  Her parents are both gone and she had lost a child.  She truly felt our loss.  A tender mercy!

As we got to the church to use wi-fi, it did not work.  We drove around town trying to find the best signal for the phone’s hot spot.  As we sat in the shade in a high point in Castillos, Uruguay, I joined with my family for the funeral services.  Natalie shared my tribute to my Father with such grace.  I felt an overwhelming sense of unity, peace and love though far away in Uruguay.  A tender mercy!

On Sunday I was blessed once again with an out pouring of love from the Relief Society Sisters of Castillos.  Though our languages are different, their love warmed my heart and reminded me of the great blessing of the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Christ’s love is everywhere, if we choose to recognize and embrace it.  I am so grateful for the opportunity I have of learning and being reminded of the Lord’s tender mercy in far away Uruguay.

Lots of Leaky Faucets

We have had a very eventful week.  One of our responsibilities is to take care of the houses where the missionaries live.  We need to open new ones, close old ones and maintain the ones we have.  There are about 80 of them so we have plenty to do.  Last Monday we traveled to Durazno to close a house.  It was located in a small village named Carmen.  The Elders moved out about 3 months ago so we were afraid it would be really a mess from mold.  The Zoned Leaders, Elder Gomez and Elder Ford volunteered to help us.  What angels!  We left Montevideo at 6:30 and got to the house at 11:00.  It wasn’t as bad as we had feared.  More importantly, the Elders are great workhorses.  They jumped into action and after two hours we had it cleaned up and ready to move out.  It just amazes me how good the missionaries are.  They are so kind, helpful and have such great attitudes and smiles.  They were smiling all the time they were cleaning up.  They truly are the “Army of Helaman”.

After we cleaned up the mess we took the Elders to lunch.  They suggested a local grill in the middle of town called “El Gaucho”.   We all had a “Bauru”.  This is a great big hamburger (12” in diameter) with ham, cheese and various vegetables and sauces.  It was great.  Renee and I could only eat half of ours but the Elders devoured all of theirs.  We had such a good time that we are looking for excuses to go back and visit.  We ended up getting home a little after 9:00 P.M.  We were tired.

Tuesday and Wednesday we did office work and prepared water and power bills to get paid.  That is an interesting process and we are starting to get the hang of it.  On Thursday we had to do repairs.  We started in Paso Carrasco with a bathroom faucet.  I took a new one in case we could not get the old one to work.  But, Elder Neal from Malad helped me and we got it done.  Come to find out, there was no rubber washer in the tap.  I wonder why it didn’t shut off?

While we were doing that we got a call that another bathroom faucet would not turn off.  We told them that they would have to wait their turn.  Off we went to the next house in “Ferro Carril” to inspect a metal gate that was coming off its hinges.  While we were there we put screen on the windows to protect them from mosquitoes.  We also bought a new hose for the shower wand.  From there we went to the Zone Leaders house to inspect the roof that leaks when it rains.  I told them to just pray that it doesn’t rain.  They weren’t really sold on that idea.  We also put screen on their windows.

Then it was down the road to the house in La Paz where four sisters live to put screen on their window.  They already had it on the main window so we put some on the bathroom and also inspected the toilet that doesn’t function as it should.  Our next stop was to Santa Lucia where we traded washers and put on mosquito screen.  We also had to go to the store and buy a new faucet for the hose that feeds the washer.  We have a picture of the Santa Lucia sign.  This is a beautiful little pueblo and we hope to go back and visit again. 

Now remember the other broken faucet?  It was on the other side of the mission so off we went to help.  It took about an hour and a half to get there.  Once we got there it was an easy fix and I took off the old faucet and put on the new one including new hoses.  It was getting to be about 7:00 P.M. by this time so we headed home.

Friday we took some Senior Missionaries to the doctor and took the finance missionaries down town to get the checks to pay the water and light bills.   Another fun day with missionaries.  Yesterday we had p-day so we cleaned the house, ironed shirts and cut my hair.  One of the finance missionaries, Elder Cuessy is headed back out to the field so Renee made lunch for Elder Cuessy, Elder Xavier that will now be the Senior Companion and Elder Peterson who is the new finance missionary.  We had meatloaf, baked potatoes, beans, homemade rolls and banana cream pie.  I think the Elders liked it.  Renee is getting the hang of cooking in Uruguay and that makes her happy.  It makes me happy too.

We got a new Temple Mission couple named the Jensens.  They got here on Saturday.  We had a little get together with them and the other Temple Missionaries last night.  It was fun.  We are having dinner with the three Temple couples later today and then having ice cream and brownies at the mission home later as the final send off for Elder Cuessy.  This mission stuff is a lot of fun but not a great place to be on a diet.

We are really enjoying our mission.  Every day we have the opportunity to help some really great missionaries.  One really neat thing is that whenever we need help there are a bunch of really good and able young men in white shirts to help.  We feel so blessed.  The language is starting to come for Renee as she is feeling more comfortable talking.  She went to a Relief Society social last night and had a great time.  She was able to communicate info about her and her family and felt pretty good afterward.  We see the hand of the Lord in the work each day as we associate with all of the missionaries and help them with their work.  Our testimonies are strengthened each week as we are able to listen to others successes and challenges.  This really is the work of the Lord.  It makes us so happy to be a part of it.   We love you all and pray for your health and safety.  We know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. Testify that the Savior lives and loves us.  May the Lord bless you.

Gordon and Renee

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 .