December in Argentina

We had our last open chapel for 2013 in a ward called Hudson.  It was a learning experience for us.  We only had one week from the training to the event. (Not a good idea).  But it was because of scheduling changes from the ward.  It had been scheduled later.  Anyway, the bishop couldn't come because of work but his wife and young son came.  There were maybe 15 members and only 2 investigators.  These two were actually brought by a member and were interested because they were having trouble with some of their children. It was very hot so not much foot traffic to invite in.  We had 4 sister missionaries and about a dozen elders with no one to teach.  That was very disappointing, but we say that even if only one is touched by the spirit, it is all worth it.  We closed up at 7pm and sent the missionaries home early.

 

Two investigators on the left

 

 

Brother and Sister Manfredi-Bishop's parents

 

 

The Area Office Christmas Party was held at a very nice campground out in a place called Pilar.

We had a big barbecue and a devotional with a speech from Elder Gonzalez, our area president.

Carlos Davila, one of our co-workers sang a beautiful song with this group.  At this ranch, there was a huge swimming pool which was not in use, and a beautiful old home where the gaucho who once owned it used to live.  There was plenty of space to set up a tent. It was a hot day, but since then it has been even hotter!  This campground is used for a lot of the EFY groups and they said it is used most of all by the young single adults for their activities.  It was a beautiful place.

 

 

Ranch home where gaucho owner lived

 

The Quincho-(Pavillion)

 

Carlos Davila in the red--an awesome singer

 

 

December 19 was a special day for us.  We were invited by the Fords (senior missionaries over the humanitarian department) to go with them to a wheelchair distribution.  Sister Burrup came with us to see how they are done.  A group called CILSA, sponsors with the church to help people who need them.  We met an awesome lady named Maria who has been in one for a few years and was there to get a replacement.  She said she lives close to a Mormon church and has seen the missionaries.  Doug also met a young man named Niko who was awesome. He is a member of the Argentine wheelchair basketball team, which is the reigning champion of South America.  There were supposed to be 57 wheelchairs given away that day, but only 41 were given.  Some of the people couldn't come for various reasons and CILSA representatives said they would take them to the homes of those who hadn't been able to get out because of illness or the heat.  Some had to come on a bus for four hours to pick up their chairs.  There was a magician, whose red noses we had to wear in the picture, who made balloon swords and flowers for the kids.  They loved it.  There were refreshments for all.  We got there a little early and had to help clean the church.  It was pretty bad--especially the men's bathroom which Doug helped to clean.  We had a 40 minute wait for our remis--a special taxi, to take us back to the office.  That was better than a collectivo (bus).

 

Clowning around before anyone comes

Maria

 

 

Personalized graffiti-Doug

 

   

Niko

 



 

 

 We went on a Yellow Bus Tour with some of the other missionaries.  It was a double decker bus with headphones to listen in your own language.  It took us around Buenos Aires and showed us some of the places that are important.  It took more than 3 hours and in the end it was getting quite hot, but we enjoyed learning about some places that we might want to see some other time.  Following are a few pictures from the tour.

 

Evita's Tomb

Famous Soccer Stadium

Congress Building

Normal intersection



Inside a Catholic Cathedral



Christmas eve was spent with the other senior missionaries at Carlson's apartment.  Arvid and Kelly are here for just a couple more months.  He is the doctor at the US Embassy.  They invited us all to their home for a supper of soups, homemade bread, salads and desserts.  We tasted homemade cream of mushroom, coconut shrimp tai soup, butternut squash soup and Italian wedding soup made with little tiny meatballs of beef and pork.  We watched some Christmas video clips of the Piano Guys, shared some special Christmas stories, and just enjoyed being together with the "family" that we have while we are here.  Christmas day for us all was spent Skyping our families back home.

We also had a special trip to the temple all together to do some names for the Spalino family.  On the way out we came to a roadblock on the freeway.  Some people were demonstrating about the power outages.  It took forever to get through the one lane of traffic, but we still made the session we planned on. On the way home there were more demonstrations so we were detoured around the freeway and thank goodness for a GPS!  None of us in the car had any idea where we really were. We get all kinds of experiences here for sure.

Today, December 28 we went with the Flinders.  We took the subway downtown and took a tour of the famous Teatro Colon...where they have operas and ballets.  It was really something to see.  You see that kind of a thing on TV but never in person.  All the box seats in 7 levels of seating were  amazing.  The guide even showed us the place where widows went to hear the opera but were not supposed to be seen by the public.  We got to go in the special box for President Kristina Kirchner.
It was a beautiful old building...Kind of hard to take pictures because they did not allow flash, but here are a few so you can see....

The red carpet to the theatre



Chandeliers down the hall with gold plating on the pillar

Us on the steps of Teatro Colon

Front of Teatro Colon with Hna. Flinders

P-Day at La Estancia Don Silvano and Great Missionary Experiences

 

 

Leaders here suggest that every once in a while even the Senior Missionaries need a Preparation Day.  We decided to organize a trip to visit one of the famous Gaucho Ranches, Don Silvano's, to see how Argentine cowboys live.  As you can see below, it was good to get out of the usual missionary attire!

 

 

 

 





We started the activities with delicious empanadas and gaseosa (pop) then headed to the horse barn where we got to take rides on some of their (mostly dead) horses.

 

                                        

We also took rides in a horse drawn wagon with other couples including some people from Jerusalem who were visiting Argentina. We saw the corrals, the other animals, the barn and the barbecue pit and of course there were a bunch of boys outside playing a soccer game.  That is one thing that is everywhere here.  We ended up at the place where we were harnessed up for the ropes obstacle course and zip line which was great fun!

 

 Cow with very short legs.

 Peacock and she is just not interested.

 Walking the log, high in the air, hold on Grandma!

 Up, up and away--

 

Sandra, the hostess for our group next took us on a tour of the grounds and the house.  We saw a quince tree, which is the source of our favorite flavor of jam down here, membrillo.  We then went inside of the mansion which was built in the early 1900's and is still used today for housing guests who spend more than one day on the ranch.

 

 Dining Room

Don Silvano Ranch House

 

We heard a great big bell sound and all headed to the grub house for lunch.  We started with a green salad of carrots, tomatoes, and lettuce, which are all served separately.  Then we had boiled potatoes with nothing on them and Argentine rolls.  Grandma chose sprite and I chose carbonated water instead of the wine that was on the tables.  Then we listened to gaucho music, watched some tango dancing, heard some drum solos and saw an amazing boleador dance.  Our little gaucho waiter brought us a chorizo (sausage), then chicken (all you can eat), then ribs (very greasy) and finally steak (again, all you can eat)...unfortunately by the time they brought the steak we were full!  They had all of us from the States stand and help them sing "When the Saints Come Marching In" and we loved it because we are the "Latter-day Saints".  Then we had flan for dessert, YUM, it was the best part.  All in all there were about 200 guests for lunch from lots of different countries.

 

 Where's the beef?



 Right here with the chicken and sausage!

 

The show was truly amazing and they asked for guest performers from the audience and I had to try really hard to keep Sister Knapp in her chair!

 

We have had some really great Open Chapels this past while.  A Stake President from the Buenos Aires South Mission asked us to visit each of his 8 wards before the end of the year and then we had a Bishop call and ask us to please come on a Sunday evening and another Branch President ask for Friday, so in addition to the regular Saturday Open Chapels, we have been very busy, doing two open chapels a week in addition to the every Sunday training in the wards and branches.  We love weekends; it is the best part of our assignment here.

 

We have had some really excellent missionary experiences with people who come to these open chapels.  Last Sunday evening we were in a place called Parque Avellaneda with some outstanding young missionaries and before the evening was over we had 92 visitors with 29 non-members from off of the street.  12 of them accepted the challenge to be baptized and 8 of them actually set dates.  One family asked the missionaries if they could learn more right then, and so of course, the Elders took them into a classroom and began the discussions with a member present.

 







Great missionaries help us at Parque Avellaneda

 

In the training that we do each Sunday, we challenge the members to remember what Elder Ballard asked us all to do in General Conference and invite someone to come to Christ by Christmas as a special gift to him. We have been doing lots of that with this program.

 

When we were in a little Branch called Villa Espana on Friday this week, I decided to take Elder Ballard's challenge on personally.  We were just starting the open chapel and I went out to the front gate with two Elders to make sure that the sign was hanging straight (OCD, I know).  A little man came riding by on his bicycle very slowly, watching what we were doing, and I asked him if he would like to take a few minutes to come inside and hear the words of Christ, but he just kept riding.  I turned back to the Elders, but then decided to pursue it because I noticed he was slowing down.  I ran down the sidewalk after him and when I caught up to him I said, please come back, it is so hot out here and our message will bring you peace, so he turned around and came back inside, bicycle and all. It turned out that he just moved here from Bolivia with his family and started a new job.

 

He accepted the baptismal challenge, promised to start reading the Book of Mormon, and asked the missionaries to come teach his family.  I was really glad that I had pursued my impression to invite him to come hear the words of Christ.  Do we all need to be a little bit more bold and share the wonderful message of Christ, especially at this time of year?

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Gracias

The fruit and veggie lady where we get our produce.
 

 

This little lady sits on the corner every day selling produce.  If it rains, she gets wet, if it is cold she puts on a sweater, lately she has just been trying to stay in the shade.  We have talked with her about Jesus Christ and given her a pass along card.  She is one of many who have taught us about being thankful.  She has a difficult life, but she smiles and is very pleasant with us and helps us remember how blessed we are.

 

Our Thanksgiving will be different this year.  It is work as usual, with a little bit longer lunch hour so that we can walk to a restaurant called KANSAS for an American traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  We miss the days when the turkey was cooking, pies were being prepared and of course the butter-flake rolls were being bathed in butter.  Most of all we will miss each of you.  Coming on a mission helps us realize how blessed we are to have families.  In your own way each of you contributes to our happiness and determination to do our best while we are here in Argentina.  Know that as you celebrate we too will be celebrating the many blessings that the Lord has so kindly and generously sent our way and that you are in our thoughts and prayers always.

 

 

 



                  Another one of our Open Chapel events in Quilmes with the junior missionaries.

Visitors from Salt Lake City

Mark Lusvardi, the director of Visitors Centers for the Church surprised us with a phone call and offered to take us to dinner and review our program. We picked him up at the Sheraton Hotel (pretty swanky place) in a Remis (private taxi).  He took us to La Estancia a very authentic Argentine restaurant. We had milanesas, empandas, and flan.  It was great food.  Mark listened to us and our concerns for the program and the direction we want it to go.  He was very encouraging and gave us the green light to change the name from CVC to Capilla Abierta (open chapel).  He was supportive on our expansion program to be able to take the program to an additional 12 missions.  That was great news!  He seemed pleased with what we are doing and encouraged us to keep it up.

                                                                     Mark Lusvardi

 

 

November was also the time for the yearly Area review.  Ulyses Soares, D. Todd Christofferson, and Jeffrey R. Holland brought their wives for a week in the area.  They presented a special devotional to us in the area office on Thursday, November 14.  We got to shake each of their hands.  Awesome! Later the senior sister missionaries had a special luncheon with their wives.  Sister Christofferson was at our table.  She seemed to be a little shy.  Sister Holland spoke to us for a few minutes and expressed her love.  She gave me a big hug!  For a gift we were all given a small flower arrangement which I have on our dining room table.  What special blessings we have to get to meet such great people.

Six General Authorities

Soares, Christofferson, Holland, Gonzalez, Zeballos, Vinas

 

 

Our table at the luncheon.  Sister Christofferson in Pink

 

We have had 4 open chapels already this month.  November 2 we were in the Villa Crespo Ward where we had been asked to film one of our open houses and get feedback from members and nonmembers for Salt Lake.  We had about 80 visitors and the filming went just fine.  Two bishops who spoke English were interviewed and gave their thumbs up to the program!

 

Last week we had an open chapel both Saturday night and Sunday night with a Sunday morning training  and a coordinating council meeting all on Sunday.  That was exhausting, but great.

 

Yesterday the Bishop's family from Guttierrez Ward, south of Buenos Aires, invited us to lunch before the open chapel.  He met us at the chapel and took us through winding dirt roads to their humble home where they had prepared us an authentic asado (Argentine barbecue).  They had grilled up some beef steak, pork ribs, chicken and sausage.  We also enjoyed the Argentine version of green salad--a plate with shredded carrots, shredded lettuce, and red cabbage.  You could mix them on your plate if you wanted to.  Strawberry torte finished off the meal.  It was delicious!  How blessed we are to get to know so many humble people and become a part of their lives for just a short time.

 

                                      Bishop Botto and his wife Gladys and their son Gustavo

 

 

 

 

The Army of Helaman

Senior Elders from the Area Office

These are our friends who work on our floor with us each day

Osmar, Alejandra, Julio and Pablo

 

 

November is hot down here so it's kind of hard to think about Thanksgiving being just a few days away.  While you are thinking of turkey and pumpkin pie, we try to stay in the shade and turn on the air conditioner.

 

Know that we love you and appreciate your prayers and support on our behalf.

 



Up, Up, and Away!!!

This last week we have been traveling.  We were asked to translate the Mission Presidents' seminar in a beautiful city, San Carlos de Bariloche (look it up on the internet!) where I served 42 years ago as Branch President for 6 months.  Then there were 12 members of the Branch and we met in the living room of the same house where we lived as missionaries.  WOW have things changed!  From a little mountain village of 30,000 it has blossomed into a huge city of 120,000 with a stake and two beautiful chapels.  It is the chocolate capital of South America and of course skiing, fishing, and tourism are what makes this town thrive. We held the conference in a world famous (one of the top100 hotels in the world) ski resort called Llao Llao (look it up on the internet) and it was truly amazing! 

We didn't get much chance to visit my old stomping grounds in the city, but the bus driver made a special pass by the old house where we lived just for me!

The best part of the conference was what happened inside the resort, with 3 General Authorities teaching, testifying, and sharing life stories, it was truly GRAND!  Their wives were just as amazing and we really had a spiritual feast.  I figured out that in the 3 days of conference I translated, with Janet's help on scriptures and references, 31 different talks, presentations, role plays, as well as various discussions and group activities.  I was truly exhausted when it was finished.

The food was so beautiful!  Really!  It was all about presentation, but we ate trout, and deer, and lamb, and chicken, and beef, and sausage and water cress!  It tasted so delicious, but they made sure that it looked absolutely like it was right out of the magazines! 

Here are some pictures of our time there.

Conference Room from the front

From the dining room

Tronador ski mountain behind us

Hotel Llao Llao from across the lake

Area President Walter Gonzalez and Zulma

The BYU Boys--1st Counselor in Area Presidency Jorge Zeballos

Region of the seven lakes

Suicide by Chocolate (name of dessert)

Llao Llao (Indian for a seed meaning sweet sweet)

Love the red carpet stairway (for princesses)

Lamb, deer, or chicken right off the grill

Plaza at Bariloche

Doug's first home and first Chapel in Bariloche

not red then

Picture with Pope Francis from Argentina in

Cathedral

Ride to the top of CampAnario

 

The Translator

 

 

 Wind and flowers at Llao Llao

 

We got back from Bariloche Thursday night and 1st thing Friday morning we flew to Uruguay to check on the CVC program there in Montevideo.  It was a short flight, about 40 minutes across the Rio de la Plata.  We met the Binghams, a couple from Carey, Idaho, who took really good care of us.  They had planned for the other CVC couple, the Hills to meet us for dinner and had prepared a freshly grilled salmon and sweet potato meal with hot rolls and peach cobbler.  It was so good and such a switch from Bariloche food!

 

A couple in their mission had to go home to the States unexpectedly because of gall bladder surgery and so we stayed in their apartment.  Saturday morning we went to the Temple, which was a real treat.  They don't have temple clothing to rent but they do have some they lend, which means it didn't really fit really well, but hey....The little Temple is beautiful and of course we enjoyed being there.  The Temple is located on the "Temple Manzana" where there is a chapel (huge for here), 2 mission homes and a hostel, which is a huge place for visitors from out of the area to stay while they come to the Temple.

 

Saturday evening was a Visitor Center in the Chapel presentation in a ward on top of the mountain for which "Montevideo" was named!  It was a really pretty view of the Atlantic Ocean and the CVC had lots of visitors.  We met some great people!  Isn't that wonderful how everywhere you go, you meet some pretty amazing people?

 

Here are some pictures of our Uruguay trip.

Janet at the chapel on top of the "Montevideo"

Montevideo from the airplane and the edge of the Atlantic

Shoes off, you are standing on Holy Ground!

The Hills, us, the Binghams   CVC couples

Atlantic Ocean from apartment window

 

At Montevideo Temple in the rain

Fort on top of the Cerro, can you see the LDS chapel steeple?

 

Being away from the Area Office for a week has left us with lots to do this week.  We have to film our CVC this next Saturday for the Missionary Dept. in SLC and prepare the script for that, and Sunday we have a Coordinating Council Meeting to plan our CVC presentations for 2014!  That is a lot to do for this next week, I guess we won't have time for trick or treating!