Visit from Darin, Laurie and Dan

March 14th brought us some great company...Laurie, Dan, and Darin.  It was so good to see them after many months.

Highlights from the first day:

Darin's suitcase did not make it from Manhattan

Buenos Aires Temple

Meeting people at the Area Office including shaking hand with Elder Walter Gonzalez (area president)

Caught in huge rainstorm at La Boca with a bus strike

Eating Milanesa at The Cottage (once is enough)

Day 2:

Facturas for breakfast

Recoleta (outdoor market/feria) Cemetery with little Cathedral and Eva Peron's tomb

National Art Museum

Open Chapel in Pilar

Day 3:

Church in Moreno 3rd Ward where Laurie's missionary companion lives--Doug and I spoke in church, Laurie bore her testimony, and Darin and Dan sang Lord I would follow thee (beautiful)

Argentine asado (barbecue) at Laurie's companion's mother's house

Day 4:

Train to Tigre

Boat ride around the delta

Steak dinner at Las Cabras

Day 5:

Subway ride to downtown BA---Teatro Colon 

Obelisco

Florida and Lavalle streets--pedestrians only and lots of shops and "cambio"

Lunch in The Estancia

Catholic Cathedral where the remains of San Martin are buried

Japanese Gardens

Rosedal Garden

Ice cream as much as possible

Day 6:

Meservys to the airport

Darin to La Boca

Darin to the airport

 

Asado on Sunday with Fratonis

La Boca with cobblestone streets and bright colored houses

Japanese Gardens

Recoleta Cemetery

Inside Teatro Colon

Captain of the boat (lancha) we rode at Tigre

Move over Spiderman

Do people really live in glass houses?  (Sarmiento's house preserved behind glass)

We hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we enjoyed the visit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two different churches in Lujan

This month we visited Lujan

This month has brought us lots of different experiences.  One day it rained so hard on our way to the office that we had to take our shoes and socks off and put them next to the small portable heater we have in our office to dry them out.  On the other side of the room was the air conditioner blowing cold air!  Weird.  Anyway, one of the other couples said they had taken a taxi to work since it was raining so hard....that thought never crossed our mind...but it would have been smart since there are so many taxis that we dodge every morning on our way to the office.

We continue to have great Open Chapels.  We meet the cream of the crop when we go to the various wards. We meet some of the best bishops and counselors in the church.  In a ward called Lopez Camelo we met one such counselor ,Brother Arcos.  He was so enthusiastic, meeting the visitors at the front door of the chapel.  From there he made sure each one had a member to go with them on the tours.  Several visitors came off the street so this was a big help to the missionaries.  The members love these Open Chapels.  It helps the unity in the ward and reminds them of their responsibilities to be missionaries.  We see great things happen when the missionaries and members work together. Pte. Monson has said, "Now is the time for missionaries and members to work together".  If they can catch the vision and bring friends and families to these events, the spirit really works to help both have great spiritual experiences.

We had a unique experience at a small branch called Lujan 1.  The largest Catholic Cathedral in all of Argentina is in this city. It is called the Basilica of Lujan.  It was built to house a tiny 18 inch tall statue of the virgin Mary.  Now it is called the Virgin of Lujan.  People crawl on their hands and knees during the Holy Week from the plaza up to the place inside the church where they pray to the virgin for forgiveness.  We saw a man doing just that when we visited the cathedral.  These humble people believe what they are taught.  It helps us to know that there are many who are ready for the gospel and we need to be ready to take it to all the world.

The branch president, President Saitta, was so excited to have an open chapel.  They had had one last year and want to have at least one every year because they like how it brings the spirit of missionary work to their little branch.  During our open chapel that night, there were 5 people baptized.  One was a 90 year old woman who needed two elders to help her into the water and baptize her.  Her son was really touched by her baptism; he is not a member.  Most of the investigators who came were brought by the members.  These are the best kind because they already have a friend in the church.  The missionaries were so awesome, too.  They were out on the street trying to invite people in and the sister missionaries did such a great job teaching them once they came inside.

There are so many people here who are really sincere in their beliefs, but their beliefs and traditions are wrong. It is awesome when they recognize this and begin to look for more.

Five baptisms for the Lujan Branch

 

Sister Knapp in front of our humble meetinghouse in Lujan
 



Blessings with Holy Water

Crawling for forgiveness

 

 

18 inch statue of the Virgin Mary
 

Sincere people praying inside ornate basilica