A November to remember

Scenes from November 2014   Can you match the picture to the caption below?

1.  Bs. As. advertises for a special conference at the local center.  (La Rural)
2.  We unpack at our new offices just a couple of blocks  from the Pink House, like our White House)
3.  Enjoying the shade after spending the day riding horses in 90 degree weather.
4. Head Gaucho (Argentine cowboy) Cirilo, took us for a wagon ride!
5. Other office where we have an extra assignment to coordinate work for area service missionaries.

1.  Are you sleeping in that box?
2.  Apostle speaks at a devotional for area employees and missionaries.
3.  Gaston baptized after church on Sunday.
4.  Sheet advertisement made by youth for the Capilla Abierta (open chapel) in Savio
5. At the referral table with no electricity before the lights went out!

November went by so fast.  But as we ponder on what we usually think about in this month (Thanksgiving), we are so grateful for the many blessings we have. We have had some special moments....seeing a young man baptized, hearing one of our dear friends sing in the musical production of Joseph Smith- the prophet of the restoration, and having some great open chapels.  The most recent open chapel was in the dark because of a huge rainstorm and no power; but there were over 100 people who came out!  We shared a Thanksgiving dinner with the other senior missionaries at a restaurant called Kansas.  But most of all we thought of you and how much we love and miss you and how blessed we are to be serving as missionaries here in Argentina.

Spring brings kids and Iguazu Falls

Springtime in Buenos Aires is so beautiful with the purple trees lining the streets and the roses all out in bloom in the park. Within just a couple of blocks of our apartment is the beautifully famous Rosedal garden with its hundreds of different colors and sizes of roses. We also enjoy admiring the huge Ombu tree that is unique to this area.  There is one so big that it takes up an entire city block.   We walk around there as often as we can once work in the office has been completed for the day.

 

 

We had visits to some great wards in October for our Open Chapel program.  We visited Paso del Rey where 2 little girls, Melisa and Jazmin, took charge of the Primary presentation and did a great job!  We also had an amazing experience at Floresta where Sister Knapp met a Sister Cal who was a member in that ward when Janet served there.  Elder Knapp was also surprised to have a visit from a Sister Rico, now 80 years old, who served as the Relief Society President when he was Branch President in a little branch down in Bariloche, near the Chilean border 43 years ago!  What a blessing to find these dear friends after all of those years.  We had a great Open Chapel in Parque Avellaneda, our first morning Open Chapel, which was held at 10:00 and there were 132 visitors present, with over 60 non-members.  Then the other day at the office a brother told us that in a ward called Marilo as a result of the Open Chapel that we did there, they have had 4 families reactivated and 2 families baptized!  Exciting!

 

 

What a great day we had on October 14 when Amy, Doug, Krista and Katie all came to visit us!  We were just like little kids on Christmas Eve and could hardly sleep the night before they arrived!  We had so much fun for the next 6 days!  We rode the train, a boat, the subway, the mini-van, and the buses.  We ate much delicious beef, great bread, and ice-cream.  We walked many miles each day and saw some pretty amazing sites that are unique to Argentina. I think that one of their favorites was the Teatro Colon (Columbus Theater) tour.   Our apartment guard invited us to a spectacular cookout on the roof of the building where we live and grilled an amazing Sunday dinner for us.  The kids sang in Sacrament Meeting (in Spanish) and there was a powerful hush that settled over the people as they were amazed at how pretty the music was.  The bishop said that in General Conference he had noticed 4 vacant seats in the Tabernacle Choir and was sure that it was these 4 Knapp children getting ready to come to Argentina.  One young lady came up afterward and said that their song was an answer to her prayers!  Their visit was over way too soon, but we packed in everything we could and loved it all.

 

President Walter Gonzalez asked us to attend the Mission Presidents seminar to translate for the presidents’ wives who do not speak Spanish.  We agreed and were excited to learn that the conference was to be held in Iguazu, which comes from a Paraguay Indian group meaning “Big Water”.  That is an understatement!  There are 275 water falls in this national park which includes parts of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.  It is magnificent and is considered one of the wonders of the world.  We stayed at a Sheraton Hotel right inside the park and went out each day on a different trail.  We also enjoyed a boat ride down the Parana River which took us underneath the falls and we were drenched 5 different times, it was a blast!  The conference was just as spectacular inside as outside.  All 3 of our presidency members are from the first quorum of seventy and it was just like being in General Conference for 3 days as they and their wives taught us from the scriptures how to do the work of the Lord here in South America gathering the posterity of Lehi.  On Tuesday I translated 12 talks without notes.  Janet frantically found scriptures and helped me get words right, but I was beat at the end of the day!  The other 2 days were not as intense.  I prayed really hard that the sisters got the message intended by the presidency!

Just before the conference President Jorge Zeballos met with us and called us to oversee the work of the service missionaries for the four countries in our Area.  There are 346 of them currently serving and this is bound to be a great opportunity to get acquainted with some more pretty amazing people!  We love it!