It's Hard To Say Goodbye~Hermana Barney

This last week  has been a different king of week. On Tuesday, Elder W. traveled to a Zone Conference with President Armstrong. He came home feeling like he was getting a sore throat...and he did. He did not go to the office or with the President on Wednesday but began taking some antibiotics. He sounded like he had swallowed a very large frog! He voice was so gruff and low, I had trouble hearing what he was saying.  

Thursday he again went with President to another Zone Conference. Thank heavens these zones are only about an hours distance. Friday and Saturday I finally got him to stay in bed all day. Sleep, lots of liquids and his medicine are working well. He is feeling much better. 

Each day, I continued to go to the office and work on the several projects we have going AT ALL times. With missionaries coming and going about every six weeks (this month it is 4 weeks), we are constantly in a state of flux. I always have something necessary to do. Also, while Sister Armstrong is away, I have taken over the distribution of birthday cards. So that is another small project to be done each month.

Since I don't have a great deal to post this week, I will share some photos of our travels. In this way I can share some of the beautiful countryside and interesting things particular to Uruguay.

This was our photo taken at Christmas Conference. We are at the very, very back! (You need a magnifying glass.) Each missionary (184) received a copy of the photo.

In October Elder W. and I traveled to an area of Uruguay called Treinta yTres or "33." Look at that beautiful blue sky. It is green as far as you can see in all directions. A very different sight than what we saw during our assignment in Lima, Peru!!!

This is the major form of transportation in many of these small towns as well as in Montevideo. The streets are narrow and sometimes made of bricks or as in this photo, cobblestones.

This is not seen in Montevideo, but when we get out of the large city we find these "photo-ops" quite often.

This is a form of "sanitation truck." The horse and driver stop at the dumpsters, he dives in and gathers whatever he feels he can sell or use himself. In this case, the driver is not anywhere around. They are seen all over Montevideo. Usually the cart is filled to the brim with plastic bags of "found treasures."

 Thus my title, it's hard to say goodbye! For the past two years, Hermana Barney has been the Mission Nurse for both the Montevideo (ours) and West Missions! She is being released this next Wednesday. I am so sad, we love her. She is a very capable nurse. She takes every opportunity to share the Gospel. A person can't help but love her bubbly personality and her positive attitude. I will miss her sweet smile.  

It is Sunday afternoon, yesterday was the most beautiful day. It was not too hot, a little breeze, just right. It is even beginning to get a little  chilly at night. Summer season goes until March, so we have a few more weeks. Today, sitting in our apartment, I hear thunder and the rain begins, just a little, for a short time. The skies are dark and maybe there will be more rain later in the evening.

It has been a good week and they seem to be flying by. We pray you are all doing well. Each day our prayers are filled with gratitude to the Lord for so many blessings. We know there are many who struggle with the issues of life, but we also know if we hold strong to our faith and determine to live our lives to the best of our ability and follow the counsel of the Prophets we will not fail.

My love to you all,

Until I write again,

xoxoxoxoxoxo

A Great Week In The Office And Saturday To Rocha

This last week has been a very busy one in the mission office. With the announcement of the change in age for missionary service, this "transfer day" (remember, it is when we receive new missionaries) will come two  weeks sooner than normal. So, the office is very busy readying ourselves to receive another great group of missionaries.



On Saturday, Elder W. and I traveled to the small town of Rocha so that he could conduct an interview with a young woman wanting to be baptized. Rocha is about a 2 hour drive from our home.  It is probably the largest chapel I have ever seen and it only houses two branches, no wards. I took this photo of the Elders in Rocha the last time we were there. The young man in the jeans is not a missionary. They are a great group of fine missionaries.

                                                             

We don't see many mountains, I know this is not a real mountain, but it is about the biggest we see here. We are right on the coast, so we see and feel the ocean more. Our apartment is about 5 minutes from the ocean. We get wonderful breezes and sometime "squalls" too. Short bursts of very strong ocean winds, even now in the summer they can be chilly.


Everywhere we drive (yes we both drive here), when we get a little bit out of Montevideo, you see nothing but green pastures. Cows, horses and sheep are grazing all along the roads in pastures. There are huge groups of trees. It is like a "Johnny Apple Seed" was in Uruguay and planted literally thousands and thousands of trees in sections. Some are squares and some are rectangles literally. We have been trying to figure out why they are the way they are...no answers from anyone we ask. Here is a great example.

It is a pleasant drive, if you are drugged as the passenger! For any of you who remember, my sweet husband drives like he is still behind the wheel of a police car with the lights and siren on. The speed limit in much of this rural area is 90 kph, but you have to drive at least 120 to be with the traffic. Now that equates to only about 75 mph at home. But the difference is, I am NOT at home. We are in a foreign country and I don't want to go to jail. And everyone passes two and three cars at a time. There are more motorcycles, bicycles and small cars (that don't run well) and some very large trucks too. The motorcycles can have 1 to 4 people riding them, sometimes with children.

This chapel is one of the largest I have ever seen. This is the main hallway. The cultural hall is on the right side of that wall and the chapel is more to the right of this bench. That is a wall of the original building used to build the ward house. It is so gorgeous, it reminds me so much of Machu Picchu. It is over 100 years old. The stones fit exactly with (in this case) very little if any mortar. This next photo is of the corner of the chapel. The organ sits at the front as usual with this wonderful wall behind it. There is great woodwork in these old chapels.

   

                                                                       

We attended a Sunday meeting here months ago. It was a District Conference, two branches. An interesting thing happened; when we arrived we were greeted by a brother and sister. She was wearing a pair of slacks. I thought, oh they need to learn more appropriate dress standards for Sunday meetings. NO, they had invited a special local choir who were mostly non-members. The women in the choir wore a black blouse and slacks with a vibrant color scarf. This sister did not want them to feel out of place or awkward. How very kind and generous of her. And...they were wonderful, they sang two of our hymns with no accompaniment and stayed for the rest of the meeting. It was a very nice meeting for sure.

I wanted to post one other photo but, alas I do not have it. The driver of this trip was driving at a speed that made it impossible to take the photo. It was a sign on our way out of Montevideo. The sign said: "Las Vegas"! Can you imagine my surprise...Las Vegas. I guess people everywhere know our town. I'll try again next time we go to Rocha.

I love being here with my wonderful husband. I do miss our family so badly!!! But the time is passing so quickly, we will be home in no time at all.

As I close my blog, I need to tell each and every one of you that I have a strong testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I KNOW it is the truth. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. As I read its pages, I can feel the spirit of those people whose experiences I am reading about. I am so grateful to the leaders, teachers and friends who have helped me along the way to find this knowledge. I love the Temple and the work that goes on inside those walls. Our family is Eternal, I know that because of the saving ordinances of the temple; we will be with Rebecca again at the end of our mortal life, of that I am certain! I am grateful for that knowledge and my testimony. It has not come easy or quickly, but steadily and surely. 

My love to you all,

until I write again, 

xoxoxo                                                                                        

Another New Group Of Missionaries

It has been a few weeks since my last entry...sorry. I have just been busy and when I'm home, lots to do here also. So, just a little lazy on the computer. So, here is the latest that has been going on here in Montevideo.

We had another group of 15 Elders and one Sister come to the mission last week. They are so good, really ready and eager to serve. Working in the office is such a joy; the missionaries are so fun to be with. In the office, I am working on a Church system where I see the reports of missionaries entering into the MTC, also the dates they will be reporting to the Mission...the numbers will be growing! In February we will receive 18 missionaries with only 2 Hermanas. In April we will receive 18 to 20 with just 2 Hermanas. May 21st we will receive 15 Elders and 15 Hermanas!!!!!! That number of Hermanas is astounding and reflects the announcement in October Conference to change the age of Missionary service.

Every six weeks we receive our new missionaries. Because there are no more "greenies" we call them "OROS" (golden) and they arrive on Tuesday morning. The Mission President meets them at the airport, then they are brought to the mission home. After everyone has breakfast the Mission President welcomes the new group and begins to interview them. While interviews continue, the office Elders do some training about mission rules, money, transportation, etc. In the afternoon, we did something different this change. The East Zone came to the mission home and each missionary had a companion and they went to proselyte. After three or four hours they returned to the mission home to discuss how the afternoon went for them. They all expressed how much they enjoyed the experience, it seemed to be a great success. Pizza was ordered for dinner then off for a good nights rest. Wednesday is the hectic day. Early, the "oros" go for their medical appointments. While they are gone, their trainers are at the mission home getting training on what is means to be a trainer. After several hours, the "oros" return to the mission home. As everyone receives their new companion, they all clap and cheer for one another. After all are paired up, we all move to a chapel where many, many other missionaries have gathered to be assigned to a new zone. It is usually a madhouse! My responsibility is to make sure all the missionaries have received all the letters and packages which has been sent by family and leaders to the mission for them. It is very rewarding to see their happy faces, they are always very grateful and that makes me happy!

Here are some photos that I took of our Transfer Conference last week. I hope you will see what I have tried to explain.

                           Some members of  East Zone waiting for their companions to go proselyte.

                                     
I was glad to have a photo with Hermana Marz and Hermana Lopez. They are waiting for their companion, Hermana Ahern who is the only Hermana we received this time.

These elders work VERY HARD to make everything work smoothly for the Mission.  Elder Harris, Francis, Curapil, Whiting, Griffin and Alvariza. they worked very hard! Office Elders make a huge difference.

          These are the new District and Zone leaders receiving training and their new assignments.

This is just one small corner of missionaries waiting with their luggage to board the buses with their new companions for their new areas. It is one of my favorite time. To see many reunions happen during this waiting time. Some missionaries have seen one another for awhile, they are happy to see one another again.

 This is a great example of the enthusiasm that is shown during the entire day. Elders Griffin, Woodmansee, Alviriza and Looney. I love this photo!!!!!!

Well, that is about all for this time. I am so happy to be found worthy to serve the Lord at this time. This mission my body has let me know that I am too old to be out of USA. This will be our last foreign mission. I will be grateful to serve at home when we return. I do miss our family to very much. This time has been harder in many ways.  I hope you enjoy following this blog, it is my journal of sorts. My testimony grows each day watching these young people bear their testimony to everyone each and every day. They are the future of our Church, and we are in good hands!

My love to you all,
Until I write again,
XOXOXO

It Has Been A Really Good Week

I think I said this in my last post...it is so hard to realize that the end of another year is now upon us. We had a very nice quiet Christmas Eve with the Armstrong family. Their oldest son Bob, his wife Emily and their four children came down for the holidays. Matt, who attends BYU also came down. So they had quite a house full of family. They were kind enough to invite us to spend some time with them also. During the course of the afternoon, Ana, the youngest grandchild fell asleep in Elder W's arms. He rocked our children and grandchildren in the same manner, so he has not lost his touch.      



It is a family tradition in their family to have a "Christmas Stew" on  the eve of  Christmas. After a wonderful dinner, "Presidents A. & W." went into the kitchen to do the dishes. The other members of the family then prepared for the program which was to be performed. They dramatized the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It brought back many, many memories of when our children were young and we had very similar programs with family and friends in our home.                             

 

On Christmas day, we took the opportunity to do some sightseeing. It was a beautiful day to be a tourist. Elder W. never wants to look like a tourist as they are always targets of street robberies. So we hide our camera and speak Spanish to everyone on the streets and in the shops. This is a photo of a typical street in a South American capital city. The architecture is wonderful. The Portuguese built much of Montevideo, thus the balconies on the buildings. I have heard it said that the larger the balcony, the more wealth the family had, I don't know if that is true, but you can see many balconies, some larger than others. The photo below is a public building. As you can tell, it is very large. Somewhere I wrote the name of the department it houses.

The next thing we saw was the "Port of Montevideo." This is where all the commodities come into the country. There are thousands of containers sitting on the docks waiting to be picked up after they are inspected by customs. We walked around for quite awhile, we saw some very interesting vessels. Part of their "armada" is here also. There was also a very large sailing vessel of some kind. Cruise ships also dock here and the tourists shop and eat in this downtown area. For this reason, the prices here are somewhat higher than in other parts of the city. We did some "window shopping" it was a fun day.

We are always looking for wonderful looking buildings and we found this great doorway. It is very old. Notice if you will the apartment number. Elder W. did not see the number, after I took the photo, I told him to look at the number. He chuckled with me. We find this "219" number in  many places  It has a significance in our lives. Our Rebecca lost her life on a highway at mile marker # 219. Before her death she had recently shared with Tracy that her new favorite Hymn was hymn #219, "Because I have Been Given Much." It is a special hymn with a special message. When I was a cashier at Smith's, many times I would be thinking of Becky and my register would show $2.19 as a price or the change a customer was receiving. I like to think that she needs me to know that she thinks of me too. 

On our way home we traveled on the "rambla" or the beach route. We can get to many locations by using this avenue. As you can see, there are many, many apartments buildings along this route. When we were trying to find our apartment;our real estate adviser tried to get us to rent one of these apartments. I can't imagine living near the beach. The noise and traffic would have driven us crazy each day. It is not far from the mission office or President's home, but we are so glad we chose the apartment we did.  The beach near us is within a five minute drive. It is not very clear in this photo, but there were many people on the beach. The water is very shallow.We are beginning the summer season. Many, many people here in Montevideo are somewhat athletic. We always see people riding bikes, running, exercising on the beach or even playing volleyball or soccer. Over all, the people here are much more fit than either Ecuador or Peru. 

We will be hearing and seeing lots of fireworks during the next few days. It is a tradition to use fireworks during Christmas and New Year. They are very loud and in our town are very illegal. Here, anything goes. We hear what sounds like sticks of dynamite! My boys would love it. It is a remembrance of years ago when we lived near a wash and our boys (Dad included) would set off "cherry bombs and M 80's." Very LOUD! Here it begins about midnight and lasts as long as their supply, usually several hours.

Well, that is about all for this post...and this year. Time is passing so very fast, we will be home in no time at all. I do look forward to our reunion at home. I know it is early to say that, but this mission, I know time will fly by faster than our other missions. We thank you all for your love, prayers and positive thoughts for us. We think of you all every day. All my love!

Until I write next time.

XOXOXO 

Lots of People...Human and Gingerbread

Our Christmas Conference was held on Friday December 21. It took many people all week long make our final preparations for this special event. Beginning very early in the morning, all 183 missionaries were brought by buses from their 11 areas or zones as they are called.

The Armstrong's have family visiting them for this Christmas. While Elder W. worked in the office last Monday, I joined their family to make "gingerbread people." As part of the Christmas gift to the missionaries Emily Armstrong (daughter in law) brought her recipe for gingerbread cookies. This is Laura (grand daughter)  standing with many of the 366 small gingerbread cookies that were cut out and baked. It took several days with each one being decorated on Wednesday. They were so, so cute. Each decorated like little elders and sisters. Two cookies were placed "gingerly" in a cellophane Christmas bag.  

On Friday morning, Pres. and Sister Armstrong, 6 office elders, some of the Armstrong family and Elder W. and myself all arrived at the chapel at 6:30 am. We sliced many loaves of orange bread and poured hundreds of cups of orange juice and yogurt. Serving that many missionaries takes a good deal of time, missionaries eating breakfast takes just minutes.

Each zone had been given the assignment to read and study certain scriptures about how the Savior served others. Each missionary was asked to prepare a 3 to 5 minute talk about what they learned from their this study. Also, as a zone they were asked to prepare a  Christmas song. Wonderful talks were given by 11 missionaries chosen by the President. After each talk, the entire zone sang their chosen song. After this portion of the conference, the missionaries were excused to go to lunch. This is what it looks like when they leave the chapel to go wait in the lunch lines.

A catering company did a terrific job. They came to the church, cooked the meal, decorated the tables, set up all the place settings, set up the three serving stations and served delicious food.

After a wonderful meal, we returned to the chapel and President Armstrong taught doctrine about how to do missionary work better! It was very inspired teaching. Because we have "valientes," (they are the missionaries leaving for home in January,) they were given an opportunity to share their testimony with the entire mission. It was a very special time.

At the end of President's teaching, the missionaries were asked to return to the cultural hall for dessert. Elder W., Hermana Armstrong, Hermana Barney (mission nurse) and President Armstrong and I did some reflecting about how the day was going. What a fantastic assortment of cakes, pies, chocolates and cookies we were able to sample. Not only did this catering company cook and serve wonderful food, they did all the clean up also. They took all the pots and pans, linens, serving pieces, plates, glasses and silverware all away. We had only to put the tables away and clean the floor.

A great deal of effort goes into planning and preparing for a conference. It was a special time for the missionaries and also for us. We have 15 new missionaries who came to us on Dec. 11th. They are still a little taken back by the mission life. It was good for them to be with their "oro" group again and to be able compare notes on how they are each doing.

We are blessed in the Montevideo Uruguay Mission, we have a great group of missionaries. They are talented, spiritual and obedient.

It is very hard for all of us to be so far from family and friends at this time of year, but we will return home in the future.

We love you and keep you in our prayers. We appreciate your prayers, we can feel them. Your good thought and service help buoy me up.

I love you and wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and the healthiest, happiest most prosperous New Year ever.

Until I write again,
xoxoxo

A Very Busy and Long Week

As we go into the middle of the month of December (I can't believe that), last week was a very busy one. Monday was a very full day to finish all the preparations to receive the new missionaries coming from Buenos Aires on the next morning. I will give you just a small summary of what happens in our mission on that day.

Early in the morning on Tuesday, the trainers (missionaries who will be training new incoming missionaries) come to the mission home, have an opening prayer and eat breakfast (and I mean they can eat).  As the meeting unfolds and before Elder W. and I go to the chapel, I am in the kitchen doing some dishes to keep the mission home as clean as I can.

After eating, they have about 2 hours of training which includes some discussion about what they remember about being a new missionary themselves. What did their trainer do that helped and encouraged them? What did their trainer do that they did not appreciate? It is so good to hear their answers. They are very honest but positive in their answers. Some of their trainers are even in this same room! They have the generation thing going on. Returned missionaries know what I mean. Grandfather, father, son etc.  

New missionaries are no longer called "greenies,, therefore in our mission they are known "OROS" or GOLDEN. Their plane lands in Montevideo about 8:30 am, but they have been awake since 2:30 am.  After finding their luggage, waiting in the line for "customs," they are greeted by their mission President and Sister Armstrong. The bus then brings them to the mission home about 11 am. They arrive very tired and somewhat shell shocked. I'm sure you will all be surprised to know that Elder W. stands in the background wearing his sunglasses with his arms folded. Many think he is the body guard to the President.

This is a photo of their arrival at the mission home and greeted by their trainers. This week we received 10 Elders and 5 Sisters. during this meeting they interview with the president, do paperwork, finally eat some breakfast and take lots of pictures. About 3 pm these missionaries come to the chapel where many, many other missionaries are meeting their new companions.  During the wait for everyone these Elders and Sisters have had their own meeting led by the assistants. Then they all try to find their luggage, mail and new companions. Elder W. and I are now at the chapel also and we try to keep some sort of order. It really is such a fun time. The "back-slap" greetings the elders give one another is so great. Really fun to watch and hear. The sisters are much more subdued in their greetings. They are all so excited to see and talk with one another. So...we have chaos for a short time, then it's off to their area to "go to work." Here is a photo of Elder W. with one of our great missionaries Elder Lee. As you can see...he is a big boy!

On Wednesday we loose our "valientes." They are the missionaries who are leaving for home. They are able to attend a session in the Temple. Then they go to the mission home late in the afternoon. A "Valientes Noche de Hogar" (valientes home evening) and a special dinner is held. Some have flights that night, others leave the next day. It makes for two very busy, sometimes hectic days. But it is always exciting!

Each time there are "changes" in the mission and this chapel is used, Brother Lopez comes to take orders and make deliveries of his beautiful scripture covers. We will place an order in the future. Here is a photo of some of his work...enjoy. They are remarkable!

Well...that is it for this week. Busy is good, and we have been busy. As I sit at the computer and write to you, Elder W. and President are meeting with a Stake President, Branch President and an Area Seventy. They are finalizing plans to make a new Stake.

 We hear Christmas and New Year here in Uruguay are very loud with lots of parties and fireworks during the whole week. It is summer here, so many people take their vacation time during the Christmas week. We shall see! It would not surprise us at all. Each time Uruguay wins a "football" (soccer) game, we hear fireworks for some time.

We love you and miss you all. I know I said this before, but I really cannot believe the end of the year is two weeks away. Please write to us! We do love to hear what is going on in the lives of our family and great friends.

We wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a healthy and very Happy New Year!

Until I write again...
xoxoxo

The Beginning Of The End...Of The Year

It is so hard to believe we are now in the month of December. It is harder to believe that Christmas will soon be here. Because we are in So. America, it is now Spring and the weather is becoming warmer. For most of us, it is usually cold at Christmas time, but not down here.

I will digress just a little bit, and explain some of the things we experienced during our first month here before I began this blog.

During our second or third week in Uruguay, we were still residing in the home of Pres. and Sis. Armstrong. They have this wooden staircase, probably 16 or 17 stairs. Well, one evening while coming down the stairs, I slipped and fell, bouncing on about 8 to 10 of those stairs on my behind; while my head was hitting each stair behind me. Upon hitting the floor, I jumped up and looked around me to see if anyone had seen my descent. I was so glad there were no cameras, it would have been a "candid camera" few moments. After gathering myself, I informed Elder W. what had happened. I then realized that I had quite a good sized goose-egg on the back of my head. Several days later Elder W. informed me that he had been watching me very closely. He said my words had been a little jumbled, my speech was a little funny and I was experiencing than my usual forgetfullness. He did not say anything to me because he did not want ME to worry, he was doing that. It took about two weeks before I was pretty much back to normal. I always say "whatever 'normal' is." It was a really silly thing to come down the stairs in my stocking feet. I don't use those stairs much any more, I don't like them!

October 11-13, Pres. and Sis. Armstrong needed to make a mission tour to three areas quite distant from where we live. He planned to be gone from Friday-Sunday. During this same time, their 16 yr. old daughter Stacey, had a trip to Brazil planned by her school. So they asked us to accompany them on the tour. It was a wonderful trip. Pres. Armstrong served his mission here, at that time the mission comprised Uruguay and Paraguay.
During this weekend we met and he interviewed and trained the missionaries. While he was doing his work, Sis. Armstrong and I conducted "apartment checks." Many of the apartments occupied by the missionaries are what we would call substandard, but they make it work! Some are better than others, some are much worse.  Here are two photos of one we checked on.


The room on the left is
of course the bedroom,
the room on the right is
the living room where they do their studying and planning. It is very well kept and clean.





During our same tour, Pres. held two firesides. One each on Friday and Saturday nights.Many remembered him from when he served here as a young man. Here in the photo on the left, this sister and her husband brought photos of Pres. and his companions during his time in their area. They were so excited to see him again and share their remembrances of his service. They shared several stories with us.


The photo below is a little man and his wife. She was a member, he was not but was baptized during right before Pres. finished his mission. It was truly a wonderful spiritual three days. Many people brought their sons and daughters to meet him and attend his fireside.  During these two evenings we were able to witness for ourselves the love these people had for him and him for his mission!

It was after these three fun filled spiritual days we returned to our new apartment to find we had been robbed!! Our computer, a camera and my (costume) jewelry. It was so discouraging to us. Of course, the questions "why, how could this happen to us," on and on. Elder W. wanted to move right that minute. As it turns out, the sliding glass door had been jimmied. We live at the back of the complex so no one saw them. The two men broke into four apartments in our building and one in another complex right behind ours. We are just very happy we were not home, we could have been hurt, or more likely, they would have been! It was 11:30 on Thursday evening. We would have been in the bedroom asleep. "Bad things happen to good people," right.

This last week has been good for us. Progress has been made in the mission office to make some space for Elder W. so he will have a small office to work in. I have my desk in the "bullpen" where the office Elders also do their work. Although I have my own computer, it is not able to be connected to the Internet and I cannot print anything because the printer is out of toner. That really does not matter, because the printer has had no toner for about 3 weeks. It finally arrived on Friday!!!  I am learning a lot about what needs to be done but, I can't do much of it at this time. They tell me soon it will all be fixed and I will feel like I am participating in the office. I do love being in the office with the missionaries!!! Elder W. is out with the Pres. much of the time.

Well that is about it for now. It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we are just waiting for FOOTBALL to start for the afternoon and evening. Then back at the mission duties again tomorrow morning.

We send our love to you all and testify that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. We love and greatly miss our family, good friends and Ward and Stake members. We have made covenants to dedicate our time, means and talents to help build the kingdom...we are keeping our covenants.

Until I write again,
XOXOXO