Okay, So It’s Not Always Paradise

It has been pretty good weather the last couple of weeks as we have not had much storm, but today it is rainy and cold.  We are staying inside and with the help of our heaters, we can stay warm.  We have a great deal of respect for the missionaries strength as  they go out in weather like this.

Last Monday we had Elder Torres and Elder Childs over for lunch.  Elder Torres is going home next week and we wanted to have him over for dinner before he goes.  Elder Childs is actually in our “group” and will go home when we do.  Elder Torres is from Ecuador.  We have become real good friends.  We kid that instead of going home, he is just going to stay with us.  He is a tremendous missionary and a great friend.  We will really miss him.  Based on how much they ate, I would say that they enjoyed it.  I mean, three plates full indicates a preference, right?

Wednesday was a busy day as we went to “Treinte y Tres”  (33) to move the Sisters into a new house.  I have mentioned this before, that this town is named after thirty-three men that launched an attack as part of the revolution.  To me, 33 also stands for three hours up and three hours back.  It is mostly on 2 lane highway with a lot of slow trucks and other vehicles.  Anyway, when we get there is it always fun.  The missionaries are always enthusiastic and helpful.  It didn’t take us long to move and get them settled.  We did make a couple of trips to the store to purchase the things that they still needed.
There was one neat thing that happened.  While we were moving, a couple of the Elders had to leave for an appointment for a “charla”.  We saw them as they returned and they were all excited.  The person they met with had several questions and issues.  They were able to answer her questions and understand the Gospel better.  This was really positive for them and in turn for us.

Saturday night we put on our first “Capilla Abierta”(chapel open house).  It was held in the Las Piedras Ward which is about an hour away from our apartment.  The members were very enthusiastic at the meeting we held to discuss the Capilla Abierta, so we were pretty optimistic.  The missionaries met us early to put up the posters and get everything ready.  I have included a picture of the Christus which was taken in the visitor center on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  The tour starts in the Chapel with this picture with the missionaries playing a CD of the words of Christ when he visited America in the Book of Mormon.  From there they take the people to various places around the meeting house to explain the other parts of the Gospel.

It went very well with about 50 people coming including 10 people that are not members of the Church.  We expect to have some good discussions with them in the coming weeks.  Doing the Capilla Abierta is one of our duties and we expect to do more in the coming months.  We would like to show more pictures of the people but are trying to be careful of what we put on this blog.

We continue to take care of the business end of the mission as we help maintain the housing for the missionaries.  In the last week we have had one clogged drain, two bathrooms that needed new fixtures, a broken gate and a house that needs to be painted.  That is a typical week.

We love serving in the mission.  It is not easy and we have challenges every day.  But, the Lord helps us overcome them and help the missionaries be successful.  We love the Lord and consider it a privilege to serve Him.  We love each of you and appreciate your support.

Gordon and Renee