Hobbit House in Uruguay

Friday, Saturday, February 27, 28 and Sunday, March 1, 2015

Friday. Was able to stay in our apartment and do some housekeeping items.  The views are always interesting.

Do not see a cruise ship very often.

Beginning surfing lessons. School starts in a couple of weeks for these kids.

Today there is very little wave action.

Saturday, We had some of our scheduled Capilla Abiertas and Capacitaciones fall through this weekend.  It worked out for the best though because President Cook invited us to attend the Rocha District Conference with him and Hermana Cook this weekend.  Our assignment was to teach familysearch.org at the priesthood session on Saturday evening.  It is about a 3 hour drive one way.  President Cook drove his vehicle so for a change, we were the passengers and it was a wonderful drive and visit with the Cook's.  Our presentation did not go as planned. Seems like they never do.  We had probably about 10 bretheren there and none of them could remember the ldsaccount username or if they even had an ldsaccount set up.  We were hoping we could show them "by their own experience" how easy it was to add their family members to the tree.  We did show them someone else's account but it is always better if someone from the audience can have success.  We also showed them how to add a photo using their smart phones.  With such little time, it is hard to teach anything this big.  But, it was a start and maybe they will invite us back where we can spend a whole day doing nothing but hands on classes with individuals who are interested.

We spent the night in La Paloma, a nice quiet beach community.  

Beautiful lighthouse right next to our hotel. Didn't have time to visit though.

Ballena is a whale. You can see them here in August, Sep and October.

Nice hotel too. It actually had a textured ceiling!  First one we have seen.  

Sunday we went to the Rocha morning session of conference.  Our iPad and Android saved the day for a wonderful, patient mother.  She has a 6 year old boy that has autism and our family knows about behavior issues that comes with that.  The mother has an older daughter too who seemed to be a huge help for her brother and mother.  Mike pulled out his iPad and we had that little boy entertained for about 1/hour straight. I helped entertain the sister with lds art puzzles on my Android. Hermana Cook also stepped in with her iPad that had different games.  I saw the mother breathe a huge sigh of relief as she sat back and was able to really listen to some of conference.  Her husband abandoned her and the kids when their son was diagnosed with autism.  I have no idea if any kind of help or training is available to this family like it is in the States.  I applaud mother and daughter though for coming to church!

It is humbling to me to watch families and how they travel to church. 

Dad, Mom and 2 little boys.

If any lady has a good reason for wearing pants to church, this would be one.  But, she is not the first lady I have seen riding a moto to church in full Sunday dress. They certainly follow the counsel given by Elder Dallin Oaks in October Conference 2008.

"How we dress is an important indicator of our attitude and preparation for any activity in which we will engage.  If we are going swimming or hiking or playing on the beach, our clothing, including our footwear, will indicate this.  The same should be true of how we dress when we are to participate in the ordinance of the sacrament.  It is like going to the temple.  Our manner of dress indicates the degree to which we understand and honor the ordinance in which we will participate."

I know that during the winters here, I would love to wear pants instead of a dress. But this image will always remind me that this woman understands the principle and is willing to sacrifice comfort to follow the principle. And so I shall follow her example. I won't wear pants to church in the winter, but I will wear my long john's under my skirt! 

We found a hobbit house here in Uruguay!