Siempre 29

Saturday September 26, 2015
The Capilla Abierta we had scheduled today canceled.  We took the opportunity to do a little Christmas shopping for our family before we head home.  You know time is creeping up on you when those things enter into your daily planning.

This evening we brought our projector and sound system and set up to watch Women's Conference
in the foyer of the temple apartment complex.  The Ness's provided dinner.  Also for dessert, we had a surprise birthday cake!

We so enjoyed watching conference with our husbands.  We had some gospel discussions afterwards, which put us home late again.  Conference started at 9 pm our time.

Sunday September 27, 2015
We did our Capacitacion in a great ward today. Salinas has a new building and they are anxious for this Capilla Abierta.  The chapel was packed full.  It was great!
The rest of the day was spent in visiting with all my family via facetime and receiving well wishes from the office elders over the phone.
Sunday night we participated in a stake youth fireside.  Their theme was "preparing for missions." The closing song was Called to Serve.  In spanish, there are four verses. The congregation stood to sing the first verse, then on the second verse the missionaries who are serving now came in from both sides of the chapel singing with the congregation the rest of the song.  The audience was surprised and the Spirit was so strong.  Tears were flowing from amongst the audience.  We filed to the front of the chapel and President and Hermana Cook, spontaneously joined us.  It was incredible and words won't describe what was felt in the Malvin chapel this night.
Afterwards they served cake and everyone in the audience sang Happy Birthday to me!  Kind of embarassing when really at my age, a quiet unknown birthday might be nice.  Actually if we could just enjoy everyone's love and not get older, that would be a great birthday!
We arrived back to our apartment around 8 pm and the Hermana's wanted to come and visit.  They brought with them a lucious lemon pie that was enjoyed by all.

LtoR: Hermana Bertuoli, Stewart, Arenas, Thorne

They only had 2 candles, thank goodness!

Hand drawn by Hermana Stewart

Some of my other birthday presents...

Mike bought these for me. An all leather hat and a Uruguayan pancho.

The Anderson's gave me this awesome leather notebook holder.
This will be my conference journal.

A gift of wonderful hand soap from the Cook's. 

Thank you to all the email's and facebook messages I received.  I love you all. 

Doin' What We Know Best

Friday September 25, 2015

We are doing what we know!  

While Mike worked installing this burglar alarm system, 

I deep cleaned the kitchen.

We also fixed lights so they didn't have to eat in the dark kitchen at night. I hung clothes lines.  We installed new light bults so they could see in the rest of their house.  Mike fixed an electrical plug in a bedroom.  We even fed the hermanas pizza when they came home that evening.  This was in Pan de Azucar. We accomplished plenty today and fell into our bed around midnight.

An Indian Princess with Her Indian Prince

Saturday, September 19, 2015

What a great day!  Celeste Bonito and Kyle Nash. They were married today and Kyle was baptized. I was able to view some of it while traveling 3.5 hours to Chuy.  As fate would have it, our iPad didn't charge and I only had 5%.  A huge hug goes to my daughter, Laura who took her girls and Anamarie and drove to Arizona to attend.  I love my daughters.  They are always thinking of others.
We brought 4 hermanas with us in the van because there are no hermanas in Chuy.  They were able to watch some of the wedding too.  I plugged in at the chapel in Chuy and was able to give my personal congratulations to our Miss Sallee.

Besides this great celebration, we had a loooooooooooong day.  We left Montevideo about 9 am, picked up hermanas along the way and delivered other things to houses along our way.  We had the trailer so we could bring all our capilla abierta stuff back to Montevideo and the hermanas could ride comfortably inside the van.  We had left our stuff in Chuy last week when we were there on Sunday.
We arrived in Chuy about 2:30pm and set up.  We held the capilla abierta from 4 til 8 pm.  This was another successful event.  One person from the police department was invited by 2 different co-workers, members of Chuy Ward.  After the tour he stated to one of the members, "I am going to come to this church every Sunday!"  There was also a large group of young men that were invited inside by the missionaries and they stayed and gave references.  When people are seeking and ready, they seem to find our Capilla Abiertas.

YouTube Video:  Capilla Abierta de Chuy

This older brother had a treasure book of photos and his journal writings.
They are not in FamilySearch because he does not have a computer.
I took pictures of all that he wanted me to and I will put them
into FamilySearch for him. 

No words necessary.

The hermana in white is 101 years old. She walks quite a ways to get to church.
I want to be like her.

   

                          

LtoR: Elder Diaz,Rosales, Hermana Fragapane,Townley,Paulson,Perez,
Burnett's, Elder Johnson,Ramos

 We packed up and then before we left Chuy we treated the hermanas to dinner.  They wanted to eat on the Brazil side so they could write home and tell their families that they had eaten in Brazil. 

LtoR: Hermana Perez and Paulson

LtoR: Hermana Townley and Fragapane

If you look above her head at the green sign with the white arrow,
you know we are in Brazil.  Salida = Exit Spanish
Saida = Exit Portuguese

We left Chuy around 9 pm.  We dropped the sisters off around midnight and we got back to Montevideo around 1am.  Up the next morning at 7:30 am to do another capacitacion but it was only 20 minutes away.  Looooooooooooooooong  weekend!

Ring the Bell...Mom's Last Treatment

Thursday, September 17, 2015

I know I posted this video directly into Facebook, but I also wanted it on my blog.  Today I facetimed with Mom as I always do when she has her treatment day.  This one was her last treatment and she has been my hero throughout this whole ordeal!  We kept saying, "Just around the next bend!"  Well, we made it.  Rhonda took her today and Dana and I joined the group via facetime.  So wonderful the technology that we have!   After Mom rang the bell and was starting to leave the medical facility, we all started crying.  Mixed bag of emotions for sure.  My heartfelt gratitude goes in prayer to Heavenly Father for sustaining Mom through this difficult time.
If you haven't seen the video here it is again.

Stewing over Stew

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Este had their multi-zone conference today.  I guess word is out that Hermana Burnett loves to help in the food preparation.  And so I do!  We planned on 120 servings of stew.  It is still cold here and so stew was perfect.  We had fruit cocktail with extra apples added, lots of bread, and a pound cake with ice cream for dessert.  Of course, the night before I didn't sleep very well, stewing over the stew!

Always anxiously engaged.  I love him!

He can be quite creative too!  Or maybe he is bored.

We also were invited to sing with the choir again.  

YouTube Video: Fe en cada paso

Some after conference shots.

Friday, September 18, 2015

We were asked to speak in the Las Piedras Ward as part of their ward activity in preparation for their ward conference.  We focused our thoughts on Christ on how he is the bread of life.  Along with that theme, we brought my wheat grinder, salt, yeast, bread dough in the process of rising and bread done. The wheat grinder represented "life putting us through the grinder".  When it does, if we choose we can make something better.  And so the analogies came from them and from Mike.  The children were fascinated with the wheat grinder and the rising bread dough.  They had never seen that before.  I spent all day making bread rolls to share with everyone.  I did 150 rolls!  What a great ward activity they had.  Lots of children running around, food including rolls and games.  The Relief Society had a hat decorating contest.  So fun to watch them have fun.  This was the first activity I had ever been to and I enjoyed it immensely.  Brought a little of "home" back into my life.  

No Room in the Inn

Sunday, September 6, 2015

From the Capilla Abierta last night, we drove 3.5 hours up to Chuy. It is the border town of Brazil. We had a training, capacitacion for their ward today on how to have a succesful Capilla Abierta.  We knew we would get in around midnight.  We had our hotel reservations that Mike did with Hotel International (don't let the name fool you!) on Thursday.  Why am I telling this?  Yep, you guessed it. They did not have our reservation and they were full.  Well, they did have our reservation, but the lady that booked the reservation did so for the wrong day.  Wednesday, 2 days ago.  We didn't know there were any other hotels in Chuy, but there was one and they did have a room (mas or menos).  I thought we might have to knock on the elder's door and sleep on their floor.  Maybe our van would have been more comfortable than their floor though.  Anyways, beggars can't be chooser and we only needed to sleep in this smaller room and bed for 6 hours.  At least it was clean.

Cambio Semana!

YouTube Video: Change Week_Valientes Depart

This was quite a different week.  We only had 13 new oros and 5 valientes. Easy, peasy for cooking meals this week.
I was invited to singwith the choir for the change meeting and that is included in the video.  Mike is sitting way in the back so it is difficult to hear.

The elders always come over for a feast by Elder y Hermana Burnett.
Elder Rogers is being transferred from the offices.
LtoR: Elder Cruz, Rogers,Torres

LtoR: Elder Cruz, Lawson, Torres

Chau to Elder Rogers

On our way to the airport...I don't think he gets paid.

Hermana Burbank's well worn shoes.

Hermana Burbank was the only hermana going home. 

Saturday and Sunday, September 12 & 13, 2015
Happy Anniversay Mom! 

The Anderson's found out that Moni's brother lived in Carrasco.  Moni is her convert who is married to Chencho, Mike's convert. We vistited them in Cordoba Argentina. The Anderson's invited them and us out to lunch to get reaquainted.  Mike knew the Kennedy family as well. They were in Fray Bentos. Moni's brother is talking with Hermana Anderson and his wife is the red head and they had a lovely young adult daughter who speaks very good English.  She is in the foreground.

Este Stake Conference was this weekend.  We had no scheduled capilla abiertas so we were able to participate.  I didn't go on Sunday. I was coming down with a cold and did not want to pass it on with all the hugs and kisses they give as greetings.  I must have needed the rest, because I slept most of the day.