Week #17 in Argentina

Teaching our English Connect class in the Pilar Ward is in its third week and we are enjoying getting to know our Ward members better through teaching them English.  I tell them that they are teaching me Spanish as much as I am teaching them English.   It's a fun group as you can see from the picture below.  When I'm at Church, they introduce me to others as their "English Teacher" which makes me smile.   

During our last class one of the members brought his 7-year-old son to class who sat quietly during the class coloring with colored pencils and paper.  The next day the dad sent me this picture that his son drew during the class.  When asked what he drew he said that when he heard me talk about Jesus Christ during the class he drew a picture of me next to Jesus Christ and we were both kneeling while we prayed.  Sometimes we don't realize how much children are listening to us as we talk with their parents.  I would hope to be able to pray someday with Jesus Christ like this.


Late Fall has officially arrived in Argentina, and the days are getting cooler.  It rarely gets below freezing here but I'm fascinated that humidity is highest in the winter here.  I'm used to growing up in Ohio where humidity is highest in the summer and we talk about the dry heat out West.   In Argentina we are learning about wet cold which makes 45 degrees feel really cold.   It's no wonder the people here bundle up like its 10 degrees when its 45 here, it is COLD!  One of our responsibilities here it to inspect missionary apartments to make sure they are clean and safe.   We visited one apartment today where the missionaries were bundled up in their apartment because they said they had no heat.   They said they were fine (which is a common response, they are willing to sacrifice their comfort so often as they serve) We told them that their air conditioner was also a heater and showed them the button to turn the heat on.... they were very thankful and we felt very useful   :)


We have also started visiting members and amigos more frequently with the missionaries and have enjoyed participating in the teaching, playing games and singing hymns with them.   Most are so accepting of us and willing to change their lives to follow the commandments and be closer to the Lord.  Every day I'm impressed with the young missionaries and how hard they work and how strongly they believe in what they are doing.   





We also had the opportunity to attend a large book fair in the convention center in Buenos Aires.   I don't think I have ever seen more books under one roof in my life.   I'm sure they must have large book fairs in the United States like this, but I have never been to one.   The Church had three large booths at the fair, one for Family Search, one for Just Serve and the other about The Book of Mormon mostly staffed by Service and Full-Time missionaries from the 4 missions in Buenos Aires.   I was impressed how busy each booth was and particularly, how busy the Family Search booth was.   I never realized how many people in Argentina are of Italian descent.   I was talking to one of our students in English Connect who was about my age and so proud of his Italian ancestors.   While other countries in South America have large populations descended from Spain, for some reason Italians all came to Argentina.   Aregentians are very proud of their European ancestry which is reflected in the architecture in Buenos Aires.



And lastly, as a teenager on our Ward Temple trips to Washington DC, we would always like to look for the "Temple Cat" who was a cat who lived around the Visitor Center.   Below are what I like to call the "Temple Parrots" who live around the Buenos Aires Temple.   :)




I've been reading Alma 26:30 as our spiritual thought to missionaries as we do their apartment inspections because it describes our experience as a missionary along with theirs.   It is hard to be away from children, grandchildren and family along with Diet Dr. Pepper but the joy we have every day in seeing the Gospel in action and being a part of that effort far outweighs the challenges we feel with being here in Argentina.   The 225 young missionaries in this mission have become our family for 18 months.



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