Holidays in Buenos Aires

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Yes. This is a weird shot but it's very cool to see how the landscaping
around the temple seems so normal and natural. 

Said something really silly yesterday. Said in all seriousness. We need a Christmas tree. Some of the shops here have some very pretty little trees. When I stepped into the one shop that had what I thought was the prettiest tree, I touched it and it was plastic. Christmas trees are not plastic. I told Mike, “I want a real fake tree”. 

 

This morning, we recorded a driver getting out of a parking space where, and this is very common, he had only three inches in back and maybe, just maybe, one inch in front. He successfully got his car out. Had to record it because it defies description.

 

This week is stake conference. Saturday night's meeting was lovely. The topics were self-sufficiency, attending the temple and missionary work. The spirit was there and I was reminded that we are in a part of the world that is still developing. Sunday session all missionaries and return missionaries were invited to come up on the stand and sign Called to Serve. Goosebumps. The Stake President, who was presiding over the meeting, stood with his arm around another man, either his literal brother or maybe a former mission companion, as we were singing. Sweet image. 

 

People here, for the most part, live in very humble circumstances. Some do not have what we think of as “church clothes”. They wear the best they own to church. Some need dental work that they cannot afford. Very few actually own their apartment. There are very few single-family homes in the city. It’s all apartment living. 

 

Thanksgiving was great. Got to use FaceTime to see a lot of our family members. I am very home sick and missing our family’s Christmas traditions. We will be decorating cookies next Sunday night via Zoom. It will help, I’m sure. 

 

We had Thanksgiving dinner with the other Senior Missionaries, everyone contributing to the meal. Not only are we serving with wonderful people, they are all great cooks. The Lefler’s once again, opened their home to us. The views from their 20th floor apartment are amazing. The Lefler's are so warm and welcoming!

 

Went to the temple this week. Wonderful way to serve. Even using the language accommodation device, it was good to hear Spanish. The building itself is an unusual shape. It was like everything is designed to be part of a triangle. The workers, all Spanish speakers, tried hard to answer my questions. Between my meager Spanish, their limited English, hand gestures and my memory of how things go, we made it work. 


Thank you all for your love and support. We miss you all. We love you all. 

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