tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16575538537080001102024-03-14T11:24:50.930-07:00Masedas Argentina MissionMendoza - In The Shadow Of The Andes Mountainsfredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-49513447453455450462016-03-14T23:31:00.000-07:002016-03-14T23:31:00.692-07:00Addendum<div abp="21">
At the last branch council in February the date of March 8th was set for the next meeting. President Polla asked us if we would be attending the meeting. We explained that on the 8th we would be very busy preparing to leave and packing our suitcases because our flight home was the next day. He all but insisted we attend so we told him to pencil us in and we would see. As it turned out we got a call from President Goates on the 7th informing us of a new couple from Brazil that would be assigned to La Consulta and would we please cease from liquidating all of the items in our apartment so they could move in. This was great news for the mission and us as it freed up some time in our preparations to leave. </div>
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So we went to the meeting on the 8th and as we walked into the room where we normally have our meeting we were surprised to see the room set up for a large dinner. </div>
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President Polla was out back cooking up some yummy asado. </div>
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We had a very scrumptious meal and got a chance to say farewell to many of the our wonderful friends. It was a tender moment as we went around the long table and embraced each one for the last time. We will never ever forget our experience in that part of the Lord's vineyard. </div>
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Our twin daughters and their families met us at the airport in Sacramento to welcome us and drive us to our home in Vacaville. We enjoyed our mission tremendously but are happy to be home. We tried to make our blog interesting for all and hope you enjoyed it. We are grateful to our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ for this opportunity we have had to serve in Argentina. This is the last entry as we sign off!</div>
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-88511915945701444082016-03-08T11:30:00.000-08:002016-03-08T10:28:10.371-08:00Despedidas Argentina<div abp="125">
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We are definitely winding things down here in Argentina with a lot of "last time" for this and that. We had our last monthly outing with the other missionary couples the other day in the form of a polo match. </div>
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It took a lot of time to locate one but found a polo club in Tunuyan and they were happy to have a few more spectators. It was a great outing with plenty of time to sit and chit-chat with our fellow missionary couples for the last time. </div>
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President Goates and his wife were not able to make it so we played a prank on them by sending a picture of a white car with a broken windshield to them just saying OOPS. </div>
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He answered back asking if that was the mission car. He felt relieved to find out we were just pulling his chain. </div>
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We have been teaching right up until this last week. We have been turning over the work to the Elders who were happy to get new people on their list. </div>
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The Morales family, partially pictured here, is the last family we have been teaching. We've been enjoying their great hospitality and wonderful friendship for over a month. We call Gladys, the mom, the Queen of <em abp="766">Empanadas</em> because she loves cooking them as much as we love eating them.</div>
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We also have been treated to a constant stream of farewell dinners and lunches. In Spanish it is <em abp="351">despedida</em>. It was very humbling for us to be treated with such love and respect as we attended the various events. They ranged from a formal dinner with President & Sister Goates and the other couples (forgot to take pictures)</div>
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to meals at farm houses where we ate beef and sausage cooked over an open fire (<em abp="776">asado</em>) along with homemade pizza (nothing like our pizza except it is round) and other yummy stuff</div>
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to a humble meal in a one room self-constructed wood house with no indoor plumbing or windows and a dirt floor where we had corn-on-the-cob. No salt, no butter.....just corn on the cob for the meal. We knew many were breaking their humble budgets to give us the best <em abp="782">despedida</em> that they could. But in these circumstances the words from an old Bob Dylan song always seem to come to mind......"May you always do for others and let others do for you". It made that delicious corn even sweeter. </div>
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We are leaving with very mixed emotions. On the one hand we will deeply miss the people here that we have grown to love and appreciate. On the other hand we know many in our family have been counting down the days for us to get home. We have especially missed our grandkids and look forward to their baseball, basketball, track and whatever other endeavors they may be involved in. Special thanks to Tom, Heather and Heidi for looking after our house and other administrative affairs for us. You guys were great! And Richie for doing the Christmas Family duty this last year. Bishop Sandifer thanks so much for making our donations process run so flawlessly from afar.</div>
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Oh yes.....there is also Fred's pals Bill, Rod and Ed at Cypress Lakes golf course that I am sure will easily and gleefully take advantage of the fact that he has only played one lousy round of golf in over a year!</div>
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One last piece of news we received from President Goates this morning is that there is a couple from Brazil coming soon to take our place!</div>
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We arrive in Sacramento on the 10th and look forward to seeing ALL of our friends very soon! </div>
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fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-31168509593911359732016-02-28T07:46:00.000-08:002016-02-28T07:46:55.289-08:00Not Too Trunky YET<div abp="125">
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Well it's been a long busy time since we have updated so here we go.</div>
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First, we have a great District Leader in Elder Lawrence. </div>
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I am told that his mom reads our blog so here is a shout-out for Elder Lawrence who is doing a stellar job as District Leader here in Valle de Uco! Sister Lawrence you and your entire family can be very pleased with your son's service here in Argentina. It has been a pleasure getting to know him and working with him.</div>
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We have been passing by a metal sign with metal letters in downtown Eugenio Bustos for months that has had broken letters U and I that were hanging sideways. </div>
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We have been gonna gonna gonna fix it one of these days so we finally got around to a small community service project and finally did it.</div>
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We helped teach Maria Bautista, who was baptized last year. </div>
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She had a beautiful baby in January that weighed over 10 pounds! Maria and Emanuel are proud parents of not-so-little Roberto.</div>
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We had another of our monthly outings with the other couple missionaries in January which is the middle of summer down here. </div>
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We went horseback riding through the dangerous wilds of the grape and olive vineyards of Lujan, just outside of Mendoza. It was a lot of fun after a big lunch at the best steakhouse we have experienced here in Argentina. The Argentine saddles are way different (no saddle horn) and not as good and stable as those in the US but nobody fell off!</div>
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Another family we have been teaching is the Auca family from Bolivia. </div>
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Wilbur and his father Basilio live in very humble circumstances on a farm in a one room house they built themselves that has a dirt floor. If you look carefully you can see the unfolded cardboard box insulation on the interior walls. Basilio is an Evangelical Minister and we have had some interesting discussions with him. They have not yet decided to be baptized but are getting closer as time goes on. We love these guys!</div>
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We have been teaching Nilda Ortiz who has had a son on a mission in Bolivia for the past two years. </div>
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David just got home this month and we took Nilda, her daughter Cintia and grand daughter, Flori, up to the airport in Mendoza to pick him up. Arrivals at the airport of returning missionaries are ALWAYS very special and tender experiences whether you are family or not. He is a fine, handsome young man who won't last long being single!</div>
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Linda had the Young Women over to our house for a cooking activity for the Personal Progress program. </div>
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They all had fun making white sauce for chicken soup. We all enjoyed the yummy fruits of their labors at the end of the activity!</div>
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We had two more baptisms this month. </div>
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Dario (10) and Malena (8) Condo are the newest members of the La Consulta Branch. They are great kids and are reading the children's Book of Mormon and attending church every Sunday.</div>
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We have been wondering what our good friends Paul and Debbie Hom have been doing since they have returned from their mission in England. Well, we have discovered that they are secretly spending time here in the Eugenio Bustos area in Argentina. </div>
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We spotted them driving around in their Ford Fiesta with their personalized license plate the other day. Those sneaky critters!</div>
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We now have only 10 days left on our mission which ends March 9th. We may have one more blog post before we leave.</div>
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fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-42985915483912004042015-12-30T11:10:00.000-08:002015-12-30T11:45:55.733-08:00Ho Ho Ho<div abp="128">
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President Ulisses Soares of the Presidency of the Seventy came to Mendoza to speak to all of the missionaries in the mission. It was quite a crowd and all were edified and energized. If you look carefully you can see us in the front row.</div>
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We had Thanksgiving at the mission home with President and Sister Goates along with the other couples and presidency members and wives. Great grub! Fred's back went out and we were "immobilized" for the first part of December. Our branch had a surprise birthday party for Linda at our little place. They all showed up at our door at about 9:30 at night. Just the way they do stuff here.</div>
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We had two Christmas parties for half of the 200+ missionaries on one day and the other half on the next day. We were in charge of the piñata and Fred made a battle axe looking bat to swing at it which the young missionaries liked. Fred was doing some serious teasing of Elder Warner because he got chosen by Sister Goates to be Santa for the mission Christmas party.</div>
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What goes around comes around!</div>
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The branch Christmas party was next and Fred got selected to be Papa Noel (Santa) which he reluctantly accepted. Now Elder Warner and Fred can share Santa stories. The Santa suit was made of very flimsy see through material. Fred decided that if he was going to be Papa Noel he would have to be a well-dressed one. So we bought the material and President Polla's daughter, who is a good seamstress, made the new suit plus beard in two days! Fred discovered a Christmas fact; when you are Papa Noel you are popular with EVERYONE (except for the ones that are struck with sheer terror at the sight of the big guy dressed in red) from...</div>
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...cute little kids</div>
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<a abp="757" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugK2IiQBbySC_EDluCfKaJTpTOu09yx5hpl-vXQpJgulLG8hk0AE8nE5TeL9AEpd0xMnflJMLb1eB9MzRUbhNjrXhyphenhyphenRdHUKWup9KtFJ6gx6KtvsSEuidb4Gb6hNJJe9teD3gNxK1HPXk/s1600/IMG_1811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="758" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugK2IiQBbySC_EDluCfKaJTpTOu09yx5hpl-vXQpJgulLG8hk0AE8nE5TeL9AEpd0xMnflJMLb1eB9MzRUbhNjrXhyphenhyphenRdHUKWup9KtFJ6gx6KtvsSEuidb4Gb6hNJJe9teD3gNxK1HPXk/s320/IMG_1811.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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to cool teenagers </div>
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<a abp="781" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkTKMryuQxSrotCDi8P3kZkJWSerU4fi-ZndqwxkqpxFUgQWUtAGkzI3vlWZ9O5EUAuuOrKxVWECRaKVouDK8wFsa92vpck0VckF0LF8OrbLYtoJ_-56LTa4QzmCaVaUxS1tMS4Sxm7Y/s1600/IMG_1817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="782" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkTKMryuQxSrotCDi8P3kZkJWSerU4fi-ZndqwxkqpxFUgQWUtAGkzI3vlWZ9O5EUAuuOrKxVWECRaKVouDK8wFsa92vpck0VckF0LF8OrbLYtoJ_-56LTa4QzmCaVaUxS1tMS4Sxm7Y/s320/IMG_1817.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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to suave adults!</div>
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Well, it has not been all parties this month. Linda was called as 2nd counselor in the Young Women program. The president & 1st counselor are both 18 yrs. old and only speak Spanish, of course!! We have helped the Elders teach some people who have subsequently been baptized. But this month Fred was privileged to baptize two girls who we have taught all the way through the lesson process. Isabel Condo(12) and her aunt Yesica Condo (13). </div>
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They are two sweet teenagers that live on a farm in a HUGE 3-generation family. We are also teaching Isabel's younger brother and sister who may be baptized in January. Stay tuned!</div>
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fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-79210090416575466072015-11-29T12:21:00.000-08:002015-11-29T12:28:03.008-08:00What's in a word?<div abp="125">
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<span abp="127" style="font-family: "calibri";">We managed to cross the Andes Mountains to go to the
Santiago, Chile Temple.<span abp="128" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a
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summit.<span abp="131" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a abp="206" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZfo10JhggxYN3TMsgIBeMIp2xcaqhHEJKHa1ADu5Oy-7DSVnvPrsjNwJSSA6NWeTb6E2r4R_PIwu9FR9yt1hNQ69Xc3lndFNyYHfTe3OTK7Kfh3EQ-mbc2jDWxRB7D8fW2sTj7BhIgw/s1600/IMG_1694.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="207" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZfo10JhggxYN3TMsgIBeMIp2xcaqhHEJKHa1ADu5Oy-7DSVnvPrsjNwJSSA6NWeTb6E2r4R_PIwu9FR9yt1hNQ69Xc3lndFNyYHfTe3OTK7Kfh3EQ-mbc2jDWxRB7D8fW2sTj7BhIgw/s320/IMG_1694.PNG" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span abp="133" style="font-family: "calibri";"><span abp="134" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>We stopped along the way to
inspect the missionary pension in Uspallata.<span abp="137" style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span abp="138" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span abp="139" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So after about 4 1/2 hours we arrived at
the border which was backed up quite a bit and it was moving slowly.<span abp="140" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We really missed the days in the State Department of having diplomatic passports which always expedited these situations. After a</span>bout another 3 hours of lines and forms, we
arrived at the last window where they told us we needed written authorization from
the church to bring the car out of Argentina.<span abp="141" style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What???<span abp="142" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We already had permission
from the Mission President!<span abp="143" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We argued
with him but to no avail.<span abp="144" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We huddled up
and decided we would make the trip no matter what.<span abp="145" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we headed back to Mendoza. The mission office Elders found out, after speaking to the Area Office in Buenos Aires, that we had to be
in the country a year (for what reason I’ll never know) before we would be
allowed to take the car to Chile.<span abp="146" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Elders ended up buying us bus tickets on a trip that left at 10:30 PM.<span abp="147" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> A</span></span><span abp="133" style="font-family: "calibri";"><span abp="147" style="mso-spacerun: yes;">fter</span> a sleepless night on the bus, we
finally arrived in Santiago at 6:30 AM the next day.<span abp="148" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We arrived at the hotel about 8AM and
crashed until noon.<span abp="149" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got up and ate
lunch, did some shopping and made it to the temple in the afternoon.<span abp="150" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We were able to attend a session and then do some sealings for our Branch President's wife's family.</span></span></div>
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<span abp="133" style="font-family: "calibri";"><span abp="150" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a abp="260" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimUgcfXeoNM1YBrFxU_1LEi0gh_jtO973yNy1Ivxkw_dEfitpevpm2j-MRt-ziNdaj-CwcQGnJKjI7t1AB3_Byag_9Y1EafK7s1U7q9aGZTpRg63RSQs_pd_NWeNExUjfcgP-X16-eJA8/s1600/IMG_1696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="261" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimUgcfXeoNM1YBrFxU_1LEi0gh_jtO973yNy1Ivxkw_dEfitpevpm2j-MRt-ziNdaj-CwcQGnJKjI7t1AB3_Byag_9Y1EafK7s1U7q9aGZTpRg63RSQs_pd_NWeNExUjfcgP-X16-eJA8/s320/IMG_1696.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
<span abp="133" style="font-family: "calibri";"><span abp="150" style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><div abp="132" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span abp="150" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Santiago is a huge city of 6.5 million people
and is very modern and clean because they employ a massive workforce to clean the streets
in the whole city each night.<span abp="152" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also lays claim to the tallest building in
Latin America, the Costanera Center, at 980 ft.<span abp="153" style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<a abp="276" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAt2VErbE_EKkXRf-EZd_sxDw6YjneApJJmTmOTUDOTWjt6MktAbRn5d2hdWSJ1bFlpOzCis8YxaJ0tLFOZME9mdqj1Lym7LT-t-x6PTcwTQWI19nAifto1RPAs0iPwEm4nkjmP8w5cJY/s1600/14274061-mmmain%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="277" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAt2VErbE_EKkXRf-EZd_sxDw6YjneApJJmTmOTUDOTWjt6MktAbRn5d2hdWSJ1bFlpOzCis8YxaJ0tLFOZME9mdqj1Lym7LT-t-x6PTcwTQWI19nAifto1RPAs0iPwEm4nkjmP8w5cJY/s320/14274061-mmmain%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span abp="153" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>We went to the top and what a view!<span abp="154" style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<span abp="154" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The trip home Saturday in the daylight was much easier to take.<span abp="155" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Climbing the western slope of the Andes took
us through a section of steep terrain where we went through a series of 29 hairpin
turns one after another to get to the top.<span abp="156" style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<span abp="156" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><div abp="530" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a abp="531" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4uhjZI1TBZXZlCTel4YZHodkkij4ljYzYfWssbBVc9o_qt7JEsmAvyA_Hq3gTWGvA3kith9QIlR2T961Ct5k2ySzze7XQ561l9sLVTKc0vPyi5M8lEWKMCoRBsXcslO_eIZZ52KOzYc/s1600/IMG_1746a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="532" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4uhjZI1TBZXZlCTel4YZHodkkij4ljYzYfWssbBVc9o_qt7JEsmAvyA_Hq3gTWGvA3kith9QIlR2T961Ct5k2ySzze7XQ561l9sLVTKc0vPyi5M8lEWKMCoRBsXcslO_eIZZ52KOzYc/s320/IMG_1746a.png" width="287" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
</span></span><span abp="133" style="font-family: "calibri";">We finally got home around 8pm Saturday night.<span abp="157" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will never forget our trip to Chile with
the Warners.<span abp="158" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span abp="133" style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p abp="159"></o:p></span><br />
<div abp="132" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span abp="133" style="font-family: "calibri";">We were at our branch president’s house the other day for
his birthday celebration. He had commented once on how much he liked Fred’s Duck
Dynasty tie, so he gave it to him for his birthday.<span abp="323" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not sure he totally gets the whole redneck
thing but he liked the tie and wore it to church the following Sunday and to
our last district conference.<span abp="324" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> W</span>hile
we were at his house, Fred mentioned that his birthday was in March (marzo in
Spanish).<span abp="325" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fred started getting text
messages on Tuesday (martes in Spanish) from some of the branch members wishing
him a happy birthday.<span abp="326" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went to a
branch council meeting that night got a birthday greeting phone call after
which he announced to the branch council that his birthday was in MARCH not
November.<span abp="327" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>President Polla took issue and
said that he understood it to be martes based on the conversation at his house
and that he was responsible for spreading the word. Martes, marzo, I suppose
you could get that confused easy enough.<span abp="328" style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anyway they had a whole birthday party set up in the room across the
hall with a big cake and all.<span abp="329" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span abp="133" style="font-family: "calibri";"><span abp="329" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a abp="331" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2rvFNJcyggYdek0nUU1hpw5h2sprIiI14E9xZhBplQrghIp2-ndoJIRmA8RHgwBU4VStJ0nLCLYX0PuiIB6D3EQGVC3efGXbdhIgIBWYl4DQb-qG471afUkH56IP3bJQsfWGho2MNNY/s1600/IMG_1734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="332" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2rvFNJcyggYdek0nUU1hpw5h2sprIiI14E9xZhBplQrghIp2-ndoJIRmA8RHgwBU4VStJ0nLCLYX0PuiIB6D3EQGVC3efGXbdhIgIBWYl4DQb-qG471afUkH56IP3bJQsfWGho2MNNY/s320/IMG_1734.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<a abp="489" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwWkw-nj7lT9jWprirFOJFfcUakj_FI3AJcxfJj7YGXzFzfWnjHccpsESezWxIXPWJr742EdFz9VNz3oRwo0lQKoMX7Ibu6OT1xPiVQ2SVrJAhYBxbyITl9zenSRh1llgKUw0MUiNOik/s1600/IMG_1737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img abp="490" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwWkw-nj7lT9jWprirFOJFfcUakj_FI3AJcxfJj7YGXzFzfWnjHccpsESezWxIXPWJr742EdFz9VNz3oRwo0lQKoMX7Ibu6OT1xPiVQ2SVrJAhYBxbyITl9zenSRh1llgKUw0MUiNOik/s320/IMG_1737.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since we
had only been here a week and didn’t have any celebration for his actual
birthday we all decided it was just an 8 month delay.<span abp="333" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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It is garlic harvest time here.<span abp="349" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is all done by hand and loaded on to slow trucks
that plug up the roads on the way to wherever they process the stuff.<span abp="350" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<a abp="360" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvtXdboSbXWf1u2Q0dxqWIAfg5yn50F5WT_f5_j9OQXYCI7zUuJJvz3rUpwPSQnpRHKPR-nlbuTGE4UFRIVh-yX02w8RJ3fqc5Eo39oCKZrwm4gUn8INrMdYRKmWVtsDwtWl_-_jS-U0/s1600/IMG_1697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<a abp="364" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkfu9-f91vQ3JtFfqDB85zq24T0ZaqCkqu6BTbRazjPvdByDh7cjGcBio7vReSkSwoq0a8ZjOy0-h3immQprbhkEq7TGVHYHFs3OuXXC9DHN792CBDPwiKPZ0MZ8gfZoa7OOlu613wYs/s1600/Sis.+Rogers+Garlic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="365" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkfu9-f91vQ3JtFfqDB85zq24T0ZaqCkqu6BTbRazjPvdByDh7cjGcBio7vReSkSwoq0a8ZjOy0-h3immQprbhkEq7TGVHYHFs3OuXXC9DHN792CBDPwiKPZ0MZ8gfZoa7OOlu613wYs/s320/Sis.+Rogers+Garlic.jpg" width="240" /></a><a abp="368" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJAHBQpoiFtaBLKTF3aOdtI26Xs4IL7lsbFuD5VaOYbagop1erh3zHrh6URomhrbyellIYzGd45L2sn8F5f5AUfkyJh6xB9rh7sh2XEJ6wYOtOXVdR5-zI-Yq-u1UkfuJq1FMkeFY17k/s1600/IMG_1573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="369" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJAHBQpoiFtaBLKTF3aOdtI26Xs4IL7lsbFuD5VaOYbagop1erh3zHrh6URomhrbyellIYzGd45L2sn8F5f5AUfkyJh6xB9rh7sh2XEJ6wYOtOXVdR5-zI-Yq-u1UkfuJq1FMkeFY17k/s320/IMG_1573.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<div abp="132" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span abp="350" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>They keep some of the harvest under plastic
in the fields for next years seed.<span abp="370" style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div abp="132" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Spring brings a lot of agricultural activity here with the grapes and a myriad
of other crops.<span abp="371" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can’t wait for all of
the fresh fruits and veggies!<o:p abp="372"></o:p></div>
<div abp="132" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span abp="373" style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>Spring also brings lots of pollen which brought on Linda's annual allergy attack on her
throat and bronchial tubes.<span abp="377" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had to
wear a mask and couldn’t venture out for 10 days.<span abp="378" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fred teamed up with the Elders from time to
time and managed to get some work done until Linda could recover.<o:p abp="379"></o:p></div>
<div abp="516">
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<a abp="496" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJTRg6_SsEsKjRR4cnScc7gGpE_9_hkEDq1qfV8bFSajuL2VSQ536w05xeeLVQMZxpcrtQ20Xp5RJJW1xEhHClElEc_uKipGkUc_MgRUSrcTFFcsvAw53qhJgfMEjGS_VrjeFvWDDCXg/s1600/IMG_1738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="497" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJTRg6_SsEsKjRR4cnScc7gGpE_9_hkEDq1qfV8bFSajuL2VSQ536w05xeeLVQMZxpcrtQ20Xp5RJJW1xEhHClElEc_uKipGkUc_MgRUSrcTFFcsvAw53qhJgfMEjGS_VrjeFvWDDCXg/s320/IMG_1738.JPG" width="320" /></a><a abp="492" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNO5eTGuppHuWJFT0h-UY1k2HmiCdNzR3cYlBMCOI2n5p1xeWvCmu8GErAEabo5ZQ4KesFY0zfgB-JmFXVINvWNQ8B8LMMcH8_AJU_z3PgkFNMLzL3xFyMpKvQrUUtK6oVnYegGHwZg0/s1600/IMG_1739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img abp="493" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNO5eTGuppHuWJFT0h-UY1k2HmiCdNzR3cYlBMCOI2n5p1xeWvCmu8GErAEabo5ZQ4KesFY0zfgB-JmFXVINvWNQ8B8LMMcH8_AJU_z3PgkFNMLzL3xFyMpKvQrUUtK6oVnYegGHwZg0/s320/IMG_1739.JPG" width="240" /></a><span abp="494" style="font-family: "times new roman";">
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fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-17430608722383123432015-10-31T12:40:00.000-07:002015-10-31T12:40:09.178-07:00Late Spring Snows<div abp="126">
<div abp="970">
<div abp="1468">
We went back to Manzano with the other missionary couples in the mission for our monthly outing. This is one of the places General San Martin used to formulate his plan for crossing the Andes Mountains to engage the Spanish Army in liberating Argentina, Chile and Peru. It had snowed about 3 inches and it really made the place look different than the last time we were there.</div>
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This is the actual Monument that was built in the 1950's to honor San Martin. </div>
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<a abp="307" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQEPbfcQpKY-TInEsZBfJ55OxcZ81YKO-P4Z2nq7O_vn-CYMDuKUANH1TOYt31Rv0B5h9oRSidZaXgQbfqvD10qVjLo_3vUoXbu-S-pFrJHb_BVZmIFZEI2GqgdKP_f1wnN-J5VhYRvk/s1600/FAM_5170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="308" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQEPbfcQpKY-TInEsZBfJ55OxcZ81YKO-P4Z2nq7O_vn-CYMDuKUANH1TOYt31Rv0B5h9oRSidZaXgQbfqvD10qVjLo_3vUoXbu-S-pFrJHb_BVZmIFZEI2GqgdKP_f1wnN-J5VhYRvk/s320/FAM_5170.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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No this is not a close-up of a golf ball. It is actually the texture of one of the walls inside the museum. Those dimples are about 3 inches across. The designer had to be a golfer!</div>
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We could not resist making a little snow man!</div>
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<a abp="1505" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJf1zK5Bh-dnPjLGl3-M3YwH9YdX56PqVP_ojZUV-yvgnlM87BbWK1-jgy_RS8SBqF7vKZ_4mc99cWOejr5OchxyQsjR-BB5eflA3ChleAeJZHIuSMxTa2oJC0Z2ZklK1gDfA-GYVs4x0/s1600/FAM_5198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="1506" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJf1zK5Bh-dnPjLGl3-M3YwH9YdX56PqVP_ojZUV-yvgnlM87BbWK1-jgy_RS8SBqF7vKZ_4mc99cWOejr5OchxyQsjR-BB5eflA3ChleAeJZHIuSMxTa2oJC0Z2ZklK1gDfA-GYVs4x0/s320/FAM_5198.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We all got indoors out of the chilly snow to enjoy a wonderful buffet lunch of beef ribs, suckling pig, sausage and goat plus a bunch other goodies and yes some healthy stuff too!</div>
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We finished the last of our overnight trips to do inspections of the missionaries housing. San Rafael is a beautiful area where we saw some of our old missionary friends again. Wine country of course and we found this interesting work of art in the center of one of the large roundabouts in the city.</div>
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<a abp="1511" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyEJiJiuDpHdSo7tAOwMZOa4HY83inuq5PiIlpxZdRolFClQo9udsjygD_8RjW71Ju70nO8PU8Sf2ZA_ppBcLeVykXuKTnT99pi2ikLuzGb9B_unlR_ObreFCXC_2zq9BUWnaWUAHufo/s1600/IMG_1675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="1512" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyEJiJiuDpHdSo7tAOwMZOa4HY83inuq5PiIlpxZdRolFClQo9udsjygD_8RjW71Ju70nO8PU8Sf2ZA_ppBcLeVykXuKTnT99pi2ikLuzGb9B_unlR_ObreFCXC_2zq9BUWnaWUAHufo/s320/IMG_1675.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Transfers are both a happy time and a sad time. After working shoulder to shoulder with these young missionaries for awhile it comes time for some of them (all of them eventually) to move along to a new area in the mission. We miss them and wonder if we will ever again cross paths. On the other hand it is exciting to get new missionaries transferring in with all of their renewed enthusiasm and energy. </div>
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<a abp="1516" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAflEUK6uQrUbgDy3-nLhFKmNo9QPQUzdS2yrYNn1scJMC6Qe-jVAxOxsRwqKqxgBoeiqXZnF_s6MzMwA812-pEtQQ2NcfxHrt5zhueiM2FIMJWQNSINN3ZWodO7gJqrOZewuDyOw5I8/s1600/IMG_1648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="1517" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAflEUK6uQrUbgDy3-nLhFKmNo9QPQUzdS2yrYNn1scJMC6Qe-jVAxOxsRwqKqxgBoeiqXZnF_s6MzMwA812-pEtQQ2NcfxHrt5zhueiM2FIMJWQNSINN3ZWodO7gJqrOZewuDyOw5I8/s320/IMG_1648.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We have started and are continuing a tradition of taking all of the missionaries in our district to lunch at transfer time just for one last get-together. </div>
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They celebrate Mother's Day in October here so Linda got to have TWO this year. Our branch president had all of the men produce a video from the family to the Mom. We had a big party at the chapel and all of the moms got a little gift presented by family members. Then all of the videos were shown. Linda was VERY surprised to see the one our kids put together for her. Thank you internet. </div>
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All of this took about 4 hours while one of the dads barbequed a large quantity of chicken out back. We had a wonderful meal that started around 10:30pm with about 55 in attendance. Yes that is not a typo, 10:30. Dinner here is commonly between 9 and midnight due to the siesta between 1 and 5 which pushes the work-day late into the evening.<br />
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Yes we are not just traveling and having parties. We are very engaged in missionary work. As the Elders Quorum President Fred is busy organizing the home teaching routes. It is so much easier now with all of the reports and organization being available online. We are presently teaching 3 investigator families. Humble people who live out on some of the farms and we hope for some baptisms as they embrace the gospel. We along with another couple plan on a 3 day trip to Santiago Chile next week to attend the Temple there. Crossing the Andes will be fun. Stay tuned!<br />
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fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-34636748498548110932015-10-05T11:40:00.000-07:002015-10-05T11:41:10.562-07:00A Useful Pioneering Project<div abp="1163">
All of the missionaries in our district went to the San Carlos Museum for P day. It is on the site of an old fort from the 18th century and only a corner of the original is left but it was very informative and we all had a good time.<a abp="1164" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubNwycnTIxTCVvtd6VfT6SLEObQyKVmYoRFFqCntJUNWMydJxmrS_vhj-gtOYEROEqN5UA4-GLAlODm7z2hqD5T0tqQ1PQecZo23PzCqf_pJ_5C5_oKum1rvNKd5H5vgBhEBPx3jCVcU/s1600/IMG_1596.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1165" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubNwycnTIxTCVvtd6VfT6SLEObQyKVmYoRFFqCntJUNWMydJxmrS_vhj-gtOYEROEqN5UA4-GLAlODm7z2hqD5T0tqQ1PQecZo23PzCqf_pJ_5C5_oKum1rvNKd5H5vgBhEBPx3jCVcU/s320/IMG_1596.JPG" /></a><a abp="1166" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2v_bj2XQj4-lsXIF8EPZKR2rUeZp84wka4MicToFfocXHaT-Esx-_n6cPcW5sCWaKy9kX1w5fwr6dYsIo9IlCvVxg-2DWl1ZSmI90JaR36SWGOFNfwdxb-V2ortjGRwn69KD3glP2PU/s1600/IMG_1592.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1167" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2v_bj2XQj4-lsXIF8EPZKR2rUeZp84wka4MicToFfocXHaT-Esx-_n6cPcW5sCWaKy9kX1w5fwr6dYsIo9IlCvVxg-2DWl1ZSmI90JaR36SWGOFNfwdxb-V2ortjGRwn69KD3glP2PU/s320/IMG_1592.JPG" /></a><a abp="1168" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKRQT0Bl4slcfIQR098oXW33oRytwQCoQxshWMO2ls8R335SiIoqiRifGcYg5K4_4WOBwyjZGZ8K-O-xtviprfa9ohyphenhyphennfNC8CYxoDzDTNz_y-t3GvR8k3jK-UN9tkTF1-kALn25_p1bw/s1600/IMG_1595.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1169" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKRQT0Bl4slcfIQR098oXW33oRytwQCoQxshWMO2ls8R335SiIoqiRifGcYg5K4_4WOBwyjZGZ8K-O-xtviprfa9ohyphenhyphennfNC8CYxoDzDTNz_y-t3GvR8k3jK-UN9tkTF1-kALn25_p1bw/s320/IMG_1595.JPG" /></a>
We are currently teaching some Bolivians in Chacon which is a small community about 5 – 10 minutes from our house in Eugenio Bustos. They do farm work for a living, are poor and live in humble conditions. <a abp="1170" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSxmC4srRoKM96pFvomEIb0US6PUf04VtG0wAyH_Pmr3syG_H9CMaJdKmy8q2NAeOtuKKkTEpz3-8K6kpfxu2DAmNtVvRuutynDotH97MjJRyD9Mkinh07E_Y0se8UmEqxs1xpARqsGM/s1600/IMG_1600.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1171" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSxmC4srRoKM96pFvomEIb0US6PUf04VtG0wAyH_Pmr3syG_H9CMaJdKmy8q2NAeOtuKKkTEpz3-8K6kpfxu2DAmNtVvRuutynDotH97MjJRyD9Mkinh07E_Y0se8UmEqxs1xpARqsGM/s320/IMG_1600.JPG" /></a> Their houses are one room and are self-made from the log trimmings from the saw mill. Inside is a layer of black plastic for water proofing then covered with cardboard for insulation. No windows! Ponciano and Hilda Estrada’s (plus two small children) house has a concrete floor and a woodstove but Wilbur Acua’s floor is dirt with no heater. Neither had any chairs and we taught the first lessons with everyone sitting on the only bed in the house. We since have given them a couple of plastic chairs. Not sure how they afforded it but the Estradas have a pickup. The other day we were visiting and Fred helped them in building a “carport” from bamboo. <a abp="1172" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjey7N4oWlTvbon2vq3BDnmfKh_6BhpgPL8cNRds0vLM2ZW0ZvH_iw6UW36nZMeAzoyESdp6nrgWw22_hHVlLOz4_9Gr0ZHs9qbcSR27n5fd5aHyBq4auU_1ZN7MMfmrxiBiarh7aSeEKk/s1600/IMG_0032.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1173" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjey7N4oWlTvbon2vq3BDnmfKh_6BhpgPL8cNRds0vLM2ZW0ZvH_iw6UW36nZMeAzoyESdp6nrgWw22_hHVlLOz4_9Gr0ZHs9qbcSR27n5fd5aHyBq4auU_1ZN7MMfmrxiBiarh7aSeEKk/s320/IMG_0032.JPG" /></a><a abp="1174" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaGYICwZtRc83I5FjgZMT4_D4F2lupD6o8U0rxikdZRebT4nsXK3JCfoRb-6ip0knwSNqHquJSEhwITwT7tkF25C5SGxYy_FoxKu2CzpLStawxFOkVzD7LUFslVADSihAOxeP5IhmJlE/s1600/IMG_0034.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1175" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaGYICwZtRc83I5FjgZMT4_D4F2lupD6o8U0rxikdZRebT4nsXK3JCfoRb-6ip0knwSNqHquJSEhwITwT7tkF25C5SGxYy_FoxKu2CzpLStawxFOkVzD7LUFslVADSihAOxeP5IhmJlE/s320/IMG_0034.JPG" /></a><a abp="1176" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVDH3wnu19Rxx5Apc_MN2cL1DQNOXTk4iF6g0p7qKz3HutEYQlxyZQO9Nim51tRKZzimZaS7Q-LLXj2_pfQbxdql5kY1t1-irkEfZ8P3U3WQ_2AA31axLtwVkuDtqzfRmzKLhRNZEzp0/s1600/IMG_1641.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1177" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVDH3wnu19Rxx5Apc_MN2cL1DQNOXTk4iF6g0p7qKz3HutEYQlxyZQO9Nim51tRKZzimZaS7Q-LLXj2_pfQbxdql5kY1t1-irkEfZ8P3U3WQ_2AA31axLtwVkuDtqzfRmzKLhRNZEzp0/s320/IMG_1641.JPG" /></a><a abp="1178" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP38lhF3Vk9Dv8A9W9d8drcEnE3z4HDvtZjFCtymz-IhI2DCvC4Y2GYyKmKd6QCcGn-G6nJkUHjwZDVuvydP0FgtU21Uu8lgvj3yD0yvplSGZE0pDn4iv6SfPiuT5wEIywkOyh0XQmths/s1600/IMG_1642.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1179" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP38lhF3Vk9Dv8A9W9d8drcEnE3z4HDvtZjFCtymz-IhI2DCvC4Y2GYyKmKd6QCcGn-G6nJkUHjwZDVuvydP0FgtU21Uu8lgvj3yD0yvplSGZE0pDn4iv6SfPiuT5wEIywkOyh0XQmths/s320/IMG_1642.JPG" /></a> Reminded him of doing pioneering projects with the scouts. Notice in the 2nd picture that Hilda carries her one year old daughter on her back while working around the house and yard. It worked out pretty well and all were happy with the final product. <a abp="1180" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1aOwid3mlF8VQ1HCEBwCVD5KDEqc9wn0xE31zibdxhezNmWMUlUh1KKPvayMoAD8Nn7kIJ5GOX40RqXzV-sToNZ7dPbcdWC-XNQUfgj0esTRksxedu3krW4gnMcgMUHn1blio-I0E04/s1600/IMG_1587.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1181" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1aOwid3mlF8VQ1HCEBwCVD5KDEqc9wn0xE31zibdxhezNmWMUlUh1KKPvayMoAD8Nn7kIJ5GOX40RqXzV-sToNZ7dPbcdWC-XNQUfgj0esTRksxedu3krW4gnMcgMUHn1blio-I0E04/s320/IMG_1587.JPG" /></a>
We gave the Book of Mormon kids version to another family we have been teaching and a couple of the kids, Miguel and Anita, immediately sat down by the fence and started reading. Such sweet kids!<a abp="1182" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPQbA8yFF8XHRzdorFYLA0i4fl3Q-9scqX5pnlUB_dII0jFx41Ic9aCVuusABfKBKyRgvgl77snortzUfhN_HWYCiJOXRzQX4UMpB9oiQciSRwmKbxZIp80SBwkxsbgbVcZPvY1bVeHE/s1600/IMG_1633.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1183" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPQbA8yFF8XHRzdorFYLA0i4fl3Q-9scqX5pnlUB_dII0jFx41Ic9aCVuusABfKBKyRgvgl77snortzUfhN_HWYCiJOXRzQX4UMpB9oiQciSRwmKbxZIp80SBwkxsbgbVcZPvY1bVeHE/s320/IMG_1633.JPG" /></a>
We came across a van that was Wal-Mart on four wheels. They had a little of everything!<a abp="1184" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVlfloHeJtnRLqdOGJC4FQavKhl6pnuR3QR4XrqgiHT4c0_AQnS8wvdwwGSyxLSShnZLqoPyAIDUgWtUTZyyYa4Qoe0ROLckipT9PXUfgA2zoCRlvsY6rYkOm3-Q3-H4zhqECABC8GaA/s1600/IMG_1613.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1185" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVlfloHeJtnRLqdOGJC4FQavKhl6pnuR3QR4XrqgiHT4c0_AQnS8wvdwwGSyxLSShnZLqoPyAIDUgWtUTZyyYa4Qoe0ROLckipT9PXUfgA2zoCRlvsY6rYkOm3-Q3-H4zhqECABC8GaA/s320/IMG_1613.JPG" /></a>
The inspections continue with a trip to San Luis and parts east. It is about a 4 or 5 hour drive and almost half way to Buenos Aires. <a abp="1186" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1UA5K8ZnPC3pk_J8GprI56d5eT2wvqCXkh-FY1e3cKWkdLeI9Zyb9M-pOgI9VIK4GRVONh9Aymca2O_mywI56EsP96hHV50XGudXLhvzhUQqY5BGUa0FaUfWmauBIaCWpBC-4JMk_6U/s1600/IMG_1602.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1187" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1UA5K8ZnPC3pk_J8GprI56d5eT2wvqCXkh-FY1e3cKWkdLeI9Zyb9M-pOgI9VIK4GRVONh9Aymca2O_mywI56EsP96hHV50XGudXLhvzhUQqY5BGUa0FaUfWmauBIaCWpBC-4JMk_6U/s320/IMG_1602.JPG" /></a> Look who we found hanging out in downtown San Luis with her torch held high outside a casino! <a abp="1188" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuBMLqHnWjmDlil-uvmf7gOdQn0hWF3wKAiDehF-PtMllfChpORjp8goUTzH8ph05SF2gkE6h54o1n4gPeQaL7KWJfoNxJ9Vo8ZnPEPeOGUHfEgALRa7BySS2UgBR-gfGLrn5tf5uAxU/s1600/IMG_1605.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1189" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuBMLqHnWjmDlil-uvmf7gOdQn0hWF3wKAiDehF-PtMllfChpORjp8goUTzH8ph05SF2gkE6h54o1n4gPeQaL7KWJfoNxJ9Vo8ZnPEPeOGUHfEgALRa7BySS2UgBR-gfGLrn5tf5uAxU/s320/IMG_1605.JPG" /></a> We passed a little town with a familiar name! Amy and Donna Fraga should be proud. </div>
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The follow up on maintenance items was a bit complicated and often never got done so the Mission President authorized Fred to issue work orders for repairs directly to a contractor which cuts through a lot of previous red tape. Some things from your career just have a way of following you around.
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<a abp="1310" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpcWZrhscZao7u1P44-30sp5h0ws7LoT-NBBP9cthczvAUI77h-KG7o9sGo74vRjQT5nA_UNAvvzM3yedu6LvLUYCI8ZrFg7BTuzmFeA9ZnJ8t7QqNbU_O9CAzJAyDdvnw6_7C5wUpha0/s1600/IMG_1584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="1311" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpcWZrhscZao7u1P44-30sp5h0ws7LoT-NBBP9cthczvAUI77h-KG7o9sGo74vRjQT5nA_UNAvvzM3yedu6LvLUYCI8ZrFg7BTuzmFeA9ZnJ8t7QqNbU_O9CAzJAyDdvnw6_7C5wUpha0/s320/IMG_1584.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our widowed landlord, Delia got a new little dog named Pompi from her children and he is a perfect little companion for her. </div>
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We had Elder Wakley and Elder Lott over to our house for <u>all five</u> sessions of General Conference streaming over the internet Saturday and Sunday. Our best efforts to fill their stomachs was futile. They enjoyed the ribs, spaghetti and other assorted foods. Linda had to make a special trip to the store Monday to resupply the depleted shelves and fridge! Conference was really great with three new Apostles called to replace the ones who had passed.</div>
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<a abp="1192" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioimxmUATHYEm40UN9x7fTB35SkNHdd7GlIAGRbXqwnQdyCDZIe6haJyUcsaUksgx20CNwpOKw6h8cH0vlGTgROCwdYFgqHEPmVjq1sYdSBNiwXuhqN_RAxZkG-XD0bdFf8qaMo7yltU4/s1600/IMG_1612.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img abp="1193" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioimxmUATHYEm40UN9x7fTB35SkNHdd7GlIAGRbXqwnQdyCDZIe6haJyUcsaUksgx20CNwpOKw6h8cH0vlGTgROCwdYFgqHEPmVjq1sYdSBNiwXuhqN_RAxZkG-XD0bdFf8qaMo7yltU4/s320/IMG_1612.JPG" /></a> Putin' on the armor!
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Found this cool picture in one of the pensions we inspected so I took a picture of the picture.
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fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-28928765561862034942015-09-15T12:32:00.003-07:002015-09-15T12:32:52.026-07:00We Found It! (sort of)We had a baptism in the La Consulta branch! Judi Vladez was baptized and welcomed into the church. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnEWvGg4NLZ1xi7h__dwV_EKcijUkvZA2MbBkPiLuu1XHQ-0qo4KXSBtLDFNOeHLpz_q7mpunxciA-n_xYpsGCOjrrHaVCEfA3RFKGLlkQ68aQkKJml_oRFGKQ5Do7xhyn2YwoE0Y1VCs/s1600/IMG_1510.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnEWvGg4NLZ1xi7h__dwV_EKcijUkvZA2MbBkPiLuu1XHQ-0qo4KXSBtLDFNOeHLpz_q7mpunxciA-n_xYpsGCOjrrHaVCEfA3RFKGLlkQ68aQkKJml_oRFGKQ5Do7xhyn2YwoE0Y1VCs/s320/IMG_1510.JPG" /></a> I know this looks like the picture was taken in a dungeon but it was getting ready to be painted. It looks much better now. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xz-LYSKJePQWI0yTChsExF2Dfsucf1J_9W6NgdsXcvEga7mXSy_G_7s4sVeKKRjA0RbuQGyQuMB0Sr5av0qyFly7gO5HIlKW2gTBAvf0Zr3koNGYmIGlHEgjHAQ9NHDNgoZIRDiL95k/s1600/IMG_1506.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xz-LYSKJePQWI0yTChsExF2Dfsucf1J_9W6NgdsXcvEga7mXSy_G_7s4sVeKKRjA0RbuQGyQuMB0Sr5av0qyFly7gO5HIlKW2gTBAvf0Zr3koNGYmIGlHEgjHAQ9NHDNgoZIRDiL95k/s320/IMG_1506.JPG" /></a> We have a collapsible baptismal font that seems to get the job done. It is set up behind the chapel and taken down after the ceremony. We are teaching nine investigators at present. Not sure yet how many will continue to progress but it is a wonderful experience giving them the opportunity to learn about the church. Some are very poor but nevertheless deserve all of the blessings the Lord has in store for them if they will follow his teachings.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4s8-I6xG0jZgqXpO2L1JNyz3-TYcb9jvBBwgbSWPHIp831AFjXYE9ipq8PwdLEOGc_6INocFwowmQ-ateHS1xW8ww8lfonyA_3LWvJrJ7jPj4nLJHpDjZYla98wgHRaHJHbgsLQ4yknw/s1600/IMG_1512.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4s8-I6xG0jZgqXpO2L1JNyz3-TYcb9jvBBwgbSWPHIp831AFjXYE9ipq8PwdLEOGc_6INocFwowmQ-ateHS1xW8ww8lfonyA_3LWvJrJ7jPj4nLJHpDjZYla98wgHRaHJHbgsLQ4yknw/s320/IMG_1512.JPG" /></a>
Maria Condo carries her little one on her back everywhere during the day doing chores, cleaning and cooking that yummy bread in the outdoor oven. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFDpUFstN7GVfAnbKAS7tRXY6MtJqvzAbDozLHnBU3hcI3MfzY4sHgqotAu884SLU2aDDJZ4HFv4Dp-b_YYt54QK0CGqmVSnP3eQL7vW6Fs17ZSmRLRgqMO79H35oI6JupCnJxrnJrH8/s1600/IMG_1577.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFDpUFstN7GVfAnbKAS7tRXY6MtJqvzAbDozLHnBU3hcI3MfzY4sHgqotAu884SLU2aDDJZ4HFv4Dp-b_YYt54QK0CGqmVSnP3eQL7vW6Fs17ZSmRLRgqMO79H35oI6JupCnJxrnJrH8/s320/IMG_1577.JPG" /></a>When the baby gets hungry mom is right there!
We finally got a chance to take a picture of this unique wash tub made from 1/3 of a tractor tire. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvjC8WAxRWZjYlWsfGwvBU80vaAvHt7gCSjSfkLyiFrLqR8xIgtR2-RPfvV7jFF88iKM2PAwGHkuGPFGSusMcl_gGdpsJCNxh-6CgDJ4HdUUh-BMlnZsVcvucoC7cJLua0T5wJw1aLhw/s1600/IMG_1516.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvjC8WAxRWZjYlWsfGwvBU80vaAvHt7gCSjSfkLyiFrLqR8xIgtR2-RPfvV7jFF88iKM2PAwGHkuGPFGSusMcl_gGdpsJCNxh-6CgDJ4HdUUh-BMlnZsVcvucoC7cJLua0T5wJw1aLhw/s320/IMG_1516.JPG" /></a> It is usually in use when we drive by and we don’t want to cause any awkward moments. It serves as a bathtub for the kids and a laundry tub for washing the clothes. A pretty good idea actually.
We have started the inspections again beginning with San Juan. Hard to believe we have already been here six months! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfS325hL2lrmtb9XFe90tD_6nCT94ETh5G8Bu5RupLP8HiSFFbDYojplBiMHGzriXvOrEDRgDqdTbLtDCYvlCglXVUqDiB72tft_Oj7hNE5qUio45FPf1dsaUZBiK8k6ToiM47w0wGu0/s1600/IMG_1534.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfS325hL2lrmtb9XFe90tD_6nCT94ETh5G8Bu5RupLP8HiSFFbDYojplBiMHGzriXvOrEDRgDqdTbLtDCYvlCglXVUqDiB72tft_Oj7hNE5qUio45FPf1dsaUZBiK8k6ToiM47w0wGu0/s320/IMG_1534.JPG" /></a> Some interesting things in the missionaries’ pensiones continue to amaze us like a way overdue defrosting of this freezer. We have the inspections down to an efficient routine now. We have developed a scoring system with candy bars as a reward for the cleanest places. The REALLY good ones get a Snickers from Wal-Mart. It actually works as word has gotten around the mission!
While in San Juan we actually found the house with the address of Fred’s great aunt when she lived in San Juan almost 100 years ago! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWOv0UJj95ieczyMfQln9Rr9G8UwMyjH091uB3r_wQKkCMqhY_WIaIqxnd0gEWSMDYl8mwFBooVfuHmv0F_WV_z8jeS2p-GcEw__QAK1MufAB0L424wvBP5ZlBqKCtHaL8YRS4T_sqhs/s1600/IMG_1540.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWOv0UJj95ieczyMfQln9Rr9G8UwMyjH091uB3r_wQKkCMqhY_WIaIqxnd0gEWSMDYl8mwFBooVfuHmv0F_WV_z8jeS2p-GcEw__QAK1MufAB0L424wvBP5ZlBqKCtHaL8YRS4T_sqhs/s320/IMG_1540.JPG" /></a> The original house was destroyed along with all of the others in the area by the 1944 earthquake. Unfortunately neither the people living there now nor any of the neighbors know anything of Teresa Garcia or her family.
We had another of our monthly activities with the other missionary couples in the mission. We went to a monument of the Ejercito de los Andes (the Army of the Andes), led by General San Martin, in Mendoza. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcEVBQRDUnFpvcfzM8ZefBOzFAvNzQuY_kFhyphenhyphenrduxu30qmAcoligo8xtQ6Sw9uso-lVBUGC5gUV3fioZqbi2szT15Kl9FSduQVgO5MX6Hv0DQMtYMKSpsjWgRs6TyA0r88BqLFsuzbyy0/s1600/IMG_1542.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcEVBQRDUnFpvcfzM8ZefBOzFAvNzQuY_kFhyphenhyphenrduxu30qmAcoligo8xtQ6Sw9uso-lVBUGC5gUV3fioZqbi2szT15Kl9FSduQVgO5MX6Hv0DQMtYMKSpsjWgRs6TyA0r88BqLFsuzbyy0/s320/IMG_1542.JPG" /></a> It is up on a hill overlooking the city. Then we went down to the Plaza Independencia <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbvMVLsOpimLrTeyHvZ29aYYMgosZUNrs-0kEBoqFOIvuKLd5sGqgWEFB-1ChDs3mzE-WXVREvcJhxhFb2XHGe7irAvYgHzmkm3CWnxwZjgAyYaYCJ_Ib1RF3Qmo6FE0MZoidNms0d_g/s1600/IMG_1570.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbvMVLsOpimLrTeyHvZ29aYYMgosZUNrs-0kEBoqFOIvuKLd5sGqgWEFB-1ChDs3mzE-WXVREvcJhxhFb2XHGe7irAvYgHzmkm3CWnxwZjgAyYaYCJ_Ib1RF3Qmo6FE0MZoidNms0d_g/s320/IMG_1570.JPG" /></a>and rode bikes around for a while and ate some yummy ice cream. We met a group of Hari Krishnas chanting their thing as they walked around so we joined with them for a bit mutual fun. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDM11B_4U00GnwPeO5Y32m4fhtCplNpCSQTLK65P9uLQ0hmyBxIcY9ejls6eHyS-I_kYzkdtDn-4DlbQi7Z99KERAh4goGUY3yrQW4aY2HVYdgfOZZpfxMdAFS-gueiZjrm9xADl31R0/s1600/IMG_1573.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDM11B_4U00GnwPeO5Y32m4fhtCplNpCSQTLK65P9uLQ0hmyBxIcY9ejls6eHyS-I_kYzkdtDn-4DlbQi7Z99KERAh4goGUY3yrQW4aY2HVYdgfOZZpfxMdAFS-gueiZjrm9xADl31R0/s320/IMG_1573.JPG" /></a> They got a kick out of Fred ringing the bell on his bike in time with their chanting and instrumentals.
Here is the sunrise between Tunuyan and Ugarteche one early morning on our way to Mendoza. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69TUGBZqf58V4fpz4SipB5xhyphenhyphenFLJUJq8wbA8PcpbJPZbnyrRufDpdqqgTSoO7yvCn62GOumgFyOt6vN9UgI-amaU9FJ1jzZlVHopmiCIACiOomhlj7u3DErBvLMuZOuSNfeDAI0RmFps/s1600/FAM_5155a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69TUGBZqf58V4fpz4SipB5xhyphenhyphenFLJUJq8wbA8PcpbJPZbnyrRufDpdqqgTSoO7yvCn62GOumgFyOt6vN9UgI-amaU9FJ1jzZlVHopmiCIACiOomhlj7u3DErBvLMuZOuSNfeDAI0RmFps/s320/FAM_5155a.jpg" /></a> Love these mountains!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYEb27DlI8HSHCOC7VJD3qqf8wfYQCXIIR3ox4VdxXw4nP4G6FwMT8KH-G6O9gk1dLX40f6BDlE_89CoEb8QC_GKFYRCBfpqBJ88Irfd2VC_Q2WFOcGVeSyARNPlNnhPbLZp34-ChmyM/s1600/IMG_1519.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYEb27DlI8HSHCOC7VJD3qqf8wfYQCXIIR3ox4VdxXw4nP4G6FwMT8KH-G6O9gk1dLX40f6BDlE_89CoEb8QC_GKFYRCBfpqBJ88Irfd2VC_Q2WFOcGVeSyARNPlNnhPbLZp34-ChmyM/s320/IMG_1519.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSF3QC74osBsKK9wEwD7S2TyD_8T15L8vXEYhpkFGb8zCKPKiAnKB6xMvJAzzb2m1L20Po-8YyxS40mTbJ9pjO0-ktEw61z7dQl-KNNyHvlsugxpnfnQ6ullmq4xDG7C938tmQpdOpa4/s1600/IMG_1525.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSF3QC74osBsKK9wEwD7S2TyD_8T15L8vXEYhpkFGb8zCKPKiAnKB6xMvJAzzb2m1L20Po-8YyxS40mTbJ9pjO0-ktEw61z7dQl-KNNyHvlsugxpnfnQ6ullmq4xDG7C938tmQpdOpa4/s320/IMG_1525.JPG" /></a>
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-17356035856637664632015-08-19T13:51:00.000-07:002015-08-19T13:51:05.857-07:00Best Advertising!
Well it has been snowing here lately while you northerners are going through heatwaves and fires everywhere. We are just awed by the majesty of the Andes Mountains. It is a photographer’s paradise if you like mountain scenery. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6i8hmGNcuPP08Xr8zoDIoijLC9zCY1Ab7hfciaYBC7gcjcN9BTbInGuX3wjNy5h1N2smyfUGAWulIr28v1KXZuCO5GAW4nf6Qhb23EqRl6CZCAgl3bfnrkcagGyfwVHUl-of0VuFlSM/s1600/FAM_5130a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6i8hmGNcuPP08Xr8zoDIoijLC9zCY1Ab7hfciaYBC7gcjcN9BTbInGuX3wjNy5h1N2smyfUGAWulIr28v1KXZuCO5GAW4nf6Qhb23EqRl6CZCAgl3bfnrkcagGyfwVHUl-of0VuFlSM/s320/FAM_5130a.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDQfNhu50ETIIkvOnLm15araNBTG5IVCz1JO8xPsf13syB55cf0Uo5cBX5OEgNM5cfq3HN_C5uBH_pjkiU6Q5rYiuVrDy2X5kMixNR4RfWpm2dXrlACfeE_cRGv0lAo-mCDKYT97ndLU/s1600/FAM_5126a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDQfNhu50ETIIkvOnLm15araNBTG5IVCz1JO8xPsf13syB55cf0Uo5cBX5OEgNM5cfq3HN_C5uBH_pjkiU6Q5rYiuVrDy2X5kMixNR4RfWpm2dXrlACfeE_cRGv0lAo-mCDKYT97ndLU/s320/FAM_5126a.jpg" /></a>
We took a trip up to Historic Manzano which is a place where General San Martin met with his troops back in the late 1700s in the fight for independence from Spain for Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. He let it be known that he was going to cross the Andes from there to attack the Spanish but the local Indians snitched him off to the Spanish. He knew this would happen and the Spanish fell for the decoy while San Martin attacked through another route further north through Uspallata. The rest is Argentine independence history. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphn92_M4mPk-C2JjVro3U-YWxAEqOG8bS0ma-zdL_C-R-MQAcSrs9iONDee4kIXXRVlbeSnZy5z11szZWUXgg9QHT29YsBBr5EwIupcGOsskETR9SHKtttNyiWfLD8FqaZk8XVKIeN1Q/s1600/IMG_1479.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphn92_M4mPk-C2JjVro3U-YWxAEqOG8bS0ma-zdL_C-R-MQAcSrs9iONDee4kIXXRVlbeSnZy5z11szZWUXgg9QHT29YsBBr5EwIupcGOsskETR9SHKtttNyiWfLD8FqaZk8XVKIeN1Q/s320/IMG_1479.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdXXtYeSNnKMyRxa7hnYETXGmEiBNGoqf2En4DLbaffUl8xndf0XIh5VITeyiiQKFpl-1-9stj6rAXeyL7tJP3IDhv9xluhwTe0PRt-PpJu3dTKMfdlqqbRjlrALB3jgY0JPsap00iWU/s1600/FAM_5124.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdXXtYeSNnKMyRxa7hnYETXGmEiBNGoqf2En4DLbaffUl8xndf0XIh5VITeyiiQKFpl-1-9stj6rAXeyL7tJP3IDhv9xluhwTe0PRt-PpJu3dTKMfdlqqbRjlrALB3jgY0JPsap00iWU/s320/FAM_5124.JPG" /></a> It is tourist place with museums and shopping to be had. There is a restaurant there with the best ever advertising! Nothing better to attract the gaze of hungry passers-by than huge racks of ribs cooking in plain sight over an open fire. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx55LdKpXMT0uMiX4u5VLHChw78qWGTzGtoAHs4x29y94IUZef43YQefKLwFhVezDxc_Be1AHVdnQMceBVmGaHP8R_HnWrwWPIUHkoF5jTw1JfweZtVh5yrQeLchZkCOQrQ02BUYAzbh8/s1600/FAM_5127.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx55LdKpXMT0uMiX4u5VLHChw78qWGTzGtoAHs4x29y94IUZef43YQefKLwFhVezDxc_Be1AHVdnQMceBVmGaHP8R_HnWrwWPIUHkoF5jTw1JfweZtVh5yrQeLchZkCOQrQ02BUYAzbh8/s320/FAM_5127.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-mu5OJeey-B2TuW40AvvcxneEwDKAnBGGR9GAc_YkGNFOOkqkeLmSbAKmVwurnvk2ngQnTz8RJHws65nSjAb3eIuWe2vGdzhGtV5O9LLmL-YuxA85mHRAqn8asMfvxXkBbS-GZtRKbA/s1600/IMG_0913.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-mu5OJeey-B2TuW40AvvcxneEwDKAnBGGR9GAc_YkGNFOOkqkeLmSbAKmVwurnvk2ngQnTz8RJHws65nSjAb3eIuWe2vGdzhGtV5O9LLmL-YuxA85mHRAqn8asMfvxXkBbS-GZtRKbA/s320/IMG_0913.JPG" /></a> We had a wonderful buffet meal there and left feeling like we had just finished a big Thanksgiving dinner. Beef ribs, sausage, suckling pig and goat all fire roasted plus a large selection of other stuff. We WILL be back!
Our monthly outing with the other couple missionaries was in San Martin. We had a tour of an olive oil processing plant which also has a small hotel on site. It was very interesting seeing how they take the raw olives and reduce them to oil. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuCZGG6Ey35gTHYkMbs1CGHy8pFHEOu801HYi680rnMfSxVPOH019a6FHqmdMFqQERsYH-mCXTyWSkXDURQiR-PUUrUwXkBqaQk6q6WIHwr_TN80rHVgnESQCyFrqukvEdHa3UsuTmNQ/s1600/FAM_5141.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuCZGG6Ey35gTHYkMbs1CGHy8pFHEOu801HYi680rnMfSxVPOH019a6FHqmdMFqQERsYH-mCXTyWSkXDURQiR-PUUrUwXkBqaQk6q6WIHwr_TN80rHVgnESQCyFrqukvEdHa3UsuTmNQ/s320/FAM_5141.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoy4xIg1O1Dmna3L46FHDznn9_rrskUW_EiB5uhwdl6dTq078ZV0WerWP8CqoEfIQfu6ixGMaWhWa_4sH1aK2GNm775A00MIvZ9UGW5LraSu93iKwDvTjVgOJ3eZzLQI9kfZ5qyxY6y7o/s1600/FAM_5144.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoy4xIg1O1Dmna3L46FHDznn9_rrskUW_EiB5uhwdl6dTq078ZV0WerWP8CqoEfIQfu6ixGMaWhWa_4sH1aK2GNm775A00MIvZ9UGW5LraSu93iKwDvTjVgOJ3eZzLQI9kfZ5qyxY6y7o/s320/FAM_5144.JPG" /></a> President and Sister Goates were able to take time out from their busy schedule to be with us. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiAqmtapMQ3ux93SgJVIeCg51yiz8u3qMLRG-X5AYplUtve51CCLWF8gw7S0H5_jzXyNi-rvsO4L3xIfff4X9hyYmZ5L3OoTSuEvDCy-a0nvmIrMU5iW70pGWK3CsLdICmhRCR7U3Mkg/s1600/FAM_5148.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiAqmtapMQ3ux93SgJVIeCg51yiz8u3qMLRG-X5AYplUtve51CCLWF8gw7S0H5_jzXyNi-rvsO4L3xIfff4X9hyYmZ5L3OoTSuEvDCy-a0nvmIrMU5iW70pGWK3CsLdICmhRCR7U3Mkg/s320/FAM_5148.JPG" /></a> A good mid-day meal was had by all. We also visited a family vineyard and got some insight into the things they do to get by.
We finally finished all 80 of the inspections of the missionaries quarters in the whole mission just in time to start over in September. We are smarter now and more familiar with the lay of the land, so to speak, so we expect things will go much smoother on the second round. It was really great to get to see the whole mission and meet some very outstanding and wonderful young missionaries even if some of them come up a little short on housekeeping.
We are still teaching some investigators and unbaptized members of different families in the branch. There is a baptism this Saturday for Judi Valdez who is a neighbor of ours.
We have sort of adopted our landlord’s dog named Boni. She reminds us of our daughter Heather’s dog, Mocha. She has developed a habit of crossing her front paws when she is lounging around the house. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuaHkVEJnivbwwbUvdBke8k2fpSReYFGNT0tsbYQuxqas09KZYHUbq3NgTr-22cxjd_C6YfyjAVGZTyjwYf_JUw_Wel9DBTrYD4M9Of5G31FHeR3igKggBTy84vyLdJ83RuRzsWwA1kw/s1600/IMG_1499.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuaHkVEJnivbwwbUvdBke8k2fpSReYFGNT0tsbYQuxqas09KZYHUbq3NgTr-22cxjd_C6YfyjAVGZTyjwYf_JUw_Wel9DBTrYD4M9Of5G31FHeR3igKggBTy84vyLdJ83RuRzsWwA1kw/s320/IMG_1499.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtz_7Yc_D4ITWveDxzuvvEMOloWH6skWV42xliHzqVXvd07zYBXee9W-AGKcNGXM8PuKeh_r6ksrqZ4S-TJgtlYgelWS8JjClEgtarZq0iLL-XA7iebs9u9n3jRbFhkbuymBVODB2qjGk/s1600/IMG_1505.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtz_7Yc_D4ITWveDxzuvvEMOloWH6skWV42xliHzqVXvd07zYBXee9W-AGKcNGXM8PuKeh_r6ksrqZ4S-TJgtlYgelWS8JjClEgtarZq0iLL-XA7iebs9u9n3jRbFhkbuymBVODB2qjGk/s320/IMG_1505.JPG" /></a> She does not get much attention from the owner and is pretty much just a watch dog around here. Fred has been teaching her manners and she is a quick learner and good pooch. She loves coming indoors occasionally and likes to lie down on the mat in front of our couch for a nap.
The mother of one of our members died and we went to the funeral. They do not embalm people here so they bury them quickly. This woman died at 1am and was buried at 5pm the same day! The cemetery was an interesting place. Some build shelters over the graves and it gives the cemetery a shanty-town look. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOB57eghWPz44AX2zZdHW556y2uJ8yRE2Nb7Ng7wNWeVZx5XrIWcH58Ivzgdj0hvFuaDiko0QE3upU39lNn4iJzJ053mmk5N3rQMZMhSCvxxbJTwd8zrAhOI3svoNP7tUb7fBsuBwoZ0/s1600/IMG_1503.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOB57eghWPz44AX2zZdHW556y2uJ8yRE2Nb7Ng7wNWeVZx5XrIWcH58Ivzgdj0hvFuaDiko0QE3upU39lNn4iJzJ053mmk5N3rQMZMhSCvxxbJTwd8zrAhOI3svoNP7tUb7fBsuBwoZ0/s320/IMG_1503.JPG" /></a> Cultural diversity I suppose.
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-31163697076205554942015-07-24T12:25:00.000-07:002015-07-24T12:25:01.108-07:00Hokey What?We hope you guys are enjoying summer there because it is COLD here with temperatures down to freezing and below almost every night. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBaa5LGbNECzvsOphR5rS3UjvjcMbAuRY6zlnK5g8rLGanZPBjrZMH6x7f_lZBWij2qNVzsSF6UB4aMDKtDQyKZJcqGrdWJO8-iVwqAEeQNrRkSwfbvFhLGBIBuzpoZNM0dNYYawCCfrg/s1600/IMG_1451.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBaa5LGbNECzvsOphR5rS3UjvjcMbAuRY6zlnK5g8rLGanZPBjrZMH6x7f_lZBWij2qNVzsSF6UB4aMDKtDQyKZJcqGrdWJO8-iVwqAEeQNrRkSwfbvFhLGBIBuzpoZNM0dNYYawCCfrg/s320/IMG_1451.JPG" /></a>Our monthly outing with the other couples here was at the Mendoza Zoo. It was a fun outing were we saw lots of interesting and some boring animals. One interesting fact is that some of the animals have escaped from their cages and still hang around the zoo in the woods and shrubbery there. The lion walking around loose was cool. JUST KIDDING. It was mostly monkeys and some other animals we had never seen before. One of the highlights was watching a couple of grizzlies dancing, so to speak.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Rlr86FLM1wkTQDNZmR1GQPrmYGy5KZYTIdT4_C00kFA8TFhbvMrr8aIBd81JuqYvqrQWdLBfX91pO-BKT9P3KWMBiSnZOkNcF0Crwn4DCkemWiWVP4dL_PDgyhfiQ3h5HugD_NDWDO0/s1600/IMG_0899.MOV" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Rlr86FLM1wkTQDNZmR1GQPrmYGy5KZYTIdT4_C00kFA8TFhbvMrr8aIBd81JuqYvqrQWdLBfX91pO-BKT9P3KWMBiSnZOkNcF0Crwn4DCkemWiWVP4dL_PDgyhfiQ3h5HugD_NDWDO0/s320/IMG_0899.MOV" /></a>
Elder Carrea from Chile decided to try out his new theory on “scripture study by osmosis” during a break at our District Meeting. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fb1frkAx-bI9jpeeEatvs9hjzGHhG86IxIsz2QPwYSacLqDNJirVKex2k4dtwGs2wEA9axUlg25SdRBHV8pG76ln1A76QJiImqtpVWwdYJT4cc3vlV3RL-9EqtXeGVq3A30WTIx954M/s1600/IMG_1412.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fb1frkAx-bI9jpeeEatvs9hjzGHhG86IxIsz2QPwYSacLqDNJirVKex2k4dtwGs2wEA9axUlg25SdRBHV8pG76ln1A76QJiImqtpVWwdYJT4cc3vlV3RL-9EqtXeGVq3A30WTIx954M/s320/IMG_1412.JPG" /></a> I think the idea needs a little work yet.
Then there are the gangsta sistas from Valle de Uco Zone flashing their gang signs. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpiwhvssL5Z6P8OHnF6P_MjRyYk5nBnbjc5AME00xW7nqquVPxA_ZYXLawnme7JniJeaVBQHo394_mZrbHgc6BRaAobxy3mMgXqx6uvWehDvoy-N01aBTLYzjQci9_obqGrZiwVWW548/s1600/IMG_1413.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpiwhvssL5Z6P8OHnF6P_MjRyYk5nBnbjc5AME00xW7nqquVPxA_ZYXLawnme7JniJeaVBQHo394_mZrbHgc6BRaAobxy3mMgXqx6uvWehDvoy-N01aBTLYzjQci9_obqGrZiwVWW548/s320/IMG_1413.JPG" /></a> No wonder half of our zone got transferred this time!
Our Tres A La Vez in La Consulta was a smashing success. Like the others it ended with a talent show where we had lots of participants. We did our part by getting all of the missionaries from the US to do that long standing tradition that everyone knows but can’t remember exactly when or where they learned it; that all-inclusive dance; that icon of American culture; the HOKEY POKEY! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrOQERFuoJ3ijXqEW6j4efiN-PGe9X-BSCNArGFcURqtKcxjHCL3QE6jd5jm8WN6FzeWbvaFClqjnp-v1OcdL6_T7KpFQqpI7q1xxwLVs_mk-wEYqV4UlBs-cIquSi6JYxIcYfy_fcA4/s1600/IMG_1432.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrOQERFuoJ3ijXqEW6j4efiN-PGe9X-BSCNArGFcURqtKcxjHCL3QE6jd5jm8WN6FzeWbvaFClqjnp-v1OcdL6_T7KpFQqpI7q1xxwLVs_mk-wEYqV4UlBs-cIquSi6JYxIcYfy_fcA4/s320/IMG_1432.JPG" /></a> It went down with resounding applause and cheers from the crowd. Now all of the Latino missionaries that saw it are doing it! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYW6FH8HuNWX1CUFz2Q3nFiCNdr7QxY1epRICXpPDzK7-s1T3NT3oFAJyQkqvUUkKipuajHWCKUb8sDlDVsttWg10ZsfpWkZWkfszR21Nrtk0HvBvNqHquGtxNpWuxFst0RrkqwAWtVlg/s1600/IMG_0910.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYW6FH8HuNWX1CUFz2Q3nFiCNdr7QxY1epRICXpPDzK7-s1T3NT3oFAJyQkqvUUkKipuajHWCKUb8sDlDVsttWg10ZsfpWkZWkfszR21Nrtk0HvBvNqHquGtxNpWuxFst0RrkqwAWtVlg/s320/IMG_0910.JPG" /></a> The whiteboard exercise down at the town square was highly successful. We got over 50 contacts with addresses to follow up on. More than all the other towns combined! I love this town!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzsvWHGAZQ3gJAAKXxSNcF2FtO17hpgmUmhXH8m76ufaznsi2nc5QqJh5OWv_ZvadtGqG_l_mjhtxsIVrwjn9q_tg6kVhDVRlCxXq4I24uS0JSfXGLa7u9X3V8qwKET0HYcuv6u3uO98/s1600/IMG_1393.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzsvWHGAZQ3gJAAKXxSNcF2FtO17hpgmUmhXH8m76ufaznsi2nc5QqJh5OWv_ZvadtGqG_l_mjhtxsIVrwjn9q_tg6kVhDVRlCxXq4I24uS0JSfXGLa7u9X3V8qwKET0HYcuv6u3uO98/s320/IMG_1393.JPG" /></a>
Hmmm… looks like Elder Gray is also testing out the “scripture study by osmosis” theory.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-q2Ad0HwpOeIJAoN-HO7rG21RBEZnfW-_QA25nuBcF_PmXKL8abOffDBWvS8q4bDZX1Q_r5hsVhtP830NVECcY86zQftPLpnYP2ChkB0pSnEwCaBQ2EsCq0EzezURTcB8nXYuirC18G0/s1600/IMG_1449.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-q2Ad0HwpOeIJAoN-HO7rG21RBEZnfW-_QA25nuBcF_PmXKL8abOffDBWvS8q4bDZX1Q_r5hsVhtP830NVECcY86zQftPLpnYP2ChkB0pSnEwCaBQ2EsCq0EzezURTcB8nXYuirC18G0/s320/IMG_1449.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3nZJxkJWSlFr-dVMghxyKnvrK00gwkxRZW-Bx18Jh3ahmwOtw2bZRZNNgFzYBSx-ASs2yzviLbq9yZlDTREy_IrXlTwXJJQAo1bbbrp_-EQ01JsGhyphenhyphenP97RNUn9ClHJn8fZ6G8Trds8s/s1600/IMG_1468.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3nZJxkJWSlFr-dVMghxyKnvrK00gwkxRZW-Bx18Jh3ahmwOtw2bZRZNNgFzYBSx-ASs2yzviLbq9yZlDTREy_IrXlTwXJJQAo1bbbrp_-EQ01JsGhyphenhyphenP97RNUn9ClHJn8fZ6G8Trds8s/s320/IMG_1468.JPG" /></a>
Pension inspections produced another goofy hat to try on.
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-5932921916513468382015-07-09T14:09:00.000-07:002015-07-09T14:09:25.906-07:00Asado Is Good Stuff!!"Tres a la vez" is a program in our mission that focuses on baptism, retention and reactivation. Our zone in Valle de Uco had an all-day event planned for contacting investigators, study, contacting potential investigators and a talent show. We were a bit skeptical about the whole thing that these young missionaries had planned but went along to support the activity. It was in another town, Tupungato, where all 16 missionaries in the zone would swarm down and focus on the tasks at hand. Normally there are only 6 in that town. Each companionship was assigned three investigators to visit that we had never met. Then we met back at the church afterwards. First house - the wife answered the door and promptly waved us off. Second house - nobody home. Well our skepticism was really off the chart at this point and we figured we'd be back to the church in no time. The third house was a couple in their 70’s named Villaverde. We had such a wonderful time getting to know them. It was an awesome experience! We ended up spending an hour or more with them sharing a video and teaching them about the restoration. Had to slap myself for lack of faith. After lunch and study time (during the siesta), we headed downtown to a plaza where the plan was to have a couple of whiteboards with markers and ask people on the street to write down some of the things they felt were a blessing in their lives. Skepticism was raging again. Turns out people were happy to do it!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhExfPFAVv8kWqOqJYfgTvG0GGW8dLWdXswrhlIKYyB587hewjLrbss8OGz0EGlKMYYUtU2bABDia8BraPcBFf3sxWNEgqsxAT7-Mxj26OsJwWuNDQxWDhaIEL87NXquvieqwoa-hbR3Xw/s1600/IMG_1395.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhExfPFAVv8kWqOqJYfgTvG0GGW8dLWdXswrhlIKYyB587hewjLrbss8OGz0EGlKMYYUtU2bABDia8BraPcBFf3sxWNEgqsxAT7-Mxj26OsJwWuNDQxWDhaIEL87NXquvieqwoa-hbR3Xw/s320/IMG_1395.JPG" /></a> We spent an hour or so and the young missionaries got over 20 names and addresses to visit at a later date! Another slap for lack of faith.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRVW3d7GeSMjyN6hWoud9gJZx90_l5W9BcT387dxtA93-iqWuIBlSzhyNWxkonQmIlxwgv2PsULFRw_u9cLhhGK_djOuQEyemn4PbiNa1wp4WJYkXmdtOrt4jpiImsdguOpUR7Iy3sm4/s1600/IMG_1396.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRVW3d7GeSMjyN6hWoud9gJZx90_l5W9BcT387dxtA93-iqWuIBlSzhyNWxkonQmIlxwgv2PsULFRw_u9cLhhGK_djOuQEyemn4PbiNa1wp4WJYkXmdtOrt4jpiImsdguOpUR7Iy3sm4/s320/IMG_1396.JPG" /></a> I cannot think of another activity I have ever seen that produced so many contacts in such a short period of time with such easy effort. The talent show was fun and many of the ward members and missionaries took part. One guy sang three songs that were at the professional level. Absolutely amazing. Got home late but the day was a success we will not soon forget it.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwNxtUNkcoHXBCoE6Ypu06tLB5VuOQmpIBC6pf26UNLCuCeBZVa2r2LKIXzUo_hp5NQohOWMBuzZBUwusnLWhQd-3xivX7vGTO1NZjcX86GVlGcZqiyd16FQYX6EOHyCNyFgBy9N8ud0/s1600/IMG_1403.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwNxtUNkcoHXBCoE6Ypu06tLB5VuOQmpIBC6pf26UNLCuCeBZVa2r2LKIXzUo_hp5NQohOWMBuzZBUwusnLWhQd-3xivX7vGTO1NZjcX86GVlGcZqiyd16FQYX6EOHyCNyFgBy9N8ud0/s320/IMG_1403.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLZS4DmQ7S-7ZM0omMTMAL9j4uokxcpFmn-FiYwQ_SrCSLMU7glPbrZxbazrSbaGZ-ayd1k_zIXrKrT0Z7XxELlknlAbKrU7iZqV2k6B705XZdrXlztFr5ZRYnRrNJf5zH-OBwk4mTqc/s1600/IMG_1405.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLZS4DmQ7S-7ZM0omMTMAL9j4uokxcpFmn-FiYwQ_SrCSLMU7glPbrZxbazrSbaGZ-ayd1k_zIXrKrT0Z7XxELlknlAbKrU7iZqV2k6B705XZdrXlztFr5ZRYnRrNJf5zH-OBwk4mTqc/s320/IMG_1405.JPG" /></a>
The Quecanos are such a sweet family. They are the ones who cooked the yummy bread in the brick oven. They invited us over after church to have "asado" for lunch. Asado is roasted meat cooked over coals much like a barbeque. They fired up the brick oven again where they divided the coals in three parts. Cooking sliced potatoes in the oven…..heating water…..and cooking the asado. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtay5YuPQkgE58sgGO8_OM5rlFx9q9wsC7f2jg32qY-RutjpjE1xPkbCah4Qt4DRA3Hjof_tr6AzaVtqKxrMiVvNcVQl9l3V10hBr3gO3UP_AkviFBFodXZsT-JQHpNEGdBK9cTbluO74/s1600/IMG_1420.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtay5YuPQkgE58sgGO8_OM5rlFx9q9wsC7f2jg32qY-RutjpjE1xPkbCah4Qt4DRA3Hjof_tr6AzaVtqKxrMiVvNcVQl9l3V10hBr3gO3UP_AkviFBFodXZsT-JQHpNEGdBK9cTbluO74/s320/IMG_1420.JPG" /></a> The meat was beef ribs, sausage and some sort of sliced beef. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_ybqzj_pYspdAQ2y42JiCLj-ZJU-pYazUPI0kLxLdVdkunqibe0Cfu3oMf5nypu8Al2Z1YYDYGBZb-uSNv-Ai0Q9SlVxgCWgJsDi98E8V1EC8Dc1R1Amxm11a_X7mjAZ_NQUpNu1EGc/s1600/IMG_1426.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_ybqzj_pYspdAQ2y42JiCLj-ZJU-pYazUPI0kLxLdVdkunqibe0Cfu3oMf5nypu8Al2Z1YYDYGBZb-uSNv-Ai0Q9SlVxgCWgJsDi98E8V1EC8Dc1R1Amxm11a_X7mjAZ_NQUpNu1EGc/s320/IMG_1426.JPG" /></a> Done to perfection it was scrumptious! We get such a kick out of Sister Quecano. She is a bit shy and is only about four and a half feet tall but such a generous and sweet personality.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmoaOy6ey9srfWiDgNA1XVixwIYiMuuK4iRqua98wq6ihy_zKOCNAU2kLkpkzSfFcABXOH2zK3cYhFKpcPLEV0P_XPvbljvgDnJO9iLTpD7Nk8ONVhff78LYJoqYjjfu3s2qDBEbaJx4/s1600/IMG_1424.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmoaOy6ey9srfWiDgNA1XVixwIYiMuuK4iRqua98wq6ihy_zKOCNAU2kLkpkzSfFcABXOH2zK3cYhFKpcPLEV0P_XPvbljvgDnJO9iLTpD7Nk8ONVhff78LYJoqYjjfu3s2qDBEbaJx4/s320/IMG_1424.JPG" /></a>
We are still teaching the Condo's teenaged girls. They have a tentative baptism date for August 15. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JuvLzPy5L3c7R-Nq0FVEOlpd-xv6OLX7tUGcksTUsSdEmC2fLRAHhtuA1LoBLGrarL12dDEPmoThk9r-T9DL8CY_xMw7YkBZ0wu4UOHQvBfVOW7jxRtDgvw5tD8v1wkoNzb5nX99Le0/s1600/IMG_1272.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JuvLzPy5L3c7R-Nq0FVEOlpd-xv6OLX7tUGcksTUsSdEmC2fLRAHhtuA1LoBLGrarL12dDEPmoThk9r-T9DL8CY_xMw7YkBZ0wu4UOHQvBfVOW7jxRtDgvw5tD8v1wkoNzb5nX99Le0/s320/IMG_1272.JPG" /></a>Their 23 year old brother, Jose, who has not been out to church in years, is helping and we are hoping he and the rest of the family will take this occasion to renew their commitments and activity. Stay tuned!
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-5465238104575598432015-06-24T19:26:00.001-07:002015-06-24T19:26:16.782-07:00The Beast!Well last Sunday was Father’s Day and we had a special activity for the fathers in the branch on Saturday. We met upstairs in our chapel and played games where all the fathers won of course and received lots of prizes all containing lots of sugar plus a new pair of house slippers. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsb5JFSJ1IkuMAZzBRnxX6mW54jgje_7A1BjqPWvem_f26zBA2s_ZeKyEZHv2H5wJj_ZwTeZRrADCgaPql_ggE1anyh0T6oEGTYUCSTo56Mor9QghT-4ng8dyi0mWMRhiTzbjto4x5jxo/s1600/IMG_1385.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsb5JFSJ1IkuMAZzBRnxX6mW54jgje_7A1BjqPWvem_f26zBA2s_ZeKyEZHv2H5wJj_ZwTeZRrADCgaPql_ggE1anyh0T6oEGTYUCSTo56Mor9QghT-4ng8dyi0mWMRhiTzbjto4x5jxo/s320/IMG_1385.JPG" /></a> Then they herded all the dads into another room where there was a TV with a curtain rod going over to the widow that served as an antenna of sorts where they watched a soccer game between Argentina and Jamaica. The reception on the TV was not exactly HD. You could see the ball but not very well. They served hot chocolate and cookies to the dads during the game. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0ZZ340BaxIH26KZWqTmpKfEXZWRQxAPN2EbCuTAuEDVIp2ciIMUzdeDGICMsS0oFup85JY93Ub7R6hq4P-luVrfu-GGZCDFDQP_s_WPBjiD8qslGvocvKDEG6zqLVJCmff9wkmWLWx8/s1600/IMG_1384.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0ZZ340BaxIH26KZWqTmpKfEXZWRQxAPN2EbCuTAuEDVIp2ciIMUzdeDGICMsS0oFup85JY93Ub7R6hq4P-luVrfu-GGZCDFDQP_s_WPBjiD8qslGvocvKDEG6zqLVJCmff9wkmWLWx8/s320/IMG_1384.JPG" /></a>Argentina won 1 – 0 and all was right with the world.
We have had some problems with our water supply lately due to a worn out booster pump. It is not fun to wake up in the morning with no water. The landlord finally replaced it and we are good to go. The weather has been chilly lately with temperatures in the 20’s at night. We heat with gas here so of course the gas went out one night. When we moved in here Fred insisted on having heat pumps installed instead of plain air conditioners so we could have a backup heating source. Well it for sure paid off the night the gas went out when the temperature was in the mid 20’s. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5LN6YhFzCK4NbrCQI1BWkC6i6bzGFTBIiLBUyfbx7m75MjAhByLqQAjdHSCD_24NZFjK8DVO7nk7syjV4qu_Htz46ttoqUUxaSETzd8S5PPlJw8thw5GDAnmU7SUX-HWbfU1HUAUDgc/s1600/IMG_1388.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5LN6YhFzCK4NbrCQI1BWkC6i6bzGFTBIiLBUyfbx7m75MjAhByLqQAjdHSCD_24NZFjK8DVO7nk7syjV4qu_Htz46ttoqUUxaSETzd8S5PPlJw8thw5GDAnmU7SUX-HWbfU1HUAUDgc/s320/IMG_1388.JPG" /></a> Ice sickles on the unit in the morning! Bought some candles today in case the electricity is next.
We found a restaurant in Mendoza called Fidelitos. It is owned by an Argentine who lived for a while in the US. He came back to Argentina and opened a restaurant serving American style food which is very popular here especially with the missionaries. They offer a burger called “The Beast” that Fred has threatened to try one of these times. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6Qzp8f3VruB7AmRiRQfnO5yv09Oz83NSwqZZRkFtLLQwe5Q-NHJmjlv80nKsamEtAtqtEfUIldunukeXg_GxjmmNUEkRSIzkQpVeZbLYDHszLM_CXzwB7aoKFtT5QlmgEq3JK5FyKIQ/s1600/IMG_1318.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6Qzp8f3VruB7AmRiRQfnO5yv09Oz83NSwqZZRkFtLLQwe5Q-NHJmjlv80nKsamEtAtqtEfUIldunukeXg_GxjmmNUEkRSIzkQpVeZbLYDHszLM_CXzwB7aoKFtT5QlmgEq3JK5FyKIQ/s320/IMG_1318.JPG" /></a> Still trying to figure out how to take a bite! They have on the menu listed as a starter the most scrumptious chili cheese fries that are a meal for two. We could not finish them!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLY6KpvQ0j_FKBB-tmvRblaHIA8iXZc9ub00aWL7zIy7x0-Ft945YsBLlzIrPong7-9HpiqVdPs-H4zScskFQD_gWerMa-S_M4kAejizZt00o4quNWTOkhozJGNbdHaEgJ96mOq4wOZg/s1600/IMG_1370.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLY6KpvQ0j_FKBB-tmvRblaHIA8iXZc9ub00aWL7zIy7x0-Ft945YsBLlzIrPong7-9HpiqVdPs-H4zScskFQD_gWerMa-S_M4kAejizZt00o4quNWTOkhozJGNbdHaEgJ96mOq4wOZg/s320/IMG_1370.JPG" /></a>
The work (yes we still do missionary work) is going well. We are working , along with the Elders, with the Valdez family who, as it turns out, live about a 4-iron away from us! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFr0ti_-dlLcofc4MJE4QUCEusAtCINNlyH2nDaNAXHar_-bJTbowyOooLBRCMi_FTZUt645eY1nSR32ozKN6RHKn1LcGn2PAgbyUR2iMfnV11WGySGvTnwBLSgUrOUwEuz7KTo216mk/s1600/IMG_1389.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFr0ti_-dlLcofc4MJE4QUCEusAtCINNlyH2nDaNAXHar_-bJTbowyOooLBRCMi_FTZUt645eY1nSR32ozKN6RHKn1LcGn2PAgbyUR2iMfnV11WGySGvTnwBLSgUrOUwEuz7KTo216mk/s320/IMG_1389.JPG" /></a> Alejandro is a member but his wife and children are not. The Elders are going through the lessons with them and we are helping fill in the details and providing fellowship. They are now attending on Sundays and we are excited for them.
Two weeks ago our District President came to our Branch and assigned Fred to be the Elders’ Quorum President. He should do well since this is his 3rd time around. Last week he gave his 1st Sacrament talk in Spanish. It went well. The people all said they could understand him.
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-39812440908087451692015-06-17T15:08:00.000-07:002015-06-17T15:08:37.876-07:00Beware the Car!Our car is great but we are beginning to think that it is jinxed. With the history of the bumper getting scraped in the parking lot of the grocery store, a parking ticket in Tunuyan and window broken and our stuff stolen in front of the mission office what else could happen?. Well we were off doing inspections in Lujan just south of Mendoza when we took a wrong turn. It was a very low traffic area and surely a U turn would be easy. We pulled over a bit to the right to get a good wide turn and THUNK….. the right wheel went into a concrete ditch right down to the frame. How could that happen??? It looked clear there. Turns out that it was a short uncovered section of the ditch about 30 inches long (just enough for the wheel to fit) that was camouflaged by some weeds growing out of it. With the help of the two young Elders that were with us and some nearby construction workers we lifted it up and out of the ditch to asphalt with no damage done. Later that day as we returned to the car after an inspection and some repairs we discovered that the pigeons would add insult to injury by pooping large quantities all over the side and windshield of the car! Sorry, no pictures of either incident. Hmmmm….. not sure what else lurks out there in the future.
Speaking of inspections, we went into the pension of the Office Elders and up on the cabinets there was a huge collection of cereal boxes! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6mOzK_RxVKYF1U2WYUiZ1R3a7UWfWZr3L2ILWxO3qygKfhXKClqC9Tj-np3hly03jtGQP3p2kiDTVg46SXPjvllt8xgNnoIwLsqXr1W6PyXhBGZ1s3EtQ8HvX3lyHNwbBw0ZkJQkBcU/s1600/IMG_0382.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6mOzK_RxVKYF1U2WYUiZ1R3a7UWfWZr3L2ILWxO3qygKfhXKClqC9Tj-np3hly03jtGQP3p2kiDTVg46SXPjvllt8xgNnoIwLsqXr1W6PyXhBGZ1s3EtQ8HvX3lyHNwbBw0ZkJQkBcU/s320/IMG_0382.jpg" /></a>Good home for cockroaches I suppose but we did not find any.
The siesta time where everything closes between 1 and 5pm continues to be an obstacle at times. On another inspection the bathroom sink was not useable due to a very bad leak in the drain. There was a missing compression washer in the piping. So, not realizing the time of day, we all piled in the car to go to the local hardware store only to find it closed for siesta. Not having time to wait around for another 3 hours Fred was thinking of some alternative way to fix the leak. In the meantime we swung by for the Elders to pick up their lunch from one of the church member’s houses. When we saw the woman hand them their lunch in a plastic bag, Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding! Of course! A plastic bag just might do it! So Fred took strips of the plastic bag and twisted them up to fit around the pipe inside the slip-nut and BINGO! No runs, no drips, no errors. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblTnc6a-iFp6b4AGzZ94EHVMMRCeAy9pw72KhQqRLKUYmrlzA-Lxux-PmJFWo9zZ23GdntX3Jr27f_HSMyxxH926UPfVWp8desSo8eJuR1oMp4cILx-djHS_yP5GIqOc8nUJ-NOTD4C8/s1600/IMG_1372.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblTnc6a-iFp6b4AGzZ94EHVMMRCeAy9pw72KhQqRLKUYmrlzA-Lxux-PmJFWo9zZ23GdntX3Jr27f_HSMyxxH926UPfVWp8desSo8eJuR1oMp4cILx-djHS_yP5GIqOc8nUJ-NOTD4C8/s320/IMG_1372.JPG" /></a>Sink back in service. Fred said that Ray Erickson, the guy who taught him the plumbing trade is probably rolling over in his grave (but more than likely with a smile).
Along with visiting several less-active member families in our Branch, we are now officially teaching 3 non-members. The first being Delia Esponda, our landlady. We may have mentioned that her husband passed away in Jan. & now her niece just died from breast cancer. She’s been very sad and lonely and we asked if we could share a message of comfort with her. She was very open to that so we began teaching her about 2 weeks ago. We started with the Plan of Salvation which is usually the 2nd lesson, but due to the eternal aspects of it, we decided that would be better for her to hear it first. She is Catholic and has a pretty good understanding of life after death but not from an LDS perspective. She really liked what we taught her and has never hesitated to make another appointment with us. On Tuesday, we taught her the Restoration lesson which was all new to her. She said she believed the Joseph Smith story. As directed by President Goates, our mission president at our last Zone meeting, we asked her to be baptized!! Her eyes got very wide and she said, “That’s a difficult question!!” As we pursued it, she just kept coming up with that same sentence, so we thought it best to just let her think, pray & read about it some more. She said she enjoys our visits very much and welcomed us to come again on Fri. So stay tuned.
Our other two are Bolivian teenage girls, 12 & 13, who belong to the huge family of Condos who live on a farm where they are currently growing a big field of garlic. We have visited there several times and always thought that these girls we’re baptized but they told us last week that they’re not. So we offered to teach them the lessons and they got all excited about it. So, on Sunday, they also had the Restoration lesson and we gave them each a Book of Mormon and had them write their name in it. Their older sister/aunt, Juana, is baptized but has been away so long that she’s sitting in on the lessons too. It’s so great to see the intense interest in their faces as we teach them & show videos! WE LOVE THIS WORK!! As we were leaving their house in the dark, Linda discovered the chair she'd been sitting on was wet and so was the back of her skirt!! When we got to the very l-o-n-g path that led from the house to where we parked the car, our flashlight wouldn't work. So here we were two diligent missionaries slowly walking along a path that had ditches across it every now & then and we couldn't see a thing, it was freezing cold and Linda had a wet skirt!! About half way there we realized, "Duh, we can use our phones for light!!"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSORG6KAcV-JXrZarp7LcQ3xJApOVnOf8f8__DPSj2j2COiXKFMObNrfJL159mCf3-oeozdAR2NGzk6qO6SIU3LswCF6-66fT0YtlxhhqG7A1BQOgCHLSMiQaObcMLJfCYMsrqGuGElc/s1600/IMG_1353.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSORG6KAcV-JXrZarp7LcQ3xJApOVnOf8f8__DPSj2j2COiXKFMObNrfJL159mCf3-oeozdAR2NGzk6qO6SIU3LswCF6-66fT0YtlxhhqG7A1BQOgCHLSMiQaObcMLJfCYMsrqGuGElc/s320/IMG_1353.JPG" /></a>The youngest, Analis, is finally warming up to us as well.
It was our turn to sponsor the monthly activity for the couple missionaries so we all went out to the Fournier Winery for a tour and lunch. A very hoity-toity restaurant. We had a great time and the food was spectacular! We left a lot of unused wine glasses. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4_2-I_g2darNblVwUSklKv-oavcBXlD9VzzHpbHIlHTowqn_MENuT9Iy2_D97L34ByfEZUHTrhatOvZDzOt8psGjLRvAfTfNuawf2Xxf-YaV6CIwivPjKS01sMBqNg2nu0aYA_DiWsM/s1600/IMG_1349.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4_2-I_g2darNblVwUSklKv-oavcBXlD9VzzHpbHIlHTowqn_MENuT9Iy2_D97L34ByfEZUHTrhatOvZDzOt8psGjLRvAfTfNuawf2Xxf-YaV6CIwivPjKS01sMBqNg2nu0aYA_DiWsM/s320/IMG_1349.JPG" /></a>We all then went to our house to watch the video “A New Day for the Book of Mormon”. A great, sort of, documentary on the Book of Mormon. If you haven’t seen it, Google it and you can find it on BYU TV. Some very interesting nuggets in there.
Cintia, a 24-year old member, is married to a man who is not a member of the church so we visited them to get better acquainted. She is trying her best to get her husband more interested in the church. Not sure yet what we can do to help. They have the cutest little girl named Flori. Now what could be cuter than a pretty little girl with a puppy and a balloon?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhce9xPp-5sC4hUtZM3Du5jxTO3iNbQwPKEW3s1T3Cr1Kel1lCVMQWnwgqAO8v2TCz05G6PFwIvsrQglSWG8dHw-5JeIVIyw6TDe6fYyNgH-BFJLG5xhrOuslzKXtb2mjbOTZtxaQIl-QY/s1600/IMG_1355.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhce9xPp-5sC4hUtZM3Du5jxTO3iNbQwPKEW3s1T3Cr1Kel1lCVMQWnwgqAO8v2TCz05G6PFwIvsrQglSWG8dHw-5JeIVIyw6TDe6fYyNgH-BFJLG5xhrOuslzKXtb2mjbOTZtxaQIl-QY/s320/IMG_1355.JPG" /></a>
Zone conference was this week. We got a lot of good instruction from President <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8su_gVRewbuUdIahT_E8IZ7IfOxn-rvxDFKivYkO8eyFQfaYzhKmkWKzMbjAarnVuy67EBt3X_N2W98snk59RZYwHh0Kq53mShKrHkT9KH0OJJBpeWYZn3gY4LaUL9LzkIBGJsYwmog/s1600/IMG_1192.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8su_gVRewbuUdIahT_E8IZ7IfOxn-rvxDFKivYkO8eyFQfaYzhKmkWKzMbjAarnVuy67EBt3X_N2W98snk59RZYwHh0Kq53mShKrHkT9KH0OJJBpeWYZn3gY4LaUL9LzkIBGJsYwmog/s320/IMG_1192.JPG" /></a>and Sister Goates and our other leaders. Of course afterward there is a lot of goofing around! Yep that’s our zone leader , Elder Gil, from Mexico City on top. He is actually one of the tallest Mexicans I have ever seen. About 6’3”. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPa7eyB-8wHYMzon43LjFTv3a0InFQ6EhdQmMj0PeVmAtNivSJUqKQDVArKrl8HV3JGuKlWTMc-4B4g10jvPfA525e6iBU1OUcYZLifd_ytNyoMWRAAB64wghFxKi6ERf-nXx_AD8Sp8/s1600/IMG_1364.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPa7eyB-8wHYMzon43LjFTv3a0InFQ6EhdQmMj0PeVmAtNivSJUqKQDVArKrl8HV3JGuKlWTMc-4B4g10jvPfA525e6iBU1OUcYZLifd_ytNyoMWRAAB64wghFxKi6ERf-nXx_AD8Sp8/s320/IMG_1364.JPG" /></a>
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-7783247890144328912015-06-03T11:49:00.001-07:002015-06-03T11:49:41.157-07:00Outdoor Baking the Bolivian WayWe are enjoying making friends with the people in the little shops here and just generally taking part in this little friendly community. We found a wonderful family who owns a butcher shop. Roberto custom cuts the meat we buy from him. He also gives us samples of salami and other cured meats (with crackers). He is the connection for good ribs! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjXZdlZ71P8mRPMv9F1Egw7LRscbR7faaNSzLzdWOIsSi0DebX8Y4M2fXvkUCcTaO7RbWZQSLHUCQOhOGM-DTpfbMAw03NKXOgRC_q2Cdib3O7-nIpcUWeEteIKBVg7oh81Kb-lycn4e0/s1600/IMG_1300.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjXZdlZ71P8mRPMv9F1Egw7LRscbR7faaNSzLzdWOIsSi0DebX8Y4M2fXvkUCcTaO7RbWZQSLHUCQOhOGM-DTpfbMAw03NKXOgRC_q2Cdib3O7-nIpcUWeEteIKBVg7oh81Kb-lycn4e0/s320/IMG_1300.JPG" /></a>Linda also noticed that they sell cake decorating supplies?!? You never know what you’ll find in these little shops!
President Polla, the La Consulta branch president, continues to lead our little branch with dedication and hard work. He and his family have been very gracious to us. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpTnSo3d2xdIlCbS0AeMroxbCvkv2Jfb-f0SePewWuoQwMs1SMfKBErb5sGmhmD8xyP0s7-bd2_aP-IYLHjyr0Hnb_WEua6xllDDUoNtuct9atovboySlfuB3bp2RJ67jvGURo9tmuKc/s1600/IMG_1299.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpTnSo3d2xdIlCbS0AeMroxbCvkv2Jfb-f0SePewWuoQwMs1SMfKBErb5sGmhmD8xyP0s7-bd2_aP-IYLHjyr0Hnb_WEua6xllDDUoNtuct9atovboySlfuB3bp2RJ67jvGURo9tmuKc/s320/IMG_1299.JPG" /></a>We are having some success in getting people back to church. Last Sunday Gregorio Quecaño, father of one of the Bolivian families we’ve been working with, came out with his family for the first time in quite a while. But the big surprise was 5 Condo family members showing up….only 15 more to go! Their huge commercial size van can fit all of the family but…….no seats, just sit on the floor! The attendance was up to 33 at Sacrament Meeting! If we can sustain an attendance of 80 for a year, the Church will build us a new chapel!! We are trying and do our part in achieving that goal.
There’s a very strange religious custom here that we thought you’d like to hear about. Along the roads in the mountains there are little Catholic shrines set up…usually of the Virgin Mary. Around each shrine are 2 liter soda bottles filled with water. This really puzzled us till we learned that the people who come there leave a bottle of water as a token of their respect.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCISpFatD4tRwwQtbw1Yry_Wa4QE6Tpsy0JdPJpn7EyU2918q0CrUi1BtynBiG3KW0Kn8_Yi0ewD0y3CA_m6sPfzvU-lZk3K2xGV0K4uVOmnLm4B8rpt30fnBE3AiM2Ca4jh5SvFWJA4/s1600/IMG_1302.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCISpFatD4tRwwQtbw1Yry_Wa4QE6Tpsy0JdPJpn7EyU2918q0CrUi1BtynBiG3KW0Kn8_Yi0ewD0y3CA_m6sPfzvU-lZk3K2xGV0K4uVOmnLm4B8rpt30fnBE3AiM2Ca4jh5SvFWJA4/s320/IMG_1302.JPG" /></a>
May 25 was Memorial Day in the US, but here they celebrate the Day of the Revolution when Gen. San Martin began the quest of liberating Argentina from the Spanish. We got to practice a lot of Spanish at the Branch all-day activity at a camping/resort place where one of the members is the caretaker. We had the whole place to ourselves. They made a big lunch of steak, bread, salad and a special soup of beans, corn, chicken and (we think) tripe!! (We knew we’d have to eat it sooner or later!) The rest of the day was spent playing futbol (soccer). They asked Fred to be the referee! There was also a foosball table for the less agile folks. Around 6pm came time for the traditional hot chocolate, cookies and pastries which were really good. They don’t eat dinner till 9 or 10 at night, so the 6pm snack tides them over.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aDuZlwswBmnlB00t4G47m4ieWs4rfszzAVpxlnCkllJBgDzFDZ9PO7tVZcJNDbCYGc-le7e7vqG8G2B9RTHUuEdY_NAYYBcblNhJliSHh0Yaoiux9h9PMD3UZUsS1j7LVruQtyBI5ac/s1600/IMG_1306.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aDuZlwswBmnlB00t4G47m4ieWs4rfszzAVpxlnCkllJBgDzFDZ9PO7tVZcJNDbCYGc-le7e7vqG8G2B9RTHUuEdY_NAYYBcblNhJliSHh0Yaoiux9h9PMD3UZUsS1j7LVruQtyBI5ac/s320/IMG_1306.JPG" /></a>
One of the absolute highlights of the week was our usual Sunday visit to the Quecaño family. We mentioned to Juana once that we were interested in seeing how they make bread in their outdoor oven. So when we pulled up, she immediately got into high gear preparing to make bread. She buys flour in 110 pound (50 kilos) sacks and makes a lot of bread. Nothing was measured. She did it all by heart. The mixing and kneading were all done on her knees in a dishpan on the floor. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_EsCOLMKT7BMyKlg-zZBxfUoedup1kWxqg1JusQmwONpFlj2jgpZbn4JgdEyf4NvrpFcLMKLrI0tXTWhyphenhyphenorXSwuH04j9-Y6IAPaH3g6QE3zxAxFcm8iAl8iwR8qd44whUEmILkAtc8sM/s1600/IMG_1319.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_EsCOLMKT7BMyKlg-zZBxfUoedup1kWxqg1JusQmwONpFlj2jgpZbn4JgdEyf4NvrpFcLMKLrI0tXTWhyphenhyphenorXSwuH04j9-Y6IAPaH3g6QE3zxAxFcm8iAl8iwR8qd44whUEmILkAtc8sM/s320/IMG_1319.JPG" /></a> We got to help roll out some of the dough, but I am afraid we slowed the process down. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYT_kRFbW5iRSu1r6lq1Jd4PqknpUuWqAMH71JI7jPivnabg7_6U9y_sKjYdNN-IX6lglFPU41WGwSjr5z3MOur2_ybdwSVjLPTwdMBjg4uG_Hkw8TIFktxqwqrkIxuct0ZlSieH-0sY/s1600/IMG_1330.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYT_kRFbW5iRSu1r6lq1Jd4PqknpUuWqAMH71JI7jPivnabg7_6U9y_sKjYdNN-IX6lglFPU41WGwSjr5z3MOur2_ybdwSVjLPTwdMBjg4uG_Hkw8TIFktxqwqrkIxuct0ZlSieH-0sY/s320/IMG_1330.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpod7MIOMGEBIzH0LF7pZfa0Kae8CSNaU03J697kygfL3K1PoXUsptSK78XL4FdLt3hN3TwWA2HnKcmDL3s7fd472EUfqdh5GY9itzMuFxKl4srNKobidsFc4LtOfFtY-FkqmXzXawgLI/s1600/IMG_1332.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpod7MIOMGEBIzH0LF7pZfa0Kae8CSNaU03J697kygfL3K1PoXUsptSK78XL4FdLt3hN3TwWA2HnKcmDL3s7fd472EUfqdh5GY9itzMuFxKl4srNKobidsFc4LtOfFtY-FkqmXzXawgLI/s320/IMG_1332.JPG" /></a>Her two daughters, Alejandra and Natalia, got the fire going in the oven while the dough was being prepared. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSP0s0wN06oJYjWBnMqPQ3QLnwcL-0r79hTdbBQLPr-QWP09nONpqqzczDqx5Weev-DIaJHKhkNYxI_9C1EecimkLmQttsWXAMx69kti0lh5qs2qLU-tyIwyx2dH_qj9954_uFepSb4k/s1600/IMG_1331.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSP0s0wN06oJYjWBnMqPQ3QLnwcL-0r79hTdbBQLPr-QWP09nONpqqzczDqx5Weev-DIaJHKhkNYxI_9C1EecimkLmQttsWXAMx69kti0lh5qs2qLU-tyIwyx2dH_qj9954_uFepSb4k/s320/IMG_1331.JPG" /></a>It is poetry in motion to watch Juana remove each piece of bread from the oven using a pole with a nail through the end then with a Frisbee action throw the new dough right in place in the empty spaces in the oven. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihcJblDwMhKCeE1y4OiNVI1wravTDtgYjxF3hIVlgU4zlq04BEHbE8wHndiHHYzpPXjOHoaLeT4ZiC6-guQRiu2f5ibdSXSgnvIty5srTRvpz0erc6dCDv856vakpCSz1MAOmfFeZIo4/s1600/IMG_1342.MOV" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihcJblDwMhKCeE1y4OiNVI1wravTDtgYjxF3hIVlgU4zlq04BEHbE8wHndiHHYzpPXjOHoaLeT4ZiC6-guQRiu2f5ibdSXSgnvIty5srTRvpz0erc6dCDv856vakpCSz1MAOmfFeZIo4/s320/IMG_1342.MOV" /></a></div>Ahhhh……nothing like partaking in the fruits of your labor! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHX4z8UkVHXf73jfZPQnWCpqOcyGscsYwCL7jqZGlRyEztbDLdaI5RZtD3iEsUn8w1sROJ9AebNh9raa1-DCSw5RcXs6q5TfXvrB8H1LmsVsYORDWy1N50-ZMsQig2yTUSfXTrIH-_1A/s1600/IMG_1343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHX4z8UkVHXf73jfZPQnWCpqOcyGscsYwCL7jqZGlRyEztbDLdaI5RZtD3iEsUn8w1sROJ9AebNh9raa1-DCSw5RcXs6q5TfXvrB8H1LmsVsYORDWy1N50-ZMsQig2yTUSfXTrIH-_1A/s320/IMG_1343.JPG" /></a></div>They do all their cooking in that big brick outdoor oven that her husband made. They don’t even own a stove! The Quecaños are such a sweet family. They invited us to stay for dinner and spend the night! We had to tell them that we need to keep the mission rules and had to decline the overnighter. Whew!!
Today was our weekly District Meeting. There are 4 Elders, 2 Sister and us in the Valle de Uco District. So we took everyone to lunch after the meeting to celebrate that no one got transferred out! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfnCIE6wh7xdzIqibaX7Ptyu3UHozcSOVwRA9w2tX9lQiHIH98a4InNpVeyK7wqD73AYJ5NuVz-_tooFYA6vIcVY0WlxPJsyGtA0zOn2c1BroCap7cbnrKzeRyh4r6Kkz_h9Xjl5vJbs/s1600/IMG_0883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfnCIE6wh7xdzIqibaX7Ptyu3UHozcSOVwRA9w2tX9lQiHIH98a4InNpVeyK7wqD73AYJ5NuVz-_tooFYA6vIcVY0WlxPJsyGtA0zOn2c1BroCap7cbnrKzeRyh4r6Kkz_h9Xjl5vJbs/s320/IMG_0883.JPG" /></a></div>They do transfers every 6 weeks.
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-4886871293569639002015-05-19T16:13:00.000-07:002015-05-19T16:13:06.967-07:00Busy Busy Busy!These last two weeks have been our busiest so far! From Zone meeting two weeks ago with about 20 other missionaries on Tue. to hearing our Area Pres. & our Mission Pres. & their wives speak in Mendoza to all the missionaries & couples in our mission on Thur. , really kept us hopping. Pres. & Hermana Zabollas are from Chile. She speaks so fast that our ears couldn’t keep up with her tongue! However Pres. Zabollas and Pres. & Hermana Goates were much easier to understand. It was a wonderful meeting and such a blessing to be among all the missionaries at once. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivXGaxrMwOtNglzTdeuubL-7CB113G7dEbX5MkVs56qhfA-CiaiGELQ5Bvh2T6DhTkry_-BBGpeZwuIxcCsTKnfgxnaBQFachRqLK3QrgkvDg3e2gXCyqfQue_TYsLe79O520h2nG4ztc/s1600/Elder+Zeballos+-+Mendoza.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivXGaxrMwOtNglzTdeuubL-7CB113G7dEbX5MkVs56qhfA-CiaiGELQ5Bvh2T6DhTkry_-BBGpeZwuIxcCsTKnfgxnaBQFachRqLK3QrgkvDg3e2gXCyqfQue_TYsLe79O520h2nG4ztc/s320/Elder+Zeballos+-+Mendoza.JPG" /></a>
On Sunday, Mother’s Day, Linda got to teach her first Relief Society lesson in Spanish. So she began with hearty “Feliz Dia de las Madres” to all the women who just looked back with a blank stare. Come to find out, Argentina is the only country in the world that doesn’t have it on the second Sun. of May. They celebrate it in Oct.!?! So she gets two this year! The rest of the lesson went fine.
Spent two days last week in San Rafael and Alvear to inspect 14 apartments. Managed to get all 10 in SR done from 9 am to 9 pm the first day. The hardest part is finding them! The directions are not very clear. The last one we did after dark in a little place called Salta de las Rosas. One of the Elders there is Tongan and comes from Oakland. He was so excited to find out that we’re from Vacaville because he lived there when he was 10. As we left he handed Fred a gold tie pin with the Oakland Temple on it. We were very touched! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2R5zgXzrb5IpCTrsulzZ2_BlwmdPksnahM5jkIBIcuFS33v_7dmxwonFzjM6IFNPML-QApBeyKc6QX9bCj9UeoqaUy6DhHaoWVIcbsV-rPhr_g3XZVvHxHR-W3NfUcNJ7g3F3evFtr_4/s1600/IMG_1285.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2R5zgXzrb5IpCTrsulzZ2_BlwmdPksnahM5jkIBIcuFS33v_7dmxwonFzjM6IFNPML-QApBeyKc6QX9bCj9UeoqaUy6DhHaoWVIcbsV-rPhr_g3XZVvHxHR-W3NfUcNJ7g3F3evFtr_4/s320/IMG_1285.JPG" /></a>When we travel far, the Church puts us up in really nice hotels which we appreciate so much!
Two of the sisters’ apartments needed help with their heaters. One was in a town about 30 mins. away and took two trips to get fixed . The other is in Uspallata two hours into the Andes Mtns. which we talked about last time. We made our second trip there this last Thur. and brought the Warners, the couple who work in the mission office, along. She is our mission nurse and it turned out that both Hermanas were sick so she was able to help them while Elders Maseda & Warner hooked up their heater. The Warners were so grateful to get out of the office ad see some of the country. As it turns out, we’ll be making that long trip one more time next week with the Warners to finish the job.
Sat. was a special day We went on an outing with the six office Elders and the Rogers, another couple who are in San Martin (about ½ hour west of Mendoza). So for the third time this month we headed back up the Andes Mtns. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiABg1b7vXScBNg5Y__Eop6tIVBiQR_n2k0s0menRQLD3XWu3rk1__T-6woeQjV4vo3rU5BIjxkdfOgOiZxNH11nT50g2r2un4FkbcEknKZZgINUUcFBiJN8oI62xrbQtStxk-xC6zGME/s1600/FAM_4949.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiABg1b7vXScBNg5Y__Eop6tIVBiQR_n2k0s0menRQLD3XWu3rk1__T-6woeQjV4vo3rU5BIjxkdfOgOiZxNH11nT50g2r2un4FkbcEknKZZgINUUcFBiJN8oI62xrbQtStxk-xC6zGME/s320/FAM_4949.JPG" /></a>This time we went an hour past Uspallata to a volcano called Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLNWaJDG3ngwrSFaSnblHO7kN8G6-OIvrQ5wESFH_-G9ivyN_USU_n6_Z0An67oW4EgBJ5enTrmPTCIf1qzW3PKUJoOAO7i91r2QenwI8w3DS5saXRe0qNLPeqnJNS16Kg5hJQi7I0zpE/s1600/FAM_5005a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLNWaJDG3ngwrSFaSnblHO7kN8G6-OIvrQ5wESFH_-G9ivyN_USU_n6_Z0An67oW4EgBJ5enTrmPTCIf1qzW3PKUJoOAO7i91r2QenwI8w3DS5saXRe0qNLPeqnJNS16Kg5hJQi7I0zpE/s320/FAM_5005a.jpg" /></a>It has a big glacier on it which we could see quite well after we took the ski lift half way up an adjacent mountain.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhScncGbw3VwBLhroSuIuhPZiRexGfoYxxdzonilAJsEQzIZGhcNrIPjDFntN2grFhjM6PGEfWdejyWXVY9kKv19kykH0J_F7g8DazNRMPPDTl4TB_Wq00WTkBfNrEtMhw0-1iDyJyNswk/s1600/FAM_5012.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhScncGbw3VwBLhroSuIuhPZiRexGfoYxxdzonilAJsEQzIZGhcNrIPjDFntN2grFhjM6PGEfWdejyWXVY9kKv19kykH0J_F7g8DazNRMPPDTl4TB_Wq00WTkBfNrEtMhw0-1iDyJyNswk/s320/FAM_5012.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIqpxYlaAPLT61ePc44hulI-EBLoFzqpFqKZcDCRCZnink-lrW0XmTnCOGzcD521eQhvoFjaCImltZN-Wlr8oxg5AWUF1QAjOAukhpyPoRBcQi89Q24SCKETaJEZOwahCDypuKgNGeio/s1600/FAM_5026a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIqpxYlaAPLT61ePc44hulI-EBLoFzqpFqKZcDCRCZnink-lrW0XmTnCOGzcD521eQhvoFjaCImltZN-Wlr8oxg5AWUF1QAjOAukhpyPoRBcQi89Q24SCKETaJEZOwahCDypuKgNGeio/s320/FAM_5026a.jpg" /></a> We also got to see Puente de los Incas, which is a hot springs and natural bridge among some huge rocks on a river. The minerals in the water have caused the rocks to turn a bright gold color. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRU6N5cmIZK4iJ8KoKoOqOfKCMRxZ4XwY9My9c9kjEIM5l-_y1HQYJK2W1sB0wtb7R10NqR6fHu5n66GX5uHY0OlAXxq2GKc6fQrw026YO_4lR4zZVjCMzfOBtRTgFwDgvkrHu7KZk7wc/s1600/FAM_5059a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRU6N5cmIZK4iJ8KoKoOqOfKCMRxZ4XwY9My9c9kjEIM5l-_y1HQYJK2W1sB0wtb7R10NqR6fHu5n66GX5uHY0OlAXxq2GKc6fQrw026YO_4lR4zZVjCMzfOBtRTgFwDgvkrHu7KZk7wc/s320/FAM_5059a.jpg" /></a> Really beautiful!!
The week was capped off on Sun. with watching the broadcast of the dedication of the Córdoba Temple, the second in Argentina. Pres. Uchtdorp, accompanied by Elder Christofferson, gave the dedicatory prayer followed by Elder Zabballos leading the Hosannah Shout. It was a spiritual feast!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70Ax24aFuVDSTu4amH5h8_QhQtCLDeQ4bxweTwO9vAl0mo06cNMXP8fX5fcKYaT18zxzX15blWexJRwS2owxJe7cdjQW0RWbBk8n_5H1RLt8-soYy8HOOyHEMPaSzwKGyyTGulx9wdtg/s1600/Cordoba+Temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70Ax24aFuVDSTu4amH5h8_QhQtCLDeQ4bxweTwO9vAl0mo06cNMXP8fX5fcKYaT18zxzX15blWexJRwS2owxJe7cdjQW0RWbBk8n_5H1RLt8-soYy8HOOyHEMPaSzwKGyyTGulx9wdtg/s320/Cordoba+Temple.jpg" /></a>
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-2049365918569955162015-05-03T19:25:00.000-07:002015-05-04T08:16:57.064-07:00It's Fall Y'allIt may be that spring has sprung for those in the northern hemisphere but here its fall y’all!! The change in color of the trees is awesome and makes for some great photo opportunities. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaBkkAJGanutyHR_OqC1SO_hBsPSB0De3EJjtMogtswIXZ7yNcndfa0QxHLsgNxTnbc1vepn03KCuUYGeGDYh0l6GneOWOvH8SPwuN4JtieBYlQDJ2_1YRSJ-XPp0PsXHJMkgukB0d9K8/s1600/FAM_4901a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaBkkAJGanutyHR_OqC1SO_hBsPSB0De3EJjtMogtswIXZ7yNcndfa0QxHLsgNxTnbc1vepn03KCuUYGeGDYh0l6GneOWOvH8SPwuN4JtieBYlQDJ2_1YRSJ-XPp0PsXHJMkgukB0d9K8/s320/FAM_4901a.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98wQP8EBw7l9DCL4z00jOOu7eg5Xpbll_BA-MWbcrmFO9Kiw4RD8RIlv-ESszGetBR_Tbv-sK6MQuIDng1_0t6sCZGoh-TPavqXsOCX0Dvwugu6AkzhqEOdqjb_F6CuU5SVd00RFIrls/s1600/FAM_4892a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98wQP8EBw7l9DCL4z00jOOu7eg5Xpbll_BA-MWbcrmFO9Kiw4RD8RIlv-ESszGetBR_Tbv-sK6MQuIDng1_0t6sCZGoh-TPavqXsOCX0Dvwugu6AkzhqEOdqjb_F6CuU5SVd00RFIrls/s320/FAM_4892a.jpg" /></a>It got down to the low 30s here last night and you would have thought it was 30 below by the way folks were dressed. We are staying warm in our little vineyard house.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_A0uD7yAvGmQbDvlMpbo-FTnHyUnFodtGFmM6U0WAuo51LXXhNcaCMEqZKgXSjGc1nRv5bUmFX_miQfZUL4Zo8rtGQSFvN8UiR08Zx-FIi5hKODJBIZ5tkj3rn66kt6GAbHcxY5iekXc/s1600/IMG_0718.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_A0uD7yAvGmQbDvlMpbo-FTnHyUnFodtGFmM6U0WAuo51LXXhNcaCMEqZKgXSjGc1nRv5bUmFX_miQfZUL4Zo8rtGQSFvN8UiR08Zx-FIi5hKODJBIZ5tkj3rn66kt6GAbHcxY5iekXc/s320/IMG_0718.JPG" /></a>
We went to San Martin this past week for more inspections. We are meeting some of the finest young missionaries as we travel around. There was a threesome of sisters living in their “castle” which is a member’s house with a small apartment. One each from Utah, Brazil and Peru.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUHJc493hmuRiKTWLMTIPWiItPDyDA1rVYuEnUGKcSQhKL1vSztKRaes2MgE4lKg1BpiMuoXeHYuDomUcBK42-hwYKVCxo2KofP6yrOaGFvDG6hYZBXx8gbXsAgyVmcULuJp5ccfHnpg/s1600/IMG_1257.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUHJc493hmuRiKTWLMTIPWiItPDyDA1rVYuEnUGKcSQhKL1vSztKRaes2MgE4lKg1BpiMuoXeHYuDomUcBK42-hwYKVCxo2KofP6yrOaGFvDG6hYZBXx8gbXsAgyVmcULuJp5ccfHnpg/s320/IMG_1257.JPG" /></a>
The highlight of the week was traveling deep into the Andes Mountains to a remote branch called Uspallata. It is nearly at the border with Chile. A beautiful little town in the mountains. The trip up had some absolutely stunning scenery. Believe it or not this first picture was taken by Linda through a glass window of our car doing about 60mph with an iPhone!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaGiEz8JhhN2VVmpHvaPLoYTp6-XQLNOgaqz4GKGDhyphenhyphenMVIBhajPfPSCzuwlngeXJfpxjEpQa5I2hEwGUOwx16Qk6tOtFfMfMD2NVF5Mfu1NyiT0eWI6Ac9Az4NFZawVNb2cXFr_l8W6Y/s1600/IMG_0837b.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaGiEz8JhhN2VVmpHvaPLoYTp6-XQLNOgaqz4GKGDhyphenhyphenMVIBhajPfPSCzuwlngeXJfpxjEpQa5I2hEwGUOwx16Qk6tOtFfMfMD2NVF5Mfu1NyiT0eWI6Ac9Az4NFZawVNb2cXFr_l8W6Y/s320/IMG_0837b.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVpPPo3HzzhgE4upL8dQRDrDJylUpIit44BjLT02KFySqYpeRLplihD-h_zVzqgbbWswi46cbHBnxx7SzO7UyDhZZu_nsMlT4DC0cR9s3cdxkxJ6scSI4uAla7Cwin7d1u9EO9Q0wSxU/s1600/FAM_4887c.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVpPPo3HzzhgE4upL8dQRDrDJylUpIit44BjLT02KFySqYpeRLplihD-h_zVzqgbbWswi46cbHBnxx7SzO7UyDhZZu_nsMlT4DC0cR9s3cdxkxJ6scSI4uAla7Cwin7d1u9EO9Q0wSxU/s320/FAM_4887c.jpg" /></a> We had lunch there after doing 2 hours of repairs to the missionary pension. The two sisters were so thankful we did the work. The main item was a gas leak that meant they had to go outside and turn on the gas to cook then go outside to turn it off again to prevent the tank from emptying. Not to speak of not being able to use the heater at night. A couple of trips to the hardware store for parts and a little work left them happy campers.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBXIWiWQwkNIM7JsIEFyPc5QtY1WnA-Ofk21O7uh1pKkkEtsKHw0kz_MBt9XEm-S2IGwoBOx26Pvn2zSjTwg9G-F2IbPG5xJ0ZlGkXg2_UdDyJ2ASZeC-2StwQ51JsvDG4hjOz2RjZOw/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBXIWiWQwkNIM7JsIEFyPc5QtY1WnA-Ofk21O7uh1pKkkEtsKHw0kz_MBt9XEm-S2IGwoBOx26Pvn2zSjTwg9G-F2IbPG5xJ0ZlGkXg2_UdDyJ2ASZeC-2StwQ51JsvDG4hjOz2RjZOw/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" /></a> We then headed back down the mountains from above the clouds. President and Sister Goates were having a dinner for all of the senior missionaries and a farewell for one couple in Mendoza so we decided to take Route 52, the back way home, which we thought would be faster than the way we came up. It turned out to be more than we bargained for. A ride never to be forgotten! We knew something wasn’t going well when we ran out of paved road soon after leaving Uspallata and we didn’t see hardly any other cars. It turned out to be 40 – 50 miles of winding dirt road with a lot of switchbacks and very steep drop-offs. We were disappointed at first thinking of the obvious long journey ahead but it turned out to be worth it due to the breathtaking scenery and views.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33Oot6AcI7PNwDQDN6h_x-SWD_N_tmq0MlqOLmzhNRWkvyuFwNbBHIaKL4_A8TYgfTZx16s0J62TUOdqld1-qpe_u5Runn8Gy-x-3rInl2i_STrAHPnNP5r_0bARz2M5Dbptdm-gzSFA/s1600/FAM_4903a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33Oot6AcI7PNwDQDN6h_x-SWD_N_tmq0MlqOLmzhNRWkvyuFwNbBHIaKL4_A8TYgfTZx16s0J62TUOdqld1-qpe_u5Runn8Gy-x-3rInl2i_STrAHPnNP5r_0bARz2M5Dbptdm-gzSFA/s320/FAM_4903a.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaaL3_j3TNDGhR5q4o5YQWQVzHLVaXNkCQOkPQNAvSTrjqz7y5BQzcio_nuD8-EVsdfZGj1MXfqnqrg_SBiNl0_NM4tS1nLy8t-MFEDoBGi0NKG82AlXxQqVzzHhXGymtx6ZfsY4MNEns/s1600/FAM_4911a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaaL3_j3TNDGhR5q4o5YQWQVzHLVaXNkCQOkPQNAvSTrjqz7y5BQzcio_nuD8-EVsdfZGj1MXfqnqrg_SBiNl0_NM4tS1nLy8t-MFEDoBGi0NKG82AlXxQqVzzHhXGymtx6ZfsY4MNEns/s320/FAM_4911a.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDnfJl4HCJ88KUkGnPs14x-bj64YRMSc3HnCSP_FWwX853rbxsAjA8jyXJLfndd2ZdyGQtnUARtCpFu73O-xyL5RDyVaqk6f6ok_VnDP0C7dGGFrrVFpU3kSAI9edP1eprte3fbtWc5g/s1600/FAM_4923a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDnfJl4HCJ88KUkGnPs14x-bj64YRMSc3HnCSP_FWwX853rbxsAjA8jyXJLfndd2ZdyGQtnUARtCpFu73O-xyL5RDyVaqk6f6ok_VnDP0C7dGGFrrVFpU3kSAI9edP1eprte3fbtWc5g/s320/FAM_4923a.jpg" /></a>
After the dinner Linda was the drawing winner of a Crockpot that the departing couple was leaving behind. I know that probably doesn’t sound particularly wonderful but since there are NO crockpots here it is a real gem!
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-72399681171558198772015-04-28T19:16:00.000-07:002015-04-28T19:16:02.069-07:00Where Were The Seagulls?I know you all know the story of how in 1848 the seagulls saved the crops of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley by eating up all of the hordes of crickets. Well Fred cooked up a couple of racks of his barbequed ribs and brought them to Mendoza for the missionaries working in the office. The crickets wearing white shirts and ties began to swarm all over the ribs devouring every rib in sight until nothing was left except the aroma and a few bones! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7SBrEwRMQMdn5NFpbVDpqcgp-ZYLWVzPgyUYBupH67D8YSTtJNBN6hmuBgN5zK0sBSsQeL2IJVYuD2e_PMY482e_3NhwOKzR3kajAduVNkB3knX1e-Bf7SbNOHADzX7MnfkMp5l_6YQw/s1600/IMG_1256.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7SBrEwRMQMdn5NFpbVDpqcgp-ZYLWVzPgyUYBupH67D8YSTtJNBN6hmuBgN5zK0sBSsQeL2IJVYuD2e_PMY482e_3NhwOKzR3kajAduVNkB3knX1e-Bf7SbNOHADzX7MnfkMp5l_6YQw/s320/IMG_1256.JPG" /></a>And not a seagull in sight to save the day.
We continue to visit, teach and encourage the weaker members of the church here in La Consulta. Some are beginning to come out on Sundays and it is good to see them returning. This is an agricultural area and unfortunately some of the people are in poverty. One such family is the Condo family which we have visited twice. They live on a farm and you have to walk the last 200 yards or so to their house and step over a fence to get into the yard. They get a vehicle in there somehow so there must be a secret entrance. The family structure there is a little confusing and we are still trying to figure out who is who. Life there seems more like a colony to us. Each time we visit there are new faces and some of the others are not there. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4P1N03CQlNU9ZjcBBZK2hwF2yg6Zh6kfCW5okCx7GDQVKZRvTlEs0XX28Tl1fkmgT3vEErp5IJEN51BdrHFAXF_uv50PjrBv-ePczlH47ZsahrQZkHCGzoyu3ItjNtxlpLyJmur9nilg/s1600/IMG_1247.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4P1N03CQlNU9ZjcBBZK2hwF2yg6Zh6kfCW5okCx7GDQVKZRvTlEs0XX28Tl1fkmgT3vEErp5IJEN51BdrHFAXF_uv50PjrBv-ePczlH47ZsahrQZkHCGzoyu3ItjNtxlpLyJmur9nilg/s320/IMG_1247.JPG" /></a>We plan on taking family photos at some point so they will have to identify with one group or the other for the shot! It is a dirt yard with an outdoor kitchen using open fire for heat and some very makeshift housing. Last visit Maria, who is expecting her 9th child in July was cooking bread in the outdoor oven and she shared some with us that was still warm. Yummy stuff! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmk6O7kJmpmIs3uINTm5icUaBLUnwig4Ga-V3KoeOgGgj1d6xOOQhPTlRLXIEgiTzvS42lsNUFUm19DPA6jPMqFE9HMKZjuXcPj261rvDenVmBOJGzThptWpwzuoMfU6dFk_FKyaaaps/s1600/IMG_1253.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmk6O7kJmpmIs3uINTm5icUaBLUnwig4Ga-V3KoeOgGgj1d6xOOQhPTlRLXIEgiTzvS42lsNUFUm19DPA6jPMqFE9HMKZjuXcPj261rvDenVmBOJGzThptWpwzuoMfU6dFk_FKyaaaps/s320/IMG_1253.JPG" /></a>By our best estimate there are about 20 people living there and if we can get them coming out to church we could really fill our little chapel to overflowing. The couple dozen or so chocolate chip cookies that Linda made for them just barely made for one cookie each!
We shared a video about the Last Supper from our iPad propped up on the dusty rear bumper of their truck and had some discussion afterward. During the discussion one of the toddlers got restless so the mom, without batting an eye, just went right into breast feeding mode. No modesty blankie or nothin'! Now, that right there is distracting and a bit awkward to say the least. Teaching in Spanish is hard enough but sheeesh! Come to find out from speaking to other missionaries and the Mission President it is a very common thing here. Just going to have to deal with it. And NO we don’t have a picture to share!!
Jose Coronel and his wife have been absolute angels going with us to introduce us to the families in our branch. Jose can be a character sometimes like trying on this Bolivian poncho that one of the ladies had just finished making. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBiQvkIyjmpCmiAHS0bMf3p1jlGbdTQ98D-AOs1vg91R_S9KqPDTKKCcr0o72r98CA9pkFEI6_0YYbgHuOMPGAvkzvVyXBO2clmcFfTWAflzAwwX9Cl_pJSnclhTFDpSiAdMDvNHyWwo/s1600/IMG_1219.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBiQvkIyjmpCmiAHS0bMf3p1jlGbdTQ98D-AOs1vg91R_S9KqPDTKKCcr0o72r98CA9pkFEI6_0YYbgHuOMPGAvkzvVyXBO2clmcFfTWAflzAwwX9Cl_pJSnclhTFDpSiAdMDvNHyWwo/s320/IMG_1219.JPG" /></a>We had them over for dinner and fed them some of Linda’s yummy taco soup. Afterwards we got on the computer and were, with Linda’s skillful help, able to locate some of Jose’s ancestors.
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-73297930252459233462015-04-19T18:56:00.000-07:002015-04-19T18:56:33.800-07:00The UFC in ArgentinaWe have been very busy with the inspections again this past week. We traveled 4 hours or so to San Luis, which is east of Mendoza on the road to Buenos Aires, then another hour on to Justo Daract. In the search for the missionaries living quarters we ran into an 11 year old member boy named Patricio on his way to school who talked our ears off. Also a cute little calf tied to a fence right in town. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3ZV6TsnWQe4i1e3l69FZNFFLuBwY74r6OAgCUQKZFArXqDcqli5ateUv8QlPGwrINPU5I0Q1cZsTiGHi43i4wLk2-MMC5k1nlxnplEXGN2GBOhy6L7afHWTurb7rVToYjm8S6VeFrBQ/s1600/IMG_1237.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3ZV6TsnWQe4i1e3l69FZNFFLuBwY74r6OAgCUQKZFArXqDcqli5ateUv8QlPGwrINPU5I0Q1cZsTiGHi43i4wLk2-MMC5k1nlxnplEXGN2GBOhy6L7afHWTurb7rVToYjm8S6VeFrBQ/s320/IMG_1237.JPG" /></a> One of the fun things about inspections is you get to try on any goofy hats you find! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAxrDXc3vXGQcH1UMtUvOUDV4_tq-Q0YyomWA-sGr1jK1Hip75HTmT21qQhjSzrhWMu35gbtLPi5Hr5dPVqk-62RJY2mg0Wd_dvvNhFcZA1n8gwc7uTRIMx-27SX1a4WTTALn_tPGF08Q/s1600/IMG_1228.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAxrDXc3vXGQcH1UMtUvOUDV4_tq-Q0YyomWA-sGr1jK1Hip75HTmT21qQhjSzrhWMu35gbtLPi5Hr5dPVqk-62RJY2mg0Wd_dvvNhFcZA1n8gwc7uTRIMx-27SX1a4WTTALn_tPGF08Q/s320/IMG_1228.JPG" /></a> The sisters continue to out distance the elders in cleanliness by quite a bit in most cases. Here are a couple of the stars who wanted their picture taken by our car for some reason. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANqkGNcAcmjTt0OHXRGFi4qKjxbIxlMfqlsCWJ4V4_w1KcI12zKhHruwn6wRNHwUCwG8USZTgivheKNzU5sR_DbI82GP3pt2l7jDauf0XYc1PUdCjjzD6eIBEwqSjYBahLXBBX62ELkw/s1600/IMG_1233.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANqkGNcAcmjTt0OHXRGFi4qKjxbIxlMfqlsCWJ4V4_w1KcI12zKhHruwn6wRNHwUCwG8USZTgivheKNzU5sR_DbI82GP3pt2l7jDauf0XYc1PUdCjjzD6eIBEwqSjYBahLXBBX62ELkw/s320/IMG_1233.JPG" /></a> We also discovered a little investigator living in one of the missionary pensions in Tunuyan. He seemed very shy and harmless and didn’t say much. We found him hiding in the freezer so we snapped a photo for evidence. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-u0EfWNMk0IEANOGD9oCuhQFBSU81K0DEUifi35JJw0RhcYtrjeWZrsEWAG-RPnsox4rJ6c9VU-fdWZ-OMRbd9HFYmFWkZ6Bn_94We6nt0JEcBKMxI02tBAE3ofJpOpCCUY6DqlVvYA/s1600/IMG_1224.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-u0EfWNMk0IEANOGD9oCuhQFBSU81K0DEUifi35JJw0RhcYtrjeWZrsEWAG-RPnsox4rJ6c9VU-fdWZ-OMRbd9HFYmFWkZ6Bn_94We6nt0JEcBKMxI02tBAE3ofJpOpCCUY6DqlVvYA/s320/IMG_1224.JPG" /></a>
On Route 40 between La Consulta and Mendoza there is an interesting character depicted in a 30 ft tall work of art. We didn’t quite know what to make of it so we just call him Sheriff Woody. We just give him a salute every time we pass by. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI06lFKbv7ebSTieEGLDFHAhdGP9E9_9VZyakDcVMI0UazcrEu8rl-8ZISpj1Y8ihojsle5Gl1wHWcxkncEdWlb-EeuI6lhZucv7QnVRSd2yhS_joJRuZbiX9aIIIRh6GxUGGbPtKtYnU/s1600/IMG_1239.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI06lFKbv7ebSTieEGLDFHAhdGP9E9_9VZyakDcVMI0UazcrEu8rl-8ZISpj1Y8ihojsle5Gl1wHWcxkncEdWlb-EeuI6lhZucv7QnVRSd2yhS_joJRuZbiX9aIIIRh6GxUGGbPtKtYnU/s320/IMG_1239.JPG" /></a>
On to the UFC! You thought UFC stood for Ultimate Fighting Championship…..well here it is the Under Freeway Café! In out travels to and from the mission office we pass by this overpass where someone got the absolute genius idea to use the space by the street under the freeway for a restaurant. Low overhead cost for sure! They set up tables with tablecloths and everything. I don’t know what they really call the place but we call it the Under Freeway Café. Fred kept saying to Linda that one night he would take her there to dine. She was very resistant and wanted nothing to do with going to dine under the freeway and 9 o’clock in the evening when they open for business. Well since it was our anniversary it seemed like a logical place to have an elegant dinner. So reluctantly Linda agreed and off we went on the one hour plus trip to Mendoza. They cook chorizo sausage over an open fire grill and serve it on a roll with several sauces. Smokey and noisy with cars and trucks passing by under and over but even Linda had to admit that the food was absolutely yummy! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlisC_qe3VxVEKaGM8z2Lm4YgUcJMK1hPhqBo-zv4PTgM0LSixMYAGvkkiaYNwVr_ThUGVCwVK9h7X9F4VddPQ9oS0yx2Ehv1M5FA3Ho8iwVRUfxBbSxR9k36HJLlTMyx-6Njl1oOrgA/s1600/IMG_1243.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlisC_qe3VxVEKaGM8z2Lm4YgUcJMK1hPhqBo-zv4PTgM0LSixMYAGvkkiaYNwVr_ThUGVCwVK9h7X9F4VddPQ9oS0yx2Ehv1M5FA3Ho8iwVRUfxBbSxR9k36HJLlTMyx-6Njl1oOrgA/s320/IMG_1243.JPG" /></a>
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-48661640257027859402015-04-12T10:16:00.001-07:002015-04-12T15:59:28.993-07:00Where's Waldo?We finally discovered why we were picking those wine grapes! While we were out there with our missionary tags on a fellow who was working the harvest came over and introduced himself and asked us about our service project. He told us his name was Waldo and that he had served a mission in Buenos Aires some years ago. He further explained that he was following the grape harvest and we all supposed that he lived somewhere other than here. He asked about conference and where it could be seen so we explained that it would be shown in Tunuyan, the next town north. We were invited over to Brother Coronel's house the following Monday night for Family Home Evening. Guess who shows up. Waldo with his wife and daughter. Turns out he lives right here in Eugenio Bustos until he has to return home way up north in Salta. He did not know the church was here. So he went to conference and will be out to church this Sunday. So where's Waldo?....he's back at church in La Consulta, Argentina thanks to a bunch of wine-grape-picking missionaries. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCVTy6xH42Y06FFno05Mxm-9DoRcnoy6bLtfTgpVeK1EeGuX-SZrubmmB_dAWCxdbdwmqaWfG4rHHn48_ilTlsjff9z4f_yfGFoRj-DjMmzM6NY7wa4Yb7hyphenhyphen7vK5Lf_Fs5b2RG7hPLOY/s1600/IMG_1222.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCVTy6xH42Y06FFno05Mxm-9DoRcnoy6bLtfTgpVeK1EeGuX-SZrubmmB_dAWCxdbdwmqaWfG4rHHn48_ilTlsjff9z4f_yfGFoRj-DjMmzM6NY7wa4Yb7hyphenhyphen7vK5Lf_Fs5b2RG7hPLOY/s320/IMG_1222.JPG" /></a>
That was the highlight of the week. One of our assignments from the Mission President, after he found out Fred was a Facilities Manager for the State Department, is to inspect all of the missionary living quarters. They are called pensions here. We went up to Mendoza Monday to check on the logistics of a trip 3 hours north to San Juan to inspect 24 pensions and deliver water filters in a three day trip. We parked our car in front of the mission office and went inside to get all coordinated for the trip. When we came out we discovered that the right rear door window had been smashed and was laying under the car. Our coats and the GPS had been stolen. Nobody heard the alarm. The thieves were obviously in a hurry and didn't take time to look into the shopping bag on the rear floor of the car or they would have seen our ipad there and surely would have taken it. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoBWoZ0C6N_AZsVihqFljspzZZeBuylIZ4ILmdyiRuYimiSInH1fZb9633CM-FSS0lot5-4pcleOjgdf7Was7u7CqGKi7SbQ0UwXopXCZgANRbY0XzDJz4gtBzkUhFbTbimvjjWCWmpg/s1600/IMG_1187.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoBWoZ0C6N_AZsVihqFljspzZZeBuylIZ4ILmdyiRuYimiSInH1fZb9633CM-FSS0lot5-4pcleOjgdf7Was7u7CqGKi7SbQ0UwXopXCZgANRbY0XzDJz4gtBzkUhFbTbimvjjWCWmpg/s320/IMG_1187.JPG" /></a>
So that delayed our trip for another day. We confiscated the other Toyota that the office missionaries use until our car could be fixed. So the next day we headed out for San Juan in the back seat of the mission pickup truck. Not too comfortable. The mission put us up in a nice hotel while poor Elders Ruiz-Diaz and Trelease who went with us had to sleep on the floor of the pension of some of their fellow missionaries. We felt terrible about it but we had nothing to do with any of the arrangements and not much could be done. The inspections were interesting. They varied from very clean and tidy (mostly the sister missionaries) to... they might as well be living under a bridge down by the river. The vast majority were okay but a few.....not so much. We considered threatening to take some pictures and sending them to their mothers. But you just gotta love and appreciate those young missionaries for all they are doing!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnguIHDhQn6RzXmivGtLAFoJhXuxI6sf1jC25Mrg9ucyb2II_OsN2N7F4xoTLlDv09HJDh98B88pie2xlGDegM51MMQKdfMhzevP1st4pjFL3-AYIS8HbIu7s2oCr6NJIFQJA6rU76g90/s1600/IMG_1189.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnguIHDhQn6RzXmivGtLAFoJhXuxI6sf1jC25Mrg9ucyb2II_OsN2N7F4xoTLlDv09HJDh98B88pie2xlGDegM51MMQKdfMhzevP1st4pjFL3-AYIS8HbIu7s2oCr6NJIFQJA6rU76g90/s320/IMG_1189.JPG" /></a>
One of the reasons we wanted to come to this particular mission in Argentina was to try and find some of Fred's family that used to live here. We have old letters from the 1920's with an address in San Juan. After the inspections we hunted down the address in the old part of the city. The exact address was not to be found but we spoke to some of the neighbors and they told us that the huge earthquake of 1944 levelled that part of the city. Over 10,000 people were killed and 90% of the buildings were destroyed. Perhaps some of Fred's ancestors perished in that group. In any case the old house that was built before 1900 no longer exists.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWJPwkZw7XXdQyC-8vCk5_37ZhmD5zgMMcUdA-2H7bujRlHW_BW-stRduvnq-p68Pso27z7GTI4lZ1pC8lwQXHqO96D_EAFBszPgNkGUDusFQaFawMTmW5NvJyu7ij6YaaLU6iW-HywI/s1600/IMG_1204.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWJPwkZw7XXdQyC-8vCk5_37ZhmD5zgMMcUdA-2H7bujRlHW_BW-stRduvnq-p68Pso27z7GTI4lZ1pC8lwQXHqO96D_EAFBszPgNkGUDusFQaFawMTmW5NvJyu7ij6YaaLU6iW-HywI/s320/IMG_1204.JPG" /></a>
On our way back we stopped in Watermelon Heaven! We bought a couple at a very reasonable price and headed for home. One for us and one for the young missionaries that slept on the floor. They were good but not the wody we grow and are used to every summer in Vacaville.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMee6VdJFCdkheWVEHGLz25-jYBgMxfZ1hits4q-qZG16T24CQZh9aREzTF8Zi6nXl6OnLIxIdZJY8LaoNLm22FXxdEC2dt6nthdIznvdGKA17BGHing07FrwIN8oH7qDD_M1gluecSA/s1600/IMG_1207.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMee6VdJFCdkheWVEHGLz25-jYBgMxfZ1hits4q-qZG16T24CQZh9aREzTF8Zi6nXl6OnLIxIdZJY8LaoNLm22FXxdEC2dt6nthdIznvdGKA17BGHing07FrwIN8oH7qDD_M1gluecSA/s320/IMG_1207.JPG" /></a>fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-40140558549250460812015-04-02T20:11:00.000-07:002015-04-02T20:11:10.911-07:00Finally Settling InWell we are finally getting settled into our new digs. We are living on a 30 acre vineyard in part of a large beautiful old farm house that has been sectioned off for us. Since we are the first couple missionaries to serve here a lot had to be done. Nothing except the drivers moves fast here so it was a bit frustrating getting AC/heating, washer/dryer, and internet installed. Yay! We finally have internet! Not blistering speed but it will do.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcKgZrRnVQ-rBYyQpUgyX9K6fwP4FgpoaNWAbm1-l6MGiYzp5EAMMLEAKyGVrSpIX2nZvDJ6R8Ac7gZM2WnY6szBQnM8qz34c2eX8hVuHrJTDdnZoltU-ZTg3ufydHYOZYjYDwdls29fs/s1600/IMG_1166.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcKgZrRnVQ-rBYyQpUgyX9K6fwP4FgpoaNWAbm1-l6MGiYzp5EAMMLEAKyGVrSpIX2nZvDJ6R8Ac7gZM2WnY6szBQnM8qz34c2eX8hVuHrJTDdnZoltU-ZTg3ufydHYOZYjYDwdls29fs/s400/IMG_1166.JPG" /></a>
The owner is a widow of about 3 months. Dalia is still grieving the loss of her husband and was in tears worrying about the grape harvest which started this week. She was worried that there were not enough workers to complete the harvest in time so we quickly organized a service project for the missionaries in our district. They were excited to help and spent a whole day in the vineyard cutting and hauling grapes. It is very hard work in the sun and you get covered in sticky grape juice. Yeah, we know they are wine grapes but the poor woman needed help and we figure the good will might go a ways in preparing Dalia to hear a message about the plan of salvation.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGziX-1R3XRTpLz65kYoRynQgvjV-eIWe2OBeyHLiR1gDBXgFdtXDsOvlLEqEcCMdS-zwgOOKVYVN2XZexsgaInjUQd6iTnE4YMuW0PdHRnvsEBtI-tjHRNW67cH1HdT1xatpTND1dLE/s1600/IMG_1174.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGziX-1R3XRTpLz65kYoRynQgvjV-eIWe2OBeyHLiR1gDBXgFdtXDsOvlLEqEcCMdS-zwgOOKVYVN2XZexsgaInjUQd6iTnE4YMuW0PdHRnvsEBtI-tjHRNW67cH1HdT1xatpTND1dLE/s320/IMG_1174.JPG" /></a>
The mission gave us a brand spanking new 2015 Toyota Corolla to drive. We went shopping last week in Tunuyan, the next city north, and parked in front of the store. When we came out the car was surrounded by 3 motorcycle cops and two on horseback. You would have thought that there was a big drug smuggling ring bust going down or something. It turns out we were partially blocking a driveway, which we didn’t see, and were given a parking ticket. Tried to talk them out of it but the taskforce was undeterred. $35 fine that had to be paid at the bank for some reason I cannot explain. So Fred is an official criminal in Argentina!
Last Saturday we went up the road 3 miles and took a free tour of the Fournier winery. Yes, wine again! It was constructed over 3 years and completed in 2003 by a wealthy Spaniard at a cost of $20 million. It is very modern and looks like a huge space craft from the road ¼ of a mile away. It is huge with thick concrete walls and could surely survive a nuclear blast in the area. The Chinese Ambassador was there and got a special tour including horseback riding for him and his family.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JM2rm_S2iJrI6jQFecYOFdviJYbqXqVHY7dThvJ-SO7hsjtcKbwJJVE9fb-_HajxI04N0ikI5EqsJ8tT0GfaVd3MKq6trqPccbHisTKluzrr3higZvr0_4kmfvkNWJUf9E0c7AFC4Mg/s1600/FAM_4784.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JM2rm_S2iJrI6jQFecYOFdviJYbqXqVHY7dThvJ-SO7hsjtcKbwJJVE9fb-_HajxI04N0ikI5EqsJ8tT0GfaVd3MKq6trqPccbHisTKluzrr3higZvr0_4kmfvkNWJUf9E0c7AFC4Mg/s400/FAM_4784.JPG" /></a>
We have been out visiting some of the less actives in the branch which outnumber the actives 10 to 1 so you can see we have a lot of work to do. The language is getting easier to understand and we can speak better. We went to the district meeting today and gave a presentation and we understood most of what was said as opposed to last time where it was torture to get through. The Branch Mission Leader , Jose Coronel, and his wife, Alicia, who is also the Relief Society President have been very supportive and helpful going with us on visits for introductions. Stay tuned!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUI9yIW3dyvMYcPdiSH_EBY-U8feXrdCQ0vzbu0A-IvDHx9p4g2Uz5b6hGD_c04FtEYZUsFkb3InyFdrJ4uI4VHPzgPn7DGNbfbrY9gGcNimOPfhtUCs8ohAPRrXKkZ7svxAkO7bj8DA/s1600/Andes31.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUI9yIW3dyvMYcPdiSH_EBY-U8feXrdCQ0vzbu0A-IvDHx9p4g2Uz5b6hGD_c04FtEYZUsFkb3InyFdrJ4uI4VHPzgPn7DGNbfbrY9gGcNimOPfhtUCs8ohAPRrXKkZ7svxAkO7bj8DA/s400/Andes31.jpg" /></a>
fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-70990364324918986912015-03-22T15:24:00.000-07:002015-03-22T15:24:10.291-07:00The first week in ArgentinaIt was a long flight but we survived! We spent the first two nights in the mission home with the wonderful hospitality of President Goates and his wife. The first day was Zone Conference with all of the missionaries in our zone. We were thrown in the pool so to speak with regard to Spanish. We got about 60 percent of it!
On the way to the conference Pres. Goates took us down town to change money on the "blue market". The official exchange rate at the banks is 8 pesos for one dollar but the blue market is higher and is comprised of a bunch of individual entrepreneurs. The more you exchange the better the rate. Well we brought $5,000 in cash so we decided to exchange it all in one swoop. Linda and Sis Goates stayed in the car and Pres Goates and Fred went to do the deal. It was in a cage located under a large building in Central Mendoza. Pres Goates and Fred took off their name tags and went in. We got a 12.6 to 1 rate which is very good. The guy behind the counter kept a poker face and never uttered a word as he counted out packets of cash. Problem was that Fred got a stack of money about 6 inches high and had to stuff it in four different pockets in his suit and carry it around all day at the conference. They went in one way and left via another for security concerns. It had a little taste of doing a deal with the Mafia BUT ALL LEGAL!!
We finally got to where we will be working. La Consulta is a little town of about 8,000 people. Well we are in a "suburb" of La Consulta called Eugenio Bustos. We are making friends with the people in the local shops and dining establishments. Kind of a podunk little town but we love it. Siesta is from 1pm to about 5pm and the town literally shuts down during that time with the exception of an ice cream place and a little shop like a very mini 7-11. Our house is not ready yet so we have been staying in a hotel. Very tiny rooms. Sort of like a Motel 3. We have to move the suitcases around like checkers so we can get around. The house should be almost ready tomorrow but we are moving in regardless. Found out Fred's iphone 6+ is worth over $2,000 here. Gotta keep an eye on it. Linda's iphone 6 is not much cheaper.
Went to church this morning. Still trying to figure out what language they are speaking! They speak very fast and we are going to have to up our game. We will have appointments this week with some inactive members that we can start working with to try and get them back into activity.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwag-QWndjMb86Q9qAGHxv0-WXPbU-3Z2kFE1BtOM7fJdl24infBtuNOMn8UReJWlZHD0Pgkt47C0O1hN_eokXAf6D4U2aTFUk_wSIVUOwOm-jW5qgwM2ThiDl2Q0XuzG_cWPfLFLgMwI/s1600/IMG_1143%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwag-QWndjMb86Q9qAGHxv0-WXPbU-3Z2kFE1BtOM7fJdl24infBtuNOMn8UReJWlZHD0Pgkt47C0O1hN_eokXAf6D4U2aTFUk_wSIVUOwOm-jW5qgwM2ThiDl2Q0XuzG_cWPfLFLgMwI/s320/IMG_1143%5B1%5D.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZHniCm7FIKhhQV4RkOzPtgwzVKWtGSpGIJ9KGrSZWZaTUuTB-xe4v07jz15xArOpAb2tLxcGTOYXb2MLiaWqC_zspXJEd61CfFILNtowEtykq8w4375tKeIaf5kraXip61izq7MF3778/s1600/IMG_1145%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZHniCm7FIKhhQV4RkOzPtgwzVKWtGSpGIJ9KGrSZWZaTUuTB-xe4v07jz15xArOpAb2tLxcGTOYXb2MLiaWqC_zspXJEd61CfFILNtowEtykq8w4375tKeIaf5kraXip61izq7MF3778/s320/IMG_1145%5B1%5D.JPG" /></a></div>fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-52427237300033814462015-03-14T20:27:00.000-07:002015-03-14T20:45:44.803-07:00Hemos terminado la semana en el MTCWell, we have completed our week at the MTC. The week was best described by Annette Wells as "Gospel Disneyland". There was a lot of good training and wonderful people to meet. It was also great to see and mingle with all of the young missionaries. Probably close to 1500. Approximately 100 were couples like us. Eating in the dining hall is like eating in the high school cafeteria. With the age requirement change the sister missionaries are almost half the population. They are actually expected to outnumber the elders in a few short months. It is reassuring to see all of their youthful energy and enthusiasm focused in such a good direction. Friday we got a call from our good friends Bob and Julynn Simmons who took us to dinner and then over to see some other good friends Terry and Danne Morris. We all had met in Indonesia when we were posted there for five years with the US State Department in the late 90s. The Morrises were serving a humanitarian mission at the time and helped us decide that we would serve a mission some day. It was great to renew our friendships and kick around some old times and memories. Anyway, we are off early Monday morning from Salt Lake to Atlanta then to Buenos Aires. We change airports for the last leg west two hours to Mendoza.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkwXU78pfA3WxMIGI8YGSpeAG2lswm4EZaJ6uHpcJOgvU1pXej4wT5aaPJUAByRfFdtK4N2zIInCDKU5fhWu6xEB9DB4Swb7wfcfBAwfZ4JmhbQunCkENGU5FjjQ5Iux3ZJGCAfCt3f4/s1600/IMG_1126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkwXU78pfA3WxMIGI8YGSpeAG2lswm4EZaJ6uHpcJOgvU1pXej4wT5aaPJUAByRfFdtK4N2zIInCDKU5fhWu6xEB9DB4Swb7wfcfBAwfZ4JmhbQunCkENGU5FjjQ5Iux3ZJGCAfCt3f4/s320/IMG_1126.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEQ29wjkK-O6kGdfN87UzMUrSjnPV-mn9jS9DeJMbZZvUdwSXm0qJ4ysjmUuGN8KTIhIl3LWdm7mIrwPu3zvA1R6BLDk8w4RRbLk-U70ccxbfydsJ4TDZpxPMSbyrSGBN02JhXh6jxSQ/s1600/IMG_1127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEQ29wjkK-O6kGdfN87UzMUrSjnPV-mn9jS9DeJMbZZvUdwSXm0qJ4ysjmUuGN8KTIhIl3LWdm7mIrwPu3zvA1R6BLDk8w4RRbLk-U70ccxbfydsJ4TDZpxPMSbyrSGBN02JhXh6jxSQ/s320/IMG_1127.JPG" /></a></div>fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-6180873798948882612015-03-10T21:29:00.000-07:002015-03-10T21:29:47.277-07:00MTC LifeWe arrived at the Mission Training Center in Provo, UT Sun. night. They gave us our missionary name tags right away...what a thrill to put them on!! We've been fed very well...good thing there's an exercise room on our floor! We had an orientation mtg. Mon. and started our classes today. We were divided up into "districts" of 4 couples in each. Fred got selected to be our District leader. They have young returned missionaries teaching us. What a surprise to find out our teacher served in the Argentina Mendoza Mission where we are going!! It will be great to get some inside info from him.
Tonight we went to a an evening devotional with Elder Quinten L. Cook, one of the Lord's 12 Apostles. He told an interesting story about a young Polynesian man whose parents both had a dream about where he would serve his mission before his call arrived. The Mom dreamed he was going to Washington, D.C. and the Dad said no, he was going to Japan because he saw the face of the Mission President and he was Japanese. When his call arrived in the mail, they were both right. He was called to Washington, D.C. where the mission Pres. is a Japanese man!!
By the way my purse with all our kids' family pictures on it is a big hit! When we were introducing ourselves at the orientation meeting, the MTC Pres.' counselor who was conducting asked me to hold it up so all could see! Now I'm swamped with questions about it everywhere we go.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7ci5v5jV2e1rNfm9yuCv523ALD2WriKWRzpQ96r-sVB9CyRjIMy-0oBCpx1a4_VEQpYukjJxQbERNZJw6vMqThPmET0LCzVmZDoDQsVO50wX_3CqN_jm4_fbxZHUZR-gV6habGSNxyY/s1600/IMG_1123.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7ci5v5jV2e1rNfm9yuCv523ALD2WriKWRzpQ96r-sVB9CyRjIMy-0oBCpx1a4_VEQpYukjJxQbERNZJw6vMqThPmET0LCzVmZDoDQsVO50wX_3CqN_jm4_fbxZHUZR-gV6habGSNxyY/s320/IMG_1123.JPG" /></a>fredmasedahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16229720424554669308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1657553853708000110.post-69775322792069136992015-03-06T17:05:00.001-08:002015-03-06T17:05:54.894-08:00It's official.....We are missionariesThis is our first post and will serve as a test of sorts.<br />
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President Bennett set us apart at the Stake Center last night. So it is official! We are missionaries! We were able to have a lot of family members present. It was a wonderful time. President Bennett made it a very special time for us and we both feel that we really needed those blessings he pronounced upon us. <br />
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We caught a flight to Salt Lake this morning and will be spending the weekend with our daughter Karmen and her family in Farmington. She will drop us off at the MTC Sunday evening. We look forward to the training we will get there. Then Monday the 16th we will be off to Argentina via Miami-Buenos Aires-Mendoza. A 22 hour trip.<br />
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