News from Over the Border in Argentina

Weather was beautiful this week in Paradise. Stress was high, with lots of unmet expectations and anxiety about our trip out of the country for the first time with an overdue tourist visa and no papers to drive a church car across the border yet. Again, did they know we were coming? Really the travel guy says he didn't. Or at least didn't know we were a different kind of missionary that covered three missions in two countries. Yay for being the guinea pigs! Interestingly enough, rental companies like Hertz don't let you cross the border with their cars either, so we had to hire a driver and that was helpful going across the border. We did have to pay a fine which we knew about (but forgot to get the receipt, oops) and now we just have to get out of Paraguay every 90 days to restart the tourist visa that we have. Waiting in line and finally crossing took about 45 minutes. Pictures below are of us crossing the border.

 Learning when we've had enough and it is time to get out of the office and do something different no matter what time it is has been helpful. On Thursday we went home relaxed and then got back to work there a little more productive.

But being in the temple on Wednesday night and remembering that family is most important changed the trajectory of the week.

English Connect class doubled and hopefully this week it will double again. We are getting better at what we are supposed to do and how to do it on Zoom.

More work is happening on our corner of the building. They cleaned out all the things we don't use anymore. We also saw this guy with electric hedge clippers half on, half off a ladder and prayed there would not be an accident.

A new thing on our list of responsibilities we didn't know we had is helping to find service opportunities for the service missionaries through the non-profits we work with. We try and put ourselves in the shoes of the missionaries parents and support them like we would like to be supported.

After a month of sleeping on the couch because Ken's machine makes a loud whistling noise that we don't know how to fix, we purchased earplugs and Chris moved back into the bedroom

  
This is a specialty clinic we visited that asked us for a new ultrasound machine. We think that this is the type of machine used on Chris during her first ultrasound when she was pregnant with Kensington 36 years ago. We are hopeful we can help. It has been our experience that everyone asks for so very little of what they need here so as to not take advantage and are so grateful for any help. Ken is with the administrator and technician who with the help of the community made the cement wheelchair ramp. We love how so many people do so much with so little and make it work with a smile.

Last week of PJF. We will miss the friends we've met there but we see them at the temple which makes us feel much like Alma and the sons of Mosiah when they met up after their mission, joyous, because they were still brothers in the Lord.

This is Ruth(below) and it is her last year at PJF and she saved all her nametags and bracelets and buttons from the past 5 years and was a bit sad this was her last year.

This is a family on a motorcycle. Can you see the kids? One is in front of the driver and one is in between the two adults. It is a common sight here and just the way many families get around. The families don't ride fast but it makes us nervous

Northern Argentina takes its futbol serious. Here is the futbol stadium in a city of about 447,000 people.

This is the green Argentinean Chaco. And below is a plant that is related to the banana (the one with the big leaves) and bears fruit but our driver wasn't sure what it was called.

Here we are at lunch with the Dominguezes. They are kind and are taking good care of us on our trip to Argentina.

Spiritual thought for the week comes from Doctrine and Covenants 3

3 Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men;

4 For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him.

So keep working and praying to understand God's will in how, when, where and how it needs to get done and it will in his timing remembering he thinks celestial. And his vengence is leaving us in our own strength and be separated from Him.

Have a great week and we are grateful for the love we feel from all of you with your comments, texts and emails.