Zone Leader Consejos

(back left) Elders Mendoza, Kirk, Bills, Rodriguez,Clayson, Hawks, Cardus, Toledo, Wajchman, Boudrero, Squires (AP). (middle left) Elders Mayta, Stevenson, Roy, Aparcana, Ayala, Fuentes, Patterson, Vazquez, Lambert, Sargent. (bottom left) Elders Martin, Slater (AP), Medina, Weist.

Even a Chilean can appreciate Mexican Taco's. Elder Fuentes covering his tacos with guacamole

I think Elder Sargent won the award for eating the most tacos. He says it's no fair because he only put meat and cheese on his tortillas.

Their tummies were full, so they sat down for a long winters nap (which is hard to do in the middle of an Argentina summer)

Elder Wajchman and President. We were able to spend a lovely Stake Conference with his mom and grandpa in the Maipu Stake. What a wonderful family.

The unveiling of the mission book. All of last years blog pictures were made into a book by Jim's mother (with some help from Bea) and put into print. It is a wonderful memory and fun for the missionaries to see themselves in print.

Some very handsome missionaries- Peruvian, Chilean, Argentinean, Peruvian living in Buenos Aires.

Elder Mendoza and Hawks were our traveling teachers who were just made zone leaders to open a new zone in San Luis, the name is Villa Mercedes. They took off the traveling hat and put on the zone leader hat- and it fits just fine.

Friends who were all together in the San Martin zone many months ago, they were swapping stories about the good old days before all the responsibility. It is funny how it only takes a few months for them to think that those were the good old days. Now they are competing against one another.

San Luis Stake Conference

The last three days we have spoken at 4 meetings. San Luis had two sessions of stake conference each day. These sweet little angels were the choir for the conference. The young lady, third from the right, was the lead singer- the one most mom's are proud of. She sang with all her gusto and lead the others with her strong confident voice. The little one on the right was the one most mom's wonder about- she didn't sing a word but loved being in front of the people. Jim and I spoke at all the conferences, traveling an hour and a half from each building, back and forth. It was a tiring trip. But no matter how tired we were the spirit still supported us and all went well.

The First Counselor's daughter was such a doll. We had lunch between the meetings at one of their homes and this young lady wanted a picture of the two of us. I forgot to take it, but before we left I wanted to get the picture. There is a story though behind the scenes. We always speak at our conferences knowing that we are there to teach the "one" somewhere in the audience. The "one" was there at the afternoon conference. He is the young man looking away at the far right. The Elders brought him up to the stand even though the young man said he couldn't possible speak to the Mission President. When they shook hands the young man started to cry. He cried like a baby using his tie as a hankie. He is a potential missionary who has lacked the spirit and direction but wants to straighten his life out. He was helped that day, and the spirit was there to confirm in his heart that he was now on the right path. The "one" at the morning session was a lady that came up after conference.

It was late as we left San Luis on our 5 hour trip home. These weekends take a lot out of us.

The Winner of the Thanksgiving Feast- San Juan Zone

Helpers in the Kitchen after dinner. I regret not getting my camera out and proving to my kids that I found a turkey and cooked it up all by myself. Everything is hard here. No one eats turkey here, so I had to go to the one place in the city where I could order a turkey. They had it for me, a 11.8 kilo turkey (26 lbs.) frozen solid. It took two days just to get it thawed enough to stuff it. We had the usual Thanksgiving feast, minus the yams. The homemade pumpkin pies made from butternut squash I over cooked a bit, but they tasted great. The lemon meringue pie was a flop, their cornstarch isn't the same. We called it lemon pudding. There was not one bit of food left when we were done. They were hungry young men.

The San Juan Zone were the winners of the month long (friendly) competition. They kept track of all their key indicators. They were on a point system, and all the 11 zones worked very hard to win the Thanksgiving Feast at the mission home. We congratulate the Zone Leaders Elder Duel and Martin for their success and great leadership. They had 20 baptisms on Saturday which put them over the top.
(Left back)Elders Rodriguez, Newbold, Johnson, Snow, Reynolds, Rios, Carrasco
(Front) Elders Jones, Crowther, Morinico, Duel, Martin, Martins, Naranjo, Workman, Hollinger

Viejitos (Oldies) November 2009

The bitter-sweet day of saying goodbye to our missionaries. Sister Huzzey on my left was in the MTC when we were serving there and we visited her in her classroom to introduce ourselves when we received our call to serve in Mendoza. We welcomed her at the airport in Mendoza and now we are saying goodbye to her. It is crazy, but this will help us put the first half of our mission behind us come December 31st. We have enjoyed serving with ever one of these fine missionaries. (left) Elders Ortiz, Cox, Nuila, Opheikens, Pres. Me, Hermana Huzzey.

New Missionaries Arrive

Elder Sandford arrived first, he has been serving in Arizona waiting for his visa. Atleast he was speaking spanish and perfecting his language. He was fast tracked in the MTC because of his language ability but that didn't make his visa come any faster.

We received 9 missionaries today, and they were all happy to finally arrive and be able to take a shower and get some sleep. No one does much sleeping on the airplane. After feeding them, they went in the plaza and practiced "opening the mouth" along with the assistance from our office Elders.

Group photo in front of the Monument of San Martin.

Airport mug shot for our office workers. They write the names above their heads, and then write the name of their companion above that. This helps everyone in the office to practice their names and who they have been placed with. Let's see if I can do it-
(left) Elders Roberts and Harvey, Hermana's Burnett and Deem, Elders Boyle, Romano, Davis, Gomez, Bigelow. I think I got one hundred percent.

Area Conference with Elder Bednar

Our Area Conference this November was held in the Sheraton Hotel in Buenos Aires. We met Sunday night thru Wednesday, all day in the Hotel. We learned techniques for teaching and were greatly blessed for being there. It was the very last area conference meeting with an Apostle. After our conference, Apostles and Seventies will no longer travel for training in area conferences but they will be taught by our local area presidency. Elder Bednar and his wife Susan and Elder Snow and his wife Phyllis were there to help us be more affective in our work with our missionaries.

Elder Snow and Phyllis, President Wade and myself as we are in our casual clothing ready to leave for a Argentine ranch experience.

Elder Bednar and wife Susan, Elder Bowen and his wife Lynette in causal clothing ready to leave the hotel.

Elder Aidukitis and his wife Luica and Jim and I.

A very special group of people. These are our friends who we went out with one and a half years ago. They will be eternal friends. President Benton (Cheryl) BA West, President Villalba (Ana Maria) Rosario, President Northcutt (Cynda) Salta, Jim and I (No. 1 mission in the world Mendoza) President del Castillo (Olinda) Restistencia. We came to the edge of the light and took two steps into the darkness. We celebrate together our success and sorrows. This takes an abundance of faith.

The National flower of Argentina, the Ceibo. The Erythrina tree (means coral tree from the Greek word for red, in allusion to the color of the flower) and is known for its crooked trunks. The wood is so soft and breakable you can not climb this tree. To see it's blossom look at the last picture at the close up. The two petals are partially bound together and form the flower's keel, protecting the reproduction of the flower.

On Tuesday in the afternoon we went to the Susana Ranch, a huge ranch that use to be a working ranch years ago. On the grounds was a museum and this little chapel. In one corner is a wedding dress from the early 1900's, and the cutest confession booth. The chapel was used by the family and all the workers on the ranch.

The museum was full of fun things that we all remember from the states and our own youth. OK maybe not this record player, I am not that old. But it was fun to reminisce.

In front of the little chapel

The chapel from a far.

Chairs made from the bones of the cow. Not too comfortable to sit on, but on a ranch, pretty cheap to make.

After lunch there was entertainment. There was a folklore dance with the traditional dress, and below, the tango.

Lunch was served by the gaucho's. They take you on horse and buggy rides, cook the food on the outdoor parillas, serve the food, dance, and then go outside and participate in the horse show.

There were three groups of horses, obviously from the same families because they were all matching in color, roans, buckskins, and dark colored. The gaucho would pull a horse with a bell tied around his head, and as they would trot out, the horses would automatically form groups following the ringing of the tone of bell they have been trained to follow.

Wired to each ribbon hanging from the wood frame was a small ring about 1 1/2 inch in diameter. These gauchos would run a full gallop towards the ring, and with a small knife the size of a pencil, would spear the ring, standing tall in their saddles. I could see doing it with a ring 3 or 4 inches, but this was truly amazing. Then they would bring the ring over to the stands were they would give the ring to a woman-- for a kiss.

OK I just had to get myself a ring, and yes I was willing to give him a kiss, but only on the cheek. The camera of course didn't capture the kiss, but only the after math and the blushing. I was just hoping Elder Bednar and Elder Bowen were not looking.

Here is the prize, the infamous RING, along with one of the blossoms of the Ceibo tree (right).

Happy Birthday Jim

The San Luis Zone send this photo to Jim and I. Actually my birthday is the 2nd and Jim is the 4th, but they they were so kind I didn't want to correct them. The first picture is of the missionaries who are in San Luis (3 1/2 hours from Mendoza) and the second picture is of those missionaries WAY far out in San Luis area (5 hrs). Our missionaries helped us to have a happy birthday.

A party with our Senior Couples (left-Brown's and Jarvis's) and Jim's counselors in the mission presidency (Sister Rastelli whose husband got there late, Acosta's)

The Maipu Zone got together to celebrate our birthday's. It looks like they had a good time without us.

New Missionaries Arrive

They really didn't want 3 extra weeks in the MTC, but their visas never came. They benefited from having extra practice on their language skills by some great MTC teachers. But as they will find out, there is no better teacher than the ten hours on the STREET in Mendoza.
Welcome Elder Fowler and Elder Hopkin

October/November Zone Conference

I missed the photo, but Elder Roy was standing on the backs of these strong Elders. Only proving that the most important person of the pyramid, who can not be removed is Elder Davis (middle on the floor). A lesson on the importance of the Book of Mormon in testifying of the restoration. Like Elder Holland put it in conference, those who leave the church must do so-by crawling over, or under, or around the Book of Mormon to make that exit.
Elder Roy, Lloyd, Sargent, Williams, Davis, Ashby

Happy Guaymallen Zone

San Rafael Zone (Elder Wells and Elder Aparcana)

Alvear Zone (Elder Sanchez and Elder Vasquez)

Mendoza Zone (Elder Contreras and Elder Stevenson)
Godoy Cruz Zone (Elder Rodriguez and Elder Wiest)

Guaymallen Zone (Elder Mayta and Elder Sargent)
San Luis Zone (Elder Fuentes and Elder Boudrero)

Maipu Zone (Elder Toledo and Elder Medina)
San Martin Zone (Elder Lambert and Elder Ayala)
Valle de Uco Zone (Elder Manqui and Elder Clayson)

Chimbas Zone (Elder Bills and Elder Cardus)
San Juan Zone (Elder Martin and Elder Duel)

In San Rafael in the evening we drove past a large building where many people were gathering. There was a folklore dance presentation of the people from their various areas. They were all waiting to go on and posed for this picture with Elder Squires (back).

Elder Cooper, Barrus, Ryan, Perdomo, Linares

Hermana Villalba, Alvez, me Hermana Rojas, Maucotel

Elders Olson, Martinez, Guzman, Beck, Aschieris

Hermana Huzzey, Chamorro, Hunt, me, Hermana Flake, Kartchner, Bonilla

(Top) Elder Snow, Elder Newbold, Rios, Naranjo, Mendoza, Jones
Who is the most important building block?

Top Zone for the month of September San Juan. Zone Leaders Elder Cardus and Elder Bills

Hermana Warren, Llancanao, me, Hermana White

Celebrating my birthday with San Juan/Chimbas Zone. They made me a birthday cake and this t-shirt that had all their names on the back. Thanks Elder Martin, Duel, Reynolds!

Elder Rodriguez and Hollinger helping me celebrate

Water wheel outside of San Juan still in operation bringing the water from the irrigation ditch through a pipe out to the fields.

Our Life On The Mission

This is our almacen where we purchase our fruits and vegetables. Mauricio (right) has become a wonderful friend who loves to teach me new spanish words and is so thrilled when I remember one. His brother Fabio (left) is much more quiet. Their little store is on the street as we drive to the office. Their little store is about 12 ft. wide and about 16 ft. long. Their whole life revolves around this little store. On the shelves on the right, you can just barely see jars of honey, their mother bottles tomatos and pickles and sells them there. It is a family affair. They live behind this store, which is actually the garage to the house. So now you know how Jim stays healthy, we buy more from these two then we do anywhere else. Our favorite motto, "if you want to stay alive, eat things that are alive."

Our kids have wondered about our everyday life here on the mission and so we have a few pictures to share. This picture is taken on a p-day in our favorite park. We get p-days about every other month. We will not get another p-day till December because every Saturday and Sunday for the next month and a half will be in a different city speaking at Stake Conferences.

Our kitchen. Small but serviceable.

The dining room where I put two more church tables to extend the seating capacity to hold 30 people for dinner.

The family room connected to the dining room.

The living room, family room, dining, is all in one room.

We can see our church from the kitchen window. The building under construction is the one I have been watching being built from my windows since we first arrived. They are just finishing the top floor.

Yes, kids this is Dad's car all dirty. Life has changed quite a bit from the days when Dad would clean his car out in the front driveway every Saturday. We are lucky now to get it cleaned once a month.

Elder Christensen and Elder Jarvis (right) our secretaries. The job is a very hard one, and we are lucky to have their capable minds. Elder Christensen is learning Elder Jarvis's job for a change over in a month or so.

Our Vivero where we buy our plants and flowers. Jim loves to care for his bonsai plants and is always getting advice and fertilizers to help his plants thrive.

I have tried to capture this photo on the street, but had to get it from a moving car. This is our local dry cleaning delivery boy. Sometimes the white shirts are blowing in the wind as he peddles his bike along the street.

This was a hand off in the streets. Elder Workman and Elder Mayta had earned a little treat for their zone. They were the only zone to complete the assignment of getting their apartment owner's signatures on an informe, to try to get our rents paid electronically (not our missionaries carrying large amounts of cash).

Elder Christensen on his knees, just where we want him. He was trying to fix our Consejos presentation.

Elder Meldrum, our materialista, who handles the rents, furnishings, and fix it needs. He is trying to bring us into the 21st century.

Dennis Gibson and I were trying to help Jim get the board moved around and organized so it matched the board at the office. You can see the computer screen showing the pictures at the office. The electronic board from IMOS is coming this month. We have been waiting for a year for it to come to Argentina.

A view from one of house windows at the Andes Mountains.

The view on the other side of our building looking out to the city. The new building in the front is the Ambassador a new 5 star hotel in town. We never see a light on in it. I hope it makes it.

At the office, the Elders using the conference room for training. Someone must have spent some money on treats, I can see M&M's and Cheezits. Maybe someone received a package from home. You can't buy things like that on a missionary budget.

Shopping at the grocery store. The wheels on the carts drive me crazy, all four wheels turn 360 degrees, so it is hard to push the cart straight. Everything is a chore when it comes to grocery shopping here.

Watching conference on the computer. How I appreciate technology.

Consejos with Zone Leaders and Assistants

Every transfer we gather the zone leaders for a counsel which includes Brunch in the morning, Four hour training, then dinner at our home. It is a lot of work, but hopefully beneficial to all.
(back) Elder Vazquez, Contreras, Clayson, Bills, Medina, Wells, Aparcana, Duel, (AP) Slater, Cardus (middle) Elders Mayta, Sargent, Stevenson, Manqui, Toledo, Rodriguez, Fuentes, Lambert, Ayala, Bourdreo (front) Elders Wiest, Martin, (AP) Squires, Sanchez.

Visiting with President after the dinner.

Hermana Mallea in front of the food to be served. The menu is- fruit salad, jello, pasta salad, beef tacos with all the fixings. Chocolate brownie cake for dessert with ice cream.

Our Chileans are proud of their country and so one of the Elders brought their flag.

Eating brunch at the capilla in Godoy Cruz.

Welcome Elder Slater (left), this is his first Consejos as Assistant.

Viejitos leave and the Nuevitos come

It is always a sad moment to say goodbye to our valiant warriors. We will miss them.
(left) Elders Lewis, Berrocal, Curtis, President, Elders Crunkelton, Leal, Hermana Arcos.

Elder Berrocal's parents came to pick him up and brought a lovely etching from Peru for us. Elder Berrocal was raised in the states, but will be returning to Peru where his parents are now living.
Our new missionaries arrived, all except for two who have been held back in the states for visa problems. They will arrive next week hopefully. So we only had 19 arrive. It was late in the evening and so we did not have our usual dinner at our home. It is very hard when Buenos Aires send them so late and all we can do is say hello and put them to bed.
(left) Elder Farnsworth, Williams, Roncal, Eliason, Leal, Miller, Campbell, Petersen.

(left back) Elders Quebbeman, George, Jones, Orozco, Garcia, Lebron, Orduna, Hermanas Kartchner, Alez (below) Elders Concha, Barra.

Spencer and Barrie Come to Visit

Together again after 1 1/2 years. What a joy to see our sons Spencer and Barrie.

Anyone for lunch? Traditional asado (barbeque).

Beautiful picture Barrie took of the statue at Cerro de la Gloria

Filling the wine barrels at Salentein, the oak barrels are used for storage for up to 18 month in the Bodega.

As you drive into the valley of Valle de Uco the statue of the Cristus guards the valley.

The boys at the San Martin statue.

Spencer's favorite restaurant La Florencia. Be sure and order the Beef Lomo with mushroom sauce. On the spit is a pig, and notice the other pig and his snout on the grill in the back. They love to barbeque their vegetable and the flavor is wonderful.

Spencer and Barrie at La Tupiñas, the name means iron pot. The entire meal is cooked in the black iron pots in the fireplace.
During their visit with us they both went up to Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil. The following are a number of pictures they took. This train they took was a sight seeing train around the falls. Spencer said it went full speed and was very dangerous, atleast for the safety laws of the states (open doors with no seat belts).

Beautiful rainbow over the falls.

A look out their hotel room window of the falls. They both said the setting was very romantic and Spencer wished he had brought Melinda. They say it is a great holiday for husband and wives.

There is this metal walk way across the falls. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Legend has it that a god planned to marry a beautiful aborigine named Naipi, who fled with her mortal lover Taroba in a canoe. In rage, the god sliced the river creating the waterfalls, condemning the lovers to an eternal fall.

A tree surviving the odds on the side of the cliff.

The falls consist of 275 falls along a 1.67 mile span. Some of the individual falls are 269 ft. in height. The falls produce around 350,000 to 400,000 gallons of water per second.

Barrie traveled 7,000 miles to check out Aconcagua so that he could return and climb the 22,860 foot mountain. When we got there the snow had just started to fall, the chill factor was below 0 and there was no visibility. Poor boy took a picture in front of the Aconcagua sign and had to call it a day. He vows to return and conqueror the mountain. His dad is hoping he won't.

As we came out of the mountains leaving Aconcagua, we saw many condors flying on the air current. They never flap their wings, they just soar. These aren't the big ones, this is probably only about a 4 foot wing span.

Visit with Dennis Gibson

Dennis Gibson, a missionary friend of many years ago in Uruguay/Paraguay came to visit to check out Argentina for a possible second mission.

No one can leave Argentina without eating a big steak, and any one who visits will write home about the quality of the beef. Almost all of it has to do with how the cows are raised. There are no factory feedlots in Argentina. The animals will eat pampas grass their whole lives, in open pastures. Since this is the way of life a cow was designed for it is not necessary to pump the animal full of antibiotics. The meat is leaner, healthier and more flavorful than that of corn-fed cattle. It has fewer calories, contains less cholesterol. You can taste the joy.

Of course we made a visit to the Salentein Bodega and went on the tour (that we almost have memorized). Dennis is standing next to the French Oak barrels where the very best Primus wine is allowed to age. These barrels are only used 7 times and then are sold to other wineries with lower standards. Primus wine is only grown in the best years.

The wine is stored in oak barrels from Europe (american made is not as good).

They were filling the barrels the wine that day, it was very interesting.

In the bodega is an art gallery. That day they had a display of dresses made from metal from various countries.

The Fransesco Restaurant has lovely gardens and was excellent food. We enjoyed our evening which was extremely warm for spring. The pumpkin soup was delicious.

In the plaza Indepencia, down the street from our home (in front of the Hyatt) this sign is lit up every night.

No one can leave this town without tasting the ice cream, it is the best tasting (loaded with fat) ice cream in the world.

There is a picture of Jim with Dennis and two other missionaries in our book shelf in the home. It was taken 38 years ago. These two men have aged gracefully, minus a few strands of hair, and a bit more gray. Life has been good to them and they are still great missionaries.

We were in the mood for a road trip (minus President) and the Assistants had a p-day coming to them, and so we decided to visit Villavicenci0 the old water bottling plant and old hotel and spa that has been closed. It was Elder Armstrongs last p-day before returning to the field. This is the entrance to the long drive to the hotel up into the mountains.

I was telling my missionaries to be careful as I spied Dennis climbing up the cliffs after tell me about his bad ankle. Boys will always be boys.

Elder Armstrong was kidding as he put his mouth out for a kiss, and the Guanaco came through the fence and got him. Hopefully his girlfriend will not be too jealous.

These little animals are Mara. They are related to the guinea pig family. They grow to be about 18" and weight 24 lbs. They walk normally, or hop like a bunny, and can leap. The can run 18 miles per hour.

We are not sure what this railroad contraption was, but the Elder Squires and Armstrong decided it was perfect for sled race.

The old Villavicencio Hotel known for it's thermal water springs.

Sitting in a beautiful arch, you can see the old hotel in the light in the background.

The gardens are quite beautiful at the hotel. This is just one of the stone areas in the garden where water fountains must have been flowing. There were probably 4 more of these areas displaying fountains of some type.

We heard there was a road from Villaviencio over the mountain on a switch back road that took about one hour to take. We all thought that sounded fun. Only problem is the road got pretty rough and it took us 5 hours to get back home. But what a trip it was riding into the mountains and seeing all the wild life and thrilling sights. We were in Uspallata at the top of the mountain and decided since we were almost there- to visit Aconcagua and the Inca Hotel. A tour of Villavicencio turned into a full day excursion.

As we were getting to the top of the mountain we spied herds of Guanacos. These animals are only found in So. America. They are from the Llama family and grow to be 4 feet tall and live 25 years. They have an unusual method of survival, they lick the nutrients and dew from desert cacti (ouch!). They will spit when threatened. They live up in the high altitudes up to 13,000 feet. They can do this because they have four times the red blood cells then a human.

We saw large herds of Guanacos. They say that a herd of male Guanacos can be around 50 head. So we must have seen four or five groups as we moved up the mountain.

The land is rich in petroleum products. The evidence is seen in it's rock formations.

My son Barrie would be envious- even on a cloudy day we were lucky to get a picture of the peaks of Aconcagua the tallest peak in the western hemisphere. The shelf of snow on the left side of the cliff is said to be 700-900 feet thick year round.

We stopped in Uspallata to take a picture of the little chapel we have in the town.

The end of the road trip that day couldn't have been more spectacular as the sunset filled the night sky. The picture is taken traveling in the car, but atleast the moment was caught. It took us the whole day to get back home, but it was worth the trip to see some more of God's most beautiful creations.

Dinner and a Movie

We took the Elders who received the most baptisms and statistics to lunch today and then they went to the mission home and watched a movie with popcorn. The movie was quite action packed- "The Life of President Gordon B. Hinckley."

The food was fantastic and the association was sweet. It was a joy to be with our Elders who have been working so very hard. The desserts were almost as sweet as our Missionaries. Elder Meldrum "almost" finished his 480 gram steak, but Elder Bills went for quality and his steak cut through like butter. Beef just will never be the same in the states.
(left) Elders Galicia, Crossa, Bills (right) Elders Meldrum, Pedersen (a lucky companion who had no where else to go), Mamani, Coronel

Spring in Argentina

We woke up Sunday morning to snow. You can see the results on the foothills. It is like spring in Utah, you never know if it will be warm or cold. The great part though is that our snow melts as soon as it hits the ground. Today we are back to warm and sunny. We are in a drought and driving home from San Luis this week we saw too many vineyards dusty and dry. The rain I am sure helped the grapes to start blossoming.

A Visit with President Mitillo in San Luis

Our travels took us to San Luis (East) for a meeting with the Stake President and our Zone Leaders. President Mitillo and his wife met us Thursday afternoon and brought us on a tour of San Luis, and where the President feels the growth of San Luis is headed. This picture is taken over one of the passes, looking out into the valley of San Luis.

President Mitillo and his wife were gracious enough to make sure President saw a horse racetrack, since they knew of his love of horses. Not the best picture of a racetrack, but there must be stadium seating for every good racetrack and I wanted to include a picture of President and his wife.

Every large city has it's monument in honor of their independence. I have in previous pictures shown Cerro de la Gloria which is in Mendoza. This is the entrance to San Luis's monument depicting the freedom of oppression. As San Martin swept over the Andes from Chile, he gathered an army to fight his battles. When San Martin got to San Luis, he took all the men from the city. He left only the very old, and very young. In the tunnels you will see plaque after plaque with thousands of names of the men who were forced to leave their families and homes and march with San Martin.

We stayed in a lovely hotel on this large lake. Around the lake is a racetrack for formula cars. As I drove up the canyon to the lake, all of a sudden the road turned into a raceway, with tires on the sides and pit stop areas. So the actual road you travel on circling the lake is the race track. They had hoped to win world attention and have racing here in Argentina, but up to now the city has only hosted nation racing.

O.K. this is a prize. Riding slowly around the streets in a small sleepy town (we were checking out for future missionary work) was this great bus. They had a loud speaker advertising their wares. All of the things you see above and on the bus are for sale. The back of the bus was open and on the tail gate were numerous pots and pans. It was so cute I just had to take a picture.

The old train station in the town.

This irrigation ditch went forever. It reminded me of the ditches in Utah where my Grandmother Naylor use to live. It didn't matter what time of day, or night, you had to set your alarm and open the gates when it was your turn. Great memories.

Sights around San Rafael

How many times have you thought about the majesty of the Andes Mountains. We drive along them every time we travel the mission. It was a hazy day, but a good reminder of the magnificent peaks, loaded with snow.

Cute little church in Tunuyan

Once in a while I take a photo that I think should be made into a postcard. This is one of them. The countryside was so beautiful. The trees are just starting to get their leaves. Spring is here.

This house sits probably 50 miles from any other structure. It is right off the freeway, and reminds me of a pony express stop. We are talking real desert, no trees, for hundreds of miles.

This home also is all by itself 50 miles from any town. The Argentine flag is always flying.

The men just had to stop at a tack shop to check out the horsie gear. Elder Squires (middle) works on a church ranch in Florida (largest east of the Mississippi over 300,000 acres)

Probably the largest rattlesnake skin I have ever seen, pinned to the ceiling of this shop.

Cervantes, the owner of the shop shows Jim some of his wares. They make custom things in leather, raw hide, and metals. He was delightful to talk with and was so proud of his family run business.

You can't come to Argentina with out seeing some gauchos. We got to visit with them and find out a little about their lives.

These two gauchos are working men. They are very proud of their clothing. Those boots are all soft leather, no hard sole. They are wide at the top to tuck your pants into them. There is a strap at the ankle that actually keeps the boot on. Look at the stirrups. You can't see it, but he has the traditional knife tucked against his back under his belt. The wool pad under his homemade saddle (no horn) is about 4 inches thick. The halter is raw hide, very decorative.

September Zone Conference

Our Thanksgiving Transfer Contest (wish you could have seen the video) presented by our Indian (Elder Armstrong) and Pilgram (Elder Squires)

Yes, Elder Crunkelton you have only a few weeks left in the mission, stay away from my Hermanas.

Happy Missionaries, Elders Smith, Cabranes, Reynolds

Elders Crunkelton, Williams, Rabanal, Morgan, Cox

Elders Wetzel, Wiest

Visitor, Elder Sorensen, visitor, Elders Sanchez, Jespersen, Briceño

Elders Squires, Medina, Smith, Wells

Pretty Ladies
Hermana Pintos, Arrieta, Me, Adams, Warren

Blue ties- Elders Nieve, Manqui, Lambert

Reddish ties- Elders Guevara, Moriarty

Brown ties- Elders Budge, Newbold (matching Christmas ties)

Green ties- Elders Slater, Squires, Conti, Bodily, Bills

Yellow ties- Elders Pedersen, Rojas, Gimenez, Mamani, Hogland, Boudrero

Blue ties- Elder Brown, Ascheris, Coronel, Armstrong, Nieve, Berezay, Ayer, Sargent, Lambert, Ahmad

Elders Stevenson, Davis, Ashby, Lewis

Hermanas White, Arcos, Elders Armstrong, Chase, Matson

San Juan (Elders Knight, Duel) and Chimbas (Elders Martin, Cardus) Zones

Mendoza (Elders McNees, Contreras) and Godoy Cruz (Elders Castellon, Rossi) Zones

Guaymallen (Elders Mayta, Workman) and San Luis (Elders Fuentes, Whiteford) Zones

Maipu (Elders Mendoza, Toledo) San Martin (Elders Sargent, Lambert) Valle de Uco (Elders Slater, Manqui) Zones

SR Malargue (Elders Wells, Jespersen) SR Alvear (Elders Clayson, Sanchez) Zones

Consejos with Zone Leaders and Assistants

A wonderful day with some great leaders of the mission. The day started with brunch at the office, Zone Leader Counsel with a talk from me and President, and then lunch at our mission home. Yes, tacos again. They love them.
(Back left) Elders Manqi, Knight, Contreras, Whiteford, Mendoza, Rossi, Armstrong (AP), Castellon, Cardus, Toledo (middle left) Sanchez, Clayson, Mayta, Wells, Fuentes, Slater, Jespersen, Duel, McNees, Lambert (floor left) Sargent, Martin, Squires (AP), President, Workman.

Elder Duel, Elder Armstrong, Elder Whiteford playing with my camera. They love to leave me these pictures when I am not looking.

Elder Manqi, Elder Knight, Elder Rossi, Elder Castellon, yes I love the photo. Thanks!

Day of Adventure

The lonely road to Villavicencio, we are headed to the hills in the background. This was the old entrance to the road leading to the hotel. The name Villavicencio is a word famous here in Mendoza. It is the name of the brand of water bottles we buy here of the missionaries. The water bottling plant is right before this entrance. Villavicencio has natural sources of mineral water.

The ladies. Sister Jarvis (finances) Me and Sister Brown (nurse). We were celebrating Sister Brown's birthday.

The men. Elder Brown (All around fix it man, runs the bookstore) Elder Jarvis (personal secretary), and President.

Llamas and Alpacas of Argentina can be seen wild in the dessert and mountain areas. This pet was trying to get a kiss, that is until the camera flashed.

Just checking out the Asado (BBQ). You will not find a gas BBQ anywhere in Mendoza. Most homes have these type of barbeque's in their yard.

President standing on the entrance road to the Villavicencio Hotel.

In 1940 the Hotel de Villavicencio was built and was a spa center for visitors around the country. The hotel was closed in 1978. There has been talk that the hotel will be restored and double in size by 2012, but with the recession that may not happen.

Remember Jurassic Park, well this bridge is just as scary to cross, but you had to use it to get to the lovely gardens on the other side of the creek.

These are some of the garden areas that the hotel guests would stroll through. There were numerous stone ponds (dry now), but you could tell that in its day the grounds must have been lovely.

There were numerous areas for wonderful photos. We kept thinking what a lovely place it would be for a wedding.

You can't see it, but the hotel is framed in the arch. I would love to have some gardens like these in the states. The stone work is fabulous and in great shape. They spent a lot of money on this place, it is sad to see it not being used for something. But believe me it is way out in the boonies and I am sure it is too far for the locals. The only ones to visit are tourists. The hotel sits in the mountains and so the air is wonderfully clear and fresh and I am sure is cool in the summer.

A beautiful chapel on the hotel grounds.

The detail on the painting is wonderful. You can see on the left where some of the paint has chipped off. It is sad to see the deterioration.

Coming back from Villavicencio. A beautiful day for a ride.

Next we visited the Las Heras Cemetery. The place was quite large. I have never seen anything like it at all. There were huge buildings that were 4 stories high that all contained these slots where the coffins are placed.

These areas were quite well cared for, and definitely the area where the rich families buried their dead. Below is a picture I took through one of the windows in the mausoleums.

This area went on forever. Many of the crosses are only marked with a number.

Sister Brown reading about a child buried there.

Inside the family mausoleum. There are usually shelves on both sides to hold the caskets. The photos make it very personal. I would love to hear the stories of the lives of these people. A very Italian family, probably came across from Italy and became involved in the vineyards.

Some of the areas were not in very good repair. It looks like many of the coffins have been vandalized. I thought the wagon to carry the coffins was quite unique.

September Nuevitos

They arrived safely, minus 5 Americans who didn't receive their visas. Elder Barrus was the only lucky one. We now have 6 missionaries who need to be here but aren't. Sister Kartchner is now serving in Baltimore waiting for her visa, she has already served 4 months. Their companions are waiting, and we have had to close pensiones because of it.
(Left) AP Elder Squires, Elders Martinez, Cabranes, Barrus, Leal, President, Me, Elders Morinico, Crossa, AP Elder Armstrong

New Missionaries for Mendoza Mission in front of the statue Cerro de la Gloria (Hill of Glory). We looked over the city so the new missionaries could see their mission and visualize themselves creating miracles, for the "field is white and already for harvest" here in Mendoza. The angel above on the statue has broken the chains of bondage, and represents the liberty of the people. We like to use that as an analogy here in the mission- for we all come with attributes that bind us (shyness, pridefulness, lack of faith) but the mission provides a new clean slate. Change can happen if you want it bad enough.

Viejitos Leave the Mission

It is always a sad day to lose some of our "children". We watch them stretch and grow and gain strong testimonies and then they must leave to start a new chapter of their lives. We will miss them. (Back left) President, Elders Maxfield, Lema, Maineri, Phippen, York, Me (Front left) Sister Arce, Elders Arce, Miles

Elder Maxfield with his father and older brother who came to pick him up. I am sure there were many tears at the airport when they saw each other. Elder Maxfield lost his mother during his time on his mission. At our testimony meeting they all cried tears of both saddness and joy of the principle of eternal families. There is nothing more glorious than the knowlege we have that families will be together forever.

Elder Maineri with his mother and friends at our front door. The Readers Digest version- Elder Maineri's mother was not a member of the church when he left to serve his mission. Through many prayers and missionary letters, 3 months ago she was baptized. The lady on the left with her daughter are converts of Elder Maineri, there to say goodbye. They joined us in our testimony meeting and she bore a sweet testimony. She serves in the Relief Society and is a great asset to her ward.

Elder and Sister Arce (companion to Elder Scott on his first mission) are headed home after serving 3 missions together. Elder Arce is our singer who serenades us at our zone conferences with his gaucho outfit and guitar. We will miss his songs about his horse that he rode on his mission. They are great examples for many senior couples who feel they are too old to serve.

Saturday in Valle de Uco

Saturday was a day to remember for Elder Slater and Elder Manqi Zone Leaders of the Valle de Uco Zone. Their zone baptized 18 that day, and Elder Slater got to confirm them all. These are a few of the 150 people who came out to support the missionaries. Congratulations Valle de Uco- Elders Newbold, Gutierrez, Bills, Coronel, Opheikens, Ramirez, Lambert, Swainston, Nieve, Sanchez. Thanks Elder Miles for your leadership also.

The sign behind them says, "Welcome to the Baptism"
Aren't these angelic faces?

A Week Visit from Elder Shayne Bowen and Sister Lynette Bowen

Sunday before leaving Mendoza we took pictures by the Cerro de la Gloria. The statue represents the army of San Martin crossing the Andes to free Peru, Chile and Argentina.

We are standing on the West Border of our mission. This staged picture shows President and I trying to escape into Chile and being pulled back by the President of the Area (South America South) Elder Bowen. It is all in fun, but you all know there are days when the thought enters the brain.
It was very dark in the very long tunnel which separates Argentina from Chile. The Andes are very wide. We drove into the middle of the tunnel where there is this simple sign telling you are about to enter Chile. The picture is not good because of the lighting, but it was worth a try.

This sign is near the tunnel through the Andes. Santiago Chile is 167 kilometers away, which is about 64 miles.

We were snowed on that day, and it was cold. This picture is taken by one of the ski resorts on our way up the mountain.

This picture is taken in front of the Inca Hotel. It is in past entries on the blog, but not in the winter time. The hotel closed about 7 years ago and was built into the rock. The rooms had water running up through the rocks. It was closed because of the deteriorating walls and floors.

Sister Bowen and I in front of the vendors selling their wares at the Inca Hotel. I bought alpaca scarves for Christmas presents. It is a good memory to show where they came from.

The vendors anxious to take your money. They stand freezing in the cold weather trying to make a living. Their sweaters are made from Llama or Alpaca wool. The llama comes from the Andes and descended from the camel family.

The road to view Aconcagua was closed and so we weren't able to go up to view the peak, but we took pictures from the road. Those of you may remember that Aconcagua is an extinct volcano in the Andes, which stands 22,834 feet and is the highest Mountain in the western hemisphere.

Our ski resort Penitentes, a local resort about an hour and a half from our home. The larger resort Las Leñas is 5 hours from our home, down in the south of the mission near San Rafael Malargue.

Showing the rock formations as we travel up the highway to the pass between Chile and Argentina.

Notice the variation of color in the rocks due to the minerals in the rocks.

We drove a gravel road for almost an hour, traveling north from Salentein Bodega to the pass to Chile. About 20 miles from no where there was this little home with the old Ford Falcon parked in the front. When Ford stopped selling the model in the US years ago, it sold all the machine tooling to Argentina and so for years after, the Argentines have been making and refurbishing these cars. You see them everywhere.

We were coming over a pass on this little gravel road and had this magnificent view of the valley. You can see the road we are headed to down in the valley

Again along this gravel road we saw another house, miles from anywhere. This young lady was riding her horse out to the fields. She was so beautiful we had to stop and take a picture. The coloring of the horse blended into the landscape. The young lady sat proudly upon her horse with the most serene look upon her face.

In the morning we went on a tour of the Salentein Bodega (winery). Their labels are so beautiful I wanted to capture one of them for you to see.

At the Salentein Bodega they were getting ready for a group of art lovers who were coming to an art exhibit at the Bodega. Mr. Pon who is from the Netherlands, the man who built the building, built a world famous art gallery displaying local artists as well as around the world. We saw this group of very exceptionally fancy women walking up the walkway to the bodega as we left. They will have a lecture and tea in this lawn area. Everything in the bodega is quite austere, which you can see in the benches set for tea,(hay bales with crisp white cloths covering them). The wood (on the right) has been started for the Asado (BBQ) for lunch.

The second floor of the Bodega is the area where they store the wine in oak barrels. The building is built in a four sided cross, this compass on the floor depicts the four sided star, each part made of stone from one of the provinces in Mendoza cuyo. If you stand directly in the middle of the square (small gray square in center) when you talk your voice is amplified up into the second story, and you can hear an echo. It is pretty cool hearing the amplification of your voice in your ears. Dividing the building into four areas (like a cross) it is easy for them to divide the different types of wines. The fermentation happens up in the first story, in large steel vats, except for the special wine like the Primus which is fermented in special cedar barrels that they keep for only 8 years and then sell off. The reason for fermenting the wine above, is so that they can use gravity flow through tubing to deliver the wine down into the oak barrels below. There is no pressure used because that creates too much oxidization in the wine which makes it more bitter.

The "Killka" on the grounds of the Bodega is a small chapel that was built as a tribute to nature, the austere chapel was built using only environmentally friendly materials and is built in the stype of the old Andean chapels. Some people were going into the chapel as we left to attend mass. The benches look like they were carved out of cedar wood, the cross behind is silver, and the stone around is slate. The altar is a beautiful granite.

This view is at the Bodega, looking out into the Andes. The grape vines had just been trimmed off and each was hand tied to the wire with a bamboo tie.

After the week of conferences we took the time to go out to dinner on Friday night, and even went home and watched a DVD. The backdrop is the back wall of the restaurant displaying the wine bottle of Mendoza. Elder Bowen had a good sense of humor having his picture taken in front of so many bottles of wine. I am sure we are the only mission in the world that takes it's general authorities to visit wineries. But it you want to experience Mendoza, it has to include it's primary export- wine.

A Wonderful Week with Elder and Sister Bowen

Elder and Sister Jarvis & Elder and Sister Brown (our senior couples) with Elder Shayne Bowen and Sister Lynette Bowen.

Zone Leaders of the Mission Mendoza
(Back, left) Elders Miles, Armstrong (Assistants) Elders Jespersen, Slater, Berezay, Squires, Mendoza, Knight, Lema. (Middle left) Elders Workman, Rossi, McNees, Cardus, Whiteford, York, Castellon, Manqi, Contreras, Mayta (Front left) Elders Martin, Fuentes, Sister Bowen, Elder Bowen, President, Me, Elders Sargent, Clayson.

Maipu Zone

San Martin Zone

San Juan Zone

Chimbas Zone

Mendoza Zone

Godoy Cruz Zone

Guaymallen Zone

San Luis Zone

Valle de Uco Zone

San Rafael Alvear Zone

San Rafael Malargue Zone

A Night On the Town with Gabriel and Diego Páez

We don't take the opportunity to go out much, but we were invited to go out to dinner with the Páez's and we had a delightful time. Bishop Páez is hilarious and because of my lack of Spanish vocabulary, I never catch on to his jokes, but Jim is always laughing. My goal is to be able to understand all the jokes and even be able to give one back. The dessert on the table is a fruit and ice cream sundae. They put cut up fruit (like fruit cocktail) in the bottom and then layer ice cream on the top and lay cookies up the sides and whipped cream. It was an Italian restaurant and so I had pasta and Jim had a steak. We can't say enough about the Argentine beef. You'll never taste anything similar in the states.

Birthday Party for Yemina Rastelli

An Oreo cookie, a blond between two dark headed lovely ladies. Yemina (right) and her cousin Estephania (left)

Nestor Cabrall with Jim after the birthday party. Nestor is in charge of about 80 chapels and all distribution for the area of Mendoza cuyo. He is also a Bishop and so arrived at the party very late. He is a delightful, animated person and adds life to any party.

Nestor's daughter Brisa, who has become a good friend of mine (if I remember to give her a treat when she comes to the office)

Yemina at the party with family. The table was spread with pita bread sandwiches, chicken and palm hearts. The appetizers were cherry tomatoes and cheese on a toothpick, and ham and cheese rolled together. We had non alcoholic drinks, strawberry flavored.

This is a traditional birthday cake in Argentina. It has four layers, and each is soaked in a sweet flavoring. The bottom is peach, the middle brownie, then a layer of dulce le leche, and the top layer was very interesting with meringue inside of it. It is covered in a frosting very similar to our 7 minute frosting made with egg whites and sugar. Then there is a thin layer of chocolate to cover the top.

Yemina with her cake, after singing Feliz Cumpleaño's. Yemina attends BYU Idaho and is home for the summer break. She has been my spanish teacher for the last month and along with Sarina Thomas will be the reason I just might speak spanish when I get home. "Ojalá"

A Tour Of The Mission

Mauro was baptized just a few months ago, found by Elder Hawks but taught by Hermana Arrieta. He comes to church by himself, and he has gone out with the missionaries and "opened the mouth" with a man on the street. He came to the training to help the Assistants demonstrate one of their techniques on finding people in the street and on the bus. Mauro is darling, and has the longest eyelashes, he would melt the heart of any person on the street with his sweet spirit. He is 12 and looks forward to serving a mission one day. His dad (inactive) will not marry his mom and so she can not be baptized.

The is a picture of Elder Malakai and Elder Phippen and I at the entrance to the city San Luis.

The most amazing picture. As we drove from Mendoza to San Rafael we saw out in the field a man plowing his field, with the old style plow of our ancestors. He and his horse were out in the cool winter breeze plowing. We had to stop, I even got it on video. The plow is hard to see, but trust me, it was the kind of plow our great grandparents used. Out here in the countryside of Argentina you would never know it was 2009.

The Diamonte River showing the slow flow of the winter. We receive most of our precipitation in the summer time. You can see the fields of pampas grass stretching for miles. The cattle freely roam in the grass. The sun was beginning to set and we had miles yet to go on the thin two way highway. We would drive for five to ten minutes and not see a car. It is a lonely stretch of road between San Rafael and San Luis.

Indepencia Plaza, the center of San Luis. It was constructed in the early 1930's. Like most plaza's in Argentina, there is a cathedral on one side, a government building on another, a bank and school on the others.

The renovated train station which was built in 1884. It is a beautiful building with it's green corrugated roofs and decorative ironwork.

On the south side of the Plaza Indepencia is the Iglesia de Santo Domingo and its convent built in the 1930's. It is a reproduction of the Moorish style of the 17th century building they replaced. On the front area where it is fenced in, is the excavation of the original footing to the first building.

The provincial Casa de Gobierno- the government house is on the northern side of the main plaza. It has the most beautiful iron doors. The building is quite ornate.

In the center of the city of San Luis is the beautiful 19th century San Luis Cathedral. The provincial hardwoods such as algarrobo were used for the cathedral's windows and frames, and local white marble for its steps and columns. The cathedral was closed so we couldn't go in.

Just a close up of the detail work on the cathedral.

This photo is taken way back on the side street so you can see the full depth of the building, and the rotunda. As we travel the mission and see these old buildings in San Rafael and San Luis, it makes me sad that all the colonial buildings in Mendoza and San Juan were destroyed by earth quakes in the early 1900's. The center of the city in Mendoza is no longer in the same location. In the 1930's they reconstructed the Plaza Indepencia (central Plaza) farther south east. It is now three blocks from the area where we live and where all the main hotels are (Hyatt, Sheraton). I would love to have seen the colonial buildings of this city, it would have brought the history of Mendoza city to life.

Having A Fun Time In July

Just because we had nothing better to do (ha!ha!) Sister Jarvis and Sister Brown came over and helped me fill 180 bags of chocolate chip cookie dough mix for the missionaries. Just add butter and an egg, that is what the label says. This is the missionaries reward for deep cleaning their pensiones. We have been having great success with our Mendoza Mission cook book. Missionaries are reporting actually cooking. Yes, the oven is for doing other things besides cooking pizza. It is so fun to hear the reports of how well their recipes are turning out.

We went down town and walked through a beautiful building that was by the walking mall area. These old buildings must have been something in the glory days of Mendoza. No one builds anything as beautiful these days in the city. Everything now is modern architecture. The stainglass in this building is gorgeous.

Yes, it is winter in July in Argentina. The day our new missionaries arrived from Utah we had snow. We told them it was our way of welcoming them and making them feel right at home.

My pansies didn't mind the snow, but the palms didn't like it. This is our balcony from the front of the building. Being up on the 6th floor gives us beautiful views of the Andes Mountain range.

July Zone Leader Conference

We are grateful to our Zone Leaders for their growth in leadership and enthusiasm for the work. They keep the mission growing and moving forward. They learn to care for others not just themselves. Without them President would go crazy. Our hat is off to them all. Thank you.

(Left back) Elders Squires, Rossi, Miles, Lema, Malaiki, Jesperson, Armstrong, McNees, Manqui, Wells, Knight (left middle) Elders Clayson, Contreras, York, Berezay, Whiteford, Workman, President, Mayta, Phippen, Fuentes, Slater (left floor) Elders Castellon, Mendoza, Martin, Cardus, Sargent. (Asistants in bold)

Helpers in the kitchen. Can you believe they actually offered? Or were they really there to help themselves to the left over cake? Elders Workman, Wells, Miles, Manqui, Martin.

Elder Castellon (Columbia) Elder Malakai (Tonga, Oakland) Elder Rossi (Paraguay)

Elder Malakai's goal is to be in all the mission photos. Elders Clayson and York.

Just relaxing on the sofa after a long day. Elders Armstrong, Berezay, Whiteford, Mendoza, Malakai, Mayta, Phippen with Elder Manqui sideways.

Three rubios Elder Slater, Squires and McNees.

Zone Conference Keeps Everyone Busy

Nothing better for President and I than to see the happy faces of our missionaries

The family that cooks for us in San Juan

The Rastelli family has been so helpful to us since we arrived. Sister Adriana Rastelli is the famous cook of the mission, and at zone conference time the whole family comes to help. Yemina (right) is home from Idaho for the month and will be helping me with my language skills. Jonathan is planning on a mission in a few months, and President Rastelli serves as counselor in the Mission Presidency.

The flu has hit the mission. Here we see Dr. Petersen checking out Elder Knight. We have many missionaries down with flu and cold symptoms.

Elder Rojas is having a cyst injected. As you can tell he is really loving it.

Here Elder Lambert is having an ingrown toenail removed. He was quite brave. He is checking out his photos on his camera of the surgery. I am sure the photo will be used for future generations, bragging rights about having his toenail ripped from his foot in Argentina.

But not everything at zone conference is hard work. Here Elder Sargent and Elder Fuentes are coloring the front of their Mission Cookbook. The book is the culmination of 4 months of work. It finally hit the press and will be a prized possession for years to come. The favorite Argentine recipes would be Dulce le leche, Alfahors, milanesa, Hermana Rastelli's Pastel de Papas.

Zone Conference- June (continued)

Thank you Hermana Petersen and Dr. Petersen for checking each of our missionaires and teaching them the basics of good health for a missionary. We are blessed to have people like you in the church who are willing to leave family and go on three missions together. We are finding like you that the hardest things of life are often the most rewarding. (Standing in from of Valle Grande Dam)

Beautiful, courageous Hermanas who add color to our mission.
Me, Hermanas Villalba, Chamorro, White, Arrieta, Huzzey, Hunt, Eileen Petersen.

San Rafael Zone Conference with the office staff in front.
San Rafael Malargue Zone Leaders- Elder Wells, Jesperson
San Rafael Alvear Zone Leaders- Elders Squires, Clayson
Zone Leader

Zone Conference Week- June

Zone Conference week takes many days of preparation, and the help of numerous individuals. The leadership of the mission is in the capable hands of these fine young men.
Elders Mathier, Armstrong, Sullivan, Parry, Malakai
Office Elders (not shown) Elders Tillery, Lloyd
Senior Couples Elder and Sister Brown and Jarvis

The end of the day is always touching, as we all gather in a circle and sing the mission song. For some missionaries it is the last time they will sing the song and you always see tears in their eyes. The song has become important to them as they sing of the mountains and vineyards and their purpose the bring others unto Christ.

We are lucky to have Elder and Sister Arce who entertain us while we eat our lunch during conferences. Elder Arce has been singing with his guitar for 60 years, dressed in his gaucho costume.

This is the "take a picture with Hermana Lindahl" shot. I am surrounded by happy and healthy Elders who are doing their very best to spread the good news of the gospel here in Mendoza.

President just had to do it some time. When Elder Nieve (snow) arrived in the office, he jokingly said wouldn't it be fun to put him with Elder Snow. Well it happened. They are trading name tags all the time. Today they both have Elder Nieve name tags on. (Now Elder Bateman is waiting for an Elder Robbins to arrive so Batman and Robin can be together)

Maipu/San Martin/Valle de Uco Zone Conference
Maipu Zone Leaders- Elders Mendoza, Lema
San Martin Zone Leaders- Elders Sargent, Fuentes
Valle de Uco- Elders Miles, Manqui

Giving a mission cheer for Mendoza.

Friends- Elders Smith, Swainston, Lloyd, Armstrong, Wajchman.

Hermana love to be together because we are always out numbered. Hermanas Bonilla, Rojas, Me, Llancanao, Adams, Maucotel.

Hermanas Pinto, me, Flake. Aren't they wonderful to come and dedicate their time to the Lord.

Some of the leaders in the mission, coming for advice from the "wise old men." Elders Armstrong, Cardus, Mathier, Malakai.

Elder Parry is headed home, and so his zone lifts him up in celebration. He will return to play baseball for BYU and who knows where from there.

Dr. Walter Petersen, and wife Eileen from Burley Idaho. They toured with us throughout the mission to see all of the missionaries and make sure they are healthy. Dr. Petersen's emphasis is exercise and purified water. Those who listen and are obedient will have fewer physical problems. We love the Petersen's and consider them angels in missionary clothing.

San Juan/Chimbas Zone Conference
San Juan Zone Leaders- Elders Berrocal, Berezay
Chimbas Zone Leaders- Elders Cardus, Martin

Mendoza/Godoy Cruze Zone Conference
Mendoza Zone Leaders- Elders Slater, McNees
Godoy Cruz Zone Leaders- Elders Lewis, Castellon
Office- Elders Tillery, York (tallest Elders in back row)

Guaymallen/San Luis Zone Conference
Guaymallen Zone Leaders- Elders Sullivan, Mayta
San Luis Zone Leaders- Elders York, Whiteford

June Zone Leader Council- Consejos

Too bad there are no paper plates in Argentina that can actually hold food. Dinner for 30 with china for dinner, salads, and dessert takes a while to clean up. Luckily we have happy Zone Leaders who don't mind helping in the kitchen (just don't tell their mothers, it is a secret).
(left) Elders Slater, Squires, McNees, Wells, Jespersen, Me, Elder Whiteford

They ate so much food, I can't believe they still have energy to move.

Bad photo, but smiles are always in focus.
Below Photo (left back) Elders Lema, Mayta, Cardus, Berrocal, McNees, *Parry, Clayson, President, Elder Miles (middle) Elders Sargent, Lewis, Mendoza, *Sullivan, Manqui, York, Whiteford, Jespersen, Hawks, *Armstrong (bottom) Elders Castellon, Berezay, Martin, Fuentes, Wells, Squires, Slater (*Assistants- *Elder Malakai helped me take photos)

June Nuevitos

No, these are not the Nuevitos, these are the Assistants greeting the missionaries at our home. They sang the mission song as the missionaries left, it was touching. I keep saying it each transfer but- there are no finer young men in the world. (Elders Armstrong, Parry, Sullivan, Malaki)

Our Americans arriving late in the afternoon after many hours (days) of travel. Elder Carter hopefully will join them when his visa arrives in a few weeks. We are grateful these three arrived safe and ready to work- Elder Crowther, Pedersen, Mitchell.

Our Latinos arrived in the morning straight from the Buenos Aires MTC. Two speak very good English (for my sake) and they are all wonderful young men. (L to R) Elders Hinojosa (his arm is in the photo) Rodriguez, Guzman, Coronel (don't count Elder Malaki) Naranjo, Canaza, Rojas.

The replacements to the army have arrived.

June Viejitos Leave the Mission

We said goodbye to 12 of 13 missionaries. Elder Mathier we will keep a little longer to open a new area. We love these valiant young Elders who come and give their all for two years. Today was the best and worst day of their lives. Change is hard for everyone, but for some I personally know they will go home to nothing. But others have many opportunties to grow and learn. I hope those who have so much will take advantage of those blessings. Thank you Elders Swensen and Morgan for working till the hour you left, for Elder Searle, Salmon, Moisko who served with us in the office, Elder Riggs for sharing your violin. Thank you, thank you for your service.
(left rear) Elders Salmon, Abreu, Bianansi, Perez, Riggs, Morgan
(left front) Elder Ibara, Me, President, Elders Elescano, Benitez, Searle, Moisko, Swensen

The Hermana Conference

The Hermana Conference started with a brisk walk up to Cerro de la Gloria (beautiful monument) and then to San Martin Park for a stroll by the fountains and lake. We have a beautiful group of Hermanas who are the best in the world. Each one is trying so hard.
(back left) Hermanas Llancanoe, White, Adams, Bonilla, Arcos, Sybrowsky, Warren, Huzzey, Villalba, Flake, Chamorro (front left) Hermanas Maucotel, Hunt, Rojas, Arrieta, Pintos

We had classes in color, line, makeup, self esteem, more faith, communication with companions, obedience. Those missionaries from far away came the night before and had a sleep over. Fun was had by all.

Hermana Hunt displaying the red which has too much orange in it to be a good for her to wear.

Hermanas Sybrowsky and Warren displaying their new lipstick colors.

Hermanas Llancanoe, Arcos, Pintos just love to look at the photos of my grandchildren.

Zone Conference Week- May

Zone Conference in San Juan. I was not able to attend with President as I was waiting at home to hear if my mother survived her heart surgery. Luckily, after 5 attempts at leaving this life, she is still here with us on earth and recovering in Provo, Utah.
San Juan Zone Leaders- Elder Berezay and Elder Berrocal

Mendoza/Godoy Cruz with Sister and Brother Davis from Santiago Chile. They traveled with us to the in-town conferences. Sister Davis is the psychologist serving in a huge area of South America South missons. She met with many of our missionaries and eased some of their pains.
Mendoza Zone Leaders- Elder Slater and Elder Malaki/McNees
Godoy Cruz Zone Leaders- Elder Lewis and Elder Maineri

Guaymallen/San Luis Conference
Guaymallen Zone Leaders- Elder Hawks, Elder Crunkelton
San Luis- Elder Wells, Elder York

Maipu/Valle de Uco Conference
Maipu Zone Leaders- Elder Mendoza, Elder Whiteford
Valle de Uco- Elder Miles, Elder Squires

San Rafael Conference
San Rafael Zone Leaders- Elder Maxfield, Elder Fuentes

A Walk For Health

30,000 people showed up to walk down our street. It was their Walk for Health day. This photo was taken from in front of our building. There was a steady stream of people for around four hours, until noon. In this country Mother's Day is October 18th, which will be spring for us. There were people of every age walking in this "marathon" and you can tell from the coats, it was a cool morning. The Europeans here in Argentina are very much into their health. I guess the word isn't out about all the oil and fat they pour over everything they serve.

May Zone Leader Council- Consejos

We all enjoyed an excellent day of food, friendship, and feasting on the spirit. The presentation of the Assistants* was expertly put together, along with the talk by Hermana Arcos, the top baptizer in the mission. Each one of our zone leaders have great futures ahead of them. They know that anything that is of value in this life is worth working hard for. And they do!
Hermanas Bonilla, Arcos, Elders Slaters, Squires, Miles, Mendoza, President, Berrocal, York. Elders Lewis, Salmon*, Sullivan*, Parry*, Malaki, Fuentes, Hawks, Armstrong* , Wells, Maxfield. Elders Berezay, Whiteford, Crunkelton, Mianeri.
To start the day, the missionaries eat a nice brunch together. There is hardly ever anything left over. It makes me so happy when some of them refuse the facturas (pastries), remembering our talks on nutrition. They actually are listening. The dinner at the mission home was the best ever. Our famous tacos with homemade salsa and guacamole is the best in town. I am sure I am the only one buying jalapenos in this town.

The April Nuevitos Arrive

The North Americans were delayed a day in Dallas and Miami, waiting out a tornado, and arrived a bit weary after traveling for 3 days. I hear they didn't mind the pizza party at the hotel. We were happy to finally see them, despite the addition dinner Hermana Lindahl had to cook. Three days of straight cooking (but who's counting)
Elder Carrasco, Hermana Sybrowsky, Elder Smith, Hermana Hunt

No problem for the Latino Missionaries arriving from Buenos Aires. They were happy to finally arrive and get settled. They even liked my American cooking, which makes me feel good. Each one are delightful people.
Elders Ramirez, Perdomo, Guevara, Porras, Torres, Hermana Chamorro, Elders Linares, Rios, Galicia, Martins.

April Viejitos Leave For Home

The group including Elder Pedersen below were some of the finest missionaries in the mission. Elder Rubiolo and Elder Romano were Asistants, Elder Pedersen was Secretary when we arrived and made a huge difference to our adjustment. He is from Buenos Aires but speaks better English then most Americans. Elder Pedersen later became an Assistant. Of course Hermana Lindahl is always sad to see her Hermana's go home, but sends them off with lots of love.
(Elder Jovellan, Rubiolo, Romano, Gonzales, Hermana Ehlert, with Elder Pedersen below)

It is always touching to see the first moments when the parents come through the door. Elder Pedersen was pacing the floor for hours. The Pedersen's are an outstanding family from Argentina, with 10 wonderful children. We enjoyed their special words during testimony meeting.

Winter is gone- And things are growing in the Lindahl Family

Faith, Brooke, and Zach now have a new brother. Tara gave birth to Blake Bowen on April 7th in Sandy, Utah. (Hope Tara doesn't get mad about the hospital gown picture)

Great-Grandmother Joy Lindahl holds Blake in the hospital. She flies hundreds of miles to see all her new great-grandchildren.

Ally, Sadie, and Reagan were there to welcome their new sister, Lucy Lindahl. (OK, sorry again about the hospital gown photo)

Great-grandmother Ruth Brown holding little Lucy, born March 21st in Orem, Utah. Both are lovely ladies.

March Zone Conference

Miracles are happening in the mission because of Zorro and SuperMan. Two of the finest Elders in the country, no world, no universe. Their presentation at March Zone Conference was one of the funniest but inspiring I have ever seen. Where do these super heroes come from. I keep thinking they can't get any better. Maybe it's all in my head, but these young men are going places. (Elder Anaya, Elder Sander)

At the Mendoza/Godoy Cruz zone we were serenaded by Elder Arce. He and Elder Scott were missionary companions and still keep in touch. This is Elder Arce's 3rd mission.

I wanted to show you the intricacy of the hand work on the gaucho outfit Elder Arce wears. The color and style is typical of a specific region. Notice the wide pants that are put inside a boot at the feet. These pants allow the cowboy to move freely while riding through the pampas grass on the range.

Zorro, alias "Elder Anaya" shows his strength by lifting the biggest Elder in the mission, Elder Malaki. I am posting this picture to show his dad why, in two weeks when he goes home, he will need hernia surgery. These are spiritual giants waiting for nothing less than miracles, and will try just about anything not to have to go home.

Consejos with Zone Leaders and Assistants

We put the camera on timer- so not the best. These are our hard working zone leaders who come in every 6 weeks for a conference. After the meetings I have them to our home for a dinner. This picture shows them satisfied and happy, a few look like they are even sleeping. They are:
(back left) Pres., Hermn. Elders Squires, Armstrong, Morgan, Hawks , Maxfield, Slater, Rubiolo, (middle left) Berrocal, Phippen, Mianeri, Crunkelton, Sullivan, Parry, Lewis, Pedersen, Miles. (floor) Wells, Whiteford, Fuentes, Malaki

They all love their tacos because they live in a world of Italian pastas. It is fun to cook for them because they appreciate the food so much. These are wonderful young men who are becoming Great because of the struggles and challenges they experience everyday.

We had so many for dinner we had to include a VIP table, at least that is what these elders called it.

Hermana Mallea in the kitchen, with a before picture. Yes, that green bowl is a huge bowl of guacamole. Within 15 minutes all of it was gone.

Elder Yachovitch

Elder Yachovitch with President Lindahl saying goodbye at the airport. Elder Yachovitch we will always love you. Your example to all our missionaries was great. You hung in there through many hard days and you still came out with a smile. Keep up your Spanish!

More Mission Experiences

During Vendimia, there arrived on our doorstep a crate of grapes. They were sent by Bishop Diego Paez and Gabriella who wanted to make sure we tasted enough grapes. Hermana Mallea has been working all week to make them into marmalade and not waste them. We took the Paez's out to dinner just to celebrate the experience. We had the best "petite" steaks there are in the world.

Saying good bye to the best assistants in the world (Notice the matching ties from last zone conference). There is more "animo" in these four young men than any fortune 500 company. They have created a new feeling in the mission of excitement, and desire to excel. All four will be home in one more transfer. It will be a sad day.
Left to right- Elders Pedersen (Arg.), Anaya (Mexico), Rubiolo (Arg.), Sander(Urug.)

Home Delivery Truck

Followed this truck for a few blocks. Had to stop and take a photo as he stopped to park in front of a home. He is the home delivery fruit and vegetable truck. I love the concept for the U.S., now if only the U.S. had the produce of Argentina. Beautiful produce picked ripe on the vine. The difference in taste is unbelievable.

A New Mission Presidency

Finally the Mission Presidency is complete. (left to right) Elder Jarvis (1st Counselor), President and I, Pres. Rastelli (in the back, 2nd Counselor), Brother Acosta (right, Secretary, his wife is upfront). President Lindahl finally feels at peace, and is looking forward to the help in making the Mendoza area stronger. These men are humble but strong men.