It is funny to look back on all the jokes about whether dad would obey the mission rules. The Lord easily solved that problem by putting us in a calling where there really aren´t many mission rules. Of course, we work during the day, as we have throughout our lives, and increasingly, by choice, we are teaching new member discussions and getting acquainted with investigators in the evenings. Other than those expected tasks, however, we are quite free to live our lives. Our mission president has little, (actually almost zero), contact with us. We live, work, and attend church in the other mission, and have actually become much better acquainted with the other mission president, President Heaton, but he is not our ecclesiastical leader.

Actually, I did meet with the President Da Silva today to renew my temple recommend, and I asked him, (I know. It doesn´t sound like something I would do. ) if we should check with him if we ever decided to leave town for the weekend to do some sightseeing. He said not to bother, and that he had confidence that we could take care of ourselves. Hmmm...

So...we are in a situation where there isn´t much to rebel against...which, for me, is quite a disappointment.

There is a fairly big group of senior missionaries who work at the temple and the mission offices, which are on the other side of town. We barely know them, however, and it is doubtful that we will ever know them very well. Our mission is very different. They live and work all week in a somewhat fortified block of buildings near the temple, which they seldom leave, (and I think that would drive me crazy). We work in an office, but we are out and about in the city every day, meeting interesting people and having new experiences. Betty and I both agree that we were placed in a situation that perfectly fits our personalities, and that plays to our strengths.

This is one of the many vegetable stands in the market we go to on Saturdays. We get our fresh food here. It is where the harp and maraca players were in the last blog.

Jerry was missing Ranch Dressing. Daniel Collato (our boss) took him to Ingles--a store that caters to Americans. He couldn´t find ranch dressing, but he found some Bleu Cheese dressing. This small bottle was $5.oo U.S. It´s precious!

We visited the Prado Expo this weekend, which was something of a mix between the state fair and a mini Epcot center. Several nations had exhibitions there, including the US, and many national and international businesses did also. The picture on the left shows some of the people who attended. Guess which one is me.

Below, Betty liked the little fake sheep, so we are preserving it for posterity. She was thinking about how hungry she was. Maybe she could butcher it right there. It was so cute, though...

Cute or not, it got butchered.

There were a bunch of animal rights people outside the Expo with ¨Carne es Asesinato¨, (Meat is Murder) signs. I guess this is what they were upset about. It smelled really good, but the lines were too long.

This, however, we did try. It is called a Paella; a stew of rice, seafood, and some UFO´s, (unidentified floating objects). It tasted good!!

Yes, folks, he is everywhere! This was part of the US embassy exhibit. All around the fair there were children carrying American flags, which we didn´t understand until we arrived at the exhibit and found that they were giving them away. Obama has promised the Uruguayans that they can be part of the America health care system......! Hey! I am just kidding! Gosh! All of you tea-party folks take everything so seriously!

Yup! Still American! Still proud! Still Ugly! For those of you who are wondering where our name tags are, we have been told not to wear them when we are just traveling around the city. Supposedly, it makes us more of a target for bad people, and I guess they figure the thieves would expect older people to have money. All that is fine, but in truth, I make up two of most Uruguayan men, and up to now, no one has even looked at us cross-eyed.

We have a little playground right outside our apartment, so if you would like to bring the grandkids......











We taught our first new member discussions in the evening this week, and we have more planned. We had a baptism in the ward on Sunday, and are looking at possibly 3-4 more soon. The high priests were really motivated, (Yeah, I know, oxymoron), on Sunday, and they concluded that all of the good things that are happening in the ward were coming to pass because they were regularly attending the temple as a group. I can´t find anything wrong in their thinking, and we think it is amazing and wonderful that they have such enthusiasm for the missionary work. We are, as a ward, going to the temple tonight for baptisms, followed by an endowment session. They are walking their talk.

One advantage that we have over the young missionaries is that they need to teach and baptize quickly, but we are going to be here for awhile. As a result, the investigators who are slower to commit or develop testimonies, but who still have interest, are going to become ongoing projects for us. We are excited about that. We went to the home of a member couple this week who have been together for 12 years, but are not married. We hit it off with them pretty well, and we are going to work toward a wedding.

We are not expert in our jobs at the employment center yet, but we have made great strides. Betty´s Spanish is improving very quickly, although she still has trouble understanding and often feels somewhat frustrated. I am proud of her. My Spanish is also gradually improving too, and it needs to improve.

We are happy, well-sheltered, and well-fed, (really well-fed). We are gaining in confidence, and are taking joy in our mission. And.....we are ....Obeying all the rules.....that we know about.

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