Jerry and I were asked by the manager of our office to speak in Sacrament Meetings in every ward and branch in Montevideo and the surrounding suburbs. When Jerry was here as a young missionary, it would have taken two weeks. Now it will take over a year, and we will not be able to visit every ward.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonarbison/2592650881/in/pool-ldschapels
Here is a link to a photo of one of the chapels we spoke at week before last. It is in a bad section of town. We were glad we didn't have to catch the bus in this area. All the chapels have these fences around them. The temple block has this type of fence around it also.
Last Sunday, we spoke in Pando. Jerry worked in this town a few times on his mission. He remembers the town as a long road with a few blocks on each side. This is an aerial view of it now. He was amazed at how much it had grown. It is the center of the manufacturing area in Uruguay.
Some of the main streets in Pando
Because of security and to be sure we arrive on time, the office has provided a chaufer service for us. Uh....we could get used to this.
About five or ten minutes before we need to leave, our bell rings. We tell the choufer we will be down in a minute or two. He opens the door for us and we get into a Camry or other similar size car. Jerry speaks Spanish to him and I usually try to say something along the way, which is usually bad Spanish. Jerry is disgusted. It keeps me humble.
We get to the red brick ward building and are greeted warmly. I wondered why the first few times, but now I realize it is because we are wearing the magic black and white name badge. We are suddenly someone very dear to everyone in the chapel. We shake hands and kiss people on the cheek. In the stake we are attending first, all of the wards have Sacrament Meeting last, so we are able to make quite a few friends before we speak. Around here, it makes a lot of sense because the people are often late for things. When they come in late, instead of apologizing for interrupting the lesson, they wave and kiss all the people on the way to their seats. It is so funny! I guess there is a lesson in this. Maybe someone could give me a clue...anyone...anyone....?
We have been very impressed with the quality of the teaching, the commments by the classmates, and the spirit in the wards here. Two weeks ago, I forgot to put my scriptures in the bag we carry. When I got to church, I went to the library to borrow some because ALL of the people in the Gospel Doctrine Class had their well-marked scriptures with them. The Bible I borrowed was well-marked also. I don't understand every comment, but the ones I do understand are very similar to the comments we hear every Sunday. "Trials are a part of life", "We may be having a trial that is a consequence of disobedience," "If we are faithful, we will be strengthened in our trials and we will grow from the experience." Those are some examples of the comments by these wonderful saints. I feel privileged to be in their midst.
I outlined my talk in English, then wrote it in Spanish. Our manager (and Bishop) carefully preserved my ideas and fixed the Spanish for me. He was very kind to do that. I feel confident that my talk is correct. I have the first part memorized, but if I slip and make a mistake, I don't know if it makes sense or not. So I have resigned myself to reading it at least for the time being. The nice thing is that I can use the same talk. I am adding a little or cutting something out depending on the ward and the circumstances, but mostly, it is the same talk.
Jerry, on the other hand, has a few notes, and he just stands up and gives a 15-20 minute talk in Spanish. He has the people laughing and tearing up. How does he do that? In Spanish, no less!! I just sit there trying not to gape. Keep the mouth closed--try to look intelligent, I tell myself. He is amazing!
In my talk I introduce ourselves, and tell what we do in the office everyday to help people obtain work (teach the workshop about who to find a job, help people draft a curriculum, sign them up for ldsjobs.org, etc.) I talk a little about work and that it is part of life and a blessing in our lives. Then I bear my testimony.
Jerry talks about how much the church has grown over the 40 years since he was here as a young elder. He talks about our attitude about life and that we should seek to be happy in this life, not just look for a better life when we die. We are the creators of our lives here and now. Then he tells the "parable of the bicycle" by Stephen Robinson in his book, Believing Christ. In a nutshell, a little girl saves her pennies for a bicycle. Her father takes her to the store and she falls in love with an beautiful bicycle, but realizes that her 61 cents is a far cry from the price, and she will never be able to save up enough. Her father asks her for her 61 cents, a hug, and a kiss, and makes up the difference. It is a type of the Atonement. The Savior makes up the difference for us if we will only have faith in Him, and give him all we have (our 61 cents.) We will NEVER have enough we need to be perfect or even come close to it. With His unlimited bank account, we can make the grade. We have to show our love for Him. He ties it into having hope and faith in Christ and in our abilites.
The concluding speaker is the very capable Stake Employment Specialist, Gina Pitta. She is eloquent and talks about the School of the Prophets, and how we should continue our education throughout our lives. She encourages them to use their talents to obtain work or to improve the jobs they have now. She changes her talk, depending on the group she is speaking to. In one ward, she emphaisized the Perpetual Education Fund. She is wonderful, and gives our talks credibility!
I've probably bored you, but I wanted you to know what we are doing for the next year every Sunday except Fast Sundays.
On the way home, we passed this building. They are renovating it right now. It is a hotel/casino, but the architecture is amazing!
This is the Rambla on the way home. This is not too far from where we would turn off to go to the temple. It's about 5 miles from home.
We went to a birthday party for our manager who turned 50 last Monday. There were lots of family there that we didn't know, but they were very friendly and included us in their conversations. The pictures they took of us didn't turn out, so I will only post this one of Daniel Collato with his wife and the saxaphone player that played for two hours.
Last week, Jerry taught the workshop again--12 hours of Spanish. I taught a little--about 45 minutes, and took the video of the practice interviews. It worked out well. Jerry noticed a big difference in his ability to express himself in Spanish. I had a hard time. I hope I can improve. I am working on it.
As usual, we wish we could do more, have more energy, and speak Spanish better. Jerry is reading novels in Spanish. I am studying whenever I can, which explains the lack of blog posts. Sorry. We have been communicating individually with our family members, so we feel we are keeping in touch. This blog will be an augmentation to my journal, so I really do want to keep it current.
We love and miss you. The gospel is true!
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