September 1, 2011
We have officially been in Uruguay for one year. It seems longer than that because of our routine and our comfort level here. We are happy to be serving in the same mission Jerry served in 40 years ago. What a blessing this is!
A Chapel on the outskirts of Colonia, Uruguay
The church is true. It is like a stone rolling down a mountain without hands. What amazing changes have taken place in this country over the last 40 years. The whole country was one stake with a ward in every major town. Now there are stakes in every major town and 7 stakes in the capital city of Montevideo. There are 2 missions in the country, each with close to 200 missionaries. And there is a beautiful temple about 5 miles from us. It is wonderful to be able to go and rejuvenate every few weeks. We have been able to see sealings of young people we know, do baptisms for the dead with new members of the church, and be in the endowment session with newly called young missionaries. What a blessing that has been in our mission.
I just gave my next-door neighbor, Mirta, a Book of Mormon yesterday. She and her aunt, Pelusa, are interested in knowing more about the church. Mirta's 93-year-old grandmother died 2 weeks ago. They had been taking care of her, and when she passed, they had questions. They felt lost and at loose ends. This has been a blessing for them. It has also made me realize how much I take for granted. The gospel is wonderful and joyful. It gives us hope through the atonement and through the love of Christ and Heavenly Father. We have a purpose here and when we leave this earth, we will continue to learn and grow. All this was new to them. I hope they embrace all of the teachings. You are more than welcome to pray for them to accept the gospel fully.
I am now teaching music in Primary at least until October 23, after the Primary Program. We have 10 children in our Primary. One Sunday recently, no children came. The Primary President and I talked for an hour, in Spanish, of course. We decided to go to Sunday School the next hour. I went to Sunday School, but she never came. When I got to Sacrament Meeting, there were 3 children that had come na hour late. It was good that she was there to give the lesson she had planned. I will let you know how the program turns out.
At our Ward Conference, Jerry sang, "Learn of Me" in Spanish. I played for him. Afterward, people, including the Stake President, wanted a copy of the music. They were so excited. (Janice Kapp Perry should give me a commision.) We now have a Relief Society Choir that is learning that song and others. The week after ward conference, Jerry spoke. People were very moved by his talk on the atonement. He used Stephen Robison's book, Believing Christ.
The Rambla in Colonia--upriver from us
We went to Colonia on a 3-day weekend in July. It is about 130 miles northeast of Montevideo on the coast. We saw the sites of the old colonial town from the 1600's.
The new lighthouse
The Old Lighthouse -- now a restaurant with seating
inside and out.
We climbed the stairs to the
top of the new lighthouse and looked out over the area.
We walked along the old wall of the city and across the drawbridge that has been recently restored. We felt like we were back in the 1600's.
This is the old bullfighting ring. They don't have bullfights anymore, but they use the stadium for other things.
It was interesting to see one.
Here is the lobby of the
Sheraton Hotel in Colonia. Very fancy!
We stayed with a missionary couple, Mark and JaNelle Cox from So. California. (It was windy.)
It is two stories, which is unusual.
Mark Cox is the branch president and he asked us to do a musical number. We sang "Learn of Me" together, which was beautiful with the harmony. JaNelle played for us. I played the piano for Sacrament Meeting, and Jerry gave a talk on the Atonement. We also ended up giving the Sunday School lesson impromtu. Luckily, we had our talks in our church bag, so we talked about our work in the employment office. People were pleased to hear about what we do. After all that, we felt as if we served while we were visiting Colonia.
We are happy to serve here and do whatever we can to help the members here. They are strong, wonderful, Latter-day Saints. I know we are being led and guided in all we do. It is incredible sometimes to look back and see how things have worked out in one way or another. The Lord uses our talents and abilities in many ways. We are pleased to be a part of his work here.
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