Today, Jerry and I were scheduled to speak in Montevideo 12th Ward in our stake. It was 35-minute trip by car. When we arrived, no one was playing the piano. They just had a CD playing prelude music. I offered to play the piano, and the bishopric was overjoyed. After the sacrament hymn, I sat with Jerry on the stand.

A few minutes before the sacrament was over, I reached in our bag to get my talk (4 pages.) Much to my dimay, it was not in the bag. I remembered taking it out last night to practice it and I put it on the table to practice it this morning. There it sat, and the bishop was announcing that I would be speaking first. Jerry told me he knew I could do it, and I went up to the pulpit. Gulp. So, I told them I had a great talk prepared, but it was at home, so they needed to be patient with my poor Spanish. Of the 35-40 people in the congregation, several were smiling (in a supportive way.)

I introduced us, and said that we were happy to be in Uruguay. I told them the members in here are strong and many are pioneers in their families. I told about our mission in the Career Office and what we do there. Then I got to the part of the talk that is about how important work is and that it is a blessing. I used the example of the members of the Spanish Branch in Blackfoot who often included in their prayers, "We are grateful for our jobs." That was so humbling to hear. I often complained to myself that I had to work. Jerry had given me a quote from Pres. Hinkley about how we need to help people who are out of work. Many times, it is like their Gethsemane. So I went from being grateful for our jobs to helping people who were out of work. One thing led to the other, and I was amazed that it flowed so well. I bore my testimony and was done. Looking back, I stumbled over words in the quote. I used present tense instead of past tense a few times. I said WE were impressive instead of saying that we were impressed with the members in Uruugay, and I made other mistakes that Jerry was too kind to explain to me, but I gave a 10-minute talk in Spanish without notes!! Jerry was proud of me, and that meant a lot. He is the master speaker in our family. He gave a great talk about how the church has grown in Uruguay. He also brought in the Atonement and how we need to depend on the Lord to be our Savior, and not try to do it ourselves, which we can't. We do our best, and let the Lord make up the difference. He uses Stephen R. Robinson's book, Believing Christ. It was a wonderful talk, in good Spanish, without notes. I am always amazed!!

After the meeting, the next ward, Las Aracias, came in for their Sacrament Meeting. Jerry had called the bishop numerous times but had never been able to reach him to schedule a time to speak. Jerry found him and asked what week would be good for us to speak. He said, "Today would be great!" Jerry hesitated, but told him yes. Then he carefully explained to me that I would need to give my talk again without notes. This time, I had a few minutes to jot down a few things, but I essentially had to give it without notes again. I am learning to rely on the Lord.

My neighbor, Mirta, is making progress. Thank you for your prayers in her behalf. She can use more spiritual support. She was supposed to come to church today, but she didn't. She wouldn't answer the door when I knocked. She also smokes, and will need to quit before she is baptized. If you would like to, we can combine our fasting and prayers for her this Sunday. I hope she can continue to progress.

We are looking forward to coming home with mixed emotions. We love the people here and we will miss them. We love living with a beautiful view of the water. We will love seeing our family. Our grandchildren need fair warning that they will be hugged a lot. We have 3 months left to make a difference. We are helping people and we know we are in the right mission for us.

Wednesday, Nibia will be 78-years old. She was 34 when Jerry baptized her. We are going to take her out to dinner (merienda - tea between 4 and 6 p.m.) It is a blessing to be here to do that, even though we are missing our family's birthdays.

This is the castle that is two doors down from our apartment. It is called Castle Pittamiglio. It is similar to the Winchester Mystery House in that Pittamiglio built stairways to a little cubby room, etc. It is very interesting.

Sis. Barney (from Eugene, OR) is the nurse who is in charge of all the missionaries in Uruguay. She is on a mission here without a companion, so she and I do things together when we have some time. We went on a tour of the castle on the free museum day in Montevideo. All the museums are open for free that day.

A close-up of the front of the castle.

We see the spire out our kitchen door.

This is a night shot of a museum that we pass on our way home from the temple. We have always been curious about it, and we finally got to go.

What type of museum do you think it is????

If you said animals, you are right. It starts with insects, and goes through mammals. Then it has a wing of birds. It has a skeleton of a whale, which is very impressive.

We are having fun and working hard too. Sister Gardner, a sister missionary who finished her mission and returned home, recently wrote to us and included the quote: Be not weary in well-doing (D & C 64:33.) At this point of our mission, that is great advice.