We Went to Salto, Uruguay

On Friday, April 8, we left at 6:30 a.m. for Salto with Veronica, our assistant manager.  It takes 8 hours by car, and she drove the whole way.  We were very comfortable and arrived at our "motel" just fine.



The lobby had a baby grand piano and a classroom in the loft.      Jerry and I were impressed with our room.

                                                            We had lunch at the resort. 

Then went to the chapel where Veronica was going to teach the Employment workshop. 

We visited with the Stake Employment Specialist, Elidia, and her assitant, Lidia.  Across the hall was the Family History Center in Salto.  A wonderful retired man was volunteering there and he and Veronica were  very good friends, but had lost track of each other.  It was a heartwarming reunion. 


After getting the workshop classroom set up, Veronica began teaching at 7 p.m.  She taught until 11:15 p.m!  Ugh.  I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open...ok, I fell asleep.  I wonder why.  Could it be the time?  Maybe it was the very fast Spanish for more than 4 hours. 

There were 13 people taking the class.  Two were middle-aged, and the rest were a group of amazing young people, about 18 years old who were full of energy and testimony.  We found out later that they did everything together, including singing in the Institute Choir and taking classes together.  What a wonderful group of young people!

That night, we went to see the main plaza in Salto.  This is a statue of Artigas, the national hero in Uruguay.  It was a beautiful, blue night sky.  I had fun taking pictures.

The next morning, we continued at 9:00 a.m.  Jerry and I were wondering if the young people would show up.  All but one did (one of the girls had to work) but there was a new girl that came.  I was really impressed! 


We had lunch at the church there.  Milenesa is kind of like chicken-fried steak, 

only a smaller portion.  We both like it.  They had milenesa, Russian salad, and soda pop.  Russian salad is diced potatoes, carrots and canned peas mixed together. It is served hot or cold. When it is served cold, they mix mayonaise in it. When we had it at the church, they served it hot, with the mayonaise on the side. I really don't like it cold, but warm was good. Jerry doesn't care for it, but he liked the milenesa. Salto is known for its oranges, and they have their own brand of orange soda. It tastes a little more like orange juice. That was a treat. They also have a grapefruit soda (think Squirt) which was very good also.

We left the church and went downtown to see what Salto was like at night. The town was brightly lit.

We ate at a pizza retaurant and it was very good. Veronica introduced us to some new Uruguayan dishes. It's so fun to go out with her. She has lived here all her life and is happy to show people the best of Uruguay. We went back to the resort and sat in the thermal pool. That's the big thing in Salto—like Lava Hot Springs. We slept very well that night.

Sunday, we went to church. It was at the Stake Center where the workshop had been, and the Stake President was there, attending his own ward. At Fast and Testimony Meeting, Jerry bore his testimony about how much Uruguay has changed since he was here 40 years ago. Several young children bore their testimonies and then a 92-year-old woman bore her testimony. Her eyes were so bright! She said she had seen many changes in the church since she was baptized 50 years ago! I am reading the “History of the Latter-Day Saints in Uruguay” and her story is in that book. I had read about her a week before, and now I was able to hear her testimony and see her in person! After church, we were able to get a picture with her. What a thrill!!

We had some time to see the Uruguay River that runs through the edge of town.  Here are some of my favorites: 

We enjoyed our weekend in Salto.  When we got back to Montevideo, Sunday night, we were refreshed and ready to get back to the work in the Employment Office.

This weekend, Betty and I traveled to Rivera to visit two sisters who I baptized as teenage girls, 40 years ago. My companion and I fasted with them twice back then;  once for them to receive a testimony, and later in the hopes that the parents would allow them to be baptized.  Both fasts were successful.  Since they were only 15 and 16, I had always wondered if they had managed to stay active in the church.

                                       Juan, Virginia, Betty and Jerry in their lovely home.


We stayed at the home of Virginia, one of the sisters, and most of the families came there to meet us.

When we first walked into the living room, we saw this beautiful window with an etching of the Salt Lake Temple!  Above it is a smaller one with the Young Women's icon.  Betty teared up, overwhelmed by the faith of these wonderful people. 

We attended an emotional sacrament meeting in which we heard many testimonies of how their lives had been changed by the gospel. We also heard thankful testimonies from other members of their ward, to whom they had introduced the gospel..
As it turns out, the two girls succeeded in bringing their siblings and parents into the church two years after they were baptized.  They both introduced the men they would later marry into the church. One of the husbands has been a bishop, and the other has been a stake president and a regional representative. Between the two families,  they have nine children, five of whom served full-time missions. The two couples were among the first to be endowed and sealed after the dedication of the Sao Paulo, Brazil Temple, in 1979.  What started with two young women, has grown to a family of more than thirty active members.

                                                 Liles with her Mom and her granddaughter.

With or without me, I think these people were destined to join the church. But....how sweet it is to know that I did my part,  and what joy I felt this weekend, spending time with the fruits of my labors, and their children, and their children's children. 
“And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
“And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!” (D&C 18:15–16

Elder Heath



Jerry and Betty with Liles and Virginia Pachiorotti.

Speaking in Church--Every Sunday

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

Jerry remembers this church in the main plaza in town.

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.

We got there at 8:00, worrying that we might arrive late. Other people filtered in for the next hour. We ate hor d'ourves and little sandwiches while we talked. The area they rented was on the shore. The beautiful sunset added a wonderful feeling. The sea was calm and there was no wind! It was a beautiful evening. About 10:00, Jerry and I excused ourselves. Daniel said the dancing was just about to start. That cinched it for Jerry--we were out of there! When we saw the picutures later, we understood that the party had just begun. They danced, had birthday cake, desserts and partied until midnight. It was a Monday night, and I wouldn't have been able to get up the next morning if we'd stayed. Everyone was fine the next day. Funny.

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!

Christmas Eve in the Montevideo West Mission Home

If anyone can tell me how I used to change the font without changing the HTML, let me know. I'm sorry for the very small print.



One of the Christmas Trees in the mission home. The Wildes are temple missionaries. She has a gorgeous soprano voice!



President and Sis. Heaton hosted the dinner. She cooked the roast in two crock pots, and the rice in the oven.




Was I first in line again? I hate it when they take pictures of me pigging out!





We had pulled pork roast, rice pilaf, assorted salads, watermelon, pineapple, and lots of desserts, including a pecan pie!! YUM!!










Dinner was Delicious!! These are some of the senior missionary couples that work at the temple.


The mission office elders sang "Angels We Have Heard on High." They sang acapella except for the last chorus when I played with them. What do you think that reminded me of? It did my heart good! It was so beautiful!!



We all sang Christmas carols in English. What a treat! It felt like Christmas!

Pres. and Sis. Lynn Shirtliff played a piano duet that he arranged. It was amazing! They are both wonderful pianists! What a treat. I was the page turner.

Silent Night

Moroni was in danger.



I counted 27 fireworks displays at one time.





The Senior Couples watching fireworks from the roof of the hostel near the temple We are in the background. The couple in front are Elder and Sister Goates.








Fireworks by the Montevideo Temple

This picture was taken from the roof of the hostel. There is a parking lot, a two-story brick chapel, and then the temple. The other buildings on the right are the senior missionaries apartments (not ours), the mission homes, and the church offices, including the distribution center for Uruguay. It takes up an entire city block with a tall fence around it, like the one around the Idaho Falls Temple.

Betty's Birthday

The young volunteers in our office got up early on my birthday and decorated the office. We had gone to an outdoor training the day before and everyone was really tired, so for them to get up the next day was amazing. They would have rather slept. They blew up about 30 balloons and put them up in the classroom where we teach the workshop. We were going to have a training that day in there. They made a cute sign on the whiteboard,saying "Hermana Heath, Feliz Cumpleanos." They told us to come at 10:00 and not be early that day, as we usually get to the office about 20 minutes before we need to be there.
When we got there, everyone was milling around the office as if nothing was happening. The assistant manager, Veronica, called me into her office, and had me do something. Everyone else gathered into the classroom. We were the last ones to come in. When I opened the door, they all said, Feliz Cumpleanos! (I don't have a tilde on this computer for the n.) What a fun surprise!
















They had a chocolate cake with caramel (dulce de leche) filling and decorations. It looked really delicious. Then they put a "candle" on it and lit it. This is what happened!


The people in the background are: Florencia, Veronica, Daniel Collato (Our Manager/ Bishop.) My expression pretty much says it all. It was amazing! I thought we might get in trouble for lighting fireworks in the building, but there are no codes here like in the States. YIPPEE!!! FIREWORKS ON THE BIRTHDAY CAKE!


We all took a picture together in front of the birthday sign. There are better pictures but this is the only one I could get so far. Hopefully, I can get another one this week. It was an amazing birthday. Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and Facebook wishes. They all came true!!

Relief Society Christmas in Uruguay

We had a Relief Society Christmas Luncheon one Saturday (Nov. 20.) Here are some pictures from that day. We all drew names ahead of time, and had a gift exchange from our Secret Sister. After everyone opened their anonymous gift, they went one by one, showed the gift they had received, and the secret giver revealed herself. It was fun. We had a spirit of sisterhood and anticipation for the Christmas season.


The tables were set with the food when we got there. We had a broccoli torta, which is a thick quiche. We also had empanadas which are round pastries with meat filling folded in half and sealed. Yum! There was a roll of some sort, kind of like an egg roll with meat and vegetables inside.


After we had eaten most of the delicious food on our plates, Julia Bengochea, a new convert, came around with pizza with a yummy, thick crust, and a large rolled sandwich with tuna salad in it. The bread was slightly sweet, so the sweet, salty thing kept me wanting more. Yum! The problem was, we were full by then. Everyone ate anyway. Then, of course, we had a big cake (postre) for dessert. I thought I would pop from eating so much!

I got these pictures from the sister missionaries that live in our ward. They took pictures of our investigators. Actually, their investigators, but we have been visiting them and fellowshipping them.

This is Grizelda. She is the mother of a 16-year-old who got baptized the third week we were here. She is SO nice! She works as a server at the Spanish Embassy. The sisters are Sister Casebolt from Farmington, UT, and Sister Gardner from Taylorsville, UT. They are hard workers who have 3 people getting ready to be baptized.

This is Alicia Torres, who was less-active, but came to church once to try our ward out. Everyone is so friendly, she kept coming back.










Yolanda was playing the piano for two of the sisters singing around the piano. I don't know the name of the gal on the left, but Blanca is in the middle. She is outgoing, friendly , and loves music. She tells me all about what she is thinking and what's happening in her life. I catch about 30% of what she is saying, but that is enough to know how to respond. She is a good friend.







This is a better picture of Yolanda. She lives close to us, and she is the one who plays the piano for Sac. Mtg. and Relief Society every week. Her hands are arthritic, but she plays just fine. She is always complementary to me.



We had a special musical number. The sisters sang "Angels we Have Heard on High."

















The bishop came a little later and he took a group picture. The man is the 2nd counselor in the Bishopric. He was putting his tie back on.