A Surprise Baptism

We had wonderful news this afternoon. A young man came into our office to talk to Jerry. He told Jerry that when we had spoken in Montevideo 11th Ward (Barrio 11) in November, there was an investigator there. She was touched by Jerry's talk. She was crying and said this was what she was looking for. She wanted to meet with the missionaries. She is being baptized on Friday.

We are so excited to know about that. We had no idea that our talks about the Career Center would have an impact on anyone. Jerry talked about the book, Believing Christ, which helps us apply the atonement in our lives and realize there is hope. We thanked the young man for letting us know, especially because we only have five more days left in our mission.

So, we have made an impact on at least one person by speaking in other wards. We had a great day!

The Miracle of the Gospel

I went over to talk to Mirta, my neighbor, because her back was hurting so badly she couln't come to church. The sister missionaries came after about 10 minutes and we talked to her about her goals. She said her main goal was to not have pain in her back. We explained about priesthood blessings, and she asked for a blessing. Tomorrow, Jerry and someone else will give her a blessing.

The sisters asked her if she wanted to be baptized on Sunday, January 29th (the day before we fly home.) She said she really wanted to. We made plans and as it stands now, Jerry will baptize her (and sing a song.) I will play the piano. It is going to be wonderful!The sister missionaries are going to stop by every day this week for a short visit to answer any questions and clear up any doubts she has. I am grateful for our diligent sisters! Please keep Mirta in your prayers.

The gospel is true. It changes lives for the better! We are here to grow and progress. The Lord uses the weak and the simple to do his work on the earth. (D&C 1:23.) That would be Jerry and me. I am grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ that allows us to repent and draw closer to Him. It is truly a miracle when people accept the gospel and choose to be baptized!

The Gift of Tongues

Today was a wonderful day in our mission! We spoke in our own ward, and I spoke for 10 minutes or more with just an outline in English in front of me. I spoke about how the Lord can use our talents, no matter how small they are, to further His work on the earth. I said that we need to use our talents to serve in the church, to be humble and accept the callings that we receive and fulfill them. I had written and re-written the outline several times, however, I didn't have time to type it out and get it revised by anyone. I did NOT want to read my talk. I prayed for the gift of tongues and was blessed. I asked for the faith and prayers of the congregation also. The gift of tongues is alive and well!!

Jerry's talk was amazing! He used the Uruguayan Mission Hymn that the missionaries sang 40 years ago. He sang the first verse, and then told the story of Nibia. How he and Elder Hansen had played a "game" where they looked for the right street, the right apartments, and the right door. They knocked on her door and she answered the door crying. They said they had a message for her from Jesus Christ. Several weeks later, she told them they had come to her door just as she was planning on commiting suicide. They had saved her life, physically and spiritually. She was baptized, and later, her son, and her niece, Myrna, with her Communist boyfriend. What an amazing story that is! We just had lunch with Nibia this afternoon in the same apartment they taught her 40 years before. She is so kind and wonderful!

Jerry sang the 2nd verse of the Uruguayan Hymn, and told the story of how incompetent we were at the beginning of our mission. We had to learn a lot in order to be useful here.

After singing the 3rd verse of the hymn, he bore his testimony. We were all in tears, although we had also laughed at his funny comments. What a wonderful talk he gave! Afterward, many people came up (while I was playing postude music) to let me know that my talk had touched their hearts. Jerry was surrounded by grateful ward members in the foyer.

Mirta, Pelusa and Betty

Mirta and Pelusa, her aunt, came to church today, and went to all three meetings. They enjoyed it, but it was a long time for them to sit. I hope they will come next week too. Thank you for your prayers. Here is a picture of us in the lobby of our building, as the taxi was pulling up.

I am wearing the beautiful scarf they gave me for my birthday and Christmas. I got lots of compliments on it, in front of them. That was my idea. Our ward was so friendly to them! I am grateful to be in a ward that welcomes everyone. How wonderful it is to see a ward embrace and encourage new members and investigators. There were 5 investigators at church today and a one-week old member, Diego.

Diego is in his late 20's. He wanted to hear more about the church because he has a friend who is a member. He took the discussions and was baptized last Sunday. He received the Aaronic Priestood today. He came to church in a suit and tie and looked like a returned missionary on the way to being a stake president. He is a very impressive tall, handsome young man. The father of the friend (a girl) baptized and confirmed him. His future looks bright.

Changing the subject, Mirta and I go to the feria on Saturday mornings about 10:30. Yesterday, she looked so summery and stylish with her sun hat, I had to take a picture or two. She is a good friend and I will miss her dearly.

Christmas at the Mission Home 2011

We celebrated Christmas at President Ronald and Sandy Heaton's home of the Montevideo West Mission. They kindly included us even though we are in the other mission. They invited the president of our mission, President Da Silva and his wife also. We had a pot luck dinner. Sister Heaton had set the tables so nicely. Here is an example of one of the tables.

Jerry has changed, but not that much. This is Elder Goates and Elder Diaz, two of the temple missionaries. The ladies are always invited to fill their plates first, so the men are waiting patiently. Pres. and Sis. Da Silva are in the background (in the mirror.)

The temple missionaries are amazing cooks! They all raised large families and know how to feed a crowd. Yum!

The young missionaries treated us to a Christmas hymn as a special musical number.

Elder Diaz played Santa and had a special treat for each couple. He was so kind. He made a great Santa!

After a Christmas Story, and some crazy gift exchange games, the young elders and sisters went home. We older folks sang Christmas carols and songs. We felt the Christmas spirit.

At midnight, we went out to watch the fireworks. There were even more this year than last year. It was awesome!!

There are at least 12 sets of fireworks going off at the same time in this picture.

This was my best action shot!!

These fireworks were in the opposite direction from the temple.

After forty minutes, the fireworks ended and we went to our room at the hostel. We got special permission to stay there even though it was closed. Hna. Barney stayed there also. On Christmas morning, we went to church at the chapel next to the temple. We had another delicious pot-luck dinner with the temple missionaries and took a taxi home. What a wonderful way to spend Christmas!!

For the pot-luck dinners, I took an orange jello salad, and for Christmas dinner, cheese cubes with marachino cherries on the top. But after all that good food, I was still really hungry for pumpkin pie.

A few days after Christmas, I made one--from scratch. First I cut up the pumpkin and baked it.









Then I blended it, mixed up the pie filling, made the pie crust, and baked the pie. Sister Broadwater's parents had come to pick her up from her mission. They came to share the pie with us. They appreciated American food after a week of Uruguayan food.

She and her mom helped by whipping the cream with a wire whip in a mug. It takes some work, but it is worth it.

Big bite!! Pumpkin pie and whipped cream! Now our Christmas was complete.

Thanksgiving in Uruguay

We had Thanksgiving dinner at our apartment with our neighbors and the sister missionaries from our ward. Three of us are North American and three are Uruguayan. Our neighbors, Mirta and Pelusa, have seen movies with Thanksgiving dinners in them, but have never had one. Several months ago, Mirta asked me about Thanksgiving and what it means. I tried to explain about the Pilgrims (pioneros--pioneers) and the Indians and that it is a day to give thanks for what we have. So, I thought it would be nice to have them taste some of the food.



The only thing that's really different for them is the stuffing, and gravy. They serve mashed potatoes here but they just eat them plain. Hna. Sandes asked me if we were going to put all the gravy over the potatoes in the serving bowl before putting it on the table. I tried not to laugh out loud, but it was hard. They have yams and sweet potatoes, but marshmallows are rare. I just used a glaze for the sweet potatoes.

I forgot to get a picture of the pumpkin pie. It turned out so good!! It was my first time making a crust with lard. I used butter last year. I baked the pumpkin and pureed it on the Monday night before Thanksgiving. On Tuesday night, I baked the sweet potatoes. I made the crust and the filling on Wednesday night and baked the pie. I cut up the dry bread, sauteed the onions and celery and mixed up the stuffing so it would be ready to cook the next day. The sister missionaries arrived shortly after we got home from the office (it is a regular work day here.) They peeled the potatoes while I put the chicken in the oven. I made the gravy while they set the table, etc. It really helped to have them come and work with me. They did the dishes as we cooked, so there were only a few pans to wash after dinner.



Mirta is the same age as me. We kid around that we are really only 38 years old. She is so funny!! She is taking the missionary discussions. We hope she will be baptized this month. She has gone to a baptism and a Stake Conference.











Here we all are. Jerry opted to take the picture. I wonder why. The sister missionaries are Hna. Broadwater from Utah, and Hna. Sandes from Montevideo, Uruguay. She was a vounteer in our office before going on her mission. She has a brother in Montevideo and her mom lives here too. She has Sunday dinner with them sometimes.


The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Jerry and I went to Rocha, Uruguay. It is a state (department) where they have beautiful beaches and natural palm trees in the valleys along the highway. We invited Hna. Barney from Oregon to come with us. She is the nurse for the 400 missionaries in Uruguay. She doesn't have a companion, so she and I do things together when we have some time. Here we are pointing to our name tags. Yep, we are misioneras.

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.