The Sabbath

Our Sacrament meeting starts at 9:30 and we enjoy the short walk to church. Instead of stopping at our gate to enter the office, we walk around the corner and enter the main door like all the rest of the members.  We are always greeted with an "abrazo" for the men which is a hug with a pat on the back, and the Argentine kiss for women which is putting cheeks together and kissing without touching lips.   Everyone is very friendly and glad to see us.  The four office elders are in our ward also and they are greeting people and shaking hands and sitting with their investigators.  They are amazing to watch and to be around. They are truly dedicated missionaries doing what they have been called to do.  

Our Sunday School class is taught by the wife of one of the counselors in the bishopric.  She is darling and served a mission herself about 10 years ago.  She is really a good teacher and she talks slow enough that I can get the gist of what the lesson is about, even though I don't know all that is being said.  Rich really loves the class because he can understand her Spanish really well.  She goes around the class and welcomes everyone by name to see if there are any new people.  When she got to us, she was very complimentary and said that we were precious jewels and should be in a china cupboard because of how special we were to come on this mission and leave our home and serve the people in Argentina.   That was nice of her, wasn't it.   Then I felt guilty for complaining about how difficult it's been to adjust to life here.

Since it was the 5th Sunday, the Bishop taught the combined Priesthood/Relief Society lesson. It was on personal preparedness and provident living.  I do pretty good getting through Sacrament meeting and Sunday School, but when it comes to that third meeting in Spanish, I really struggle to stay awake.  I know good things are being said, and I feel bad that I can't partake of the messages.  I think now and again that if we were in an English speaking mission how much more I could contribute.  I feel like an ornament sometimes, and not very useful. 

But the Elders have said that when they have taken us out teaching with them, that just our presence in the home makes an impression on the people, that their investigators like having us in their homes.  So maybe it doesn't matter all that much that I can't speak the language.  But we are going to get serious and start studying Spanish every day.  I really need to understand more than I do now.   Elder Whitmer tells me, "Remember your call, you are suppose to be here."

After church there were 6 recently baptized brethren that were ordained Elders.  The Stake President was there and we stayed for it to lend support.  They asked Rich to do one of the ordinations.  Gulp!! He pulled out his missionary handbook given to him at the MTC and, of

course, it was in English.  What to do?   He quickly borrowed one from one of the missionaries and studied it while another ordination was going on.  He hadn't used those words in Spanish for 40 years.  Then the young man being ordained had about four names.  He asked someone in the circle to help prompt him with the names as he began the prayer.  He said he guessed he did okay because they didn't ask him to do it over.  Whew!!

Tonight I baked cookies to take to work tomorrow.  I made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with a can of pumpkin pie mix.....not the same as the regular canned pumpkin.  One of the Elders said it was left in their apartment by a senior couple that had been here some time ago.  They must have brought it with them, because they don't sell pumpkin anything here. They don't taste too bad, but cooking them in this oven was a joke.  There isn't any degrees on the oven dial,  just a range from low to high.  An oven thermometer is a must to regulate the heat.  And I didn't do a very good job at first.  The bottoms burned while the cookie was still doughy in the middle.  But these Elders will eat anything!

Well, this week is "the week before transfer week" and they tell us that things get a little hectic. Oh, we are looking forward to that, for sure.  We only have one week left to learn all we need to know, and it will require divine intervention if we are expected to come out on top of all of this. I feel a headache coming on!