Special Conference

We were excited for today to come because of the mission conference that we were having this morning. But we had no idea how special it would be to have the whole mission together at one time, except for the missionaries down South. We feel bad that they are left out of special times like these. Elder Nelson arranged for transportation to get everyone there on time, and in fact early enough so the missionaries could visit with each other before they had to reverently be seated in the chapel in order to invite the spirit to the conference. The air was filled with excitement and electricity as everyone greeted each other with abrazos and handshakes.

The sisters get special attention and are ushered to the front of the chapel. They all sat together on the front row. We sat on the stand, and were two of 13 missionaries asked to bear a short testimony (about a minute and a half) of the Savior. It was thrilling to look out into the faces of these wonderful young people who will never regret the experience they are having to bring souls to Jesus Christ. I just couldn't get enough of it.

Two members of Quorums of the Seventy were present and spoke to us. One brother, President Aidukaitis, is from Brazil and was a Mission President there. Upon his release, he was made a Seventy and sent here to Argentina to be a counselor in the Area Presidency. Rich interpreted his talk for me and he was great. He was full of enthusiasm and really inspired the missionaries to complete this goal of doubling the baptisms. He told them that it is wonderful what they have accomplished, but that they could do more. Now they need to double again the number of baptism in the coming year. Last year we had 500+ baptisms and our goal is to double that number. We are about 80 shy and have two weeks left to hit the mark. We are almost there. Now he wants us to double the 1000+ number by next year at this time. It isn't impossible because Uruguay, and I think he said Paraguay, are way off the charts in the number of baptism they have. Argentina needs to follow suit. There are people out there ready for the gospel. We just need to work hard and find them.

The intermediate song that we sang was "Called to Serve." I had to stop singing and just listen to the booming male voices sing this favorite missionary song. It was over the top on excellence. Mekhi, our grandson, would have loved it.

This is what lunch time looked like. After the conference, some members of the Belgrano ward fixed food for us. It was chorizo (sausage) on baguette bread. So it was sort of like a hotdog on a bun. It was yummy, but so much to eat. I had to give part of mine to a hungry elder. They also served vegetables and dip. Sister Argyle with help from some other ladies made Texas sheet cake which was served with ice cream for dessert. It was a hit!

Elder Clegg and his companion, Elder Rodriguez, are enjoying the meal. It was so fun to see him and other elders that have been connected with the office during the time we have been here.

The sisters sat together and enjoyed their time visiting. They are always outnumbered by the white shirt and tie group. Double clicking on the picture will maximize it for a better view of the meal.

This was a small cultural hall and all of us barely fit, but it worked. Shortly after dinner, everyone boarded the combies for the return trip back to their areas. Hopefully they were energized and ready to continue on to meet the goal set one year ago. Wish them luck!

The four of us in the office came to the conference in a remise with the most calm, laid back driver we have ever had since being here in Argentina. He drove so slow and not aggressive at all, and we wondered at one point if we would make it on time. So Elder Nelson said we should take the train back to San Fernando. It might be faster, and it would save money. However, before those plans were set in stone, the President said he had room in his van and offered to take us back with him. We all jumped at the chance.

Immediately upon arrival at home, we changed our clothes and took a nap. It was around 3:00. Then we decided to walk to Carrefour to do some shopping. We bought more than we could carry on foot, so we called our trusty remise service in the area and they came to get us.

It has been a wonderful day!! It was one of the best we've had since being here.