Oct 13-14 Play Time Over

In order to catch up on our journal entries, today's posting will include two days

Tuesday, Oct 13

Since we learned that the Buenos Aires temple was closing at the end of October, the office elders really wanted to attend a session one last time. We did also, but they were obsessed to get there before October 31. Elder Nelsen had talked to the President about using his car sometime, and he suggested we go while he was down south for the zone conferences, since we would have his car at the office while he is away. Good plan!! We decided today would be the best day for us all. We would just put the phone on night mode and take off.

However, Elder Coria learned in his last email from his parents that they were coming to attend the temple this week. They would be spending Tuesday and Wednesday in the temple. He is from Argentina, and actually from a province of Buenos Aires which is a seven hour car ride, but a one hour flight by air. His parents were driving.

So now what??? The later we wait to go, the more crowded the temple will be. And, when the President comes back, the car will go. We needed to figure out Plan B.

We had a good day at work today. We needed to catch up on a few things due to the few hours we took off on Friday and Monday. I finished getting the six binders done for the November transfer which will bring in new missionaries. Now I need to get 13 packets ready for the ones leaving on that transfer.

Elder Kroff worked on getting a deposit ready, the budget, and getting things lined up to instruct a new missionary that is arriving on Thursday. Sometimes, for various reasons, we have a missionary come in between regular transfer times. This is one of those times.

After work activities included walking to Disco to shop for a few food items and stopping at the Farmacia to replenish our pills. Most of them are Rich's "life saving" pills as he calls them. That means they are not vitamins or tylenol type medications. I needed a second round of an antibiotic to see if I can get rid of my lingering congestion and cough. It has plagued me for over a month and I went early on to get what usually takes it away, but this time it didn't. I wasn't sure if I should take it again, but Dr. Petersen said to refill it. I hope it does the trick this time. I get so tired of coughing. Can you relate, Mary Kaye?

Wednesday, October 14

The weather is improving all the time and we aren't getting as much flip flop temperatures. A jacket is still necessary in the mornings, but by afternoon, things have warmed up nicely. The trees and bushes are flowering and it really is a pretty time of year. It seems so strange to think spring when October to us means changing leaves, falling leaves, cooler weather, and Halloween.

Today I got my Book of Mormon order sent off. The zones in the South needed a shipment this time too. I always order the maximum we are allowed. So far I have never had to order more than our quota to keep the missionaries supplied with what they need.

Now, I need to get the placa (name badge) order typed up. It is always a healthy order. It is amazing to me how many missionaries lose or break their placas. Break them??? "How do they do that?" I've wondered. But then it must have something to do with the pin coming off the back. Who knows!

Since our doubling of the baptism goal has been met, there hasn't been much success in baptizing the last couple of weeks. As the time limit approached, the focus of the missionaries was working with the investigators they already had, so they obviously didn't spend as much time finding new contacts. Thus, there haven't been people prepared to be baptized lately. It'll pick up, but I haven't had the quantity of baptisms to enter like I usually do.

Elder Kroff spends a lot of time on the phone with elders resolving their financial problems. Sometimes their cards don't work in the ATM machines, some machines "eat" their cards, and some elders keep losing their cards. He is the "go to" man for money problems.

So both of us, in our individual responsibilities, get to talk to a lot of missionaries during the week. We get to know some of them well through phone conversations, but have never met them. It is always fun when we finally get to see them face to face.