More Rain - Friday, Nov. 27, 2009

This crazy weather!! One day we are dying with the heat and humidity, and the next it rains all day. Today, however, along with the rain, the temperture drastically dropped. Right now outside at 9:30 p.m. it is 64. It will be great for sleeping. We haven't had the fan on to cool our bedroom down tonight.

It took me almost all day, at least until 1:00 or 2:00 this afternoon to get the mail and supplies for the missionaries of two zones all filled, separated into labeled bins, and ready to load into the President's car on Sunday night or early Monday morning. He goes to the Belgrano and Norte zones on Monday. These zone conferences this time are abbreviated meetings due to the Elder Bednar conference we just had. The President shares a message and conducts some training on necessary issues, then has interviews with each missionary. Usually his agenda for a conference begins at 9:00 a.m. and lasts until 3:00 p.m. with lunch served to all, but on these two a day conferences, he is only with one zone for three hours.

It is a lot of work for me when the conferences are doubled up like this. I prefer to do the gathering and organizing for one zone at a time. But, mixing things up a bit like this keeps life interesting around the office.

Elder Kroff went to the bank to make a deposit and draw money out to pay some rents. Anything else he did is a mystery to me as I was in my supply room most of the day. We met for lunch, however.

Towards the end of the afternoon a Zone Leader called Elder Paz to tell him that the mail for two elders that are not in his zone got put in with their supplies. Good grief, how did that happen? I check and recheck to be accurate. The mystery was solved when I discovered that my copy of the list where everyone is located was outdated. Changes had been made unbeknownst to me. Elder Coria failed to tell me about the changes and didn't email me a correct copy to print off. If it were talked about in the office, I didn't pick up on it. Wonder why??

But, the funny thing was that instead of just leaving that unwanted mail in the bins to be returned to the office, the zone leader took it home with him. What??? Now we have to send someone to fetch it. Luckily it is a zone where Elder Paz can get to rather quickly as he is out and about doing apartment things. If it were in the Zarate zone way out in timbuktu, that would be a different story.

When we left the office, there was a light rain falling. We made it home dry this time with our umbrellas. We fooled around doing this and that -- mainly Rich took a nap while I wrapped some Christmas gifts. Then we decided we needed to go to the grocery store, and, of course, we pass right by McDonald's. The security guard there wouldn't know what day it was if we didn't stop in on Friday night.

Our handy dandy shopping cart is put to good use. It is amazing how much it holds. The Disco market, our Farmacia, and McDonald's are all right together and only four blocks away. Other than going to WalMart once in a while for major shopping or for a sale on something, we manage just fine with these close by vendors.

It was cool enough for a sweater for me and a rain shell for Rich. We were glad we dodged the rain drops during our outing. And, we are glad we can sometimes make correct decisions. We are glad we went Christmas shopping at Puerto de Frutos yesterday while the sun was shining. Today was bad weather, and tomorrow is suppose to be kind of rainy also. Besides, we won't have time to shop tomorrow because of our invite to a post Thanksgiving dinner with the other matrimonios. (Spanish term for married couple)

I spent the evening wrapping Christmas gifts which need to be mailed on Monday for sure. I finally found some Christmas paper, but only one type of ribbon. It wasn't worth it to search high and low for something different. Our gifts all relate to Argentina. It isn't much, just a couple things for each to open.

This is certainly going to be a strange Christmas for us to not be in the mix of everything and to have it so hot. But, we are making the best of it.

While we were walking home tonight, I received a call on my cell phone from a mother of a missionary. Now, that's a first. She had called the President because the Christmas packages she mailed to her son were returned. In speaking to President Argyle, he pointed out to her that the address she used was our former office address. Just until recently, we would collect all the mail going to that address at a correo in San Isidro. That is where the old offices used to be located. The correo would hold on to our mail in a post office box, and we would make trips there to get it. I have attached a note to any missionary's mail with that San Isidro address telling them to inform family and friends of our new address. The office moved 9 months ago right before we came.

Just recently, we were informed that the post office box was going to be cancelled. They would no longer hold our mail. So if something comes to that address, it will be sent back to wherever. The President also sent letters to parents telling them of our new office address.

The President told this mother to call me to see about the fastest way to get packages here to our mission before Christmas. So, she did call and we had a nice chat. I do hope the elder is grown up enough to handle not getting a package should they not come before the big day. We'll see!