A Surprise for Dinner - Tuesday, Jan 12, 2010

A light rain was falling when we woke up today and the clouds seemed thick, but it was a welcomed change because there was a nice cool breeze blowing. We opened the balcony door to let some fresh air in and didn't even need the cooler on. It felt so good.

Our normal morning routine was followed and we left for the office around 8:40. Once outside in the elements, the air movement was actually more than a soft breeze blowing. It was more a gusty wind and there was a rain drop every now and again. We hustled along in hopes a real rain didn't develop because our umbrellas wouldn't have been very useful with the wind we were experiencing.

My morning consisted of finishing the new missionary binders and addressing some health calls. Dr. Petersen is leaving for the Salta mission this afternoon and won't return until Thursday evening. Sometimes when he is out of town, his cell phone reception isn't the best and I have a hard time reaching him. Hopefully we won't have any emergencies.

Elders Kroff and Paz finally have all the landlords satisfied, but Rich found out from his financial guru at the Area Offices that things are not set up entirely to have the missions take over the paying of landlords in February. He didn't like hearing that news.

Later in the morning, Rich set out to pay a bill we received that we have never seen before. It was something slid under our door and it was from the city of San Fernando. It was some kind of a utility bill that included garbage pick up. We had never seen it before and could not find anything on it that actually tied it to us. The bill was for around 300 pesos ($100). So Rich went to pay it anxious to talk to someone and have them explain what it was, why we hadn't see it before, and how did we know it was ours.

A nice gentleman explained how to read the bill, but one could never have figured it out without some direction. The reason we hadn't seen it before is because they just drop a pile of bills on the floor at the entrance of our building, without anyone taking them around and sliding them under the appropriate door. So, sometimes it is hard to know what are actual bills and what are advertisements. Then, our name wasn't on it, and the apartment number was next to impossible to figure out. So we have been delinquent in paying it since we came. When he took the ticket for his turno, and finally got to the cashier, he found out we owed around 540 pesos ($125) because interest had been added. Good grief!!! He didn't have enough money to pay it, so returned to the office unsuccessful in completing his task.

I had several choices of things to do this afternoon. Should I do my Book of Mormon order, my order for supplies, start on my leaving missionary packets, or start entering the 19 baptisms? I did none of the above. I actually started on preparing the certificates and letters for the ones leaving in March. It seems a bit early, but I need to have them sitting on the President's desk so he can sign them when it is convenient for him to do so. He returns from the South today.

The office elders asked Rich to sit in on a discussion they were having at 5:30 over in the church. It was with a young lady and they needed another adult present. I left at 5:00 and came home to wash a load of whites and fix something for dinner.

We weren't going to have anything too special for dinner -- just some ravioli with a red sauce over it and a green salad. I didn't want to start it too soon because it could be done in minutes, so I decided to study some Spanish in the meantime.

To my surprise as Rich walked through the door, he had our two assistants with him. Elder Pugmire (on the left) and Elder Curtis are both from Utah. Aren't they the cutest! We just love them. They were with the President down south for five days. They arrived the day his family returned home.

While Rich was walking home, he got a call from the President asking if he could drop them off at our place for a little while until they could meet up with their companions later in the evening. Of course!! We'd love to have them. The thought was that they could leave their luggage here and then go out and work a couple hours waiting until 9:00 when their companions would be home. They are each in a trio right now.

Well, whether they had time to go street contacting or not, they first needed to eat. So luckily I had enough ravioli and green salad for four. They didn't refuse the offer to eat, so I whipped it up in a jiffy. They particularly zeroed in on the ranch dressing, which Elder Pugmire is holding. The ranch packets are from home mixed with an Argentina brand of mayonnaise. It tastes a little different than the norm, but still close enough to be wonderful on a salad.

We had a good time talking and laughing and it was fun to have company -- and no interpreting was needed. We are so glad these two live in the Salt Lake area. We may get to see them occasionally in the future. Time didn't allow them to go out proselyting, and they left pulling their suitcases behind them as they met their companions. A fun evening!