Important Events - Friday, Feb. 19, 2010

We enjoyed it while it lasted -- the cooler dry weather. Today was a continual cloud cover with the humidity cranking up again. It was strange to walk outside with no sun shining and it felt like we were in an oven. Hot heat was blowing on us, and the sky was getting darker by the minute.

I had a goal to get all my carpetas done for the new missionaries in the March transfer. I focused on them and was successful. That's a relief! Now comes the packets for the ones going home, but they are less time consuming than the carpetas. I should be in good shape now.

While I was busy with my project, Elder Kroff worked on the Plata de Zona (zone money). It takes him a couple days or more to contact all the zone leaders and go over their budget. He checks what amount of money they started with, what they had to spend, and how much reimbursement they need for the up coming six weeks. It is a lot of bookkeeping for the zone leaders, and although they probably feel honored to be called to that position, with it comes a lot of headaches, and more responsiblity. Some of our zone leaders have to hand carry rent money to landlords each month. The mission likes it when the rent money can be automatically deposited into the landlords account, but there are some that refuse to do it that way. In Argentina, there is a fee charged to withdraw money from a personal checking account or from an ATM. Now who thought that one up??? Our missionaries get charged when they withdraw money too. It hardly seems fair, but that's how it is.

After a couple hours of steady work at our desks, Rich and I took a break to go purchase another paper cutter for the office. The President has requested that we print from the church website some baptismal invitations and cut them into stacks of 100 for each companionship. That represents a lot of time consuming work, but we are having another elder come to be with us in the office for a while and the President wants us to use him to help in any way we can. He will be in a trio with our office elders for a while. So, we can put him to work on this project of cutting and compiling stacks of these invitations.

We didn't find a heavy duty cutter like we wanted, but took what they had and hope it will work. Then we went to purchase two new refrigerators for some apartments they are opening up. We are regulars (meaning the mission) and the same procedure is followed every time we go to buy the fridges, but it takes forever to get in and out of the store. When it is finally time to go to the counter to pay the bill, it takes another half hour to get that job done. They are so slow, and whatever process they use to collect the money for customer's purchases needs a serious update. One family was at the counter when we went into the store and was still there when we left. We just shake our heads.

As the afternoon wore on, we could see we were in for a serious rain storm, and we couldn't stay in the for evening. The San Fernando elders were having a baptism and they invited us to come. Since we don't go to that ward anymore, we lose track of who is being taught and who is close to baptism. But we never turn down an opportunity to support the missionaries or the ones being baptized whether we know them or not. So we had to return to the church at 7:00.

By the time 4:30 rolled around when we left to go home, we made a good decision. We had the President's car at the office so we decided to take it home just in case it was raining when we had to return at 7:00. Good thing we did, because about an hour later, the heavens opened and the rain came, along with wind. It was a drenching rain that didn't let up. We were so grateful for the car. We would have been soaked even with an umbrella had we walked to the church.

But the elders were not so lucky. They were out in this down pour without umbrellas. We arrived at the church before them and they came in soaked clear to the bone. The assistants, Elders Fernandez and Pugmire, will be performing the baptisms. After wringing out their ties, they went back out in the rain to their apartment to get dry clothes and a towel. They came back still wet and changed into their baptismal clothes leaving their already wet underwear on to be changed after the baptisms were completed.

Rich captured a picture of this spout from the rain gutter pouring water onto the lawn. The lawn was flooded, as was the road, as was everything. We have never seen it rain so much. Buenos Aires even made CNN news. Up in the Capital they had so much rain that the subway had to be stopped because the rain water was pouring down the stairs to the underground and flooding the tracks. Some pictures showed people wading through thigh high water. The streets were literal rivers. It wasn't quite that bad here in San Fernando.

Elders Smith, Davis, and Pugmire pour water from their shoes. Such is the life of a missionary. They take it in stride, but I still worry about all the missionaries every time it rains before 9:00 at night and I know they are still out on the streets. That's my job!

The best part of this day was when we learned who was being baptized tonight.

Last October, we were asked to accompany Elder Nelson and Elder Urra to the home of Sara and Julio who were being taught the gospel. They were not married and had a baby daughter named Victoria. The elders wanted to introduce us to them so they could see an example of what they could become if they were to marry and be baptized into the church -- a happily married couple in the gospel.

Now, a few months later, they are taking this important step. They wanted to be married and baptized on the same day, so earlier in the day they were married. Two important events for this happy couple today.

These cute young women came to support the couple and gladly posed for a picture.

The gathering after the baptism was a celebration for their marriage as well. Balloons decorated the hall and Sister Barney made the heart shaped wedding cake. It was delicious!! I didn't know she was so talented. She is a cutie!

The new Mr. and Mrs. Simich were happy to be married, and happy to be members (even though he chooses not to smile for pictures)

They did the traditional cutting of the cake and feeding a piece to each other. The take home favors on the table were small candles, and perfumed roses which are probably drawer fresheners.

We are so glad we didn't miss this baptism or wedding celebration. Upon leaving as we told them goodbye, Julio told us in the few words of English he knows, "You are important to us." referring, most likely, to our example of a long marriage and life of activity in the church.

It's a pay day to experience things like this.