One Wet Night - Wednesday, March 17, 2010

We followed our morning routine without any variations. We are so predictable! In our Book of Mormon reading it is seven years before the birth of Christ, and Samuel the Lamanite is preaching repentance to the Nephites.

We arrived at the office anticipating a rather hectic day. Bonpland (silent d) was sending a combi to pick up the brand new missionaries that arrived last week to take them to the Civil Registry in the Capital to get fingerprinted and have a criminal check. Bonpland is the street where the Area Offices are located. We refer to anything and everything that we deal with at the Area Offices as "Bonpland." It is the headquarters for the missions in the South America South Area which comprise the three countries of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, of which I have referred to many times before. So those elders and their companions were at the office early. While the new missionaries are gone, their companions/trainers study in the cultural hall of the church and then at 11:00 go out on the streets of San Fernando and make street contacts.

Elder Coria and Elder Peterson were taking a group of missionaries that have completed that first step to do the second step of their legal work. This involves taking them to the Immigrations building down in the Capital to complete steps to obtain their visas. Now, all missionaries come in as tourists and obtain their visas once they are here. It proved to be less costly to do it this way. Well, Argentina caught on and now they have instituted a tax that they charge everyone who enters the country. $131.00 has to be paid going through customs when entering the country.

Anyway, the companions to the elders that went to Immigrations were here in the cultural hall also and went out to work the streets of San Fernando at 11:00, too. So while all these "left behind elders" are here, several questions surface that they can ask Elder Kroff about regarding finances, or they think of something in the supply room that they are in need of that they forgot to ask for on the pedidos (supply) form. So with all of these interruptions with missionaries going and coming, it proves to be a somewhat hectic day. However, it is a fun day in that we get to meet the new missionaries personally. I know all their names and can place them with their picture, but it is still fun to see them in person.

We didn't get a picture of everyone, but there are two new ones in this shot. From left to right we have Elder Peterson, Elder Christensen (new), his companion, Elder Bernal. Elder Coria in front shows off a tie with a Y on it that he traded a missionary, then Elder Green (new) and his companion Elder Rodriguez.

Elder Hales (new) with his companion, Elder Jenkins, Elder Dabling (new) with his companion, Elder Rocha. Elder Coria still showing off his tie. I wonder if he will ever make it to BYU from Argentina. He hopes to come to the states sometime after his mission.

After all the elders left, I entered 13 baptisms and set out the bins of mail and supplies to be picked up for tomorrow's conference in Escobar. Then we packed up and left shortly after the office elders departed.

The sisters in Tigre called and asked if we could meet them tonight at the church there to go over the branch list of members that we were given Sunday. In a branch council meeting a while back, missionary work was discussed and it was suggested that perhaps Los Kroff could help in contacting some inactives and finding out if they are really still in the branch or if they have moved, get to know them and invite them to come to church. Of course!! We feel we should be doing more, and have offered our services, but nothing ever came of it. Then Sunday, we were given a list of all the members in the branch with the explanation that of the 350+ names on the list, that they don't know who is still living in Tigre. Looking over the list, we saw the name of Brother Carbajal, our R.S. President's husband, who passed away last September. It looks like this list needs some serious updating. We are wondering why this isn't done by the branch clerk??

But tonight, in waiting for the bus to go to Tigre, it started raining. We had decided to just go home and call a remise, but then a bus came along. It wasn't the bus that drops us off right by the front of the church. This one requires that we walk about four blocks. Well, it started raining really hard after we got on the bus, and it was just pouring when we got dropped off. We proceeded towards the church and were getting soaked with each step. When we arrived, the sisters were not there, so the front gate to the church was locked. There we stood with no where to go in this downpour. Rich's pants were soaked from his knees down, as were the back and arms of his shirt. My skirt was wet, as was my whole back. Our umbrellas were so saturated that mist and drops of water were coming through them onto our heads. What to do? Where to go? We walked to the bus stop by the church where we pick up the bus on Sundays because it has a shelter over it. That helped a little, but by then we were drenched. When the rain eased up, we went back to the front of the church searching up and down trying to see if the sisters were coming on foot. No sign of them.

We had waited 45 minutes and gave up. I wrote them a note - We came, we waited, we are drenched, we went home. Let's try for a dryer day. A bus came by shortly thereafter, and we were so grateful to be home. The sisters called to apologize and said they couldn't get on a bus. They were all crowded with shoulder to shoulder people standing in the isles, and there were rivers to cross to get onto them once they pulled up to a stop. They asked if we would come tomorrow. When I was cold and wet, I told Rich I wasn't doing this again if rain was in the forecast. But we said yes and tomorrow we will take a remise if there is a chance of rain. The sisters promised they would be there.

It never dawned on us at all that today was St. Patrick's Day, and we didn't wear any green. Holidays do not take on the same meaning when serving a mission. Our focus is so different.