Goodbye Argentina -Wednesday, December 8, 2010

It always seemed like this day was so far in the future, and here it is. No more extensions, it's time to go home.

We woke up at 6:00 to finish packing and clean our apartment. We were aiming to get everything done by noon, but that didn't happen. We took several loads to Schoeny's apartment next door, found places in our suitcases for a lot of little things, and threw away unwanted things of little value.

We were surprised with a visit from Ezequiel and Rocio Garcia with little Delfina. We thought we had hugged and cried and said goodbye a couple of times, but they came bearing a farewell gift of a matte cup with a final goodbye hug. We love them so much and will miss them terribly.

Soon after the Garcias left, we got a call from the Assistants who wanted to come by to tell us goodbye. They probably expected us to be at the office, but since we weren't there, they came looking for us. These are great young elders with whom we have become very good friends. We hope to see Elders Labra and Urra again sometime during our lifetime and their parting words were heartfelt and sincere, as were ours. But, it was Elder Lowry who had tears in his eyes as we told him goodbye -- and we will be seeing him in a month when he reports his mission in January. He is from Midway and finishes his mission on December 28. His parents have been serving a 23 month Humanitarian mission in Russia while he has been in Argentina. They are coming to pick him up when he is released.

We finally completed all we had to do at 2:00 and took one last photo of us in our cleaned out apartment.

We left our luggage in our apartment and walked to the office savoring every step we took and reminiscing about the gazillion times we had made the trek and the people and things we had seen along the way. It was nostalgic to say the least, and a weird feeling to think it would be our last time forever.

We had three hours left to complete any training and answer questions. Sister Schoeny had some questions written down and I was glad to address her concerns. I was able to touch briefly on the remaining areas that we hadn't covered. She seemed okay with that and felt comfortable that she could contact me by email if need be.

The chicas told us they wanted to come by to see us one last time. This time Estella, Shirley, Abish, and Daniela came with parting gifts. Estella gave us two key chains and two Buenos Aires mugs. The other three gave me a pretty box for letters and cards, and a ship for Rich. We were touched with their thoughtfulness and love for us. Since our bags were packed and our carry on bags filled to overflowing, we had not one ounce of room left for their gifts. So the Schoeny's will mail them to us.

As soon as it came time to give them a hug and tell them goodbye, the tears came. They were almost inconsolable. They asked if they could call us on Rich's birthday, the Monday after we return, and on Christmas.

We took a final picture with Elder Paz and Elder Peterson as they had to leave at 4:00 to go teaching. We know we will see Elder Peterson again when he comes home in about ten months, but when we told Elder Paz goodbye, he just clung onto Rich and cried. He said we were like his parents. What special friends these two have been.

The Bolentini family surprised us with a visit and a gift which consisted of a Matte cup, Dulce de Leche, and some Alfahores. Gabriela, Silvio, and little Antonella have been special friends. Silvio works with the mission finding and fixing up the apartments for the missionaries. He has been the "go to" person for any and all things. He was genuinely sad to see us go and hugged us with tears in his eyes. They are a great LDS family.

The Schoenys will be a good office couple and we wish them the best as they begin this great adventure.

The Gulbrandsens came right at 5:00 and we knew the time had come. They told us that they thought the chicas were outside sitting on the curb. Oh no, couldn't be! They left about an hour ago, we told them. But sure enough, when we walked out to get into the car, there they were. Sahara wasn't able to come with them earlier, so they waited until she arrived. We briefly spoke to Sahara and gave her a goodbye hug, and then all of them stood across the street crying and waving goodbye as our car drove away. What a sad group of girls!!

We drove to our apartment for the luggage and then packed up the car. We had a nice visit with the Gulbrandsens on the way to the airport, and the traffic was manageable because of the holiday today. We are going to miss the Gulbrandsens even though our stay with them was brief. They have been good to us and their need for us to remain on our mission longer in order to assist them will never go unnoticed, according to them. We have enjoyed getting to know them and serve with them.

The President helped us get our luggage into the airport and in line to check in. After telling him goodbye and as he turned to leave, he paused and asked if we wanted him to take our picture. I've trained him well!!

It was a relief to get our bags checked as pushing the loaded down baggage carts was not fun. A couple of our suitcases weighed over 50 pounds, but the clerks did not bat an eye. Thankgoodness!! We got through Security without a hitch and proceeded to our gate.

Wearing missionary placas brings lots of attention, and two men who work for the church and were on our flight stopped Rich and said they had been in Buenos Aires working on some insurance issues at the Area Office. The three had a nice visit while I was observing from afar wondering who he was talking to.

Then, when Rich went to get us a ham and cheese sandwich to share, he met a man and his wife from Lehi who were returning home. In their conversation he found out that the guy had served a mission in Mexico in the same mission as Rich. Small world!!

After getting settled upon boarding the plane for our ten hour flight to Atlanta, a stewardess came by and said that on Monday when the crew flew into Buenos Aires, they had about twenty five missionaries on their flight. She spoke very highly of them and said they wished they had a whole plane full of them. Rich told her not to expect us to behave as well.

I had often reflected on what it would feel like when we were actually on the plane ready to leave our beloved Argentina. Here we were having completed an incredible experience -- one that would change our lives forever. How would we ever be able to explain to others how we feel and our love for the mission field. We are so grateful for our testimonies that allowed us to make the choice to serve a mission. The church is true, missionary work is inspired, and Argentina will always hold a special place in our hearts. We will never be the same!!

Goodbye Argentina! Will our paths ever cross again?