Pancakes, Eggs, and Maple Syrup!

Last week, two of the Elders from Valle de Uco had to come in to finish some immigration paper work. They had to be here by 0700. So that meant they had to leave their area at 0400 in the morning. As they did the paperwork it was very frustrating. Calls were made back and forth for assistance from the office, but when it came down to finishing the paperwork it became evident that one number on the Latino Elder's passport had been entered wrong. It could not be accomplished. They were told they would have to come back again on another day with it done correctly. They couldn't come back later that week because they had baptisms they had to get ready for. So we told them, "Call and let us know the day you are coming in, and we will have breakfast ready for you."

    Last night about 10pm, came the call. We're coming in tomorrow morning. So breakfast we will have ready. Pancakes, eggs, homemade syrup. This is the least we can do for these young men who are working so hard to serve the Lord.

    PS. They came in this morning and the office was closed due to the flu. Another trip and the situation not solved. But they did eat lots of pancakes, eggs, and hashbrowns.

FOOEY ON THE FLU!

I am sick and tired (literally) of the flu. It has finally hit here in our mission. This past week we have had about 1/3 of our mission down with the flu or flu like symptoms. My phone has rang constantly. Most of the missionaries have been strong and have recovered within several days, but we have had several that have really struggled to get well.

    I felt really bad for Sister Sybrowsky. She had been sick, well for just a little time, and then sick again. Her last bout kept her in her apartment for over a week. She was not only feeling bad from the flu, but depressed in having to stay home every day and just look at those four walls. She could keep almost nothing down and was getting weaker and weaker. We brought her in to stay a few days with us in the "Hermana Room".

    As we picked her up with her companion, she appeared pale, listless, no enthusiasm for anything. Her parents called her while we were driving back to our apartment. She seemed fairly embarrassed by the call. She stayed for 3 days, and each day I could see more spring in her step, color in her cheeks, and no vomiting. Each day she would eat just a little more and do a little more. By the time she left she was back to normal-or at least headed in that direction. The two Hermanas made cinnamon rolls on their last night here.

    Elder Hollinger was one of the sickest Elders. He came down with the flu and immediately started running a very high fever, severe headaches and chest congestion. I had him start by treating the symptoms with ibuprophen, decongestant, etc. His very dear companion, Elder Ahmad, doctored him like a baby. He called frequently, and would go and buy the medications I would order, and stood faithfully by. The AMA was called on an ongoing basis and his reply was always, "It's the flu there is nothing that can be done, they just have to endure."

    Well after about the 4^th day and he is still not better, still running a fever, and his chest in becoming more congested, I made the decision to go and bring him in to the Dr. As we entered his pension and I went into the bedroom where he was, I could see his eyes light up. I did an exam, and then asked him, Elder I would like to take you to be seen by a MD, is that OK? The tears almost welled up in his eyes as he said "Thank You!." It was like a miracle had arrived to save him.

    We went to the Dr at the ER at hospital Espanol. He was examined and the MD found some white spots on the back of his throat and he listened very carefully to all the aspects of his chest. He ordered a steroid to assist with the congestion. He did not order a test for swine flu, but I think this is the closest case we have had to it.

    We brought him back to the mission office. There, Elder Jarvis put did these wonderful hot pack treatments to the front and the back of his chest. He had a hot pack that he soaked in hot boiling water and then had Elder Hollinger lie on the exam table with towels draped over his bare back. The hot packs were put on and they would stay warm for at least 10 minutes. Then he would turn him over and repeat on the other side. It was like we were roasting him until well done. The object of the treatment was to loosen up the congestion in the lungs.

    One of the medications was an injection of steroids to reduce the lung congestion. This was the second injection that I have given since I have been here. Actually I am not licensed to do injections in Argentina, but in some instances it is just the most efficient way to have it done.

    Afterwards we brought the two Elders over to our apartment to eat lunch. As Elder Hollinger walked in, he exclaimed, "You have such a nice apartment, I feel like I am in the States." PS, He is now on the mend, but the awesome Elder that nursed him all the way is now sick with the flu.

    As the sick ones get well, it just seems that new ones take their places. Fooey on the Flu!

There is Gold in That Thar Bowl

Yes, there is gold in that bowl! That gold has a tail and fins and is swimming around. Her name is Panchita. She is the newest member of our little missionary family. Even before we left Grantsville for our mission, I talked of getting two little goldfish, just to keep us company. As Steve says, I just have to have something to feed. We arrived, and it just never seemed the right time to buy the fish; we couldn't find a bowl. We couldn't find a fish, etc, etc.

Well, finally, with much, much coaching on my part, and I think Steve just grew weary of my nagging for a fish, we went to the little pet store and picked out our fish. I picked a beautiful, fat gold fish with beautiful tail and fins. Steve picked out a very colorful calico goldfish. Into the little bags they went. We bought a little container of food, some rocks for the bottom, and a clear class canister that would function very well as a fish bowl. (And if the fish died, I will have a great container for cookies, etc).

Fish have to have names, so that was the first big chore. Steve quickly named his, San Martin. Not bad. San Martin is just about the biggest historical hero down here. I tried to think of a female name that was meaningful for Argentina. Hummm! I have it! I will name her, Panchita. I love their hotdogs down here. They call them "Panchos". So, a Panchita would mean "little hotdog". That's perfect!

They seemed very suited to their new house. They seemed to like each other. No biting, kicking, scratching, etc. So, we went to sleep that night with very pleasant thoughts of our two new little members to our family.

I awoke early the next morning to study. The first thing I did was run to the coffee table to see our fish. Yep, there is Panchita swimming around, but where . . .oh, there is San Martin. He is not swimming. Actually he is lying on the bottom of the bowl. No respirations noted. Can't feel a heart beat. He's awfully limp. Too late for fishy CPR. I carefully lifted his little body from the bowl using the fish net and placed him on a special paper towel on the counter to lie in state until Steve could pay his respects. After all, this is San Martin. Then the final act! The lever was pulled! He was gone!

I couldn't believe Steve. He is accusing my fish, my Panchita of fish murder. Yes, he says it was, "In the fish bowl! With a fin!" Well, he has no proof. He didn't even do an autopsy. It has now been several weeks and I catch Steve mumbling under his breath, "He was murdered!" He even sometimes says, "I hope yours dies soon so I can get another fish." We all know that the real truth will probably never be know.

In the meantime, I am training Panchita to be a world famous , performing gold fish. She is so smart and so talented. I am certain that Sea World will hear of her soon and they will send for her. What does she do? Well, this is just the beginning, I know there are many tricks to come. But for right now, she is learning that when I feed her, I tap twice on the bowl and then put the food in. She is responding by when she hears the taps, she swims to the top of the water to be right there with her mouth open when the food comes. Now is that amazing or what! I can see the glitter of all the gold she is going to earn. Soon she will be doing flips and all kinds of special things.

And Angels Watch Over Them Night and Day!

    Sometimes you may wonder when you say your prayers and you routinely say, "And please bless the missionaries all over the world", whether God really hears your prayers. Is He really blessing them? Every morning and every night Steve and I kneel and always include the welfare of the missionaries. I know with all my heart that He does hear our prayers. This morning my phone rang at about 02:30. That is never a good sign. It was Sister Warren from the group of Sisters in a community, San Luis, about 3 ½ hours from here. She is one of those young women that is always having a crisis in her life and has a tendency to exaggerate. So when she said, "I feel so sick, everyone is sick, we're all throwing up, and we have diarrhea", I took this in stride. My thoughts were, "They probably ate at a member's house, got some bad food, and they're having an acute attack of food poisoning. " When I asked who was throwing up, she said," Well, no one actually has, but I am feeling so bad, you better talk to my companion." The phone was then passed to the companion. She was having a splitting headache and said the other three were also. She mentioned, "Isn't it strange that we are all sick, all at the same time. Could this be caused by gas?"

A light went on in my head. Yes, it could. Of course! The symptoms; headache, dizziness, and nausea. It fits. Hurry, open your windows, was my command. Let's check with the ER and see what they recommend. The only phone number I had was the one for the ER here in Mendoza. The Sister called the number, and they said to call a local ambulance. Dial #911. OK, I had been told 911 didn't work, but let's give it a try. Within 10 minutes the ambulance was there. The Sisters were on their way to the hospital. The care they received there was great, and they are all doing fine!,

    Looking back, here are the Angel interventions:

1. Most missionaries call me in the morning and let me know they have been sick all night, and choose to tough it out, or just don't want to call and disturb anyone. Some angel prompted this Sister to pick up the phone and make that emergency call.
   
2. Some angel prompted the other Sister to think clearly enough to question, "Could it be gas?"
   
3. Another angel made the 911 # work, when everyone has told us it just doesn't work down here.
   
4. This small community had an ambulance service that responded likety split.
   
5. This very antiquated hospital had staff waiting their arrival and gave them immediate treatment.
   

Yes, there are angels watching over our missionaries here in Argentina, and everywhere, all over the world.

“Que Linda”

Fall has officially arrived, and the leaves are falling. All of the sidewalks are covered with the leaves from these big, beautiful trees. All the neighbors up and down the street spend time each day sweeping and cleaning their own patch of sidewalk tile. Alas, no one has been cleaning the sidewalk in front of the chapel and the mission office. Probably everyone thinks someone else will do it. The piles of leaves were quite deep and very unsightly compared with all the other sidewalks.

It was a beautiful day. A day that would be much more fun to be outdoors than to be in the office or our apartment. "Come on, let's go do a service project!" With a little coaxing, we soon were both found out front, broom in hand, sweeping these huge leaves into piles. Almost as soon as we swept, I could feel leaves falling on my head and shoulders. Perhaps this is futile. It looked so good. Another Brother and a young Teacher soon found brooms and plastic bags and joined our efforts. "Que linda!" Now the sidewalk will be clean for church tomorrow morning.

As we walked down the sidewalk early the next morning, I almost had to break out in laughter. The sidewalk was once again covered with leaves. It almost didn't look as though we had done anything. But in my heart, I knew I had swept that sidewalk and if even for a few minutes I knew that it had looked great. I guess that can be sort of like things in our life. Things like cleaning the house, pulling weeds, or even helping someone out. Even though the house gets dirty again, or the weeds just come back, or that person still has problems, perhaps, just even for a minute it was "Que linda!" Beautiful for a minute.

Join us at the Mendoza Zoo!

Join us for a trip to the zoo! This was our wedding anniversary adventure. We took the afternoon off and just spent the day, just the two of us at this very beautiful zoo. We hiked up and down hills, and followed the road to discover all these wonderful creations of god.



We especially thought the grandkids would like to see some of these amazing, fun animals. There were many, many more, but these are some of our favorite pictures.
Thanks to Kasey for helping me get this slide show on the blog! Kasey, did I do it right?

Our New Apartment

Here are the stairs leading up into our apartment. We live on the second floor, but in Argentina the first floor is called Planta Baja--then the second floor becomes the first floor--go figure, the third floor becomes the 2nd floor etc. There are three floors in our building. This winding staircase goes all the way up. We even have an elevator, but we don't use it too often as sometimes it doesn't work and we would hate to be stuck there. On our top floor there is a roof patio called a terrazo. Ours doesn't have any patio furniture. It is fun to go up there at night and look at the stars and the city. There is no big dipper down here. It is a sky of all different stars. We are learning to find the Southern Cross. It is real tempting to want to throw water balloons down on everyone. So far we have resisted the urge. Sometines I go up there to the roof and exercise in the morning.

This is looking in from our front door. We bought a big red couch. We feel so daring. We like it alot.

This is on the other side of the living room, it is our dining room, looking into the kitchen. Whoops! I don't have any pictures of the kitchen . It is alot bigger than our other one. The stove and the fridge are the same size--tiny.

This is our fun bathroom. We even have a real tub, not very common down here. They don't put vanities in the bathrooms, so you just have to carry stuff into the bathroom and then out when you finish. We do have another bath, a very small half bath. It is so small, I think a very big person would not even be able to squeeze in.
We have two bedrooms. Our bedroom and then a smaller one that we are using to house the hermanas (sister missionaries when they need a place to stay. That is the best experience ever. So far we have had 5 guests. Later this month they are having a Sister's Conference for the Hermanas and we will have 4 at our house for the night before the conference.
We love our apartment. We are just right above the Jarvis's (the other senior couple) In fact our kitchen window is right above theirs, so when we need something we just holler out the winddow and send it by "window mail". They are great neighbors and its a great comfort to know they are so close.