Gobble, Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving! Our Thanksgiving feast! Baked chicken, mashed potatoes and corn.

I know it sounds like a broken record but man, time is flying! Thanksgiving came and went and we are already at the 8th of December. For Thanksgiving we tried to show our gratitude to the members here in Ibarreta. Martha made turkey thank you cards like you see in the above photo It was great to share Thanksgiving with others. As we remember our blessings we are better positioned for the difficult situations we face, and will face, in our lives.

Elder Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "Everyone’s situation is different, and the details of each life are unique. Nevertheless, I have learned that there is something that would take away the bitterness that may come into our lives. There is one thing we can do to make life sweeter, more joyful, even glorious.

We can be grateful!

It might sound contrary to the wisdom of the world to suggest that one who is burdened with sorrow should give thanks to God. But those who set aside the bottle of bitterness and lift instead the goblet of gratitude can find a purifying drink of healing, peace, and understanding."

The day after Thanksgiving we had a "Friendsgiving" with our English class. We made apple pie empanadas, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, and marshmallow fluff (it's a salad with marshmallows, crushed cranberries, pineapple and whip cream). Sorry, no pavo (turkey)! Most of the members like the food but I don't think they really liked the fluff, it's too sweet for them, and the cranberries are very foreign to them.

Despedida de Elder Gonzalez

On Monday last week we had a little farewell meal for Elder Gonzalez. He has been serving with us in Ibarreta since we got here (3 1/2 months). He has been very helpful to us as we began to know the area and the members. We have had opportunities to join him and his companion on teaching visits. He is a great missionary and we wish him all the best as he returns home to Buenos Aires. In the picture is President Huells and his wife. They are from a different pueblo further away but we work with them often. He is super friendly and we enjoy spending time with them.

The meal was a chivito (young goat). That may sound odd but it was good. Tastes like chicken, not! It actually is very similar to pork but darker in color. Sorry, we don't have a picture of it. He baked it in the oven instead of doing an asado because it rained most of the morning.

Friendly visitor

Martha is still enjoying working in her garden in the front of the house. Most morning she is up early and heads outside to pull weeds and tend to the flowers. The other day she founds this creature. He came up after all the rain. You may not be able to tell in this picture but it is a pretty good size, about the size of a tennis ball. We gently moved him out of the yard and into the nice drainage ditch along the street. It's not a drainage ditch like you see in the U.S. It's really just a trench with water and greenery around, almost like a pond. The water doesn't flow anywhere. It eventually dries up and then the rain comes again and it fills back up.

We have had lots of rain lately which brings back lots of weeds for Martha to dig out of the walkway in front of the house. It makes me think of the weeds that we have in our lives. We all have them and we need to constantly rid our lives of the weeds. Thankful to the atonement of Jesus Christ we can extract our weeds every day through repentance and start each day new and fresh.

Us with Sister Arcelia Casili de Ensanche Norte

Teaching the kids to make paper airplanes and flying them around the church.

This week we had the opportunity to attend an activity at the Ensanche Branch. The elders taught about prayer and that when we pray we speak directly to our Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers. They taught the kids to make paper airplanes which represent our prayers to god. Hopefully they understand that our prayers always reach God, even if their airplanes did not reach their intended destination.

Arbol de Navidad

This is our young friend Bautista (Bauti) Casili with the wooden Christmas tree he made to display in the church building. They are making decorations for the tree and we are donating lights. We'll see how it comes out! It is odd to think Christmas is on the way. Here in Ibarreta some of the stores have put up lights or decorations and the central plaza has several decorations. As of yet they have not turned on the lights in the plaza so once they do we'll try to get a picture. We love Christmas and this week have started listening to Christmas music and tonight we will watch the Christmas Message of the church's First Presidency and other church leaders. We look forward to this time of year to remember our Jesus Christ, his birth, and his gift to us.

Another exciting event this week was me driving into a ditch. We have been helping a family that has a disabled son in a wheelchair. They have no car and needed to get him to some appointments at the hospital. Because of all the rain and mud they cannot walk. So, as we were leaving their street and turning onto the main avenue I did not notice the big drainage ditch. Their street suddenly narrows and I did not notice and while making the turn I drove the right front tire right into the ditch. The bottom of the truck frame was resting on the dirt and the tire completely in the ditch. We could not drive out. Fortunately, a neighbor came by with a tow bar and chain but we did not have another truck to help pull it out. Well, another miracle. Someone driving by stopped, jumped out and hooked up the tow bar and cable and quickly pulled us out. No harm, no foul. All was well with the truck. Needless to say it's not fun driving around here. These ditches and other obstacles are all over and often hidden. Unfortunately, we did not think to take pictures. We were too occupied with making sure their son was okay and getting the truck out. Maybe it's time for Martha to drive!

Zoe's baptism

On a happier note our friend Zoe was baptized! She has been attending church for quite some time and was able to be baptized this week. She is a young woman that attends our English class and is always super friendly. We are very excited she has decided to follow Jesus Christ's example and be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. She is now on the covenant path.

This week three of the four elders here got dengue! It comes from mosquitoes and gives you chills, high fever, and often severe body aches. Sounds like fun, haha. One evening after resting and sleeping all day the elders called us and asked if we could take them to a lesson. We thought they should really stay home and rest but they are adults and need to make their own decisions. When they got into the truck we could tell they were not well. We took them to their appointment but the person was not home (by the way this was all at 8:30 at night). Martha told them she's going to play the momma card and they need to go home and go to bed. We made a quick stop at the pharmacy for some medication and then dropped them back to their home. Today, Sunday, they are doing much better. They are young and got over it quickly, about 3 days. Needless to say we are praying and using as much repellent as we can so that we do not get "The dengue."

Rainbow

The rain and muddy streets may bring us discouragement and frustration because we can't do much during or after the rain until things dry out. But one of the blessings of this rain is this rainbow. When things are getting difficult, frustrating or even downright challenging remember that God blesses us with rainbows in our lives that help us get through the difficult times and is a testimony to us that God loves us and is aware of us. He may not take away our struggles but he will make them more bearable with beautiful rainbows.