One New Missionary

On Tuesday this wonderful Elder from Mexico arrived straight from the MTC in Mexico!

He went straight to work with his companion. We were going to train them today with an Hermana from Bolivia but she was didn't arrive because of a delay with her visa. It looks like she will be coming next week.

 

 

So...it is a quiet evening at the Mission Home tonight. 

 

 We have 24 missionaries that are assigned to our mission that are serving in other missions while they wait for their visas.   If you are interested...there is a list of how many missionaries we have waiting for visas and where they are serving as they wait on the top right hand corner of the blog.

Los Refuerzos...The Reinforcements (January)

I don't not know how this happens every time but....we always receive the very best missionaries in the church!  These wonderful missionaries are from Peru and from the United States.  Two of them actually came straight from the MTC in Provo!  That is amazing!  Our missionaries usually spend several months waiting for their visas to be approved!

Wednesday morning we arrived at the bus terminal at 5:00 a.m. to pick up our missionaries who had a 16 hour bus ride from Buenos Aries.  These missionaries had also been on a very long airplane ride before that!    The assistants are watching each bus to see if this bus is "the one"!  Their bus actually arrived an hour late.

They finally arrived! We were also excited because this bus also held one of our very best Elders who was returning from the United States after some medical treatment.  I was especially excited because he brought back something for me!  He lives very close to our home in Utah and our daughters Kathryn and Jamie had loaded a suitcase stuffed full of things for me and he was willing to bring it to Neuquén with him!  It felt like Christmas!

It is always so exciting when everyone gets all their luggage and we head to the mission home.

These missionaries came straight from the bus to get their Argentina Documentation done and do all the paperwork here at the mission home.  They had their interviews with President Lovell and got to know each other.  They were so tired from the long travel.

It was then time for a break and some good food.

Then there was training for the trainers...

...and for the new missionaries!

Then it was time for the meeting we had all been waiting for....the meeting where the new missionaries find out who their  trainers will be.

It is so much fun to see the excitement when their names are read and they know who their trainer will be!

Tonight when everyone was sitting together with their trainer it just felt good!  It is amazing to see the hand of the Lord in every aspect of this work!

Our assistants are also a great companionship and we are grateful for all they do for us and the mission! They are such an example of dedication, leadership and testimony.

They all look especially content after a delicious meal!

Here are ten excellent missionaries that will bless the people here in the Argentina Neuquén Mission!

Los Fieles...The Faithful (January)

What a wonderful week!  We were able to enjoy time with the ten wonderful missionaries before they returned to their homes.  We knew that families in Chile, Peru, Guatemala and the United States were excited and were anticipating their return of their missionary.   They will all be missed here in the mission!

There is the traditional journal entree that they write to themselves which we will send to them in a year.  It includes thoughts and feelings about leaving the mission, their goals for the future and their testimony.   They also sign up for Facebook groups with the missionaries they have served with.

 

 

There is also time to just share experiences with each other.

These missionaries are always ready to help with what needs to be done...especially if it will help us get ready to eat!

One of the important things of the day is to hear from our mission secretary about travel and other important matters! 

It is fun to get their Tablero Cards. These Tablero Cards have been on the board in the President's office during their mission.  President has looked at these cards many hours as he has thought about transfers and other matters of the mission.  It is a history of what areas they have served in and who their companions have been.  It is all right there on this one little piece a paper.

We had our last meeting together earlier in the day so we could make the bus tonight. It was a wonderful evening with sharing and testimonies.  This last meetings with the missionaries going home is one of our favorite things of the mission!

 

We were a little sad to take this picture because we are missing one of our missionaries!  As he was traveling to the mission home he had a medical emergency.  He got to experience one more thing in the mission...a kidney stone! 

There are some "special" pills that the missionaries take as they leave the mission to take care of "bichos" they may have picked up here in the mission.  We tell them it is their appetizer for the meal.

We took one picture together and then in walked our missing missionary!!!  It felt so good to have him with us.  He bounced back amazingly well.  He would not travel with the group today but would be able to travel tomorrow!

President took a few minutes to give him his Tablero Card and his mission pin before we needed to leave with the others for the bus station.

Then came the goodbyes.  

The airport in Neuquén is closed for repair so this group gets to take the 14-16 hour bus ride to Buenos Aries!  The buses are very comfortable but it is still a very very long ride!

There are many suitcases to get on this bus!

Goodbye!

There is our Hermana with one more goodbye from the bus.

The next day we got to spend time with our Elder that was not able to travel with the group the day before. We all loved the time we had to spend even though it came with a high price for him!

One last talk with the President.

One last smile before he leaves!

They may have returned home but nothing can take away the memories we have of these wonderful missionaries!