I am skipping a post I still need to work on, but here is one to keep you up to date.  It is just a thought from our Sunday lesson and a few pictures of our neighborhood, and Saturday excursion in Buenos Aires Argentina, and then some from our balcony off Zobells 10th floor and our 7th floor apartments.  (in the city picture you can see little hot wheels like trikes that the little kids ride on their little balcony 10 stories up - it's all the yard they got. Definitely different than our Gilbert homes):



Gospel Doctrine teacher

9 Jun Sun We attended church and stayed afterwards for a baptism of a young lady.  Studying the same material in two languages often gives enlightening insights.  Our ward has a very thoughtful and precise gospel essentials teacher.  One of the usual questions for an essentials class was asked, “what does it mean to have a broken heart and a contrite spirit.”  The answer I have most heard is humble.  And that is a very good answer because it means you are worshipful, meek, or not proud - therefor teachable.  A young missionary used the word "open" heart for broken which is also symbolic of a heart that is not broken because it does not work or broken like an egg, but instead it does not have the walls around it as many of us put around our heart to "protect" our feelings because we have felt betrayed.  The answer he emphasized for contrite after some discussion was the Spanish word “dispusto.”  I have never found a word that sort of summarized the concept to have a broken heart and contrite spirit.  It really hit me strongly that “dispusto” was the word I have been looking for.  I went to the dictionary to make sure and here is what I found.  “Dispuesto” means willing, ready, disposed, fit, available, and even prepared.  That is a wonderful summary of how one should be.  You to provide a synonym of “broken heart and a contrite spirit” one might say the person is “open to God's love and dispusto!”  

Taken from Zobell's 10th
story apartment

8 Jun   Saturday is our preparation or “P” day.  We cleaned, did laundry and I got a haircut.  Joan said it was one of the best ones I have ever had (except for Julie’s).  It cost 90 pesos or about $12 US.

another from the 10th floor looking
down Santa Fe street

 We left at one o’clock and met the Zobells for lunch (Argentines typically don’t eat lunch until 1pm).  They live on the 10^th floor overlooking one of the busier streets.  They say that the traffic on Friday and Saturday is bumper to bumper from 9pm until 2 in the morning, so it is hard to sleep.  We went to a Chinese restaurant they like.

Military post and sky line again
from 10th story apartment

This gives you a view of the city.  We live close to work and close to many of the parks.


We then took a bus to Recoleta Cultural Center.  There is a park there where a couple hundred little shops are set up.  There is lot of jewelry, wood carving, belts, clothing, etc.  I bought Joan a new wedding band (actually I paid for it but Joan was wanting one and bought it)  We were told not to bring or wear expensive jewelry or have anything on us the we did not want to lose, pick pocked, or robbed or give anyone a reason to want to rob us.  So, Joan left our rings home and she bought this silver with gold inlays for 90 pesos – about $12 dollars - the same price as our hair cuts.  Joan says she is married again.

 They have little news stands every where. Here is one of the bigger ones.








Here is a, once, famous singer who is 78 and now sings for those at the Recoleta park.









 This last picture is of a giant art work that is a metal flower that tracks the sun and closes up at night.  Taken from our bus stop waiting for our trip home.

the pedal shaped structure is a metal flower that has a solar
tracker that follows the sun and closes at night

I also have a few pictures from our apartment balcony (left, right, and straight out but looking downward) and from our balcony into our apartment

our living room with the front door on the left
and the kitchen/laundry in the back thru the pass thru

Joan's little plants for mother's day

Part of the high rise to the right which
has a exercise room on the top floor
definitely one of the expensive places