Finding old Baptism Friends and Weddings - So cool!

I have written about the Orellana family who we have seen each time they have come to the temple.  They were the first family baptized in La Banda.  Another family that left a big impression on me was the Quinteros family.  They were the first family I got to teach and see baptized.  

I was in my first area with my first companion, Elder Clark, in Godoy Cruz, Mendoza early in 1970.  It had been a very difficult week, and we had both worked very hard with very little success to show for all of our efforts.  We had no contacts and so we had tracked all day with no success.  We were walking our bikes home feeling very dejected and hoping we would spot another place to knock on a door.  In other words, it was the typical set up.  You expend your greatest effort with no avail and then the Lord does His work and places a family in your path. 

The whole wonderful Rostelli family with the new bride

Elder Clark was ahead of me and I was looking at the ground when two young women walked up behind me and spoke.  I stopped and one of them asked if we were missionaries.  I said yes.  I was not sure what to do next and hesitant to schedule anything since we had been told to never seek out young women.  I was offering some of our pamphlets when my companion looked back and hurried back to rescue me and we ended up scheduling a meeting for the next day.  We worried all night and asked every member we could think of to go with us to the visit.  In the end, we were by ourselves and decided it only the girls were there we would reschedule when we could have a member with us.  We got there and the mother and younger sister were there so we had the whole family, sister Quinteros, Anna, Adriana, and Mabel. 

the happy couple

another wedding pic

Some families that you meet as a missionary really make an impression on you.  The Quinteros was one of these families.  They were committed and were active from the beginning.   Sister Quinteros was wise and kind.  I started my mission in Godoy Cruz and ended it as the district leader in the same place.  I got to see how they had progressed after nearly two years.

The Buenos Aires temple is a beautiful background

I met Carlos Aguerro when he was translating for Elder Cook.  He was very good at it and I spoke to him at the break.  He said I know you.  I thought how could he know me.  He asked where I had been and it turn out he was in the Godoy Cruz ward when I came back the second time.  He knew the Quinteros family very well and he was going to Mendoza soon so he told me he would look them up and give them my contact info.  Adriana and I exchanged emails and then I called her and we spoke for the longest time.  Their youngest son was getting married soon and they were all coming to the temple in Buenos Aires for their temple sealing.  We got to spend three days with her wonderful family.  Her husband was the first councilor in the Mendoza Mission presidency and I would have gotten to work with him if we had gone there.

I got a car and we met them at their hotel and took them to the temple Nov 28 2013.  I got to take a lot of pictures of the wedding and it was so much fun.

The next day they came by the office and we went out to eat.  The following day we went to the historic Boca Soccer Field and then came back to our place to walk in the park and finally send them off to the airport.

This is the soccer field for Boca Jr. team in Buenos Aires

Adriana told me some of the rest of the story.  Her grandmother had been a Catholic but decided it was no longer living the precepts of the gospel and joined a protestant church.  She later decided that they also were not living the precepts of the Bible.  Sister Quinteros had grown up with this background.  She had married and had her three daughters and had also visited different religions.  There had been some recent family problems and a protestant church was being built across the street from them.  She told her daughters that they needed to be a part of a church and to find one or they would likely attend the one across the street.  That was why they approached us.

The whole family is amazing.  Anna had worked to support the family and for Adriana and Mabel to go on full time missions.  They had all served as ward missionaries very actively.  Anna was married to the other councilor in the Mendoza mission presidency and Mabel is married to a man she converted and his current calling is the area auditor for the church. Adriana’s three children had all gone on missions and her oldest two had graduated from universities in the US.

We have been here a year - Some Pics of our Activity days

I have a smattering of pictures of activities that we have done over the last several months that I hope you will find interesting.

Some months ago we had a meeting in a hotel in downtown Buenos Aires with the area seventy and I took this photo from the top floor looking down on the clock tower given to Argentina by England with part of the water front (on the right) and ocean in the background (back right)

This is Joan and Ziada with a family we were visiting.  We were having family home evening with them.  We really miss Ziada.  She was so amazing.  She re-activated this family.

There are a lot of flowering trees in the city.  In the spring we have the Jacaranda trees with thousands of blue flowers and in the fall we have these lovely trees with pink flowers that look almost like orchards everywhere and here is another tree with yellow flowers.

Here are the flowers covering the ground

Here we are with another couple (Elder and Sister Ford - also from Arizona) headed downtown on a Saturday for dinner.

We have a small ward but the members that have been here awhile are truly amazing.  These are the children of the Elder's quorum president that was just released after 7 years to become the 2nd councilor in the bishopric.  They get put in to their callings for a long time because they are good and there is no one to replace them.  We find many bishops that have been in 9 to 13 years.

The Switzers (also from Az) are having their last meal at one of their favorite places.  Well every restaurant was John's favorite.  Here he ordered one of his many favorite dishes.  Milanesa or a thin slice of beef that is breaded, fried, covered with tomato sauce, a slice of ham and melted cheese and sometimes slices of tomato. We figured this meal would last him until he got home.

One P-day (Saturday is Preparation-day for us because the office is closed) we went with several other couples to China town for Chinese food and to shop in their market for spices, peanut butter and salmon.

This is one of my all time favorite characters.  It is Mafalda.  She was famous when I was here on my mission and still is.  She was somewhat like a Lil Abner cartoon because it was a very political and social commentary andis a wonderfully delightful comic strip written by a very astute and perceptive person.

Here is a cartoon I found that was translated and one I remember from when I was here.  A follow on to this cartoon she rushes into her father and tells him she has figured out why Argentina is still a third world country.  She says since we live upside down all of our good ideas fall out of our head.

Shops in front of the Basilica.  There are
hundreds around the square.

One day we all went to the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján.  Brazil gave Argentina a silver statue of the Virgin Mary that is 18 inches tall and they built this basilica around it.  There were hundreds of little shops all around the square selling religious trinkets.  Quite the sight.

We have meet some wonderful missionaries here.  We try and take them out for lunch at least once a month.  They suppose to eat lunch with the members but many of the members can't feed four growing, starving young men.  We are usually are working so we take them out for lunch so they love to go with us.  This was this elders last few days before he left for home to Chile.  He was a great zone leader and so we took him to a real restaurant that served steaks, french fries and a picture of soda and two scoops of very good ice cream for desert. By the way, Argentina has very good ice cream.

Here we are eating all of that food.  Argentine, Chilean, Mexican and Idahoan from front to back.  They were all Zone leaders But I think the two in the middle were the seniors.  The elder from Mexico will be a GA some day.

And I just got back from an Area Council with all of the Area Seventy.  This one was held in Chile.  We are in front of the Hostel for the Santiago Chile Temple with the CCM (language training mission) to our left.  Amazing group of men and note I am the only one from the US.  Great that South America is lead by South Americans.