September Happenings

Spring has sprung!

Happy Birthday Gregg! 
60 what did you say? Oh ya, not telling :)

Have to tell you about Gregg’s Birthday cake. We bought a cake mix here—yup they have a few cake mixes. It made up pretty well. We made some flan—also came in a kit. Added whip cream, ice cream, drizzled it with chocolate and added a little Nutella and walnuts. Yum! (Perhaps not that pretty) We didn’t even share it with our students.

Alligators?

As we picked up the kids for school one day this week, one of the kids shouted, “Pare, pare, pare!” he wanted us to stop. Gregg was driving so I followed the youngster off into the cow pasture toward a body of water. “Mire!” he said as he pointed to the far side of the water. There on the far bank slipping into the water was a yacare (pronouned shzakarei) or alligator and was probably 5 feet long. Yikes! I was back in the truck in lightning speed.

(Amazing what eagle eyes these kids have. They are constantly looking and noticing their world.)

Story doesn’t end there however. On our trip to Los Perales we crossed a bridge along a dirt road. On the side of the road was something that looked like a very fat snake. If you know me at all, you know I abhor snakes. Well, as we got closer, I saw that it wasn’t a snake but the tail end of another yacare not more than two feet from the truck as we passed. Eight feet down the road was another young yacare.

Okay…note to self, ”Do not take walks down ranch roads.” A stationary bike is available at a Walmart in Buenos Aires and it is on our shopping list.

Cleaning the old farm house:

We finished cleaning yesterday which included ceilings and walls which had accumulated spider webs. This is how one should protect themselves from falling spiders and dirt don't you think?

 Check out evidence of failed walls below.

The last six drapes only needed vacuuming instead of cutting them apart, hemming them, and washing them. They were not nearly as dirty. Good news for Amy! I think the cleaning lady kept these vacuumed more regularly because there was a drastic difference.

The Learning Center which is part of our house

Don't you love the big windows? Oh yea...and clean drapes!

School

We missed one day of school this week because it was Student’s Day. With all the missed school due to rain, seems kind of weird to have another school holiday.

We’re still figuring out what works and what doesn’t work with the kids. Our latest success has been using PowerPoint that was put together by another missionary who taught English in Brazil. Actually, it’s not just PowerPoint but a whole 300 page set of lessons. It is so helpful not have to reinvent the wheel. Just have to figure out what’s best for our kids.

Another love the kids have is writing messages via email to some of our grand kids. Pen-pals have been a hit! I think they like anything to do with computers.

The old ranch home may be falling down, but it's still got charm don't you think?

Los Perales

We found the neighboring ranch just fine this week after the hour and a half drive. The route really is hard with only maybe a quarter of the roads paved. Even then there are deep holes in the pavement which means extreme concentration for the driver the whole time. Any sign of rain and we won’t be able to go.

Good news was that we found the way, have good tires, and it wasn’t raining.

We will be working with three families at Los Perales. The three mom’s want to learn to sew so they picked one of the patterns that I had a feeling to bring and will get supplies this week. One of the mom’s has a sewing machine but I will bring two for the others to use. Glad to know which machines here at the ranch work well.

We’re also going to teach their older children English. There are six kids between 6 and 11. Two of the older children want to take piano lessons too so we’ll gear the English around piano vocabulary part of the time. Hopefully, by December when they break for summer vacation, they will be ready to start piano.

We will be spending about 3 1/2 hours there a week rather than 2 which was the norm. The families are eager to learn which is certainly half the battle.

Feliciano Branch

We missed a baptism on Saturday due to rain. We hear of new baptisms quite regularly. However, we’re not much good since we’re home bound so often. We do not proselyte at all but hope to support the little church branch out here with whatever we can. Often we are used for taxi service. Most everyone walks to church so last week we took a family home early from church because a family member was sick. We took another family home after church but I didn’t catch why they needed a ride. Maybe because they are new to the area.

So sad that we’re stuck here so often but we took time today to visit the manager, Yuca, and his family. His wife and kids only come to the ranch on weekends because they want their kids to have a more stable education. They live in Federal during the week. Yuca told us today that they leave at 6:30 am to take their kids to the bus stop and the kids don’t get home until 5:00 pm.  Too bad there’s not a happy medium.

We didn't make it to church again because of the little bit of rain that we had yesterday. So here we are having our own Sunday School.

Whenever Gregg is not there for sacrament meeting, the conductor has to sing a Capella. However, the piano is in need of a tuning so badly that one can't tell if the right notes are played or not.

Una Adventura:

Again this week, we thought there would be no adventura to report because our trip to Los Perales was a success. The adventure came early on Wednesday, Gregg’s Birthday. Let me set the stage. Last September, we purchased Microsoft Office with an annual renewal fee so that we could have access to their cloud storage called Onedrive along with updates for Office. We knew that it was due this month and the credit card we had originally used had been canceled. So when we got a phone call saying that we needed to renew, we thought it was legit.

However, it wasn’t and instead of simply paying the fee and enjoying the day, we had our computer hacked into and we spent hours trying to assess the damage. We handle all of our finances on-line so it could have been a very serious situation. However, here is the blessing.

When Gregg was asked to turn on his computer by the so-called Microsoft employee, the new computer that he uses all the time with all his financial apps simply would not turn on. He tried several times and it was unresponsive. So we turned on the computer we use for teaching school. After just a few minutes we realized that these guys were hacking our computer as we spoke so as fast as we could, we shut down the computer and hung up.

We called our son Adam to assess the damage and see what to do next. He deemed the computer dead to us for now and not to use it until we get back to the states when he can look at it personally. In fact we shut down all the devices including internet for most of the day. We kept it up just long enough to call our banks and notify them of the situation. First Bank took the phony phone number to pass on to their fraud department. Probably, the hackers were not sophisticated enough to snatch our bank info let alone worm its way into other devises but apparently some are quick and incredibly intrusive so we played it safe and followed Adam's directions.

Another miracle we realized was the fact that we brought all three lap tops with us. We’re not sure why we have three—just had a feeling to bring them all. Now with one dead we still have two computers and won’t miss a beat.

Thanks again for your prayers. :)

Scenes indigenous to Argentina

09/09/2016 We are on our way to Concordia to a want-to-be Walmart after applying for our Argentine ID card. This was how deliveries were made when I, Gregg, was on my kid mission. Still using the horse and cart...saves on gas anyway.

Here we have a lomo (veal) sandwich purchased from a want-to-be hamburger stand. Pretty amazing tasting beef.

Funny--The first day we used a projector for a PowerPoint, we covered the devices with a sheet in hopes the kids would leave it alone until we were ready to use them. When the kids arrived, one of them asked in all seriousness, “Quien, murio?” meaning “Who died?” Remember the list we had of things to carry in the truck at all times? One was a sheet in case we die on the road. Well, there you go. Even the kids know the rules. Die and get covered with a sheet.


Just driving out of our driveway and entering the road. We take this route each day to pickup the kids for a one hour English Learning Class then they go to school. The cows at the end of the road are being herded. Listen carefully and you'll hear the gauchos "hootin and hollerin" to get the cows on the move.

Here are the gauchos again herding the vacas (cow) to wherever.
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Spotting of our first large frog...

...the size of Amy's foot.

Examples of large anthills located in the middle of the road or something like a road.



Argentine ants don't just build any old hill. The homes are tough as cement and the road goes around them until the ants can be sprayed and home dozed over. Otherwise, it's so bumpy the taller kids and/or little kids on a lap bump their heads. The middle sized kids think it is the funniest thing ever.


We were able to get to church today and the roads to Feliciano look the best we've ever seen them. I think they are getting ready for the new school to open here at the ranch. Why have a new school if you can't get to it? Now all we need is gravel to keep them in good shape or the next rain storm will do them in.

Gregg gave his first talk in sacrament today about the importance of reading scriptures. I, Amy, answered my first question in Relief Society. The sisters seemed surprised that I could talk. I was surprised to finally understand a little. Their Spanish here is different than what I've been studying. The "y" and the "ll" say "zshja" instead of "ya". It has thrown me for a curve. I still have a long way to go, but we've only been here for 5 weeks.

Una Adventura:

I almost don’t want to call this an adventura because we had so many tender mercies closely attached to the experience that it didn’t end up very serious after all, but it sure could have been. Here’s what happened.

We were finally headed to Los Perales on Tuesday. It had been a month since we last visited and this is one of the most important things we can do according to Yuca. Since it didn’t rain on Monday as first predicted, the roads were dry and we could make the two-hour trip. We prepared for several hours and then left a little early in case we got lost. It’s a little like the route between Zarahemla and the City of Nephi-Lehi in the Book of Mormon meaning that there are many un-named dirt roads and you simply have to know the way or you’ll be lost and could wander for years. Well, maybe not years but for hours anyway, and since we’ve only been there once, we planned extra time.

So off we went feeling under control. We found the short route to Federal just fine and were just headed out of town when we felt the strange sensation that something was wrong with the truck. Sure enough, we had a flat tire. Great. Where’s the jack, needed tools, and how do we lower the spare tire. We found the tools and even got the lugs loosened before we were stumped. How do we lower the spare tire?

After searching and exhausting all avenues of thought, we used our local cell phone and called Walter who is the fix-it-man in Federal. We told him our situation and we were close enough that he could come to us. Awesome! Yuka has an account with him and we don’t even have to pay.

Doesn’t sound too bad-right? Well we hung up and next tried to call our contact person in Los Perales to explain our predicament and what did we find? Our phone was dead. There is no car charger for it and without a phone we were certainly stranded. We prayed that Walter could find us because there was no other way to reach him. How did we get just one call to Walter before the phone died? We don’t think it was a coincidence.

Walter found us just fine and showed us how to lower the spare tire. You stick this rod about a foot into a tiny hole on the back end of the truck. Then you add an extension to the rod and twirl it around lowering the tire. Wow! We would have never figured that out. Not sure if we can even find the tiny hole again.

Well, then with no spare tire and another back tire that was bald, Gregg felt that we should postpone our meeting once again until we had four good tires and a spare. When Yuka heard that we hadn’t made it to Los Perales again, he was a bit disappointed. However, when he saw the condition of our other bad tire, he told us to absolutely stay close to home and only use the truck locally until he could get if fixed.

The truck was taken Thursday to Concordia to get new tires. Walter is not able to sell big Toyota tires like we needed and Concordia where they are sold is 2 ½ hours away. (Sometimes you feel like you’re in slow motion taking one step forward and two back.) But realizing how much worse it could have been, we were very appreciative that the flat happened so close to help in Federal and our phone worked long enough to make the phone call.

Thanks for your prayers!

Things to be grateful for in the US of A:

                             1.     Showers that work each time you turn them on because they don’t get an air                        lock (Anyone know what that means?)

2.      Toilets that allow you to flush toilet paper and have p-traps

3.     Banks that serve you within a few minutes or at least that day and that don’t eat your debit card

4.     Paved roads with no ant hills 

5.     More than one or two brands of products sold in fact lots of variety in almost every store

6.      Clean streets, sidewalks, flower gardens in abundance, and manicured landscape

7.       Food with preservatives. Never thought I’d say that but it’s nice to have bread lasts more than a few days.

Things we are grateful for here in Argentina:

1. Children who love being with their families more than anything else.
2. Nandoos which are Argentina’s Ostridge’s. These long legged wingless birds are fast and we see them every week streaking around. They are probably 4 feet tall and crazy fast. Hope to get a picture of one before we come home but don’t hold your breath.
3. Happy waving passer-byers. One time I thought a driver flipped us off, but no, he was just waving.
4. Being part of a team where we’re all working together to support family life while raising cattle to feed the hungry.
5. Watching gauchos hoot and holler as they round up cattle for a move. Men, horses, and trained dogs work in mystical unity as they orchestrate migration from one field to another.
6. Chickens who forage for much of their food eating bugs and spilled grain. They taste so good! Now we know what to do with bugs--feed them to the chickens.
7. The tranquility that comes with ranch life. Can’t explain it, but there is a sweetness and innocence working with those who are working with nature.

Making progress

Gregg practicing the piano for church.

We made it to church finally this week by going the "long" way which takes about an hour instead of 1/2 hour. We were a little late but the branch waits for us so that Gregg can play piano for their sacrament meeting.

We are also getting better and better with our teaching skills. We've received some PowerPoint documents to use with our lessons and are customizing them for our younger group. Some of them don't read or write yet. Anyway, Amy learned some PowerPoint skills while getting her master's degree and later in Nauvoo. We're glad for the ability to make school fun for these kids. Lots of variety seems to help keep their attention.

Since we're stuck home for days on end, Amy is making bread the Nauvoo way--by hand.
She prefers her bread mixer.

When the yeast doesn't work--make flat bread and empanadas with the dough.




Empanadas were yummy!


We've also learned how to make our own almond milk after finding a tienda (store) that sells nuts in bulk--well, at least almonds. Thanks google for the recipe!


We are real people now since we got our first mail delivery from our bank. We are so relieved to have our debit cards. Actually, remember all of our mail goes to the ranch manager's mothers home in Feliciano. Well it worked, and the ranch manager delivered the package to our door--literally.


Our students are so perceptive. This 6 year old spotted these eggs from 50 feet or so away as we traveled the ranch roads to his house.

Una Adventura:

Part of the process in acquiring a visa is to go to an immigration office once you arrive in Argentina and apply for an identification card which is what you carry around with you ALWAYS. We have three months to accomplish this task but with unpredictable rain which would isolate us from the rest of the world, we decided to take the 3 ½ hour drive to Concepcion Del Uruguay Friday of this week. The roads were dry in the direction we needed to go and rain was predicted again on Monday.

Everything started out as planned. We left the house before 4:30 AM and made all the right turns, avoided major dips in the road, and even avoided death by head on collision. (Roads here have dividing lines painted everywhere except when you are on a dangerous turn, cross road, or hill where you can’t see. We never noticed in the daylight, but at night when all lines disappeared is the time you avoid passing a vehicle. Yikes! When we drove through stretches of fog, it was a bit frightening even with very few vehicles on the road.)

We finally made it to our destination before the 8 AM opening time. A little trouble started when the attendant needed her morning coffee and decided to make us wait 20 minutes or so. She was the only one who apparently could help us with our particular situation while the other 3-4 attendants helped people who had been behind us in line. When she finally began to help us, she didn’t like that we were on a “retirement” visa that needed to be renewed after only one year. Who retires some place for just one year? Then she noticed a discrepancy in Gregg’s kid mission to Argentina and what was on his application. We only did what we were told to do, but she didn’t like it. However, she realized that we were probably missionaries and she had liked all the missionaries that she had met in her lifetime. 

So in the end, all was well and we ended up “friends” talking about families and hobbies.

Our last task was supposed to be a simple one—go to a bank and pay our $7 fee. “It’s just a few blocks away” was our counsel. Well, after walking for half an hour and ending up where we started, we decided to take the truck. (We’re pretty smart you know!) The bank was marked in our GPS so we were confident that it was the correct bank. However, there was no place to park close to the bank and when we walked in from our distant parking spot, it was then 10 AM and the bank was packed. We took the opportunity to relax, watch people, and eat the snacks we had brought with us.

We waited, and waited, noticing the patience that people wore on their faces. Everyone was fine whether they were attended to that day or not. The banks close at noon every day and don’t open until the next day. Well, when we only had 30 minutes before closing time and still had many people ahead of us, we began to feel troubled. It didn’t look good and we really didn’t want to take our life in our hands again very soon by making this trip.

So, we said a prayer to ourselves and Gregg felt inspired to talk to a clerk. After hearing our situation, he suggested that we just butt in line before your number was called. Go to box #7 he said. So we nonchalantly went to the window out of turn and explained our situation. “Oh, you are at the wrong bank.”, she said. Great, only 25 minutes before banks close. So we took off again running this time. We got to our destination and didn’t wait before verifying that we were at the right spot. “We’re sorry! We used to perform this service but not anymore” was the response, and we were sent off around the corner. Well, by then it was approaching noon and everything everywhere was shutting down for siesta. The attendee was closing her door as we approached our destination, but she ignored our pleas for help as we carried our papers and cash to show it would be quick and easy. “Come back at 4:30 or on Monday”, was the response.

We decided to drive back to the immigration office which didn’t close until one and see if we could send them proof of payment rather than drive back. It was an absolute miracle that we found our parking spot after running around all over town. We got back to the office at 12:30 and the attendees were sitting out in the sun as their work was apparently finished.

They could hardly believe our situation. “That is not right”, they claimed. The banks should take your money! They sent us to another bank that was supposed to be open until one. It was only one block over and five blocks down. We found it in record time, but there was a line. We needed to pay and get back to immigration office in half an hour. Well, it was ten minutes too late, but the attendees at immigration said it would be processed just fine and our cards would be sent to us here at the ranch.

We did it! We have to do this again in about 9 months. But hopefully, the smaller bank will still be taking money from foreigners.

Mission Call for Jordan Huntley

Big news! We just heard that our oldest grandson, Jordan Huntley, just received his mission call to Orem Utah reporting October 17, 2016.

I remember when Jordan was given a baby blessing in Provo, Utah. Numerous times in the blessing his father, Kent, referred to the great missionary work that Jordan would perform in his life. What an opportunity to be a missionary in the very place he was born.

Winter in August-- Week Three

Okay, okay, enough of the rain already! We were stuck home at the ranch both Sunday and Monday last weekend and now Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of this week. Weather.com predicts more rain tomorrow which means we won't be dry enough to drive until Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest. Good thing we have piano keyboards, ukuleles, and my flute because we are finished with the cleaning and organizing for now.

None of the chairs around here were tall enough to become a piano bench so we turned two of the end tables into benches. What ever works right?

Here is our adventura for the week written Friday morning Sept 2, 2016:

Thursday night we spent 5 hours transporting people around. A winter rain storm is in progress and it was predicted to rain for several days in a row. We’ll certainly miss church again. Anyway, can I say something about the road situation? We have to drive all over El Quebracho Ranch to pick up the kids right? Well, we notice that the roads are constructed smart on ranch property. They are raised up and drained where needed. However, the roads that the government is responsible for are a disaster. Storm after storm comes through and we see government workers show up after the fact and try to repair the roads. Rather than fix the water problem with pipes and proper draining, they just regrade and set up for another problem with the next storm. Is it me, or is there something wrong here?

We aren't joking about the mud. Remember this is after several days of drying and we have ten of these gates to open and close as we play taxi driver for the students. 

However, here is how you store your boots when not in use. Otherwise, who knows what might find a home inside your boot.

Ruben works in the office here when he can make it in. However, his truck is not too clean after his trip from Feliciano.

Little miracles:

• ·         Three times the weather was stayed in answer to prayer so that we could complete some important errands. Rain came of course but not when we really needed it to hold off.
• ·         Amy woke up one morning with a terrible sore throat that felt like strep throat coming on. After prayer and gargling with salt water, all soreness left not to return.
• ·         Numerous times we have felt inspired about how to clean, repair, or organize the house.
• ·         Probably a dozen times we have felt ourselves sliding on mud and were able to steer out of danger. Prayer for safety is a must.
• ·         Ideas for how to teach the kids better came when asked for in prayer. We are making progress and feel like we have a well planed week ahead. (May not have school this week but we're ready just the same.)

Still find peace with our friends taking care of us right outside our kitchen door.