Diane is Recruiting Future Missionaries

We spent the weekend in Pasos de los Libres. Here is a view from our hotel room. Across the river is Uruguay.



Diane enjoying her favorite past time...



This cute little future missionary was passed around so much during the day that I never did figure out who his mother is...however, I do know who's child he definitely is NOT!

BYU Lacrosse Team Number 26

So, while Diane and I are in Argentina doing this:












Our son Taylor is at BYU in Provo, Utah doing this:
























Tonight as we were driving through Resistencia to go to the airport Diane was getting Facebook updates on the BYU Lacrosse game on her iPad from the mothers of the two other young men in this picture...Taylor Lythgoe on the left (thank you, Angie) and Joey Mecham on the right (thank you, Christine).

Congratulations, Taylor on a great game and have a great time! Keep those emails, pictures, Facebook posts and phone calls coming. Can't wait for ESPN Deportes to start carrying your games live in South America! (That was part of the deal between BYU and ESPN, right?)

A Dozen Signs The Mission Is Changing Me

1. I save and reuse baggies.

2. I have a blog.

3. I think in terms of liters and kilometers instead of gallons and miles.

4. I carry a handkerchief with me.

5. I wave and smile at the military police when they let me through a checkpoint without stopping me.

6. I go grocery shopping with Diane. (I love being with Diane even more than I hate shopping)

7. I unpack my suitcase the same day I come back home.

8. I am patient when I am ready to leave and others (that would be Diane) are still getting ready. (This may be a genetic breakthrough as I believe "pre-trip impatience" is a Heyman family trait handed down from generation to generation).

9. I don't tip waiters (they don't do that here and I feel like I am cheating them) but I do tip the man who cleans my windshield at the gas station (they still do that here, but I don't think you are supposed to tip them...I can't help myself).

10. When the guy with the red car parks in front of my garage and blocks me from backing out almost every single morning, I do not get mad, I just push his car down the street a few feet (or houses) as he always leaves it in neutral. The neighbors watched me do this the other day and didn't think twice about it, the strange thing is neither did I.

11. I habitually end phone conversations by saying, "chau-chau".

12. I carry some cash with me everywhere I go. No more dipping into Taylor's lunch money jar for me!

Chau-chau.

I Thought I Heard The GPS Say, "I have no idea where you are"...

We drove through Posadas again and stayed in Obera Friday, Saturday and for Church this morning. I had a few meetings yesterday with the Branch President in Obera and then I interviewed the missionaries there. After the interviews Diane and I treated the missionaries to ice cream at a place in the centro.

Our drive from Obera to Eldorado was incredible. We took some backroads through the Yerba and Tea fields and then into thick jungle along a winding road. Why did we not take pictures? Because we were in thick jungle along a winding road.

When we got to Eldorado we met some of the local leaders and then Diane and I drove to the costanera...every town bordering the major rivers has its own costanera. We walked a little in the vegetation by the river. Here's Diane...







And me pointing to Paraguay when I didn't realize Diane was going to take a picture...






So, do you wonder what a "hotel" is like in Eldorado? Welcome to the Cabañas Don Juan...






Outside of our room..






Standing in the door looking in...






Sitting on the bed. Lots and lots of one night-two night hotel stays across northern Argentina!

New Mission Logo

Thank you Mark Mabry for giving us permission to use one of your photographs as our new Mission Logo. It reflects a lot of what the missionaries feel. The caption translates into "We are fellow servants in the work".







Click on the logo to see a clear and full size image. Looks like the best mission in the world just got the best logo in the world!

In a While Crocodile!

I have the toughest Assistants on the planet! Who else would take the time out of their busy schedule to help an out-of-luck, down and out crocodile with a drinking problem?



They found this gem on the side of the road at night when they were traveling through Corrientes...



Elder Montenegro tried a little bit of tough love...



Elder Villalobos was a little more gentle...

Drinking and driving are dangerous...especially when the crocodile is the one drinking and the missionaries are the ones driving.

The Word for Today is "Ceniza"

At 1am this morning I received a call from Salt Lake City saying the new missionaries will not be arriving today because they are stuck in Dallas as flights were cancelled due to "ceniza" in Chile. Here is a mental picture for you when you hear the word ceniza...



This is what the dictionary has to say about ceniza...

ceniza

Translation
s.f.
⇨ ash (pl ashes)
reducir a cenizas
⇨ to reduce to ashes
El árbol quedó reducido a cenizas tras el incendio
The tree was reduced to ashes after the fire

(Definition of ceniza from the Diccionario Cambridge Compact Español-Inglés © Cambridge University Press and Ediciones SM 2011)

To me "ceniza" is defined as follows...

ceniza

Translation
s.f.

Change of plans (The missionaries are not coming as scheduled.)

Reducir a cenizas
Everything is on hold (Your plan for the missionary transfers has been reduced to ashes after the phone call.)



Funny how a word you did not even know 4 months ago can dictate your life! But not a problem really, I have plenty of time and lots of patience!

Diane put it best...here is what transfers are like...one change made to this...


Starts this...


But not until the new missionaries arrive...or the ones who have completed their missions leave (13 leave on Thursday!)

So what happens if the new ones don't arrive by Thursday when the 13 leave? We'll implement Plans B, C or D. I guess I better start working on them!

Is this fun or what?