Historic

This week, the mission splits and the new Argentina Posadas Mission begins. This is a tremendous blessing for the people in this part of the world. The new mission means new leaders, more centrally located leaders, more missionaries and more resources...not only for the new mission, but for the remaining 4 provinces, 3 stakes and 7 districts of the Argentina Resistencia Mission. It also means saying good-bye to beloved friends, missionaries and places. The good that will result from the new mission is what makes this all worthwhile. Here are a few memories that we will cherish:
















Local leaders and members...
































The jungle...












Red dirt...soccer fields...shoes...cars, etc...








Great entrances into the towns and cities of the province of Misiones...








La Mina Wanda...




And, of course, 52 of the best missionaries in the world! But they will do great things with great people in a great part of the world.




And so, Friday we go to Posadas to welcome President and Hermana LaPierre to La Misión Argentina Posadas...¡La Mejor Misión "de Dos Paises" en el Mundo! (I had to figure out a way to distinguish the new mission Posadas from the original, "La Mejor Mision del Mundo" La Gran Misión Argentina Resistencia). We are glad to be part the historic happenings here. Best wishes to the LaPierres and the missionaries and members of La Misión Argentina Posadas.

"The Voice"

I received a phone call today from the United States, (ok, it really was for Diane but I answered) and as I was passing the phone to Diane I heard "The Voice" on the other end say this, "Dad your blog is really lacking these days. Even MY blog has more action than yours."

I responded, "But I put something on Instagram almost every day".

The Voice, "You can not let Instagram overcome your Blog".

For some genetic reason there is only one person who can constantly criticize and correct me and I do not get offended or defensive. I actually listen, feel bad and change what I am doing. She did it as a child when I was, "blowing this thing way out of proportion." She did it as a teenager when I got Diane a lame birthday present, "She knows you just ran across the street to the bookstore during your lunch hour". She was even the one who told me the truth about Christmas.... "You know Mom hates the store you shop at and always returns the clothes you give her for Christmas, right?" (The worst part was I didn't know that and thought the clothes Diane was wearing were the ones I had bought...for years).

So, it should not come as a surprise that I will be blogging a little more frequently. Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow, Jen.

Here is "The Voice" in action in Buenos Aires last year...






How can you resist that smile? I can't.

I Did Not Know We Had It In Us

I guess Diane and I have spawned a gene pool of Superheroes. Here is a preview of our next family portrait...




I don't know what else to expect after seeing these pictures of our grandchildren...












And of course, at Halloween other kids wear costumes, but my grandchildren just wear their everyday clothes...




(Ok, so Pete and Ale, we adopted Mo for this blog post). I, for one, sleep much better at nights knowing that this young lady is making the world a safer place...




Like I said the greatness, or illusions of grandeur (you be the judge) is generational...and just maybe the superhero stuff comes from our sons and daughters in-law!!!???

Double the Food, Double the Fun

There are 12 Elders working in the office now because I am training new Assistants and new Secretaries for the Argentina Posadas Mission which will begin on July 1st. I have not told the Elders which ones will be going where yet because I want them to work together as one team during their training. I also decided that another good activity to bring them together would be a little hamburger barbecue at the Mission Home together with some basketball shooting, baseball throwing, football tossing and the infamous ping pong tournament. A few years ago, Diane and I copied Chef Bobby Flay's secret hamburger recipe and improved it, so I promised the missionaries "Las Mejores Hamburguesas del Mundo!"



I got the coals just right, let them cook and at the exact moment of readiness served them up...



With the best Argentine beef available ("carne molida especial" de la carniceria Santina), fresh hamburger buns, mustard, ketchup, lettuce and tomato, it was a rich mouthful...(Elder Child was the only purist who had just hamburger, all the others wanted the cheddar cheese burger)...



And they were pretty satisfied customers...they each had two of those big burgers!



I did not do all of the cooking...Diane had carrot sticks and ranch dressing (home made), potato chips and of course her M&M brownies ready for dessert...



I love this picture because even though Diane is in the background and is not eating, she has the biggest smile. Because making her missionaries happy is what makes her happy! After the food, the serious work of the ping pong tournament began. Contestants came from Paraguay, Spain, Argentina and the United States. The finals came down to Elder Garcia from Spain against Elder Acuña from Paraguay...



And the winner was...



Elder Acuña from Paraguay...but we all were winners today!

Hermanas Lideres Capacitadoras

Recently the Church announced a change in mission leadership and structure. In each mission some Sister missionaries are called to be Sister Trainer Leaders. They train other Sister missionaries, watch out for them and participate in monthly Mission Leadership Councils. This is a much welcomed and historic change. Today was our first Mission Leadership Council with the "Hermanas Lideres Capacitadoras."

After welcoming the HLCs, I trained all of the leaders on the new role and responsibilities of these Sister missionaries.



Then I introduced them and their assignments.



During the meeting they were full participants...



They listened...



They spoke...






They practiced...






And they even helped us out by directing our singing...



All in all it was a good day for them and for us..






We are looking forward to many more Mission Leadership Councils with the HLCs!

"And the Eternal Optimist Award goes to......"

DIANE HEYMAN, for this conversation that just took place...

Diane: "Do you think I should keep waiting for the workers to come to refill the propane gas tanks?"

Me: "Are you kidding me? It is 1:00 pm, during the siesta, on a Saturday that just happens to also be a national Argentine holiday. They were never coming."

Diane: "But they told Graciela that they would come today".

Editor's note: No propane means no oven or stove, which puts someone close to the panic mode. It is going to be a long weekend.

All I Wanted Was My Missionaries

We went to the airport today to pick up our new arriving missionaries. I was surprised at how many people were at the airport. Normally, it is just Diane, my Assistants, a few people waiting for family and me. This time there was a mob!

The professional soccer team Independiente came to town and apparently they have a huge fan base in Resistencia.



As soon as a player would come out of the baggage area people would run up and have their picture taken with him or hug him or just touch him! Obviously the teams's colors are red and white!




And if that was not enough, I noticed a lot of "altos y rubios" coming off the plane that were not Mormon missionaries. Then this little sign caught my eye...



Yes, the Beach Volleyball World team from the United States was on the flight, too. And while they were not Mormon missionaries, it turns out that two of them were Mormon. Including Jacob Gibb from California, who told me he started singing "Called to Serve" on the bus that took the group from the airport to the plane in Buenos Aires to see if the missionaries would approach him. The funny part is that all of the missionaries that arrived were from Latin America and do not speak English. They told me they thought one of them was trying to sing it, so they just let it go! Here is Jacob Gibb towering over my Assistants at the Airport.



Finally, my missionaries came. I had to greet them and help with the baggage so I did not get a picture of them. But, they are all rock stars in Diane's and my book!