Let me just say, life is sweet. Do you really want to hear about the little drawbacks? Okay, you do. I’ll mix them in.
We’ll start with the greats. We spent the weekend before entering the Mission Training Center with Steve and Ellen. We completely enjoyed that!
We even had breakfast with our dear friends the Stolls and their son and family.
Then, in a little role reversal, Steve took us to the MTC. Never imagined our son taking us to our mission check in. Too cool for words!
Steve and Ellen joined us the next Saturday to go to the Provo Temple and to lunch.
Our week at the Mission Training Center was outstanding. There were 2500 missionaries there and about 64 seniors headed all over the world. 500 left that week and another 400 entered.
Our residence hall is on the left.
The classes were extremely well done (no surprise), the devotionals and firesides inspiring, and too much food.
We arrived in Argentina Sep 18. Everyone treats us very fine. There are fourteen other US couples here in the Area Offices, all of whom are helpful, friendly, and supportive. It reminds me of living on a military base, you’re all far from home, understand the joys and issues, and are all in it together. The rest of the office staff, about 80 I’m guessing, is also wonderfully kind. I am grateful I speak enough Spanish to converse with them. We have a spacious office with desks, chairs, and a paper clip. Yesterday we were given 3 pencils and a stack of 3x3 note papers. We’ll get computers and office supplies tomorrow, probably. I’m so glad I think it’s funny! We’re also glad we brought our laptops.
Our 6th floor apartment, top one on the left, was ready for us the first day. It is larger than we thought we’d have with kitchen, dining room/living room combo, two bedrooms, two baths, and a patio running across the living room and one bedroom. First day in we had plates, bowls, and glasses for six, flatware service for six, a frying pan and a medium sized pot, sheets, pillows, and comforter. Brothers Bigelow and Dalton took us shopping that afternoon to secure other necessities. By the second day we had hot water and a refrigerator that worked. There are little markets everywhere with tasty fruits and veggies. We’ve been lead to a couple of supermarkets (like super Targets on a smaller, more expensive scale). We have everything we need. We’ll get internet at home in about a month, possibly. Meanwhile, we’ll email from work. We walk the ten blocks to work.
About work. Umm. Well… It seems the Public Affairs Director, our boss, took another position as manager of the Missionary Training Center out by the temple, about an hour away. We went to see him yesterday for a quick briefing. He was PA Director for 7 years and had it running like a fine oiled machine but needed a change. We will meet with him again here at the offices Monday or Tuesday to go through his ‘stuff’. The powers that be are doing a job search for a new Director, it will be at least two more weeks. We’ll all be trained together. Meanwhile…aaaaa, we find things to do. For instance, we go from office to office getting acquainted (that’s very public affairs, right?) and discovering who is in charge of getting us things like a computer and a computer account and a second paper clip and who knows how much rent we pay and how to get a national ID card and how to get another office desk and where the best places to eat are and where to buy salt and pepper shakers with little holes. You know, important stuff like that.
Then there is information gathering by reading the news online and John reading the local paper – including the sports section, of course. Add to that, I work on genealogy which is public affairs with the dead, in my opinion. Bit by bit we are getting our feet wet.
We attended the newly renovated, expanded, and dedicated Buenos Aires Temple yesterday. Ah, peace.
Spring is here, the weather's still a bit cool, but we like it. We’re content and forging onward. By the way, as you probably already know, everything in the southern hemisphere is upsidedown and backwards so we've had to learn to walk on our hands. John's okay with it but I'm having trouble keeping my skirt below (or above?) my knees.
“And it came to pass after we had all gone down into the ‘plane’, and had taken with us our provisions and things which had been commanded us, we did put forth into the ‘air’ and were driven forth before the wind towards the promised land.”
1 Nephi 18:8 ‘with editing’
With my eye patch, hook, and wooden leg, the sharks are afraid of me! 
Our apartment setup is almost complete. We find we need far fewer supplies and gadgets than at home. Living simple is easy. When we take our list to the store we find we eliminate half of the items. The overriding question: “Do we really need that?” Generally the answer is: “Let’s wait another couple of weeks and see.” Since we walk a ways to work we did buy umbrellas. Pretty odd for us to live in a city where it actually rains.
The additions to our office include: computers in the office which have easy internet access, an office telephone that rings only for the person who used to have it, a few desk supplies including a whole magnitized container of paper clips and a box of paperclips, a coat rack we ‘borrowed’ from an empty office, a credenza, and a larger desk with drawers for me. Did you know they even make desks without drawers? John picked up an in-out box; now I can leave him notes. Glaringly absent from the above list is a boss. No director yet. I view that as a good thing. It stretches our resourcefulness. The Church is still in the process of choosing the best possible man to deal with us. Okay, he’ll probably have few more responsibilities, qualifications, and challenges than that.
