Two thirds down, one to go

As seen in the adjacent "pie chart" (haha), as of today our mission has reached another milestone. We spent almost exactly 6 months, the first 1/3, of our time in Argentina. We've now spent another 6 months, the second third, at home in Orem but still serving and supporting the Church's humanaitarian projects in Argentina.

What will happen with the third third?? That's the big question at this point. We wish we knew the answer! We suppose the third part could be like either the first or the second:

1. Conditions might open up to allow us to return to Argentina. Nothing would please us more! We loved living there, and miss so much about our service and the personal interactions we had with the people there.
   
   
2. It might be a continuation of the second third. We could spend the next 6 months at home, continuing to serve. This has been a joy in a different way, to still participate in the work but to be able to be with our children and grandchildren in spite of restrictions, quarantines, etc. But we so miss the personal interaction with the people and missionaries in Argentina, and the joy of being in the country itself.

At this point, option 1 looks pretty unlikely. Argentina did really well in minimizing the spread of the virus for the first three months after we left; but since then, the spread has been hard to control (now averaging over ten thousand new cases each day) and their restrictions on travel remain very tight.

The only option we can see at this point that might allow us to return to our "mission field" would be if a successful vaccine were developed and released that could help to open things back up. That seems unlikely to occur in time to facilitate a return by the end of next March, when we are scheduled to finish our time of service. The only glimmer of hope we foresee on this front is that an effective vaccine comes out early in 2021, and if we were allowed to return to Argentina in the spring, we would perhaps be able to extend our time of service to perhaps allow us 5 or 6 more months of in-country time. We shall see! (That might end up meaning that we have four thirds to our mission!)

During this "second third" of our mission, we have focused on facilitating projects that helped Argentina cope with the COVID-19 outbreak. We've completed projects that directly benefitted well over 100 separate organizations, at a total value that is more than triple what our whole annual budget for the country has been in the past. The Church has been VERY generous in these relief efforts.

In addition, as of this moment, we have 39 additional organizations we are working with in Argentina and Paraguay, with project proposals in various stages of completion. These are a mixture of COVID-related "emergency relief" projects and the normal "area projects" for our pre-approved annual budget. Some of these new projects are quite intriguing, such as

• equipment and resources for a program that provides occupational training to people who are homeless or in complicated situations of abuse
• some significant help for a rehabilitation center for drug-addicted teenagers
• enhancements for the facilities in two psychiatric hospitals
• some modern equipment needed in a complex of maternity hospitals

Plus lots of requests for desperately-needed food and hospital supplies. There are so many needs right now, more than ever!

We are often asked if there is any way people can help and support the work we are doing. The answer is to make a contribution to LDS Charities. The donations made by the Church throughout the world come through those funds. Church members can contribute in the same way they do their tithing funds by specifying "Humanitarian Aid" on the donation slip.

Mission Hump Day - maybe?

It's HUMP DAY!! Today marks 9 months since we began to serve our mission, and we have 9 months remaining in our original assignment; we are at the traditional mid-point often celebrated by missionaries. (We served six months in Argentina and have been back at home for three.)

Well, maybe it is Hump Day, and maybe it isn't. No one knows for sure.

It would have been Hump Day if we'd not been disrupted by the virus and sent packing for a mission intermission.

It might still be Hump Day if we are able to continue serving in some form and complete our assignment next March 23.

• We could carry on with our "serve from home" mode that we are currently doing, coordinating humanitarian donations remotely via email and phone.
• We could be reassigned to a different mission, domestic or international, to finish out our term.
• We might even get back to Argentina to finish things up if we are really lucky and blessed.

But it might NOT be Hump Day!

If we continue to serve from home and then things open up for our return to Argentina at some point, we might be invited to extend our mission for an additional 5 months. So we'd actually get a new Hump Day, TBD!

Another option is that we are released at some point and then resume our service when conditions allow—who knows that that means for Hump Day?? (BTW I promise no camels were actually harmed in the creation of this post.)

In any case, we're still grateful to be able to serve as missionaries. We are performing a critical task in helping facilitate the humanitarian donations from the Church to hospitals and communities in Argentina and Paraguay. So we'll just let the camels take care of themselves for now and continue to do what we can to sustain and support.

The Mission Intermission

It's been such a mixed blessing to come home early from our mission—lots of feelings pro and con. People who know us comment, "So happy you are back!" But we are not sure we are happy to be here. Yes, it was a relief to leave Argentina as conditions started to get more and more complicated, and likely would have worsened for us as foreigners in the country. Yes, it has been a joy to be with our family again so much earlier than expected. But the overriding feeling when we left Argentina was, "We are not done yet!" We were really enjoying what we were doing, getting more confident and competent, and becoming more effective after 6 months of service.

We were not released when we came home. We were told that we would be able to return to our assignment when (if?) conditions improved sufficiently. So now we are carefully tracking the progress of the coronavirus in both the US and Argentina, hoping and praying that we will be able to go back. So far Argentina's strict and aggressive measures to control the spread seem to be doing fairly well; hard to say if the coming winter season in the southern hemisphere will bring wider spread. Meanwhile the USA seems to be struggling, so even if Argentina escapes serious infections they may not be eager to have North Americans return! Only time will tell.

Thoughts from Quarantine

THIS IS NOT HOW WE WANTED TO SPEND OUR MISSION.

For most of us in today's world, the concept of a quarantine has been foreign to our experiences—it seemed somehow archaic and primitive, more fit for the Dark Ages or for Third World countries. Until recently. With the desperate efforts to control the spread of the pandemic coronavirus, the idea behind imposed isolation is that someone who is coming from an area or situation of greater risk might be a "carrier" of the deadly virus even though there are no visible symptoms; and so that person must be isolated until there is reasonable certainty that he is NOT infected.

In the case of the present coronavirus, studies I've read online show that the median time for the incubation period (time for symptoms to appear after exposure) is about 5 days; that 97.5% percent of people who develop symptoms will do so within 11.5 days of exposure, and more than 99% within 14 days. And so it has been determined that 14 days is a reasonable worst-case quarantine period. There are mixed opinions about whether it's possible for a person who is a "carrier" to transmit the virus before the symptoms appear; the cautious approach is to just wait out the incubation period in isolation.

So here we sit. Argentina itself was not an area of high risk, especially since we spent the last 7 days of our time there almost completely sequestered in our apartment due to their quarantine policy. However, international travel provides many additional chances for exposure. And so the Church, being very cautious and conscientious, has asked all returning missionaries, both youth and senior, to obey this 14-day self-isolation. We've survived the first 6 days.

It's a mixed blessing to be back in Utah. I love seeing my mountains and catching the tail-end of the winter season and the beginning of spring. However, to be this close to our grandchildren and to not be with them is a little agonizing! We would have loved to move in with one of our two children and their families, but that would have forced them into a quarantine status as well, and they still have lives to live. And if we do happen to be carriers, the thought of passing the disease to our most dear ones is unbearable. So we took the more cautious route and found an apartment, offered to us by our good friends Troy & Heidi Cox, only a few blocks away from our home. And we are making the best of our time while we wait. We continue to serve in our calling, and there is much work to do remotely in helping with humanitarian projects related to the crisis.

It's strange to ponder that even though we feel perfectly healthy, there might be lurking inside of us, swimming about in our blood or clinging to the tissue of our lungs, a microscopically tiny spec of non-living matter that has the ability to attack and disrupt our normal body functions and not only make us deathly ill, but also reproduce rapidly and then jump from us to everyone in our vicinity. Could that really be? Only time will tell. Meanwhile we are feeling ultra-paranoid about each cough or sniffle, each odd feeling of unusual internal pressure or discomfort.

Microbial invaders attack our body constantly. Various types of pathogens—bacteria and viruses—are regular invaders. The wonder and miracle of the human body includes a remarkable system of self-defense against these invaders. So most of the time, we aren't even aware that an attack occurred. The white blood cells, antibodies, lymphatic systems, and other mechanisms disable the invader before it turns into a serious threat. Apparently some people can be infected with a coronavirus but never exhibit symptoms; their body manages to control it quickly before the attack becomes uncomfortable, then overwhelming and disabling. That's an ideal scenario. Other times, the attack is relatively mild and controlled by the body's innate response. And sadly, for some people, the symptoms become severe enough that the response includes high fever (one of the body's attempts to fight the invasion) and then extreme difficulty breathing. That can become fatal, especially in the elderly and those with other underlying problems. We all hope never to go there.

And so in addition to quarantines for those who are possibly infected, people throughout the world are being encouraged to self-isolate—to minimize social contact, where spread of the infection could occur. Those guidelines gradually became more strict as the awareness of the contagious nature of the virus grew. Public events (sports, concerts, assemblies, even church meetings) were cancelled. Restaurants limited services to take-out or delivery. Grocery stores started limiting how many people could be admitted at a time to ensure there was proper "social distancing" between individuals. Any public group gatherings were banned. It's been a dramatic and shocking time. On Sunday March 29, we joined in a worldwide day of fasting and prayer for relief and speedy resolution. We need to all do our parts to help that prayer be answered.

Though I'm disappointed, frustrated, and annoyed by this inconvenience, a thought came to me earlier today. In a time of imposed isolation, Joseph Smith was once reminded, "Thou art not yet as Job..." (D&C 121:10). I could remind myself, "Thou art not yet as Joseph." Things could be much, much worse in our little quarantined world.

It's going to be interesting, once we are truly past this crisis, to see how people have changed, how life has changed, how the world has changed. We hope and pray there will be positive change. With any challenge in life, we should always seek to learn and grow. We are trying to do that now.

The 2019-20 Novel Coronavirus and Argentina

During the past few weeks, the world has turned upside down. It's been stunning to watch the rapidity of the transition. The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) appeared in China late last year, exploded there in January, and then began to spread steadily to the rest of the world. South Korea had its turn in February with rampant infections and many deaths; Iran and Italy followed. Europe was in serious trouble by the end of February, and then the USA's exposure started to escalate. Meanwhile in Argentina....

Wheelchair Interviews in Paraguay

Bonnie and I were able to spend January 19-23 in Asunción Paraguay. Over the past year, without a humanitarian missionary couple focusing on Paraguay, things have gotten behind in doing wheelchair interviews. We're trying to help catch up. We're supposed to talk to 10% of the recipients at some point; and between the Argentina and Paraguay projects, we are currently due to complete 253 interviews in the coming year. Can't complain, really; we love doing the interviews.

The purpose of the interview is to 1) evaluate the donation process of our partners, making sure they are following the right procedures in sharing the chairs with recipients; and 2) evaluate the satisfaction level of the chair user, making sure the chair is working well and functioning as it should. As we do these one-on-one interviews, we have the fascinating opportunity to spend a few minutes learning about the life of some pretty courageous and impressive people, and often to receive their expressions of appreciation on behalf of the Church.

A New Year Hymn

One of the fun things about being in a different country is noticing and learning about similarities and differences, even within familiar settings. Attending Church meetings is a very familiar setting, and so much is the same—including all the hymns. Or at least, most of the hymns.

Today we sang a hymn I'd never heard before. The title was Otro año ha pasado—"Another year has passed." It's clearly a "New Year" hymn really only appropriate for the beginning of the year. I researched it a bit and found it's not in the current English hymn book, but was in the Deseret Sunday School Songbook back in the 1890s. I don't think it ever has been in the normal English hymnbook. No idea how it got translated and put into the Spanish hymn book. But we all enjoyed singing it!