A visit to "La Boca"

With little of our normal missionary assignment available to do during the holiday weeks, we've enjoyed a little more "tourism" activities instead. On Saturday Dec 28 we joined a group of other senior missionaries for a long bus ride to the La Boca neighborhood. It's located in the southeast corner of the metropolitan area, at the mouth of a river (hence the name, which means "the mouth"). The area was originally settled by Italian immigrants, and actually tried to succeed from Argentina once in 1882.

The downtown area is distinctive for its beautifully colored buildings and a lively central area of shops and restaurants.

A Missionary Christmas

I think the only previous time in my life when I have been away from home and family during the Christmas season was probably during my first mission to Brazil, in 1976 and 1977. Even when I was single and living in Virginia, I always went west to visit family for the holidays.

This time, at least Bonnie and I were together, though we keenly missed being with our children and grandchildren. There's not much we can do right now related to our mission assignment, since all the organizations and people we collaborate with, in and out of the office, are on extended vacations. So it seemed especially quiet and lonely for us. We worked to fill our time with good activities.

The Recoleta Cemetery of Buenos Aires

The cemetery entryway - "Rest In Peace"

El Cementerio de la Recoleta is one of the most beautiful and unique cemeteries in the world. It covers 14 acres in one of the oldest and most exclusive neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, where it's been in use for almost a century.  According to the official statistics there are 4,691 above-ground vaults; 94 of them are National Historical Monuments. Among those buried here are many former presidents of Argentina, military leaders, scientists and educators, Nobel Prize winners, and other notable personalities. And of course the most famous of all, Eva "Evita" Duarte Perón (but not her husband Juan Perón).

It's utterly fascinating to wander around and view the variety of monuments and mausoleums. Some are exotic and ornate, resembling mini churches; some are more simple, and others are falling into disrepair. Many have visible above-ground coffins, but many others have a room that leads to under-ground crypts where the coffins are.

Wheelchair interviews in Argentina

Our journey through Argentina during November and December gave us the opportunity to visit a number of wheelchair recipients and do follow-up interviews. One of our missionary responsibilities is to interview about 10% of those who receive chairs from the Church, at least 6 months after they receive the chair, to make sure that the process of distributing the chairs by our partners follows the guidelines set by the Church and that the chair is functioning well for the recipient.  We ask a series of questions to make sure the person was not charged for the wheelchair, that they were given the proper training on how to use and care for the chair, etc.

It's absolutely fascinating to meet with these people. They are usually very gracious and willing to talk to us. Most of them would never be able to afford a wheelchair of this quality, so the gift to them is truly a blessing. Each is unique in their needs and circumstances; we love the chance to learn about them and give them encouragement.

Three hospital deliveries

Map of our journey. Click to enlarge.

On Wednesday November 27, Sister Kenison and I embarked on a journey through central Argentina. By the time we were done, we had driven almost 3500 kilometers (2200 miles) in 10 days! It was an exhausting marathon, but we accomplished a lot and learned good things about our service opportunities in the process.

The main purpose for the trip was to participate in three hospital deliveries, in the cities of Mar del Plata, Bahia Blanca, and Neuquen. All of these were to large public hospitals, which often struggle to operate under limited budgets and overwhelming patient loads.

We also took advantage of the trip to meet with stake presidents along the way to prepare for future projects, and to perform a number of follow-up wheelchair interviews.