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.

After we had been back for a few weeks, we were asked by the Missionary Department if we might be willing to accept an assignment to a different mission if needed, perhaps temporarily while we wait for Argentina to open up. That could happen as early as the end of June. Of course we would be willing. Argentina's current policy forbids any incoming commercial flights until a least September 1, which will also be a factor impacting the eventual decision. We shall see what the future holds!

So for now, we're waiting and hoping. And staying involved. BOY are we staying involved!

At work while we were in our 14-day-quarantine apartment

We are continuing to coordinate all the humanitarian aid projects for Argentina (and Paraguay), through email, phone calls, videoconferencing, and online chats. All of Argentina has been under very strict lockdown. The Church employees from the Area Office are almost all working from home. Many businesses are struggling to maintain supplies and accomplish deliveries, making it difficult to process orders. So none of this is easy. But the needs are growing.

Starting at the end of March, we were instructed that all of our humanitarian projects for now would focus on COVID-19 issues. The requests for donations started to pour in—from hospitals, clinics, emergency response services, and food banks. One very large combined purchase of PPE (face masks, protective gowns, and disposable gloves) was planned—the most requested and needed items. In the next few weeks, we quickly were up to 30 different requests that came from all around the country. In addition to the standard PPE items listed above, there were scores of additional specialized items, as well as beds and mattresses, cleaning and sterilizing supplies, and LOTS of food requests since so many of the people are struggling financially.

So through all of April and the beginning of May, Bonnie and I have been putting in 8-10 hours (or more) of work each day, and we've been busy even on Saturdays and Sundays. It's been crazy! We're actually much busier now than we were when we were in Argentina. We're very grateful to be able to continue to contribute; we only wish we still had the "personal human interaction" that only comes in face-to-face meetings. Things are finally starting to taper off in mid-May, so we're hoping we're over the worst of the demands, and are able to expand our home activities a little more.

Our hearts are very much still connected to Argentina right now. Here's a photo of us in front of an Argentinian Bakery in Orem, with a delicious "medialuna" which is one of the things we dearly miss.