Yes, that's right this dog doesn't have any hair. They are fairly common here.

You would think that after more than 8 months here the weeks would start to blend, but that’s just not the case. Every week has its unique experiences and challenges. There just isn’t a typical week. Our week started with a great visit to our favorite beach, Playa Bahia Blanca. It is about an hour North of here. Getting there can be an adventure of its own. We travel on the Pan-American Highway for most of the way and then through some neighborhoods that are filled with incomplete houses. One of the service missionaries told us that it could be a little sketchy driving through those neighborhoods but we never have felt that way. This week was the last week before public school started up again. It was a little less busy than last time which has never been real busy.  It’s really fun to see families playing together at the beach.


This week we had a surprise visit to the Temple with one of the new members we have been working with. He is a 30-year-old who was in the military and now has a good job. He saw a post on social media by 2 Sister Missionaries in the United States and replied to the post. They sent a referral to our mission. He lives a couple blocks away and was taught by the missionaries serving as the President's Assistants. He was baptized about a month ago, has received the Priesthood, and has blessed the Sacrament. We have met with him a few times and were scheduled to meet with him so he could find some family names and go to the Temple for the first time. On Thursday the missionaries called us to see if we could go with him and them to the Temple on Saturday. They found out that the Temple would be closed for 2 weeks and wanted to see if he could go before it closed. 


Since we had planned to meet with him on Friday to teach him how to find names with FamilySearch the timing was perfect. As it turned out he had to cancel at the last minute. We were a little sad about that because he could not take family names for his first visit to the Temple. It worked out great, however. The Temple was busy and sometimes worrying about the extra logistics of doing family names can make the experience a little more complicated, especially on a busy day. The Temple experience turned out great. He was able to be baptized and was able to baptize the missionaries and several others. When we met at the church so we could go to the Temple together he showed up in his work clothes. When he saw us and the Elders in our normal missionary clothes it struck him that it would be better if he wore his suit. (He bought one soon after he was baptized) Since he only lives a few blocks away he ran home to change. When he walked up to where we were meeting we all thought he looked like a Bishop. 


We continued doing house inspections (get used to it, I am). SInce there are more than 70 houses and we do about 8 houses a week some of the missionaries get transferred and get to have 2 inspections or more in different houses. One of our inspections this week was to a house where one of the Elders just had an inspection in a different house 2 or 3 weeks ago. That inspection wasn’t the best. It wasn’t the worst either. Let’s just say there was room for repentance. When we did the inspection this week the house was one of the best in the mission. This Elder had mentioned how bad it was when he got there and how hard he and his companion have been working to get it cleaned up. I was impressed with this rather new missionary and his humble effort to be obedient and improve. I know it sounds simple but it was super touching for me to see his attitude. 


Hermana Borup got to spend all day Friday at the Mexican embassy. One of the Hermanas, who is from Peru and has been waiting for one year for a visa to go to Mexico, needed someone to be her companion while she was  at the embassy getting her visa. Her only regret was not being able to eat Mexican food. DO you think the Mexican embassy should offer Mexican food for those waiting? They don’t!


I told you to stay tuned to the story of Anthony, the young man I invited to get baptized. Well here is the rest of the story. We left off with him having a Baptismal date in the middle of April. On Friday the Hermanas who are teaching him called and asked if we could come to his baptism on Sunday. What? I thought? What? To make a long story short he didn’t need to wait. He was ready, He has a testimony of the restored Church of Jesus Christ and is willing and ready to make this amazing covenant. We were able to go to his baptism. There was a very special spirit as usual, but this one seemed a little more special to me. He’s a wonderful young man with a budding testimony.


Ok, I could go on and on, but I won’t. (You are welcome) This was an extraordinary week for us. We hope it was for you also. 


Your friends,

Hermana Y Elder Borup


We gave these Hermanas a candy bar for having a great house. They gave us a sucker.

One of these is different from the other. However, they are both clean!

A look at some of one of the areas from a missionary house.

This is taken from the Church in Torre Blanca.

Look who we ran into while teaching one of our friends. They had the same idea.

He looks like a Bishop, doesn't he?

We always look better in front of the Temple with Missionaries.

The cherry on the cake.

 

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