Mendoza Argentina Mission Experiences

On May 11th we took a one hour flight to Mendoza, Argentina. It was a stormy night and the flight is straight up and over the Andes to the east side of the mountain. It was bumpy all the way and Sister Davis hardly looked up from her reading. Now that is progress. Meet President and Sister Lindahl of the Mendoza Argentina Mission.

This is a picture of the apartment which will be the Lindahl's home for three years while they serve in Argentina.

This is a view of the east side of the Andes. Funny they look just like the west side! It was a special feeling for us to see the other side of the mountain. Our home in Santiago is just over the hill.

This beautiful fountain is in Mendoza. Two senior couples took us out for a tour of the city and a wonderful lunch and visit to an olive oil factory.

It was very cold in Mendoza which usually has a very mild climate. But then winter is coming. This country is filled with vineyards and olive groves.

This company makes olive oil for specialty markets. They buy their olives from local farmers who bring in a mixture of green, black and purple olives to be processed for oil.

First they grind up the olives, pit and all. Then they spead the paste on large round screen like platters. They appear to be made of basket material.

Next, they press it so that the oil and water drip out. If you eat an olive straight from a tree it will taste terrible because the water in an olive is very, very bitter. In fact, to prepare an olive to eat it has to be soaked in brine to draw out the bitter water, leaving behind the salt. In South America if you say, "I need to go change the water on the olives", it refers to needing to find a bathroom. Kind of like "I need to talk to a man about a horse". Where do these sayings come from?!

Once the water and oil are drained off they go into these tanks where the oil rises to the top.

The oil is put through filters and is then drained off into bottles. This woman was filling bottles with olive oil. This process is not mechanized as you can see.

This is the finished product. She told us that you should only buy virgin or extra virgin oil. If you buy a cheaper product your oil will be made from the stuff that falls on the floor or is left over after all the pressing is done. Ugh.

Of course, we stopped in the gift shop and tasted the oil and bought some hand cream. These are our new friends in Mendoza. Seniors like us, serving in South America.

These murals decorated the grounds of the olive factory and some of them are award winning.

Now it is time to go to lunch. In South America the presentation of food is always lovely.

Here is the group of us enjoying a lovely lunch on a cold day in Mendoza. Least you think that all we ever do is play in South America, now we will share some work pictures.

Please meet Elder and Sister Arce. They are in their 80's and are sad that this will be their last mission because of age and poor health. They are very dear friends of Elder Scott of the quorum of apostles. Elder Arce is one of the key builders of the church in South America and is considered a modern day pioneer in church history in Argtentina. We were honored to meet them.

Elder Arce is a singer and entertained us during our lunch break. He was dressed in a goucho outfit.

Elder Riggs who has competed in the Weiser, Idaho fiddle contests teamed up with Elder Arce. It was a rare treat. Elder Riggs is completing his mission in a few weeks.

Here is one zone of the three zones we visited. Pictures are important to these missionaries so we always sat for a group photo at the end of every conference. We loved these zone conferences. It was a very spiritual experience as we listened to the young missionaries share their experiences and feelings about their mission.

Osorno Mission Experiences

We were invited to visit the Osorno Mission which encompasses the entire southern half of Chile to present at the mission's zone conferences. Because the distances are so great all of our travels were in airplanes. This is the airplane we took to Punta Arenas. Check a map for this one! It is at the southern tip of Chile. You are looking at the area surrounding the airport. The wind was so strong that you had to brace yourself or be knocked over. This rainbow was certainly a sign of a peaceful and joyful trip and conference experience. The rainbow descends into the Straits of Magellan. The city is colorful, clean and beautiful.

This picture was taken from our hotel room window. In the morning there was snow on the surrounding hills but it melted away by mid morning. In the winter, this city does have snow but not a lot. It mostly has winds so strong that they string up ropes in the city during the winter to break up the wind patterns between the buildings. Don't know how that works but you could sure use them to hang on to.

This is Anna-Marie having a hair raising experience with the Straits in the background.

We saw hundreds of fishing boats like these parked up on the beaches. It appeared that the fishing season was over because we seldom saw a boat on the water. Our visit in late April but us firmly into fall.

This is Bryce with his hand in the Straits of Magellan. We never would have expected to have this experience. The place really feels like it is at the bottom of the world. Windswept, brilliant colors, stark and beautiful are only a few words that begin to describe it.

We only had a small van to get around in Punta Arenas so the guys took turns cramming in the cargo area for our short trips to the church.

These are some of the darling missionaries who serve at the bottom of the world. far from their mission president and church headquarters. They are some of the mission's most responsible missionaries.

This sister is the Relief Society teacher. Please notice the chalkboard and visual aids for her lesson. And of course, any Relief Society anywhere is going to have a vase of flowers. It's a cultural thing.....Mormon Culture. Her lesson was well prepared and I felt at home even though the language was not my own.

The Punta Arenas area has two such lovely buildings for the Saints to enjoy. This is Elder Davis wrapped in the new coat which he bought in beautiful downtown Punta Arenas.

Our time in Punta Arenas came to a close so with President and Sister Lovell we headed for the airport for another thrilling flight.

This was the view from the airplane. Sister Davis doesn't really like to fly but is getting used to it.

We are now in the lake and volcano district around Osorno. The lakes are so large that they look like seas.

This of course is Elder Davis and the Osorno Volcano with a bank of clouds and the lake.

This picture is classic southern Chile scenery. What a beautiful sight. We will never forget it.

In the winter the rains are incessant, therefore many of the buildings are sided in metal which is painted. Notice the lovely wood work around the windows of this metal sided building. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

That volcano just dominates the horizon wherever you go in the area. It is the late afternoon and the light is dimming.

All the missionaries of the Osorno mission get rain gear, jackets, pants, long skirts with the emblem of the Osorno Mission on the sleeve. They really look great.

We are now back in Puerto Montt which is a harbor on the coast of Chile, south of Osorno. Our hotel room was on the 9th floor on a road which ran along the harbor. It was a beautiful view but a little creepy to look down into the water. I was just glad no earthquakes happened during our stay. After doing three conferences in the area we then flew to Coyhaique which is south again and in the mountains very near Argentina.

Coyhaique is beautiful this time of year with fall colors in full display.

These are wild llamas along the river just outside of Coyhaique.

This time I thought I would show you a local Catholic Church. Lovely, isn't it?

South America has a problem because of a hole in the ozone layer. So this is an alert to help the residents protect themselves from the sun. Bet this is the first time any of you have seen a sun alert!

Here is the whole conference team. Left to right: Lovells, Davis's and Dixons.

It was a grand experience which we will remember fondly.