Travels in Uruguay!

Hi family and Loren!

Here we are at Tres Cruces waiting for a bus to Triente y Tres. Chris showed me the cyber cafe where he has emailed us many times. So here we are because this was one place I really wanted to see.

So here´s the scoop--
(forgive the errors--Chris wasn´t kidding--the keyboards are crazy!)

Chris looks great! He smiles the same, he talks the same (except he speaks crazy fast in Spanish) and his laugh is the same. He loves the people here and it shows. And the people here love him. The hardest thing here to watch is the people hug Chris good-bye and cry. They will miss him very much. They tell me so. My favorite thing so far has been sitting in the taxis and listening to him talk to and teach the drivers. Very cool. I am excited to see the outlying areas in Uruguay--so far we have seen the nice area around the temple and the mission home.

Love ya´ll , we´ll see you soon!
Mom

Hey yall waz up. im here with mom and dad and im really exited to go home and see yall. it sounds like yall are good. but ya better get prepared to get tickled to death.hahahaha. well see yall later. chou (Chris)

Hi Everyone!

Here we are in Buenos Aires, Argentina with 3 hours left before our flight. We figured we would get a letter to Chris and Loren, (wait, not Chris--he is standing right here beside me!) We left Montevideo just about an hour ago and it is only a 30 minute flight to Buenos Aires. We will spend the rest of the night flying and should arrive in Dallas around 7 a.m. Then it will be on to SLC hopefully just after 11 a.m.

Last night we went to a real live professional soccer game. They take their futbol seriously here!!! We had to pay extra to make sure we were out of the section (the barra bravos Chris tells me) where there are lots of knives and guns and things better go their way or we will know about it! It was the security officer that told us that! Anyway, we had a great time watching great soccer and because Elder King and Elder Chris are still missionaries we had to leave the game 15 minutes early to make it home (hotel) in time for curfew. Good thing we left early. We actually found a taxi, and the end of the game there was a last second goal that didn´t count and it was who everyone was cheering for! It was crazy! The whole end of the stadium where the barra bravos were stood and jumped up and down and sang very loud songs with banners flying and fireworks shooting (not the legal Utah kinds either)!!! (and Chris adds-- not the legal drugs either!) Anyway, we´re out of Uruguay safe and sound and on our way home.

Except immigration had a problem with Chris´ exit information (apparently he didn´t "check in" properly two years ago - he didn´t take out his identification cedula (credentials?) and they told him he might have to stay in Uruguay until he straightened it out. But Shaun and I were free to go they said. Needless to say, they still marked Shaun and my luggage as "stand-by" so we hope they end up in Utah sometime soon. Tomorrow would be preferable! Then after a few computer checks and a discussion or two between immigration officials, they stamped his passport and let him through. I´m not sure if he was happy or not. I think he wanted to stay in Uruguay a little longer.

We are having a great time! This morning we went to church in Colon where Chris served as a missionary for 4 and a half months. There we met two families that Chris had taught and baptized. The father, Gerard, was so surprised when he saw Chris! He just kept hugging him and hugging him and saying thank you, thank you (except it was gracias, gracias) then coming to thank us for sending him. Good Grief! I was in tears and we had only been there a few minutes!! Everyone kept telling us how much they loved Chris and what a good missionary he was, and even from the pulpit the counselor in the bishopric cried as he talked about what a great missionary Chris was and how much they would miss him. Then they asked Shaun and I to bear our testimonies and Chris could translate. Talk about getting put on the spot! Fortunately Chris pulled us through!

Well, I guess I better leave time for Shaun and Chris to write. We all need lots of time--these keyboards are all mixed up!

yo yo yo whats up in the house or were ever you happen to be. mom is never going to make fun of me any more for writing without caps and all that stuff. so we had a rockin week. we went up to 33 and had a good asada (mom and dad didn´t have the guts to try the guts) but they were super good. and then last night we went to a soccer game, Nacional against River. it was super fun except mom about froze to death. we only picked a few fights and won all of them. and, of course, river won the game. i have mixed emotions about leaving uruguay. it really stinks. don´t get me wrong, i´m excited to see you, but it´s kind of tough coming home. at least mom and dad passed as not being tourists. they fit in pretty good and we didnt get robbed.

Hey Loren: Its dad. We haven´t been robbed YET. We still have to get away from Buenos Aires in one piece. We have had a great time here. Yoúve gotten a lot of the news. I´ll fill you in a little more on the food. Our picky eater Chris is no longer so picky. I guess that´s what hunger will do! This member in 33 served us lamb´s tongue (a much prized delicacy no doubt - but I´ve learned to run when I hear that word "delicacy". It usually means something you don´t find on the usual menu for a very good reason). Chris gobbled it right down with a hearty "yum"! Blood sausage was next. "You´ve go to try it" he says, "It´s great!" I said maybe later. (Not on your life). Cow intestine was the next tasty treat on the menu. At least it was tasty according to Chris. I was suddenly full when that piece came around. But, I found myself thinking that this must be just the kind of thing that Loren likes by now -- if he´s gotten hungry enough to try it;)

It has been a great adventure to come and pick Chris up. The highlight was seeing the gratitude of the new members introduced to the Church by Chris. That made all the sacrifice worthwhile to see the light in their eyes and their joy in finding the gospel. It really warmed our hearts to see the love they had for Chris. Everyone talked about what a hard worker Chris was. This seemed to be one of the traits that really stood out to them. Several members talked about him always having blisters on his hands from helping people. Sure enough, he has some right now. The members were so friendly. I´ve never been kissed so much in my life! Chris seems a little melancholy now flying away from it all. I remember the same feelings myself. Still, what great memories he will always have for his hard work and faithful service here. Loren. We are so excited to think of you having these same kinds of experiences in the Philippines. What a blessing it is to bring the light of the Gospel into a person´s life, and to watch the change. These people Chris baptized a short time ago have already become stalwarts in the ward. One is a secretary to the Bishop and gave the priesthood lesson today, and another conducted sunday school. Well, my time is up here at the internet booth at the airport. We love you and are praying for your happiness and success always. Love Dad