Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Travel Adventure

I am safely in Posadas.  I left Provo with a group of some 15-20 missionaries all going to Argentina.  A lot were actually going to Neuquén, where Sam served.  (Speaking of, did you know Neuquén is a palindrome?  I just realized that the other day!)  But only the four of us, Elder Russell (de Idaho), Hermana Marvian (de Vegas), Hermana Woolf (de Arizona), y yo, were going to Posadas.  We had quite the adventure getting here.  We lost our companion in Atlanta and our luggage in Buenos Aires.  But everything is working out.  We got our luggage back this morning, and the mission president just this second is leaving to collect our companion. 

So here's the story:  As we were boarding the plane in Salt Lake City, the flight attendants practically begged the passengers to check their larger carry-on bags.  Hermana Marvian and I both had heavy bags that were just full of books, so we were eager to get rid of them.  At the last second, Elder Russell decided to check his bag also.  When we arrived in Atlanta, we went to check in for our flight to Buenos Aires.  That's when Elder Russell realized that he didn't have his passport - it was in the bag he had checked at the last second.  He explained the problem to the people at the check-in desk, and they agreed to go look for it.  But they couldn't find his bag in time, so they couldn't let him on the plane.  Per instruction, we had to leave him behind.  The whole situation didn't make sense to me, because we had to wait for them to pull his checked bags off the plane anyway, so why couldn't they just let him on once they found the bags?  It was so bizarre.  I guess God must have needed him to stay behind in Atlanta for some reason, because there should not have been any problem in finding his passport and getting him on the plane.  I'm excited to talk to him once he returns with President LaPierre and see what happened after we parted ways.
The rest of us made it to Buenos Aires in one piece, but then we had to wait four hours for our luggage.  A little voice kept announcing on the loudspeaker, "Debida a las condiciones meteorologicas..." Due to the weather, there will be a delay in baggage.  It was raining.  I don't know why they aren't equipped to handle rain.  Anyway, because we had to wait so long for our bags, we were late to our flight to Posadas.  An hour late, to be precise.  Somehow the airplane still had not left.  We checked our bags and practically ran through security to catch the flight.  We made it onto the plane, but our luggage did not.  So we arrived in Posadas with just our carry-on luggage.  Fortunately I had thought to pack an extra dress in my carry-on in case of just such an event.  But our luggage came in on the next flight, and the elders picked it up for us this morning.  Thank goodness.
Posadas is quite possibly the most beautiful city I have ever seen.  But it is HOT!  Fortunately we're staying at the mission home, which is air-conditioned, but that won't last much longer.  President and Sister LaPierre are lovely.  They picked us up from the airport with all the office elders and a large banner that said "Welcome to Argentina Posadas, the best mission in the world!"  Or something like that.  Then we went straight from the airport to a baptism.  What a great way to start the mission!
I still don't know who my companion will be, or the name of my first area, but my president told me I will be just across the river in Paraguay.  How exciting!
I love being here!  I can't wait to get to work!
Love,
Hermana Watts


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