Memories and Friends -- Mission Reunion

We arrived in Buenos Aires late on Friday night to a wonderful apartment in Recoleta for all of us to share! It was late, but not too late for Argentine dinner. THE BEST gnocchi and milenesa! Such good memories from such good food! And then a quick walk over to Freddo afterward for gelato!

Saturday we were able to all fit in one van and Fernando drove us around the city. 

Happy Birthday, Tiffany!!

We began with breakfast at London City. Then toured downtown past La Casa Rosa (The White House of Argentina), through beautiful streets and to the Opera (unfortunately we couldn't look inside without an arranged tour). We also went to La Boca.

Cute "walk" sign that actually looks like a "run" sign!

La Boca

It was a rainy day and a bit chilly, but not too cold. Fun to be having winter while back home it's the dead of summer! Chris and Nick both commented at what a beautiful city Buenos Aires is. They're other experiences of South American cities have been Quito, Ecuador and Nick has been to Lima Peru which neither have the European flair that Buenos Aires has. It was fun for them to see such a beautiful city in South America.

Kurt and Tiff had a friend serving in the Buenos Aires West mission so we drove out there to deliver a package to the mission office. The cool thing is that was very close to an area that Dan served in. We were able to find his old apartment and the ward building in that community. Also the plaza where he remembers setting up posters and teaching people who walked by. (The current Buenos Aires West mission includes areas from the Buenos Aires North mission that Dan and Kurt served in.)

Dan in front of his apartment.

The ward Dan served in.

Happy little "school" sign!

When President Berta FaceTimed with Kurt. We all got a good laugh!

Kurt was calling the mission office to ask if someone would be there so he could drop off the package. He got in touch with the mission president who confirmed that Elders would be there and we were welcome to go by. We had fun meeting the three missionaries there (I sent photos to their parents) and Dan connecting over similar places they had served.

Chris commented that his favorite part of the day was seeing how happy Dad was back in his mission.

Dan and the Elder bonding.

That night we had several friends meeting us for dinner at Cabana Las Lilas on Puerto Madera. For starters, Dan and Kurt's mission president, President Berta, was able to meet us! Also Yvonne Bragg, our close friend from California, joined us too. (She and her husband, Mark, are serving in the Area Presidency of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.)

Wickhams, Pres. Berta, Us, Davison's

Finally, Dan was able to connect with his first baptism from his mission, Juan Davison, who also joined us with his wife and 4 children. In typical Argentine fashion, we started dinner at 8:00 and didn't leave until after 11:30! We had such a wonderful time getting to know Juan and his family. His wife speaks English, so we were able to have a good conversation. Cute Lily did a fantastic job speaking to Juan's children in Spanish. (With a little bit of help from Google Translate.)

There was such a wonderful spirit. It's hard to describe the bond that clearly was forged through Dan bringing Juan the gospel, even in spite of no communication for the last 30 years. Dan was new to his mission and spoke little Spanish. His companion (who Dan thought was a little difficult) was perfect for teaching Juan and answering all his questions. In spite of his lack of Spanish, Dan was able to confirm Juan. It was a beautiful, fun evening all being together and feeling like we were long-time friends.

President Berta was absolutely delightful. He laughs a lot and clearly loves Dan and Kurt and all the missionaries he presided over. And they loved him so much and looked up to him and still do.

Kurt, President Berta and Dan

And I loved seeing Yvonne again. I have such fond feelings for my friends in California that I love getting the chance to reconnect! She is also fun and funny and very down-to-earth so she's just a fun person to spend time with.

Me, Tiff & Yvonne

The staircase at our apartment.