San Ramon de la Nueva Oran
Just 30 or so miles south of the Bolivian border, Oran is one of
Argentina's most northerly cities. The transfer to Oran
would be my last physical transfers since only one more transfer would
occur, and that one would cause me to remain living in the same apartment.
Good thing, too, because my transfer to Oran was a miserable one, consisting
of a 30+ hour bus-ride during the course of 3 days in which I only had
a total of 12 or so hours of restful sleep!
 Oran was
one of my largest branches as indicated here by the members of the Church
there. These members were among the most humble, yet most faithful
I knew in my mission. The youth program was strong, and the whole
branch treated each other as family. Most of the members truly epitomized
their role as latter-day saints. I'll never forget Arturo and Nora
Vega. As investigators, I think they taught me as much as I taught
them! When Arturo heard that a General
Authority, Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen, of the First
Quorum of Seventy was coming to visit for a district conference, he
told me:
"I'm going to pull him aside, because I have a couple of questions for him." "Like what?" I asked. "I'm curious to know what a General Authority thinks about UFOs." I tried to break it to him as gently as possible that at a district conference it is not very likely to speak with a General Authority, but that he might get a chance to shake Elder Mickelsen's hand. At a ratio of about 100,000 General Authorities to each member of the Church, it just isn't very feasible. Before the conference, I was enjoying the opportunity to catch up with some of the missionary friends I hadn't seen in a while, it dawned on my that I had not seen the Vega's in a while. After looking around the chapel to no avail, I started down the hall and happened to glance outside from the foyer, where I saw Arturo leaning against one pillar and Elder Mickelsen against the other engaged in one-on-one conversation! So what did Elder Mickelsen say about UFOs??? Well... that's for me
to know and you to find out!
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Argentines are very patriotic. It is a country rich in heritage and culture. From the Gauchos of the Pampas to the tango dancers of cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, Argentina features a little of everything. And why not? There's only one country I know of that can boast of having massive tropical waterfalls to the north (Iguazú), gigantic glaciers to the sourth (Perito Moreno), and humongous mountains to the west (Andes) including the largest peak in the Western Hemisphere, Aconcagua. Indeed, Argentines have great reason to be love their country. These pictures depict a typical national celebration. We enjoyed the parade (left) from the balcony of our apartment. The high-flying flag (right) proves how Argentines feel about their homeland. |
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