On Monday we spent the day with some of the leaders of the South America South Area. They came to Santiago from Buenos Aires to visit us: Jorge Romero (Manager of Welfare and Self Reliance) Ariel Chaparro (Director of Temporal Affairs) and Juan Beltrame (property manager) One of our appointments was to visit the factory that manufactures the prefabricated homes the church is purchasing for families who have lost homes in recent fires. These men are humble and kind. It is nice to have leaders ask how our experience has been in Chile and what they can do to improve the experience for senior couples who serve under their direction.
On Tuesday we had Zoom calls, taught our weekly English Connect class, and were renewed at our weekly temple session.
On Wednesday we left with the Lindquist’s for an adventure across the border. We flew through Buenos Aires to Iguazu, Argentina.
Iguazu Falls are a series of magnificent waterfalls located on the border of Argentina and Brazil. We stayed on the Argentine side in the beautiful Falls Iguazu Hotel.
ARGENTINA SIDE
On Thursday we began by exploring the walkways of the upper circuit which provided breathtaking views of the falls from the top.
Next, a train ride through the rainforest to reach the Devil’s Throat. Iguazu Falls consists of 275 separate falls. The most impressive is the U-shaped one nicknamed “The Devil’s Throat” which has 14 falls plunging more than 350 feet.
Then, we boarded an open-air truck that took us down toward the Iguazu River. We walked the rest of the way down to the shore.
We ended our eight-hour tour on a 30-minute boat ride for an up-close perspective of the falls. Unlike the jungle cruise at Disney, the boat did not turn back when we got close to the falls, we went right in- we were drenched. Much more intense than Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls!
The rainforests surrounding the falls contain 2,000 species of plants, 400 species of birds, 80 kinds of mammals, and 800 species of butterflies. We saw a sampling. Raccoon-like creatures called coati were everywhere.
BRAZIL SIDE
On Friday we crossed the border into Brazil and saw the falls from a different perspective. Truly, Heavenly Father’s creations are beyond description.
Back in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina we stood in Argentina on the banks of the Iguazu River. We could look across to see Brazil on the right and Paraguay on the left. We were blessed with good weather- just a few brief downpours in the rainforest.
We enjoyed some delicious Argentine beef for dinner.
We are grateful for the much-needed break in our work routine. Senior missionaries are encouraged to see the sights in the areas in which they serve. It is just hard to make the time in our busy schedule to do so but we know mental health breaks are important to avoid burnout. We are glad we took this opportunity and will return to our work refreshed and renewed.
Abrazos, Élder y Hermana Lamb, (aka Ed & Debbie, Mom & Dad, Pop Pop & Tu Tu)
Sunday dinner back in Santiago with the wonderful young missionaries in our ward: Hermana’s Dermisache (Argentina) & Andrade (Oregon, Mexican heritage), and Elders Hoagland & Higbee from Utah.
Lambs in Central Europe 