Ned & Mary Argentina

  Villa Mercedez 50 Years Later - March 19,2026 I believe that the row house behind this tree is where we held church meetings 50 years ago when I was serving in Villa Mercedez. That branch had many challenges back then, mostly associated with decisions and actions taken by certain leaders. We parked our bikes in the front door before the stairs. I believe that through these doors and up the stairs was where we lived while I was here. We were expected to live with families, but they could not be members. We lived with a widow who was in her early 60s, I believe.  The plaza in front of the chapel did not have this statue when I was here. We, with some frequency, set up our displays in this plaza so as to make contacts. The Catholic cathedral was acroos from this plaza as well, so we made a number of contacts when the Saturday Mass ended. I have to say that I enjoyed being able to stand where I had stood those many years ago. This is a sacred place for me. This is where I first ...

  Zone Conferences March 2026 Two of the four zone conferences this week were held in the large, beautiful stake center which is next to the temple. We took advantage of the location to take the group pictures in front of the temple. We always enjoy the zone conferences and the opportunity to mingle with the wonderful young missionaries.

  Beauty In The Park - March 7, 2026 I have passed this fountain several times on my walks but this is the first time the water was red. It might be part of the "Vindimia" celebration, which is celebrating the grape harvest. It is hard to tell how oranate the various figures in this fountain are from this distance but it is amazingly beautiful. As previously noted, these people have done a wonderful job of surrounding themselves with beautiful trees. 

  Cristo Redentor, February 26,2026 On Thursday, February 26, we drove to a high point in the Andes Mountains on the border between Argentina and Chile. This is where the Cristo Redentor statue was placed many years ago as part of efforts to establish lasting peace between Chile and Argentina. Both countries' flags are on display. As you can tell by how we are dressed, it is cold at this elevation. (12,572 feet)  Also, a strong wind was blowing. We were told that the strong wind normally starts around noon and lasts through the day.   We were told that the mountain in the back ground (the peak covered by clouds) is the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. Obviously, it is hard to tell that from where we were. Down in this valley, you can see the road we traveled to the point that we started climbing the mountain. The water beside the road was present for pretty much all of the drive through this valley. There were beautiful views of lakes along the way. The Andes a...