The Great South American Adventure (Part 3)

Figured I better finish up writing about our trip down south...

The last few days of our trip were just as busy as the rest. 

After visiting the people of Jon's mission in the areas around the capital... it was time to take our road trip to the more rural places Jon served. 

1st of those was Coronel Oviedo (about 3hrs from the capital)-- We stopped and visited the Martinez Family. This was the very first area Jonathan served in and the Martinez's little boy Pedro was only 4yrs old at the time. Jon was surprised how much he had grown, and Pedro was excited to see him as well. Hermano Martinez was a special guy-- he had been the Branch President in the area for 15yrs, and had just been released 2 months prior. They had pictures of Jon and his companion from the mission, and Jon had taught Pedro to make a funny face by blowing up his cheeks and pulling on his ears.

Next we continued our journey 3 more hours to reach Hernandaries, but before we got their we were pulled over by the police. We learned pretty quickly that officials in Paraguay were very different from the states. They are very corrupt and target the people... aka Tourists... who don't know any better. So we ended up giving the cop $200,000 guarani for not having our lights on... during the day! (We would end up paying off 2 more officials before getting back home...)

Finally we made it to our destination... we had planned to stay with members that owned a small hotel. We got checked in, and they invited us to their home to visit. This was the Cano Family... Their oldest son Rodrigo just had gotten home from his mission two weeks earlier... and from Argentina! He and Jordan really got along! And their youngest son Julian was born when Jon was in the area, he is four now! They were such a neat family, and very gracious!! We never had to worry about being hungry around them:) 

The next day we made our way to Iguazu Falls which is one of the 7 Wonders of South America!

It was definitely worth every headache trying to get there. It sits along the border of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina so crossing all the borders was a hassle, but we made it! The pictures don't do it justice at all, but here they are--

The last thing we did in Paraguay was go to the temple... we didn't have time for a full session so we did sealings which was still very special. They let us see the different rooms of the temple, and I think it is by far my favorite temple I have been too. It was very small!! I thought the BC temple was small, but this one is really tiny, but it's perfect for them:)

After getting back to Argentina... we had a day before we flew home, so we did all the tourist sites we didn't have time to earlier. We saw the bridge they call the "Tango Bridge" ... their version of the "Obelisk"...  and the "Pink House" which serves as their White House... 

The last little adventure was on our way home...

I hit my ankle as I was getting into the taxi taking us to the airport. It hurt more than it should have... so I looked down and I saw what looked like a small bite of some kind. By the time we arrived in Dallas it hurt really bad, and had swollen up. When we got back home I could barely walk on it. Of course it was Memorial Day... So off to the ER we went. The doctor said that it looked like I developed an infection from the bite, and it had turned into a Cellulitis... which is very painful. We left with what I need to fight the infection, a wrap to help with the swelling, and strict orders to keep it elevated and stay of it the next 48hrs. Then on our way home Jon's car broke down and we had to be towed...

"Welcome Home!!" Haha.. 

Swollen Leg...

The Tiny Bite

24hrs later.. Ankle still swollen... but looking better!

Bug bite or not... I still had a great time visiting Jon and Jordan's missions. We have David and Dianne to thank for the opportunity and we couldn't be more grateful!

Hopefully we will be back to visit soon!!