Iguazu

It's been a crazy busy week and a half. The day after I arrived here in Buenos Aires, my parents were asked by the mission president to go out to the areas in the campo (country) and take a few things to the missionaries out there, as well as observe a new branch president out in one of the areas. So, the morning after my arrival we began our three-day trip into the campo. The first day was pretty incredible as we were able to stop at a zoo in the city of Lujan, which provides visitors with an opportunity to fulfill dreams, or at the very least, to fulfill some of my lifelong dreams! They said they were one of three (or five, I can't remember) zoos in the world that allow you to enter into the cages with, not just lion and tiger cubs, but with actual fully grown lions, tigers, and yes, even bears, oh my! As I entered the cages and walked up to those giant cats with their massive paws and huge heads, it was easy to understand why these are the masters of their domains. Then, as I was handed a bottle of milk and instructed to squirt the milk into my hand as the course tongue completely engulfed my hand when they lapped it up, it became all too easy to want to give into the temptation to wrap your arms around the beasts and just love'em to pieces! Unfortunately, if you were to give in to that temptation, you would probably be the one that ended up in pieces. One of the younger cubs was growling while I was petting him because they had just given him a piece of meat and he was a bit protective. I must admit, even for a little guy, it was intimidating, considering their paws are bigger than my hands. I was given the opportunity to feed some howler monkeys and was amazed at how soft the skin on their hands is. I would have guessed it might have been rough and callused from climbing around, but I apparently not. As awesome of an experience as it was, I couldn't help but wish that they all could've had more room since the enclosures were smaller than you might see at a typical zoo in the states, not that any of the animals know any better since they were all born and bread in captivity, but still.

The trip into the campo continued about 500km out to the outskirts of the mission. It was a beautiful ride.
The campo reminds me of driving through the central states of the US. Farmlands as far as the eye could see. No variance in elevation. The vast landscape was also riddled at times with marshes and wetlands with all sorts of different species of birds, the most exotic of which were the flamingos. It was a bit different to see them in the wild.

It's strange being surrounded by a language that is so familiar to me and yet so foreign at the same time. I find the words entering my ear almost like English, but as I attempt to formulate them, they seem to get lost somewhere between my mind and my tongue. It's coming back, but it is frustrating at times.

On Tues I took my first solo adventure into the big city by train and subway. I spent the afternoon wandering the city in hopes of finding the famed tango dancers. I wandered miles, and found some beautiful sights including the cemetery where Evita Peron is buried and a beautiful catholic cathedral along with a couple of basilicas. The port was gorgeous, filled with old-fashioned frigates and modern hydrofoils. The city, full of high-rises and skyscrapers was every bit as modern and civilized as any you might find in the US. The people are kind, for the most part, and while I enjoy being greeted with kisses and a huge from the lovely ladies, I must confess I was taken a little off guard the first time a guy did it to me. I'm pretty confident I will never get used to seeing or receiving that particular salutation from the guys. As I continued to wander, I saw their Casa Rosada (Pink House) and various other famous landmarks, but no tango dancers. So, before I gave up and headed back to the train I decided to walk down Avenida Florida one last time and see the beautiful shops. This time as I meandered I found various street performers including a band that was quite good, a couple of statue guys (people pretending to be statues), and some jugglers. Then, on my way back, I saw them! Tango dancers! The tango has always been one of my favorite dances and as I watched them perform, it was magical. I'm not sure if it was the music, or the dancing, or the combination this time that really got to me, but I truly felt the power of the emotions behind the movements as they danced...For a few moments...I really missed it all. Her...in my arms. Holding her close, body to body. Swaying and swirling the two become one. The intensity as I look into her eyes. The emotions of love, desire, and passion, if only for that brief moment, are as real as she is when she melts into my arms and lays her head on my chest. Now that, my friends, is dance. The ability to create emotions where none existed. The capability of igniting feelings that might have forever remained buried in ones heart. I felt the power that night and it stuck with me as I returned to the apt fulfilled. I got to see my tango and I wasn't disappointed.

On Wed. evening of this week, my parents and I boarded a nice double-decker bus and spent the next 18 hrs on it as we drove overnight up to Puerto Iguazu, a city on the border of Paraguay and Brazil. The landscape changed drastically from a somewhat temperate climate to being one of a subtropical nature. I began to feel a little more like I felt when I served my mission in Guatemala. We visited the national park of Iguazu Falls and it was indescribably incredible! We rode a boat right up underneath one of the falls and got soaked, but the highlights definitely included seeing some of the wildlife and walking through the rainforests.

The Garganta del Diablo was awe-inspiring at 50 meters taller than Niagra and the falls spanned such a vast length it was amazing and so beautiful. As I stood near the Garganta I felt the power of this, God's creation, and it was humbling. An interesting thing to note as we were crossing the river on a boat over to an island, there was a young lady we met, by the name of Mara. She is from Peru, but studied in Canada and is currently doing almost exactly what I'm doing. She has been out for 5 months already and expects the rest of her journey to take another 3 months or so. As much as I would never recommend for any female to do a trek like that alone, I commend her for living her dream and letting nothing stand in her way.

In closing, I leave you with a note that I will be beginning a mini mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Buenos Aires West mission, Argentina, starting tomorrow and going for the next three weeks. I will still be logging my adventures. I don't know if I will have the opportunity to post them during that time, but I will do my best. I am a bit nervous about the whole thing. Things have changed a bit since I served my mission. I know that God will be with me. With Him by my side, I know I am up to the task, but it still has some interesting potentialities. As of tomorrow I will be Elder Cox...again.

I would like to share something to think about. Years ago when I first was called to serve a mission, the call was to serve in Buenos Aires, Argentina, not to Guatemala. Things happened, and choices were made that required me to wait many months before leaving on my mission. Due to the length of time of the wait, the call to Buenos Aires was changed and I was then called to Guatemala. Years have past since then. When I first returned from my mission, I had frequent dreams of being back on the mission and I would wake up in a panic only to find relief in the fact that it was only a dream. Slowly over the years the dreams remained similar, but my response to them upon awakening changed from a feeling of panic, to one of longing. This had persisted up until about three or four months ago when the dream came, but something was different. It didn’t feel right. In the dream it wasn’t my place. It was my mission, but it I felt like I didn’t belong there. In the dream I spoke with the mission president, who then told me that my mission lay elsewhere. When I awoke I laid in bed thinking about the meaning and my mind turned to this trip that I had been planning. I felt stronger than ever that I needed to come to these foreign lands and serve the people in whatever ways I could. I knew then, as I know now. I am where God needs me. I had no idea that when I would arrive here I would find the mission to be more than 30 missionaries short due to inability to obtain visas. Areas in this mission have been shut down. The president has tried to keep them open with mini missionaries, but some have to leave and he found himself short by one, and here I am. God’s hand in all things. That’s what it boils down to. I am here now, to fulfill my mission to Buenos Aires that I was called to those many years ago.

For pictures visit my Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=104255429694798

I'm here...uh...or there...

On the morning of May 2, 2012 I boarded a plane heading for Las Vegas, in Reno. On the plane ride I sat next to Jane, a 55 yr old woman who was on her way home to Houston TX after a visit to an old sorority sister that she hadn't seen in many many years. The reason for the visit was, as she put it, bitter-sweat. Her friend was dying from pancreatic cancer. After months of chemo not working, she had decided enough was enough and that she wanted to be able to enjoy what little time she might have left. Since being off the chemo, the doctors have given her about a month. What would you do, if you had a month left to live? She chose to invite all of the people she loves and to mend ways with as many as needed. Jane told me stories the entire flight. Even though I had initiated the conversation, she had no problems taking it from there. There were moments when she'd be laughing so hard that I almost couldn't tell if she was crying and I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry with her. It reminded me of a friend that I have that when she gets laughing hard enough she will genuinely start to cry and I never know whether to laugh with her or hold her close to comfort her. When Jane laughed, it would fill the plane, and while I believe there were a few that wished she'd be quiet, I'm confident that the majority were jealous of me because I got to sit next to Jane. She shared with me a moment where a mutual friend of her's and her sick friend turned to the sick friend and said, "I hope you know, I'm not coming to your funeral.". The statement was made because she didn't feel she could handle the emotions. The ill friend's response was, "You just did.". What an interesting way to look at it. I suppose in a sense we are all dying and are therefore always attending each others funerals. I know that initially sounds a little morbid, but if you think about it in another sense it can be quite meaningful. So, as the song states, "Live like you were dying." and as Jane's friend did, make the most of what you've been given. I recently read a passage of scripture that had a spelling nuance that I hadn't noticed before. The scripture is in the book of Helaman in The Book of Mormon, it's chapter 12 and it says something to the effect of turning away from wisdom's paths. Notice that paths is plural. How often do we have multiple paths presented to us that are all good, or how often does God give us multiple chances to correct the path we are on? As we turn away from one wise path, He doesn't give up, but rather He gives us another wise path, and another, and another. We are only in real trouble if we keep turning away from wisdom's paths and give up trying. So, in the example of Jane's friend, lets "Live like we were dying" and seek out our loved ones and mend wrongs. 

Anyway, back to my trip. After a long chat with Jane (or rather after listening to Jane talk to me for an hour and a half.), we arrived at the Las Vegas airport, and after waiting in the security checkpoint line for an hour and a half, I finally boarded my flight bound for Mexico City. The flight was beautifully sunny, right up until the approach to Mexico City where clouds began to appear. As we lowered into the clouds, everything was black as night even though I knew the sun was out somewhere behind them. Through a break in the grey and black below me I saw a red glow atop what looked to be a mountain. It was either an extremely condensed fire, or as I suspect, it was a volcano. It looked more like lava, but I wasn't able to get a clear enough look before the darkness engulfed my sight again. A few minutes later we gradually dropped below the clouds. Even with the clouds eclipsing the sun's light, the Earth began to glow with red and orange lights as far as the eye could see. It seemed to light up the world the way thousands of candles would light a dark room. Miles and miles of flickering lights like jewels scattered across black velvet so densely that each jewel seemed to blend with the next. Truly this was a magnificent sight. Upon arrival at the aeropuerto I had no troubles (other than the fact that  there was no gate assigned for my next flight to Buenos Aires) getting to my next flight quickly. After sitting and waiting for a couple of hours, it finally showed that I was to head to a specific gate where the plane had already arrived and we were ready to board.

It was an 8 hr plus long flight, where I slept for much of the way. When I awoke, I looked out my window and could see that we had just passed over what I could only assume to be the Andes mountains. It was the morning of the 3rd and my first sight when I cracked open the shades was a desert with a volcano in the middle of it. It was gorgeous! After crossing the barren desert below, it eventually turned into the Argentine campo (country), all of which is flat as flat can be. From the Andes to Buenos Aires on the opposite side of the country there seems to be no variance in elevation whatsoever.

At the aeropuerto I made my way through customs and getting my visa quickly only to find myself waiting for 10-15 mins alone wondering if my parents had forgotten me and realizing just how handy it is to have a cell phone. I guess that's what I get for having missionaries come to pick me up. They are on the Lord's schedule. When they got there it was a wonderful reunion and along the way home we saw the Buenos Aires temple (which is under remodeling and will be rededicated in Sept). Such amazing buildings!

Everything here is very European mixed with Latin America. Home for now, is the twelfth floor of an apt building. The elevators are...interesting. The afternoon was spent at the mission office where I met the mission president, President Carter. As it turns out, about 30 missionaries have been held up in the USA awaiting their visas and won't make it down until June 5th. So...well...President Carter has more or less called me to serve as a missionary in the Buenos Aires West Mission starting sometime around the fifteenth or this month and going until the beginning of June! How cool is that!? I'm so excited! I hope it all actually works out so I can. I'll update as soon as I have more information. I'll post again in a couple of days, hopefully.

Gear