Many of you know my parents are leading the LDS church's missionary efforts in Resistencia, Argentina where my brother Chris was a missionary a decade ago. Candace and I talked about visiting them once Charlotte is old enough to stay behind, sometime in 2013. A few months ago Candace felt prompted that we should visit my parents ASAP. It seemed impossible to plan something so complex on short notice...who would watch Reed, how would 4 month old Charlotte react to 48 hours of traveling through 5 different airports, could we get passports (including one for baby girl)...could we do it financially? We prayed that that if we were to come now, please help us find a way to do it. The Lord blessed us. I told my parents I'd be coming but we didn't mention anything about these 2 stowaways. Notice the blue bin, that is where Charlotte slept on the overnight flight to Buenos Aires.
There is a huge river across the street from one of the B.A. airports. We saw literally hundred of people fishing it and not catching anything. The water is a super nasty brown color. We did see these carp strung up from a tree nearby. Once in B.A., we took a taxi to another airport and flew to Resistencia where my parents would be waiting.
If you haven't seen the previous blog post with the YouTube video of us surprising my parents with Charlotte and Candace at the airport, you need to check it out. The WHOLE trip to Resistencia I had butterflies in my stomach as I anticipated surprising my parents. Cbug and I reviewed Plan A, B, C & D as we weren't sure exactly what the layout of the airport was and where they'd be able to see us exit the plane. Long story short, it was great to see my parents again and catch my parents off guard.
There were a lot of little miracles about the trip. One of them was how
incredibly sweet Charlotte was the entire trip. Would you believe this 4 month old only cried once in 8 days of traveling?!?! What a sweetheart.
Without my parents expecting this lil angel, we had to get creative at times.
Without a doubt, one of my favorite things about the trip was seeing my parents in action. To see a room of 80 men stand when my parents walk in is touching. These missionaries have so much love and respect for them, and vice versa. Here my Dad is emphasizing the importance of "having a plan" and "being accountable". Yeah, I may have heard those words from my Dad a few times (or more). Cbug and I had the chance to address the missionaries, which was neat.
Can you believe my mom cooks for all of these guys? Think of how much teenage boys eat, then times it by 2 to equal the hunger of a missionary, then times it by 80 or so. THAT IS A LOT OF COOKING.
Who better to handle the task than my Mom? She's amazing. The missionaries love her cooking and now her desserts are known around the world.
Being with my parents and just hanging out was invaluable. They are the same good people as when they left. They are constantly traveling, helping missionaries with physical and emotional problems, lifting up both members and non-members of the Church in a large part of N.E. Argentina. Somehow they find time for each other and Sunday skype sessions with my siblings and I.
Family is the best.
My Mom loves to exercise by walking in the morning. Candace and I joined her one morning. It was neat to get out and walk the streets of my parents' city. Here is a pond covered with lilies.
Soon after our morning walk with Mom, we packed my parents' Toyota full of our stuff and set out to tour the mission. About 20 mins into our trip we were stuck at a bridge for over an hour. The reason? Someone was threatening to commit suicide!
After a stop at McDonalds we reached our destination, a Howard Johnson hotel along the Parana' River in the middle of nowhere (Ituzaingo). We were the only ones there and the only car in the parking lot. I was excited as the next morning my Dad and I set out to fish on the Parana', the 3rd largest river in the world.
Cbug was happy to let my Mom play Grandma all day long while she took in the sun and sights.
Dad and I covered some 30 miles of river fishing with live eels and super long earthworms. We had some bites, but no fish. It was pretty cold and we think that had something to do with the inactivity of the fish. The best part was hanging out with my Dad and chit chatting.
That evening we drove to Posadas to have a bbq/adado at the home of some local Church leaders that my parents love, the Taus. This was also one of the best parts of the trip. Within minutes it was easy to recognize the the Taus are an exceptional family and good friends to Mom and Dad. Their daughters adore Mom and no doubt, Charbug now, too. This experience brought back a lot of memories from my mission, when we would enter the homes of loving, humble families to eat and laugh and pray with them. Our time with the Taus was accompanied by a special spirit.
The next day we traveled to a rural mine in the jungle. Grandma got snuggle time while Cbug hand selected some beautiful earrings with green gems mined at the location.
As if the trip wasn't already amazing enough, we took a dirt road a few miles into the jungle past a colony of Indians living in huts to discover this amazing resort!! Check out the views.
Our hotel was incredible, surrounded by jungle and wild life. Buildings were connected by 3 story high bridges that made you feel like you were staying at an exotic tree house.
Soon after arriving here is when my Mom's health took a big turn for the worse. I'll explain later. Despite her feeling ill, she and my Dad insisted we tour the nearby Falls of Iguazu, one of the 7 Wonders of the World. We hired a guide and had the park mostly to ourselves. The weather was great.
These ant eater/raccoon like animals appeared out of nowhere eating people's food. I guess these people didn't mind so much.
Cbug and I really enjoyed walking the park. My guide was fluent in Spanish, English, and Portuguese, which allowed me to practice my Portuguese for an afternoon.
We saw a lot of cool animals and sights.
Pictures never do these types of experiences justice, but you can imagine the thundering sound and refreshing feel of mist from these waterfalls.
That raft looks like it was a prop in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids".
We got drenched standing here 5 seconds for a photo! Baby Charbug was an angel and didn't fuss despite the humidity, long walks, loud sounds, and irregular feeding times. That's my Baby Sweets!
After visiting the falls I trekked down to the river by our hotel alone to put my Dad's fly fishing gear to work. Unfortunately, security said it was too dark to fish. I snapped a photo before leaving. Brazil is the other bank in this photo. Our travels had us wiped out but Cbug was representing the Hot Moms Club well at all times.
Waving bye to Buenos Aires.
HAHA, ok, the thing that caught me off guard the most about our trip was how enamored everyone was with Charlotte. No joke it was like she was famous. Airports, airplanes, restaurants, churches, malls....you name it...Argentines LOVED to stare at and flirt with my Charbug. "Que linda!" we heard over and over. She is only 4 months old and already a head turner! I joked that if we created a Facebook Fan Page for Charlotte, she'd have 1000 fans within a week and 998 of them would be Argentines.
On our way in and out of Buenos Aires we spotted the LDS temple there. Very cool.
After we had visited the mines my Mom complained of headaches and took some migraine medicine. Later when we had reached our hotel, my Mom sort of collapsed. My Dad laid her on the bed and called the Church's "area doctor". My mom was weak, feeling numb on one side, pale, nauseous, and obviously not doing well. The doctor thought her symptoms were probably due to the strong migraine medicine she had taken earlier and that the symptoms should go away as the medicine wore off. My Dad and I gave her a blessing. The next morning came and she was not doing any better. Long story short, plans were made to fly her to Buenos Aires where she could be attended to by excellent doctors. Before I knew it our time with my parents was cut 2 days short as Cbug and I were saying our goodbyes to my Mom, on a stretcher, and my Dad as he accompanied her in the ambulance and flight. We were crushed.
The following week was very difficult for my family and I. The doctors discovered my Mom had a stroke and while she is expected to make a full recovery, a challenging road of physical therapy lies ahead. Things that were easy before, like walking, holding a child, or baking, are no longer simple tasks. She is making great strides in her rehab and we're all very proud of her. My family has seen a number of miracles, including my wife's prompting for us to come to Argentina when we did to support my parents in the moments my Mom was ill.
My parents' faith is amazing. They've decided to stay in Argentina and continue to serve the people and missionaries there instead of coming home at this time. I have mixed feelings about this, but realize the Lord will bless them and us as He has already done so many times. My siblings have all reached out to support each other and my parents in many Christlike ways. For example, my sister Jen is headed to stay with my mom for a few weeks in Buenos Aires as Mom recuperates and Dad returns to the mission 12 hours or so away. Cbug will have Jen's 2 sons for a few weeks so pray that she doesn't go crazy watching 4 kids under 4! We're happy we can help in a small way. So many people helped us make this trip possible, especially Jen who watched Reed and flew with him to UT so Candace's mom Denise could watch him while Jen helped my sister Allison with her newborn Elleanor Rae. Also, during our trip my brother Chris' wife had a baby boy named Pierson Scott. It has been a crazy time for the Heyman family. Thanks for your thoughts and love.
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