rrramos mejia

Francisco Ramos Mejía bought the ranch where the city is now located in 1808.  Thirteen years later he and the local priest had some serious differences over the interpretation of the Bible and Ramos got himself exiled. After his death the Buenos Aires Western Railway bought the property and eventually a Dutch architect designed the station, posted above, which was converted into a museum a couple of years ago.

In the 1920s another type of transport was born in Ramos Mejia, which was basically a shared taxi company, known now as colectivos. Originally these vehicles for collective transport were small buses built out of cars and vans and were decorated with hand-painted drawings. They grew larger and larger until 1990 when they became standardized. It costs about a peso, or 25 cents to ride. Many of the missionaries use these buses for travel, including several that were at the meeting today.

We had our regular meeting with the zone leaders before the interviews.

 

Mid-day in Argentina is 1:00, which is about the time that we took a break for lunch and the birthday celebrations. After lunch we have a small segment affectionately known as Hershey Bar Bingo. Hershey bars (uncommon, but available in some parts of the city) are involved, but not Bingo. This event was designed to encourage the missionaries to read the weekly mission publication called The Sol. A soccer ball has been cut and is filled with the names of the missionaries that are present. When their name is drawn, they have the opportunity to answer a question which was addressed in The Sol and earn a Hershey Bar. It is our opportunity to reinforce items that we want the missionaries to remember. We ask three questions, and then there is a grand prize—an extra large Hershey bar—if the companionship did all their contacts the previous week.

 

Then it is back to work.