Dos actividades

     Welcome back to another blog post from Chile, and thanks for supporting us.  First, I would like to describe the funeral we attended on Wednesday.  This man was a branch president with a wife and two sons.  He had cancer for a long time.  President Warne visited with him several times, including the day before and was with him at the end accompanying family members.  There is no embalming in Chile so the funeral must take place no sooner than 24 hours later and no later than 48. 

     It was amazing how quickly everyone gathered to make it happen.  Talks were assigned, people were notified, and chairs and canopies set up—the chapel in that town is very small so the funeral was held outside, plus it was hot.  All the missionaries of the zone formed a choir and did a beautiful job.  They also helped with set up and take down.  The missionaries assigned to that branch will continue to support and help the members wherever they can.  Finally, it was a great opportunity for the people who attended to hear the plan of salvation as it was powerfully presented.  Hopefully, some of them will be motivated to seek out the missionaries and learn more.

      Thursday and Friday we were in Santiago for the semiannual mission president’s seminar.  You may remember that I wrote about our trip last October to Iguazu Falls in Brazil.  The meeting last week was about reaffirming our purpose and refilling our cup, so to speak.  We always enjoy the chance to stay at the Mariott in Santiago!  The area presidency taught on Thursday, and part of Friday, then Elder Soares of the presidency of the Seventy gave a final message.  Sometimes, we tend to get a little bogged down in the minutiae of the mission, and it was inspiring to hear again about our noble purpose and suggestions for improvement in our calling.

     We also enjoyed very much seeing the other presidents and their wives, most of whom we only get to see at these meetings.  We all enjoy telling and hearing mission stories since we have a lot in common.  On Thursday morning, the outgoing presidents and wives bore touching testimonies.  It is a little scary to think that next year we will be in that same position.  We need to lengthen our stride and try to accomplish more even as the time goes by ever more rapidly.

we haven't done an airport picture lately, right?

Two of our wonderful sisters

At the seminar on Friday