Earthquake report

            I’m sure all of you heard about the earthquake here in Chile; it was pretty big news because of the strength.  President sent out an email to parents as soon as we knew all of our missionaries were safe and accounted for.  It was definitely the strongest we have felt in over two years of living in Chile.  President was in Buin—45 minutes north, doing an interview and I was at home working on the last batch of flags we gave out during interviews.  

A________ always tells me that the mission home is one of the safest anywhere because of the concrete construction.  We always joke that it’s great for earthquake safety but terrible for internet purposes.  However, I have to admit I was very nervous when the walls and floors started shaking.  A senior couple, who live on the 11^th floor of an apartment building, felt their building swaying back and forth—very unsettling.  President Warne stood in a doorway, which was quick thinking, and headed for home right after it ended.

            We have two towns right on the coast, Pichilemu and Constitución, so when the tsunami warning and accompanying evacuation order went out, we were very concerned about those missionaries and their safety.  Unfortunately, our service provider had a break in service for a couple of hours.  Fortunately, all of the missionaries did exactly what they were supposed to and headed for their apartments no matter where they were; their apartments are all safely away from the tsunami danger zone.

            That area of Chile has had many aftershocks, even one last Friday night, and we are praying that no further damage is being done and the people there have started recovering.  We are grateful that Chile as a whole is as prepared as possible for these strong quakes, and also hopeful that this one will be the strongest we face.  We are happy to have the technology that allowed us to make sure the missionaries were ok and then let parents know.  We were also able to send word to the Missionary Department when we had accounted for everyone.  It is a good opportunity for us to review our emergency plan and encourage the missionaries (again) to make sure their emergency backpacks are ready.  

After district conference

Big smiles from great sister missionaries

three secretaries, one in charge, one leaving
and one new.

I just have to include a picture of our new
missionaries--18, Yea!

18 news means 18 talented trainers--great missionaries, all.

Las fiestas patrias

            Last week was September 18 or the day of Independence for Chile.  They refer to it as dieciocho (18) or las fiestas patras.  I’d like to describe our experience and hopefully you can picture your missionary taking part in a similar celebration.

            This was our third and last time to be here on independence day so we had a hard time deciding where to go since nearly every ward or branch has an activity.  A sister we had seen the week before invited to the Peralillo branch activity so we went there.

            It is a small village surrounded by vineyards, with one of the most attractive plazas we have seen in Chile.  We arrived at 2:30 p.m. because we began the day with a trip to Santiago for a hospital visit—a young boy we know, not a missionary.  The members had already been there for awhile starting the fire, etc.  We visited until the meal was ready.  It is called parillada or grill and we ate steak, pork, and chicken with various salads and pebre (pebrā) which is just like fresh salsa without chiles.

          After the lunch we visited more, several danced the cueca (kwākâ), the national dance of Chile.  After a couple of hours all the sisters disappeared back into the church to start preparing the next meal!  At six we ate fresh empanadas—they made sure that President ate the one I made.  Let’s just say I need more practice at that plus various breads, a fresh cheese, sopaipillas, and a cheesecake.  To say we were full is a definite understatement.

        We only have one set of elders in Peralillo but they were great to participate and even brought in a few investigators.  About 35 people were there at various times, and it was definitely an all day affair.  We left at 7:15 and everyone else was still going strong.  It was a real honor for us to be there and they were so gracious to include us in everything, as you’ll be able to see from the pictures;).

        It was a great day and we hope all the missionaries had an equally pleasant time.  It’s a great chance for them to interact with members and investigators in a more casual yet still productive way. 

 

egg race--good thing they were hard-boiled

the second meal

making empanadas

four missionaries and the branch president

mother and son dancing the cueca

the traditional cueca dress and the wonderful
sisters of the Peralillo branch

Testimony and peace

     Today I would like to share with you a testimony building experience that I had on Thursday.  We are in the midst of zone conferences but because of the holiday this week--dieciocho or the Chilean Independence Day we decided to have new missionary training a week early.  You probably remember this is the meeting when we bring back all the new missionaries and their trainers from the last transfer for additional teaching.  We hope they have been in the mission long enough to realize that additional help is a good idea.  Plus they are excited about seeing friends from the MTC and having a nice lunch.

     Anyway, I was feeling a bit sorry for myself since Thursday was the day for a nephew's wedding back in Utah and I knew almost all of my family would be together.  Sometimes 6,000 miles seems extremely far from home.  That morning I prayed for assistance with getting through the day with a good attitude.  During one part of the training we divide into groups for a practice about how to begin teaching an investigator.  In my role as the investigator, as I was listening to my group teach of the blessings to be found in the gospel, I had a very strong witness that I was in the right place and felt a real peace about being here in Chile and with the missionaries.

     I am so grateful for that blessing and witness.  I am grateful for the growth I have experienced in our mission.  As I say often, it is a privilege to know and serve with these young missionaries, representatives of Jesus Christ.  Our time with them is short but life changing for us and hopefully for them as well.  I know that we are doing the Lord's work as we serve here in Chile along with many thousands of others worldwide. The example set for me by the missionaries always gives me a goal towards which to strive; I hope to be like them in their ability to feel the Spirit, to find and teach and baptize.  I am grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven, and I share these thoughts with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Yep, it is time for zone conference lunches again.  They are
pretty happy with the menu this time.  Salisbury steak, mashed
potatoes, fruit, bread and blueberry zucchini cake.

Good food and good sisters is a great combination

I can't resist these group shots.  The missionaries love trying to
keep their eyes open all at the same time!

We always like to have a special musical number and these two
sounded lovely doing the verses in English and Spanish.

This is the group for new training.  We are so happy with how
far they have come in a short time.  It is hard to believe that
the next group arrives next week.

We are all family

            The district conference we attended today was about families.  It started me thinking about President Warne and I and also our missionaries.  We have all left families behind to serve here in Chile.  I have a firm testimony that our families are blessed and protected in our absence.  We also hear from many missionaries about the miracles of reactivation and conversion that occur in their families while they are serving here.  Many have the goal to return home to both strengthen and help family members return to church or begin to know the joys of the gospel.

            Also, as missionaries, we are trying to help the people here in Chile become part of our family as members of the church.  We want them to recognize that they are sons and daughters of God—that really we are all part of the same family.  It is our privilege to serve with these young people and support them as they work hard in the Lord’s vineyard.  We are also training them to be ready to have families of their own that will be faithful and obedient.

            As we have started our zone conferences this month, I am happy that we get to meet with the missionaries and hopefully teach them in a way that will help them be better.  Our desire is to advance the Lord’s work here in our mission;  with families at home supporting and praying both for missionaries and for the work, we will be able to find, teach, baptize, reactivate and retain.

one zone conference at our house

#2 zone conference in Buin

We all look a little unsure of this lunch in this picture,
 but they were all happy in the end.

Missionaries and faith

            Today I would like write a little about faith, naturally, that means as it applies to missionaries.  I’m assuming that most who read this blog are parents of current missionaries, so you know that it required faith for you to send your son or daughter or perhaps, parents, to Chile to serve the Lord full time.  It also is an act of faith for missionaries to sacrifice this period of their lives and choose to serve the people of Chile, the Lord and their fellow missionaries. 

            However, the exercise of faith does not end with arriving in Chile.  Missionaries need faith and courage every day as they leave their apartments and head out to find and teach.  In their early days, they might not know the language very well, even Latins from other countries, since Chilean is kind of a language all its own.  However, as we tell our missionaries, while the work is hard, with faith and perseverance, the rewards are great.  Sometimes faith is needed when trying to live with a difficult companion, or get used to a new town, apartment, ward or branch after a transfer. 

            Missionaries go out every day, calling greetings through the gates, since that is what knocking doors means here.  They have faith that whoever is home will come out and be receptive to our message, or that the person who accepted an appointment will be home and ready to progress toward baptism.  They work with the members in the wards and branches with faith, that through our service we can make a difference here in Chile whether it is in the short or long-term. 

            Jesus Christ, our Savior, has called us to have faith and do missionary work.  For those of you who are reading this in your home ward or branch, I’d like to challenge you to follow the example of the hardworking, faithful, and wonderful missionaries in the Chile, Rancagua Mission and find someone where you live to teach and baptize.  You, too, will learn about faith and the miracle of sharing the gospel.

These two were kind enough to work on the dishes for me after
consejo, which I really, really appreciated.  And it was service
with  beautiful smiles!

First we meet, then we eat--all serious business of course.  You
can see the bulletin board which we try to keep full with pictures
of missionaries.  They love finding themselves and looking for
friends.

All the sisters got to eat upstairs since it was too cold to go outside.
I think they enjoyed their private party!

The usual group picture after consejo, I know, but I just can´t resist
posting this great group.  Maybe sometime we should put the elders
in front.

Serving as Seniors

            Today I’m going to write about senior missionaries.  You might recognize this subject as one I’ve covered before, but since it is of intense interest to us I would like to present it once more. 

            We are so grateful for our senior couples and for the difference they make in our mission and in every other mission throughout the world.  We never take them for granted and I want to express appreciation for their hard work.

            Our number of couples has dropped steadily as they finish their time here, go home and are not replaced.  We currently have three couples serving in the following areas: 1) apartments and upkeep, 2) nurse and English program, and 3) finances and historian.  We are hearing that few couples are willing to come to Latin America even though one or both speak Spanish.  We were discussing this the other night at a group dinner and all agreed how much we like being in Chile.  Here we can drink the water, the climate is relatively mild, the government is stable and we have access to excellent health care.  There is even a brain surgeon here in Rancagua!

            Other advantages that come from serving a mission as a senior couple include the blessing of spending time together as a couple.  President always tells the missionaries his favorite part of the mission is being with me and his second favorite is being with them.  All of us serve as examples of marriage and family to all the missionaries, especially those who may come from broken homes, which, unfortunately is more than 50 percent.  Serving with the missionaries is a wonderful opportunity to know and love them and help them succeed.  Also, many blessings come to families at home from missionary service by senior couples.  We have loved meeting the people here, learning to love them and also their country, Chile.

            I don’t want to sound repetitive, since I know I have said this before, but if you are thinking of serving or know someone who might be interested, don’t lose out on this amazing opportunity.  And if you know someone who would like to come to Chile, we would love to accommodate them! 

zone leaders paying close attention during consejo

We love to see happy missionaries!

Our newest couple introducing themselves.  They take care of
our apartments for changes and repairs.

Our nurse presenting information about stress and getting
enough rest.

Our finance elder helping new missionaries understand
how their money works.

The couple on the right has returned home but the rest of
us are still going strong!

Mission home tour

            I had such a good idea for the post today.  Unfortunately, I also thought it was a good idea when I used it several months ago.  I hope you’ll find my next idea interesting—it was suggested by President Warne—we make a good team!  You have often seen pictures of the mission home from various posts and many meetings, so today I’m going to describe in a little more detail what our home is like and what we use it for.

            The dining room is probably used more often for missionary meetings than any other room in the house.  When the church purchased the house 12 years ago, they added a large area and more windows to that room.  We have mission leadership council there every month, as well as any other meeting where we will all fit.  We always serve the final dinner to those going home there and have enjoyed many other meals such as the office elders, the senior couples, and other times when we are having missionaries here for a meal.

            The living room is well used as well since it is a gathering place where they can wait for a meeting to start, or wait for a companion who is having an interview with President.  Depending on the size of the group going home, we have our final testimony meeting either in there or the dining room.  

            Of course the kitchen is well-used since we serve food at every meeting, and A_____ also cooks for meals we serve in other places and we transport everything in the back of our car.  We have two bathrooms downstairs—the hermanas use one and the elders the other one.  President and I both have an office, his contains the board where we keep the pictures of all the missionaries divided into zones.  We meet with the assistants there and he has done countless interviews. 

            There is one bedroom downstairs which we call the visitor’s bedroom.  Obviously anyone who visits us sleeps there.  We have three bedrooms upstairs, including ours, a small one with a bunk bed and our luggage (every missionary apartment or house has luggage stored somewhere), and a larger one with two twin beds that also doubles as my sewing room.  When missionaries come here to sleep they use these bedrooms; there is a bathroom off the small sitting area upstairs.

            While we have many church pictures on the walls, we also have many pictures of our family and we have tried to make the house a home where missionaries can come not only to meet but also to feel the spirit of a family home, to feel loved or if nothing else to get warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  Though we live here, we do not think of it solely as our home but a place of refuge and welcome for all the missionaries.  Hopefully we have achieved that goal to a certain degree.  Here are a few pictures of what I've been describing:

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It is obviously night time so sorry about that, but this is our happy mission home!