Well it is time for another entry in this saga. We are now at 16 months here and only have two left. Our little branch is progressing and from some of the pictures with this post you will see some of the progress. We have also had some fun experiences of a small day trip to a wool factory and we have enjoyed watching some movies in a little unorthodox manner. With that introduction lets share some pictures and experiences.

 

This first experience shows a little ingenuity. We had brought some movies with us but not sure how or when we would be able to watch them. So our bedroom is the theatre the computer is the projection screen and we have a wonderful Bose speaker that we brought with for our surround sound. It works quite well. We generally only have maybe one night a week that we have time unless we stay up late to start a movie. We usually don't get to bed until almost 11:30. So it is a little diversion.

 

When we first arrived in San Jose there were two sisters assigned to serve with us in the Branch. One of them was Sister Tibbitts. This is a picture of her on her last night in the mission. She has now returned home to Utah. We hope to see her again. She was a wonderful missionary.

We were coming home one afternoon from an appointment and came across this traffic jam that was a little bit unusual. We had to wait for a while until they cleared the road. November is sheering season. This picture was taken in May which is the front end of our winter.



We took a short trip to La Ligua which is a town about 50-60 miles north of Santiago. When I was a missionary here before we would go there to see all the wool factories and buy gifts and souvenirs. The city has changed now and the wool goods are still a major part of the city but all the show rooms are outside of town. We went there with a couple who have become good friends, the Fishers. We went to lunch at this restaurant and it was pretty good. 

 

After lunch we went to Villa Hermosa which is the part of the area where all the shops are. Here you can see the street with the shops. There are about 3 streets with all vendors.

 At one of the vendors we asked about visiting one of the factories where they make the sweaters, coats, etc. She told us there is one shop back in La Ligua that would be interesting. She told us the owner also has a restaurant in this area and we could find him there. We went to the restaurant and asked for him and asked if we could have a tour. He said the factory is closed that day but he would be glad to meet us and show us around. That was really great. In this picture we are arriving at his shop.

In this picture the owner is showing us how the yarn is spun and then how the looms work to make the material. He was so kind and helpful. He had bought the factory some years ago when automation hit the industry and hand crafted material was too expensive. He was able to buy the building and some old equipment for a song and dance. He then started to wonder what to do and he thought of tourism. He contracted with tour companies to bring their tours to his shop where he would show the old fashioned way and what has developed. They would then be able to go to his showroom to see the product. After they would be taken to lunch in the middle of the shops. Guess whose restaurant they went to? So he has taken a cast off factory and made it into a profitable tourist attraction. He was so kind to share with us.  

 

One of the exciting things for us was this couple, Luis and Victoria Fuentes. When we arrived they were not very active in the church. We started meeting with them on a weekly basis and instructing them on the blessings of the Gospel of Christ. Over time they began to attend and participate more and more. From an earlier picture you saw the day they were married. In this picture they are in the gardens of the Temple. On this day they attended the temple session for the first time and you can see the happiness in their faces for the blessing it was to be there. They are a wonderful couple.

I mentioned of Sister Tibbets before. We have had several sisters in the Branch but now the two who serve with us are below. On the left is Sister Grannis from North Carolina and on the right is sister Hunter from Idaho. They are a joy to be with. Hard working and fun.  

 

Finally, with have a "payoff day". We have worked really hard to get the members more unified and worthy to enter the temple. He had 3 one month and 1 another month, but finally we were able to get them on the same page. There is 12 of us here all from the Branch and all worthy to be in the temple. It was a wonderful occasion to share with them the spiritual experience of sharing in the Lord's work. They were all quite excited. What made it even more beneficial, the couple on the far left scheduled August 2 as a date for them to be sealed as husband and wife for all eternity. They have been married civilly for 20+ years but now they will be able to be sealed by the power of the authority of Heavenly Father to be together for eternity. It will be a wonderful day this Saturday. I will have more pictures of that day.

 

That is all for this post.