Friday, September 19, 2014

 
We are winding down now and only have a few days left here in Chile. I wanted to make one last addition to the blog to bring everyone up to date of our activities. We will be having an open house for all our clients and show many additional slides and some more detail. We will also be talking about the mission in a Relief Society meeting in the church and at the group of Empty Nesters. You are all welcome to come. As for the experiences let me share a few pictures.
 
Here in San Jose there are no parking lots. You park along the street if you can find a spot. Usually it is not a problem except on weekends. Anyway you can park on one side of almost any street. In some blocks there is an attendant provided by the city to assist you. Most of them have some type of disability. When you park you are on your own. When you leave they are usually there to help, and you need it. You should tip them. It is their way of making a living. The first picture is Manuel and the second is Simon. We have become friends with each.
                                    
 
One of our favorite experiences has been to help members progress and get closer to Heavenly Father and Christ. In the church we believe the marriage between a couple can and should be for eternity. In these pictures the first couple prepared themselves to receive this ordinance in the Temple to be sealed for all eternity. They have been married 27 years but not been to the temple to  be sealed. This was one of the highlights of the mission. The second couple with us is the Temple President and his wife. We were fortunate to have them perform the sealing for Jorge and Ximena. A real blessing.
                                          
 
 
                           
 
In San Jose there are no major stores. Lots of mom and pop stores. There is very little variety to choose. This store is the variety store. They have everything from toys to stationary to needles. The only thing is you need to want what size color or shape they have. Not much variety.
 
                              
 
 
This family is special to us for two reasons. He was in the mission field at the same time as our son Eric and they served in the same area here in Chile. He also has a very special talent of burning pictures in leather for book covers etc. He did one for me to cover my IPAD and it is spectacular.
                             
 
We have done a lot of leadership training in the Branch and we believe they are no ready to move forward on their own. This picture is the Branch Presidency that we have worked with. They are really good men. The President is on the right and his two Counselors are on the chair and standing on the left. 
 
                       

As some of you know Bonnies mother passed away while we were on the mission. It was a sad time but we have faith and knowledge of the eternities. She will be fine and her Husband will be able to be with her for eternity because they were sealed. Below is a picture of "some" of the family she left. I say some because we have 25 of the 28 grandchildren and only 10 of the 30+ great grandchildren. They have a wonderful posterity and deserving people.

 
                      

We went on a little trip to a farm just south of Santiago. The picture shows some of the farm. The farm is owned by the Church. It is 17,000 acres, 8,000 of which can be farmed. The rest is in mountainous area. The farm is an olive farm. They will produce 1,200,000 gallons of olive oil annually. It is part of the welfare system of the church. We  believe in taking care of our own. Members fast each month and give the equivalent money to the church to provide for the poor. These farms owned by the church are also to provide food etc. to be able to care for the poor in the church or in areas where there has been natural disasters. The church does not advertise the efforts but it is not a small project.
                                
When I was a missionary as a young man, I was asked to organize an exposition in a international fair here in chile. In this picture is Jaime Jaramillo who worked with me on the project. The two of us did the planning and organized the labor etc. It was a wonderful experience and with much success for the Church. We had the opportunity to locate him and his wife a few weeks ago and met with them in their home and shared experiences and memories. He 81 years old, so we were very excited to make contact with him again.

                                     

I have told you about our church building. We planted grass and the rock around the tree. The members did not believe we could grow grass. Here you can see we have grass and these boys were able to help me and they did a great job.
                                     

Here is the last entry. The Cajon de Maipo. This is the Canyon we live in. Yes it is beautiful and we are very fortunate to be here and serve the Lord. We will miss these people and their love. May the Lord bless whoever has read this blog and know that we have had a wonderful time and the Lord has bless us. Jesus Christ lives and his gospel has been restored to the earth. We love him and hope to be worthy of his blessings.



 

 



 

 

 

 

 

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for documenting and sharing your mission experience. I've really enjoyed reading along and imagining your life there. I pray you re-adjust well to the "normal" life outside the mission, and find everything well. Sorry we're not close to welcome you back. We love and miss you! -The Trevor and Monica Peterson family

    ReplyDelete