A main plaza downtown with Big Ben replica
WE LOVE THE NEWS FROM HOME It is nice to receive all of the good news from home. We are pleased to see Michaela going to the Homecoming dance. She looked beautiful. Likewise, photos of Julie and her daughters all dressed up and heading out to women's conference. Happy for Kristen on 18th birthday and Ethan on his 16th. He can now drive, so watch out ---- the Talbot neighbors. Glad to hear that James got in the Jazz band with his saxophone and that Dayton is enjoying the trombone and band. Happy birthday to Ezra and pleased to hear that Amy and her family are enjoying my grapes and strawberries and keeping the weeds out of my yard. Hannah and Hunter are now at Utah State and attending school there, We MISS Hunter's mission emails. We got a thank you card in the mail from Hannah. Merrill got $55,000 in furniture orders for his new business last week, and that Michael is enjoying his new job. Happy to hear that Lincoln is walking and talking and that Tanner is as cute as ever. Sorry that Landon is in Houston for three weeks, but glad he has work. We are so pleased that Amy and Stephanie are doing well in their pregnancies. Dallin seems to be doing well on his mission, and we can tell Spencer has been a very good missionary. Our December missionaries fly home on Dec. 27th from this mission. Merrill tells us that Natalie is the top of her class in school, and is really doing well. We are so pleased with all of the good things that are happening with our family.
OUR INVESTIGATORS We have been busy with new investigators and trying to keep up with some of the old ones. Our list of contacts just keep growing weekly. We have made some very good friends and hope that some of them will want to take the lessons and become members of the church. All of our contacts are really good people. We considerable it a miracle in how we met some of them. We both feel people are literally sent o us and that we do not just by chance find them.
ONE SMALL MIRACLE For instance, last week we had to go to the post office to pick up the mail. While we were be waited on at one mail cage, a lady came up by us in the mail cage next to us. She was very friendly and nice. Unfortunately, George was having to conduct business and I didn't speak much Spanish with her. As she left, she gave us a very friendly goodbye. Margaret and I both wished we had been able to get her name and lamented that fact that we had not been able to. A day later we went to the grocery store (LIDERS) the Walmart of Antofagasta, to pick up a few things, and low and behold as we entered the place to go into the store, who should meet us at the stairs and greet us ----the same lady we had seen at the post office the day before. How in the world we saw her again was a big surprise. How she just happened to be at the store was a big miracle. We got her name, address and phone number and gave it to the Elders. They have made an appointment with her at 5:30 p.m. this coming Wednesday. We will plan on going with them. It is beyond coincidence that we would meet the same person twice in in a city the size of Antofagasta. We will give a future update on this (Post Office contact).
OUR PROVO HOME It looks like we will have a young couple move into our basement for six months. Heber Olsen is moving out the end of September. We have hired Dan Bishop of Mountain View Management check on our home monthly. When he learned Heber was moving, we called him, and he said he knew of a young couple from his ward that might want to move in. We were very hesitant, as we have left everything of ours out on shelves, as we knew Heber would not bother them. Dan Bishop vouched for the couple, so we agreed to let them move in. It will help quite a bit financially, as we have to spend money here as well as at home. We hope Heber will be moving back in again in May of 2016, but he said he is not sure at the moment due to some new health concerns.
WEATHER HERE The weather is getting warmer here. They call it Spring. I have not noticed that we have even had much of a winter. It is getting warmer each day. We are surprised at how many people have (coats for their dogs) and (coats for themselves) and we are hardly wearing a jacket.
TEACHING ROOK (Friday Sept 25th PM) We had Maria and Mark over for dinner last night and taught them how to play rook and wrote down all of the (spanish words) in order to do that which became our (spanish lesson) for the evening. Then we had a religious discussion. It went on for over an hour. They both speak English but Maria is very happy with her own Church. She does not understand how a 14 year old boy could be called as a prophet. We hope they will come to Conference with us next Sunday for the afternoon session.
CONFERENCE We do have Rodolpho and Martha and their son committed to come (Rodolpho is a half bro to Maria). Another small miracle was running into Martha at Liders on Saturday where we were shopping. She was very friendly to us. We need a lot of help from our heavenly father with these contacts to soften their hearts so they will want to have the lessons and want to learn ore about the church.
THE BIBLE Mark asked us last night if our church even uses the bible. That was a strange comment to us as of course we do. But he felt like we push people to read the Book of Mormon so much that we must not use the bible. We got our bibles out and showed him that we do have and use the bible. It is amazing what people think. Mark is an avid reader but we still haven't convinced him to read the Book of Mormon.
ANTOFAGASTO HOSPITALS They have city hospitals and private hospitals. The same is for schools - city and private. The people we have met so far all prefer the (Private schools and hospitals). We went to a private hospital to see one of our contacts this past week (see photo). We were impressed with the hospital and care she was being given, however we went after visiting hours and they allowed us only (5 minutes) and sure enough the nurse meant what she said and came after 5 minutes and asked us to leave.
DIANA'S HOME We went to visit Diana at her home in the North, after she was re leased from the hospital. Her mother had an old old man who was visiting them named Leonardo. He is 90 and walked very slowly. Then suddenly the power went off and it was pitch black in the home. Then the father of Diana came down stairs from his office up stairs with a big flash light and sat down by us. George showed him the picture we took and the hospital of his daughter, and then we wanted to see all of the photos from the parade that George had on his I Pad. We wondered if the power went off just so we could get time to talk to his father. We need our Heavenly Father's help with this family too. We simply cannot do this alone.
FOOD WE EAT We feel like we have never eaten better in our life. We have very little sugar - hardly none at all. The oranges, pineapples, celery, red cabbage, beets, pears, and everything (except Idaho potatoes that we miss) are better and bigger and sweeter than what we can buy in the states. We have really enjoyed going to the (Farmers Market) weekly and buying our fresh fruits and vegetables. We walk there from the office during our lunch break on one of the week days. I bought some red colored jam in a bag and it was not very good, so I bought strawberries at the market, cooked them and put with the jam from the bag and it became very yummy!
MAKING BREAD at the OFFICE (Friday Sept 25th) I told the Elders I would make them bread (rolls) one day and last Friday I did it. They all were interested in learning how to make bread but it was an all day event. I made it at 10:15 am (took about 15 minutes) and then told the Elders to be sure and punch it down, etc. Then we left George and I to run errands and did not return until 2 PM as everything takes longer than you would even imagine. I was worried it was ruined but they kept punching it down. I finally got the bread made into rolls and then the gas oven was a (hoot). No heat regulator so I just had to feel the heat with my hand and guess if it was about right. I was suprised they even turned out but they did and the Elders loved them and the homemade strawberry jam I had (concocted) the evening before.
WE PRAY FOR ALL OF YOU DAILY It is so strange to be so far away from all of our children and grandchildren. We worry about each of you and miss you all so very much. Know that you are always in our daily prayers. We simply could not give anymore to this mission. We arise early in the morning, work at the office and then work with investigators after our office hours, put on dinners for them, make dozens of phone calls keeping in touch with different ones of them, and it is like we are working every minute and then sandwich in working on Spanish when we can. We both feel like going the (extra mile) on this mission will bring extra blessings to each of our children and their families. We feel so blessed that we have the health to even do what we do do at our ages of 73 and 75,
LOVE to each and everyone. We are buying things bit by bit to get small Christmas packages off in the mail to each household to mail sometime in October. Won't be much but will be something.
Mom and Dad
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