Another week of our mission past by so very fast it seemed. On the 18th of Nov we will reach our 6 month mark and 1/3 of our mission has taken place. It all goes by so quickly. Highlights of this week include the following short stories. We literally can only do so much. The Lord will have to give added help if any of these contacts have their hearts softened and want to eventually baptized. Antofagasta is like being on a Scavenger Hunt looking for WHO might be interested out of thousands and thousands of Chileans and many Columbians who live here and who are not members of the Church. It is really quite the experience we are having.
About JOSE: Our Monday evening Spanish session with Jose, after an hour and a half of Spanish work, turned into a big discussion about marriage. He is looking for a girl to marry, but his idea is more like ....... try it out and see if it works and get married later if it does. We wonder if the LDS concepts we discussed with him will sink in, but we did present them. and he did listen
About CATHERINE: On Thursday we went to the Institute at 7 pm to wait for Robert (whom we are trying to activate and Ivan Zuniga who was coming from Calama and neither of them showed up). However, Catherine Jimenez visited with us for over an hour. She is a first cousin to Ivan, and asked us why we were waiting to see him. As it turned out she wants us to come to their home this coming Monday for home evening and show them George's Book of Mormon power point presentations. Her husband is the Area Authority over Antofagasta's 2 Stakes and 8 others. They attend our ward. This could prove interesting to say the least.
About CLAUDIO,Monica and Jennifer: Last time we met with Claudio at our home (two weeks ago) he was very down and said Monica wanted him to move out and they were separating. Then on Friday he called George and said he had been in an accident, went to the hospital, but was ok, and said for us not to come by. However, we purchased a large juice drink and did stop by. He answered (at their home) and had a bad black eye and other bruises. He was so glad we came and we visited for probably two hours. He was born in Chuquicamata (where we had pictures from last weeks excursion) so he was very interested in the photos of the deserted town by the Copper Mine. Then Monica came down and it appeared they had patched things up. Hopefully we can get the missionary lessons going again soon. Claudio is the same age as David and he calls us Mom and Dad as his parents are both deceased.
About JAVIER'S Graduation: This is the young man who is a member of the Church, but is sort of inactive. We have made friends with him, his older sister and younger brother and the parents. Diana called and invited us to his graduation party at the grandmother's home that is located about 8 blocks from our current apartment. We bought him a gift of a bottle of Juice and a box of Chocolates and went to the party. We felt impressed to start taking photos of all kinds which was a big service to them. Then we MET Javier's cousin Edger and his wife Anna (who is from the Ukraine in Russia and both speak fluent English. We spent the better part of the evening speaking to them, and have invited them to dinner next Sunday. More on this will come later, but we stayed till 11:00 pm and the party was still really going strong with all kinds of relatives and friends and tons of food.
About RAUL, Jennifer and baby: We were going to go take supper Sat. but he had to work, so we hope to work with them again this up coming week.
About ERNA and husband: She is the lady who called George during Priesthood meeting last week, we went to her home and she consented to come to our home, but after taking to her husband (later) I guess he said NO so she called and cancelled the dinner appointment and said she was happy being a Catholic.
About HUGO (who George met at the Tour Bus Station). He is the one who went to Quito Barrio (Ward) last week and George wasn't there so he went home. We drove all around to find his place (after we heard what had happened). Two of our missionaries were walking on the street and he called them over and said he went to church, but could not find Elder Talbot so he went home. We finally found his street (but only after two city workers told us not to go in that area as their are a lot of robberies and they grab watches off your arms, etc. But we did persist and found Hugo. We invited him to church this Sunday and he did come. More on that miracle below.
About ALFRED He was suppose to come to the Caliche Barrio (ward) so we went there to meet him, but he didn't show up due to a water leak in his apartment, so we then drove to the Quito Barrio (to catch the end of Sunday School and Priesthood looking for Hugo).
More About HUGO: We got there to the quito Barrio and no Hugo. George called him and he said he would come right over. He did and they went to Priesthood together but the real miracle part of the story is that a man walked in and sat down behind them from Santiago. This was not his ward. He served in the military with Hugo so they made a fast good connection. We invited Hugo, Carlos to dinner at our place, and Alfred was already coming so we had the 3 (40 to 50) year old men for dinner. Carlos told us that he was in church at the Angamos Barrio and a voice came into his mind two times to leave that ward and go to the Quito Barrio. He acted on the prompting and arrived just in time for Priesthood and sat behind George and Hugo. He was a BIG hit with Hugo and the dinner at our home with the 3 men was really something else. We needed Carlos (from Santiago) and the Lord sent him to us. The continued stories for Hugo and Alfred will be tied to the new Carlos who was extremely helpful at the dinner conversation as he spoke both English and Spanish. Come to find out, Hugo and Carlos served in the military together in Chile. Hugo drove a tank and Carlos fired the weapon. To have them meet the way they did was a miracle.
About ANNA (from Russia): This was a tender story she told me at the Graduation party for Javier. Anne was the only granddaughter for her mother's parents and they all lived in Ukraine. Now their is one more grandchild. However. Anna's grandmother sacrificed to give Anna either English lessons or Ballet lessons. The grandmother decided on the English lessons and thought they would be more beneficial so paid a lady to come twice a week for seven years while Ann was growing up. Then Ann met Edger in Antofagasta and they married. She has a good job and she mails her grandparents money each month as she saw how much they sacrificed for her buying her dresses and things she needed and they went without, plus paid for the English lessons. They do not have much money to live on and the Ukraine has so many problems. Anna said it brings her great joy to give back to a wonderful grandmother in appreciation for all she sacrificed for her.
About ANNE's husband EDGAR: More on this next week. They are coming to Sunday dinner and that story will be big as he is not too hep on the Mormon religion. I am certain we can hold our own with him.
These are just SHORT STORIES but we hope you will enjoy them. We put in our office hours Mon to Friday and spend as many other hours as possible working with our past contacts and then finding new contacts. We are juggling about 20 or more different households at the moment. These stories don't tell it all either. There is much more we can't tell. All we do know is that we can only do SO much and if their hearts are to be turned to want the gospel and to make the necessary changes in their lives, the LORD will have to give added help. We saw a miracle today with Carlos being told to go to the Quito Barrio, and he didn't know why.
We love all of you and know you are praying for us just as we are praying for you and each of your lives and children's lives that all will work out the best for all of you with the individual challenges and struggles you are dealing with. SO glad the PACKAGES we sent arrived. We do feel healthy and eat really well with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables that we purchase at the Farmers Market. We feel our immunity has been increased and our bodies are stronger. Example: I had two cold sores that started on my top lip and both of them just (did not grow) and went away.
Much Love Mom and Dad
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