April 12, 2016
Dear family,
You can always tell when we have a hectic week, as we do not get a letter written home until later. Usually we try to write on Saturday or Sunday, but this past weekend was very busy and we did not get it done.
We did not get very many pictures taken either, as we were not out as much taking pictures. We did take some at Edward's grandparents Sunday dinner. They are really a fun family and very United. I talked to Edward's grandfather for a few minutes and he said as a family, they are very United. He says if any of the family has a problem, they are all there to help them. I see a lot of similarities between them and the Talbots. They love being together and really enjoy each other. Unfortunately, they have no religion. Edwards promised us he would go to church with us this next Sunday and bring his girlfriend. Hopefully he will come, and they he will enjoy it. He has been pretty good at keeping commitments, but most Chileans are not.
We have had this young man (Jose, who is 26) come over and help us with our computer when we have problems and he has also helped us with Spanish. We always feed him dinner on Monday night. He is Catholic and has not shown any interest in the church. We invited him to dinner on Friday night this past week, and called a Catholic girl we met in Tal Tal to come and join us. We called several times on Thursday and Friday, but she would not talk to us after we said Hola. We could tell she was going to cancel. I told Margaret we better put a sign on Jose's door and tell him we would have to arrange dinner another night. She had a strong impression that we should still have him come but try and find someone else. I did not think that was a good idea, but finally tried to find someone else. There was a young lady in our ward that was contacted through another person, and she said she would come and bring a friend. That sounded like a great idea. They were supposed to come at 6:30, but we finally decided to have dinner without them at 7:30 p.m. We finished our dinner with Jose and he went back to his apartment. Before he left, the elders came to our apartment to pick up a prescription that I had picked up for him. When they went downstairs, the to girls were there and did not know how to find us. They had been given the wrong room number. When they saw the elders, they were then told how to get to our apartment. Margaret fed them dinner and went down and got Jose and brought him back to meet them. They were really fun girls and he enjoyed them and they him. We now have another evening scheduled with them this Friday, but they said they wanted to surprise us with the food. Jose was more than anxious to come again. We will see what happens.
Sunday we were busy all day visiting investigators. We have access to a car on weekends so,try to visit as many people as we can on that day. As soon as church is over, we begin our stops. We find if we keep making visits with the people, they are more likely to also stay interested in the church. We are always received well and we manage to share a message with those who are home. Religion does not seem to be a main concern of people. They look for entertainment when free, go to the beach, but are not very interested in religion. Even those who have expressed some interest are not very good at keeping commitments. We always try to call and confirm appointments, otherwise there is a 95% chance they will not be there. When we call to confirm,, there is a better than 50% chance that they will not keep their commitment. Usually they will tell you they are busy and will call us. Seldom do they ever call us. Usually saying they will call us is their polite way of getting rid of us. It is quite a task trying to be a missionary. We are determined to keep trying to find those who will accept the Gospel.
We love you all, we pray for you and asked the Lord to bless you in our absence.
Love,
Mom and Dad
April 17, 2016
Dear Family,
Another week has slipped by and it is time to give a report on our missionary efforts in Antofagasta, Chile. It seems time passes so quickly each week.
I remember a comment by Maria Lopez about our having the only true church on the earth. She said, "You mean that everyone in Antofagasta is going to have to find your church and join it?" That was a question to be pondered. Obviously, the answer is yes, but there are a lot of people in Antofagasta. When I go downtown to run errands for the mission, I look at all the people on the streets busy doing their daily tasks, and our responsibility is ominous. Most are not looking for the church. Many found the church at one time and are now inactive. Trying to find people who will even listen is a rather difficult assignment. Of those who say they will, many do not keep their commitments. Serving as a missionary here, or I suppose most places, comes with it a heavy burden to try and find people who will listen.
I sent pictures of our dinner with Elder Ricardo Jimenez and his wife Catherine. They are wonderful people, and will be moving to Ely, Nevada next week where he will be employed for three years. He was released as area authority seventy in April conference. His wife Catherine has been so good to help us with our missionary efforts. We wanted to have them over to dinner to tell them goodbye. We also took the opportunity to teach them how to play Rook. They liked the game and want to return again before they leave to play again. He was released at April conference, but continues to serve until May 1, 2016. He had not shaved for a few days, so I had to tease him a little about getting released and then immediately relaxing into not shaving.
I also sent some pictures of Ideide, Wilson and their children. We had them to our home for dinner. Their boy wanted to play Clue, so he brought that and we played that game until late at night. Because there was so many playing, each person only had three cards. As a result, it was taking a long time to sort out "how did it, with what, and where." It was getting so late, we finally had to make some educated guesses and close the game. Nevertheless, we had fun with their family and they have become good friends. We are hoping to continue to have the progress towards learning more about the church.
We are overjoyed today, as Ideide's sister Cleyde is getting baptized in Ovalle, Chile. Her baptism was at 1:30 p.m. Today. The missionaries said they would send us some pictures of her baptism. We are excited to receive those and realize that finally one person that we initially contacted has joined the church. We have worked so hard, and there so many who do not follow through with their commitments, that it is nice to finally have someone take the final step. We wish that we could have attended her baptism, but Ovalle is in the Vina Del Mar Mission. It was interesting to learn that David served in Ovalle for five months, as he was called to the Vina Del Mar Mission.
We appreciate all of your support. We have had an extremely busy time trying to keep up with everything here. We miss all of you, but are so appreciative that you are all serving in the church and keeping your covenants. That means a lot to us. I take great pride in showing the people here our family that Laura included on the calendar she gave us. You are all very special to us.
Love,
Mom and Dad
Two other uncles of Edwards through marriage. The one in the red they call Chabacca. The are really a very fun family, but no religion.
This was our first successful contact that was baptized. She will be a good member
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