Dear Family Monday May 9 to Sunday May 15, 2016
Thanks again to our family members we got to talk to over the Mother's Day weekend, which was a real treat over a 48 hour period of time. But the days continue to just fly by. We had two family birthdays this past week Stephanie on the 12th and granddaughter Hannah on the 14th. This was also a week of serving (cena) FOUR dinners at our (casa) home. We are starting a new thing and each week we will give you ten new spanish words to learn and use with your family.
Ten New Spanish Words: dinner (cena), house (casa), Home (hogar), church (iglesia), table (mesa), chair (silla), knife (cuchilla), fork (tenador), spoon (cuchara), door (puerto), sister (hermana). Missionary Elders are not called (hermanos). A hermano is a brother. Elder is an English word, but sister missionaries are called (hermana) which means sister in Spanish. The male missionaries are called Elder.
STORY 116 A Good Visit with Margaret's brother Norman (Sunday May 8 pm) George and Norman had a long conversation about the Book of Mormon geography. There is a big wave going around in the States placing the landing of the Lehi's family on the west coast of Florida, and that the Mississippi River is the river Sidon. Norman and Jerilynn had gone to one of those lectures and George wanted to talk to Norman. This all took place (after) the Mother's Day phone calls. They had a great conversation. Also, Norman had two new great grandchildren born this past week, Bradley's baby girl on Tuesday and Kristin's daughter's baby girl on Thursday.
STORY 117 Having Jose for Dinner (Monday May 9) Jose is the young man who lives in our apartment complex on the 10th floor. He is age 27 and works in a Northern company here in Antofagasta. He rides a bike to and from work. We have had him over for dinner for at least the last six months. It started out with him coming to help us with Spanish. Now we are trying to give him information about our church. We gave him the PLAN of SALVATION lesson tonight. It has been interesting to see how very bright he is and yet so very uninterested in religious topics. He is very well read and knows an extremely lot of information on historical events all over the world.After the lesson we told him, Jose we just do not want you to someday say -Why didn't you tell me about these things? His reply was a classic, "when I die I will surely go looking for you and say Where is George and Margaret?" We also had a temples booklet that had lovely photos of the temples, interiors, etc. We explained about temples, he was impressed with the buildings and interiors, but not necessarily the concepts we taught.
STORY 118 Week New Missionaries Arrive (Tuesday May 10) You have heard us talk about this before. This mission sent 19 missionaries home on Monday and received 9 new missionaries on Tuesday (7 were elders and 2 were sister missionaries) All of them were from Latin countries except for 2 males Elder Barney from Idaho, and Elder James from California. We do the preparations for the lunch for the arriving missionaries on Tuesday that is served at the mission home. We sat at the table with the two sister missionaries as generally they do not sit at a table with the male missionaries. One Hermana (sister) was from Peru that did not speak any English, the other girl was from Santiago (south) and she spoke English quite well. She said her father also served in the Antofagasta mission, as well as an Aunt (a sister of her mother). She opened her letter and gasped! Her mother said tell us, tell us where you are going! She had tears in her eyes and said I am going to Antofagasta. She feels this is her families missionary destination. She must have been raised in a good home, as her father, mother, some relatives, her brother, and now herself had served missions. Her name was Carolina, but they never call each other by first names, just Hermana Salazar. (Full name Carolina Salazar Rocio) The Salazar is the surname of her father, and Rocio is the surname of her mother.
STORY 119 Our Daughter Stephanie's 35th Birthday (Thursday May 12) We did get to talk to Stephanie and the phone went down the next day. We truly miss all of our children and grandchildren, but know we are doing here what cannot be done in Utah. We so appreciate all of their prayers for us and for the people we are working with. Sorry we could not call Hannah for her 19th Birthday. We are so pleased she is going on a mission to Florida (spanish speaking). In Chile they do not capitalize languages!
STORY 120 People and Households we are working with after office hours. Our list seems to grow. We now have 19 different households we are carrying on some kind of relationship with - that involve weekly phone calls, meals at our apartment or at theirs, giving church lessons, following up on missionaries who are giving lessons, and just maintaining friendships which keeps us very busy after our office jobs are done in the evenings, and on weekends. However, George makes most of his phone calls when we are at the office, and he has a break, or during our lunch hour. We do the rest together.
NON-MEMBERS WE ARE WORKING WITH: (1) Edward age 27, (2) Josie age 25, (3) Jose age 27 who comes every Monday evening for our evening meal, (4) Wilson & Ideide (married) and 2 children Daniel 11 and Pascal 6, (5) Martha and Rodolfo (married) and son Gustave age 4, (6) Maria - Rodolfo's half sister her American husband is now in the USA visiting his family, (7) Ricardo (former Area 70's father) and his live in girlfriend Dr Laurita, (8) husband Francisco and two children Sol age 11 - email friend of our granddaughter Madison, and Aluna - downs syndrome child age 5, and the wife Carolina (an inactive) daug of Ricardo, (9) the Leyton family - three older children - with older son age 29 a baptized member but inactive, (10) our dear friend Claudio (separated from Monica), (11) Monica and daug. Gabriella, (12) Raul - lives by Wilson his wife is in the hospital in Santiago, (13) Johann who is separated from wife and has 2 children, (14) the Vega fruit market family - Carlos and Marseta Calderon still having lessons.
BAPTIZED - IN-ACTIVES WE ARE WORKING WITH: (15) Veronica age 65 (inactive church member age 65), 16) Jordan (son of Veronica baptized at age 10 now inactive) has a wife and 4 children all non-members - two below age of 8, (17) Robert age 27 (inactive church member), (18) jaime age 25 (inactive church member who attends church to please his mother, but walks in after the sacrament - says does not believe in the church any more), (19) Adriana age 65 (baptized over a year ago but now not going to church). We do keep very very very busy. George handles all of the telephone calls and we both work together on everything else.
STORY 120 Our Monthly May Antofagasta Zone Conference Meeting (Friday May 13) (see photo) Even though we do not understand all that is being said at these meetings, we do enjoy interacting with the young missionaries at the meeting(1 1/2 hours). These are wonderful youth of the church. We do believe half or more in this mission are of Latin descent. After the meeting they all set all their phones on a timer stacked on books on several tables, and run to get in a group photo. It is a hoot! This is why photos are a big fuzzy. George is not in the photo, but my shirt is yellow. One of the new latin missionaries was from Orem, Utah. His family moved to Orem two years ago. He had to learn English from scratch as they arrived in July and school started in August (Elder Lopez). He is very tall.
STORY 121 Edward and girl friend Josie for Dinner and a lesson (Friday May 13) (not a live in girlfriend) You have heard about Edward before, but tonight we told him that we have only 6 more months in Chile and we do want to share with him some of our church teachings. We started with our spanish "Plan of Salvation Chart." Josie to our delight was very interested. Edward not so much. He said IF he makes it to the Terrestrial Kingdom that is ok with him and IF we make it to the Celestial kingdom we can come down and see him. Josie wanted to go to the Celestial Kingdom. We had a very good discussion, even with our limited Spanish, and their limited English. It is so hard for Edward having NEVER ever gone to any church, has had very little religion in his home, and then try to teach him our concepts. We do love this young man and will just keep hoping the Lord will soften his heart. Josie wants more lessons, Edward said 1 may be enough, but he would go to church with us one time, and wear one of George's white shirts and tie. Before they left to my surprise Edward bought me a "Mother's Day Gift" four bars of scented soap, and a delightful scarf. George tells Edward I am his 2nd Mom!
STORY 122 Carolina and Alexander and two children Sol and Aluna for Lunch (Saturday May 15 1 pm see photo) This was a first dinner for them at our apartment. This young mother is the sister to the former Area 70 (who moved to Ely, Nevada). She was baptized as a young girl, but is now inactive. Speaks fluent English as well as daug Sol. Husband (no English) and not attending any church. Parents of (Sol) who is emailing with our granddaughter Madison. They told us they LOVE the emails that are going back and forth, as it is almost 2 to 4 times a week. After the lunch somehow I walked over and got George's (Guatemala Map Chart) to show Carolina. George said later he wondered what in the world I was doing! But to both of our surprise, Carolin sat at George's side for almost an hour and a half and he explained all about the Book of Mormon, the areas he has traveled to, his testimony, and she was totally rapt with attention. I also had Sol fill out the Genealogy Booklet Pedigree and she really enjoyed doing that. The husband played with their little daug with our make shift toys - empty dressing plastic bottles with numbers 1 to 10, and cardboard things that hold new printer drums. Aluna loved them. They left with a promise to come back for more Book of Mormon discussions, had an Ensign (Liahona) in one hand, two Family History booklets, a map (xerox copy of Book of Mormon lands,), said how much they enjoyed the dinner and visit, and then invited us to come to their home 1st Saturday in July for dinner.
STORY 123 A "Surprise Visit" from Adriana who stayed for dinner and Monopoly. (see photo) The door buzzer rang and we thought it was Wilson and family, but to our surprise it was Adriana. (see photo). She came to the apartment building to visit an old friend, and stopped in to see us too. She was baptized a year ago but is falling into inactivity. We gave she and her sister a home teaching visit two to three weeks ago, but will have to crack down on her as to WHY she is not coming to church any more. She really added to the fun of the game. It was the first time she had played. We all had a good time.
STORY 124 Wilson and Ideide and two children for Supper (Saturday May 15 pm see photo) This was another wonderful evening. We had made tacos and al the trimmings. They loved it. Then we promised their son Daniel we would play MONOPOLY. He was thrilled. Each country has their own Monopoly. This was a Chilean Monopoly that was in our apartment when we arrived. We had a good evening. Adriana came right before dinner and stayed for the game too. She was a real hoot. We dearly enjoy this family and inch by inch they are progressing. It was Ideide's sister Cleyde who was recently baptized. This is the family that gave me the ROCK with the lizard carved in it.
STORY 125 New friends Ricardo and Dr. Laurita for Sunday Dinner (Sunday May 16 2 pm - see photo) This is the father of the former Area 70. From meeting them at the farewell dinner, we invited them to come to our home for dinner. She brought a lovely lemon (Chilean pie) with her. We had a lovely dinner, and had them fill out the Genealogy Booklet pedigree. Laurita showed us a photo of she and her mother and her mother's grandmother who lived to be 100. They really like us and invited us back to their home for dinner for his birthday dinner. We showed them the photos of the prophet, counselors, apostles, and seventies, and said how Richard's son was an Area Seventy. They were rapt with attention. We also said we would go to church with them (Catholic Cathedral) here in Antofagasta in the future. We feel we can really connect with this couple. Richardo is 68 so at least in our kind of age group. We told Laurita we would help her with learning English and gave her a book to help her.
STORY 126 Jose came over to help get our Ooma fixed so we can make phone calls to USA. (see photo) No phone calls to Utah until we get it fixed. Jose came over and worked on it for at least 45 minutes, with no luck. We are having to get additional help from the people who set up the original internet for this apartment. No fun, but may take a few weeks.
STORY 127 Leaving on Wednesday to take four 1/2 days off and go to Iquique, Chile. This coming week the IMOS program the church has for the finances, is down for upgrading, and so George has little to do at the office. We had been invited by the other senior couple (the Lawsons) to go to Iquique and visit them and they are going to drive us around sightseeing on Thursday and Friday. They return home to Colorado in July. We will leave on the bus from Antofagasta on Wednesday at 1 pm, be with the Lawsons, attend church in Iquique, and return on at 3 pm bus arriving at 9 pm Sunday evening. Next weeks email and photos should be of a different kind. We did so much missionary meals and contacts this past week, that a break may be good for us.
WOW ...... What a busy past week. We can hardly believe we did all of this too. But we are still alive, but do not have a phone to talk to any of the children at this time. Plus we leave this coming Wednesday at noon to go to the bus station (return Sunday PM), so will have to see what can be done with the phone problem on Monday and Tuesday. Hope when we get back we have EMAILS from All of our children and any family members.
LOVE to your ALL We so need and appreciate your prayers for us and also for the many people we are working with. We will certainly love reading your emails (If) we get them by Tuesday May 17th, as we can not make any phone calls, so hope we can get our Ooma fixed soon.
Love you forever,
Mom and Dad
PS If we do not get BIRTHDAY phone calls to grandson Tanner age 4 on the May 22, sister Glenda called for her birthday May 22, sister Marilyn May 25, and brother-in-law Glenn May 29 please know we will be thinking about each of you and so appreciate your love.
I won't try to name all of the missionaries in the picture, but I pretty much know them all.
Dinner with Laurita and Ricardo. Margaret fixed a lovely dinner for them and us. Notice the big breast of chicken in front of Margaret.
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