Dear Family June 11 to June 21, 2016 Tuesday
I do believe we missed sending our news last week due to being gone to Calama, so we cover our news as briefly as possible. George sent the below photos 1 to 21 a few days ago, but here are the stories to go with them. This has been a real cultural experience being in Chile along with being a missionary experience. We certainly need all of the help from our Heavenly Father, who knows all things and what is best for his children in Chile, as we have done our very best and simply have to rely on his blessings IF the people we have been working with are going to even have a DESIRE to know more about the true gospel message, and then read the Book of Mormon, obtain a testimony and desire to be baptized. It is a long, step by step process, and some of these steps are "baby steps" for them. We so appreciate your remembering us and our contacts in your daily prayers. This mission is MORE about them than about what we are doing and the photos we send.
STORY 163 (Jose Helps Us get the Presentation Ready) Monday June 13, We had help from our weekly dinner friend Jose who set up the slide show feature in my MAC, but then we used the slide feature at the office. But it was all a ton ton ton of work but turned out pretty well. We had about 140 frames of either a picture, text in English and Spanish, or a divider page for his presentation on the Internal Evidences. George had three Review I, II, & III sections to show that lasted 5 minutes each, and then 10 areas from the Internal Evidences that he thought would be the most interesting to them. One of the areas also had 8 parts. Then it ended with the testimony photos. (no photo except display table)
STORY 164 (Seeing Hermana Randall again) Thursday June 16, She is from Grantsville, Utah where my father was born on August 27, 1909, and since she was called to be a "trainer" of a new missionary I got to see her again when she came to the office for the meeting where the new missionaries received their companions.
STORY 165 (Arriving to Calama and staying at Veronica and Dadiens) Friday June 17 It is very COLD in Calama, but not at cold as in a Utah winter day after a big snow, etc. But it was cold to the Chilean people. They do NOT have central heating. Not so cold that pipes freeze but cold. This couple let us stay at their home they are renting. They own a home in Antofagasta but doe to a job change they rented that home and moved to Calama. The wife is 40 and husband is 35. They have been married 8 years, but have never had a baby for one just never came for which they are very disappointed. The husband joined the church 3 years ago which was very joyful for the wife who had always been a member. He is the ward (barrio) executive secretary (they just call him the secretary) and he is utterly delightful. The wife was from Peru and is an excellent cook. They have a dog named Willie who is in the photos. We wanted you to see him in his pajamas.
STORY 166 (Making our Gold Plates and other Book of Mormon Records) Saturday June 18 (morning) We brought all of the materials, paper, tape, wire, etc. with us on the bus and then in the morning at Veronica's apartment we worked on them from 8 am to 2 pm making the below list different kinds of plates that are mentioned in the Book of Mormon. We covered boxes with silver paper or for the Gold plates had gold special paper that was really nice. The Gold Plates were the right size and turned out really well.
1.`the Gold Plates mde with four different part -
small plates, words of Mormon, large plates and sealed portion - turned out nice
2. the Brass Plates of Laban
3. the small plates of Nephi
4.. the large plates of Nephi that Mormon condensed
5. the Plates that Mormon added to the Gold Plates are part of (1.)
6. the Dead Sea Scrolls, etc. (rolled up brown paper
7. a Bible . made a black box like a Bible
These plates were all put on two tables and George used them one by one during his presentation. They were quite impressive. They all fit in a large box.
STORy 167 (The Dinner Veronica and Ivan's wife put on for Us) Saturday afternoon. They invited the Barrio Obisbo (Bishop) IIvan and his wife, and two children and the husband's (Ivan's) parents. His father had been a former Stake President not only in Santioago, but also here in Antofagasta. But not in the Stake area in Santiago that Jonathan served in. These put on a lovely meal and the photos show what we had to eat. Veronica sliced the chicken breasts and then filled them with something and then rolled them up, tied them with string, and baked them and then CUT them into pieces. It was very tasty. They always ask what our favorite American dish is, and we generally say American's eat Meat Potatoes Vegetable and a Roll and a desert, but not fancy dishes like they make.
STORY 168 (At the Church for the Presentation) Saturday Evening June 18 We arrived early and set things up. Probably 50 people came. The translator was a professional translator and did a very good job. We had a lot of the text also in Spanish on the slides. It went really well except for when we named Noah's son Ham (Jamon) instead of Cam. The people really laughed. I told them it came from Google! It was a nice presentation. The primary president wanted to keep the Gold Plates for their primary, but we could not leave them in Calama.
STORY 169 (We met a young return missionary from Spencer's mission in Brazil) Saturday after the presentation. A young man came up and introduced himself as a missionary from Spencer's mission in Brazil. He said Spencer was his Zone Leader. We had a good visit with him and were surprized that he knew us. He said Spencer had told him his Grandparents were in Antofagasta, and he recognized the name of (Elder Talbot), same name as Spencer (Elder Talbot). We wrote his name down, but will have to find it later.
STORY 170 (The Dog Willie's Pajamas) Saturday night. After we got home from the presentation, since the small homes in Calama do not have central heating we saw for the first time, a Dog Bed, with blankets that went over the dog, and also the dog pajamas. Our granddaughter Ally would love seeing this photo as she loves dogs. He was a silver terrier and was really playful with George.
STORY 171 We heard the conversion story of a young return Chilean missionary. Sunday at church in the Rio Loa ward in Calama. This young man was in the hall way and I started talking to him. He was dressed in a suit and told me he had just returned 2 months ago from his mission in Argentina. He said he only joined the church 3 years ago. Then he showed me a photo of himself with long hair. He said he smoked, was into drugs, etc. but had one Mormon friend. This friend introduced him to the church. Not only him, but his mother and father and another sibling joined. His father is now inactive, but his mother is the Relief Society president. This young man met another female missionary on his way home who served in the same mission. They corresponded by email and now he wants to go and see her in Argentina. But he is looking for a job, so if he gets a job he will not go right now at this time. It was NICE to see the end result of a baptism....and such a changed life for this young man.
STORY 172 (Impressed by the Dedication of Veronica to her Church Calling) Sunday afternoon. Veronica is the young women's president in her ward. She sat on her couch and we asked her about her church calling. She told us how she wanted to get all of the inactive girls (who are young woman) back active again. She had at least 10 to go and visit. Some were not interested in returning to the church. One family she visited the mother said they had NEVER had anyone from the church visit them before. She said she drives and picks up three different girls each Sunday to brings them to church and then drives them home. IF every church member was doing what Veronica is doing it would really make a big difference to the missionary effort of the church all over the world. We were very impressed.
STORY 173 (We returned back to Antofagasta on the TOURBUS) Sunday PM June 19 They have a big bus station here in Antofagasta. NO trains take people any place. The train tracks that run the full length inside the city are used by trains to take the copper plates and other materials to other destinations. Chile is LONG and the trains run the full length of Chile. Maybe near Santiago trains are used for people, but not up in where we live in Antofagasta. The BUS station is a very busy place with many different companies and many different buses coming and going all of the time. Also buses are used all over town that are just ONE level buses. The Bus station buses are TWO LEVEL buses with a Top area to sit and a bottom area to sit.
Hermana. Jimena, Margaret and Hernana Randall from Grantsville. They cane to the Antofagasta Zone Conference
Brother Marquez who is a volunteer in the mission office. He served a mission in the Santiago North Mission at the same time as Jonathan. His brother served in the Vina Del Mar mission at the same time as David.
Ivan Zuniga's wife and Darien at the home where we stayed in Calama. They are preparing for Sunday Dinner.
My dinner plate with vegetables wrapped up in chicken. It was very good.
Me, a missionary in Spencer Talbot's mission, and Margaret. Spencer was his Zone Leader.
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