We have now been home about four weeks from our wonderful adventure in Santiago Chile serving in the Chile Santiago East Mission.  It has been a difficult transition for us and I have struggled with the reason of our release.  We were sent home after the mission Doctors reviewed MRI scans of my knee injury that I sustained in the mission.  They felt that it was sufficiently damaged as to need surgery.  Surgery in Chile would have been very difficult in our circumstances in Santiago.  So we left with the understanding that the damage was grave and I needed surgery.  However, as we visited the Doctors here in Houston we found out that the pain I was having in the knee was not due to injury but my Rheumatoid Arthritis. This increased my frustration with the release, but as we have been home for almost a month, I realize that there are immediate needs for us at home.  I know that the Lord knows us and where we are most needed and will do what He needs to do to put us where we are needed.   We left the Self-reliance center in the hands of the Los Condes Stake.  The center was functioning and giving service to several individuals and groups on a daily basis. 

 We have heard from our friends in Santiago that the Center is open and still functioning very well without us.  This news makes us very happy and a bit more satisfied that all we accomplished in setting up the center, has not gone in vain.  We knew that the members in the Stake were capable and that there were those who could be called that would function even better then us.  We are grateful for those who have accepted the call to serve in the center. 
We left there unsettled but now are much more settled and our testimonies have been strengthened as to the ways of the Lord.  I know now that the Lord is in charge and that we fulfilled our mission in Chile. 

 There are three men who helped to make our stay  so delightful that is would like to remember in this blog.  In our apartment building we had a door man who was in charge of taking care of maintenance issues in the building and who  stood as security for our  building 24 hours a day every day of the week.  Alejandro was the head doorman and was always so helpful.

He would greet us every morning wish us a Buenos dias and ask if everything was ok.  While is was in a wheel chair he would assist us in getting to our apartment and to the where ever we needed help.  That however only lasted a couple of days.  As we would come in with groceries he would open doors for us and was  so delightful.

Guillermo who was the afternoon doorman was always happy and talkative.  He would bring us up to date on all of the news for the day.  If there was anything from the US that was in the international news he would make sure we got the information.  He was especially worried about the state of our federal government officials and would ask us why they were doing what they did. 

The day we moved into the apartment I was telling him who we were and what we were in Chile for.  I and Alexis, who was the Maintenance Technician from the real-estate department, offered him a Book of Mormon.  He accepted it and was reading it.  On many occasions he would ask questions and we would have a discussion about the things he was reading.  He especially enjoyed reading the sermon of King Benjamin. 

Jose worked every night and when we came in late he would great us and offer any assistance.  We found out after we had been in the apartment for about a month that he was an less active member.  He asked if we could get him a copy of the Book of Mormon as well, which we did and had many great gospel discussions with him.  He would always great us as "Mis hermanos en la fe".  Before we left he informed me that after knowing us and having our discussions on the Book of Mormon he decided to go back to church and take his family with him.  He thanked us for encouraging him to return and said that they were accepted into the ward even though they had not attended for almost 15 years.  I was grateful to have known these men and felt their goodness.

Left to Right: Sister Sally Goulding, Sister Chris Ellis, Elder Holtkamp, Elder Johnson, Sister Johnson, Sister Olson, Elder Olson, Sister Holtkamp and Elder Rob Goulding (standing) Elder Ellis is taking the picture.

 
This picture is of our really good friends and fellow Senior missionaries who worked in different capacities in the Church office building.  They comprised our district and we had so much fun and many inspiring times together.  Of this group only the Gouldings and the Olsons remain in the mission. 

As were are now just member missionaries we have fond memories of our time in Santiago.  We were able to serve many young people with their Education Loans from the PEF and many more of the Lord's sons and daughters directly and indirectly through the programs of the self reliance. I believe I am finally at piece with the return home and the termination of our mission.  We have found that there are family members who need our assistance at critical times in their lives and many other opportunities to serve here at home. 

Two of our Granddaughters arrived unexpectedly from Utah to spend the summer with us.  It is a rare treat for us in that we have not had a lot of opportunity to know them.

Sidney and Samantha are our oldest son's two oldest children and we are enjoying them.  I think they get a little bored with us and are really happy to visit their cousins who live in Texas.  They are beautiful and helpful most of the time.  We are having a challenge just figuring out activities to keep them busy during the summer while they are here. 

We also had a great surprise from our youngest Son Jacob.  He is currently serving in the Army and came home on a weekend leave to visit his dear wife and surprise us with lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, India's.  It was a treat to have lunch and then return to their apartment and visit for a while. 

We met them first at the  airport and then to subway for a short visit before we headed to Round Rock to take the girls to visit Chalice and her family for the weekend.

We are so grateful to all of our friends in the mission and here at home who have supported us while we were away. 
We a grateful to the Lord for allowing us the opportunity to served in Chile.

This is the end of the final week of our Chilean Mission.  We received the decision on last Tuesday (April 21st) that the missionary department sent word that I needed to return home to Texas and have my knee operation to repair the damage.  It appears at this point that i am looking at another knee replacement.  I am not looking forward to that but i do need to get it done so i can go on to serve in another assignment.  It was probably the hardest thing we had to do when we left Santiago and the people we had grown to love so much.  We learned so much from them that it is hard to think about just one experience that is the most outstanding.  

I have asked myself over and over what purpose did we serve in our short time in Santiago.  I know that we were able to touch many people and help many.  We were able to see many young people qualify and apply to the Perpetual Education Fund for student loans.  We were able through the workshops to qualify for the loans to help them see the great role that the Savior plays in their lives each and every day as they traverse the pathways of this life.  I have seen weak testimonies strengthen and become solid, making the individuals who bore them strong servants with desires to study and become self reliant.  We have seen stronger testimonies become even stronger and the commitment to the Lord even greater then before.  We are so grateful that we were able to go and serve.  We pray that the Center will continue to be a place of assistance to those who seek to become self-reliant and strong in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Our mission family of the Senior missionaries are missed so much and we think of them every day.  I miss the trips to the faria to purchase the fresh produce that we loved so much.  We miss so much, and are so grateful to those wonderful loving friends that we left behind.  I pray we can stay close for we would really hate to lose contact with them.  

We were scheduled to leave Santiago on Friday the 24th of April but the day before we had a volcano erupt blowing huge volumes of smoke and ash into the atmosphere.  The airport suspended all flights into and out of Santiago.  We were then rescheduled to fly out on Sunday the 26th at 8:30 PM. However, because of all the cancelled flights and the fact that the flight crews who flew in on Sunday morning were the only crew available to fly out as well but needed to have a certain number of hours rest before they could make the return flight.  Our flight was delayed until 2:45 AM on Monday morning.  Thus we had to reschedule the connecting flight from Atlanta to Houston.  But, after 36 hours of airports, waiting, and flying all night we arrived in Houston at 4:30 Monday night.  It made for a tiring day.  

On our trip home i was worried about the logistics of traveling with a lame leg.  I never realized how fast and easy it all is for those who travel be wheel chair.  There is someone there to take you everywhere.  They help with the luggage, take to the front of the line, put you on the plane first and take care of you all the way to the baggage claim.  I told Chris if we travel international again it is her turn to have the injury so we can get the royal treatment.  Seriously, i am so grateful for all of the help that we had coming home.  We really were treated well by all of the people from the airport personnel and the staff of Delta Airlines.  

It is good to be home in Houston, sleeping in our own bed and staring at our own walls, but i need to find something to do quickly before i go crazy.  So we are hoping for the surgery to come and get over soon.  So we can start doing other things.

I am looking forward to seeing our friends in Houston so any who read this and want to contact us, we have new phone numbers.  Chris 281-733-7944 and Randy 281-733-6013.  Feel free to give us a call.

I do not know when I have felt so stir crazy except when I was recovering from my knee operation two years ago.  We had an incident watching conference which started a chain of events that has kept us in turmoil for the last two weeks.  I know it is not easy being confined to a wheelchair to get around. 

While we were watching conference I accidentally knocked my computer on the floor and saw complete destruction in a heartbeat.  Unfortunately I use my computer every day and was at a loss.  We ordered another one and had it shipped to the daughter of a missionary couple who work in the temple here.  Their daughter was having a baby and she was going home to help her and offered to bring back the laptop with her. 

Then a exciting assignment came to us to be the coordinators for BYU-I Pathway here in Santiago. We will be conducting the weekly meetings at the chapel by the office.  It is all in English and will really be a good thing to participate in with the students who are enrolled.

Now the bad part: I have been having a lot of knee pain in my right knee(the good one). I think it is due to the walking we need to do every day and of course my rheumatoid arthritis.  Well last Monday I had an injection in the knee to relieve the pain and was told to stay off of it for a few days.  Wouldn't you know it, I fell in the bathroom and couldn't get up.  How many times have you heard that commercial.  Well it is sort of scary.  I heard something in the knee pop and I have not been able to put any weight on it since.  After a trip to the emergency room, and  an x-ray, a visit to the orthopedic surgeon, and a MRI, I am now sitting in our apartment waiting the outcome of the MRI to know what the next step is. I am sure there will be surgery but I do not know how extensive it will need to be.  We are hoping it is not what the senior missionaries call, a mission killer.  If we need to go home for surgery that will be it, if not, and we can have surgery here and solve the problem(that would be great), we go on and finish our mission.  I know at some point I will have to have another knee replacement, but it would be really wonderful if we could patch it up enough to make it for another year.  We shall see. 

Now with that behind me, there have been some wonderful experiences that we have been privileged to have.  With my knee problem many people have stepped up to help me and make this whole experience much more bearable.  Elder Johnson (the mission doctor) picked us up and drove us to the emergency room, Mauricio Fernandez drove us to the doctor's appointment, and Elder Goulding gave us a scenic tour of Santiago from the mountain top.  We got lost going to get the MRI and ended up on top of some mountain looking down on the city of Santiago.  It was really beautiful and another experience to check off  the bucket list.  We have done that now and there is no reason to do it again.  We finally made it to the radiology 10 minutes late at 9:10 PM but they did it anyway.  So all was well with a side trip as well.  One thing is for sure, we all know the way to the Los Condes Clinic (hospital) and I do not think we will get lost doing that trip again.  So there is always some lemonade with the lemons. 

Our Mission friends and those we work with in the CAS are really good and Christ like people.  They have taught us some wonderful things and are great friends.

I have been studying the 4th chapter of Preach My Gospel and recommend it to all.  I have really felt drawn to things of the spirit and how we can be more obedient to the prompting of the Holy Ghost.  I have always struggled with being able to hear the promptings of the Spirit and knowing if it was really personal revelation.  As I have been studying both in the Scriptures and some other books concerning the subject I have come to realize that I have heard and followed spiritual promptings in my life.  As I have been more in tune I have had even greater communication and have felt the Light of the Savior even more.  I have been able feel the needs of some of those people we work with as I listen to them and feel the Spirit inspire me as to what to say to help them. 

We have a young woman who has had some real struggles in her life who came into the center to attend a Job Search group.  She missed one of the sessions and I sat down with her to do a make up session.  For some reason I was able to connect with her and give her the encouragement and direction that she needed.  She left very happy and directed.  She lives in an institution where her family put her to get over addiction and mental problems.  It is going to be a hard road but she has some very understanding people in the group who care for her.  I can see changes in her persona already after only three group meetings. 

A passage that I read in the book I am reading said as we listen close to the spirit we may be surprised who we should or should not help.  It could be a pauper or a prince but they all may be sent to us for help.  Never second guess a feeling that comes to do good because it always comes from God.

It will be good to go to church tomorrow having been cooped up in the apartment for a week.  so until next time may you always walk in the sunshine and always see green fields and be happy.

We had an interesting week.  We have had a lot of people coming to the center for help with resumes and advice on how to accelerate their job search.  We have had many from other countries who have come here looking for a better life.  Many are fleeing from difficult situations some for other reasons.  The story is always the same that they need work until their visas have been approved.  We know from experience that it takes 6 months for a visa when it is just a temporary nonworking visa.  When they want to relocate, it is even harder.  The interesting thing about Chile is you can't work without a work visa,  but if you are here illegally you can't leave the country until you have legal documentation.

One young man, a return missionary, wanted to come to Chile to be with his fiancé who is going to graduate in December.  He is currently studying in Argentina, with a full ride scholarship, but wants to leave to be with his fiancé. She needs to stay here to help care for her dying father.  She wanted me to talk to him on the phone and try to convince him to stay in school and have patience.   I told her that she needed to talk to him and tell him that if he left school he was jeopardizing both their futures by not finishing his education.   she was able to convince him that it would be better to wait. 

We had another workshop with the missionaries from the East mission, who are returning home.  It was a great group of young people.  They are so shocked when we have them figure out what it take to live and go to school in the US.  One of the missionaries is from Lehi, Utah and from my brothers Ward.  Elder Skousan got a picture so he could show it to Garrin when he returns home.  I saw them again on Friday.  He and his companion were going to the temple so I gave them two Ellis family cards that needed the endowments done.  It is so energizing to work with these young missionaries, they are so good and so close to the spirit. 

We have had a real catastrophe in Chile this last week.  Northern Chile is a desert and never gets any rain.  It has not rained there in the last 40 years and last week they had a deluge.  I am not sure how much, but it was enough to cause wide spread flooding with tremendous lose of property and some lives.  Of course the Priesthood leaders have been involved in relief efforts through the distribution of food and other supplies to shelters and families who have been displaced.  Today in Church they asked all of the members to bring to the church non-perishable food items, water and hygiene supplies.  They are taking them north to a small town.  Each stake in Santiago has been assigned a town to send supplies.  They are not allowing any relief parties to go into the area but much is being done in the area by those who live there.  They have enacted martial law in the area with several regiments of carbineros (the Federal Police who are also the army) who are guarding the area.  IF someone is caught looting, they are shot on the spot.  I dare say there is probably very little looting going on. 

This last week we were given an assignment to facilitate the BYU-I Pathway classes in Santiago.  There are over 70 students signed up and we will probably have at least 2 classes.  Those who are not aware of Pathway it is the on-line classes from BYU-I.  Here in South America they consist of three semesters which will be 15 credit hours.  The first year is basic math, English, and English writing skills.  The first year prepares them to be able to take regular college career paths and earn degree and postgraduate degrees.  It is very affordable for them and an opportunity to gain a degree that carries with it a major push up for employment with one of the many US companies that are doing business in Chile.  These companies range from medical, agricultural, to financial.  All of the major hotel companies are established in Chile and are always looking for employees proficient in English. 

We are excited in that it will all be in English and an opportunity for Chris to be able to be a major contributor.   Because of her struggle with Spanish she hasn't felt like she has been able to do much.  Although I must say she has really improved and is able to communicate a little with the people. 

It is interesting that we see many of the same struggles here as we see in the states and people are very much the same anywhere we go.  The members are always saying, "Chileans are lazy, or they are always late, or some other thing that is frustrating about the people".  I ask them if they think that only Chileans are this way because if that is the case we must have a whole country full of Chileans in the US.  People are much the same everywhere, although they really do have a problem with home teaching here.  The Bishop talked for the fifth Sunday meeting and asked how many of the coverts who have been baptized in the last two years were in attendance and only one of 19 was there and he is an invalid who needs help getting to church.  Only four Elders and four High Priests did their home teaching this month.  He begged the priesthood brothers to please visit their families and help them come back to church.  How many times I have heard the same pleadings from bishops all over the church.  I do not understand why it is so hard to go home teaching. 

We celebrated my birthday Friday night.  We invited the other senior missionaries for dinner and then played some games.  At the end we popped a few balloons.  We had a fun time.  Here are a few pictures..

 
 
 
 

Have any of you ever thought that there must be more that I can do to feel closer to the Savior Jesus Christ.  I have been reading a book called "Following the Light of Christ into His Presence".  It has made me think that there is more to it than I have experienced previously.  I have felt his presence, or at least the presence of the Holy Ghost on many occasions but I can not say I have felt that presence all of the time.  But I must say every time that I have asked for that gift I have received it and much more.  I have experienced the direction of the spirit in things that I have inquired of Him, but some times I have not.  As I read concerning the gift of the Holy Ghost and how he works, it seems that we may not know he is directing us when he is.  How can we tell?  At all times Christ through the Holy Ghost works through light and knowledge.  Every thing that is good, and brings light into our hearts and minds is of Christ anything that is rowdy, dark, and does not bring peace, calm and joy is of the adversary and is rouse to deceive man and draw them away from the light.  I am finding more and more that we can easily be deceived and drawn away from the light.  I recommend the book to anyone who wants to better understand how the Spirit works to assist us to come unto the Savior.  It is by John Pontius and can be found at amazon.com for $6.00. 

Other then reflecting on what I can do to better know Christ we have had some marvelous experiences with the work in the Center of Self-reliance.  The last two weeks we have been processing students who are receiving loans from PEF to study.  Most all of these individuals come from a background of poverty.  Most of their parents do not have enough to help them and they are on their own.  They come into the office because they have received a message that they have not completed the application with all of the proper forms.  Most of the questions are simple and we are able to help them with what they need and they move on.  However, sometimes there is a real problem such as they have not been approved because of not completing the needed workshops to receive the check.  It is sad to have to tell them that they must complete all of the workshops before receiving the money.  They have under the old program just attended a couple of days and been able to get the loan.  The problems have been that when it comes time to pay back the loan they just disregard the commitment that they made to pay back.  So to counter balance this issue we have 12 workshops where they are taught the importance of keeping commitments. Also, a problem has been that they do not know how to find work so most struggle with the payments while they are going to school.  The fund requires that they make a minimum payment each month while in school.  This forces them to find work to make those payments and get used to making payments monthly.  The payment is usually around 3.000 to 5.000 pesos which is 6 to 9 dollars a month.  It is not much but the principle taught is an important one.  If they make the payment without default 25% of the principle of the loan is deducted and if they graduate from their career another 10% is deducted.  There are several incentives to help them succeed up to 60% reduction of the loan. The Latin people have had problems with follow through in this society and it is not going to be changed overnight.  But it is changing as the young are learning the principles and following the rules. 

For a professional career the cost of study is about 1,000,000 pesos per year which is approximately 1,500 dollars.  When you talk about a million it seems a lot but is not much when you think of the cost of schooling in the US.  But the average family has an income of about 400.000 pesos per month which is about 700 dollars.  Things cost as much here to live as in the US for food and non food essentials but luckily the rent for them is cheaper and many own there home because they build their own house on a cheap piece of ground that they purchase in a Ghetto part of the city. 

There is a big difference between the rich and the middle class.    If it was not for that they could not make it on what they make, as it is they go without much we are accustom to in our lives.  The cars they drive if they have a car is usually older but well kept, but most of the time they use the mass transit system to get to work and around the city.  We are not familiar with the area outside of Santiago much but in the rural areas it appears that there are land owners and the workers.  Many of the land owners are corporations from the US who own the land and hire the Chileans to work the  land.  The government is ok with that arrangement because they have brought in a great deal of technology into the agriculture environment.  However, much that is done in the fields seems to been done by hand so that there is work for the workers. 

The people where we live are mostly professionals and make very good salaries.  They drive nice cars and have nice homes and apartments (or Condos).  Most buildings are condos not apartments then the owner rents them out.  Property management companies do not own any of the apartments just keep them rented.  Once you rent an apartment you are responsible for all maintenance and upkeep.

That is a long explanation to show why these youth need the loans or they do not study.  

We had a real good experience last evening with one of the participants in our workshops.  He has been a member of the church from his youth and met and married a girl 25 years ago who could not join the church because she is Japanese and her parents forbade her to join the church but she and the children have been attending.  They moved here from Japan and she made the decision that she and the children were to be baptized.  She is delightful person and it was glorious to behold.  She was thrilled to hear that we had a daughter in law from China.  Although different in many ways they are a lot alike culturally. I was introduced to her and the children as their fathers professor.  Which I guess in their culture gives me a lot of status.  I like that teachers are not only respected but almost revered and are given special treatment.  We were given a gift when we met her and given a place to sit near them. 

Those in the picture from let to right: Victor Leon, his wife Andreia Negoro Leon, daughter Biaca Leon, son Victor Leon, and I did not get the name of the youngest daughter.  I was amazed at how much the daughter Biaca reminded me of Jessica my granddaughter.  It was a precious experience that we will cherish. 

 

We also made a bit of an excursion yesterday.  There is a hill here in Santiago that is called the Cerro de San Cristobal.  It has a zoo at the bottom of the hill but you still must climb a bunch of stairs to get to anything because it is built on the side of the hill.  We got a few pictures from the zoo but only one worth showing.

Chris is looking at the elephants which was the only animals that was out and moving around.  I guess the time to go to the zoo is at breakfast or supper when the animals actually move around.  But it was a site in the city we had on our list so we saw it. 

 

We were actually going to see a llama but there were not any to see. On the top of the hill is an old Catholic church and a huge statue of the virgin Mary which is the big attraction.  We then road an elevator tram up to the top to see the statue.  We could tell it is a special place for those of the catholic religion. 

The  statue had a small room inside where people could go in to pray to Mary to intervene for them to the Savior. 

 

 The statue of the Savior is much smaller and has the two Marys by his side.  It is a very nice place and most of the people who visit are very respectful.  I quite enjoyed the visit even if it is not of our religion it is a special place for others and there was a good feeling there. 

While we were there they read the rosary over the loud speaker.  I had never heard the rosary prayers before and they were very interesting to me.

We road this elevator which is very much like a tram but it climbs the hill on a cable and returns on a cable.  There are two trains that go up and down  when going up the tram is on the end of the cable and going down as well.  there is passing place in the middle of the ride for the two trams to pass.  It was fun.  We met a family there from New York who were there to leave  today to take a cruse from Valpariso to Fort Lauderdale Florida through the panama Canal.  Their son had on an Army T shirt and I asked if he was in the army.  He said not yet but was going to join as soon as he finished High School.  His father was an army vet as well as his grandfather.  So he was keeping up tradition.  He was going into military police correctional.  I told them that Jake was in the Army and was in Advanced Individual Training in Fort Gordon.  But the cruise sounds like something that would be fun to do. It actually sounded like a good way to return home at the end of our mission but we will probably only be able to afford  the airfare that the church pays for.

 This is a picture from the tram as we were ascending up the hill and the other photo is of us descending.  The second show some of the city from near the top of the hill as we started our descent. 
                                             One of the great things we were able to see was the city almost to the mountains on the other side.  Usually this time of the year there is more smog and we are unable to see that a clear picture.  In the winter time it is even worse because they have a bad inversion most of the winter that keeps the sun out and makes it much colder then the area outside of the city.  We have not experienced that yet and will see when it comes.  Santiago is a big city but not considered big in South American term.  Chile actually has the smallest population of any of the other south American countries.  If you look at the country it is not that large of a land mass just very long.  Most of the Country is open country, the north is quite barren and rocky and the central part the agricultural part with the far South cold like Alaska with not much sun in the winter and a lot of sun in the summer. (Just opposite of the US)

Last Tuesday we got a bed after sleeping on a mattress on the floor.  I needed to go to the mall to see of I could find a pad for the mattress which is hard as a rock and killing both of us. I found out that you cannot find a memory foam pad in Chile.  They do not make them instead they have a fiber filled pad that can be purchase which is not much.  But I was looking for one for our new bed.  That morning as I do every morning I asked in my personal prayer to guide me to someone I could help.  As I was walking along Nuevo Providencia I stopped for a light  and next to me was a man who looked clean but I could tell was a bit stressed.  I felt prompted to talk to him as he seemed really interested in me and what I was doing in Chile.  I then asked if he was troubled and got his story.  His name is Igor (very common in Chile) and he really needed to find work.  He had a law degree but was in an accident a couple of years ago which left him with brain damage and he lost his memory.  He never was able to gain enough back to continue to practice law.  So he began working as a construction foreman.  They finished a multi year project and he was laid off with all of the other workers.  He had been staying with his grandmother in Santiago but it was crowded and he could see there was no room for him so he left and was sleeping on the street.  I asked how long it had been since he had eaten.  His response was he was ok and just needed work, I pressed him and he finally said it had been a couple of days.  I took him into a shop and bought him some food and a drink.  As we sat eating and talking I told him what we did and invited him to the center to see if we could help him.  On Wednesday he came and I showed him some of the principles to find work and gave him a lead to the Grand Hyatt Hotel which is just opening up near us.  I asked if he had some better clothes and a place to clean up. He said he could get some help with that from family and was so grateful that he had a lead.  I hope he is able to get some work because he is not a good beggar and only wants to have a chance to provide for himself.  I am praying for him and more prayers will not hurt.  I put his name in the temple prayer roll as well.  Even if it is only one at a time it is one and he is a son of a Father who wants him to be happy.


Well we do not have much more to report but we are happy, healthy and working hard to help the people of Chile.  I hope we can in some way make a difference for some of the many who need a hand up.

 

 

 

 

 

It has been an eventful week for us.  We were able to watch and listen to the graduation ceremony as Jacob finished his basic training at Fort Jackson, SC.  We are so grateful that Liangzi took us along through Skype as we witnessed the event.  We are proud of Jake and are touched by his desire to serve.  He will now go to  Fort Gordon, GA for his AIT training in Information Technology.  He will be there for 6 months then receive his first duty station.  We hope he will be assigned to a base in the US but we shall see.  The military has a way of shipping people as far away as possible from family.  We just need to get used to it.

 

 

We had another experience this last week that I believe I need to mention. As I have stated part of our responsibility is to coordinated activities in family history in the CAS where we are assigned.  A young man came this last week who touched me in the spirit when I saw him.  He was a little scruffy but clean.  He said he had heard from someone that we could help him find information of his family. His name is  Cristian Valenzuela for an area by the Ocean and had traveled up to our center to see if he could build his family tree.  I sat him down to help him set up an LDS account and asked if he was a member.  He said that he did not know for sure.  The story is that he said hi family had at one time been members of the church and he was baptized at 8 years then did not remember much after that.  I told we did not need to know that at this time but went ahead and set up a free visitors account.  We got he and his parents in then went to his grandparents.  He knew their names and where they lived but he did not know either of his grandmothers names or anything about them.  He did know where they were buried and we found the cemeteries but it has not been long enough time passed that we could see the records on the computer.  I told him that the best would to take a trip to the cemetery and visit the graves and get all the information that he could for the stones then search the on-site records for anymore information then come back.  As we talked he told me that he has had a strong feeling about his ancestors and the need to find them.  He had been nagged be the feeling to come to our temple to see if they could help him.  He also indicated after working in the Center and talking to me he feel a strong feeling in his heart that he wanted more and was drawn to the church.  I told him that he was probably still and member and that his bishop could help him find his records.  If in fact he is not a member the missionaries in the ward closest to him could help him understand the feelings that he has been having.  We looked up the ward closest to his home, got the bishop's phone number and the address of the chapel.  He said he was going to go to the chapel on Sunday and visit and try to talk to someone about his membership record.  I asked him to let me know how it went and call me.  He said he would, and hope he does.  He was so happy when he left to go to see the graves of his two grandfathers. I felt like I was on cloud nine the rest of the day.

 

We also finished the last of our Education for better employment workshop on Saturday.  The students were happy to be finished but all said they wished it wasn't over because they had learned so much and felt their testimonies had been strengthened by attending. 

 

One of the young women who attended had been battling depression and missed a couple of classes.  She was feeling better and wanted to come to the last one and finish.  I told the only way was for her to go online get the material and do all of the assignments before class and bring it with her.  She was their and had the work all done and was able to complete the course.  I talked to her after and was able to share with her a personal experience and afterward she said that it helped and she was sure she would get better.  When you see a young person struggle so much your heart just bursts with love and hope for them.  I have spent a lot of time and effort with these young people and have grown to love them as if they were my own.  They have formed groups with an app called "whatsapp" and have added me to their groups.  It is fun to follow their conversations and see what they are doing.  During the work shops they have really gotten close and are helping each other all along the way.  The gospel is marvelous at how it brings strangers together and turns them into families almost who care for each other.  I love this new self-reliant initiative and have already seen amazing things come from it.  I know it is inspired to help these people who struggle with life.  The most amazing part is the part call "My Foundation"  which is totally spiritual. Sometimes it is hard to get them off from those topics to move into the rest of the workshop, but it is wonderful to witness the spirit working in their hearts.

 

I had the opportunity to attend a group meeting in the Los Platanos Ward the other night and witness a group who are trying to start their own businesses.  The facilitator was very good about including all of the participants and working through the material.  Their was also a spirit of brotherhood and helping each other be a success. I was impressed how they each had worked hard on their commitments and accomplished some real headway into seeing their dreams come true.  I am supposed to attend next Wednesday as well with one of the area managers to witness the group meeting.  So far most of the stakes are having the meetings on Sunday and the manager will not be here to participate.  We will see if we can find another while he is here.

Friday we took the day off and closed the center because in have been tied up every Saturday since just after Christmas and Chris has had to do all of the shopping and taking care of the domestic responsibilities.  That is fine with her but it is hard for her to get the groceries off from the bus and haul them all home.  So we closed the center and I helped her all day.  It was so good that we could spend the day just with us and work together.  Because of her lack of the Spanish language she has not been able to participate that much with the people but she keeps trying and I know that if she keeps it up by the time we finish she will be a big contributor.  I am proud of her desire to learn and do better.  It is really hard because if you do not speak or understand the people are nice but they don't work at it much unless you ask.  They just are sensitive and do not want to embarrass any one. 

This week we have a meeting with our mission president on Friday which is being called a leadership meeting.  It will be held at his home and just the senior couples are invited.  Not sure what to expect but I am sure it will be worth while.  Until next time we are praying for our new Stake Presidency and the new stake.  We are anxious to find out about all the new changes and the leadership in the new stake.



Yesterday and last Wednesday we had two groups of students who finished the "Education for better employment" workshops.  It was a bitter sweet week it was hard to say good bye and not know if we will see them again but so rewarding to see them with all of the tools to get into school and earn an education so as to become the leaders in the church and in their communities.  As I have said in past posts these are some of the best in Chile and they are excited to go out and prepare themselves to make a difference.  We are proud of them and pray for them.  It is impossible to not love them and have a lasting relationship.  They have formed groups on Whatsapp which I had never heard of but they invited me into the group and it is fun to see their conversations and also inspiring to see how they speak of spiritual things in their communications.  There are several who are return missionaries and they told the rest that they should plan a night when Elder and Sister Ellis are working in the Baptistery to do baptisms.  So they are planning to get together and go out together for ice cream and come to the temple on a Tuesday night to do baptisms with us.  They are all working on family names to bring.  To us that is the great showing of success in the workshops we have participated in with them. 

 

The group at the top finished on Wednesday ant the group on the bottom finished yesterday.  What a great day.  We are so blessed to be here and to be able to work with these people.  Our only fear is that as we get the stakes to more fully grasp the initiative of self-reliance we will see less of the participants and work more with the Ward and Stake leaders. 

 

One of the rewarding assignments that we have is to hold the Self-reliance workshop with the missionaries who are returning home.  They are so surprised when the come into the room and see their whole name on a placard without the titles of "Elder or Hermana" in front of their name.  When we start out we explain the just for today they are regular members of the church and not full time missionaries.  We are preparing them to return home and understand a little of what is in store for them.  They are a bit shocked and interested in the first names of the other missionaries.  Many of them have never known that information.  I tell them to look around and take note because all of these are part of their network of contacts.  We had 18 in this last group from the Chile Santiago East mission.  There were7 Latinos and 11 Americans.  It is amazing to feel their spirit and energy and sometimes a bit overwhelming.

 

 

The Returning missionaries CSE mission 2/5/2015

 

I have been thinking all week of the things that I would like to share.  We have been so busy with what we do in the Center of Autosuficiencia.  When we first arrived we did not have a center where we could serve the people of Chile.  For the last four weeks we have been conducting workshops for the young people who need to borrow money from the Perpetual Education fund to get an education.  Even though the cost of and education here in Chile is so much cheaper then it is in the U.S., it is still out of reach for so many of them.  I write this to let those of you who donate to the Perpetual Education Fund, know a little about the kind of individuals who are participating in the PEF.   We have had over the last four weeks conducted four groups of workshops with about 36 young people preparing them to apply for a loan for school from PEF. 

The young people are hoping to study everything from engineering to medicine and are some of the brightest and most amazing individuals I have met.  Every time we meet there are spiritual experiences that are related by the participants and testimonies are strengthened. It is not hard to love them and I have a great desire to see them have success.  They come from some very humble circumstances and situations that are not so humble.  But they all have a need and desire to be able to support a family and serve in the church.  One young woman who is a convert to the church who has two daughters one 17 and the other 7, was abandon by her spouse and left to go it alone.  She met the missionaries and joined the church.  She had a decent job but would never be able to provide for her daughters as she would like to.  She decided that she would go to school and study to become a safety engineer.  She has a very tight schedule and depends on strength from the Lord to help her keep her schedule.  She has one year left of the 3 year degree.  She was not able to save enough money to pay for the last year of study so turned to the PEF for a loan to finish her degree.  She works from 9 to 6 in the evening starts class at 7 and attends class and studies until midnight and returns home by 2 AM only to go back to work at 9.  She asked her priesthood leader for a blessing that she would have the energy and strength to keep up the schedule.  She said as long as she keeps the commandments she has the strength that was promised her to continue each day.  She is only one of many who struggle with different issues that the fund is able to give them hope to leave poverty behind and be self-reliant.  I ask the question to a group of 20 why the were at the workshop and the answer was not to get a better job to have more money but their answer was to be self-reliant.  Riches is not their goal but to have enough so that they can pay for the comforts of home and family and provide their children with missions that they are able to finance and be able to send their own children to college without having to turn to the fund for help.  They also dream of having time to serve in the church and not have to work 10 hrs. per day for 7 days a week just to provide the necessities of life.  I've asked them about nice new houses and fancy cars which have no place in their goals at this time.  One young women said if I have everything else then I might think of a nice new house but I would rather have a good job that allows me time to spend with my family and do my church calling.

Most of the members here work long hours and have little spare time.  Most that I have talked to work from 9 am to 7 or 8 at night, so many of the church meetings during the week don't even start until 8 or 9 pm and go until 11 or midnight.  The missionaries in our mission leave their apartment at 10:00 and are to return by 11:00 pm.  much different then in other areas. So for the youth, time with their parents is a premium for them.  They truly are amazing people.  However, there are many less active members because of the difficulty in providing and the many long hours and day of  work.  Many must work on Sunday at a second job to make it work.  I have met several who would like to be involved in the church but are unable to because of work.  There are many who work in the mines up north and are home only a couple of days a month and are unable to move their families because of the cost.  When you think that the cost of living here is very similar to the U.S. it is very difficult when the average salary is around 300,000 pesos which is about 600.00 dollars. 

We only hope we can make a difference in their lives.  Chris told me the other day she sometimes feels like the man on the beach pitching starfish back in the ocean.  There is so much need and we can only help a few, but we can help a few.  The hope is in the hearts of the Chilean members that the time will come that the church will be self-reliant in Chile and they can contribute to the operations of the church in other lands instead of needing help to operate in Chile.  In a few years I truly believe that will happen. 

We were invited today to speak on Self-reliance to the Chile Santiago East coordinating council.  Elder Norumbuena our area authority Seventy asked me yesterday and I was grateful to be able to communicate to all of the Stake Presidents of our mission and explain what our purpose was and invite them to come and participate in the services we offer.  We are not only a self-reliance center but also a family history center.  We will have specialists who will help people with their family history research and because the temple is in the same block they can come to print their family cards for the temple.  It is exciting to see how it all works together.

We really have not been able to go visit any spectacular places lately so no neat pictures but we do have some great group shots of those we are working with I hope to upload before I post. 

These groups of young people are preparing to make application for PEF Loans.  This workshop helps them make decisions on career path, school and how to succeed in class as well as how to find work when they finish.

These are some of the cream of the crop.  With the opportunities of the PEF they will be able to bring the church into self reliance with time. I am proud of them and have really connected with them and have grown to love them.  But that has always been my weakness.  It is hard for me to see them not have all they work for.

Happy New Year to all of our friends and family.  We welcome 2015 and all of it's challenges and blessings.  It is interesting as we started the Holiday week with Christmas and now New Years that everything came to life for us while everything all around us was shutting down.  A little over a week ago a young lady came into our office and was in a bit of a panic because she needs a loan from the PEF to finish the last year of studies in her degree.  She is not from our mission but from the area of the Center for Republica which is West of us and part of the West Mission.  They are not doing the courses for preparation to receive a PEF loan for another six months. Jan 31 is the deadline for receiving a loan for the next semester, which starts in March, and the courses are mandatory to apply for a loan.  Chris and I had already talked about starting a course starting on the 5th of January running each day next week and then finishing the next 9 classes over the next 9 weeks meeting on Monday mornings.  However, this young sister works Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM to 7:PM and is not able to attend during the week.  So I scheduled to hold a course on Saturdays if she could find three to four more participants. So we gave up our day off for a few weeks to help this young lady.  We now have  6 participants for the Saturday group.  Last Saturday I held the first of 7 week ends in that we are doing two courses per Saturday. Nayaret and two of her friends who are also in need of the courses, but had given up when they could not find them in their area, attended the first meeting. During this last week we had three more people contact us needing to attend a course on the weekend, so I held a makeup day on Wednesday to catch those three up.  Now we have a group of six meeting on Saturday and already have 5 signed up for Monday with another 3 who have expressed interest. 

I found out that we are the only center in the whole five mission area offering the courses until next summer.  I would think that every center would understand that young people often do not plan to far ahead and would prepare for the event that there would be last minute needs.  Oh well, We are happy to help them and maybe in the course of the next few weeks we can instill some responsibility into their thinking and cause them to better plan and be prepared for future events.

It appears that we are quickly getting into action and we only hope that soon our computer equipment will come in and we can get them operational for all of the participants that are showing up for the services. 

We had a real fun experience on Christmas day when we went over to the house where the missionaries in the MTC are housed, to fix them breakfast.  The cooks and staff have Christmas off so we were asked and quickly volunteered to help.  It was so fun being there with those fine young missionaries and feeling their spirit and joy as they were in the MTC preparing to serve their mission.  I have a few pictures that of the festivities.

 I do not know if you have any friends or someone you know who is in the Santiago MTC just now but look at the faces and see if you know any of these missionaries. 

We met some from Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, and over half of the missionaries were from the US.  As you may see the sun was pretty bright and the temp was about 75 at that time of the day.  All of them elected to eat outside on the patio.  
 
After breakfast they got a rousing game of volleyball going in the back yard.  Those who were not playing volleyball were kicking a soccer ball around waiting for their turn.  

They snapped a shot of us as we were preparing to clean up after breakfast.  From left to right:  Elder and Sister Jacobson, then Elder and Sister Olsen (who is the mission psychologist),  Then Chris and I. 

 

 These three sisters are from Brazil serving in Chile.  So they are learning Spanish. 

All of the missionaries received Santa hats with twinkling stars on the head band.  I did not see anyone who was missing home on this Christmas day.  

We were pleased that the opportunity for service came up and we were able to participate. 

We have also had a number of parties and fun with the other Senior missionaries.  I must explain that there are three groups of Senior missionaries that we associate with here.  We have one group who are called to serve in the temple which are working when some of the rest of us are off.  There is also a group who are MLS missionaries who work with some of the weaker wards and Branches and in the mission office.  Then there is the group that we are part of.  We are assigned to the Church office building and work in different capacities.  The Johnsons are the Mission Medical Missionaries, The Gouldings who are the Humanitarian - welfare missionaries, the Olsens who are the Psychologist missionaries for the Chile Missions, then there are Chris and I who are assigned to PEF- self reliance.  There is another couple who were assigned to the offices as legal counsel who is the Elder who had the heart and aorta problem and as soon as he is well enough will be sent home.  So,  the four of us who are assigned to the office building get together quit often and have become good friends. 

We got together for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Family home evening (twice during the holidays), and New Years Eve.  We feel like we have had a two week party.  Now, it is time to go back to work.  We are happy to have these days come.  To much food but a lot of fun.  It is the same here as in the US, during Christmas to New Years there are two weeks of nothing happening in the office building.  That was actually ok for us because we could have or self reliance courses without interruption.

Another event that I had failed to mention is that the temple has open baptisms from 6 -8 on Tuesday and Thursday.  So guess who was called to serve as temple workers for Tuesday evening Baptistery?  They are so short handed that they need help from outside the temple missionaries and other workers to staff the baptistery on those days.  Other Senior couples have been called to help as well on the other days.  So we are serving in the Temple with another Senior Couple from the Mission office, Elder and Sister Mayer.  Some times our mission duties do not allow us to serve in the temple which is why there are two couples called each session.  I am enjoying it and really love the youth that are coming.  It is just like the Houston open Baptisms we see the same youth week after week coming to serve.  We have had some who have travelled by bus for several hours for a baptism session then turn around and travel a couple hours back home.  The Youth here are as amazing as they are back home and I love to work with them. 

Last week, the day after Christmas, we had another  "My Path to Self Reliance" devotional with the missionaries who were returning home this week. These young men and women are from the US, Canada, as well as from most of the Latin American Countries.  They are a powerful force going back to the world and if they remain faithful have the ability to set the world straight.  We had 36 missionaries leaving the Chile Santiago East mission and it will take four months to replace them.  The Mayers told me that the Christmas beak and summer are big influx and release periods.  It would be a hard job keeping all of that organized.  What is a big help is the semester in South America are from March to December so we get a lot of missionaries from South America called in the Jan - Mar period as well.  Still more then half of the missionaries are from the US and Canada.



 This is the group from Santiago East Mission. I must tell you about one of the young men in this Group.  His Name is Elder Jahco  from Peru.  He is the small elder in the center holding up the placard.  He and his brother were homeless and living on the streets when the missionaries found them.  They accepted the Gospel and a year after his baptism he goes on a mission thanks to the Church Missionary fund.  He has not had much education as he grew up but has been a successful missionary and is now a bit afraid to return home.  There is not anything waiting for him there as far as family except his younger brother. I talked to him briefly and told him to go to Lima and find the Self-reliance center (I gave him the address and phone number) and get registered for a PEF Loan.  He seem to be a pretty good mechanic wants to pursue that as a career.  I hope he follows up and is able to get connected and served.  He is one who really needs the help.  So those of you who donate to the Perpetual Education Fund, these are the people who are benefiting from that donation.  Most of the Latins here are depending on the fund for schooling.  There is so much good happening from that fund.

WE ARE HAPPY AND BUSY AND HOPE BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO SERVE THE PEOPLE OF CHILE.