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.