Another week has passed us by but a lot of change.  We had some very good training for our mission from the field managers from PEF  Self-reliance during the week.

 

This is a picture of the old self reliance pef office.

It's located in the financial center in Santiago.

Main lobby

we will not be located here because they closed this office.  It was in a very high rent area and hard for volunteers as well as patrons to reach. Not much work has been done since it closed in July.  The contacts are way behind and the wards and Stakes have discontinued using the Self-reliance service center.  Our manager wants us to contact all the priesthood leaders; reorganize the stake and ward committees; and get the new initiative moving along.  I suppose that is why we were sent here.  It looks just like what I faced when I took over the Storehouse and Cannery in Houston 20 years ago.  So having experience training priesthood leaders in welfare will help me when doing the same in Self-reliance.  I am grateful for the opportunities that Elder Nielson gave me to train in Spanish while in Houston, for now I really need to rely on that experience in a real sense.

We still do not have a permanent place to live.  We are presently living in an apartment that is reserved for the Area President when he visits Santiago.  We have a lead on an apartment that will be available November 1st.  It is in our price range and not too far from the center.  

  They also have a nice office that is empty except for the church lawyer.  There are three large offices and a nice conference room just sitting unused.  The area office has been moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina and this one is used only when they visit for some reason.

Our office is in a really good location on the first floor and will be ready by the end of November which means maybe by Christmas.  We shall see.  In the mean time we have the choice of going to the closed office to make contacts or work where ever we can find space open in the main office building (or in the hall).  We have been assigned work that is the duty of the volunteers to do because there are only two now and they are only coming in one day a week.  There are participants who need transition interviews (about 138) but have not been contacted in six month.  So tomorrow we will start.  Chris will start answering emails (408) and I will start making transition calls.  The transition calls are to inform the participant that there payment is going up since they have been out of school for over six months.  Some of them have not received the call and are up to a year behind on their payments.  We called one student who had not paid since July 2013.  We talked to her mother and found out that she is saving all of her money to get ready to go on a mission.  So we have to talk to her directly and help her get caught up on the payments before she will be able to go on her mission.  She doesn't know or suspect that that is the case.  There are many ways she can become current which will allow her to go and some may not even mean she will have to pay a large amount but she needs to contact us and make arrangements.  So the work is very different in some ways than we expected.  We shall see. 

We have connected with several senior missionary couples, some who work in the Temple, the mission Doctor and his wife, the assistant area attorney and his wife, the humanitarian missionaries, and the other couple who work in the other office in Santiago.  It is a pleasure to get together and do things like go shopping and have lunch together.    We are scheduled to go on a tour of the Church's olive orchard on Monday which is about an hour out of Santiago.  They produce specially processed olive oil that is very expensive and export it to Spain and Italy.  We will post some pictures after the visit. 


I was walking around the Temple grounds the other night and took some pictures which are not very good because there is not really a good place to get a good shot of the temple but here we are:

This the entrance from the Street during the Day.

 I attended a session last night which was very good for me.  I was feeling very restless because we do not have a home, an office, nor any of the tools we need to do the work.  So I went and in the process felt I need to just be patient.  Sister Johnson held up her hand with the fingers spread and says.  Starting with the thumb: "because we live in Chile" "be patient it will happen but on their time schedule not ours.  So I am being patient at least until tomorrow.  My family knows how impatient and restless I can be when I can not do what I think needs to be done but I am learning SLOWLY.  What can I say I do not like to waste time and each day that passes is one less that we have here to do so much work. 

I love the people I have met so far and they are very grateful that we have arrived but I think the big problem that they do not know what to do with us is because they were not aware we were coming.  Now we are here they are scrambling to get things ready for us. 

I read some emails from some of the participants that made my heart warm today.  They explain how much their life is changed for the better with the loan and education.  They finally have hope for a better future which was unattainable for them before.  There are a lot of people from Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Argentina here fleeing from the socialism and communism and the unrest in those countries.  They fear the same issues that are already in Venezuela to be in the other countries who are aligning with Venezuela.  They see Chile as a stable government and economy where their own countries are very unstable and fear retribution from the government because they do not see them going a good way.  The Chileans have a little fear in that the immigrants are here illegally and the are taking some of the jobs of the lower class people making it hard for them to find work.


Up to now, our mission has been getting settled, but we look forward to some inspiring experiences as we get to actually work with the Saints. 
 





We have had a great Sunday.  We started the day meeting with Elder Falabella of the Seventy to learn more about the Perpetual Education Fund and Self-Reliance.  As it turns out the Student loan is only part of the Self Reliance initiative throughout the world.  So we will have a full plate when we get to our mission.

We had our departure devotional tonight which was a nice devotional with a lot of RA Ra Ra for the missionaries and it is impossible not to get caught up in it.  We love the Spirit of The MTC and the spirit of the missionaries from all over the world.  We sat next to a young Elder Chen and Sister Tsia from Taiwan who were from the same ward in a town called  North Taichung.  They came in together and I think I embarrassed them when I asked if they were married.  They both said "no no no" but they were friends from the same ward.  She happens to be the Sister who took our picture in front of the World Map. They are both called to the Canada Toronto Mandarin Mission.  We told them that they made us home sick for our Chinese Daughter in law.  They laughed and we had an immediate connection. 

 
We have had a great week and half at the MTC.  We also saw my second cousin several times.  This is Elder Brandon Ellis from Colorado.  His dad is my cousin Todd Ellis and he is the grandson of Gerry Ellis.  Elder Ellis is headed to Argentina so we have the Spanish connection as well.

Our bags are packed and we are ready to fly out tomorrow afternoon.  We have had to send a box home that made us overweight. 

Tuesday night we had the weekly devotional with Elder Larry Lawrence of the Seventy and his wife.  He spoke of the ways Satan temps us to get off the right path.  I knew all of the ways that he mentioned, but I was especially touched by the way he put it.  He said that any decision that we make that pulls us away from light and peace is directed by Satan and pulls us away from our Father in Heaven. Some of the feelings that he mentioned were: anger, frustration, fear, contention, depression, impatience, and anxiety.  I thought how each of those have affected me and my family over the years.  I can recollect many occasions that if I had waited and acted out of love instead of falling prey to one of these emotions, I could have had a much better outcome.  All of these can be overcome by faith, and understanding and accepting the gift of the atonement of the Savior. The feeling I had was an amazing feeling of peace and light as I listened to his lecture. 
One of the main things that struck me is how Satan works to destroy families by guiding us into a state of contention, anger, and dishonesty and not being completely forthcoming with our spouses.  He indicated that a tool used many times is sarcasm.  Sarcasm little by little tears down a persons self-esteem and causes depression, anger and distrust.  He counseled us to never say anything about our spouse that would indicate that they are less then a perfect son or daughter of God.  It is so easy to be degrading or cutting without really meaning it and not even thinking about the damage we are doing to spouse or child. 

This will probably be the last post until we are in Chile.  We are so excited to be getting to the field.  The only obstacle we have now is the long ride on a metal tube with a major explosion going on outside at 30,000 feet in the air.  I prefer to call it a flying cattle car.  WISH US LUCK.

The end of the first week

 

We survived the first week with some assume experiences.

We found the famous world map in the MTC.  A young sister from Taiwan offered to take our picture.  Chris has her finger on Santiago Chile.  That is where we are headed on the 16th of Oct, 2014.  We are excited and ready to be at work.  There is way to much extra time for us today.  A whole day off the laundry is done and we are ready for something else.  We would change into P-Day clothes but we have to be in missionary attire for lunch.  I talked to Spencer who was at the airport returning from Orlando.  Maybe we will get to spend the afternoon with them.  That would be great. 

Some members of the MTC district left for their mission areas this morning some left yesterday.  We start our training in Salt Lake for the PEF (Perpetual Education Fund) on Sunday morning with Elder Fabella from the Seventy.  Then on Monday and Tuesday we will work with the directors of PEF and Humanitarian Services.

Our District in the MTC consisted of Elder and Sister Kopa who are headed to southern Brazil, Elder and Sister Hales who are going to West Virginia working in the office, and Elder and Sister Libutee going to Birmingham England work in Member and Leader support.

From left to right: Sister Copa & Elder Copa, Sister Libutti & Elder Libutti, Elder and Sister Ellis, Sister and Elder Hales and in front Brother Taylor Zundal one of our teachers.

We were able to get pictures with some or our instructors.  These young people were incredible with some much enthusiasm and knowledge.

 In this picture is our District with the afternoon teacher Sister Pace.  The picture below has Taylor Zundal and TJ Smith who were team teachers for the Mornings.

 

 



We were really impressed with how much we learned during the time in the MTC learning from the Preach My Gospel.  Friday night Chris and I went to the Provo Temple and missed supper.  We did not suffer to much, but took a walk down to the BYU Creamery to get something to eat.  As we walked we talked how the things we learned would be so helpful with visiting our friends who have, for one reason or other; gone less active.  It is so true that the only way to approach these friends is to go to the basics.  The whole purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to invite all people to come unto Jesus Christ through the principles of the Restoration, Faith in Jesus Christ and the atonement, Repentance, Baptism by one holding the authority of Christ, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  I would like to add that it is so important to bind families together forever through the blessings of the Temple and the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage.  I have come so appreciate so much this statement this week. 

Once a person has the personal revelation of this knowledge there is not a reason in the world that would keep them from the blessings of the Sacrament on a weekly basis. 

I love our Savior Jesus Christ even more than ever before.  I know that he loves us so much that he restored to the earth the Everlasting Gospel and the Authority to act in the name of God through the Priesthood.  This message is so beautiful and vital to the eternal life of us all.

We are excited to learn our duties next week in the training that has been prepared for us. Let us see how it goes. 
More to come.

We have had a whirlwind week as we left Houston early on Monday morning (Sep 29) and flew to Salt Lake City to start an adventure as missionaries for the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We were set apart by our wonderful Stake President and were given marvelous blessings and had a wonderful visit with him. 
We attended Chris's stepfathers funeral and both came down with colds.  Chris was wise and went to bed I went to the Spanish classes.  So you all know the result.  Chris is better I'm still sick.  However, I did learn a lot of Spanish and a lot about Chile in that my volunteers were all return missionaries from Chile or Chileans from Santiago. 

Now for the first day at the MTC we had a wonderful experience finding things and getting settled.  We had hosts who were senior volunteers from the area that come in on the days when new missionaries arrive at the MTC for the purpose of making sure we get to where we are to be when we are to be there.  So it went really smoothly.

Lunch is fun with all of the missionaries coming in to eat in the same hour and half.  It is always possible to run into someone who knows someone you know.  At times you actually run into someone you know.

We ran into Elder Don Jon Barrow from our ward and what a treat.  It feels like home when you see a familiar face.  I don't know if he was as excited to see us as we were to see him.  The Elders and Sisters in the MTC are just amazing.  They are young but do not act like teenagers at all.  They are truly ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have not witnessed one single face that appeared sad or not happy to be serving.  I just love these young missionaries.  They are such and example to the world.

We have instruction from young return missionaries and they are just fabulous.  They teach as if they are degreed, trained teachers but their only training is that which they received on their missions.  Chris and I are just amazed and truly impressed. 

We met today the director of Military relations and some senior missionaries who will be serving on some of the army bases.  We met Elder and Sister Stevens who will be serving at Fort Benning Georgia.  We told them to look out for our Son who will be there in Feb 2015.  They have his name and are going to be watching for him.  He will have a Mom and Dad at Fort Benning.  They are wonderful people and promised to get Jake involved.  There are Missionaries at all of the military instillations in the USA and around the world which makes me more at ease. 

We have a couple more days here at the MTC and start training with the PEF Self-reliant department on Sunday at 9:00 AM at the Church office building on the 19th floor.  I hope that we will be instructed more as to our duties when we get to Chile.  We are asked what we will do and all we can say is: We also would like to know the answer to that question.  We have training Sun, Mon, and Tue, then one day to repack and fly out Thursday afternoon for Santiago Chile.

Thanks to all of our friends and family for the support and love.

The week before leaving.

We have had a very busy week this week. This last week before we leave we are selling cars, stopping our EZ Tag account, Stopping our car insurance, and working on replacing my broken C-Pap machine before we leave.  Wouldn't you know it, the thing broke down just two weeks before we are scheduled to leave. I had to have a sleep study get all my old medical records visit with the Doctor and it has been a real hassle.  Everyone we have dealt with has been super helpful and we are grateful for their patience and help. 

We had no idea how expensive it would be to get ready to go on a mission.  Especially leaving the country.  Just dealing with things like, mail, doctors, cell phone accounts, and making sure our house will be taken care of.  So, anyone who may be preparing to do what we are doing, be prepared for some added expenses and one word of advice, do not renew a cell phone contract so that you have one when you leave.  We can't afford to use a typical service internationally and it is not cheap to get out of a contract.  They do not mind at all charging you the whole amount.  We heard that we could put our account on vacation for the time we would be gone, but found out that was only an option for 6 month max.  Then monthly charges would resume.  It  will be cheaper to buy out the contract but still not cheap.

We were able to visit shortly today with our good friends Butch and Judy Byron.  It was fun to catch up and talk about our up coming adventure.  As we were ordering our meal at What-a-burger, we ran into our old friend Dave McCoy who we haven't seen for several years.  I am glad we were able to reconnect before leaving.  What a blessing.  I truly believe our most valuable treasures are family and friends.

We are asked what we will be doing on our mission. It is hard to shed much light on that and what our duties will be until we get there.  But I am sure it will be a great experience to work with the Chilean people and serve them.  I hope we are able to help someone's life be a little bit better.

We keep packing and repacking to make sure we have not forgotten anything that we really need to take with us.  I am sure we will forget something, but hope to keep those issues to a minimum. 

We have both been in Spanish classes for the last month and have really benefited from the instruction.  Out teachers have been great, young but great.  We are looking forward to meeting them in person when we get to the MTC for more training.

On the 14th of September we spoke church and had an opportunity to speak to our ward members and family that was able to attend.  Our dear neighbor Billy came to listen to us and we felt good that he enjoyed our talks.  One of the highlights of the meeting was the song performed by two of our beautiful granddaughters, Jessica Marcano and Rian Geserick.  They really added to the emotion and spirit of the meeting.  My Daughter Chalice recorded on the sly and is sending me the video.  I hope to post it on this blog when I get it. 
 
We had our daughter and grandson visiting this weekend from Omaha.  Tanya is doing really well and Nathan is growing like a weed.  It's hard to believe he will be three plus when we return, and much more grown. I thought I would add a couple of photos of Tanya's visit with little Nathan.

Chris and Nathan resting during our hike

Tanya decided to join them on the bench.

Well that is all I have to report for now but hope to add more later on. 

 

Called To Serve

This is the photo we sent in with our mission papers

Today I am starting our mission blog.  I am new at this, so please pardon any mistakes that I make.

We woke this morning with news of Chris's stepfather's passing. He was a good man and a good grandfather to our children. We will miss him dearly and hope we can figure out a way to attend the funeral. That means getting to SLC three days earlier then planned.  We already have tickets provided by the mission department for Monday the 29th, but it appears that the funeral is going to be next Saturday. I am sure we shall find a way to be there to honor Grandpa John and be a support to Betty. We are glad are not gone yet, so there is a better chance that we can be there. However, it does mean starting this new, and already stressful, chapter in our lives with a bit of added stress.

We were supposed to fly into SLC on the 29th, as I already stated, then visit family for a couple of days.  We had registered for Spanish emersion class at the MTC on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of October.  Then the plan was to have a relaxing weekend with Chris's mom for conference.  Our official report date is on Monday October 6th. We are to check into the MTC at 10:00 AM. (exciting)

As far as the blog goes, we would like to invite you to join us on this Santiago, Chile adventure. We are so excited to serve, to see another part of the world and to fall in love with the people. I cannot promise how often I will write, or how interesting it will be. I can promise that I will try. I am not a very good journalist and what you read may only be good for putting you to sleep at night.  You may also find big blank days depending on how busy we are or how much fun we are having.  But my goal is to post at least once per week.  We shall see how it goes. Wish me luck!

That is enough for a start up page and I will include more details of this week later.  But this is a pretty good sample of what it will be like. If you are disappointed, you can leave and I won't be offended. However, if you stay and follow I my get better at conveying our experience with practice.