Almost Christmas

Santiago Temple

In this Valparaiso cemetery (Protestant) is buried the infant son, Omner, of Parley P Pratt when he came as an LDS apostle to open missionary work in Latin America in 1851, There is a large plaque on the wall.

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Valparaiso
Valparaiso is one of hometowns of poet Pablo Neruda (and his friends). 
Sister Edwards and I spent a day in Valparaiso wandering the hilly streets, taking tram up the rocky cliffs, admiring or at least enjoying the crazy street art, narrow, steep steps, street dogs, searching for things we could or couldn't find among the maze of small winding streets.

 This colorful street with street dogs in the shade is topped by "We are not hippies but happies!" Like most streets there are steep steps, street art of every color and design. The ballast of ships in this old and huge port to the west of Santiago, was ground into adobe and plastered onto the buildings and painted over and over. There are trams/ funiculars to ascend the tallest hills. Very rocky, narrow steps and roads wind up and down.
 Typical colorful street in Valparaiso, founded about 1530 by Spaniard, but really settled and expanded by families of sailors in the 1800-1900's. It is a world heritage site, and is just south and connected to Vina del Mar, a lovely seaside city. Sister Edwards and I spent about 6 hours enjoying just roaming around.

Part of a large mural depicting every part of Chile, the longest and perhaps most diverse country in the world.

The beautiful building at the top is the Baburizza home, now the fine arts museum

In this cemetery (Protestant) is buried the infant son, Omner, of Parley P Pratt when he came as an LDS apostle to open missionary work in Latin America in 1851, There is a large plaque on the wall.

Looking towards Vina del Mar and the new part of Valparaiso.

The bus ride from Santiago to Valparaiso takes about 80 minutes

Almost Christmas in Chile albeit summer!

a cultural center near the temple

Walking to the tallest building in South America, the Costanera with large shopping center. The streets around our neighborhood are wide, clean and shaded with a canopy of tall trees. Everyone uses these carts when shopping, especially as we walk or ride the bus.

The Poulsens (far right and far left) invited our afternoon shift (3:15-10) for dinner on Sunday. Sisters Umber and Edwards, the Muntzings, the Hurleys (new also)

I was privileged and pleased to help recent Haitian immigrants Jean Marc and Rose Almeida with her temple endowment and their sealing on my first day. I think I was put here as I was the only one there who was able to help them in French!

What a different climate for Christmas! Everyone is bustling around buying, wrapping, wishing Feliz Navidad! I am just trying to adapt to a new time zone and summer heat, figure out how to use a toaster oven to bake cookies, a tiny hot plate to cook spaghetti sauce, the right adapters to charge my electronics, learn the bus and metro (excellent) routes, but I already love it here! I am surrounded by new friends and places and love. I feel very blessed to serve in the Lord's beautiful temple here, to have a deep testimony that God loves and cares for each of his children, and has given us this special time of year to be grateful for life itself and for all those people and things we hold dear.