A Quiet First Week of Winter

I have loved the opportunity to inherit this wonderful English class which we hold in the cozy well-equipped "Institute of Religion" (for college-age students) room next door to the temple. I'm so grateful to speak English as my first language, as in most of the world it is now the common language, and those who speak English definitely are at an advantage today.
Teaching well-behaved motivated adults is quite a different task from my 150 per day high school students! A former student sent this photo of me in my classroom 25 years ago. Without computers, etc. it took a lot of visual aids, projectors, cassette players, and paper, etc. to teach 5 different levels of French! What a lot of stuff! Unbelievable! But I still have mostly fond memories of those days and keep in touch with many students.

 

One of the great joys of life is making new friends like Maria from Peru who left Arequipa, Peru, a year ago to work in Chile, leaving behind 4 beautiful grown daughters. Our church building is so cold we keep our coats and scarves on during our services/class.
Since not too much has been happening here this week, it has been a time of reflection.....

A sweet older couple have been in the temple every day...real "campesinos".. who rode horses, took a couple buses and a train (many hours of travel) to spend time in the temple. They live so far from"civilization" they can only attend Sunday meetings about 3 times/year. How much am I willing to sacrifice?

I was so impressed to look into the faces of 11 young elders and 3 sisters who have just finished their 24 and 18 month missions, no longer the young and naive18 and 20-year-olds they were upon arrival:

They are mature and peaceful as they have dedicated time, heart and soul to serving God and his children. They now are better prepared to continue their studies, raise families, lead others. What a blessing a mission is to others and themselves and their future families.

As I received news that a dear friend is close to returning to the end of her mortal journey, I am grateful for all she has taught and meant to me and my family. I have had so many mentors in life.

As we react to the huge refugee crisis in our turbulent world, I am sobered to learn that 2/3 are taken in by just 4 countries: Uganda, Bangladesh, Turkey, and 1 other. The other 1/3 are spread among the rest of the world. Are we being too selfish when we have more resources than most? And how about the separation of families, the most basic and important unit of society?

Politics has so badly contaminated so many religions, which should only be a conduit for love and understanding, for truth. By heeding the inspired leadership of our prophet, the truths contained in scripture as confirmed to us individually by the Holy Ghost, and knowing that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, loving and caring for all his children, we can trust that God never intended for us to be so divided, so antagonistic. He knew greed, envy, competition, selfishness would be among man's biggest challenges. It doesn't have to be that way if we look into the heart of others and try to see as God sees!

How small the world is! These two wonderful Ecuadorian couples stayed at my home in California last year. And here is my friend Lorna Rayos, new temple missionary in Guayaquil, having lunch with them. The Rivadeneira's (on the right) daughter Karen spent the previous summer at my house, studying ballet in San Jose. She is now a missionary in Bolivia!

The Baquerizos and Rivadeneiras with my friend Lorna Rayos in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

 Around Providencia: last vestiges of
fall along a Mapocho Canal, lots of
parks.

 You never know what people will try to sell on the street pelts? furs? Would this go over in the U.S.?

 At the National Library I enjoyed the exhibit of the literary-political group 1938, with "El Peneca" children's magazine and many authors I had known nothing about.

Another exhibit was about Chilean poet, musician, illustrator David Rosenmann Taub, whose parents were literary and musical figures, immigrants from Poland.

 Tonight, June 25 (in another hemisphere it would be Christmas!) we had a fun and delicious farewell potluck dinner with all the senior missionaries to bid farewell to the Jensens and Enkes. 

Nina Isaacson and Brother Hughes
(new East mission office finances)

Sister Hughes

Elder and Sister Black from Livermore, CA, are the Jensens' replacements. They also served in the Oakland Temple.

The Castros and Munzings

Quinn and Lisa Jensen have been amazing, working with Welfare, Humanitarian, Pathways, and Addiction recovery, etc.

Downers, Isaacsons and Enkes

Alan Enke has been a legal missionary, Marnie has taught Pathways, Institute, and English to employees and others. They say the mission has brought them even closer as a couple. We will miss both couples as friends and as wonderful missionaries who have been a tremendous support to all, even "the least of (our Heavenly Father's children)."

Alan and Marnie Enke, Quinn and Lisa Jensen

Sisters de Schweinitz and Umber, Elders and Sisters Isaacson, Schultz, Muntzing, Poulsen, Downer, Enke, Jensen, Pres. and Sister Wilhelm, Pres. and Sister Castro, Hughes, Blacks, Sister Atkin (husband out of town)

We all miss our families and friends and other activities at home, but feel blessed to have the opportunity to offer our time and love, to do our part in strengthening, teaching, serving, each in his or her own way, the members and others we associate with in Chile. We want all to know we love doing the Lord's work. As one of our beloved Apostles, Elder Holland, has said ..."in every hour He is, with nail-scarred hands, extending to us...grace, holding on to us and encouraging us, refusing to let us go until we are safely home in the embrace of Heavenly Parents. For such a perfect gift, I continue to give thanks, however inadequately."