Leaving on a Jet Plane, don't know when I'll be back again...

Fond farewell to Santiago and wonderful friends

At church, the Isaacsons and I, finishing our missions, each shared our thoughts and testimonies,  and gave and received lots of hugs.
A few of the wonderful people I said good-bye to today:

Ximena (my Pathway speaking partner) and Sariah (whom I first met in the Guayaquil Ecuador Temple) 4 years ago.

Herberto and Jacqueline (a member 1 year); he has been a bishop.

Nunezes (he served until several months ago as mission president in Buenos Aires)

Cony Pardo shared her testimony as she will be changing wards when she gets married this next weekend.

I enjoyed lunch with the Ramirez Mauna family (I had my first meal with them, a wonderful Chilean family, 17 months ago) Dad is in our Las Condes stake presidency, and before that served as bishop of our Pocuro congregation. He works for Hewlett-Packard, so the family has visited my town Palo Alto, California. Isidora was awarded the only scholarship from her school, to BYU (where her older sister is a student) when she graduates from high school in March. Benjamin is only 14!

Silvana loves to cook and made a traditional Mapuche dish (potatoes, squash, corn, beans) "charquecan"

In the afternoon the missionaries gathered to wish the three of us well

Scott and Nina Isaacson and I leave our wonderful Santiago, Chile temple mission tomorrow. They fly to Utah and I to California. This after a great week in

Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls

The Andes were snow-covered, but even more so on the return trip. Buenos Aires is a huge, vibrant, and interesting city of about 18,000,000 people with a great range of affluence to poverty, grand European buildings down to the "villa" shacks. It is filled with parks with ancient gigantic trees.

The "Casa Rosada" is home to the president's offices as well as the balconies from where Evita Peron preached to her thousands of fans from 1946 until her death from cancer in 1952, at age 33.

The city cathedral contains the tomb of the great Argentinian General Jose de San Martin, who first liberated Argentina, then Ecuador, Peru and Chile. I watched the changing of the guard at the tomb.

Also on Plaza de Mayo is the Cabildo, the town hall, where in May 1810, independence from Spain was declared.
I was grateful for the obelisk to keep track of where I was!

The Teatro Colon (first venue opened in 1857) is reputed to have the best acoustics of any opera house in the world. I was fortunate to get a ticket for the superb Mozart and Schumann symphonies concert by the Irish national chamber orchestra the first evening. Photos are not allowed inside so the below is from the internet

The Libertad Street synagogue is magnificent. It has a great organ and wonderful museum of Jewish traditions, culture, history in Argentina. My hostel was just down the street from the above two buildings, as well as the Cervantes Theater, and across the street from the National School for Intelligence! The area is called Recoleta, with embassies, shops, restaurants, and a beautiful cemetery where most of the elite (presidents, generals, Evita, etc. are buried. 
Soccer is everywhere (the next day I took a hop-on, hop-off bus to the see all the important sites, including the famous River Plata stadium)

Church by the cemetery

Cultural center of Recoleta

Congress at opposite end of Avenida de Mayo from Casa Rosada

The Ateneo, formerly a magnificent theater, is now an incredible bookstore with books in every former balcony, box, orchestra on all levels!

Unlike Chile, where education is very expensive at all levels, with its tiny school vans, Argentinian school buses are all red with white tops. Schools all the way through university are free and excellent. And there seemed to be school groups everywhere I visited.

La Boca is an area of brightly colored buildings, lots of restaurants, bars, and street art

Most of the 1000's of skyscrapers are so tall I couldn't get photos once I moved inside (it was freezing on top!)

This is the very interesting "Fishermen's club"near the domestic airport.

The River Plata Stadium holds 60,000 and venue of the 1978 World Cup, and also of many concerts

Evita never held political office (though her fans hoped she would be vice-president to her husband during his second term,but she preferred to put her theatrical skills (she had been a successful actress) and her love for the workers and common people in championing unions, the vote for women, schools.

I took a fun boat ride on the Rio Plata in and out of the world's largest river delta, with islands not connected by bridges. All food, services, schools (10-2 PM) are by boat. An Argentinian President, Saramiento's house is enclosed in a cube of glass. He used to own many acres. Homes range from poor shacks to mansions. we ended at the resort town of Tigre and took a bus back to Buenos Aires.

And what they claim to be the world's largest amusement park.

And of course the TANGO show in the Viejo Almacen (a small but old authentic venue) 

was spectacular! And I enjoyed some great Andean musicians, especially reminiscent of my mission in Ecuador.

I enjoyed some fabulous museums, but will save those for a separate photo link when I have time. I found the Argentinian people very friendly and helpful, the crowded streets energizing, the architecture beautiful. I left Buenos Aires in a pouring thunderstorm, with flooded streets, to visit a dream destination, the spectacular Igauzu Falls on the border between Argentina and Brazil. I was not disappointed! (most of the photos will be in a later link, but here is a sample..) We started at the Iguazu River on top (little train and walking along metal board walks), came down to a second level, and then took a very exciting boat ride on the rapids and right under these gigantic and very wide powerful falls...

Except for the Japanese in our boat who were wrapped up tight in plastic, we were totally drenched, but thrilled on our "Great adventure!! From Iguazu I flew back to Buenos Aires, passing the Obelisk (red in early morning) and Buenos Aires Temple, and then the next morning on to Santiago over the very snowy Andes (it apparently rained all week while I was away). The Brazilians next to me had never seen snow before.

After 18 months working side by side with and among wonderful Chileans and missionaries in the most sacred place on earth, the temple, I have a new perspective on what is of lasting worth and importance to me, my family and friends, and for those who have departed this life. I hope I can keep this spirit of service, this focus as I return home tomorrow. My suitcases are too full, but my heart is even fuller with the love I feel for others here and at home; my mind is filled with lasting impressions of a beautiful country, and my eyes are able to see more clearly the good, the joyful, the positive in what life has to offer. If I listen to the counsel of our inspired church leaders, I will, with the soft voice of the Holy Ghost, be more able to discern God's will for me in my everyday personal life; and I can be a light to others, my friends and family and those I meet, and be truly happy myself despite the challenges that come to us all.