From Rome to Zapallar

A few more photos and comments about the Rome Italy Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ, which is now dedicated. Service for the living and deceased has begun...

Elder Dini Ciacii, an Area Church Authority, said, “My favorite time to take people through the Visitors’ Center was at sunset because then when you look through the glass windows you can see the image of Christ reflected in the glass windows perfectly framed within the temple". 55,000 people came through the Rome Temple in the 3-week open house. Most said it was very beautiful or peaceful, but many said there were no words for how they felt, and they also no longer have doubts that we are Christians!.
“Thousands of people took that picture. They wanted to create a memory. These are people who do not share our beliefs, but they felt something special in this place and they wanted to hold on to it".

"There isn’t anything that is only unique to us in that portrayal of Christ (designed and explained by amazing couple, the Holdmans), except for one thing. We believe that He lives and this personal ministering continues today. That is the difference.  In the mural, Jesus is reaching out with his left hand to lift up a boy who has been plagued by leprosy. His body and right hand are left open, as if the rest of us are invited to come and to heal."

The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are modern-day witnesses of Christ. Watch as living apostles and prophets share excerpts from “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles” from the temple site in Rome, Italy.

On the eve of the dedication, acting President Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles  addressing the huge crowd of youth, said “I want to testify to you that God’s love for you, my beloved young people, it’s real. You are His sons and His daughters. He loves you. He wants to bless you. The Lord has given you a beautiful temple.”
President Nelson offered the dedicatory prayer. An excerpt of this prayer was “In this ancient and great city that has stood since biblical times — in this historic nation of Italy — we acknowledge the ministry of two of Thy Son’s early Apostles, Peter and Paul, who once blessed this land with their labors. May the influence of their abiding testimony of Jesus Christ continue to be felt among the vital values of this great country.”

Meanwhile back in Chile...
Sunday evening as I walk, I always notice a few things of interest...

A big soccer game must have finished at the national stadium, as there were busloads of fans yelling, crowds coming up from our subway stop, and others walking or boarding local buses. Some families are out enjoying the summer evening. Others are at the dog-run or playing in the park. I always love the plants: passion fruit blooms, pomegranates, and even old cars.

All the senior missionaries drove up highway 5 (Pan American Highway) northwest a couple of hours to enjoy three small towns, but mostly to walk on the stone walkway along the lovely coast, with birds, a few distant penguins, starfish, cyprus trees, flowers, and the salty sea air I love. It was very reminiscent of the California coast.

 Valle Hermosa, near La Ligua, was a lush green valley when the Spaniards discovered it, but now it is known as a "sweater town". Many items are still hand-made or hand-loomed,others by machine. Every small shop sells ponchos, sweaters, shawls, etc. (I bought a red sweater), and "dulces de Ligua" which are very sweet and mostly filled with manjar, (boiled sweetened condensed milk).
This poem in various forms has been around for along time, but every time I see a loom (below) I am reminded of it:

                   The Weaver (by B.M. Franklin)

My life is but a weaving,
   Between my Lord and me.
   I cannot choose the colors
He weaves so skillfully.

                          Sometimes He weaveth sorrow
           And I in foolish pride
                Forget He sees the upper
        And I the underside.

Not 'til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And explain the reasons why

                           The dark threads are as needful,
                       In the Weaver's skillful hands
                           As the threads of gold and silver
                       In the pattern He has planned.

I highly recommend a true story called "The Ragged Edge of Night", by Olivia Hawker, which I just read, about a small village in Germany during WWII . The main characters (husband and wife) are deeply and courageously committed to the German resistance movement. They don't know what will happen, but trust that the small threads of their good work in an obscure place will bear fruit.

Chileans love their traditional sweets!

The popular beach resort town Papudo's Playa Grande has some older interesting hotels, but also high rises which dwarf the lighthouse and old fishing village.

We continued south to our main destination, Zapallar, with beautiful coast and secluded multi-million dollar homes. Even some California poppies, nasturtiums, green araucaria, lots of ice plant, and beautiful stonework along the walkway and leading to the lovely homes with lush gardens. And men constructing a huge platform for a wedding in this idyllic setting. A north American birding group shared binoculars, etc. to search for wildlife on "penguin island"...we found a few. Chileans eat a lot of seaweed (cochayuyo), which was abundant! Last time Alma and I never found the stone rambla (walkway) so were delighted Scott could drive and show us the way. I am having trouble shuffling the photos around without duplicating or deleting, (the reason why that blue house is at the end!), so just enjoy them!

This could be Carmel, 

We continued on our way back, stopping for dinner at an almost deserted end of season restaurant, "El Timon"... food was delicious and we were the only customers.

Scott (our awesome chauffeur!), Alma, Nina, Alan, Lorie, Miriam, Jolene, Dan. We ate upstairs, outside with sea smells and view. Now we are back at work at the temple, etc. and awaiting a new couple's arrival on Saturday. Life is full and good here for me.

All Eyes on Rome this weekend (thanks to the internet)

All Eyes on Rome this weekend (thanks to the internet)

It is very exciting that our beloved President Russell M.Nelson, (Church of Jesus Christ) is meeting today with Pope Francis at the Vatican today. 

President Nelson said, "We talked about our mutual concern for the people who suffer throughout the world and want to relieve human suffering. We talked about the importance of religious liberty, the importance of the family, our mutual concern for the youth of the Church, for the secularization of the world and the need for people to come to God and worship Him, pray to Him and have the stability that faith in Jesus Christ will bring in their lives."

Our three members of the First Presidency and all 12 of our Apostles are in Rome, for the dedication of our beautiful new temple (March 10-12). Normally our church leaders travel individually or in pairs, so this is a very special occasion.

People ask me often about the purpose of our temples, and what I actually do as a temple missionary. Watch this simple,beautiful short video tour of the Rome Temple, narrated by 2 of our Apostles, to learn more about its purpose and promise. Part of President Nelson's explanation of our temples:

"A temple is literally a house of the Lord," he said. "Each temple is a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. We build temples so our faithful members can visit often and receive the most sacred ordinances of our faith. Before our temples are dedicated for their sacred purpose, the public is invited to see the beauty of the temple and learn about the commitments we make there with God."

Danish sculptor Thorwaldsen's breath-taking Christus and the original 11 apostles and Paul (replacing Judas) lend power to the Rome Temple Visitors' Center, open to all.
LDS Charities and Catholic Charities work side-by-side in their respective capitals (Salt Lake City and Rome) and throughout the world to help refugees and immigrant groups (such as cooking, language, first aid classes).

Last year, when the U.S. administration reversed its brief strategy of separating immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border, it turned to Catholic and Lutheran organizations to help reunite the families. Those organizations turned to Latter-day Saint Charities for additional funding, "More than 1,800 families were reunited in 75 days between the two agencies," he said. "The sanctity of the family is one of the values most highly cherished by the church and Catholic Charities, so to be involved together in something that dear — helping to reunite those families — was really satisfying."

International Women's Day is celebrated March 8 in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. International Women's Day first emerged from the activities of labor movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe. Sirens could be heard throughout the day in Santiago, and many people stayed home out of fear of protests. In Chile and other places, laws need to change to give men and women equal opportunities, pay, respect, and rights in all aspects of life.

I am grateful that "Barbie" who is 60 years old today, March 9, 2019, is not the role model for female members of our church! We know that men and women, are equally beloved by our Heavenly Father, and though they often play different roles, are equal partners in the home, in the church, and should also be in the community and workplace. We are blessed not by gender, but by our faithfulness in keeping our covenants, doing the best with the talents and opportunities we have been given, and by the sacrifices and efforts we make to improve ourselves, love and help others, and enduring as best we can until we leave this world.

I love to see the Lord’s small and intricate tender mercies. These are not always about big things. Sometimes it is just a little thing, arranged by God, for our joy. They look like “coincidences”, but they would have never happened on their own. When you stop to look at it, you realize your entire life is flooded with these “coincidences.” Make a list and you will realize each day is filled with them. For me, many are "chance" meetings with people in the most unlikely places, with whom you share mutual friends, experiences, interests (our reaction is "it's a small world")

Here and there this week in Santiago....

I have made several visits to the huge Las Condes Clinic recently (nothing serious) and am VERY impressed with the staff, doctors, state of the art equipment and buildings . (this is only one).

We miss the Ortega family with baby Josue, who moved way north to Tocopilla.

As the universities are also back in session, the neighborhood is filling up with walkers, bikes, skateboards, tattoos and laughter.

A year has past as I remember the dahlias being planted around the temple last February/March (I love them, but not the unwanted duplicates!)

There are brilliant sunsets almost every evening . The Rios family has had a memorable week. A few days ago, the soon- to- be Elder Rios ...one of the many wonderful young Chileans... received his endowment at the temple. Next week he will arrive in Provo,Utah, where he will enter the MTC before heading for the Frankfurt, Germany Mission (Rhineland). He was born in New Jersey when his father was serving as Canadian rep. to the UN, and was an exchange student in Austria while in high school, so he already speaks German. The family and guests are waiting for his sister and her husband to finish taking their wedding photos so they can begin their fiesta!

Alma Umber is surprised to see us all gathered to celebrate her birthday, March 9.
Merchants, Isaacsons, Wallaces, Youngs, and Hermanas Pena and Diaz and I, welcomed her after the PM temple shift with "Happy Birthday."In a week we will get a new couple. Yeah!
We are taking a trip to Zapallar on the coast tomorrow, so next blog will have more than just concrete, stained glass and people.

Shortest blog so far

Summer vacation is winding down. Students of all ages return to class in the next two weeks, depending on the school and level.
What this has meant is : no one showed up for my English class this week; the streets of Providencia have been almost empty, but will again be filled with students, skateboards, food vendors; buses and metro and sidewalks will be jammed; this first week of temple re-opening after 2-week maintenance break saw fewer workers and more patrons/visitors, so we worked very hard all week. I can't complain, as I relive my fabulous trips and chance to relax and catch upon paperwork, medical appointments, etc.

The sister missionaries are a threesome for this month, as new Sister Isaacson from Alpine, Utah, was reassigned from Portugal to Santiago East to join dynamic duo Araya (Chile) and Gallego (Colombia). They and Sister Umber and the Wallaces came for lunch yesterday. Sister Gallego is really a very polite person! They are teaching 18 people at the moment...that is a lot!

Xiomena, my Pathways English speaking partner from La Paz, Bolivia (who comes to practice English with me every Sunday afternoon) has joined them to help teach occasionally. She is a returned missionary, and an architect who designs McDonalds buildings in Latin America...she loves her job,and is a wonderful person and just called to be in charge of activities for the Relief Society (women's organization) of our ward, Pocuro.

Sunday night as we were out walking, we saw
an interesting sunset (smoke from a fire?)

...and Rappi deliverers (one of many delivery companies)

The angel Moroni beckons to all the world, and maybe to those waiting to live across the street when the crane has finished its work. Hopefully they will feel the spirit of the temple.

Monday afternoon I was so delighted to find Anny and Jorge Olmos ,with whom  I spent a few days in Antofagasta (n. Chile) last September, waiting for the hostel to open. Her mother with Alzheimers passed away in January, so they are now free to come work at the temple. Among the group (above) are Christian and Norma (Relief Society president in Antofagasta, who came to stay with Anny's mom so we could get out to see the city). Norma is receiving her endowment in the temple as I write this. So many special people in this country!



Book recommendations:
I have been reading a vividly told memoir "Across the Mekong River," by Elaine Russell, which has taught me so much about the Hmong who fought, and then fled from Laos as the Pathet Lao communist regime made life unbearable, especially as American troops withdrew, and came to the US, where the culture was extremely foreign. Most had never used a stove, a toilet, a bus, a fridge, attended school, lived in an apartment with bolts and locks on the door, seen a TV or phone, and all had lost family to war or in their desperate attempts to escape. They left behind a warm land of green hills, rice paddies, trees and streams, and family, dead or alive, for poor sections of cold concrete cities.
In Chile the largest immigrant group is now Venezuelan, as the violence, tyranny, and unemployment there make life impossible. They are so willing to work hard in this, their new country.
I also just read "50 Children: the Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus," about the daring and courageous rescue by an American Jewish couple, of 50 Jewish children, from 1939 Vienna. Most countries, including the US, refused or were very reluctant or cited laws that opposed acceptance of most refugees at this time. 
All of God's children need the basics: a safe place to live, food and water, and a future. How can any of us turn our back on them, whether of our own or another culture, when we have the means to help? One of our missionary couples adopted 17 young children to give them a better life. Many still struggle, but the alternative could have been much, much worse. We need to get creative, be more generous, or at least more aware, and open our hearts a little wider. We can't take material possessions with us to the next life, and I believe we will be judged eventually, by the love and kindness we've shown, and the service we've given to others.