Wed,
Oct 24, 2012 . . .Hi! When`Becca
took us to the airport Mon. Oct.22nd shortly before 10:30 a.m.) we
were grateful to see that our home scale was accurate enough so that
all our bags fit within the weight-limit-leeway for international
flights! After a 4-hr. layover in Atlanta, our 9 hr. red-eye-flight
got us into Santiago Tues. at 8:30 a.m. local time. So we're here!
We're a bit bleary-eyed; but we're ready to go. =) ~LOVE YOU
LOTS!!!
We
are thinking of you today,10-28-12: Please know our love and
prayers are with you continually! As you may imagine, this has been a
very busy week for us.The office couple whose
place we are taking--the Musgrave's, picked us up at the Santiago
airport Tuesday morning, drove us 50 mi. south to
Rancagua, helped us check into our hotel room (where we'll be until
the Musgrave's leave next Tues.), instructed us to take a nap (which
was MOST welcome because although I had been able to sleep a little
on our 9-hr. red-eye flight from Atlanta, Sam had NOT--so he'd been
awake for nearly 30 hrs.!), ....took us out for pizza a few hrs.
later with the office elders =), then let us get a good night's
sleep!
The next morning, we accompanied them to the Tupahue Zone District Mtgs. at the Tupahue Stake Center (one of 2 stakes in Rancagua) where we met two other senior couples and all the young elders and sisters who comprise the Tupahue Zone. We will be part of the Tupahue Zone when the mission office moves to a new location in a few months. Imagine our surprise and delight when one of the first people we met was Elder Craven, the nephew of our good bishop and his wife, David and Radawn Mehr! They had asked us to look for him and convey their love and best wishes. It was sweet for us to be able to keep our promise so promptly! We were introduced and invited to share our testimonies before excusing ourselves so the Musgraves could teach us more about what goes on at the mission office. We met with other senior missionaries assigned to Rancagua for lunch that day.
Another fun discovery we made is that Elder Charles and Sister Adela Musgrave, our mentors, have been friends with our across-the-street-neighbor, Sharon Dustin, since they both lived in the same ward in CA many years ago!
While at our hotel's breakfast buffet this morning, we shared a table with a very nice man who noticed our name tags and asked a bit about the church. Copper mining is a big industry here; and this man is a mining engineer here...originally from the Vina del Mar coastal tourist town near Santiago. He had had a few lessons with the missionaries about 20 years ago. He remembered a bit about Joseph Smith; but said he couldn't remember much he'd learned before...except that Mormons are Christians. =) When we asked if he'd care to learn more, he said he would; so we were excited to be able to pass along a referral to the Elders assigned to his neighborhood. We feel this was a direct answer to our prayers to be guided to someone with whom we could share gospel truths...and then to have the courage to open-our-mouths and do so. What a great way to start a day!
We met our mission pres. and his wife Thursday when we had lunch at the mission home. They had just returned from a mission presidents' conference in Argentine with Elder Oaks and Elder Bednar and a few other general authorities. They are lovely people and we look forward to getting to know them better. They invited us and the Musgrave's to a Zone Leader's conference the following day...where we were invited to share our testimonies so the zone leaders could get to know us better.
Saturday is our mission-office-crew's P-day. The Musgraves had things they wanted to do in Santiago before heading home; so we did not go into the office...but rather studied proceedural manuals in our hotel room, walked to a nearby Lider store (local Walmart =) and caught the BYU-Georgia State game that evening. ;-) We've eaten out a few times; but bought a few sandwich fixings to keep in a small fridge in our room for the evening meal when we're too tired to go out.
Today we attended Sacrament meeting ONLY ...because local elections today prohibited social gatherings of any kind, which evidently included all others meetings EXCEPT sacrament mtg. We were invited to share our testimonies again. Dad said I did better with the language today than on Friday...so there may be hope for me. ;-)
The next morning, we accompanied them to the Tupahue Zone District Mtgs. at the Tupahue Stake Center (one of 2 stakes in Rancagua) where we met two other senior couples and all the young elders and sisters who comprise the Tupahue Zone. We will be part of the Tupahue Zone when the mission office moves to a new location in a few months. Imagine our surprise and delight when one of the first people we met was Elder Craven, the nephew of our good bishop and his wife, David and Radawn Mehr! They had asked us to look for him and convey their love and best wishes. It was sweet for us to be able to keep our promise so promptly! We were introduced and invited to share our testimonies before excusing ourselves so the Musgraves could teach us more about what goes on at the mission office. We met with other senior missionaries assigned to Rancagua for lunch that day.
Another fun discovery we made is that Elder Charles and Sister Adela Musgrave, our mentors, have been friends with our across-the-street-neighbor, Sharon Dustin, since they both lived in the same ward in CA many years ago!
While at our hotel's breakfast buffet this morning, we shared a table with a very nice man who noticed our name tags and asked a bit about the church. Copper mining is a big industry here; and this man is a mining engineer here...originally from the Vina del Mar coastal tourist town near Santiago. He had had a few lessons with the missionaries about 20 years ago. He remembered a bit about Joseph Smith; but said he couldn't remember much he'd learned before...except that Mormons are Christians. =) When we asked if he'd care to learn more, he said he would; so we were excited to be able to pass along a referral to the Elders assigned to his neighborhood. We feel this was a direct answer to our prayers to be guided to someone with whom we could share gospel truths...and then to have the courage to open-our-mouths and do so. What a great way to start a day!
We met our mission pres. and his wife Thursday when we had lunch at the mission home. They had just returned from a mission presidents' conference in Argentine with Elder Oaks and Elder Bednar and a few other general authorities. They are lovely people and we look forward to getting to know them better. They invited us and the Musgrave's to a Zone Leader's conference the following day...where we were invited to share our testimonies so the zone leaders could get to know us better.
Saturday is our mission-office-crew's P-day. The Musgraves had things they wanted to do in Santiago before heading home; so we did not go into the office...but rather studied proceedural manuals in our hotel room, walked to a nearby Lider store (local Walmart =) and caught the BYU-Georgia State game that evening. ;-) We've eaten out a few times; but bought a few sandwich fixings to keep in a small fridge in our room for the evening meal when we're too tired to go out.
Today we attended Sacrament meeting ONLY ...because local elections today prohibited social gatherings of any kind, which evidently included all others meetings EXCEPT sacrament mtg. We were invited to share our testimonies again. Dad said I did better with the language today than on Friday...so there may be hope for me. ;-)
We took a walk this afternoon and are learning our way around town little by little. The weather has been BEAUTIFUL! Sweaters are welcome in the mornings; but only one day was completely overcast. Please know that we are very appreciative of the love and support you give us . . .Please know that our love and best wishes are with you ALWAYS!!!
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