Oh, in reference to my p.s. ~ I think the missing white memo was an effort to explain that I had just added messages in two different colors (NOV: orange and OCT: teal) because I couldn't figure-out how to add previous email messages chronologically.  Now that I'm becoming more familiar with blogging, I hope not to have to do that again :-)  meanwhile, please pardon my disorganization-dust!  xoxoxo

Wow ~ is December flying as quickly for you as it is for us?  Dec. 1, 7, 9 and 15th our mission hosted Family Christmas Devotionals in four different chapels: San Fernando (% southern branches) Buin (a branch 35 mi. no. of us) Rancagua (where the mission home is located) and El Bosque (a ward 50 mi. no.--a southern suburb of Santiago).  Elder B. was assigned to drive a half-dozen missionaries who were key participants in the concerts from the mission office south to San Fernando and north to Buin, so it was our privilege to attend those two concerts.  Elder B. was pressed into service by the ZL's as soon as we arrived in San Fernando--to help one of them travel to Chimbarango (another 35 min. south) to pick-up a keyboard that would be needed for the performance (in addition to the piano already at the chapel).  The other, Elder Jara, needed to spend a few minutes rehearsing with key performers as an accompanist.  He also did an EXCELLENT job directing a missionary choir later that night!

We got to tag-along w/Pres. and Sis. MacArthur to a devotional at the temple grounds in Santiago Dec. 8th at which two of our missionaries were participating.  One, Elder Coello--from Chile, is an excellent classical pianist.  And you may have heard of the other, Elder Archuleta--from Utah. ;-) Because Elder A. is so well-known by many, Elder B. also served by helping him leave each venue after just a few minutes of socializing ~ before the crowd could hem him in.  When Elder A. followed Elder B. closely from each hall, people saw only a tall, handsome, polite gingo making his way through the crowd. ;-)  ...It was WONDERFUL to be on the temple block...because we know Darla and Darrell were there not long ago!

We really didn't know what to expect when we learned we'd be serving in the same mission as Elder A; but have come to have a great respect for this young man.  He is very humble and unassuming... totally focused on missionary work...and was reticent to do anything that would put the spotlight on him rather than on his message.  He agreed to participate in these concerts at the request of presiding authorities.  They, in turn, took many precautions to help ensure the message took center stage. =)

We didn't attend the concert last Sunday because transportation wasn't needed and we were somewhat exhausted from the previous week...so Elder A. followed closely on the heels of Sis. MacArthur that night and people graciously gave-way to a lovely gringo lady (who speaks fluent Spanish btw having served a mission here as a YW ;-) making her way through over 800 people in the Rancagua Stake Center (at least half of which were non or less-active members =).  This was indeed a tender mercy--because when Elders Archuleta, Coello and Jara (another of Elder A's very talented accompanists) presented a fireside for young adults with a YSA choir in Rancagua just before we came, Elder A. was swarmed by guests wanting autographs and taking pix...while the other performers were basically ignored.  This, no doubt, is what precipitated careful planning and advance free-internet-ticket requirements for the Christmas Devotionals. 

There was no clapping by the audience at the first concert due to the sacred nature of the program.  In Buin, some applause began--but was quieted by a nod and a smile when Elder A. made a "sh" sign by putting a finger to his lips. :-)  In Santiago, where the concert was outdoors between the temple and the MTC, there were many more performers...and guests!!!...and people were allowed to express their appreciation by applauding.  They had to open the chapel and an adjacent building for folks to view the program via video transmission because there was insufficient seating outside.  There was a lovely, larger display of nativity scenes there, too, at the chapel adjacent to the temple.  The folks in Santiago invited Elder A. to participate in each of several Christmas programs presented there; but  Pres. MacArthur allowed them to pick one day...so Elder A. could focus on missionary work. 

As it was, he and his companion had investigators come to the program in Santiago...and while Elder A. was warming-up w/accompanists, his companion and one of our AP's taught them the discussion about tithing while seated on the beautiful grounds at the temple.  These folks already had a baptism date set for a few weeks from now...but after their discussion that evening, they moved the date up to Dec. 22...which was the highlight of Elders Archuleta's and Pena's evening!  They're all looking forward to being INSIDE the temple together next year at Christmastime.  Can you imagine ANYTHING more joyous???

It's been humbling...and amazing, really...to see such a lovely program come together with so few rehearsals as Pres. M. was adamant about missionaries spending very little time away from their sectors.  The senior missionary couple that works with the YSA here, the McKinleys, were instrumental in organizing everything, getting copies of music and getting them translated into Spanish, and arranging for EVERYTHING from transportation to red+green corsages for the sister missionaries and YSA's singing in the choirs.  Another senior couple serving in Buin, the Grant's, arranged a lovely creche-display for people to view before the concert there...and decorated the chapel beautifully!  In Rancagua, many Books of Mormon at a display table found new homes. :-)  It was a joy to get to know better the Elders and Sisters who traveled with us to San Fernando and Buin and Santiago.  We are grateful to be able to associate with such valiant souls day-in and day-out. 

All the music and narration was in Spanish, of course (except "The Prayer" which was sung in Italian and English =)...so I found myself concentrating especially hard to understand the words and follow the message.  Even tho' I was familiar with most of the music...and even the scriptures...it was like dew from heaven when "ah-ha!" moments would help me understand which verse was being sung and/or which scripture was being referenced.  I know that is a tender mercy too...a gift of the Spirit... and am deeply grateful for each opportunity to recognize sweet affirmations of testimony and truth!

We had the opportunity to join our bishop and his wife and 17 yr.old son (who has just submitted his mission paperwork =) at a FHE with a less-active member, Malvina, on Dec. 3rd.  She's a lovely lady who has authored a small book of poetry and is working on her first novel.  When I admired her poetry (about music and nature and building relationships...what's not to love? =) she presented me with a copy as a gift!

Dad presented a ward family history fireside on Dec. 6th.  Elder Belmar who has been working w/us here in the office contributed by sharing a slide presentation about helps available on-line for researching names, dates and places in Chile.

This Sunday, Dad (mostly ;-) and I will be speaking at a fireside for the YSA's in Rancagua about our experiences serving missions and how these young people can help the work progress.

We love and miss you all a great deal...and are extremely grateful for every means we have of staying in-touch. Our fervent prayer is that the Spirit of Christ may fill our hearts and homes ~ and that our love for the Lord...and for our fellowmen...may grow ~ as each of us in his/her own way strives to be more like Him each day!!!

p.s. somehow while I was posting today, I lost the small message in "white" posted just before this one...if anyone can remind me what it is about, I'll try to re-create it...otherwise, SORRY!  I'm hoping to figure-out how to post pictures soon...;-)  XOXOXO

November 3, 2012: We've been really busy this week getting moved  into the apartment vacated by the previous office couple and trying to fly-solo in their absence.  It will take us awhile to get used to/comfortable with our responsibilities in the office; but, so far, we're still optimistic that will happen.  We took the Musgraves to a Chinese restaurant for lunch the day they left...which was also Dad's birth-day ...and had a very nice meal. They surprised Dad later that afternoon with a German chocolate cake  and vanilla ice cream to share with everyone in the office, which was very nice...and yummy!  Office elders took them to the airport in Santiago shortly  after 6 p.m. that day.

This morning (our P-day) the office elders invited us to go on a 'paseo' (an outing) with them to a place near Coya, a small town nestled at the foot of the Andes near Rancagua. The biggest employer in the area, a copper-mining company called El Teniente, busses workers from Rancagua and Machali to and from a huge mine beyond Coya each day...so we passed many of those.
 

In Coya, we also passed several 'huasos' (gauchos/cowboys) riding and leading horses to and from various places. It is a very picturesque, beautiful and dusty area! We had lunch by a river; the sound of which was music to my ears. Orange poppys grow EVERYWHERE here, just like sunflowers grow along the roadsides at home.   They are very cheery. Because it's springtime here, beautiful flowers are in bloom ie. iris, roses, calla-lillies and others I've not yet formally met. ;-)

We attended a meeting for all the NEWs (new missionaries in the last two weeks) at the mission home.  We learned a lot and are enjoying getting to know Pres. and Sis. MacArthur better. We each taught a short segment about our responsibilities in the office, about the emergency backpacks each NEW ;-) receives, and about the importance of getting baptismal records to us A.S.A.P so each new convert can get a membership record and receive the support they need to continue to progress. Meals at the mission home are always TERRIFIC...so that was a bonus.

Care to hear a funny story? We thought we were purchasing a rotisserie chicken the other day, just after moving into this apartment...which, by the way, will be our home until the end of February when the mission office moves into a remodeled meetinghouse--and we'll need to find a home closer to the new office. Anyway, we obviously weren't paying very close attention; because when we got home, we discovered we had purchased a pork shank, instead of a chicken! (the OTHER white meat, right? =) Evidently even seeing is not always believing! ...Well, guess I'd better go for now. Love you LOTS!!!

November 13, 2012 . . . Hello, again! 'Sorry I've not had time to write much since our first week here...The three weeks we have been here have just flown by! We've been very busy navigating the newbies' =) learning curve while trying to keep things moving as smoothly as possible. Yesterday and today were our first "mission changes". Six missionaries left yesterday...six missionaries arrived today, had interviews w/Pres. MacArthur and were paired with their trainers. Elder Bateman =) taught them how to be good stewards of their debit cards and presented each with a new pillow and blanket. I took individual pictures of each missionary, a pix of each w/Pres. and Sis. MacArthur, and a group pix of the 'news' w/their trainers. (I know exactly what you must be thinking~and YES! that part of my duties comes very naturally! =) Last week I was busy printing and assembling orientation books, trainer books and go-homer books for those involved.

We are amazed, humbled-by and grateful-for the kindness and competence of the four office missionaries with whom we serve. We have gained an enormous respect for how much they accomplish with faithful, cheerful diligence...and it is sweet to see the way they love and encourage all the missionaries they serve-and-lead.
 

We enjoy getting to know the other missionaries, too, little by little...such as when they bring in "registros" which I then use to submit information into the church's convert data entry system. Every Mon./Tues. the assistants gather information reflecting the mission's progress as reflected by our mission's Key Indicators which I use to submit a report on the "i-MOS" (internet-mission office system).

Keeping all the new convert data on a microsoft excel program is a continual process and a constant challenge. Sometimes they are delivered to me and/or the AP's personally. Sometimes they come by email. Sometimes they are filled-out properly and completely...and sometimes NOT, which necessitates some sleuthing.

As financero, Sam has been making-do with very little~ as he can't go to the bank w/o his carnet (a legal document which has not yet arrived). Permission allowing the Chilean elder serving as comisario to do that for him in the meantime just barely arrived... so he knows tomorrow will be a very busy day. Some bills (housing utilities etc.) can be paid automatically (via internet) but some have to be paid in-person because the businesses don't have that type of internet capability. That means he needs to be first in line at the bank to get monies to work with...and then will have to stand in several other lines to get bills paid.

We had a four-day holiday last weekend (that is the country of Chile did =) and at least 3 missionaries had difficulties getting monies from ATM machines...so Sam has had to contest the transactions with the bank to try to recoup their monies. When a missionary loses a debit card, he has to add funds to the card of his companion or ZL so they can get-by until they get new cards, etc. (I'm grateful that is HIS responsibility...and not mine! =)

We moved into the apartment vacated by the previous office couple two weeks ago...and have been getting settled little by little. We have a spare room with bunk beds; so were able to house two elders returning from a doctor's appt. in Santiago last week. It was after 10 p.m. when they got this far, so they borrowed PJ's from the office elders (who also live in our building) and crashed here rather than traveling another hour+ further south so late at night. 

Then, on Sunday and Monday of this week, we housed a sister missionary who had hurt her ankle and had to stay off of it as much as possible. She became a trainer today and a 'mom' to a new sister missionary =). While we needed to be at the mission home, she accompanied two other sisters who just moved into our building with this weeks 'changes'. So, it's been fun to have people here...and help it feel a bit more like 'HOME'.

Last Saturday, we accompanied two office elders to the two southern most zones in our mission: San Fernando and Santa Cruz. We VERY MUCH enjoyed seeing the country open-up into farmland, vineyards and apple orchards. The previous Saturday (P-day for office missionaries, everyone else has P-day on Mondays =) we accompanied the 4 office elders due east to Coya at the foot of the mountains where an electrical plant operates along-side a large river. The country is very pretty there, too; tho' it seems everywhere is DUSTY! We saw men on horseback shepherding horses from one place to another...and goats...and cows...and lots of pretty flowers this time of year. =)  

~We hear you've had LOTS of SNOW lately! ;-)

Nov.22, 2012 . . . Hi! It is business-as-usual here today; but our thoughts are with you. . . and the fact that you are a part of our lives FILLS OUR HEARTS with GRATITUDE!!! Please accept these virtual HUGS and KISSES xoxoxoxoxoxoxo in lieu of the real thing. =)

Our prayer is that each of us may have a lovely, peaceful day amidst tender associations with family (actual or virtual;-) in which we take time to count our blessings...ponder our Heavenly Father's LOVE and purpose for our being here...and the infinitely personal, poignant and powerful gift of the Savior's atonement. These are the things for which we are most grateful. We love you with all our hearts!!!

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. ;-) 

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!!!