Fiestas Patrias

Friday, 18 September, was Fiestas Patrias – the Independence Day for Chile; and  Saturday, 19 Sep was Army Day.  Both were both celebrated with family time, parades, eating and dancing.  The big soccer (futbol) field complex just behind the big Wanderers Stadium up by our cemetery was one of the main celebrating spots for Valpo.  It took over a week and much work and one day of no electricity at the cemetery to get it ready.  It had booths, carnival-type rides, food and horses and…

We celebrated by working at the Cementerio Friday and Saturday.  How better to sample two full “typical” Chilean almuerzo (lunch) spreads.  It reminded us of how the Army dining facilities always went all-out to serve “the best” on the major holidays.  We were served their delicious grilled ribs, a special salsa, an empanada and for desert/drink the mote con huesillos (half-dried whole small peach with juice and whole cooked wheat-type kernels).

Saturday, the Estaca  Valparaiso Oeste had its first activity to celebrate Fiestas Patrias.  The Fiesta all started with everyone’s going outside and singing the Chilean Nation Anthem while they raised a big flag….  Very good church PR for people on the street!

  Then we enjoyed each ward’s rendition of  “La Cueca” (national dance of Chile).  Games were played on the patio, and we enjoyed  being together.  And of course there was food:  the Chileno choripan, empanada and mote con huesillos.

  

Signs of Spring

One year ago today, we entered the MTC to serve as Records Preservation Missionaries in the Chile Viña del Mar Mission.  Spring, Summer and Fall were absolutely wonderful, and now we have survived the winter months and la primavera is “…busting out all over!”

  Our days are growing longer!  We are now catching our morning bus in the light of day and we’ve noticed the plants are budding, birds are singing and kites are flying. 

The kites are small squares – about 12 inches each side and no tail.  They fly from balconies and streets, and you can  see young and old enjoying the sport.  Some pick up the breeze and head sooo high, while most take nosedive crashes.  Many are scarfed-up by the yet leafless tree limbs!

One year!  We miss family.  We miss hugs!

I miss my sisters!

Janelle, Me, JoAnne, Sally and Jane just before Geff and I entered the MTC

My sisters are cheering us on!!   

Janelle, JoAnne and Jane had already dropped off Sal from a time together.  

We are thinking of Elder Scott tonight.

What a tremendous apostle! 

 

 Some of our favorite thoughts from Elder L. Whitney Clayton’s recent devotional to the Young Adults:

“Develop beauty of the soul… Thou shalt be like a watered garden…”

“We cannot sink our roots deep unless we always remember Him.”

“We need dry spells so our roots will go down deep.”

“Smooth sailing is its own test.”

“Through His Atonement we can be cleansed, changed, healed, refined.”

Happy Birthday, Preston

Happy 16^th Birthday on the 21st, Preston G. Heflin;

 Great name and heritage you have!  We love to hear your Mom’s reports on your activities and your busy life of church, seminary, school, friends and running.  Quite an impressive schedule you keep.  I remember (way back) when you used to want to sleep til noon every day…, and now here you are - doing early runs and early morning seminary!  We are very proud of your great attitude to get it all done right.  You have prepared well to be ordained a priest soon.  Then you will be able to bless the Sacrament and baptize.  The Aaronic Priesthood is the authority to perform these ordinances which are essential for us all to return to live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus. 

The final key element of the gospel of Christ is to endure to the end.  As a runner, you know the importance of enduring to the end.  Have you seen that MormonAd with a picture of a runner just a few feet away from the finish line – all bent over – with hands on knees – and gasping for breath?  …and the caption is “FINISH”.   I am so proud you are a finisher. 

Here are a few photos along the route of my weekly long run of 6 miles on P-Day.

  I don’t go very fast here – especially on the mile-long hill from our apartment down to the bay (and back), but I often think of you while I run/jog.  Keep up the good work! 

Last Wednesday night we experienced our first big terremoto (earthquake)!! First, we felt a “regular” (4.0 – 5.0) tremor.  No big deal – we’ve had these before.  But after the “normal” 20-30 seconds, it did not stop. 

The intensity increased and it went on for a good 2 minutes.  It was a long, rolling 2 minutes and a lot of swaying from our 10^th story apartment.  There have been many smaller tremors since, but none as big: 

§  Strongest quake in the world so far this year - 8.3. 

§  It was less than 100 miles NW of us, off the coast near Illapel. 

§  A 15-foot tsunami hit the immediate coastal area, taking at least 11 lives and doing much damage to Coquimbo – more to the north. 

§  Valpo had a 6-foot wave – no damage. 

We have downloaded an interesting “app” (Earthquake+  for our iPhone) which lists worldwide earthquakes in almost real time. 

It has confirmed that our area has had many 4.0 – 5.0 aftershocks, with the latest one being felt by us just after church today…! 

A few weeks ago, our mission had a visiting authority, Elder Viñas.

He taught the missionaries three ways to know you are/were a success on your mission:

        1.  You went.  You are here.  You are putting the rest of your life on hold and dedicating some time to the Lord.  Congratulations and thanks….

        2.  You yourself are truly converted to the gospel.  You “get it” and you will remain strong for the rest of your life.

        3.  You give your “all” in your efforts to build and strengthen the church as you work to baptize, retain and reactivate.

  

Your brother is setting a great example for you.  We love his thoughts on accountability:  Elder R. Heflin says:  “So, I'm preparing for the sacrament every single day by accounting in my prayers each night.  I go over things that I need to do and things that I need to stop after I take a good look at every day, and I focus on those things and commit to improve on them.   The pattern follows daily and all of a sudden progression becomes so much easier!    So I set some goals a few weeks ago and so far so good...."

Remember:  "What we DO and DON'T DO really matters...

There is no better pattern of life than following the pattern of Jesus Christ". Worldwide Devotional Sep 2015. Elder L. Whitney Clayton.

Happy Birthday, Eve

Dear Eve,

Happy Birthday tomorrow to our first teenage granddaughter!!  We love you.  Thanks for your cheery care for others. 
 You are an example of "bold humility" – That is the term used by Amy Nelson in her blogpost thattheymaybelight.  She is a friend of your Mom's Aunt Julie.  Here are some of her thoughts:

“A humble person is ‘…confident that you can do whatever the Lord requires of you if you rely on Him.’ (Preach My Gospel, p. 120)

“The great missionary Ammon is a great example of bold humility...He did not tout his own skills or strength, nor did he cower to the king’s wishes, and when it came time to testify about Lord’s power he didn’t hold back. He was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
He is not alone, the scriptures are filled to the brim with examples of humble and bold testimonies of Christ: Abinadi before King Noah, Nephi standing up to his brothers, Joseph Smith asking which church is true, and of course Jesus Christ never denying His identity and sacrificing all for it….
...you can be humble and not be afraid to be yourself. You can be humble whether you are quiet or expressive. You can be humble whether you are an introvert or an extrovert or somewhere in-between. You can be humble and like to speak in church. You can be humble and like to teach lessons. You can be humble and know that you are one of God’s chosen people. You can be humble and say that you are a Child of God. You can be humble and be confident. Each one of us is capable of being both bold and humble as we become more like Jesus Christ."

  

Dixon Summer

  

We have learned a new meaning for “taco” since we have been in Chile.  We eat lunch with the workers at the cemetery, and in the lunchroom is a TV.  A few weeks ago, there was a trucker strike which totally blocked Route 68 between Santiago and Valparaíso.  The TV headlines said “…taco on ruta 68.”  So we learned from our buddies in the lunchroom that a “taco” is a traffic jam – the dictionary says “mess”. The next week after the trucker strike, there were a few rumors on Monday about a possible strike Tuesday by the bus drivers.  All looked pretty normal as we bussed to work early.  That all changed later in the morning.  They went on a one-day strike after the morning rush hour.  So basically they got everyone to work and then stranded them there.  That included us.  But not to worry, it all worked out fine. One of the workers at the cementerio gave us a ride in his car from Cerro Playa Ancha down to the “plan” (the flat part by the water), and we walked home from there.  Good bit of afternoon exercise.  It was only 3+ miles, but the last half was up-hill to our Cerro O’Higgins.

Our walk home took us past the library

 

past Plaza Victoria

 

We met a family who walked up our same cerro; and Dad treated with heldado at Marco Polo

What a Dad!!  "We usually take the micro, but...".  (2 sets of twins plus older brother and sister)

We would do anything for our family.  We love you!!