hiking 2

The next day, the elevator still was out of order. There were no missionaries in the foyer. We climbed the stairs, pulling the cart along. Out of breath, we arrived at the fourth floor door and found it locked again. I knocked again. And again. And again. No one came. Jay went back down stairs to find someone with a key. The gatekeeper in the foyer usually is gone by the time we get home from the office, so nobody was around. Jay had to walk over to the church administration building, go to the area presidence offices on the third floor to get a key. Then he had to walk back and up the four flights of stairs again. He was done for. But...we didnt want it to happen again the next day, so he walked up two blocks to have a key made (sh, dont tell ). Today, the elevator has been fixed so we didnt need the key.

Goin' Hiking

We went directly to the grocery store after work today. Our cart was full, and we were both carrying another bag or two on the two block walk home. As we approached the elevator, we saw that it was blocked off and the elevator lights werent on. Great! If we'd known, we wouldnt have filled the cart. As luck would have it ( or call it a tender mercy), there were about ten missionaries sitting in the foyer waiting for taxis to take them to the airport. They were going home. We stopped to talk, of course. Elder Mendenhall, from Richmond, offered to carry our cart up four flights of stairs! He did it easily, didnt even break a sweat. Jay is getting better at climbing the stairs, and I am, too. When we got to the top of our hike, the door was locked to our floor, and we dont have a key. I knocked really loudly on the door and eventually one of the temple missionaries opened their door, saw us, and let us in. Today has been full of tender mercies.

Hunger

Yesterday I saw a very thin black man sitting in one of the classrooms at church. Today this very same man came into the employment office. He speaks Haitian Creole, a little Spanish and a little English. He is looking for work because he and another man (a preacher?) are trying to care for and feed about 41 orphans in Haiti. He told me that just this morning one of the children died of starvation. He says it is very hard to care for these kids because of that earthquake. We werent able to help him much, as one has to have a permit to work AND an I.D. card issued by the Government. He has the work permit, but cant get the ID card for about three months (if he is lucky). We did give him one reference to a person looking for someone to clean windows, etc. He left, but was back in two minutes. He didnt know how to get the elevator to work. I went out and showed him how to push the arrow down button, wait for one of the elevators to open, then how to push the 1 for the first floor. I truly hope he can find work so he can send money back to the orphans in Haiti. (I also hope that what he says is the truth. Some people lie to get you to feel sorry for them).

Surprise!

We got to Sacrament Meeting with a few minutes to spare. I was looking for a place to sit, Jay was following me. I found a place, and sat down, thinking Jay was right behind me. He wasnt. Soon he sat down, and said, "Look who is here!" I looked over and was surprised to see Brad Maxfield from our old ward in Smithfield! He is here for 10 days for work (Campbell Scientific). He taught a group of people and has been in meetings. I had been thinking about him, but thought that he only went to Peru. I was wrong. There were four of us from Smithfield in our Sunday School class! We invited him to come with us to the farewell dinner for the Dahlstroms later that evening. It was nice to see him! What a surprise!

surprise!

We walked into the chapel a few minutes before Sacrament Meeting started yesterday. I was concentrating on finding a place to sit and Jay was behind me. I found a place and sat down, thinking Jay was right behind me. Soon he found his way to me, and as he sat down, he said, "Look who is here!" I couldnt believe my eyes! Here was Brad Maxfield from our old ward in Smithfield! He is here for about 10 days on business. He works for Campbell Scientific and had taught a class the day before. By chance, he chose the Pocuro Ward to go to church.

temblors and temples

The trees were swaying, the floor was bouncing, the crane was dancing, and the pictures on the walls were swinging grandly. The temple with Angel Moroni atop was firmly on the ground, and the angel proudly blew his horn. Where do I put my trust? The trees bent to the will of the earth. The crane and floor moved according to the will of the earth. The pictures yielded to the will of the earth. The temple and angel Moroni remained firm and unmoving even though the earth was trying to take command. Should I depend on the flexibility of the earth and live the life of indulgence, or should I put my trust in that which is firm and dependable. This is how we live IN the world, but not OF the world . It was comforting to see the temple and Angel Moroni standing there so firmly. I will set my sight on the temple, I will remain true to the teachings of the Savior, for there is my salvation.

vertigo?

Last night there was a farewell potluck dinner for one of the couple missionaries. They are leaving the mission in two weeks. As we were just finishing up and most of the people had left, I suddenly felt a little dizzy. It didnt go away, but got worse, so I sat down. That made the chair feel like it was bouncing and I was still dizzy. The others also sat down with surprised looks ontheir faces. We all looked out the window. We saw trees waving, the construction crane a block away was bouncing up and down. The pictures on the wall were swinging widely. But the Angel Moroni atop the temple did not move an inch. We were sitting out an earthquake! They dont get worried unless things get broken around here, so nothing happened. After what seemed like 10 minutes, but was probably only 30 seconds, the tremors stopped. This morning as we were going down the stairs (because the elevator was broken again), I noticed a horizontal crack about 10 feet long and 2 inches wide above the windows in the stairwell. Today in the paper we read that the temblor was 7.0.

free time

Friday we did not go to the office. Jays hair was looking scraggly, and mine was way out of control. We walked the three blocks to the Caracol. This means snail. It is an indoor minimall that consists of many little shops that wind around and around from the bottom to about four stories above. Jay got a good haircut from a lady who says she cuts lots of missionaries' hair. I got my first foreign color and cut. I showed the lady the pictures I took of my last cut in Smithfield, and she did a really good job of duplicating it. Since we looked so good, we didnt want to just go home. We walked the entire caracol just to see what they had to offer. Probably half of the shops were hair salons with three stations. I wonder how they stay in business! We found a little yarn shop with a fair amount of yarn, and she sells knitting needles and crochet hooks. I didnt buy any. Yet. She doesnt have patterns. We found a few more things we were in need of, then had a nice sandwich in a cafe that had six tables about 18 inches square. Since Lider was just next door, we also bought a few things like milk and chips, etc. In all, we probably walked two miles. That's more than Jay has walked in years. Today 11 missionary couples (Sister Memmot is single) took a bus and subway to a place called Santa Lucia in another part of Santiago. At one time long ago, this was just a steep hill that Pedro de Valdivia used as a look-out for bad guys who might threaten his little town. Later, as the city surrounded the ugly little hill, someone decided to beautify it with a "building" and paths, and plazas. We climbed about 100 steps to a nice shady plaza with park benches around it. Jay and I and Sister Memmot sat and watched a class of karate, kata, and fencing students while the others hiked the steeper part of the hill. Jay got up and walked away, and I didnt see where he went, but knew he wouldnt go very far. When the others came back, we couldnt find him anywhere. The brethren all went different ways to find him, all armed with cell phones. (We dont have a cell phone because the area president (?) doesnt think we need one. We are the only senior missionaries without a phone). Jay was found "just around the corner." We werent ready to go home yet, so crossed the busy intersection, underground, to a large open-air market of clothing, jewelry, etc. I bought a panflute, occarina, and a pair of silver and lapis earrings. Jay bought an apron. We were getting hungry at this point (it was 2:30) so we took the subway back to familiar territory and found a Burger King. As if this werent enough calories for a couple days, we then walked a couple blocks to the best heladeria (ice cream store) in town. They served us each a little glass of carbonated water for a chaser. I was thirsty and drank it all in one breath. BURP.

mmm, Good

I am back to cooking by scratch again. I am back to learning how to cook for just two again. We have a little grocery store just two or three blocks from home where we can get what we need to make simple meals. I have learned some tricks, such as cutting up and freezing onions so that they are always on hand. You can do the same thing with chopped celery and green peppers, too, so even though we have a very small fridge, I have managed to stockpile a few essentials. Yesterday I seared a thin steak, removed it from the pan and cut it into small bite-size pieces. Into the pan with the meat juice, I put in garlic (which I cut and dried), onion, celery, carrot chips, a handful of cut up cabbage,one potato cut into bites, green bean bits, a little leftover corn (cut from the cob), broccoli, salt, pepper, and seasoning salt and a little water. I put the meat back in, and simmered the whole thing for an hour while we worked with our tutor. Jay kept saying, "This is Good!" And it was. Tonight, I cut up another piece of the same carrot, added another handful of the cabbage, onions, garlic, slices of green pepper, thin strips of green beans (raw), and chunks of pineapple (fresh), some of the barbecued chicken from another meal, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes to warm the pineapple. I had a bottle of sweet and sour sauce that I added just before serving over rice (not instant). It was really good. The best thing is, is that Jay finally has the time to taste his food and is discovering that I am a good cook. So with basically the same vegetables and choice of meat, you can come up with meals very different from each other.

Goodies Store

Friday after work we went with another missionary couple to a store they had found that has all kinds of nuts and dried fruits and lots of other things like popcorn. There were big bins of walnuts, almonds, dried strawberries, pineapple,papaya, kiwi, coconut, candied peanuts, peanuts, salted dried bananas, sweet dried bananas, and a couple of trail mix bins. We bought a whole bunch and will make our own mixes. Then we walked down the street to a "caracol". This is an inside shopping mall that has a winding uphill walk with little shops on one side. These shops are hardly big enough to hold a sales person, a tiny display counter, and two customers. On the other side you can look down into the center (which is a shoe shop) down at the bottom. They were looking for a digital clock. These are in short supply and they ended up buying a wind up clock with two large bells on either side. The clock/watch store was right next to the barber shop where a boy was getting a buzz, and a lady was getting her hair dyed. Her shop was next door, a place with a few buttons, lace, four knitting needles, and a bunch of other stuff. Next to her was a Tarot shop, and next to that was a foot doctor. I want to go back along that street. We passed a little kioska that had a few books out for sale. One of the books was a Book of Mormon. We walked back a little way to big Lider. It is about as big as Smiths and has a lot better selection of things than our little Lider has. Across the street from big Lider is a Chinese restaurant we might try. On our way back, we passed Burger King and KFC. I'm glad we are learning where these things are because we will be the "old and wise" missionary couple in a few months. A lot of couples are finishing up their missions and the Area assignments are in consolidation. Since we are here for two years, and the others are only here for 12 to 18 months, that leaves us to be the ones who know everything! Hah!

AGAIN???

This morning started out fine. We were on time for the devotional. We were going to be early at the office. We caught the bus after waiting only a few minutes, and it wasnt particularly crowded. After a short wait for the next bus, one drove up and it didnt have an overly large load. I got on and Jay was right behind me. The driver was distracted by someone talking to him and I guess he didnt see Jay. He shut the doors and started up. Jay's arm was caught in the door and he was pulled about 15 feet before he could get his arm out. I got off the bus at the usual place, and AGAIN sat and waited for him to come on the next bus. He didnt. It was the next bus he came out of. I think our mission has so far been one of stories about the buses. Is this what our mission is???

I Lost Him

The bus was really full again today. Jay and I got separated, he nearer the front, and I, near to one of the doors. When we arrived at our destination, I got off and turned around to wait for Jay. He didnt get off and the bus started up again. Oh, well, he'll get off at the next stop and walk back about a block. I just stayed at the stop. After about 10 minutes, I thought maybe he had been mugged or suffocated. It didnt help that I heard sirens in the distance! My next thought was that he probably got off the bus, went to the bus stop going the other way. Now I had to watch the corner on my right, and the bus stop down a block on my left. Oh, yeah! Maybe he'd take a taxi, so now I have to watch left, right, and check all the taxis driving from my right to my left. After about 10 minutes more, a bus came and left. I saw a man in a suit pulling a red cart. That's him! I walked quickly toward him and we met at the door to the office building. We didnt get to work till 11:00!!! The red cart is a wonderful invention. We carry our lunches, books, cameras and nobody knows all the valuable things we have in there. We take it everywhere: grocery store, open market, work...

santa's summer job

I saw santa driving a taxi in downtown Santiago, Chile. He still has his curly white hair and a beautiful full, white beard. I waved at him, but he must have been busy checking up on the good boys and girls. So, now you know where he goes and what he does on his time off. Do you have a message you would like to give him if I can get his attention?

santa's summer job

I saw santa driving a taxi in downtown Santiago, Chile. He still has his curly white hair and a beautiful full, white beard. I waved at him, but he must have been busy checking up on

the temple

We went to the temple last evening. It was supposed to be an English session, but because there were two young men going through for the first time, it was in Spanish. We were handed headsets and they worked out just fine. It was odd to watch the same thing as we watch in Logan and to hear faint Spanish dubbed in. They dont try to match the lips, though. After the session, Jay was asked to be a witness for some sealings of proxy children to proxy parents. We even got to kneel at the altar for some! We didnt understand what was being said (but we know' because we have done the same thing in Logan). I gained two new things last night. One, that Satan is very real and he is using all the energy he has to break our desire to do right. We cannot afford to be casual in our obedience to God's commandments. How can you win a war if you go into it half-heartedly and the other side is giving it all they have!!! he has everything to gain by adding one more of God's children to his pile of spiritual carnage. Second, I sat in the Celestial room with all its light and beauty and decided that with all my desire, I dont want to go anywhere but to the Celestial Kingdom where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are. I LIKE being surrounded by the choice people of the church!! I have the desire now to go to the temple more frequently. It will be on my list of "must do's".

Stake Conference is over. We took a long bus ride, got confused, got off and started walking back the way we had come. A few blocks later we hailed a taxi and gave him the address. He said, Oh, la iglesia?" (Oh, the church?) He must have know that the meeting started in five minutes because he drove highway speed for three blocks, screeched around the corner and stopped in front ot the church. We got there with a few minutes to spare. We were directed by our work boss to the Young Women's room where the talks would be in English. There were about 30 people there, some of them were in Chile for other reasons than missions. One family has been here for three years and their children (4) are going to an international school. The speakers were from Salt Lake and were in Spanish, so apparently it was in English, dubbed in Spanish, and translated to English for us. I dont know why we couldnt just have skipped a couple steps..... Our friend, former home teacher in Smithfield and now living in Chile, took pity on us and drove us home in his car. Thanks Marty Sorge!!! He is such a good man.

A few days ago there was a delivery truck in the temple square parking lot. It was parked near the entrance to the MTC cafeteria. What struck me as very amusing, is that the logo on the back of the truck was maybe a warning, or an answer as to what happens to some missionaries. The word was LUNIBEN. I dont know what it means in Spanish, but if you sound it out, you will hear Looney Bin. Does this mean that the missionaries who dont make it are loaded into the back of this truck and delivered somewhere scarey? Is this a warning that we'd better be careful? Friday while we were waiting for our bus, the Luniben drove by. I dont know if they were making a delivery of lunis or going to get some. Anyway, they're not very private about it, nor are they very humanitarian, loading them into a box without windows or ventilation. We took a picture.
On another note, here is an observation: No matter how narrow or wide a space is, one or two or more people will occupy it equally. This makes it impossible to walk faster than the slowest walkers.
Are you in need of a little cash? Are you trying to finance college? Need a little more spending money? I know what you can do, and it isnt very hard. You have to be gutsy, though. Very often, when we are riding the bus, someone will bring on a box and a musical instrument. He then turns on some background music, and either plays his instrument or sings to us. When he is finished, or is approaching his stop, he will tell us we can give him a little change. I have tipped a clarinetist, a pan flutist, and a singer.
Stake Conference is tomorrow. We have to take a different bus to a different part of the city. I hope we find it, otherwise, we will have spent money for nothing but a long bus ride to nowhere, and a nice long walk in circles. We get to spend two hours listening for familiar words in the talks. Next conference should be a lot easier.