December 3, 2010

Wed., Dec. 1, 2010- Eureka!! We found it. We saw it. We're going there some day-- in March with whomever comes to visit, if it's still warm enough. It's the WORLD'S LARGEST SWIMMING POOL, and it's no gimmick. It is beautiful. But let me back up a bit.

Yesterday we took a micro-vacation with the blessing of President King. We had a change in zone meeting schedule which allowed us to end our pouch route on the coast, so we wanted to stay out there a few hours and drive from San Antonio north to Algarrobo (or some such name). Just Monday morn in our staff meeting the Pres. had said he did not want us to use our own car and gas to take the pouch. OUR OWN CAR? You heard right. Let me back up a bit.

On Sat. we wrote a check for and took possession of a car, which someday will be our very own. We still have no legal right to enter into contracts or own anything, although they don't hesitate to take our cash and Visa card. We drove the car home from the money side of town to Maipu where a 1997 Mazda 626 looks like a luxury model. That nite we drove it to the stake Relief Society Closing Social (more later) and to the branch and a stake meeting on Sunday. We had to leave it on the street overnight Sat. and Sun., but it was still there Monday. Rejoice with us.

So the Pres. said don't take your car on the pouch run. I immediately asked for an exception (you know me, eh?), explaining our desire for a few hours of tourist time. He agreed that we needed that and with assurance that we could legally drive it, we loaded it with the stuff to deliver to the coast and set off Tuesday on a working vacation. We spent about four hours sightseeing through ancient and modern seaside towns, stunning vistas, white beaches, black rocks, sea lions, tide pools, a sack lunch watching the waves and smelling the sea breeze. We were back in Northern California heaven only warmer. (Two weeks ago I bought “lunch” there for Elder Dorius and me. For $24 we got two ½ cup shrimp, and I do mean SHRIMPy, salads.) Algarrobo is a real tourist magnet; lots of tall beachside condos and hotels, rental cabanas, nice houses, beautiful beaches, very up to date and modern, with a brand new super highway direct from Santiago to it. We went back that way. One hour instead of three by the scenic route.

So we had finished our trip at the top of a hill, turned around to start back, and there between the condos/hotels and the ocean we saw THE WORLD'S LARGEST SWIMMING POOL. It looks to be several acres, is the azure blue of all backyard pools, shaped like a blue lagoon. It's named “something” Lagoon. It is a man made, seawater filled, beachside, swimming pool, just yards from the Pacific. It appears you can sit in the pool and pretend you are in the ocean, without the waves and seaweed and creepy crawly things; or you can hop out, take a few steps toward Viet Nam and ride the surf, fish, beach comb, tide-pool, sunbathe, as you wish. We are going back. This time I'll ask for an exception to the swimming restrictions. The Pres. and his family are going there in about three weeks. After he sets the precedent how can he refuse? I've got him right where I want him. (Know why the people here have such beautiful tans? The ozone layer is very thin from here to the South Pole. Look it up.)

Sounds like we are on a vacation mission doesn't it? We work long and hard. When we first got our call and Pres. Jones (gone home) called us on the phone we talked about traveling, sightseeing, touristing. There is latitude for some of that for senior couples, and Pres. King is favorable toward our taking some vacation time with our family when they come. In the meantime, a three hour, micro-vacation now and then will suffice. It was refreshing, and we needed a break.

Other news—Monday the office elders caught our mission office burglar on the property with the legal papers from the mission truck in hand, which he threw in the bushes as he tried to beat a hasty escape. Not so fast buddy. Six elders of varying size and states of health chased him for several blocks, the fastest one barefoot. He went to his own house and locked himself in a closet—with a padlock on the inside—good planning, but dumb move. (Send this one to Leno for his Stupid Criminals bit.) The elders “house arrested” him; the cops came and rousted him out, cuffed him and carted his sorry remains off to jail where he is getting free room and board for a while. I wonder if they read him his Miranda rights. I doubt it. On the office wall hangs an enlarged photo of six pumped up missionary heroes gathered round the green and white police car with the perp (alleged) in the back seat. The screen saver on the office computer I use is his mug shot through the car window. He appears unhappy about something. What is that you are shouting? I can't heeear youuu.

No sign of our stolen computer (see Sept. 16 post) and other purloined property, but he has been seen on the church property and in the building at strange times (11:30 pm, asking for the pastor to baptize his son) by several people. He's been had, but denies everything. One of the caribineros told him he better keep his mouth shut—you've been had, son. Two green clad caribs came to the office and returned the truck papers after I haltingly convinced them that the vehicle belonged to the church and was parked in the back. They didn't question me—no podemos hablar each other's language. It appears our guy may be part of a large gang of thieves. If they search his premises they will likely find other contraband, although the street market operates in a flash and he may not keep the hot stuff longer than a few minutes. On the rich side of town the cops recently broke such a gang who were preying on the fine people of those high altitude neighborhoods. Equal opportunity crime. It just pays better the higher up the hill you go. Hopefully this time it didn't pay well.

Sunday we were stunned when the whole stake presidency showed up and unexpectedly released our friend, our benefactor, our branch president. We couldn't understand the proffered explanations, but were led to believe after the meeting that he has a new calling yet to be announced. No new presidency was called and a high counsel person was assigned temporarily to preside. It's very unsettling to us and to the rest of the branch. I don't see anyone who can replace him. I'm guessing the stake will import a president from the adjacent ward. Maybe they should realign the boundaries and give the branch some Priesthood. Strange business from my vantage point down here at the bottom of the totem pole. Maybe they will release me and just let me pretend to teach the deacons. I don't see that I'm very valuable in the presidency. I'm kind of a rubber stamp. Tomorrow at piano class we may learn more if we can decipher the dirt. Pres Cerda's wife is one of BJ's students. She then goes home and teaches her teenage son who is catching on very fast.

Oh yea, the Relief Society Closing Social was wonderful. Every event we go to is better than the last. The cultural hall was filled with Christmas stuff, food and décor, a table from each ward and branch showing off the sisters' finest creations. Before we got to sample the goodies, and they were GOOD, we had a chapel meeting in which the graduating high school Young Women were each recognized, presented with an armful of carnations, and seated on the stand where they were led by their YW leader and greeted by their Relief Society President. The Stake Pres. spoke to them with apparent humor—we missed the punch lines. It was very impressive and touching, not only to us. There was a big crowd (I counted over 160), and such a neat experience. Why didn't our home stake think of that? Taking notes, Pres. Kev? In the “gym” (they play basketball outside on the soccer court) there was much eating and some of the cutest food-decorations you've ever seen. We got in the punch lines there, all right. Pineapples, cherries, strawberries, watermelons, kiwi fruits make great Christmas eye candy. Edible decorations. If you can catch up with my photos you'll see samples.

Imagine: ummmmummmm good. So was our Thanksgiving feast. We had a full house of 10 missionaries, and ten full bellies after eating turkey (they are appearing in the stores for Christmas, about $2US/lb), dressing (a blessed box of StoveTop with our own additions including grated zucchini instead of celery), mashed potatoes, gravy (the three Latino elders had never had gravy and it's really hard to describe it to the uninitiated. They lapped it up.), asparagus (a spring vegetable abundant here for sale at the stoplight,$1US/lb), zucchini casserole, jello/fruit salad, home made dinner rolls (by Sister Dorius), baked cheese cake (by Elder Cummings from Doug and Delores' ward), cinnamon rolls ( by Elder Maldanado from Concepcion Chile), chocolate cake (courtesy of Beth, Betty Crocker and Betty Jane). Fotos by Elder Pack.

We love having a car. It gives us wings. We can't drive it on the toll freeways because it's not in our name and we can't buy a toll beeper and there is an $80 fine for driving through the toll zones without paying. We would pay if we could, but WE HAVE NO LEGAL RIGHTS, yet. We are hoping we'll get our visas (no caps) in two or three weeks and an all-day wait in line at the visa office. We wait in a lot of lines, and here we are December 1st and our bills are due again. Another three days of lines.

We were going to a notary today to sign a bill of sale with our signatures and finger prints and that infernal ID NUMBER WE DON'T HAVE, but we couldn't do it. We went for Chinese Monday. Shopping Tuesday. To the Correo daily (10-13 packages arriving daily for Christmas). We drive about Maipu and the countryside but not in the city until we can “obten tu tag”. There are no parking stalls available at our building, and besides WE DON'T HAVE OUR R.U.T. NUMBER and COULDN'T SIGN A CONTRACT, and WE DON'T OWN OUR APARTMENT, and ONLY OWNERS CAN GET A STALL, so we park at the office and on the street. Lots of people do, in the daytime. When we went out to our car Sunday morning it was the only one in sight. I guess all the others got stolen. The elders say we can use “their” parking space at the apartment on weekends. That solves most of our needs. Now there are three cars at our branch meetings. The ward in our building has dozens of cars. Poor little ol' us.

Actually, we are doing well. No need to feel sorry for us. We are having a great adventure in the service of God. We will do whatever little helpful things we can for the few people we know and will trust the harvest to the Master of the Vineyard. We are laborers, digging, dunging, pruning, burning—the harvest will come later and will be sweet. (Today, cherries 80cents/lb, apricots 60cents/lb, huge juicy peaches the same, cukes 40cents today at a feria we hadn't been to before). I look forward to seeing these people again in 50 or 60 years. That will be sweeter than all the fruit in all the ferias in Chile. I am a fruit nut. No nuts on the market until late summer, fall. I haven't fallen in love with any Chilean food yet (except the bread and cheese), but we do most of our own feeding at home and McDonald's.

A bushel of missionary blessings these days. I have lost and forgotten my keys, both our phones, a bag of groceries, a sack of tools, and some other things I've forgotten I forgot or lost. In the last two days we have found/ recovered all of the things I remember losing. I don't remember well, I don't hear well, I don't see well, and I don't smell so good either. The most amazing recoveries are that I left the groceries in the trunk overnight with the lid up; and that I went back to the hardware store two days later trying to explain that I thought I left one of my purchases at the checkout counter. Three customer service ladies tracked down the clerk who waited on me; she had put my bag under her cash register awaiting my return! And I got back every item I paid for, with a free bouquet of smiles. I couldn't thank them enough. Not all Maipuians are thieves or suspicious of Northamericans.

We also got lost in downtown Santiago (in the mission truck) for a couple of hours, but no panic. We could see the tall building we were aiming for miles away and made our way to it, right across from the US Embassy in case we ever need to know. Actually we will need to know whenever we get our ID NUMBER and sign a contract for the car. The seller is a drug enforcement agent there.

Did you know that all Indians walk single file? At least the one I saw did. Judge not. I'm afraid I have generalized a lot about Chile and its people, procedures and customs. Forgive me. Please go back to my previous words and remove all the prejudice you find. I'll try to do better.

We love you all. We love the Lord. We love Chile. We love being (tired) missionaries (we're going to re-retire after this).

Now it's Thursday, at the church. Only one student showed up, so I am in the Salon Sacramental (chapel) with BJ and him. I forgot my power adapter and am running on battery. This is a test.

Sergio is a twenty-something non-member coworker of the (former) branch president. He looks kind of hippyish, but is the nicest guy you can image and speaks some English. We are in semi-darkness because I have no key for the closet with the light switches. With the car we can bring the three teclados (keyboards) we have in our apartment and use the church piano/organ and a key board locked in another closet and have 5 students at a time. Now that Mom has taken the group through the basic music terms, how to conduct, and beginner piano she wants to break them into one-on-one lessons. Good idea, but it will take more time. It will be good when they get good enough that they can borrow a keyboard to practice on at home. Sister Cerda does for her and her sons. This requires a contract signed by the teacher, the student, and the bishop. Just in case someone forgets that it is borrowed and decides to “borrow” it.

Just did a count of hymn books: 17 in the chapel, 1 in YW, 1 in RS, 2 in Priesthood, 5 with covers intact. Lots of people carry their own little ones. They really sing out, piano or no, books or no. BJ is finishing her lesson, so I'll see you later. I'm going to work on foto captions at home. We're giving Sergio a ride to his job; just learned he is a college educated chef and works a second job as a mechanic. With his English and our Spanish we get along well. He went to an “Institute” which is a two or two and a half year school compared with the university which is four or more years. I wish I knew more about the school system here. On the way at a school we pass we saw students and parents all dressed up with big bundles of flowers in their arms. Sergio tells us it's a graduation. Nice.

Friday, Dec. 3rd at the office. Just checked the email and there is a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT from Amanda. I won't tell anyone whether she is having a boy or a girl, but the grandparents know and are thrilled. She sent us an email after her ultrasound yesterday and everything is all right. The baby looks perfect, but he has a little thingy. . . .oh drats! I let it slip didn't I? She and we and her kids are all excited. Grandparents are looking forward to the SKYPED birth and can't wait to meet baby boy Scott. Don't know yet what name he might get. We'll let Amanda and David announce that when they choose. I hope they don't mind me giving a little hint that HE'S A BOY ALL RIGHT! I'm going to send this as is without permission from anyone. Sometimes forgiveness is easier to get than permission. Now don't anyone use that as an excuse for sinning.

We sure do love and miss our families. We love to see your fuzzy faces on skype and to read your precious words on paper or email. It isn't the real thing, but it helps.
LUV TO ALL KISSES TO TODOS AND HUGS TAMBIEN—JUST SEND THEM ALL BACK OK? WE'LL SEND MORE.