January 7, 2011

I've spent some time reading this long series of emails and want to bring you up to date on a few things.

From email 9: the struggling elder who was about to cash it in two months ago is in a new area with a new companion, had a baptism, put on some weight, is healthier and gave me a big loving hug today. He is here to stay, two more months. Hurray.

From email 10: still no mosquitoes, and it's the 4th of July in January; whole turkeys by the truck load the weeks before Christmas, now they are gone. Now truckloads of watermelons. Yummy.

From email 13: The two families we visited three months ago have been to church faithfully and all hold callings now in the branch or stake. I can't imagine that our pitiful visit made much difference, but we have become friends and are glad they are more active. We have not visited in any other homes.

From 13: haven't weighed lately, but the belt has shortened three notches. Mom's foot and my hips hurt.

From 18: I found the perfect South American Gentleman Hat and I love it. So do the elders and Sister King. The president hasn't commented. Just call me Don Blair. No fotos.

Sadly, the elders lost the paper on which we had written the names and numbers of the two families who asked us for missionaries after seeing my Christmas tie. Our only hope is that they are still looking and will find the church some other way—maybe they'll see us again and ask when the missionaries are coming.

The December goal of 70 baptisms fell short at 44, but is one of the best months ever. President King says we are not very good at setting realistic goals. The cumulative goal announced by the missionaries for January is about 220—not realistic when you have less than that many who have had at least the first discussion.

From today, Cinco Enero (5 January) We discovered today that we have had an internet port at our office desk since day one. It was hidden and until today no one got under the desk and discovered it. We could have skyped and emailed any time we wanted from our own office. That and a few other things have dragged me down the last few days.

I just reread all my long emails from 9 to 20 to try and defunk myself. It helped, but I'm still kind of bummed, so. . . I have nothing more to say until I feel better.

Thurs., Jan. 6, 2011 at the mission office, in our “office” on line and semi private.

Strange thing-I needed to go back to the apartment and get BJ's name tag. I could have taken the car, but something from outer space took over my body and I chose to walk, about 2 miles, by myself. I miss being by myself, but IT'S NOT ABOUT ME! It's not a vacation. It's not a vacation. It's not a vacation. It's not your time. It's not your life. It's not a vacation. It isn't always fun. You are here to serve others, not your own needs. It's not a vacation.

The other day I got confused and thought I was a tourist. I wanted to sightsee, stop, walk on the black sand beach, take photos; but reality grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and whispered (shouted) in my ear. IT'S NOT A VACATION. IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. IT'S NOT YOUR TIME. YOU ARE ON THE LORD'S ERRAND. GET OVER YOURSELF. GET BACK TO WORK. IT'S NOT A VACATION. DON'T YOU GET IT YET? IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. Ok, I hear you. Duty and honor and integrity and perseverance and endure to the end. It's not the end. It's barely the beginning.

It's hard to remember that all the time. Especially driving through a new town, the most beautiful we've seen in Chile. Santo Domingo is a hillside, seaside town built on Southern California standards. No high fence/wall with broken glass or spikes on top and big padlocks. Nice low hedges, picket fences, or no fence at all. Long large sloping green mowed front lawns, wide yards, big houses of many styles, obviously made with lots of money and tended by professional landscapers. All overlooking a couple of miles of black beach and unique rock formations apparently smoothed and left by a receding glacier. Nothing that says tourist. This is a real residential town, but unlike any we've seen in Chile. The beach is not free. They have lifeguards and money collectors who rush you as soon as you slow down, but there were a lot of people enjoying the summer sun. Maybe they don't charge residents and discourage tourists looking for a free place. I got a couple of fotos before we had to go. Another beautiful place to take you when you visit. That day I will actually be a tourist.

Poem of the week:

Is there someone who gets on your nerves?
Do you want them to just disappear?
How can that happen?
Maybe it can't;
So you will just have to endure.
Maybe you can learn to tolerate, but that is hard.
Maybe you can remember that God made us all and we are each a unique child of God.
Maybe you'll see there is something you do that might grind on someone else.
Try to be kind, patient, long-suffering, and loving with that person.
Realize you are trying to get through this situation teaching yourself tolerance.
Practice kindness in all things.
Maybe this person is in your path because you need to learn tolerance.

By BJ

No one you know. Just life. God commanded us to love everyone, but did He say we had to like them all? I never have. Some people. Get . Under. my. Skin. Where the nerves are. Where the turn me off button is. It has been a trying week.

Just read all the emails back to the beginning, before we left Utah. A few more updates and more observations.

The farmers here are outstanding in their fields, every day. The strawberry season has lasted three months so far; there seem to be microclimates in each little sub valley. They are still pulling onions and potatoes; the corn appears to be planted every two weeks; great second cutting of alfalfa. Some flowers and bushes we have in the US grow into trees here. We saw lantana and crepe myrtle with 6 inch trunks and 40 feet tall bougainvillea trees, rose trees and hibiscus trees above the roof.

Our Spanish seems to be stalled; we aren't much improved for over two months. This is very discouraging for me. Every time I need to do business or make a phone call or email I have to have a young helper. I feel pretty helpless, although I can do the shopping, pay the bills and get the car washed. First thing I say is Can you speak English? No? Well, I don't speak much Spanish either. We go from there. I hope I can learn it before going home. That would be humiliating. You were there 18 month and didn't learn the language? I get the feeling from many people that we should have learned it by now. It's harder than it looks and we don't get much help. Even when they try to help we don't know what they are saying. I did have two conversations this week without a translator. I used to think it was funny to speak Spanglish; now it's just frustrating. Next time you meet a Mexican who doesn't speak English, give 'em a break.

The home teaching report for December-00; the goal for January-12. No permanent assignments, just monthly assignments to whoever is willing, and in priesthood meeting on the first Sunday. The YM Pres used the term scouting on me. Our stake has none. Some do, even stake campouts. I may get to be the pioneer scoutmaster. There is an old man my age or more who walks around Maipu in spiffy full Boy Scouts of Chile uniform. Whatever the story, he's proud of it.

The mail tally is over. I'm through counting. The gap widened between receivers and non. But today Elder Teran of Peru, out fourteen months, got his first package. It was from the United States, so I suspect some kind Elder(his companion?) got his family involved. Elder Teran came back from a meeting, thought he had lost it, but BJ had just moved it. When he found it he hugged it to his chest. Our Chirstmas package number 2 is still tied up in customs. WHY? People tell us they have sent letters, but we haven't gotten them yet. Is it got or gotten?

A couple with a child and a woman with a son tell us their divorces are becoming final soon and they will be able to marry and finally be baptized. I'll tell more as it happens.

The car may be ours tomorrow. Gas is 690 a liter. That's almost $1.50, so a 2 liter pop bottle of gas costs about $3.00. It costs 50-70 dollars to fill up, but it lasts about two weeks if we don't go on “vacation”. Our AC doesn't work and the sun is HOT. In the shade it's not so bad and if we go fast with the windows down it's tolerable but hard on the hairdo.
It's surprising how much noise a few kids on the playground can make. Beth could hear them loud and clear when we skyped the other night. It's ten pm and they are still at it. The adults take over about 11 until we don't know what time.

Our clothes dryer went dead and kept blowing the whole apartment's electricity, so this week we are hanging our laundry all over the house. I found an old folding drying rack and brought it home, so now our clothes will have rust stripes across them. New fashion craze. A new dryer (choice of two brands, two models) is about $320, but getting it home and up the stairs and into the tight space where it goes will be something else. The adventure never ends.
I know this email is kind of disjointed, not my usual style. Who knows what future editions will be like. I am evolving. Some of you tell me you enjoy them so I will keep it up the best I can. The young missionaries don't get to travel, take fotos, or write as much as we do, so you can get more detail from us. However, we are not involved in the investigator to convert process, have never been in a missionary discussion here, so we can't observe and report that happy process. I've been thinking of some stories I need to tell my grandkids, so the next several issues may be little blasts from my past. OK?

LUV YA DEARLY DEAR ONES.

GRAMMY AND GRAMPS