ESCUELA LA MESETA

October 22, 2014

During this last year, the church here in Chile was approached about helping to supply much needed resources to the little school of La Meseta, located near Arauco, on the coast.  The church accepted the project and we were invited to attend the appreciation ceremony since it lies within our mission boundaries.  It was a heartwarming experience and made us grateful for the generosity of the humanitarian funds of the church!

We were greeted at the front door by some of the students - so adorable!  Don't you love those rosy cheeks?!

They were quite curious about the tall, blonde gringa!  They were full of hugs and kisses.

We gathered in the courtyard before going on a tour of the campus.  The fellow in the blue cap is the principal of the school.  The man to his right is the Mayor of Arauco.  The couple to the right of Lothaire are the Gouldings from Hurricane, Utah.  They are Humanitarian missionaries and live in Santiago, as does Brother Chavez - front right.  He supervises the humanitarian projects in Chile.  Behind him, to the right, is Presidente Mellado - the President of the District of Coronel in our mission.  He was asked to speak at the ceremony.  He is such a wonderful man and is puro Chileno - which means he speaks so fast and cuts off many of the endings of his words to the point that he is nearly impossible for us North Americans to understand!!

This donation is a huge hit - an interactive media screen!  It is located in the library.

There were many other library items donated.  

They are grateful for whatever books they can get.  Our kids at home are so blessed!!

A couple of foosball tables were donated - everyone loves those!!!

This is the kindergarden room with the colorful new tables supplied by the church.
We met the "maestra" (teacher) who was so pleased with everything!

Grandpa is pointing out the "araña".  Grandma doesn't like arañas!

We loved the fun decor all over the walls!

This is where they made a special video presentation to show their appreciation.  And then they had such a nice reception with lots of fancy appetizers.  They were so appreciative!!

And of course, a cow:)!!  This tiny calf was in the field across from the school.  We saw it on our way out.  It was just a day or two old and ran right up to the fence and sucked on my fingers!  I know that's gross to most of you but I fell in love:).  You can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl . . .!

RANDOM MOMENTS

A District of outstanding missionaries outside of their local chapel!

Two happy compañeras on their Pday - they just bought matching shoes!

Here is our friend and helper, Ingrid, purchasing these strange plants to eat.  For the life of me I can't recall the name of them.  She gave us a sample - we decided it is one of those acquired tastes:)

Look at these two big beauties - we pass by them on our morning walks.

ZONE CONFERENCES

 The first two weeks of October were Zone Conferences.  We have 10 different Zones spread throughout the mission.  Sometimes we gather the Zones into a few large groups to train them, but this time we chose to hold 8 separate conferences.  Four of the zones are a little smaller and we combined two and two.  It is a lot of travel and time away from "home" but we love having a little more one on one time with smaller groups!  

So what do we do besides 4 hours of training at each location??

We celebrate the birthdays for the last two months! (Zone Conferences are every 12 weeks)
We sing Cumpleaños Feliz and they each get a big chocolate bar!

AND THEN WE EAT!

Full missionaries are happy missionaries!

Churrascos are always a hit!

Ready for chow!

They clean their plates every time!

Churrascoas again:)

EMPANADAS - yum!

ALWAYS FRUIT - got to have something healthy!

Sloppy joes are coming!

For whatever reason, the local Lider was selling little bags of mini Halloween oreos - a highlight!

A table full of cute Hermanas!

Love the smiles!

AND AFTER ALMUERZO AND TRAINING??

We visit the missionaries in their casas!

Here are baby Araucaria trees (monkey puzzlers) on the patio.

And two of our Hermanas - outside

and inside!



And every once in awhile we make a stop at the mall.  This is in Temuco -
Hedgehog anyone??
It wouldn't hold still - just a blur in a cage!

Last but not least - some beautiful photos from our hotel window in 

Los Angeles, Chile!

Anything look familiar??

Pretty mountains in the distance.

And if you look carefully you can see a volcano!!

BIRTHDAY TIME!

Grandkids are so amazingly fun and full of love - oh how we miss them!!

September and October are birthday months for:

Noah turned 4 September 11th!

And Jack turned 4 September 25th!

Claire and Tess both celebrate in September - sister fun!
Claire is 14 and little Tess is 4.

Treavor turned 11 October 9th.  Here we are together in
a pre-mission photo at the cabin!

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Brother Birthdays in October!!
Buddy turned 3 on the 30th and
Gus turned 6 on Halloween!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MOST AWESOME GRANDKIDS EVER!!!

NEXT DAY . . .

Next morning, September 23, it was time to welcome our new "kids" - 27 of them!  Take a look:

Bienvenidos (welcome) to all 27!!

Remember, they had been flying all night!  Here they are at the Mission
Office waiting for training and and interview.  Then to the Mission Home
for a nice almuerzo, then to the hotel for a shower and some much
needed rest!!

Here is our beloved Hermana Pendley, the next morning at the final training.
She and Elder Pendley make sure all of their finances are in order before
they go out into the field!

I love this photo!  Can you tell it's a windy day?  Check out those flying ties!  

They have received some basic training and have met their first companions, who will continue the training.  Now they are off to the bus station to head for their first "sectors" with everything they brought with them to last for the next 1 1/2 to 2 years!  

Some will have a half hour bus ride and some will have a six hour bus ride!  We sent them with a sack lunch!!

Here is our sweet Hermana Catala with her parents, who came to pick her up.  They stopped by the Mission Home to meet us and blessed us with by singing such a beautiful acapella rendition of "Each Life That Touches Ours For Good".
Then they were off to their home in Argentina!

And here is President with our Assistants and Office Elders.  These amazing young men know how to work!  They have taught us so much and serve whole heartedly and with such great faith.  We love them and are so grateful for them!