The Pope's Progress

Sunday Sept 8, 2013
Today is Sunday, and the first day of daylight savings time! Luckily someone told us last evening about the time change, because we were clueless -- we thought the clocks wouldn't change until October. September is celebration month in Chile. Next week is the official Independence Holiday, but there are already signs of celebration. Chilean flags and parties are everywhere.
Yesterday we went with our PEF director, Ricardo to his Stake Celebration party -- much like an American 4th of July in many respects. When we arrived the young men and women were involved in a tug-o-war. There were inflatable slides for the little kiddies, jump rope, foos ball, stilts and food, food, food -- empanatas, chorrizo sandwiches, shish kabobs, sopapillas, fruit kabobs and a drink/dessert-- mote con huesillos that is a sweet liquid on top of about 2 inches of a cooked grain, like wheat, and floating in the liquid is a whole dried peach -- you drink the juice, eat the grain and then the peach, making sure not to bite down on the pit!
      So I made Richard take a picture of me on the stilts -- my mama would be so proud because we had stilts just like these that my dad made us when we were kids -- but I only stayed on long enough for him to snap the picture before I crashed to the ground -- bruising my shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle and most of all my PRIDE!
     We had two "missionary moments" during the day. There were many young missionaries there from all the wards in the stake and we enjoyed visiting with each of them. Two elders then introduced us to an older man they have been teaching. He was curious to know if "older" people were also missionaries. So he and Richard had a nice visit!   Later in the evening as we were visiting in English an older woman came up to me and started visiting with us. She said she was walking past the church grounds and heard the music and came to see what was happening. She heard the English and came to talk with me. She had just returned from England where her daughter lives. She loves to speak English. I told her to stay right there, and I found the young sister missionaries and introduced them. She stayed and talked with us all evening.
      Around dusk the dancing started. All the young people performed traditional Chilean dances and some dances from the Easter Island area that were similar to Polynesian dances. Later many of the people, young and old danced the "cueca" the traditional Chilean dance with a hankerchief.
      Today we went to church in the Observatorio ward, which was about a 30 minute drive south and east from here. The building like all the chapels here is beautiful, in a very poor neighborhood. About 80 people were in attendance. I gave a very short little testimony in Spanish and Richard spoke about 10 minutes. We were so warmly welcomed by all the people. We spent some time talking to a 19 year-old girl who played the piano for the meetings, and spoke beautiful English, which she said she learned by watching American movies and singing American songs. She would like to go to college, so we talked to her about Perpetual Education loans. Later the bishop introduced us to a young mother, Monica, who both she and her husband were participants of PEF loans that have made a huge difference in their lives. Her husband works in an emergency room at a hospital.