Cosas buenas, cosas malas

So do you want the good news first or the bad news?  Okay, the bad news.  Our good friend Rafael, the one who does so much to help the poor children in our community as described in my previous posts, had his right leg amputated below the knee a couple weeks ago.  Diabetes.  It is very prevalent here.  We see so many people with missing limbs caused by diabetes.  People in wheel chairs, walking on crutches, people missing fingers and arms.

Rafael is doing well, now.  We didn't realize it but he had been in the hospital nearly a week before

Rafael - a good man and a good friend!

we found out.  And he nearly died from sepsis.  He told us of a conversation he overheard between doctors as he drifted in and out of conscientiousness.  They doubted he would survive the night and called a priest in to administer last rights.  Miraculously, he pulled through, but it was only the beginning of a long and painful treatment and recovery.  Let's just say service is not prompt and pain management barely exists, and leave it at that.

Rafael is one of the lucky ones.  He has good employment and good insurance that comes with it.  In a few months he'll travel to the US to get a prosthesis, all covered by his insurance and/or company.  According to Rafael, prostheses are out of the question for the vast majority of people.  Government health care doesn't even offer prostheses to adults, only to children.  And there are very few jobs that offer the insurance he has.  Most people are simply on their own.

Rafael is undeterred with the trial he's going through, still determined to help the poor children.  He has a very good attitude, saying that he still has his heart and his mind and that the leg doesn't matter.  This bout may have slowed him down for a little while but I'm confident he'll be at full tilt again before long!

Buenas Noticias

Now for some good news.  Teresa and I been helping start the addiction recovery program here.  I noticed an ARP manual one day while in the mission office and while pointing at it said to no one in particular, "this is a great program!"  Elder Bulloch took notice and called me a couple days later explaining they were teaching a man trying to recover from a drug addiction, recently obtained and were using the manual, and wondered if we might be willing to help.  You bet!

Teresa and I helped establish the Church's ARP program in the Kansas City, Wichita and Omaha areas spending five years training leaders, organizing groups and leading our own stake's group.  We love the program and have seen miracles occur in the lives of so many people.  The Church's program is based on AA's 12 steps, but recognizes Jesus Christ as the higher power and bases its focus and principles on the restored gospel, scripture and the counsel of modern prophets and apostles.  We've observed that everyone who faithfully works the steps, studies and understands the underlying spiritual principles and both submits to God and draws upon his power to change the natural man within, successfully overcomes his addiction.  Without fail.  The process is slow and there are plenty of slips, falls and discouragements along the way, but there is always success.  Many of our group are now married in the temple with happy and prosperous families, serving full time church missions and/or working in the temple.  They have pursued further education, enjoy good, steady employment and are making positive contributions to their wards and communities.  But it would be wrong not to mention how the program helped Teresa and me, too.  Though we may not suffer from "addictions" per se, like everyone else we struggle with our own set of weaknesses, character flaws and challenges.  Working the program has wrought miracles and mighty changes in our own lives.    I can't say enough about it.

Back to my story.  We met Byron, a man in his early 30s, through Elder Bulloch and began holding regular meetings with them.  Byron wants to be baptized and join the Church but must repent and be drug free beforehand.  His metamorphosis has been spectacular to watch.  He went from "consuming" multiple times everyday to going one day without, then two, consuming less and less each day, and so on until he is nearly drug free today.  Four weeks ago he brought Mauricio to a meeting.  They were druggies together.  Mauricio is in his 50s, and due to drugs lost his job, his family, his home and his self respect.  He was so dejected, so down-trodden, so lifeless at the start of that first meeting.  Before the end he had shared his downfall, wept bitter tears, felt something new and unexplainable (which we recognized to be expressions of the Spirit of God) and for the first time in a long while had a spark of hope in his life.  But he almost didn't come to the second meeting.  He had consumed again and felt so guilty.  Fortunately he did come.  Byron shared his own recovery story, still in progress.  He always uses the phrase "lento pero seguro" (slowly but surely).  After more than a decade of addiction no one expects the addict to go cold turkey.  The body physically needs the drugs and can't go without them.  What we do hope for though is a gradual weaning.  This is what Byron is doing and thus his well worn phrase.  Recovery is comprised of a multitude of miracles.  The miracle of consuming less today than yesterday, the miracle of abstaining a full 24 hours, the miracle of going 48 and so on.  This, and the other things he learned helped Mauricio feel refreshed and more confident again.  After the meeting I gave Mauricio a hug and called him friend.  His eyes again welled up with tears.  He knew I was sincere.  I was the first to call him friend and mean it in many years.  He explained that other druggies called him friend but they were more interested in sharing his drugs.  It made him feel good.  It made me feel good, too.

After the meeting two weeks ago Byron invited us and Mauricio to his parent's home for a bite to eat.  Byron's family was very warm and welcoming and we had a great time talking about the early years

Byron between his parents and Mauricio in front of Teresa.

of rock music, singers and bands.  They knew more than I did, obviously having listened more to English artists than Spanish.  But the highlight of the night for me was when Mauricio left for a few minutes and returned with two of his children.  He was so proud to introduce them to us.  Later Mauricio explained that they had detected a change in their dad over the previous few weeks.  They liked what they saw and were feeling more comfortable being with him.  Mauricio's joy was brimming over.  He was still homeless, still sleeping in the park at the end of the street, but he was making real progress.  His growing faith and confidence in God and in himself were bearing fruit.  He feels it, others see it, and if he continues walking this path he will have an abundance of joy.  This is why I love God and live and teach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  It's true, it's powerful, it makes bad men good and good men better.  It brings strength and hope and joy to mortality and inspires me to prepare for and anticipate even greater things with my family, friends and God in the eternities!

Por otro lado sin embargo

As happy as we are for Byron and Mauricio, we are sad for Yolanda.  We wrote about Yolanda and

Hugs for Star and Yolanda!

her granddaughter Star in a previous post.  Yolanda's health is deteriorating and there's not much that can be done.  Her lungs are shot after years of heavy smoking.  She's only four years older than me but she looks at least 20 years older.  She's bed ridden and thin as a rail.  Her coughs are weak yet laborious.  During our last visit Teresa helped her to the bathroom.  It was a slow and arduous process, so sad and difficult to watch.  She's such a sweet lady in her incapacity, desirous for visits and chats.  But from our conversations I sense she walked her own path in her younger years.  Life was hard for her: three husbands, a son who fathered Star and later went to prison and was murdered there, another son who appears to be a loafer and mooching off her meager income.  Star is the light of her life now.

Yolanda told me she once took the missionary lessons years ago.  She was on the verge of joining the Church but then got offended and withdrew.  I don't know when that was or where she was in life but I can't help but think that things may had been so much better for her had she been baptized and remained faithful.  Would her lungs have been much cleaner now and her health strong and vigorous?  Would she and her husband have found joy being together and still be happily married?  Might her sons have been taught correct principles and by accepting and living them become honorable and respectable men?  We will never know the answers to these questions, at least not in mortality, but I do know that had she kept her commitments and followed the path she started on, her life would have been better.  The Lord would have blessed her for keeping the commandments, as he always does, and she would have greater joy now and hope for even better things to come.

I compare and contrast Yolanda with Byron and Mauricio.  All lived according to the little light they had.  They tried to live well, at least as best they knew, but stumbled along the way.  All have or had their minds enlightened by the principles and truths of the restored gospel.  All feel or have felt the whisperings of the Spirit testifying of the gospel's truthfulness.  All have or had the opportunity to accept or reject it.  Yolanda rejected it and I wonder what could have been.  Byron and Mauricio so far have accepted it and I see amazing changes for the good in their lives.  Time will tell if they stay on the path or eventually deviate from it.  One thing's for sure.  The final outcome of their lives will be determined by that choice.  So many times I've seen the effects and consequences of that pivotal choice.  I hope and pray they choose light and life.

Una foto divertida

Teresa took this picture of Rafael´s brother Victor and their mother.  They travel miles in this vehicle.

La comida es rica!

So much of every culture revolves around its food.  I shared in previous posts the freshness,

variety and excellent prices of fruits and vegetables available at local ferias (outdoor produce markets) and we shop there at least once a week, often twice.  All the Chileans use small carts to carry their purchases in.  After a few times struggling with our backpacks we smartened up and got our own matching polka-dot feria carts!

The produce is great but the experience adds so much more.  Vendors line the street on both sides.  Some haphazardly pile their produce for display.  Others carefully and artfully stack and arrange them.  Some quietly tend their stands and serve their customers.  Others holler incessantly their advertisements and inducements.  There's never a lack of dogs.  Unfortunately, they feel the need to mark their territory, sometimes on stacks of produce to be sold.  Always wash your purchases carefully!  If you get to the feria at 10:30am there's a crush of people and it takes forever to work your way through the crowd.  At 9:00am there are fewer customers to compete with but many vendors are still setting up.  Price signs are frequently not yet posted so you have to ask.  Most vendors are honest.  Some not so much.  You can almost see the thoughts racing through their minds and the resulting hesitation, something like: aha - rich gringo!, my advantage, how much can I reasonably raise the price, mental addition, resulting final inflated price.  And then they answer.  This week I went to purchase cherry tomatoes that were posted last week at 1000 pesos a kilo.  He quoted me 1500 this time.  He didn't make the sale.  After such experiences, shopping at supermarkets seems so stale now!

We have found that Chilean food tends to be more bland than we're used to.  Not that it doesn't

taste good.  There are just fewer sharper and contrasting flavors, fewer seasonings.  One thing is for sure.  The Chilean tongue generally can't handle hot and spicy.  And this observation comes from two people who consider themselves weak in that category.  Case in point.  At a ward cookout we were given a longaniza (sausage) in a bun.  A sister mixed some merkén (a smoked hot red pepper powder which originated here with the Chilean indigenous people) into mayonnaise for a condiment.  Teresa enjoyed the small sample she tried and proceeded to slather a thick layer over the length of the longaniza, to the warnings and protests of everyone there.  They claimed it would be too spicy hot.  Undaunted she enjoyed bite after bite to the surprise of everyone.  I found the merkén to be spicy but not overbearing, adding a nice little kick.  We don't have a picture of Teresa's great feat but we do have one of Obispo Miranda manning the cooker.  Note the longaniza next to the pork.

One of our favorite Chilean "fast foods" is the empanada.  (Yes, you can get McDonalds or a variety of other American fast foods but we even avoid those back home.  Plus they're expensive.)  Apparently empanadas are common in many South American countries so they shouldn't be considered Chilean food per se, but they're made here so we'll count it.  My first was a Napolitana and so far it's my favorite.  It was recommended by Elder Rodriguez who took this picture (we'll see him in another picture next).  Elder Vera is between Teresa and me and he seems to be enjoying his empanada, too.


Elder Rodriguez hails from Asuncion, Paraguay where our daughter Jessica served her mission

(but they never met).  Turns out he was a chef back home too, loves to cook, and asked if he could prepare Christmas dinner for us.  Of course!  He wanted to make one of his favorite dishes called Milanesa, which by its very name suggests it originated in Milan, Italy.  It's a type of fried breaded chicken that tastes wonderful.  We picked up the ingredients and he took it from there, commandeering the kitchen as Teresa observed and learned (she wants to bring the best recipes back home with us).  He even donned Teresa's apron - pretty cute!  Teresa rounded out the meal with mashed potatoes, asparagus, carrots, and rolls.

That day we had over for dinner Elders Rodriguez and Vera and the other companionship living in their apartment, Elders Fowles and Anderson, as well as the Hendricks, the senior couple working in the mission office.  Sister Hendricks brought a delicious chocolate cake which we have enjoyed again since and hope to enjoy many more times yet.

We met a very vivacious sister, Hermana Pilar, who loves to feed the missionaries.  We were

Hna Pilar is standing and Elder Calixto is between her and Teresa.

lucky enough to be invited, along with four young elders, to her home for lunch the first of the year.   She is such an energetic woman, bouncing all over, beaming with smiles and speaking more quickly than I can usually understand.  This was the first time we had been invited to eat at a member's home and we thought we would be able to experience home cooked Chilean food but such was not the case.  Elder Calixto, previously a chef, cooked aji de gallina, a Peruvian dish which means "spicy hen" (although it's not spicy at all).  It's a chicken based sauce made with palillo (similar to tumeric) that is served over sliced potatoes with a hard boiled egg on top and rice on the side. It was delicious!  He also made two types of juice, one of strawberries and the other of a white fruit I'm not familiar with.  Both were very tasty!

Our neighbor Nora cooks and sells dishes out of her house.  She made us pastel de choclo, another dish common to many countries.  It is prepared with sweet corn, which is ground to form a paste, and seasoned with basil, itself ground and then blended into the corn.  The mixture is pre-cooked with milk and a little lard and then, when ready, it is used as a topping for the filling.  The filling usually contains ground beef, chicken, raisins, black olives, onions or slices of hard boiled egg.  It's quite good but because of the milk Teresa can't have it.  She hopes to get the recipe and then try substituting a different ingredient for the milk.

If you can believe it we've only been to two Chilean restaurants in our four months here.  Excuses range from busy schedules to language barriers (I know, very lame).  For me, Teresa is such a

great cook I prefer her food to nearly every restaurant we've been to anyway (and I'm such a good sous-chef she gets lots of help in the kitchen!).

Anyway, we spent one P-day climbing around Cerro Santa Lucía in downtown Santiago, a hill with historical significance and a nice view of the city.  Afterwards we stopped at a street side restaurant for a bite.  The waitress was very helpful and sweet and when we struggled to understand what a specific menu item was she summoned her English-speaking boyfriend/co-owner/cook to help us out.  We had a delightful meal on that sidewalk chatting with the waitress and her boyfriend, watching busy people walk by, taking in the sites and sounds and everything Chilean.  It's true, the food turned out to be bland as expected.  But the people, the people are warm and sweet and welcoming.  We love them and we're so happy to be here with them.

I hope you enjoyed our little culinary tour.  It's probably a bit premature since there is so much more we haven't experienced yet, from the varieties and delicacies to be found in the multitude of local restaurants and cafes to the simple aromas, textures, sights and sounds familiar in the kitchens of common Chilean families.  I love this part of being a missionary too.  Heavenly Father has created a world of such variety and diversity.  We just need to jump in and enjoy - more adventures await!  

¡Ya se acaba el tercer mez!

We are often asked how long we've been in the country so I keep general track of the time.  Last week I was waiting for Teresa in the hall while she was studying Spanish with another sister missionary.  An Elder stopped by to chat briefly, asked how long we've been here, and when I looked at the date on my watch I realized it was exactly three months.  And what a wonderful three months it's been!

San Martín Ward

Pres Gwilliam asked us to attend the San Martín Ward, a weaker ward in the next stake over from where we live.  It's always best to introduce yourself with a plate of cookies, right?  And being close to Christmas we thought we'd make an activity of it with the Young Women.  So Teresa and I stopped by their houses with Elders Johnson and Gonzalez to extend an invitation to the special mutual activity.  They surprised us with an even better turnout than expected thanks to the attendance of a couple girls from Primary. Teresa did a great job interacting with the mujeres jovenes even though she couldn’t speak the language well.  Everyone had a great time rolling, cutting and decorating the cookies, sneaking tastes of the dough, engaging in small flour battles and lots of laughing.  We even managed to make a few cookies!

¡Una feliz navidad para los niños pobres!
The most difficult part of being here is seeing the poverty.  Even in this second world country it can be overwhelming at times.  As is often the case, there is someone fighting the good fight and making a difference.  Rafael is this someone here.  His short biography.  He grew up on the streets fending for himself since he was 8 years old.  Not until he joined the military did he have regular meals and his own bed.  Through perseverance and determination he became a police officer and then later a personal bodyguard, eventually serving some very affluent people.  Later in his career he managed the security department of a large transportation company.  But his calling in life has always been to help the poor children, those at the bottom, where he once was.  When he had enough money, he was going to retire and then help the children full time.  But when his employer learned of his motive they wanted him to stay and offered to pay his wages in the things he would need to help the children.  So Rafael continues to work, but not for his own benefit, and in so doing has blessed thousands of children.  Our missionaries have been helping him with manual labor for 6 years now and he's so grateful.  The big event around Navidad is to hold some big Christmas fiestas and give each child a Christmas present.  That amounted to nearly 1200 gifts this year.  He also gives basic food stuffs and hygiene supplies to the poor families in his neighborhood.  The missionaries helped prepare for and run the fiestas.  (Rafael says other people had helped in years past but they took advantage and stole toys and food for themselves.  He appreciates our young missionaries because their sole purpose is to serve.  They work hard, they're fun and they love the children.)  The mission donated food and hygiene supplies.  It was great to help Rafael put lots of smiles on those children's faces!

Pictures of the big event in his neighborhood, Rafael himself in the first.  Elder Neddo made a great Papa Noél.  Face painting was a favorite activity.

A cute picture of a boy playing with the statues of the manger display.  Rafael arranged for fire truck rides with the bomberos (fire fighters).  The lady holding balloons is Rafael´s mom, very sweet but also very lost with Alzheimer´s.

A group of missionaries sit on Papa Noél's lap.  And evidence that Teresa and I were there too...

On a different day we visited the very poor just inside their shanty town.  We didn't venture deeper into their community of dwellings cobbled together with whatever materials could be found.  Rafael announced our presence over a loudspeaker and the children came to us.

 Papa Noél had a permanent side kick.  The little girl snuggled close and wouldn't budge. 

I'm told Elder Antre gave up a promising career as a professional soccer player to serve his mission, which he completed a few weeks after these events.  Given his love, determination and work ethic he will be successful at whatever he sets his mind to.

Beautiful girls, both the Chilean chicitita and the sister missionaries.

Todo Por Una Sonrisa (Everything for a Smile)

The sheer number of poor people is daunting, and we're in only one small corner of this great big world.    We do what we can with our limited material means to help, but my greatest comfort comes from the inspiring words of Pres Benson:

"The Lord works from the inside out.  The world works from the outside in.

The world would take people out of the slums.  Christ would take the slums out of people,

and then they would take themselves out of the slums.

 The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men,

who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior,

but Christ can change human nature.

I am here to teach of Christ who can change human nature.  He changed me; he can change them, too.  Then they'll have the guidance, power and motivation to take themselves out of the slums, both spiritually and temporally.  I love this gospel!

Yolanda y Star
One family we met through Rafael is a grandmother in very poor health, Yolanda, and her dependent granddaughter Star.  (Because in Spanish they always prefix an "es" sound before a word that starts with "s", it took a long time before we realized her name was not Ester!)  Yolanda is bedridden and only rarely gets out in a wheel chair.  Star's father is deceased and mother is a deadbeat.  That left Yolanda to raise Star the best she could.  Teresa fell in love with them both.  There may be a language barrier but Teresa communicates heart to heart.  We have visited a number of times.  At the start and end of each visit Yolanda holds Teresa's face in her hands and smiles, telling her how "linda" (beautiful) she is.  Tears well in each others' eyes.  Teresa bends down and gives her a hug in bed.  Star is a bundle of energy and can't keep from hugging Teresa or holding her hand.  She's braided Teresa's hair and swing danced with her in their very small home.  They've held kittens together and Star has tried to teach Teresa to roll her R's, unsuccessfully so far.  They've walked to the local tienda and we've shared some meals Teresa prepared.  Yolanda declared them all "rico" (delicious).

Capillas Abiertas
As I mentioned in our first post, one of our three primary responsibilities is to organize capillas abiertas (open houses) in the 48 wards in the mission.  We've organized three so far, with increasing levels of success.  Thanks to Teresa's attention to detail and my tendency to define repeatable processes,we've improved upon the program given us and are running quite efficiently now.  We've developed training materials and helpful suggestions that enable missionaries to more successfully fulfill their roles and responsibilities.  We've created similar materials to give to ward leaders when we train them in their ward councils.  And we've developed new forms to efficiently capture the data needed for our reports.  Our improvement has sparked interest in the Area and they've asked for copies of our materials to see if they might be helpful for other missions.  I have one more document to create before we send the lot.  It will be interesting to hear their feedback.

What clean cut, handsome young men greet the visitors at the reception table!

Sisters take visitors on tours.  First to the Christus to hear a short recording of the words of Christ, the same that is in the Salt Lake City Visitors' Center. Then to a set of six pendones (pull-up banners) with overviews of Christ, the apostasy, restoration, Book of Mormon, modern prophets and eternal families.

The Elders teach the first principles and ordinances of the gospel in front of the baptismal font.  Then the members share how the Church helps them be better individuals and families, grow through service and meet the challenges that life inevitably throws at them.

Of course, no church activity is complete without some sort of treat or refreshment.  Oh, and who just performed the most perfectly timed photo bomb ever?!!!

¿Qué es tu meta?
What a thrill to be in Chile with my best friend doing what I love to do most!  Teresa and I are having the time of our lives.  Whatever your current age, I encourage you to set the goal and work toward preparing to serve a full time senior mission when the time is right.  You will be so glad you did!