Well, the coronavirus cut our mission six months short.  We got a call late last week and left Monday morning.

Because of the coronavirus, the missionaries aren't dressing so as to be identified. I'm not sure if it is because some in Chile blame foreigners for the problem. In any event, here are the office elders at work in the office.

I think they are well disguised.

The office couple, the Lodholms, left the same time we did. Here we are with the mission president and his wife.

In Santiago, we connected with a number of other couples being sent home from Chile and Uruguay. Several of the brothers served in northern Argentina as youth, although 8-10 years before I did. They are delightful people and we enjoyed visiting with them.

The plane from Atlanta to SLC was about 90% full and about 80% of those were returning missionaries. Most of them were young missionaries returning from Brazil. The young sister who sat next to Mary had only been out of the MTC three week and spent one of those weeks in quarantine.

Our son and his family used our van while we were gone and dropped it off at the airport for us. Because we are quarantined, they couldn't stay to greet us. However, they went to great effort to ensure we felt as welcomed as possible, under the circumstances. Here is what was on the car. (Sorry you can't read the colored papers. They contain the names and pretend hand-prints of all the grandchildren. The surgical mask was covering the lips that say "big kiss."

Well, our mission didn't end when or how we anticipated but we are sincerely grateful for the experience. We met many wonderful people and were edified by their faith and faithfulness. As I observed and spent time with the young missionaries, I felt their amazing testimonies and strength. Testimony meetings in the small branches where we participated were as edifying as any in which I have participated. We have new friends for life, if not eternity, and are better people for having known them. We have felt the Savior's love and feel closer to Him.

I guess this is my sign-off.  Thanks for tuning in.

My brother, Dale, and his wife, Suzanne, came to visit this past week. He served his mission in Chile and has wanted to visit the Concepcion temple for some time. We are glad that they came when we were here so we could enjoy their company.  Here is a quick run down on some of the things we did.

We stopped by the Laja Falls on the way home from picking them up at the airport. They are beautiful but there was less water than last year.

We went to Conguillio National Park where we experienced the beauty of nature up close, including waterfalls.

We visited the Villa Rica area with its amazing lake and volcano. (If you look real close you can see steam or smoke coming out of the volcano.)

We went on the seven lake drive and experienced more beautiful lakes.

We drove the coastal highway and stopped off at the  beach but don't yet have pictures of that.

And, of course, we went to the temple.

Chile seems to be full of natural beauty. We guessed that the tree-per-capita ratio here is 10 times what it is in the U.S.  It was a great week.

Move #14

The 2 sisters are the ones we moved. The elders were our helpers whom we very much appreciated. Don't they look happy?

I forgot to post about saying farewell to Elder Chacón. We served with him in Tolhuaca and I posted about him earlier.

His father checked out of the family when his parents divorced a number of years ago. I'm not sure his mother ever wrote to him his whole mission. He has been on his own since he was 15. Ward members had arranged a place for him to stay for a month after he got home. His circumstances have been tough for a long time and will be yet he served cheerfully and well. I hope our paths cross again some day.

Elder Villar of the Seventy and his wife toured our mission last week. They are from Chile and he serves as second counselor in our area presidency.

He gave a very interesting talk in the April 2019 General Conference.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/52villar?lang=eng

We had a youth activity yesterday which was enjoyed by all. Several we thought would come didn't but the three who came really enjoyed themselves.

Today, in the second hour meeting, they were excited to plan for the next activity. That's the outcome we were hoping for.

I thought I should report on our second Valentines Day in Chile. To be sure, it seems to be celebrated at least as much here as in the U.S.

On my way to the store to buy, among other things, chocolate for Mary, I saw street vendors selling something interesting.

These are 6 strawberries on a skewer dipped in chocolate with a colorful marshmallow on the top. Having seen these, buying chocolate in the store seemed boring. Mary seemed pleased.

That evening, we went to the wedding celebration for a young woman from the first branch in which we served. We had no idea what to expect.

We arrived about an hour after the scheduled start time only to learn that the bride had not yet arrived. After a few minutes, an SUV pulled into the grassy area and she got out with her father who delivered her to the groom who was waiting to the left. (Sorry I didn't get him in the picture.)  Everyone was outside around the pool and they immediately started taking all kinds of pictures and serving delicious hors d'oeuvres.  We enjoyed visiting with people we knew and, a little after 9:00 started saying our goodbyes. We were informed that we could not leave before dinner and, shortly, everyone went inside.

The first picture is of the entrance of the bride, groom and bride's father. The second is of the two families.

Over a dozen speeches and a toast were offered before dinner and we finished eating after midnight. At some point, we learned that the festivities, including dancing, would go until 4:00 a.m. Since we got up at 3:00 the previous morning and got to bed at almost 1:00 that morning, we said our goodbyes after 12:30 and headed home - being the first to leave. (We wondered how many were jealous of us.)

The 90-year-old Temuco pioneer woman we met at a chapel open house about a year ago happens to be in the same ward as the groom's family. I took a picture of her and her daughter with Mary. The daughter was visiting from Norway. She went to college there, married a native and has lived there ever since.