Tonight was our weekly service at the homeless shelter. This facility is different than the others operated by the Hogar de Cristo group in that it allows those who are under the influence of alcohol to eat and stay as long they behave.

I think the guy in charge grew tired of my struggles to understand the clients when they were being processed to enter for the night so he took that responsibility back. Not having much to do, I helped a man whose foot defies description get his dinner. Later, I went looking for him outside where the smokers sit.  Several clients asked me to sit down to talk to them.

 Meet Fabian, Esteban, Oscar and _____ (my bad memory, again).

We had an enjoyable, long conversation that covered many topics. In the midst of some levity, Fabian wanted to talk seriously about the fact that they are alcoholics and what that means. They wanted me to know that they are good people who are respectful to others and that they are very careful to look after each other.

They are good people and my heart goes out to them. I think all four of them have had to rely on the Hogar de Cristo for many years.

Here is a better picture of them.

We had a little excitement yesterday. A fire started in the hills we see out our balcony.

We watched airplanes and helicopters drop something on the fire and they had it under control in an hour or two. (The red arrow points to the plane.)

It is very wet in the winters here but dry in the summer. Therefore there is a lot of spring growth that goes dry and becomes flammable.

We have been introduced lately to a new (to us) form of missionary entertainment. Here are the two missionaries (Elders Ossandón  and Muller) who serve in the branch that we do demonstrating the thrill of the spider hunt.

Some of the spiders here build cone-shaped webs in cracks and wait inside until they detect something small on the outside. Then they lunge out to claim their prey. The hunt consists of touching the outside of the web with grass and watching the spider lunge. No spiders are hurt in this process.

I took a video of a successful hunt but couldn't get Blogger to load it. maybe in the future.

Yesterday, we took the young missionaries of Freire to a teaching appointment out in the "campo." They needed a ride because the bus service after they get done is not reliable. They can't teach before 7:30 because the man harvests blueberries until that time six days a week.

They have sheep, pigs, chickens and dogs.  I only have a picture of one of their pigs.

You will note the home made contraption they have to wear so they don't escape through the fence.

The sister showed us how she spins wool into yarn.

They sheer their own sheep, make the wool into yarn (using only the natural color of the wool), knit various items from socks to blankets and go to different markets to sell them. She says that the country life enchants her.

Today I would like to introduce you to the pasaje.

 The are very small streets lined with houses on both sides.

There are two houses per building and they always distinguish them by a different color and/or finish on the outside. As the mechanic under the car illustrates, there are no carports or garages.

They all have fences that are something like 6 or 8 feet from the front door. Some people try to have a flower garden and a little bit of grass but most don't feel that is necessary.

This is just another illustration of how Chilenos get the most out of their land.

We went to the homeless shelter again last night.

The previous week, as we were leaving, one of the clients came up to me and I asked if I could bring him a Bible. We took one yesterday and I gave it to him in the dining room. Here is a picture Mary took from her serving counter.

The man on your right is the one who asked me for the Bible. Mary's perception is that he cannot read and that the man on your left was reading the Bible for him. There are many clients who look after each other.

Wednesday evening we had a family history workshop. Previously, I had accessed the web page for a Temuco stake and identified the FH consultants. I contacted them and one agreed to come to Victoria to help us.  He is an expert who has been heavily involved for many years.  Here is a collage prepared by one of the members who attended.

We had something like 24 people there including six or seven youth. I hope to learn a lot more from Hermano Mendez for my own use and to help the members of Tolhuaca. (The collage has some photos from a previous workshop as well.)

Mary felt that there might be hydrangea fans among the thousands who read this blog so we took a picture.

There are many of these around here but they may be past their peak.

As we were driving in the northern part of our area of responsibility, we saw some very large, beautiful trees covered with purple blossoms. We didn't take pictures of those but of a smaller version near our apartment.

The picture doesn't do the tree justice but is it good enough that someone could tell us what kind of tree it is?

Yesterday, we left home at 6:00 a.m. and drove to Victoria to load a bus hired by the Tolhuaca branch to take us to the temple.

The sister in the front has paralysis from a serious stroke 18 years ago but still make the great effort to participate in just about everything.

There is a building next to the temple where groups can go to finish preparing and eat meals. It has two kitchens stocked with cooking and eating utensils.

Yes, you leave the world behind when you enter the temple but the worldliness can return shortly after coming out.  For instance... completos.

Yes, that is mayonnaise on the one to the left. My arteries start clogging from just looking at it.

Here is the group that made the journey.

Two of the youth took family names. Also, the youth and a couple of the adults completed baptisms for 42 of our family names. Not many missionaries get as many baptisms on their missions as we do. 

We see statues carved out of wood in just about every community we visit. There are different styles and subjects but these wood statues seem to be an important part of the culture. Here are two in a plaza near us.

I will try to remember to take pictures of others we run into in other plazas and communities.

On Friday, we had our two-zone conference in the chapel about two blocks from us. We were privileged to host the assistants to the president the night before - one from Mexico and the other from Sandy, UT. They were very easy to host.

These are delightful people and we love being around them. We are included in the picture because the mission president's wife considers us the parents of the missionaries in the south.

A point of interest - the tallest missionary in the back is Elder Little.

I would like to introduce you to Hermana Irma Echeverria - a Church pioneer of Temuco.

She and her husband joined the Church 55 years ago when it had just been introduced in the area. Her husband served as the first branch president who wasn't a missionary and later as district president and stake president. She was honored to be asked to offer a prayer in one of the three dedicatory sessions of the Concepcion temple. During that session, President Nelson had two private discussions with her.

We met her because, in her late 80s, she came to support a chapel open house hosted by her ward. I love meeting pioneers.

Yesterday, we drove almost 3 hours to a community in the foothills of the Andes to inspect an apartment. It was a gorgeous mountain community but this post is about something we experienced on the way there and back.

Here we are entering a one-lane tunnel that is just under 3 miles long. The direction of the traffic is controlled by an electronic system which means you wait a long time to start through. They wisely put a building with restrooms near the west entrance.

Just a couple of other notes to show how things are different here.

This picture was taken in the middle of the day outside of the busiest mall in Temuco. These dogs are fast asleep in the middle of where people walk. They have no collars and, probably, no owners. Here, the vast majority of dogs walk freely among people and nobody seems to mind. We think they sleep during the day because they spend their nights agitating dogs behind fences so as to keep them barking.

The following picture is rare here.

Yes, those are chocolate chip cookies.  Why are they rare? 1) You can't buy brown sugar here so you have to make your own substitute. 2) Chocolate chips cost over $5/bag if/when you can find them.

Mary made these to share with missionaries whose apartments we inspect. She will be their favorite. She thinks that going two years without chocolate-chip cookies is more sacrifice than anybody should be asked to make. I agree.

I have been reflecting lately on where Mary and I are now as compared to the 40 years before.

We have been married over 40 years and during most of those years we spent the vast majority of our waking hours apart (school, work, church, etc.). When we were together, it was mostly about the children. (We have 8.) Even in my semi-retired year-and-a-half, we often were involved in separate activities.

Now we are together almost all of the time. That is a rather big change. We are companions and, to be effective, we try to counsel together in all we do. We plan our week and then our days together. We study the scriptures as companions and, later, as family members. 

One of the things our president said we needed to do was show the young missionaries a happy marriage. I guess enough of them come from homes where they didn't see this that he feels they need the encouragement. I am very grateful that I chose so well all of those years ago making that an easy assignment to fulfill.

We decided we were settled in enough here that we could start checking out some of the things to see. One of those is Monumento Natural Cerro Ñielol. It is very close to Temuco and easy to get to.

Here are a couple of views of the city from the lookout.

My photography doesn't do the view justice.

They had a park close to the lookout that contained exercise equipment. We have noticed that many parks around the city have this equipment but we never tried it out.

I hadn't done my push-ups for the day so I used this machine to compensate. The resistance comes from your own weight. I guess that, in order to get more of a workout, I need to put on a few pounds. (Makes sense to me.)

We hiked one of the trails and very much enjoyed the beauty.  Here is a sample.

It is very green around here but we didn't see a single mosquito on our hike nor is there much humidity. We don't remember seeing any poison oak or ivy either. Can you say "paradise?"