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?