MTC Friends . . .

Susie and I have been attending classes at the Provo MTC (Mission Training Center) for several months now. Susie is doing great on her Spanish. We have been so grateful for the help we receive from our teachers and other MTC volunteers that we had a group up for dinner last night. Though most of them are from Mexico, Peru was also represented. We prepared a "mexican dinner" and were given passing grades from all. It was a wonderful evening. I can't tell you enough how impressed we are with the professionalism and skill of these MTC workers. They're the best!

Chaiten Volcano . . .

I'm sure many of you have been reading about the recent volcano eruption in southern Chile. This volcano is located within the boundaries of the Chile Osorno Mission and is near the small town of Chaiten. There is a small independent branch of the church in Chaiten with two missionaries. I believe the missionaries have been evacuated along with all of the town inhabitants. This is area of Chile is sparsely populated and the Chaiten Branch covers a very large area.

Interestingly, Chile contains a large number of volcanoes but they are not as active as the volcanoes in the western Pacific. This has something to do with the more shallow subduction of the tectonic plates which can cut off magma movement towards the surface. Chile contains 36 active volcanos, (I guess that's 37, now) including the world's highest active volcanoes. The 3,950' Chaiten volcano has been erupting now for 5 days after having been dormant for over 9,000 years. And while there is lava within the volcano crater, it has not yet spilled over the sides.