September Cambios (Part A) . . .

We have 20 great missionaries scheduled to leave on our September 8th cambio. Because several of them begin classes next week in school, we will be sending them home in two groups. Eleven left last night and are on their way home now. Seated above (l-r) are: Elder Seager one of our assistants who will be leaving in two weeks, Elder Moser from Missouri and Elder Poujol our other assistant. Standing (l-r) are: Elder Larsen from Utah, Elder Robinson from Arizona, Elder Salguera from Nicaragua, Elder Simons from Utah, Elder Bateman from Oregon, Elder Nash from Utah, Elder Hogan from Texas, now Georgia, Elder Fuentes from Chile, Elder Haderlie from Utah and Elder Montano from El Salvador.

This group of twenty has had a powerful influence on the mission since they arrived and it is hard to see them start to leave. Among this group of 11 are six that have served as zone leaders and 3 that served as district leaders. They are truly a remarkable group of young men. We already miss them.

Visit of Elder Scott and Elder Corbridge . . .

We are blessed to have Elder Scott from the Quorum of the Twelve in Chile this week. He came to visit our mission yesterday and was accompanied by Elder Corbridge of the First Quorum of Seventy and a counselor in our Area Presidency, and his wife. We had a 4-hour mission conference yesterday them and it was truly remarkable. What a blessing to have these brethren visit our mission. Today they are in Punta Arenas where they will meet with our missionaries there and later have a conference with the members. There are firesides also planned in Valdivia, Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt this week as well as training this Saturday and conferences on Sunday in Osorno and Puerto Montt. It will be a wonderful week.

Yesterday we had Elder Scott and the Corbridges in the Mission Home for dinner and truly enjoyed the opportunity to be with them. I am amazed at Elder Scott´s energy and stamina. He is constantly on the go and so anxious to be with the members and missionaries.

Above is a picture of the Punta Arenas Zone with Elder Scott, Elder and Sister Corbridge and President Acevedo, the stake president. What a wonderful experience for such a small group of missionaries to get to spend more than 4 hours in training with Elder Scott and Elder Corbridge. As I´ve spoken with them, it is clear that it was an unforgettable experience.

The four sisters above (l-r) Hna McMasters (Utah), Hna Thompson (Virginia), Hna Smith (California) and Hna Aponte (Argentina) especially enjoyed the conference. The apostolic blessing pronounced upon them will be something I am sure they will share with their family.