Friday, November 26, 2010

Mission President´s Seminar 2010 . . .


Once each year, the mission presidents in Chile meet with the Area Presidency for training. This year the meeting was held in Pucón which is at the north end of our mission. It is a beautiful location on the edge of Villarrica Lake and at the foot of the Villarrica Volcano. Pictured above are members of the Area Presidency and their wives, as well as the Presidents and wives of the nine Chilean missions and the Santiago Mission Training Center.

When Susie and I arrived in Chile in June 2008, we arrived with two other couples who also began their mission service. We have loved and admired these two couples since we met them in the Provo MTC and it has been a privilege to serve with them. Pictured above (l-r) are: President and Sister May of the Santiago North Mission and President and Sister Swenson of the Concepción South Mission. It is hard to believe this was our third and final seminar. I still feel like the new kid on the block.


Thursday, November 25, 2010

Zone Conference Ugly Tie Contest . . .

As part of this last cambio´s zone conference, we had an ugly tie contest. In Punta Arenas, the winner was Elder McGowan from Clinton, MS. Pictured (l-r) are: Elder Figgins, Elder McCormick, Elder Elmer, Elder Richardson, Elder Hansen, Elder Quispe, Elder McGowan, Elder Lux, Elder Araneda, Elder Olmedo, Hna Aponte, Elder Hezeltine, Hna Bertagnole, Elder Gomez, Hna Campos, Elder Schubert, Hna Baum and Elder Barbosa.

Not to be excluded, the sisters participated in the ugly "bufanda" (kneck scarf) contest. Susie was in the running at every zone, but at Valdivia it was a tie between Hna Smith and Hna Tauteoli. Above (l-r): Hna Smith, Hna Tauteoli, Hna Thompson and Hna Nakayama.

At the Coyhaique Zone Conference, Elder Martinez was the winner. Above (l-r): Elder Ashby, Elder Amezcua, Elder Grover, Elder Martinez, Elder Rodriguez, Elder Frost, Elder Hunsaker, Elder Ramirez, Elder Nickel, Elder Gonzalez, Elder Jefferson and Elder Muñoz.

It was a close race in Valdivia with the Elders and eventually it was called a three-way tie. Pictured above with Susie (l-r) are: Elder Gimenez, Elder Razon and Elder Pierson.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Mid-Cambio Cambio . . .

We received a call a couple of weeks ago asking if we would be willing to accept the transfer of a sister missionary from another mission. The correct answer to that question is always "of course". Hna Fuentealba transferred from the Santiago West Mission and arrived last week. She is from Chillán, Chile and will be a wonderful addition to our mission.