January Cambios . . .

This months cambio was obviously very small. Only two missionaries arrived this week from the Provo MTC. Fortunately, it was a bright sunny day in Osorno for their arrival at the airport.

Pictured above at the mission home are the new missionaries. Pictured from l-r are: Elder Coles one of our assistants, Elder Riches our other assistant, Elder Wirthlin from Spanish Fork, UT and Elder Drake from LaVerkin, UT. We are excited to welcome them to the mission. They will both be excellent missionaries.

Two of our missionaries finishing this cambio actually went home on December 31st so that they could be home in time to start school. Pictured above are Elder Service from Salt Lake City, UT and Elder Olsen from Logan, UT. These are two of the finest young men and we will miss them very much. They´ve been leaders in our mission and have been extremely faithful.

Last night the remaining five that completed their mission were in the mission home. Seated on the couch with us is Elder Poujol from Honduras. He served for a time as one of our assistants and then was sent to help in a sector with particular needs. Standing l-r are: Elder Riches our assistant, Elder Vargas from Honduras, Elder Castillo from Honduras, Elder Rivas from Panama, Elder Moncada from Honduras and Elder Coles our other assistant. I cannot say enough about this group. They´ve all been zone leaders and exceptional missionaries. The four from Honduras are some of the best missionaries we have ever had in the mission. As a group they have had a dramatic influence on the success of our mission and their influence will continue for a long time. It has been such a privilege to serve with all seven from this group.

Eathquake Jan 2, 2011 . . .

Happy New Year!

As some of you will have heard, there was a 7.1 earthquake here in our region this afternoon. It was centered north and west of Temuco and was felt as far south as Puerto Montt. Susie and I are in Pucón and we felt the earthquake very strong. It lasted about 30-40 seconds and was strong and sustained but not violent. According to the local news, there is no major damage anywhere, but these are initial reports. However, we are confident that our missionaries are all fine and parents need not worry.

We´ve advised the area presidency and missionary department that all appears well here in our mission. We are in the process of trying to reach each and every companionship to confirm their status. This is the part of our emergency plan.

Zone Leader Council . . .

At the first of each month we bring in our zone leaders for training and planning. It is such a great day to be with these strong missionaries. Above (l-r) Elder Christensen from Arizona, Elder Coles from Utah, Elder Walker from Idaho, Elder Cortez from Nicaragua, Elder Pereira from Chile, Elder Evans from Utah, Elder Castillo from Honduras, Elder Andia from Argentina, Elder Malca from Peru, Elder Rivas from Panama, Elder Gimenez from Argentina, Elder Retamal from Chile, Elder LeBaron from Arizona, Elder Jefferson from Utah, Elder Navarro from Peru, Elder Diaz from Chile, Elder Hansen from Connecticut, Elder Moncada from Honduras, Elder Vargas from Honduras, Elder Riches from Utah, Elder Razon from Chile and Elder Barra from Chile. Elder Hunsaker from Wyoming and Elder Muñoz from Chile that are serving in Coyhaique and Elder Araneda from Chile and Elder Welling from Oregon that are serving in Punta Arenas were not in attendance.

There is a great love among these missionaries and it doesn´t take much to bring out the craziness in them.

December Crazy Cambios . . .

December was supposed to be a fairly simple cambio. We had five missionaries leaving and five new missionaries arriving. Then the five new missionaries became 4 when a sister was delayed until December 21. On Monday the 4 became 3 when an Elder in Provo was delayed until December 14. So we were very surprised when the plane arrived and only 1 Elder stepped off the plane. Above is Elder Johnston from St George, Utah. He arrived by himself and we are grateful to have him.

The other two missionaries did their mission training at the Guatemala MTC and they missed their connecting flight to Osorno in Santiago. Fortunately, they arrived later that day and we were grateful to welcome them to the greatest mission in the world. Above is Hna Turcios from Honduras and Elder Camarena from Panama. They were exhausted from their trip, but they both have a great attitude.

With this cambio we released Elder Poujol as one of our assistants so that he could finish the mission working in a sector that needed some special help. Unfortunately, he completes his mission in January and we will miss him. Above are pictured with him the other assistants (l-r) Elder Coles from Salt Lake City, Utah, Elder Poujol from Honduras and Elder Riches from Grantsville, Utah.

As always, new missionaries mean we are losing older missionaries and this is a small but powerful group. All five have been wonderful missionaries and they will be greatly missed by Susie and I, as well as the other missionaries and members. Seated (l-r) are Elder Coles our assistant, Elder Aguilera from Honduras and Elder Riches the other assistant. Standing (l-r) are: Elder Uceda from Tampa Bay, Florida, Elder States from Salt Lake City, Utah, Elder Cuesta from Ecuador and Elder Aitken from Brigham City, Utah.

We just love these young missionaries. You cannot imagine the impact they have had on our lives.

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.

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.

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.