November Cambios . . .

We had a wonderful group of 10 new missionaries arrive this week. The picture above was taken after their arrival at the Osorno Airport. Fortunately, it was a sunny day. The rain waited until it was time for them to leave to work the next day.


These are our new missionaries. Seated from l-r are: Elder Guillén from Peru, Elder Amaya from Mexico, Elder Andía from Argentina and Elder Muñoz from Chile. Standing l-r are: Elder Matorell one of our AP´s, Elder Quispe from Peru, Elder Navarro from Chile, Elder Cornejo from Chile, Elder McGowan from Mississippi, Elder Cooper from Utah, Elder Meza from Peru, Elder Miner one of our AP´s and Elder Bigelow from Arizona who will replace Elder Matorell as our second Assistant.


Unfortunately, as always we had to say good-bye to those missionaries finishing their mission. They were only 5, but they were 5 of the best missionaries anywhere. Included in this group are zone leaders, district leaders, a branch president and a true Angel. It just breaks my heart having to say good-bye to these exeptional missionaries. On the other hand, I am so proud of their faithful service and know that they will be a great blessing when they return home. We hope so much to see them again. Seated with us is that wonderful angel, Hna Alvarez from Argentina. Standing l-r are: Elder Bigelow, one of our AP´s, Elder Ribera from Bolivia, Elder Rodriguez from Panama, Elder Gobetti from Argentina, Elder Messer from Centerville, Utah and Elder Miner, our other AP.

As mentioned above, after serving for 7.5 months, Elder Matorell has been released as one of our Assistants. He has been assigned as one of the Zone Leaders in the Puerto Montt Zone. He has been so helpful. We will miss him very much. Our new Assistant will be Elder Bigelow from Gilbert, Arizona. He will serve with Elder Miner from Bountiful, Utah.

Mission President´s Seminar . . .

Susie and I with Elder Bednar and his wife.

Susie and I with Elder Snow and his wife.

Susie and I with the others who arrived with us back in June, 2008. Left to Right: Pte Joe Swenson and his wife (Concepción South Mission), Pte Michael May and his wife (Santiago North Mission). We will always be connected because of our service together.

As you can see, the conference was held in a nice setting. Viña del Mar is a beautiful place and we are grateful to be able to see this part of Chile.

Each year there is a Mission President´s Seminar for all the Mission Presidents in Chile with the Area Presidency and other visiting authorities. This year the conference was held in Viña del Mar, which is a beautiful location on the ocean. Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve and Elder Snow of the Presidency of the Seventy and their wives were here, as well as our Area Presidency and their wives. (last year we had Elder Scott of the Twelve and Elder Gonzalez of the Presidency of the Seventy)

This conference is a great blessing for us. We love being with the other mission presidents and their wives and receiving such inspired training and counsel from these great leaders. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to be taught be Elder Bednar. He and Elder Snow, their wives and the Area Presidency gave us four days of inspired instruction. We will never forget it. What a wonderful blessing for us and for our mission.

Trip to Santiago . . .

Left to Right: Elder Rubio, Elder Pinto and his wife Maria José, Elder Didier, Hna Retamal, Elder Vergara, Elder Salvatierra and Elder Riviera

Left to Right: Elder Riviera, Elder Quezada, Elder Leal, Elder Torres and Elder Serradell

Left to Right: Elder Vergara, Elder Leal, Hna Iribarra, Elder Salvatierra and Elder Quezada

Susie and I went to Santiago this past week for our annual Mission President´s Seminar. (I´ll post more on this later) We enjoyed the opportunity to get together with several of our former missionaries. The highlight was being able to enjoy a temple session with a few of them. Four of our former missionaries are currently serving in the temple, and it was an unforgettable experience being with them in the temple. We love these missionaries and I can´t tell you how much it meant being able to be with them again.