This has really been an excellent week. We were able to work the whole week at the cemetery and were able to take over 7100 images from 28 books. We are totally elated because we heard that the first batch of retakes we sent into Salt Lake all passed their evaluations. So that makes us feel pretty good. It’ll be interesting on the next set of new images because they are so much harder to take. We’re talking three or four different sizes of pages, letters, etc. that have all been bound together in book form. But, as I told my friends Joe and DeAnne, although the work is tedious and “boring”, if you look at it from a different perspective, it makes it all the worthwhile. I just keep getting this images in my head that there are hundreds of thousands of individuals on the other side of the veil that are waiting for their living relatives to get the spirit of Elias and research their names and then, at some point, have their names taken to the temple and the work done for them. When I keep that perspective in mind, it makes it no less tedious or boring, but it makes me look at it from their point of view and I’m grateful to be able to assist in “turning the hearts of the children to the father’s, and the hearts of the father’s to the children.” I am grateful to have a companion who shares that point of view and together we just keep “clicking away”.
We witnessed a sad happening at the cemetery last Wednesday. A fellow drove into the cemetery and turned to go down one of the narrow roads. I don’t think he saw the dog that was laying in the road, but he ran over him. Fortunately he stopped and the guard ran over to assist the dog (his dog). Colleen kept asking me: “Why did he run over the dog?” I just think that he didn’t see the dog due to the tightness of the turn. While a happy ending. Friday when we got to the cemetery, I saw the same guard and asked him how the dog was doing? Elated, he pointed to a dog laying under a tree and said he’s fine, I took him to the Vet’s and he only had contusions, no broken bones. So I’m happy to report that the dog is doing fine and, I think that I made a friend by asking him about the dog. Slowly but surely we are making friends with a lot of the cemetery workers and they are changing their minds about us.
One of the workers, an older fellow, always salutes me and asks what do I have in the backpack – the kitchen sink?” Another of the office workers came in Friday and made sure that we knew they were closing at 5PM and did we need to use the bathroom before they locked up. It just goes to show that if you want to have friends, you have to be one. We made another friend Thursday when were headed for home. There’s a lady that has a little store – sells mostly soft drinks, snacks and candy and what all – just across the street from the cemetery. As we were walking past her, we greeted her with our customary “buenas tardes”. Well, she said wait a minute, I’ve got a question to ask you. So we went back and she was wondering where we were from, why we are here and what are we doing. So we had a nice little conversation with her. I think that she will be a good candidate to hear the gospel. Friday, Susanna (the shop owner) and her friend Margarita were there and we greeted them. Susanna said hold on, I have something for you. She came out with two glasses of “Moto” which is a drink with juice, corn and an apricot. Colleen wanted me to pay her, but she replied that they were a regalo (gift) for us. I thought that was a pretty nice gesture on her part. Kiddingly I told Margarita that I didn’t speak much Spanish and she said “I don’t understand why they would send someone down here that doesn’t understand the language.” I had to explain that I did speak Spanish and slowly but surely I’m learning Chilean Spanish which is spoken about five times faster than most Spanish and the ess’s are almost nonexistent. But I’m getting there.
Thursday was my birthday – 21 years old J - Colleen made me some French toast for breakfast and steak and spaghetti for dinner. We worked at the cemetery and did over 1500 images that day (a personal best). It was 63F when we got to our little room and 84F when we left. It’s tough working in the heat, but we’ll manage. After we got home, we ate and then had some friends and sister Hugie over for some cake. The Daniels bought me a small toy helicopter and so I have to get some “stick time”. Tried it the other day and was all over the place. Need to have John show me the tricks of the trade.
We went with the Elder’s Wednesday night and met with a recent convert and her daughter. Talked to them about Family History. Colleen told them about her grandmother’s passion for genealogy and how when we were in Germany she was able to visit the town where her Grandmother’s people were from and how she’d gotten many family names from that experience. I managed to translate it so Lorretta and her daughter could understand it. The spirit of Elias was definitely present and it was a good lesson. We’ve always told the Elders to give us a call and that we’d help them out whenever we could.
Big election-day tomorrow and so, due to the laws of the land, we will only have Sacrament meeting. Well, I guess that is all that I’ve got to report on. Sister Hugie told of a busy night she had. One elder with stomach problems was admitted into ICU at the hospital, two other Elders had all of their things smoke damaged and wet due to a fire in their neighbors apartment, and the office missionaries had their apartment burglarized. Oh, I don’t remember if I told you last week about the Elder that left his companion stranded in their apartment (no keys, no phone) and caught a bus from Serena (6 hours to the north) and came and told the Mission President that he was going home and he needed his passport. (He’d been here all of six weeks and a couple of days.) Pretty sad. So when I say that I am grateful for the blessings that the Lord has blessed us with, you can believe me. We are grateful for each of you that have communicated with us and thank you for our prayers on our behalf. They are working and please keep it up. We are in good health and enjoy our thirty minute walk to and from the cemetery.
Love each of you. Elder and Sister Smith
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