This week has really gone by fast. I trust that you all have your Christmas shopping done and that you are ready for the big night and day. We are really having a hard time getting used to the weather here, our minds tell us that it should be ten below zero and four or five inches of snow on the ground, or at least a cold rain/sleet that soaks through everything. But alas, our bodies keep saying: “You feel that? Do you really feel that non-cold and beautiful warmth on your skin? That my friend means Christmas time is here in the southern hemisphere.” I shouldn’t rub it in because we will pay for it the first winter back, but for now we are enjoying the non-cold and no snow atmosphere. Truth be known, we are really grateful for this opportunity and privilege to be in Chile at this time of our lives.
We are grateful for the Savior and all that he did and is doing for us. We are grateful for all of you and your prayers on our behalf. Thanks.
We have been working hard at the cemetery and trying to get all the books organized so that we know where we stand as far as how many left to do etc. It gives me great pleasure when we complete a book. Wednesday we left a little bit early so we could attend the meeting where the President announces all of the changes. It was fun to watch the missionaries as they got their new assignments. Some of them are going up north to the area around La Serena and it’s about a six hour bus ride. So they will get in pretty late up there. There were 10 new missionaries come in this time including a Senior couple from Santiago. So we had a fun time and after the meeting, we left for home and some food. It was Spencer’s birthday, our oldest grandson, and so we called to wish him a happy birthday. Of course he got the usual teasing from grandpa about going on a date. Spencer you are a good kid and we’re proud of the decisions you’ve made. Monday was Tierney’s birthday and we tried to call her, but she wasn’t available. So Happy Belated Birthday!
We had a surprise visit from our Supervisor, Irineu Souza from Brazil. He came with our Santiago contact, Claudio. It was fun to see them and Irineu brought us some gifts for Christmas and also an update to our Computer from Salt Lake. They were also good enough to go over to Valparaiso and get two more hard drives for us to use and took the one we have been transferring our data onto, so that they can send it to Salt Lake. He also recommended that we send in the disc to Salt Lake every two weeks. So that is what we will do and hopefully we will get into a rhythm with the discs and won’t have to go for long periods without a disc to transfer to. Any way it was good to see Irineu and he has become a good friend.
Friday we went to our District Meeting with the other missionaries in our District. President Kähnlein wants all of the Senior missionaries attending them. We left the cemetery at 11AM to get to the 11:30AM meeting which would have been enough time to walk there. But, we went by the home of our friend Julio and he insisted on giving us a tour of his house. I didn’t feel right about just saying no, so we took the tour and got to our meeting 15 minutes late. There are four elders and three sisters plus us in the District. All good people and enjoyed being with them. After the meeting we took a “micro” (bus) back up to the cemetery and did some more work. We left at about 4:30PM to go to a Stake Relief Society Service Project meeting at 5PM. The Stake Relief Society President has a little girl about three who has downs syndrome. There is an organization that caters to these special needs children. So we and about 8 other missionaries went to their meeting place and sang some Christmas songs for them. It was a special experience and we really enjoyed it.
Today we decided to go to Valparaiso and see if the tram to the top of one of the hills which overlooks the port was working. Sometime ago, someone decided to cut the cable that is used. Well, the cable hasn’t been repaired and so we went over to a wharf called Pratt Wharf. Named after a famous maritime captain. We took a boat tour of the harbor area. We were treated to a pretty good history lesson of Valparaiso. For example, there are 42 hills which make up Valparaiso. The oldest church in Valparaiso was built in the 1500s. the harbor is over 150 meters deep (450 feet). At one point, Valparaiso was going to be the capital of Chile, but the people were afraid that the pirates would come in a do bad things, so they moved the capital inland to Santiago. However, the legislative or congress still meets in Valparaiso. We saw some pretty neat sights, sea lions, ships, pelican diving for fish, seagulls, boats of all types and sizes and I managed to get some good shots of the shoreline and Valparaiso from the ocean perspective. I’ll include a few with this letter.
I hope that all of you have a great Christmas and that your upcoming year will bring you the blessings that you want. This is actually my third Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere and Colleen’s first. We are grateful for you all and hope that your days will all be sunny and bright. Un Abrazo para todos. Elder y Hermana Smith
PS: We were so surprised to receive all of your Christmas cards. Thank you so much for your wishes and our apartment now looks like it is actually Christmas. We enjoyed reading your messages. Thank you for taking the time to send them. They brought a smile to our faces and some made us laugh. I love our ward and all that you do for us. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Sister Smith
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