Celebrating 47 Years of Marriage

December 27th was our wedding anniversary. To celebrate ,we decided to get out on the town without any Spanish speakers as companions. It is always an adventure to go sight seeing in Santiago but even more so when you have so little Spanish that you know you won't be really understood or really understand anywhere to go. But we went anyway and had a great time.

We took a bus and then the subway to the Aviation Plaza which features this amazing fountain. It is operated with over 100 water pumps. It was exhilarating to watch the tremendous water show that it is. We went in the early evening before sundown and noticed that a large group of youth with dyed black hair, face jewelry and black clothing were congregating in large numbers. There was also a large number of police officers. So we decided not to stay after sunset to see the fountain lit for nite. We will return on a week night with a group of friends for safety. We did see many examples of PDA (public displays of affection). This is very common in Chile and seems strange to us North Americans but any place is a place for love in this country. We have even seen a couple kissing very warmly in church! If you want a better view of this behavior just click on the picture and it will enlarge it for you!!

We don't want you to think that this is all the young people do so we have included some picture of kids in the same park doing gymnastic tricks. You see lots of gymnastic teams doing tricks during the red lights at busy intersections. They then run among the cars collecting donations.

Interestingly, there was a couple lying on the grass almost in the middle of these athletes entwined in each others arms as if they

were alone. Oh well, I guess in a city of 7 million you just get use to crowds.

I have included two pictures of street dogs. They are a curious breed. They are everywhere in Santiago. The strange thing is that you never see a puppy or even a toddler dog anywhere.
We wonder where they keep their babies. They are so smart that
they always seem to cross streets with the light and they are always aloof of people. Never rude. You never touch or talk to a street dog however. You ignore them if you can and watch where you step. They all appear fairly healthy but a little dirty and rough.

The fountain and park are adjacent to the Mapocho River which runs out of the Andes chocolate brown. The bridge you see is as steep as it looks and takes some energy to climb. It is for pedestrians only. You get a great view of the park and the city and the mountains.

The blue bell flowers grow on a lacey leafed tree here that blooms in spring and early summer. I don't know that name so my son in law has to look it up and tell us all about it.

The first day of our celebration is complete but tomorrow the fun will continue.

Christmas has come to Santiago quietly for us who are serving missions. We have not worried about meal preparations, shopping, gift wrapping or holiday parties. Our focus has been more on staying focused on our individual missions. That is difficult as we think about all that lovely snow in Idaho and all those loved ones having festivities without us. But it is also comforting as we hear their plans that include taking care of each other in our absence.

Christmas in Chile is a religious celebration. There is no controversy here about the political correctness of manger scenes on government property. In fact these pictures are of our municipal plaza and they certainly celebrate the birth of our Savior. On Christmas Eve at about 11 pm we walked down to this plaza to see how the locals celebrate Christmas. It was a lovely warm evening with cool breezes blowing. Families were milling around the plaza talking and laughing. Little girls were in white dresses. Vendors were selling popcorn from little carts. The children were up on the steps of the municipal building playing and sliding down the steps. The building was lit with changing colored lights at night so it would change from pink to purple and other shades of the rainbow. Beautiful light classical Christmas music was playing offerings such as the Nutcracker Ballet. The trees were all a twinkle with white lights among the lush green leaves. We sat for about an hour and loved Santiago and its happy people.

This past week Bryce has been working in the Santiago Temple welcoming young families who have been coming to be sealed together in eternal family units. I have shared that with our young missionaries who sometimes feel discouraged when people are too busy to hear about the Savior's plan for us. The church is growing in Chile again after a time of reorganization. We are happy about being a part of this growth. We are so thankful for the birth of the Savior but are even more thankful for his atoning sacrifice that makes it possible for us all to reach our divine potential.

Scenes From a Trip to Zone Conference

During the past two weeks, the Dixons and we have made several trips south of Santiago to present at Zone Conferences for the Rancagua Mission. You will see a group of pictures that got posted before I could write about them. So let me tell you that a zone conference is a meeting of a group of missionaries in a given mission. The Rancagua Mission has 4 zones so we did 4 presentations over a period of 4 days. Bryce and I do power point presentations on stress management and communication skills. The scenes you see are pictures of the trip to the missions, and the towns we visited. I am especially fond of the picture of the 4 young missionary men together. They are all presently serving as branch presidents in local branches of the church. That is like a lay minister over a congregation. The picture of the young man with Bryce and me was our interpreter. He speaks flawless English and Spanish.

I thought you would enjoy the street scenes of the towns of San Fernando and Rancagua. Both cities are just humming with activity. We spent the night in Rancagua in a hotel room we could barely turn around in. But the bed was wonderful and it was very restful. The mission president in Rancagua is an Argentine who is an attorney in his career. He and his wife will serve as mission president for 3 years. They welcomed us warmly and we enjoyed our time with them.
The mountains are the Andes of course. Fruit was being sold everywhere. The fruit is better here than in the states. We are having a wonderful experience here in Chile.
The first picture is us getting ready for our big adventure.

Misadventure on the subway!!!

There will be no pictures with this posting. I was in no condition to record the event. (I being Anna-Marie)
Yesterday was a beautiful hot day. The work was done early and my missionary friend needed to go to the market to get a couple more Christmas gifts so I volunteered to go with her so her husband could stay and man the office. We quickly grabbed a bus and then transferred to the subway. We noticed that 2 young men gave us their seats. At the next stop an elderly women boarded and another young man got up and gave her his seat. It was obvious to us two missionaries that we were now in the category of little old ladies who were given seats. Not a bad deal actually.
We got our shopping done in rag time. I noticed that I was feeling very hot and that my cheeks were quite flushed. But it was time to go home so we descended into the subway and boarded the subway home. It was crowded with young moms and no one offered a seat at this time. Perhaps we looked younger to this group. We stood holding a pole and away we went with hot air blowing around us. I began to feel strange and by the time we were 2 stops from our exit I was exerting great effort to stay focused on my friend and the conversation. I remember Salvador stop and thinking great only 2 more stops. We came to Manuel Monte and I was really hanging on but noticed that I couldn't follow my friends conversation. The next thing I remember is opening my eyes and looking in the faces of about 5 Latinos who were exhibiting great care and concern. One man had elevated my legs, a women was making sure my dress covered by legs, another was holding my hand. I felt no fear only confusion and comfort. My friend started calling my name. After a few moments, a young man lifted me to my feet. By this time we had passed our exit so an effort was made to get me off the subway at the next exit. The young man and his girlfriend literally scooped me up and exited with me and my friend. The young man went to get the guards who came immediately and my friend in broken Spanish told them not to call an ambulance as I had only fainted from the heat. I had the presence of mind to thank my helpers in Spanish!! They embraced and kissed us both good bye. That is a lovely S. American custom.
The guards, two strong men, got on either side of me and took me up the long stairway out of the subway and turned me over to a female guard who took me to a restroom. Interestingly, she had to unlock two doors to get to the restroom which is typical South American style. How can such loving people be so concerned about locking everything up?
Once out of the subway we went to a street cafe and got something for me to drink and some toast. Again, the waiter exhibited care and concern for my obvious state of paleness and weakness. After a short break we grabbed a cab home. The cab driver was looking at me anxiously and drove as carefully as possible to keep me from getting dizzy again. You have to love these people! What great and kind hearts. I am on the mend but unfortunately I sprained my ankle as I fell to the floor and today I am still mildly dizzy and queasy. We are among friends here. Some we know and others we don't. What an experience. Now I must remember to always wear a hat at mid day in South America.

Christmas Shopping in Santiago

Forget Christmas carols and hot chocolate and roasting chestnuts. It is summer and the fresh fruit is in abundance. The temperature is about 75 degrees and the South Americans are not up tight about getting the shopping done. In fact, I think they may not be going to do any! The malls are not decked out and we do not hear Christmas music on the intercoms. What a relief!!

The street vendors are doing a brisk business in snack food, ice cream and drinks. They must have blackened lungs and deaf ears from all the car fumes and noise.

This young man has only one leg and sits on the cement wall selling jewelry. You can see him making a sale. After the sale he will sit back down and watch the traffic go by. I asked a resident of Santiago what is done to help disabled people in Chile and he was puzzled by my question. After some thought, he said that they were becoming aware that individuals with handicaps may need some financial help and assistance. It is not uncommon to see vendors on the streets with very disabling conditions.

These ladies were selling an assortment of jewelry also. They actually have to be licensed to sell on the streets and are given an assigned place to do their selling. One man who sells flowers on our street is out 8 hours a day and I am told makes a good living.

This market is a lot more fun than a city mall. We loved the little shops which offered all kinds of S. American arts and crafts. The market was very clean and featured lots of benches in the shade for tired husbands.

This shop owner is helping my friend Cathy Dixon try on a wrap around skirt. She didn't buy one but I did and really enjoy wearing it with my sensible missionary shoes.

Notice that they have spread a shade canopy over the market. It is a good thing as the ozone layer has a hole in it over Chile. Us Norte Americanos can get a nasty burn in no time. If you want to get a closer look at any of these pictures I think you can click on them and it will enlarge them for you. You might want to check out the sales.

These vendors have less desirable sites to sell their wares. However, please note the stairs. That is the entry and exit of the subway. So the foot traffic is heavy past their outdoor stores. Notice the older couple holding up the wall by the stairs. That is Elder and Sister Dixon. They were shopping with us. He is the medical doctor assigned here. His wife is the nurse. We do a lot of our work with them.

We ended a perfecto day of Christmas shopping by appreciating a street picture in colored chalk of the reason for the season. This is a Catholic nation with a love for shrines and pictures of the Savior and Mary. We were impressed with the skill and devotion that it took to create this temporary work of art.

Santa Lucia - What Santiago Did with an Eyesore!

Back in the late 1800's the mayor of Santiago wanted to do something with a pile of rocks, really a small mountain, in the middle of the city. It was considered an eyesore and troubled the sensitivities of the city fathers. Also, back in the 1500's Pedro De Valdivia, the father of Chile, had camped at the very spot so it also had some historic value. They came upon a plan to create a lovely and whimsical park. You see us here standing at the entrance of this park. Note the street dog at our feet. Chile has muchos perros everywhere. They are generally benign but soil the streets. Chile has guards everywhere. In order to enjoy this park you have to sign in and give them your Carnet which is sort of like a SS# in the US. Entrance is free however.

Nothing in the park is older than about 1880 but everything has been designed to look ancient. The park covers a very steep outcrop of rock and must have over a 1,000,000 steps. The steps are very uneven and dangerous. We climbed to the very top where the view of the city was wonderful.

This is us after we reached the top and we don't look too exhausted so that speaks well for our healthy life style and youth and vigor!

This is the view from about half way up the trail. The park provides an escape from the noise and rush of the city. It is a favorite of lovers and everywhere we looked people were entwined in loving embraces. I didn't take pictures of that.

Sadly, we noticed that many of the features of the park were falling into disrepair. We hope they don't let it crumble to dust and become the next generation's eyesore.

These lilys grow like weeds in Santiago. This city has a slightly tropical feel to it with the palm trees and lush plants. Nothing freezes during the winter except the senior missionaries. When we arrived in winter there were some sad looking geraniums still blooming in the damp smog. But alas, summer has arrived and the grim winter is only a distant memory and a future dread.

Children are the same everywhere. The amazing thing about the children here is that they speak such wonderful Spanish. If only we could. One of the things we miss the most is the opportunity to hold and love a little child. Grandchildren are the greatest sacrifice that a senior missionary makes!

One of the few advantages to living in a city of 7 million people is a metro system. They have a great method here called the BIP card, pronounced beep. You buy the card, after giving them your Carnet # or course, and you load the card with pesos. Then you use the card like a prepaid credit card and just scan it as you get on the metro (subway system) or bus. You can travel from one to the other or transfer to other busses within 90 minutes and there is no additional charge.

The ride home is fast and efficient. Sometimes, the metro is so crowded that you literally get pressed in like a sardine in a can. Most North Americans find this very uncomfortable but the South Americans use it as a money making adventure. They either pick the pockets of the riders or entertain them with songs or instrumentals in the hope of a handout. Our ride home on this day was uneventful. Another day in paradise.