Work

Kristi told us she thought we were on a perpetual vacation--so here are a couple of pictures to prove we show up at the office occasionally!

I just finished preparing my first powerpoint presentation.  Blaine told me what he wanted and I figured out how to do it.  It turned out OK.

Do you want to hear something really scary?  I am the resident computer expert among the missionaries here at the office.  That is an indication of how low everyone else is.  They have IT people here at the office building, but the missionaries are at the bottom of the list.  If they don't want to wait a couple of weeks for help, they call me.  I usually don't have an answer right away, but I can figure it out in a few minutes, so it's quicker for them.

Nicole

Most of the work we do is office-related and we don´t get a lot of direct contact with the participants of the Perpetual Education Fund.  However, Jane sends birthday greetings to all the participants and from time to time we have assignments to email the participants.  We love getting responses from the kids.  They are always expressing their appreciation for the PEF and frequently bear testimony as to how it has helped their lives.  Many have problems and we work with them and with the other PEF staff to get them the help they need.    We get a lot of email responses that start with “let me explain the situation”.  When we do, we know they need help. 

Blaine was asked to follow up on several participants who had no ward or stake listed and who seemed to have disappeared.  They did have an old email address so emails were sent out to all of them.   Soon a response came back that started:  Let me explain my situation…”  It was from a sister who had been having some very difficult challenges in her life and was ready to quit church and her studies.  She had only been a member 5 years.  She had tried to get a PEF loan for the last part of her studies but her Bishop wouldn´t approve it because she hadn´t been coming to church.  She felt like everything had come crashing down on her, even though she had been helping a family who had lost their mother and her father who had been hospitalized and wasn’t expected to live in addition to her studies.  I wrote back to her trying to strengthen and encourage her and let her know that her Father in Heaven knew her situation and would help her get through these difficult times.  She was encouraged enough to try to talk to her bishop again (in the meantime we were working to get in touch with the Bishop and to fill him in on her situation).  She went to church during a Young Womens activity and there she was approached by the first counselor.  Usually he greeted her and then went on with his business but this time he stopped and spent some time with her asking her about her studies and her father.  He helped her get in to the Bishop and she was able to have her burden lifted by those priesthood leaders.  Then she expressed her extreme gratitude for my follow-up and encouragement and expressed how she had lost all hope until she had received my email.  

It is amazing how the Lord works.  He knows when each of his children is having difficulties and places different individuals in their path to help lift and sustain them.  How important it is for us to be sensitive to the Spirit and to be ready when He calls.  This experience was a wonderful blessing in our lives.  It was topped off when she came into the office to pick up her check for the school.  We were called down to the PEF Service Center where she was waiting for us.  She was so excited and happy to meet us.  She wanted to give me a big hug but knew she couldn´t so she gave Jane two hugs and said one was for me.  So, Jane turned and gave me a big hug for her.  She was so overjoyed to see us.  It was a wonderful but humbling experience. 

Spanish Woes

Jane has decided that she needs to re-translate the Book of Mormon in order to use fewer different Spanish words!  One of the men in the office was talking about the difference between Spanish and English.  He said, "English has many meanings for one word, Spanish has many words for one thing."  I'll say! 

An example:
I was reading Mosiah 10 in Spanish, with the the English B of M alongside to make sure I understood what I was reading.  In verses 12 & 13 it talks about the Lamanites feeling they were wronged.  The word wronged is used 3 times.  In Spanish it is ultrajaron, agravidos, and tratado injustamente.  All for the same word!.  The same thing in 14-16 where the Lamanites were wroth four times.  In Spanish we have enojaron,  irritaron, enfurecieron, and ensañaron. 

This happens all the time--I'm not sure I'm ever going to figure this out!  I have a long list of words I´m trying to figure out because they are all used interchangeably.

I just hired a new tutor.  He better be a good one--his name is Blaine.  I'm going to make him give me Spanish lessons every day, or else!

New Year's Eve

We took a tour to Vina del Mar and Valparaiso for New Year's.  It is beautiful there and Valparaiso reminds me of a very large Bisbee, Arizona.  All the houses are built on the hills.  There are lots of steps and narrow steep streets.  (It reminded others of San Francisco, but I like Bisbee better!)  There are about 30 km of beach between the two cities and they set off fireworks from barges all along the beach.  There isn't a bad spot to watch them from.  The news said there were 1 1/2 million people there.  We didn't see very many where we watched from, but it took us 2 hours to make the car ride back to the hotel (normally it takes about 15 minutes).  Our hotel was clean, we had a private bath, but no toilet paper, soap or towels.  I was partially prepared, so we got along ok.  We enjoyed the company we were with and the chance to visit another beautiful area of Chile.

Valparaiso with the original Spanish fort where they checked everybody out who came to Chile (the original customs I guess.

This is a picture of Laguna de Luz, a manmade lake used to generate electrity, not far out of Valparaiso.  There are lots of eucalyptus trees around the lake, like southern California.