PEF 10th Anniversary

Thursday, March 31, was the 10th anniversary of the announcement of the Perpetual Education Fund by President Hinckley.  There are 3,500 participants here in Chile.  In the last 2 years 19 currently serving bishops have graduated from school with the PEF.  President Hinckley's prophecy of this benefiting the church by developing leaders is being fulfilled.  It is humbling to be a part of the fulfillment of prophecy.

We had a party with the volunteers in the Service Center.  PEF could not function without our volunteers.  We could use many more.

El Portillo

We rented a car with the Macdonald's and drove up to El Portillo, a ski resort in the Andes.  We were hoping to get a great view of Santiago, but El Portillo is in the middle of the mountains.  The Andes are pretty barren, mostly rock. 



 We missed the turnoff and had to turn around at the border checkpoint--they just laughed at us.  They are working on the road there and the signs were down.  We expected a huge resort, but it is just one hotel, a few private homes and a lake, Laguna Inca.

We saw several chairlifts, but no defined ski runs.  I guess the skiers just start at the top and come straight down.  I'm assuming the lake freezes over in the winter.  It is over 9,000 ft elevation.

This is a picture of the road coming down the mountain from El Portillo, the curves are numbered and there are no truck escape ramps until you get to the easier part of the road.  They all showed signs of being used.  I wonder how long the brakes last on the trucks that go over this road to Argentina regularly.