After a 9-hour overnight flight from Atlanta we arrived in Santiago at 6am with a large packet of QR codes and paperwork. After a very through covid test we passed effortlessly through immigration and customs. One of our field managers was there to greet us. It was wonderful to meet him in person. As the plane flew over Chile it was so comforting to look at the map on our TV screen and recognize the names of cities where we have projects. We know people in many cities giving each place personal meaning. Then as we were driving from the airport to our apartment, we saw highway signs and even a city name painted on a hill that was familiar. It was a warm welcome to this beautiful country.
We were driven straight to our apartment, as required by covid protocol, which is on the fourth floor of an eight-story building. Our porch balcony faces ‘temple square’ and we can see angel Moroni on the temple, our office, the distribution center, the temple patron housing building, and our chapel. It is a small, totally adequate apartment with a galley kitchen opening to a small porch with a washer and dryer, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and a living/dining area. We miss our garbage disposal, dishwasher, and central heating/cooling and will make do with space heaters and fans.
Kind people graciously filled our fridge and pantry suppling us well for our 5-day quarantine. We feel so grateful for this nice apartment across the street from the temple making it easy to walk across the street and attend frequently. We also feel grateful that we will be in the same apartment for our whole mission so we can settle in.
Health inspectors knocked on our door twice to make sure we were in our apartment during our 5-day quarantine. We are also required to check in online for 14 days to answer a list of health questions. We kept busy working on projects, studying Spanish, and exercising.
A Chilean Mobility Pass is required to enter the country and to go inside any restaurant or public building. The Mobility Pass basically verifies that you have been vaccinated for COVID. Masks are required everywhere countrywide. 85% of Chilean residents have received the first vaccine; 76% are fully vaccinated including children.
We were getting pretty antsy by 6:34am on Thursday when our quarantine period was over and enjoyed a morning walk around our neighborhood. We then headed to the Costanera Center to shop. It is 1 ½ miles from our apartment and is the tallest building in Latin America and the second tallest in the Southern hemisphere. The bottom six floors are a mall. We spent 5 hours there trying to find odds and ends we need for our apartment and to buy some groceries. They had the coolest ramp escalators; the shopping carts locked into them so they don’t get away from you on the incline.
With love, Élder y Hermana Lamb, (aka Ed & Debbie, Mom & Dad, Pop Pop & Tu Tu)
Lambs in Central Europe 