Our church uses a lot of acronyms. One is FHE (Family Home Evening) or in Spanish NHF (Noche de Hogar Familiar.) Since 1915 members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been urged to gather with family on Monday evenings to spend time together, have a gospel discussion and enjoy each other’s company. An article in The Atlantic in 2018 intitled ‘Mormons’ Weekly Family Ritual Is an antidote to Fast-Paced Living’ described the tradition as a regular time set aside for praying and playing. FHE was a regular part of our week as our children grew up. We now participate in a virtual FHE (Noche de Hogar Familiar) group every other week for senior missionary couples in the south America South Area which includes Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. We provided the lesson last week. We shared a powerpoint of our ancestor’s missionary heritage.
Sister Lamb’s parents Ruth and Doug Dare served a mission in Port Hedland, Australia and then several Family history Center missions from their home in Arizona.
After immigrating to what is now Utah, Elder Lamb’s third great grandparents, Samuel & Hanna Miles, were called by Brigham Young to settle Dixie (St George, Utah today) to grow cotton.
His second great grandfather, Robert Dockery Covington served a six-month mission to the Southern States and was then also called to move from Salt Lake City to Washington, Utah to grow cotton
His great grandparents, Johanna & Thomas Covington were called to live the United Order in Orderville, Utah.
Elder Lamb’s parents, Burnell and Louise Lamb, served missions in Montreal, Canada and Bern, Switzerland and then served for years together in the Las Vegas Temple.
Elder Lamb served a mission at age 19 in Puerto Rico and Florida. Our son Ryan served in Japan, our son Joshua served in Germany and Austria, and our son in law Christopher served in the Philippines. We are grateful for the dedicated examples that our ancestors and our children have set for us.
HOGARS, HOSPITALS, & THANKSGIVING IN CHILE
On Thanksgiving morning, we left at 7am for a 2-day, 700-mile round trip to visit projects. We drove two hours south to Requinoa to deliver equipment to a rehab/physical therapy facility. They have an outpatient program and make home visits to help caregivers with the necessary adaptations needed at home for their loved ones. This visit ended with a serendipitous meeting of some young missionaries at one of our chapels next door to the rehab center.
Two hours further south we arrived at Parral to visit Hogar de Ancianos San Jose. This is a residential home for the elderly. We discussed their request and helped them prioritize their needs. It is hard to describe the joy it is to meet with these dear ‘ancients’ (as they call the elderly here) and their caregivers.
Back in the car for a one-hour drive to Chillán where we delivered refurbished church computers for university students. This foundation helps students in surrounding rural communities with very few resources to be able to attend college. Among other things they provide housing and mentors for them.
Our field manager for the area lives in this town so we were able to meet him in person for the first time. He gave us a tour of Chillán, his hometown. We walked through the Plaza de Armas and into the cathedral where an orchestra was practicing. The acoustics were amazing. He then took us to try our first mote. It is a nectar like drink with dried peaches cooked in sugar, water, and cinnamon with cooked wheat in the bottom. We pulled on to a street of mote vendors. All along the roadside people were waving plastic cups at us to interest us in their mote kiosk. Our field manager told us when to pull over. A women came to the car, took our order, and quickly delivered the cool drinks. The experience of buying the drink was as unique as drinking this Chilean favorite.
We then enjoyed a typical Chilean meal with him and his wife. It was a memorable Thanksgiving.
We traveled on to Concepción on Friday and visited three hospitals there. The first stop was CESFAM O’Higgins. They are requesting equipment for their dental clinic. This facility supports 35,000 local residents and 2,000 more in the surrounding rural sectors. These dedicated health care providers are doing so much with so few resources.
Next stop, Hospital Clinica Regional de Concepción, the largest hospital in South America with 862 beds. We were following up on a vision project our church did a few years ago; checking to see that the equipment was still in use. We found that the specular microscope and visual field analyzer donated had doubled their ability to diagnose cataracts and glaucoma, benefiting over 4,000 people this year. We were able to identify other needs they may have in their cardiovascular unit for a future project.
Last stop: Hospital San Jose Coronel where the project is an equipment donation for the pediatric unit. Out of respect to patients, the picture that is not shown here is a mother, sitting in the hallway, holding her sick baby, the throngs of people waiting in long queues to receive services and so many dedicated care givers there to provide comfort. This will forever be painted into our minds and hearts.
We brought home oranges, blueberries, and strawberries from the beautiful farmland we drove through. We left the cherries we purchased on the roadside after we realized that the ants crawling all over us were coming from the box of cherries!
THANKSGIVING FEAST
We ended the week with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at our apartment with Elder and Sister Lindquist – the legal/pathway couple upstairs and Elder and Sister Crockett – the office missionaries in the Santiago East mission. We ate on our balcony. Delicious food and good company were the perfect end to this Thanksgiving week.
With love, Elder and Sister Lamb (aka Ed & Debbie, Mom & Dad, Pop Pop & Tu Tu)
Lambs in Central Europe 