FINAL REPORTS & FINANCES
We spent the week in the office doing paperwork to close out projects. This process involves downloading documents into the humanitarian database system, writing final reports, and reconciling finances.
FALL FOLIAGE
After a full day of rare rain in Santiago, the fall colors were vibrant.
FABRIC
A fellow missionary, Hermana Lindquist, has organized a sewing group that meets once a month to sew items that will be sold in the COANIQUEM fundraising store. COANIQUEM is an organization that provides rehab for children that have suffered from burns. We are currently working with this organization on a humanitarian project.
FELLOWSHIP WITH FRIENDS
We had Élder y Hermana Salgado over for dinner one evening to plan their trip to the United States after we get home. Élder Lamb is known for his big dreams and optimistic ideas of what can be accomplished in two weeks. We shall see what unfolds.
FRIDAY NIGHT DATE
We needed a North American food fix, so our Friday night date found us at Hard Rock Café
FIELD TRIP
We spent Saturday hiking San Cristóbal hill in Santiago. It was an enjoyable climb with Élder y Hermana Lindquist. The ascent can also be made by funicular (currently closed) or cable car. We walked up and took the cable car down. Too bad it was such a smoggy morning in Santiago.
We had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants afterward, a French restaurant called Castillo Forestal.
FUN STREET ENTERTAINMENT
FELLOWSHIP
On Sunday we were invited to attend a stake conference in the Los Cerrillos stake with President Cabrera. Right before the conference started, we received an email that the humanitarian project in this stake had been approved. It is a donation of musical instruments to the youth orchestra which focuses on children in vulnerable neighborhoods. It was wonderful to be able to share this news with church and community leaders who were in attendance.
We had a very special experience this week – one where you know you are at the right spot at the right moment for lives to intersect and spirits to connect. We visited a volunteer fireman in San Bernardo, a Santiago suburb, to discuss the possibility of a humanitarian project with these bomberos. He and his small group of volunteers are using a pushcart to answer on average, 30 calls each month. Homes are built so close together, that when there is a fire, it spreads rapidly. They are requesting a small ATV that is fitted for firefighting
When we first arrived, he teared up and said, ‘Oh Élder y Hermana!’ After we discussed the possibility of a project he asked if we could talk heart to heart. He then told us his story. He was raised in our church. He loved scouting and became the equivalent of an eagle scout and dreamed of serving a mission. When he was old enough to begin his mission service, he met with his bishop and was told that since he had no money (he came from a very poor family) that he could not serve. His heart was broken, his dreams crushed, and he became inactive in the church. We all wept over this tragedy. We could feel the spirit so strongly- it permeated the room. We could feel Heavenly Father’s love for him. Our hearts ached for him. We tried to tell him to not let his heartbreak for a missed opportunity or an offense from one person keep him away from making covenants with God. We encouraged him to talk to his current Bishop. We could feel the longing in his heart, and we hope that he will act upon the powerful feelings he had. It was a very tender exchange. Ed held him in his arms while he wept. Our mission has all been worth it if only for this one encounter. Heart connecting with heart despite the language barrier is real.
Élder Neal Maxwell, one of our religious leaders, once said, “The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the babe, has given at least equal attention to the placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well.”
We are so grateful that our lives have intersected with you on this earth. We thank you for the love and light you bring into our lives. Our association with you truly warms our souls!
With love, Élder y Hermana Lamb, (aka Ed & Debbie, Mom & Dad, Pop Pop & Tu Tu)
Lambs in Central Europe 