STAR OF THE WEEK- PUNTA ARENAS
On Monday afternoon we flew 3,000 kilometers south to the beautiful city of Punta Arenas. We woke up the next morning to a very Alaska vibe, sunrise after 8am with a chill in the air. We stayed in a lovely hotel, and we so enjoyed the creature comforts of a long warm shower and a heated bathroom with heated towels! It was a much-appreciated luxury. This city is so clean with no graffiti and has a very European feel.
Hotel Cabo de Hornos
We had tender thoughts of Mom and Gabby (mom’s friend) while we were in Punta Arenas. We accompanied them on a cruise in 2006 that stopped there. Our hotel faced Plaza de Armas and Magellan’s statue. We have a picture of mom sitting in her wheelchair in front of that statue sixteen years ago. We never imagined we would ever be back. We were not able to kiss the feet of the statue in the hopes of good fortune as many tourists do, because the plaza was all roped off for maintenance. But we were tourists for the morning.
After walking around the plaza and purchasing a warm hat from one of the few artesian shops that were open, we found some delicious hot chocolate at La Chocolatta. It was even served in “lamb” mugs!
We went to the top of Cerro Mirador to enjoy the vista of the Strait of Magellan. At the top of the hill, we found one of our chapels with missionaries having a district meeting. We invited them to lunch.
While we were waiting for them to finish their meeting, we strolled in the unique cemetery as we had sixteen years ago.
We had a wonderful time visiting with these fine young people at lunch. What a small world. Elder McLeskey is from Gilbert Arizona (we lived there for seven years) and elder Sorhus is from Soldotna Alaska (we lived in Anchorage for 13 years) so we had a lot to talk about. The other elders and sisters were from Peru, Argentina, and England.
After lunch, we enjoyed a drive along the coast.
We then changed our tourist hats for humanitarian missionary hats and had two meetings. We met with the Municipality of Punta Arenas to explain the many resources our church could offer.
Next was a meeting with an organization that supports families caring for disabled family members or giving end-of-life care to family members in their homes. We await their solicitude.
We had dinner at the Tabern Restaurant in the basement of the Sara Braun home and tried crab empanadas.
The next morning before flying back to Santiago we toured the Magallanes Regional Museum. This immaculately restored private residence showcases how wealthy pioneers lived. The well-kept rooms display not only personal items from the Braun Menendez family, but historic artifacts, photos, and maps as well.
SHOWING KINDNESS
Two acts of kindness touched our hearts this week. Sister Lindquist had soup waiting for us when we arrived home from our trip Wednesday night. She is so thoughtful. She has struggled to find her place and know what to do to serve here in Chile as it sometimes feels like her husband’s mission and not her own. He is the legal counsel for the country and is having tremendous influence offering his years of experience as Chile creates a new constitution. To us, she is a faithful background saint finding quiet ways to serve and we have been the beneficiaries on many occasions. Another kindness was shown to us as we were waiting in the rental car line in Punta Arenas. A man in front of us, our boys’ age, started a conversation after he saw our missionary name tags. He works for the US embassy. His name is Ian Pulsipher. There was only one clerk at the desk, and she did all the paperwork and walked each person out to the parking lot for a car inspection in typical Chilean style, this was not going to be a quick process since there were several people in line in front of us. Ian had been booked on a 7:00 am flight but his mobility pass stopped functioning, so he had spent a long day trying to get to Punta Arenas. As his turn at the desk approached, he insisted that we go before him. Such a kind, gentlemanly gesture as he honored our calling. He said, “Your work is much more important than mine.”
SHOP TILL YOU DROP
Thursday was another shopping day back in Santiago. We successfully purchased the beds and bedding for the ADRA project and finished up the musical instrument purchases when we found bar chimes and a guiro (a Latin American percussion instrument). It was fitting that our street entertainment for the day was a band. We also made a Kios Club stop for a taste of home.
SHARING FOOD
We enjoyed our Friday dinner date with Lindquist’s – another taste of home (Hard Rock Café) which will be our first stop with our friends the Roake’s when they come to visit.
SPIRITUAL LIGHT
On Monday morning before we left town, we attended a devotional with Elder Christiansen, our area president. He and his wife Debbie are visiting from Buenos Aires. It was a memorable occasion. He spoke about light. He shared a story about how his father prepared him for his mission. His father would take him to the airport regularly to watch missionaries return home. On each occasion, he would ask his son, “Do you see something in their countenance?” Elder Christiansen had no idea how to determine the answer to that question. As time went on, he realized that his father was looking to see if there was light in the returning missionaries’ eyes. Elder Christiansen thought about that every day on his own mission. He wanted to return home with light in his eyes.
May we all recognize the light in each other’s eyes and share our light with others.
Abrazos, Élder y Hermana Lamb, (aka Ed & Debbie, Mom & Dad, Pop Pop & Tu Tu)
Lambs in Central Europe 