PROGRAM FOR A PLEASANT WEEK

PATRIOTIC PARADE

The Chilean Independence Day celebration continued into Monday. We left the office in the afternoon to watch a military parade. It was nice to see families enjoying the day together and to feel their patriotism. The parade began with people in traditional dress dancing the Cuenca and then for an hour we watched troops from the army, navy, and air force march through the streets. The crowd broke into a Chilean cheer every time the soldiers began goosestepping. Bringing up the rear were the carabineros (police officers) Very different from our Fourth of July Parades in New Albany Ohio. No floats. When they say a military parade, they mean a military parade.

PETALS

Springtime is coming to Santiago

PROMISING PROJECTS

On Wednesday we drove to Casablanca to meet with people about a possible project for next year. Elder Mora introduced us to Moises Jauregui. He has organized a foundation in which health care professionals have joined together to volunteer their knowledge, skills, and time to promote better access to medical and dental healthcare to the vulnerable population in their community. They focus on the homeless, immigrants, and gypsies (his family immigrated from Romania). As a child, Moises Jauregui belonged to a gypsy group. After he was adopted at age 13 by a Chilean family, he attended school and learned to read and write. He knows firsthand what it is like to live on the margins of society. A donation of portable dental equipment will allow the dentists to go out into the tent cities to practice “street medicine” and bring healthcare directly to vulnerable people. We are preparing the paperwork for this project to be presented to the approval committee in January as we have spent the 2022 budget.

We visited the Esperanza Nuestro Fundación, our partners in our wheelchair project to review the space for our wheelchair training and donation in November. The wheelchairs have been shipped and we are so excited!

PRICELESS PARTNER

On Friday we attended a ceremony with our friends from ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) They currently has 37 childhood programs in 25 Chilean cities. Approximately 3,144 children are in a state of vulnerability in the country. They have been placed in foster homes by the family court system because of abuse or neglect. Many of these children sleep on the floor. With a goal to provide 130 children with beds this month, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints donated 20 beds, mattresses, sheets, blankets and pillows to their One Child, One Bed campaign.

POLISHED PERFORMERS

Street performers here never disappoint

PELO (HAIR)

Meet Elizabeth, Hermana Lambs hairstylist

PARTAKING WITH FRIENDS

Friday dinner date with Elder and Hermana Lindquist. We have found a new favorite Peruvian restaurant.

Enjoying almuerzo with Hermanas Allred (Cedar City, Utah), and Burr (Kamas,Utah). Hermanas Riz (Guatemala) and Ruiz (Argentina) have colds, so we handed them their picnic lunch at the door.