FIFTY-FIFTY

Our replacements were called last week. They live in Sandy Utah not far from us. Small world! Guido teased us and said we should not get trunky. Our reaction to their call was interesting. It actually gave us renewed energy and excitement and love for this work, realizing that our mission will end in eight months, and we want to savor each remaining moment. When we talked to them, one of the questions they asked was how much time we spent in the office and how much time on the road. After a quick calendar review of the last year, we realized that it is about fifty-fifty.

IN THE OFFICE
This week we spent four days in the office managing all aspects of our thirty-plus projects. We are receiving solicitudes and preparing the documentation for 2023 projects, gearing up and ordering supplies for school kits that will consume January and February, following up on deliveries, coordinating initial visits, ceremony visits, and follow-up visit dates, entering data into the church database, and meeting with people via zoom.

OUT OF THE OFFICE
On our one day out of the office this week, we drove two hours west to the coastal city of San Antonio with a stop in charming Pomaire for a typical Chilean lunch. In this town of pottery artisans, clay pots are not just used to cook and serve food. It was a little chilly, so the waiter brought hot coals in a clay pot to place at our feet.

There we found our chanchito. These three-legged pigs are tokens of love and good fortune. The legend has two versions. Both versions end with our hero escaping the butcher’s knife. In one, our four-hoofed friend loses one limb but with his life intact. In one, the butcher rejects the chanchito because he was born with only three legs. This three-legged pig is said to have brought good fortune to this village.

CESFAM SAN ANTONIO CEREMONY

The San Antonio Department of Health serves 82,500 people. Their mission is to provide maximum coverage in Primary Health, delivering quality healthcare to community members by reducing wait times, improving health status, and serving with quality and warmth. To achieve these goals, they needed updated medical equipment to replace damaged and obsolete dental chairs, blood pressure cuffs, defibrillators, and fetal dopplers. The donated equipment will be used in eight CESFAM Family Health Centers in the city and in seven Rural Health Posts, with special emphasis on improving health coverage for the population of rural localities that correspond to vulnerable sectors and high-risk groups. The mayor and health clinic leaders expressed their gratitude for this donation.

NEWSFLASH- SIN MASCARILLAS
The big news in Chile is that as of October 1 masks are no longer required. We still wear them on public transportation and in big crowds, but it is nice to take a walk sin masks!