A Day At The Coast

Our neighbors, Elder and Sister McCown, have an assignment to take the mail and other needed things to the missionaries between Santiago and the Coast for the West Mission. They invited us to go with them last Wednesday and we couldn't pass up the offer. The McCown's are assigned to a branch in Santiago that took them over an hour and a half to get to on the subway and two bus rides. After about three months they couldn't stand it any more so they bought a car. It has been great for us as they take us around town with them. They have become great friends. The day we went with them to the coast was cloudy and hazy, so some of the pictures don't look very sharp, but it surely was beautiful.

This is a picture of Elder Johnston (the tall one) and Elder Coleman (the really short one). Elder Coleman is from Panama, and when he came to the MTC they asked him if he had a coat. His reply was "What's a coat?" He had nothing to keep him warm, but the MTC and the West Mission came up with everything he needs. (These are actually P-Day clothes). Elder Coleman is a super dynamic missionary with a wonderful testimony.

In the city most people use regular brooms to sweep the sidewalks. But in the countryside they use palm leaves. It seems to be pretty effective and I'm sure the environmentalist encourage it.
This is an avocado tree on the grounds of one of our chapels. It was heavy laden with avocados just a few weeks ago.
This is a fruit and vegetable store on the side of the freeway. The fresh produce is great, but it isn't exactly cheap. It is a better buy when you buy it on the freeway than in the grocery store.

This is a swimming pool at a resort in Algarobos. The ocean beaches have such a strong rip tide that they built this pool as swimming isn't allowed on the beach. It is the largest swimming pool in the world covering 19 acres. It is about a mile long.
There are about 8 buildings in the resort, but the each room is owned by an individual and they rent them. The only problem is that you have to bring your own sheets and towels. It doesn't seem like a good deal for $300 a night.

This must be the "seal" of Pablo Neruda, a famous Chilean poet. He had some kind of thing for fish.
Elder and Sister Johnson standing by one of the many fish sculptures on the grounds of one of Pablo Neruda's estates. It has a glass eye that lets light through, but today was pretty overcast so it is hard to see.
He collected a lot of strange things and had them all around the grounds. Here is the front of a steam engine of some kind. You will notice that the house appears to be supported by a couple of wagon wheels (it really isn't). It was a strange house that seemed to ramble from one room or area to another.
Mosaics of more fish above the window filled with interesting bottles.
This is a view of the ocean from his home. They say that he was afraid of the ocean and never went to the beaches by his home. Maybe that isn't strange for a poet.

Getting Into A Routine

After three weeks in Chile we are getting into a routine. After breakfast we go to the office and do whatever there is on the docket for the day. We go home for lunch and sometimes a nap, then return to the office until 5 0r 6 at night. We go shopping and to the bank or go to FHE with other couples or study in the evening at home. We have had plenty of work projects around the apartment, but hopefully that is coming to an end.

We walk up to the sixth floor to our apartment two or three times a day. When you look down you can see a grocery cart on the bottom floor. It is used to bring bags of groceries or other things up the elevator to your floor. Sister Johnson finally makes it to the top of the stairs and opens the door to find Elder Johnson with a new workbench on her living room floor.

These are a couple of the guard birds at our apartment building. The "red head" seems to be the boss of the group. There are about four or five of them that walk around pecking for whatever they can find to eat. We obviously need the protection as you can see from electrical lines. They never sit on the wires--maybe there isn't any room.

These are our "bosses", Jose Reyes on the left and Ricardo Gonzalez on the right. It is pretty hard to get a serious picture of Jose as he is always a joker, like in the second picture. He calls himself "Spiderman" and Ricardo is "Superman". But they are pretty impressed with all the files that we have reviewed and scanned. There are getting to be so many that it will take Spiderman and Superman to move them.

Out and About in Santiago, Chile

On May 30th, the second Saturday we were here, we went with two other couples to the downtown area of Santiago. We took the bus to the subway terminal and then boarded the "Metro" for our first underground trip. We saw some government buildings, the National Cathedral, and a lot of people. We took the subway back and then did a little shopping closer to home before returning to our apartment. Our first day out and about was pretty interesting.

This building is kind of the Chilean "White House". No one actually lives here. Actually there isn't much in there at all. It is just sort of an empty building for people to look at where they change the guard every 48 hours. Mostly for ceremonies, I guess.

This area is under the "White House" and is a museum of sorts. The ribbons are colorful, but who knows what they represent?

These roosters are actually covered bowls. They are from the Mapuche indians and stand about two feet high. They might be good for popcorn!

There is a lot of interesting architecture around Santiago. This building is across the street from the "White House". We don't know what is in it, but Mickie especially liked it.

This mime was standing in front of the Cathedral and just before we took this picture he was actually moving around. He must have been on a break from standing still for such a long time.

Subway Art

We don't know what you call this, but it is pretty bright. The Subway is like another city under Santiago

On the way home, Sister Gonzalez and Sister Johnson are admiring the "Art" in the Subway.

Welcome to our work away from home.

On the corner of the complex block is this little distribution center. They call it the AMM (MIA), but we don't know why.

This is a view of the front of the temple. They guy hiding in the bushes is actually making some repairs to the plaster. We can see the Angel Moroni from the fourth floor where we work if we walk around to the side of the elevator. By the way, we never take the elevator--we just walk the stairs.

There are over 3,000 files to scan. The one's on top of the cabinets are done, but there are lots of cabinets full of drawers like this one. Sister Johnson is typing at her desk where she sorts through each file, while Elder Johnson takes a water break from scanning the files.

Our office is in the "top notch" in front of where the satellite dishes are mounted. This is from the back of the building, behind the temple. The building to the left of the gazebo is where they take care of the children while parents are at the temple.

This is the Church Office Building from across Avenida Pedro de Valdivia. Our office is actually on the 4th floor. You can see some of the windows through the trees.