The past week and a half of work with the missionaries has been kind of a steady flow, enough to stay busy and not overwhelmed. A week ago today between 11 AM and 3 PM was a going away celebration for Pres. Amado, the area president. It consisted of a devotional, then a very nice catered meal with entertainment and special recognition and gifts for the Amados. Everyone who works in the area offices was invited.

Monday was a holiday here in Chile. I never heard what kind of holiday, but most everything was closed. Some of the senior couples went sight seeing, but I had three appointments so I couldn't go. That was all good because four senior couples and I went out from noon until around 8 PM Saturday.The Heatons, who have been here the longest, were the ones who organized the outing. This is their second or third mission in Chile. I think at one time he was the president of the MTC here. Now he is the executive secretary to the area president.Anyway, we went to a very nice area of Santiago where every thing looks like your in a very nice part of a big city in the US. In fact if it weren't for the signs in Spanish you couldn't tell the difference. We had lunch in a place called the Tortilla Factory, owned by three guys, one from the US, one from Chile and one from Germany. Then we wandered around a very big and exclusive mall. I looked for some fabric to make some kind of bed cover. I found some I really liked, but it would have cost $240 for enough to cover a queen sized bed. So, you get an idea of the prices in the stores. We were mainly killing time waiting to go to a movie.The big cinema complex there in the mall has about a dozen theaters and plays some of the movies in English so we had to wait over two hours to catch one in English. I really appreciate how the couples include me. However, it is awkward to be the only single person.

I think winter is here. The last couple of days the temperature has been in the low 40's.Today it has rained hard all afternoon and evening. Late this afternoon there was a group of three sister missionaries at my office, all wearing their rubber boots. They had several layers of clothes on and were saying they couldn't keep warm in their apartment because the sliding glass doors won't close tight. I had to laugh because that is true of all the sliding glass windows in this apartment. They close tight at the bottom but there is an inch or wider gap at the top; I have stuffed the gap with newspaper which helps to keep it warmer and also helps block out the noise of the traffic. I have a new appreciation for insulation and double pained windows.

First travel outside of Santiago

Sister Ann Gillespie and me with sister missionaries of the Chile Vina del Mar Mission

Presenting at zone conference in the Chile Vina del Mar Mission

On Monday, June 13, 2011 Bro. and Sister Richeson picked me up around 5PM from my office and we drove to Vina del Mar. I was invited my Pres. Gillespie to give a presentation on dealing with stress to each of the three zone conferences being held in the Vina del Mar mission during the week. The Richesons are a senior couple who help run the mission office. I can tell the president relies heavily on them to keep things running smoothly and to help the elders in the office problem solve. None of us had had time for lunch that day. After we had been on the road for about forty-five minutes, they suggested we stop to grab a bite to eat on the way. They said the best place to get food was coming up at the next exit. It was a McDonald's. I had to smile. I seldom eat at McDonald's at home, but guess I will in Chile. That was the second senior couple who has suggested eating at McDonald's. Luckily, the first time another senior sister who was in the group said,"I didn't come to Chile to eat McDonald's." So the two of us fond sandwiches, Chilean style, nearby.

The visit to the mission was busy, but enjoyable and rewarding. I talked about responding to stress in ways that promote personal growth. I introduced Hardiness principles and explained how those principles align with gospel principle. When I put up the first slide on Hardiness, I explained that when I was first introduced to the concept it was very familiar to me because it was in essence my grandmother's approach to life. The missionaries seemed to really appreciate it. I did the presentation nine times in three zone conferences over three days with one day to travel to the far north of the mission, a four and a half hour drive.

So, I got to see a little of Chile, all of which looked a lot like the landscape in the rather barren parts of Idaho, Utah and Nevada. It was interesting because part of the time we were driving along the ocean. I also really enjoyed the mission president and his wife. They are wonderful people and great hosts. They were planning to take me to a very pretty beach town before we left to drive north, but I spent that whole morning working out the details of getting medication and finding someone to accompany a missionary home. The night before, I had interviewed a humble, almost childlike elder who is psychotic and not able to function in the mission. I had to recommend he go home. It worries and saddens me because he lives in the high Andes and may not get much help in spite of the fact we are working hard to get him the treatment he needs.

I flew back to Santiago Friday night from La Serena. My apartment is in someways rather dismal. Before I left on this trip I had decided I was going to have to do something to make it more cozy and inviting so it will be more of a refuge for me. The carpets are permanently stained and dingy from the pollution here in the city. The walls are made of cement that appear to have been finished with a trowel that had teeth rather than a smooth edge. To make the inside walls look better, they cover them with a thick paper that is then painted. In my apartment all the walls were painted with a flat white paint. Now they have smudges and spots on them that won''t clean off because of the flat paint. In addition to that there are dozens of nails in the walls that have just been painted over. I guess they didn't want to pull them out and have to do the patching. However, the hardest thing to deal with is the lack of heat. Because the whole building is cement, it is about 10 degrees colder in the building the outside. I only have a couple of little electric heaters to stay warm. When I get home in the evening, usually around 6PM, it is dark and the apartment is very cold, probably around 50-60 degrees. So, I fix something to eat, go into my bedroom, close all the doors, turn on the heater and stay there for the rest of the night. Having said all that, this is my amazing blessing. Friday night even though when I got off the plane the man the church hires for airport pick up was not there and I had to take a taxi ( a $40+ bill for a 30 minute ride), I felt happy and at peace, noticed the beautiful full moon, was glad to be going to my home away from home and thought how pretty the tree lined street is that goes by the area offices on the way to my apartment. I am sure it is in a big way due to the prayers of those who love me. Thank you.

Yesterday, Saturday it rained hard. I had notes to enter on the missionaries I had consulted with after each zone conference and had stayed up until after midnight Friday completing the report of my assessment and recommendations for the elder who is going home. So, again, I spent a Saturday at home in my pajamas finishing up work and lounging---a better way to rejuvenate than going out in the rain.

Well, yesterday was the four week mark! Right now it seems like a lot longer, not in a bad way, it is just that a whole lot has gone on in that four weeks. I started the week with all kinds of energy, but by seven o' clock last night my brain was gone. As I mentioned the area Dr.has been back in the states having surgery and getting chemotherapy and the area nurse finished her mission two weeks ago. When the nurse left, she left the keys to the medical office (two floors below my office) with the guard at the entrance to the building. I had been down a couple of times to get meds. One time I had just got into the office when a knock came on the outer door. It was an elder and his companion. He said he had been sick with what he thought was strep throat and had been told to see me. I told him I thought there was a mistake, but he said, "No, they said to go see Sister Memmott". He looked pretty sick. So, I looked in his throat and he had an bad case of strep. I gave him 10 days worth of Amoxycillin and sent him back to his mission which is about the same distance as from Provo to Ogden.

That was just the beginning of the saga of the medical office. Two days later I had a missionary coming in who travels from the same outlying mission. This missionary has had some severe anxiety that has brought on overwhelming OCD. It has really surprised him because he was a star student and athlete and has never had anything like this happen. We are treating him with some pretty high doses of medication which is now interfering with his sleep. So I went to get the key from the guard so I could get something for his sleep. The guard informed me Bro. Heaton, executive secretary to the area presidency, had taken the key because too many people where getting into the office. It ended up that I couldn't find the Heatons to get the key. By chance, I found out one of the missionaries who is working in the East mission office (next door to the medical office) had some benedryl he is taking for allergies. So, I gave the elder who had come to see me some of that benedryl and told him to cut the dosage back on his other med. Needless to say, I was frustrated over the whole key thing.

Yeaterday morning I knew I was going to be seeing a fairly new elder who is is having sleeping problems as well as gastrointestinal problems. He couldn't make it in from his mission until around six in the evening after every one is gone from the main offices. So, I found Bro. Heaton and let him know it was impossible to do my job without keys to the medical office. He was very nice about giving me keys, but let me know I was the only person who could have keys. I reminded him I am going to be gone all next week and would give the keys to him for the week I am gone. So, to the end of this story. I was busy all day either on the phone or with people in my office. By six when the new elder,a cute kid from Lehi, came in I was exhausted and in bad need of the weekend to clear my mind. After I talked with him a few minutes and gave him instructions for relaxation and thought stopping, I told him we would go get some meds. for his other problems. Earlier in the day I had called the Dr. in the states to find out how he wanted to treat the intestinal problems. I had written the meds on a note. Well, try as I may I couldn't find either the note or the keys to the medical office. I hunted and hunted, then the elder helped me hunt. Nothing! Finally, the elder said, "Sister, would you like to say a prayer?" I agreed we should pray and asked him to say a prayer. As he prayed an amazingly sweet, calm feeling came into the room. Afterward, I went and got my purse out of the closet and as we went through it together again, there were the keys. However, I still couldn't find the note. Finally, I said I thought I could remember the meds once I got looking at the labels downstairs, but as I passed my desk on the way out,I flipped open the little notebook I usually carry in my purse and there was the note. A little thing in the grand scheme of life, but pretty amazing that the Lord cared enough to let us know He heard our prayer.

It is Saturday and I have not left my apartment. In fact, it is 5PM and I am still in my fuzzy pajamas. I have been finishing up somethings on the powerpoint, answering e-mail from a mission president and writing to the family. I decided to just make that e-mail into my blog for today since I want to remember these things. I was going to go out and take some pictures, but am in too much of a hermit mode for that---maybe tomorrow.

A little about what I have done here other than in my office. For the first two weeks I was here the MacDonalds were also here. Mac came to be the area auditor. Sandi was to help him, but she has a degree in nursing and ended up running the health clinic in the basement of the area office building. Another couple the Dahlstrom's are here to work with the area Perpetual Education fund. At the end of the first week I was here, the two couples invited me to go out on Friday night to eat at a hamburger and ribs restaurant. We walked for about a half hour to get there. Good exercise. We were joined at the restaurant by the Workmans, a couple who work in the temple. The restaurant was in a very nice building and was clean and nicely decorated. The ribs I had were very good. The price was a bit more than it would have been at home.

The MacDonald's left to go home a week ago. The couple who replaced them are the Mason's. He will be the auditor. She will be his assistant. This is their second mission. The first was to Russia. A week ago Saturday the Dahlstroms invited the Mason's and I to go with them to the fedia (vegetable and fruit market). I am not sure how that market got started. It is a regular street in a residential area that becomes a market each Saturday morning only. There are all kinds of fruits and vegetables plus nuts, beans, grain and even a few folks selling clothes--some new, some used. After we came home and put our purchases away, we met again (both couples live four or five blocks away from where I live) and the Dahlstroms took us to another part of the city which is called El Centro. It is a shopping area above the central station for the Metro, the subway. There are easily a thousand shops in that area. Some are in mall type buildings, others are in stalls along narrow walk ways. You can buy about anything at discount prices. It was interesting to see, but nothing much I would have wanted to buy. We ate lunch in one of the malls. By the time we got home, we had spent from 10 AM to 4 PM walking most of the time. I was more than ready to just sit down.

Oh, a quick note about the buses and subway. You can't use money to pay. You have to buy a Bip card. Meters on the public transportation read the card each time you get on. There are places you can go, such as banks and Bip stations, to scan your card and find out how much credit you have left on the card.

This week end I opted not to go to the fedia. I needed to stay home and work on the power point for my presentations. I did my grocery shopping in the super market just a few blocks from the apartment. There is also a building full of little shops next to the grocery store. I am going to get Renae Mason to go with me someday soon to explore those shops. I understand that there are places to get your hair cut. I am told Sister Heaton is the one to ask about that. A thousand new things to learn. I paid my rent and water bill for the first time last week. You pay them at the bank. The teller had a question about a receipt for my water bill, but I didn't now for sure what she was asking and didn't know for certain how it was supposed to be handled. The teller at the next window told her to just stamp my bill and give it back to me which was all good,because my instructions have been whenever you pay any bill make certain you get a copy of the deposit slip or bill back with a stamp on it as proof you paid.

It is time for bed. I am somewhat up to date with blogging except to post some pictures of the apartment, area office building, ect. That will be my next big technology challenge. However, it is raining hard and acts like it isn't going to stop soon so picture taking may not happen for a few days.

Good night family and friends,

Jeanne

Well, here it is over three weeks since I arrived in Santiago, Chile. It has taken me this long to find this blog site Maren set up for me. (So sad that I am so technically challenged) I plan on using the site like a journal. I already know I won't have time to write in more than one place. So, for those of you who have access, you will probably want to do a lot of scanning. When I get around to sitting down to write, I tend to go on and on.

It is a Sunday afternoon with a little rain. There are patches of blue in the sky which is unusual. The pollution here in the city is thick enough that it reminds me of living in southern California. I just got home from church. I go to the P0curo Ward which normally mets in a chapel on "temple square", a three minute walk from my apartment. However, the chapel is being remodeled. We are meeting in a building which I am told is the first stake center built in Santiago and it is about 30 minutes away by bus. Our ward is big. The number of sisters in Relief Society is about three times the number in my ward in Lindon. Today a new bishopric was sustained. The ward has good strong leadership in all the organizations and the teachers are knowledgeable and well prepared. Much is like being in Utah county. I just need to get to the point I understand all of what is being said. I am probably getting about 25% now, which leaves a lot of room for misunderstanding.

The day I arrived, May 13, 2011, I was met at the airport by two senior couples, the Heatons and the Goodwins. Gary Heaton is the executive secretary for the area president. His wife, Kay, works in the office with him. They are going to be here for several more months, which makes me happy. Dave Goodwin was the area mental health advisor that I replaced. His wife Jeneene helped him with the office type work. They were kind enough to let me stay in the apartment with them until they left here on May 16. It was very helpful to move into an established apartment that is furnished. In fact, Jeneene had so many supplies in the cupboards my grocery bill has been about half the usual these past three weeks. During the first week, I didn't even have to cook there were so many left overs in the freezer and fridge.

As far as the work goes, it keeps me busy, but so far I have not been completely overwhelmed. I think in part because I am being blessed, some of the situations have been pretty intense. Some days I am meeting with missionaries in my office or on the phone or talking to mission presidents or their wives for hours on end. Those days I go home exhausted, then end up getting phone calls around 10:30 PM when missionaries get back to their apartments. Thankfully, the next day or so has been less intense. I am gaining a real testimony that the Lord watches over and sustains His missionaries even though their burdens often are not taken away.

I am going to spend the week of June 13-17 with the Vina del Mar Mission. I will spend time with small groups in each of three zone conferences talking about dealing with stress and how to learn and grow from stressful experiences. Tomorrow I will hopefully finish up the power point presentation and have Ceasar Castro check the Spanish translation for me. Bro. Castro is a young guy who heads LDS Family Services. He was born in Chile, grew up in Salt Lake, came back to Chile for his mission and now is here living permanently and married to a Chilean.

I need to take a break to get something ready for a potluck supper and send off for a couple of sister missionaries who leave to go home Monday. I want to have that ready to go so I can spend time on Skype with everyone who will be at Megan's for Connor's birthday party