Last night the Chile area celebrated the 50th anniversary of missionary work in Chile. The event, held in a stadium in northern Santiago, was broadcast to all stake houses in Chile and streamed over internet to the US. Literally thousands of youth performed dances from many Latin American countries. At the beginning of the event each of the area presidency spoke and an outstanding youth choir from the Santiago area provided the music. A section of the stadium was reserved for former missionaries. I 'm not certain of the numbers, but some came all the way from the US for the celebration. It was truly outstanding and overwhelming to think of the cost in both time and money to prepare for such an event!!
I am preparing for a visit to the Antofagasta mission the second week in November. It is the farthest north mission and covers a lot of very remote barren country from what I am told. I will go to three zone conferences which are so far apart we will have to fly from one to the other. Many of the big mines are located in that area.
Due to some recent scrutiny by the Chilean Ministry of Health, I have a big challenge ahead of me. In the past I managed missionary needs for medication through consultation with a psychiatrist in Salt Lake. I must now find psychiatrists in every mission who are willing to work with me to prescribe medication since only Chilean doctors can legally administer medications even if the patient is a US citizen. Psychiatrists are a rare breed in some areas of the country. However, we will find a way to abide by the law. The area medical advisor has a similar and in some ways bigger challenge than I do.
