Costanera Center, Pardo's are here and the Gospel is True

While I will never win a Pulitzer prize for writing, I do enjoy writing about our time here in Chile.  Chile is a very unique country at this time in history.  It has a very robust economy and as Millie and I walk the streets in Providencia we find lots of apartment buildings we would love to live in.  The temple was dedicated in 1983 and now within 3 miles of it is the largest mall in South America and the tallest building in South America.  The Costanera Center Mall opened last weekend and it is 6 stories tall.  It has the big grocery store Jumbo, the Nordstrom like stores, Paris, Ripley and Fallabella.  And soon to be opened Hard Rock Cafe among other restaurants.  It is a good walk for me about 35 minutes one way. 

Pepe and Ximena Pardo from Calgary, Alberta, Canada arrived Saturday to serve 18 months in the Santiago Chile Temple.  Pepe is related to our friend Sean Woods wife Ovi.  They are excited to be here.  We had a dinner for them on Monday night.  Our Temple president and his wife, President Otay attended along with the other 4 missionary couples.  Bowlers, Figueroas, and Lee's.  and of course Millie and I.  Also sister Onate who is Chilean from Concepcion, Chile.

All of us eating at the Bowler's

Preident Otay and his Wife

The Otays

Sister Onate

Pepe and Ximena Pardo

Millie, Pepe, Ximena, Van

The Pardo's are so excited to be serving in their native country Chile.  They moved to Canada in 1978.  A great addition to the temple.

Another experience we had this last week, we skyped with Pierina Bressan and her husband in Italy.  Mike Dalton and I baptized her and her mother and brother in Chile in 1969 when she was a young girl.  Her husband made a very profound statement to us when he said "how all of our lives changed with 1 missionary companionship being good missionaries".  I thought about that.  How true it is for me as well.  Many may not know but I am member of the church because 1 young man invited my sister Dianne to go to church.  She went and eventually 1  missionary companionship of Elder Leroy Berry and Elder David Swalberg "being good missionaries" didn't give up on the Layman family.  And eventually on June 1 1963 I was baptized along with my mom and dad and sister.  It is a day etched in my memory never to be forgotten.  That allowed me to be in Chile in 1969 with the Di Lenardo family and in 1972 to meet Millie Hollingsworth.  All because 1 young man asked my sister to go to church.  It changed my life forever.  There are no coincidences in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It says in the scriptures that we all were with our Heavenly Father before we came to this earth.  I testify that we can all live  again as Families can be together forever.  That is what I see every day in the temple.  Families being welded together by being sealed by the priesthood in the temple.  I am humbled to be a part of it.