Trip to San Jose de Maipo

We went to a little town outside of Santiago about an hour or a little more.  It was beautiful.  We had a great time with our friends Greg and Bonnie McMurdie and Doug and Sally Pulsiper.  Both are serving as missionaries in Chile East mission and Chile Concepcion mission.

An Old Wheat Silo

Doug and Sally Pulsipher

Van and Millie

The Cat store

Millie, Bonnie and Sally at church

Sally and Doug, Van and Millie, Bonnie and Greg

Doug, Van and Greg!  Both my former companions

Recycling Parade

More Parade

Our Room at the Le Petit France Hotel

Sophia practicing her English.  Never met her before

All having dinner

More Parade

Our bar maids at dinner

At Greg and Boniie's house

Tree in the Plaza

Millie in our little bus

Van in the back of the bus

Video of the parade!

Fall colors at the Santiago Chile temple May 2013

Our window view is the temple.  And right now the leaves are changing and it is so beautiful.  Here are a few pictures Millie took to show the beauty that we see each day.

Out our window

La Cisterna District 2013

The La Cisterna District was my district in the old LTM(Language Training Center) the precursor to the MTC(Missionary Training Center).  We were a group of missionaries thrown together by inspiration to learn the Spanish language and go to Chile with a couple going to Argentina.  We lived in Knight Magnum Hall on the BYU campus and had our classes there for the first 6-8 weeks.  Then we had a change and were sent to live in a motel downtown called the Imperial 400.  4 of us lived in each room with 2 to a bed.  Not exactly up to today's standards.  Then we started having our classes at a house just below campus on 7th East. 


Front 3 L-R Greg McMurdie, Sister Davis, Craig Doerr, Back Row L-R Doug Pulsipher, Jack Slade, Van Layman, Ronn Smith and Larry Austin 

This is how we looked in fall of 1968.  Now Greg McMurdie and his wife Bonnie are assigned to serve in Chile Santiago Mission in the city of San Jose de Maipo and Doug Pulsipher and his wife Sally are assigned to the Chile Concepcion mission.  So 3 of us are now serving simultaneously here in Chile.  Little did we know 45 years later we would all be serving here once again.  So this is how we look now.

Sally and Doug Pulsipher, Van and Millie Layman, Bonnie and Greg McMurdie

 





This was all of us together in San Jose de Maipo at church on last Sunday.  We had lot's of fun getting reacquainted.

 



 

Trip to La Ligua for shopping

When we got here a year ago in April we went to La Ligua shopping.  It was a good group.  This year was no exception.  What do you shop for?  Wool blankets, sweaters, scarves, shawls, etc.  They can be made out of Alpaca, baby Alpaca, etc.  You actually go to Valle Hermosa which has one street about 1 mile long lined on both sides with shops of artensans that make their own stuff in the back many of them.  So we take a taxi to the Pedro De Validvia Metro(subway) station.  Go 12 stops to the University of Santiago station which has the bus station.  We took a Tur Bus line bus.  2 hours to La Ligua.  Get off and go by colectivo taxi(4 people share) to Valle Hermosa about 4 kilometers.  We shopped for 2 hours had lunch and came back home just in time for Family Home Evening.  A long day to say the least but worth it to me. 

L-R Ardith and Art Hayden, Margie and Lance Willis, Sally and Jay Karen, Sandra Thompson and Karl Turley

Sandra Thompson and Millie on the subway

Sister Espinoza and Rina Onate eating lunch

The whole group eating lunch

Sister Onate had the national soup Cazuela.  Not my favorite!

Millie shopping in La Ligua

Would you pay to go to the bathroom here?

Millie and I at the bus

The group 2013

The group 2012

L-R front row, Rina Onate, Rudy Figueroa, Jay Karen, Sally Karen, Sister Workman, Betty Figueroa

Back Row L-R Rick and Stephanie Lee, Van and Millie Layman, Brother Workman

 

I think last year Rachel's comment was typical Senior Missionary outing.  And she is right.  We liked it so much did again this year!



 

 

 

San Cristobal with Karl and Edie Turley and Repulica and the National Cathedral

Karl Turley served his mission in Chile from 1965 to 1967.  He lived in what is called the Repulica sector of Santiago right by the Plaza Italia.  So we went by Metro(subway) to see if he could find his apartment.  He couldn't but he knew he was within 2 blocks of it.  High rises all around now!

These were the short buildings!

This is called the cell phone building!  Kinda looks like one of the old ones.

We also went to the Post Office in downtown and they had a telegraph museum.  Kind of fun to look at all the old stuff!

 

Edie Turley and Millie

Edie and Millie outside of the Santiago Post Office and Museum

 

 

Across from the Post Office is the National Cathedral of Chile.  It is an interesting church.  I even was able to take pictures of the Catholic Father doing Mass.  They said it was OK!

The corner of the cathedral

Mass being given

In front of the Cathedral

Our good friend Gary Davis was along to be our un paid tour guide!



We let Gary go do some other things while we hopped on the Metro to go to San Cristobal statue of the Virgin Mary that looks over all of Santiago.  Much to my surprise the Funicular(tram) was back in running order.  I had been told that it would be out of order for a year but it only took about 8 months.  So we were lucky to be able to show them this.  For some unknown reason to me Karl never went there as a missionary even though he lived less than a mile from it!  We had a good time.  We ran into sister missionaries from the Santiago East mission who had permission to come to it.  It is out their mission area.  One of the them was sister Chamberlain who had served in the Pocuro ward earlier.  She goes home in August like we do.

Sister Chamberlain is to the right of Millie

Karl, Edie and Millie

#2 Tram ready for us

Karl and Edie on the Tram

Millie and Van ready for a BYU game!

Notice any smog?

How about here?

A National drink

The English translation

Karl, Edie and Millie ready to go back down on the tram

View going down

And of course lunch at one of our favorite restaurants Eladios

Another view

 



We really enjoy our Monday's as our preparation day.  But we are generally very tired after going to Family Home Evening and getting home by about 8:30pm and then get up early to go to the temple.  But we are really blessed by our service and love our friends that we have made.  Both Chileans and U.S.