San Pedro de Atacama Part 2

I took alot of pictures and won't post all of them but just a few highlights.

Valley of the Moon

Valley of Death

We went to some caves that had petrogliths on the side of the rocks.

No fear in Millie

Van not so comfortable



Joe Dixie Millie and Van at caves

Petroglith on side of the wall

Trip to San Pedro de Atacma Part 1

One of the advantages of serving a temple mission is that temples close twice a year for 2 weeks at a time.  So our closure came on August 7th to 21st.  So Dixie and Joe Bowler and Millie and I had decided that we would go to Northern Chile and go to Calama and San Pedro de Atacama.  And visit what?  The driest desert in the world.  We flew to Calama and then took a Turis-Tur bus to San Pedro de Atacama.  About a 2 hour plane ride and 1 hour bus ride.  Here are a few pictures of San Pedro

Joe, Dixie, and Millie at a restaurant in San Pedro

Just for Ashlyn

Catholic church from the 1700's

Roof of Church

Full length of the church

Our waitress at dinner

There is a great museum in San Pedro highlighting the archaelogoy and history of the Atacameno people.  Not too often I take the time but was a good tour on our own.



The Padre Gustavo Le Paige Archaelogolical Museum

Our Hotel was very nice.  It was called Hotel Casa Atacama

Millie and Dixie eating at hotel.  Food was good a little expensive but hey!!

Welcome Elder and Sister Roberts and Elder and Sister Hayden

Two new couples arrived at the temple on August 3rd.  Perry and Francis Roberts and Art and Edith Hayden.  Roberts are from Oxford, Mississippi.  He is a retired doctor.  This is their second mission.  They previously had served in Quito, Ecuador.

Perry and Francis Roberts at Mamut restaurant

Welcome dinner for both couples

Having fun at dinner

Why are you taking my picture

Gary Davis, Rick Lee, Van Layman, Art Hayden  All Chilean missionaries serving at the Santiago Temple except Gary who is just here living

Haydens are from Sacramento, California where he is a retired CPA.  He served his mission in Chile about 2 years ahead of me.  It is great to have them here.  They both have unique stories to tell about their marriages.  Suffice to say Roberts have been married 28 years.  The Haydens less than a year. 

New shift at the temple, new friends coming, and some dear friends departed

These last 7 days have been somewhat of a rollercoaster.  Our good friends Elder Rudy and Sister Betty Figueroa had to make the diffucult decision to return home after 4+ months here in Santiago.  Their daugther was diagnosed with breast cancer and they felt they needed to return home to be with her and her family.  They hope to return and we certainly hope they can.  Our prayers and thoughts are with them.  They have left a void here on the 4th floor of the hospedaje.

Betty and Rudy/Figueroa

Starting yesterday, we have changed shifts to the afternoon.  We go in at 2:30pm or 3:00pm and leave sometime between 10:15pm and 11:00pm depending when everyone leaves the temple.  The 2 missionary couples are the last ones to leave the temple.  It is kind of strange to be the last ones in the temple at night.  The big changes are sleep patterns, being wired upon returning home at 11pm, getting up and having the morning to do things but always worrying about getting back home in time to get to the temple on time.  The advantage is not having to get up at 3:45am or 4:45am on Saturdays.  They balance out.  We will have this schedule for August and September and then in October and November will revert back to mornings. 

This coming Saturday we will get 2 new couples to work in the temple.  The Roberts and the Haydens.  I don't know alot about them but we are going to mentor the Roberts.  Basically show them how the temple works here in Santiago, help them with language questions, shopping, buses, mission rules(aren't very many really) and anything else they might wonder about.  I have also been asked by President Otay to be the one he will communicate with to give information to the couples and give out the schedule.  Elder Rick Lee and his wife Stephanie have been doing it but they go home September 24th after their 12 month mission is done.

We had a depedida for Elder and Sister Dalton.  They are going to Buenos Aires as the Chile area and Buenos Aires area have been combined.  They will be missed.  They are the executive secretaries to the Area presidency.

Sister Oñate, Sister Sandy and Elder Craig Dalton

Gary and Debbie Davis at the Despida

Millie at the despida

Sister Oñate and her sister visiting from Vina Del Mar

Of course what would my blog be without the random marriage photo.  If I were faster, I could have caught 3 or 4 more!

What's all the fuss about?

Of course they got married!

The other highlight of the week was going to La Hacienda with 6 missionaries.  We have so enjoyed getting to know the 4 sister missionaries assigned to our Pocurro ward.  Sister Johanson from Detroit, Michigan and her companion Sister Castellon from Managua, Nicaragua, Sister Chamberlain from Utah somewhere and her companion Sister Conner and Elder Pickering from Rexburg, Idaho and Elder Christopherson from Utah.  What started out as 1 companionship for dinner ended up 3 as we just invited them all.  The elders are office elders in the Chile Santiago East mission whose office is in the Administration building next to the temple.  They are responsible for any packages you might send getting to us.  We had a wonderful time.  I always hoped that others gave the same opportunity to my missionary son and daughter.  Elder Pickering and his companion can really eat.  But as Sister Johanson said "I can't stay away from food" she was right there with them. They get 100,000 pesos a month to eat, buses, supplies etc.  That is about $200 a month.  The mission takes care of their housing.

Elder Pickering, Elder Christopherson and Sister Johanson

Sister Johanson and Sister Castellon

Sister Chamberlain, Millie, Sister Castellon, Sister Johanson, Elder Christopherson and the watiers!

Van, Millie, Sister Chamberlain, Sister Conner, Elder Pickering, Elder Chrisopherson, Sister Johanson, Sister Castellon

Same picture bigger!!

Elder Pickering and Christopherson still eating!

Last but not least Gary and Debbie Davis and Millie and I went to eat at Fuente Suiza for empanadas de queso(cheese) and barros luco(roast beef and chesse sandswich) and barros Jarpa(ham and cheese sandwich).  Great time as always.

Gary and Millie and Debbie

In honor of my good friends and current Cuna Mutual employees, I was able to take a photo of a biker on the street Irrazaval down from our fuente Suiza.  They are on their bike ride to Sturgis, South Dakota on their Harley's.  Of course my big brother wouldn't approve of the Harley's but would of the bike ride.  I think his ride of choice was a Ducati(sp).

Random biker and his Harley

I also needed to add a note to my blog this week.  Harold Clayton father to my best friend Tom Clayton passed away this week.  He was 92.  He had an interesting life as a husband, father, farmer, politician.  But I remember him best as my best friends father who allowed me to be in their home any time as a teenager.  I enjoyed his home on many occasions and always liked it when we got to ride in their cadillac or continental.  One vivid memory was on Christmas day I had gone to the movies in Yakima with them to see McClintock with John Wayne.  Coming back a car that was a more modern car for a younger driver came along side of him and gunned his motor.  He took off but to his suprise so did this cadillac.  Ray, Tom and I are were all in the back seat secretly saying go get him Harold!!  Much to our amazement he did just that.  When he hit a 100MPH, Lois esclaimed Harold, Harold!!  He finally slowed down after he proved his point.  He will missed by his extensive posterity and by one 14 year old boy who felt at home out on the Goldendale highway.