Circunvalacion 1 - Wek #11

¡Hola Familia!

I all of a sudden had the random urge to start writing in complete Spanish... but I caught myself before too much started coming out on the keyboard and I had to start translating my letter.

I've been thinking a lot about everybody this week. It is still kind of hard to realize that everybody is together in Southern California and that I'm so far away. I wish that I could have been there yesterday and be able to see everyone and participate as well, but everything happens for a reason.

Just to let everyone know, yesterday's earthquake & tsunami did not affect our mission at all. The Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) had a little bit of a scare for a while and were evacuated to higher ground, but all in all everything turned out ok. How was it getting the tsunami warning over in Cali?

This week has been pretty crazy as far as office work goes. We're preparing for changes tomorrow and are not entirely sure what will happen with the office, except that there will probably be at least 1 new assistant and a new secretary in training. I think that all of us will be here for at least this next change! The office move is progressing, slowly, but at least now we are seeing progress. We now have the new mailing address for the office, which we will start using immediately, for those who would like to send me something. Don't worry too much though as we will also be keeping the current PO Box open for a couple more weeks. Here goes the new address:


Misión Chile Santiago Norte
Sucursal Correo Patronato, Casilla #60
Santiago
Chile


This week we will be renting 2 very nice apartments that are about a block from the new office and working on getting a few more things lined out to project when the actual move will be. This last week the boss of O&M (basically Facilities Maintenance) came to the office to see how they'd be able to move everything and told us a couple things we didn't like too much. Later on Wednesday, Elder Taylor & I, along with Presidente & Hermana May, went for another tour of the new office building and were told that even though the contractors are going to turn it over at the end of March our move date was being pushed forward from April 9th to May 15th. We weren't too happy!!! Yesterday, we went to the area offices and talked to the same boss about that subject... he tended to be a little more hopeful and cooperating than he was with President May present, so we'll see how it actually goes down. We've got another meeting Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. to coordinate a little bit of the moving process.

The whole move situation is pretty complicated, but Elder Taylor has the mentality that is can all be done in a matter of hours. If we were in the US Military (as he was... 82nd Airborne Division) and not in Chile it might be entirely possible. I mean, how hard is it to move an office of 5 people in a matter of 1 day... not 1-2 weeks like O&M was projecting!!! It's ridiculous! I'm now adopting the saying of Sister Taylor in that "everything in Chile has to be a major production".

The work in our sector is progressing, slowly but surely, despite all of the action going on in the office/mission. We are beginning to teach the mother of a recent convert, Sonia, who recently arrived from Peru a couple of weeks ago. She seems to be pretty receptive, already reading the Book of Mormon and going to church, but just as Sonia & Susan were, she is devoutly Evangelical Christian. We haven't seen much of Jennifer this week, and our crazy/possessed investigators is now once again seeing a psychologist... still not a lot of change there though.

Also on the office front... This week we had specialized training as a mission, in 3 groups. Thursday our zone, El Cortijo, was assigned to attend with San Pablo & Quilicura. At the training Hermana Taylor began to speak with a couple of the sister missionaries who have been trying to invite her to work with them one night in their sector, in proselyting activities (couple missionaries are not normally assigned to pure proselyting). Hermana Taylor expressed to one of these sisters that she has not been feeling well recently and for that reason she hasn't been able to go with them... she had several times in the last couple weeks complained of shortness of breath but hadn't said much else about the matter. The sister told her she should call Elder Welch, the area doctor, and let him know what was going on. Once again at the end of the conference the same sister again asked her to call... so, even though she had heard the same suggestion several other times, Hermana Taylor listened and called.

In the phone conversation (I find that part completely amazing) Elder Welch diagnosed, without having seen her in person for any of the symptoms, with CHF and told her to make an appointment for that same day, at INDISA (the private clinic we use here in Chile), with a cardiologist... Long story short, Hermana Taylor saw the cardiologist Thursday evening and was admitted to the clinic to have a pace-maker placed. She is now recovering in the hospital and is expected to leave either tonight or tomorrow morning.

If that isn't enough action for this week I don't know what is!!! And you know me, I love it!!! Finally, an emergency in the mission that I'm interested in... LOL.

Lots of prayers are needed on behalf of Elder & Hermana Taylor in this moment. Be sure to send some their way!

Changes happen tomorrow through Tuesday (by changes I mean the whole entire process of changing, sending, and receiving missionaries), so my sleep window for the next couple days is going to be fairly small. We'll see how we fair and what kind of craziness will happen with me now! We know my transfers have never been normal, but it is looking like when I leave the office I will have served here for a minimum of at least 10 months... THAT'S ALMOST HALF MY MISSION!!!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! Send my love to all there in So. Cal.! ¡Diga a Tio Mark y Tia Connie gracias por haber prestado el computador!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd