Completos!


We have been trying to find out if there is a food dish that is specifically Chilean.   We think we found it.  It is called "Completos"  This is how you make it:

Boil a small hotdog, put it in a large bun, fill up the extra space inside the bun with chopped up tomatoes and a layer of mashed avocado, squeeze it together, toast it in the oven, squirt mayonnaise along the top, then eat it!

We had this at a recent Young Singles activity.  They voted to have it instead of tacos or pizza.  I ate it without the mayonnaise, of course, but it was more tasty than I expected.  Who would have thought?

Speaking of food, the grapes here are ripe (it is vine country) and they are delicious!  We buy some every day.  They remind me of the ones Grandpa Jones used to grow.

This is a photo of our front room, kitchen table, and about half of our kitchen. We still can't get used to the sound it makes when we drop something on this plastic floor, but as we see other people's homes here, we are grateful for a clean, new space that is comfortable.

Speaking of missionary apartments, did you know that it is against mission rules to play football or darts in their apartments?  I try to imagine what the apartments of 18-21 year olds look like when they are on their own.  Scary!  On the other hand, my companion cooks, cleans, repairs, and does laundry and dishes--without being asked!

At least every day something makes me aware of how much effort (personal, family, mission, and church) goes into keeping 85,147  missionaries alive, healthy, happy, feeling the spirit, and productive.  It is huge and amazing!  Hna. Cluff, who we work with here in Ovalle, is the mission nurse.  She takes calls from any missionary who needs medical help.  We hear some of the calls, and recognize dog bites, flu, intestinal infections, in-grown toe nails, bedbug bites, flea bites, etc.  One sister from Texas got hit by a car a few weeks ago.  One Elder fell off a roof he was helping repair.  They both recovered without serious injury, fortunately.  Being on a mission can be dangerous!

I used to tell my piano students that they have to memorize a piece of music at least 6 times before they really have it memorized.  In Spanish, our average is about 25 times--but we are making progress!  We committed to being able to speak by the end of this month--especially Elder Jones as he attends the District Presidency Meetings.  That's what we are working toward.

We came across a hardware store that resembled Home Depot!   When a pair of channel-locks won Ross' heart I knew we were in trouble.  But at least the stuff here is of good quality, where most of what we have seen is really cheap.

This is a beautiful flower I have been watching as it came out.   It is about 10 inches tall.  I know this as a house plant back in Utah, but I have never seen it blossom before.

The young man in the park (Daniel Araya) who said he would come to the Young Single activity last friday, didn't come.  I was disappointed, but not surprised.  We said we would meet him at that park and we waited there about 20 minutes.  I realized that he probably said yes to me because he was too nice to say no,

 To go somewhere completely unknown with someone you don't really know very well (and is more than twice your age) and mix with other young people you don't know takes a lot more motivation and courage than he had--at least at that time.  I tried to arrange for one of the newly baptized members come to the park to meet him and walk with us to the church, but he didn't understand my message and was just waiting for us there.  

But I talked to Daniel yesterday and we are still friends!  Hopefully at some point I can inspire him to make something more of his life that taking care of parks all day.  

Last Sunday Elder Jones and I had a friend (investigator) coming to church but he lives in the area of the Ovalle Sur chapel.  We also wanted to attend the confirmation of our friend, Maykol who got baptized about 3 weeks ago.  Couldn't do both because they started at the same time.  So I went to Ovalle Sur to be with the investigator and Elder Jones stayed in our Branch to be at the confirmation.
He didn't come.  And I missed taking the sacrament waiting for him.  I was feeling pretty discouraged during fast meeting and wondered if I should just walk back to our Branch when it was over.  Then I thought that maybe it would be good to stay, so I did.  I met a wonderful lady who talked to me about family history and wants to help, then I met a new young single who is here from Bolivia and I invited her to institute, then in RS we were discussing a certain subject in small groups and I sat there with my usual dumb smile hoping no one would expect me to say something when the other sisters looked at me waiting for me to contribute.  I said something very simple but relevant which they actually understood.  

At church we are both becoming more aware of what it means to these people to have senior missionaries here.  They look to us as people who should have something meaningful and inspiring to say.   I always feel so badly when all I can do is offer my dumb smile and my deer-in-the-headlights look.  Patience!

The last thing that happened at church that day was that a sister I have seen several times said hello to me and then asked me if I wanted a ride home.  Sure!  I'll ride instead of walking 30 minutes uphill anytime.  On the way we actually had a conversation.  She is District YW President, and now she is going to help me plan our District participation in the International Spanish Indexing Day in May.  Planning that day just became a whole lot easier.

We see small miracles every day, we feel the spirit guide us, we know this is where we should be right now.  We see these wonderful young missionaries full of light and love, and we are grateful.

With lots of love

Elder and Hna. Jones