Dear friends,

Another day is upon us and the promise of God’s mercy and blessings leave us in suspense to see it come to pass before our eyes.

Last night many of us gathered around in the clear but chilly evening air to observe the Southern Cross pointed out by Ron Ford and Pamela Billings. We were all fascinated by it as it is not something you can see above the equator. Joe Perez also pointed out the constellation Orion, something that we can observe at home but not upside down as we see it here. This is a fascinating country, very different from some other places we have been. We are staying in a public boarding school that is out of session for the summer. There are 107 students enrolled here all of which are Mapuchi Indians. There is a Mapuchi style hut in the yard complete with typical furnishings…it is exciting to see and sit inside. Inside the school our accommodations for sleeping are tiny but clean. The Director of the school Maria Ines Perez made special effort to see that everything was scrubbed clean in honor of our coming. We have donated and installed toilet seats, shower heads, basket and volley balls, an internet router and a printer as a thank you gift for their care for us. There is a tall fence around the building as is typical for safety reasons and we are locked in tight at 9 p.m. This is not a 3rd world country although it is extremely poor in this area. Many of the people have no employment; those that do might make $240 a month. We had to buy a very small refrigerator to help with the amount of food we use here at the school and that cost us $450. Salaries are low and living expenses are outrageously high. Gas is $4.00 a gallon. Only 2 members in church own a car and while the roads are all nicely paved, traffic is not heavy at all.

We met with one of the local doctors yesterday and were shown around his clinic. They had a very modern dental office but no dentist has been there since Dec. and they are not sure when one will be assigned again. The doctor covers everything including minor surgeries. There is socialized medicine here but your chances of actually seeing a doctor when needed is scarce. The country will pay for a prospected doctor’s schooling and then he is paid by the government and assigned to different areas each week or month. There are 19,000 people within the town of Los Alamos and its surrounding communities. Each person is allotted $3.00 for medical care by the government per month. If one person has to see the doctor more than once then it takes away from someone else’s portion. If medicine is needed the people have to come up with the money for that on their own. The fee is on a sliding scale for that cost according to income.

The people here are very humble and sweet disposition. Almost all have black hair and many with green eyes due to the German ancestry influence accept of course the Mapuchi Indians have black hair and dark eyes and skin as would be expected. They are a very fascinating people with a rich history.

This afternoon Bob was interviewed at the local radio station and Rigo translated for him. People were calling and asking questions before we were even off the air. The interviewer was really touched and happy to hear what we were doing and interested in the 7th day Adventist. The segment will be played many times a day for a couple of days as advertisement. Just having Rigo with us has turned out to be more advertisement than we expected. Everywhere we go all the ladies stare and smile at him with one actually saying she would gladly take him home. The people here have never seen someone from another country and his black skin has made him a celebrity here. In fact some folks were talking with Bob and Rigo today and asked to take a picture, so Bob said yes and moved next to them and they pushed him out of the picture and put their arm around Rigo. Poor deflated Bob… at least he still knows he is my hero.

The construction team is going full force as usual. Although using Princes brick is a bit harder as they each have to be washed clean with a sponge and a bit of sand after they have been set in. Brian had put down 72 blocks before we got here and yesterday the team put down 389 more. Today they were on a roll and put down 562 blocks. The church will need about 2,800 to finish.

The medical team saw 45 people, the dental treated 18 and the optical team fitted 33 for glasses.

Have a happy Sabbath. We will be thinking of you and missing you all.

“Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter into the gates into the city.” Rev.22:14

Smiles to you along with prayers, Jennifer Young, Mission Reporter