My parents just received their mission call to Santiago South. Does anyone know of senior couples who have recently returned from their? They would like to get a heads up on what to expect and how to prepare. So glad this site and cumorah exist. I showed it to them so they could see the current state of the church in Chile and what could help it improve. Thank you.
^^ Nothing special Charles. They can get everything they need right there, food, clothing, medicine, etc. It doesn't get colder than 30 degrees and only around 7 in the morning. The weather is really dry, and it might go to 90 degrees during summer. That region is similar in aspect to the Wasatch front but better looking. People are always friendly, and Chileans talk a lot. Poor people live in similar conditions than those in the states but less hidden.
The main meal of the day is lunch which goes around 1 pm. Most families also enjoy an extra meal at around 6 pm called "once".
If they show up to a home and people are eating they will most likely get invited.
Commerce usually starts at around 9 am and closes at around 9 pm. Bakeries and supermarkets open earlier.
People tend to run late, a few minutes at least. Workers get home usually around 7-8 pm. There are ATM's everywhere.
It's good to have warm and wet weather gear from April till August. Indoors can be chilly so warm inside clothing like slippers, stockings, and scarves are good. Practice saying things and listening to things in Spanish everyday. There books and CDs or websites to use. People appreciate gringos who have open hearts and sensible brains, and that includes cachando la onda. Google can help translate more than ever.
It's cold inside in the winter time because most people don't have central heating. Some of the coldest nights of my life were sleeping in regular Chilean homes from May to August. During the day it can be sunny and pretty warm, but at night clear skies mean cold nights. Rainy days mean warmer temperatures, but it gets chilly with moisture. Galoshes are good to have in streets with little pavement. Santiago South is one of the smallest missions in the world but there may still be unpaved areas. I had a few ccompanions from there. Look for Pablo Trincado in Puente Alto. Marco Antonio Rojas or Juan Azua in El Bosque. Maybe Sergio Olea or Manuel Vera in La Florida, not sure. Love and serve and show these people we are more like them than they think. Show how the Lord is bigger than petty cultural differences, or how love of others trumps big differences.
Whatever happened to the updates on specific ward and branch creation? I have to admit those were some of my favorite parts of what was posted on this blog. I hate to sound ungrateful, and I know this is all volunteer and really appreciate what is being done.
This page of this Website is excellent for any unit creations, discontinuations, or even name changes. Usually it gets updated on Monday through Wednesday, but some trickle in later on in the week.
Also Matt has another blog: http://ldsunitgrowth.blogspot.com/
It's probably not appropriate to comment on every unit change in this blog, but I think it should be brought up when something interesting happens.
I saw this week that the Rome 6th Ward was discontinued. Wasn't that one of the wards that was created when the stake was split?
I understand Joseph, I really appreciated it when you were doing it. I hope I did not come off as too demanding. My girlfriend just started nursing school, so I understand a little about it eating away from past time.
My stake (Bloomfield Hills Michigan) will be inagurating a mid-singles magnet ward in the Southfield Ward come November 6th. In my case I was released from my calling in the Sterling Heights Ward and explicitly given a stake calling to go to the mid-singles ward extended by a member of the high council.
In the case of my girlfriend her Branch President only told her about it when she asked why she had not had an invitation. He said that she had the option to go or not. She has not been released from her calling in the branch.
The main factor is probably my ward's leadership feels more confident in filling a vacancy in the sunday school presidency than her branch does in filling a vacancy in the primary presidency.
However the fact that she has a daughter who is 15 and who is has been coming out to Young women more regularly and is attending seminary may also make the push for change less intense. True, even if her daughter goes with her fully to Southfield Ward she will probably stay in the same seminary class. Seminary is at times organized by ward, but at least here in Michigan being a seminary teacher is a stake calling (I think it was a ward calling when I was a youth, but both my memory and my understanding then may have been incomplete). My senior year in seminary we had some people from another ward in my class, and of course in much of the inter-mountain west seminary is organized by school, without regard to ward. This is not just true in places that have release-time seminary, but is also true in places like Las Vegas Nevada where seminary is generally organized outside regular school hours.
I have heard talk of an additional stake being created in the DFW metroplex in the 2nd or 3rd week of October. It sounds as if the new stake will be created from several existing stakes including at least the Colleyville and the Alliance stakes.
I've never been to the DFW metroplex, but I find it interesting that certain cities with lower populations seem to have a larger accumulation of wards than some with much higher populations. Would anyone be able to account for these differences, e.g. Why Garland, Mesquite, and Grand Prarie don't have enough congregations to have their own stakes but Frisco for example has two stakes. Is it racial demographic differences, inner city outreach, or income based differences, etc? Thanks in advance
New Branches Burma Hills Branch Branch Accra Ghana Christiansborg Stake Cougar Lane Branch (Care Center) Branch West Jordan Utah Park Stake Eifel Branch Branch Düsseldorf Germany Stake Eyman Meadows Branch (Correctional Facility) Branch Gilbert Arizona San Tan Stake Obuba Branch Branch Okpuala Ngwa Nigeria Stake Owl Creek Branch Branch Worland Wyoming Stake San Rafael del Sur Branch Branch Jinotepe Nicaragua Stake
I am a native of DFW, now 55, and a life long member as my parents joined the Church about the time I was born. I remember, as a young child, the original Dallas Stake splitting to form the Fort Worth Stake. At the time, I think the Dallas Stake extended over 200 miles in each direction. There has been tons of growth, some convert growth, but the vast, vast majority have been move-ins.
To understand DFW area, one also has to realize how fast the area has grown. Lots of new jobs, and over 150,000 people moving to the area each year. With growth, comes members with good paying job transfers. There are older areas of both Dallas and Fort Worth with very few members, and the inroads into the minority communities has been slow--especially within the African American communities as they are more tied to historic black churches. There is good growth among the Spanish speaking population and many wards and branches for Spanish speaking members.
The members moving here mainly have good paying jobs, and seek suburban communities with excellent school districts and new large homes. This is why many communities, especially on the northern side of the metro have wards that seem to split every few years. Some areas have less than 15,000 non members in the ward boundaries--with high active LDS populations. The older areas do not attract as many LDS move-in's and to some degree the perception is that the schools are not as good. In the more established areas, the better the schools, the homes are overpriced--thus LDS families move more to the burbs. Older areas have up to 80,000 non members within ward boundaries. These areas still grow, howbeit much slower.
New wards and stakes will continue to sprout in the greater Dallas Fort Worth area as job seekers and active LDS families continue to move into the area. Most suburban areas have 2-5% LDS. The Church has gone from obscurity to being well known as substantial members are in major corporations. In my department at work alone, I have gone from being the only LDS member several years ago, to one of many. Everyone knows Mormons. With the growth of the Church the long held misconceptions have mostly faded. The Church is respected, and known as a Christian faith. There will continue to be many new wards and stakes formed each year.
150k per year move in numbers is pretty incredible. I have in-laws who are active LDS in little Lucas and think the Texas LDS lifestyle is better than their native California. I would imagine temple activity is pretty busy.
I think a temple in India is an eventuality so they may as well announce one tomorrow. Russia, too. Might as well start the process. Faith precedes the miracle.
I think the Church should boldly create an additional mission in Dallas/Ft Worth Area and move to reach out for convert baptisms more. If Phoenix area can have 6 missions, and Metro-Salt Lake City can have 4, there is no reason that Dallas/Ft Worth cannot support an additional mission.
I almost wonder if splitting wards into branches and creating districts might be the best growth strategies for parts of Dallas/Ft Worth area.
There are hundreds of people in the Dallas area, even among African-Americans, who will accept the Truth if it is presented to them. We need to stop being schooled by our fears and combine that with love for those we reach out to.
Our mission president in Detroit already has a story about reaching out in love to a person he met at a restaurant who was working as a waitress there.
The 150,000 moving to Dallas/Ft Worth annually include people of all races who have no religious home in their new city. Energetic outreach with love to them is the key.
Of course maybe I am just feeling excited from having been at the Detroit Temple tonight and seeing a black man getting baptized for his father who was born in Mississippi in 1926. If we can have African-American converts here in Detroit, long riddiculed as the most segregated city in the nation, and where the hero African-American mayor Coleman Young directly attacked the LDS Church in public speeches in the 1970s, it can be done anywhere.
Living in Highland, California and other parts of the Golden State, I was able to serve with and minister among some really sweet black members, many converts. The United States is coming along as far as our American family in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I can't help to think how awesome the growth of West African Saints have been doing abroad. I hope the work continues to go forward, with temples and lots of bishops and priests.
@Eduardo Your in-laws live in Lucas? I live in Lucas! What are their names? For a city of only 5,000, there are a ton of members here, as we have our own good-sized Ward, with 7 new families moving in over the last 2 months alone. Small world!
My parents just received their mission call to Santiago South. Does anyone know of senior couples who have recently returned from their? They would like to get a heads up on what to expect and how to prepare. So glad this site and cumorah exist. I showed it to them so they could see the current state of the church in Chile and what could help it improve. Thank you.
ReplyDelete^^ Nothing special Charles. They can get everything they need right there, food, clothing, medicine, etc. It doesn't get colder than 30 degrees and only around 7 in the morning. The weather is really dry, and it might go to 90 degrees during summer. That region is similar in aspect to the Wasatch front but better looking. People are always friendly, and Chileans talk a lot. Poor people live in similar conditions than those in the states but less hidden.
ReplyDeleteThe main meal of the day is lunch which goes around 1 pm. Most families also enjoy an extra meal at around 6 pm called "once".
If they show up to a home and people are eating they will most likely get invited.
Commerce usually starts at around 9 am and closes at around 9 pm. Bakeries and supermarkets open earlier.
People tend to run late, a few minutes at least. Workers get home usually around 7-8 pm. There are ATM's everywhere.
It's good to have warm and wet weather gear from April till August. Indoors can be chilly so warm inside clothing like slippers, stockings, and scarves are good.
ReplyDeletePractice saying things and listening to things in Spanish everyday. There books and CDs or websites to use.
People appreciate gringos who have open hearts and sensible brains, and that includes cachando la onda. Google can help translate more than ever.
It's similar to inland California year round but wetter, especially the last 6 years of drought in Cali.
ReplyDeleteIt's cold inside in the winter time because most people don't have central heating. Some of the coldest nights of my life were sleeping in regular Chilean homes from May to August. During the day it can be sunny and pretty warm, but at night clear skies mean cold nights. Rainy days mean warmer temperatures, but it gets chilly with moisture. Galoshes are good to have in streets with little pavement. Santiago South is one of the smallest missions in the world but there may still be unpaved areas. I had a few ccompanions from there. Look for Pablo Trincado in Puente Alto. Marco Antonio Rojas or Juan Azua in El Bosque. Maybe Sergio Olea or Manuel Vera in La Florida, not sure.
ReplyDeleteLove and serve and show these people we are more like them than they think. Show how the Lord is bigger than petty cultural differences, or how love of others trumps big differences.
Whatever happened to the updates on specific ward and branch creation? I have to admit those were some of my favorite parts of what was posted on this blog. I hate to sound ungrateful, and I know this is all volunteer and really appreciate what is being done.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ldschurchtemples.com/statistics/units/
ReplyDeleteThis page of this Website is excellent for any unit creations, discontinuations, or even name changes. Usually it gets updated on Monday through Wednesday, but some trickle in later on in the week.
Also Matt has another blog: http://ldsunitgrowth.blogspot.com/
It's probably not appropriate to comment on every unit change in this blog, but I think it should be brought up when something interesting happens.
I saw this week that the Rome 6th Ward was discontinued. Wasn't that one of the wards that was created when the stake was split?
John Pack Lambert that was me and with my wife starting nursing school it's just been one more thing I haven't had time for.
ReplyDeleteI understand Joseph, I really appreciated it when you were doing it. I hope I did not come off as too demanding. My girlfriend just started nursing school, so I understand a little about it eating away from past time.
ReplyDeleteMy stake (Bloomfield Hills Michigan) will be inagurating a mid-singles magnet ward in the Southfield Ward come November 6th. In my case I was released from my calling in the Sterling Heights Ward and explicitly given a stake calling to go to the mid-singles ward extended by a member of the high council.
In the case of my girlfriend her Branch President only told her about it when she asked why she had not had an invitation. He said that she had the option to go or not. She has not been released from her calling in the branch.
The main factor is probably my ward's leadership feels more confident in filling a vacancy in the sunday school presidency than her branch does in filling a vacancy in the primary presidency.
However the fact that she has a daughter who is 15 and who is has been coming out to Young women more regularly and is attending seminary may also make the push for change less intense. True, even if her daughter goes with her fully to Southfield Ward she will probably stay in the same seminary class. Seminary is at times organized by ward, but at least here in Michigan being a seminary teacher is a stake calling (I think it was a ward calling when I was a youth, but both my memory and my understanding then may have been incomplete). My senior year in seminary we had some people from another ward in my class, and of course in much of the inter-mountain west seminary is organized by school, without regard to ward. This is not just true in places that have release-time seminary, but is also true in places like Las Vegas Nevada where seminary is generally organized outside regular school hours.
New Developments in Google Translate. I wonder how well it would do as a first Pass. for scriptures.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.technologyreview.com/s/602480/googles-new-service-translates-languages-almost-as-well-as-humans-can/?utm_campaign=internal&utm_medium=homepage&utm_source=top-stories_2&set=602477
I have heard talk of an additional stake being created in the DFW metroplex in the 2nd or 3rd week of October. It sounds as if the new stake will be created from several existing stakes including at least the Colleyville and the Alliance stakes.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to the DFW metroplex, but I find it interesting that certain cities with lower populations seem to have a larger accumulation of wards than some with much higher populations. Would anyone be able to account for these differences, e.g. Why Garland, Mesquite, and Grand Prarie don't have enough congregations to have their own stakes but Frisco for example has two stakes. Is it racial demographic differences, inner city outreach, or income based differences, etc? Thanks in advance
ReplyDeleteNew Branches
ReplyDeleteBurma Hills Branch Branch Accra Ghana Christiansborg Stake
Cougar Lane Branch (Care Center) Branch West Jordan Utah Park Stake
Eifel Branch Branch Düsseldorf Germany Stake
Eyman Meadows Branch (Correctional Facility) Branch Gilbert Arizona San Tan Stake
Obuba Branch Branch Okpuala Ngwa Nigeria Stake
Owl Creek Branch Branch Worland Wyoming Stake
San Rafael del Sur Branch Branch Jinotepe Nicaragua Stake
New Wards
ReplyDeleteBurke Lane Ward Ward Farmington Utah West Stake
Butterfield Canyon 10th Ward Ward Herriman Utah Butterfield Canyon Stake
Eagle Mountain YSA Ward Ward Lehi Utah YSA Stake
Freedom 4th Ward Ward Provo Utah Freedom Stake
Hastings Farms 2nd Ward Ward Queen Creek Arizona Central Stake
Highland 40th Ward Ward Highland Utah South Stake
Hurricane 23rd Ward Ward Hurricane Utah West Stake
Jardim Mariana Ward Ward Aracaju Brazil North Stake
Jordan River YSA Ward Ward Lehi Utah YSA Stake
Meadow Rose Ward Ward Herriman Utah Mountain View Stake
Meadow View Ward Ward Farmington Utah West Stake
Mountain View Ward Ward Tucson Arizona West Stake
Pusch Ridge Ward Ward Tucson Arizona North Stake
Rancho Vistoso Ward Ward Tucson Arizona North Stake
Signal Butte Ward Ward Mesa Arizona Eastmark Stake
I am a native of DFW, now 55, and a life long member as my parents joined the Church about the time I was born. I remember, as a young child, the original Dallas Stake splitting to form the Fort Worth Stake. At the time, I think the Dallas Stake extended over 200 miles in each direction. There has been tons of growth, some convert growth, but the vast, vast majority have been move-ins.
ReplyDeleteTo understand DFW area, one also has to realize how fast the area has grown. Lots of new jobs, and over 150,000 people moving to the area each year. With growth, comes members with good paying job transfers. There are older areas of both Dallas and Fort Worth with very few members, and the inroads into the minority communities has been slow--especially within the African American communities as they are more tied to historic black churches. There is good growth among the Spanish speaking population and many wards and branches for Spanish speaking members.
The members moving here mainly have good paying jobs, and seek suburban communities with excellent school districts and new large homes. This is why many communities, especially on the northern side of the metro have wards that seem to split every few years. Some areas have less than 15,000 non members in the ward boundaries--with high active LDS populations. The older areas do not attract as many LDS move-in's and to some degree the perception is that the schools are not as good. In the more established areas, the better the schools, the homes are overpriced--thus LDS families move more to the burbs. Older areas have up to 80,000 non members within ward boundaries. These areas still grow, howbeit much slower.
New wards and stakes will continue to sprout in the greater Dallas Fort Worth area as job seekers and active LDS families continue to move into the area. Most suburban areas have 2-5% LDS. The Church has gone from obscurity to being well known as substantial members are in major corporations. In my department at work alone, I have gone from being the only LDS member several years ago, to one of many. Everyone knows Mormons. With the growth of the Church the long held misconceptions have mostly faded. The Church is respected, and known as a Christian faith. There will continue to be many new wards and stakes formed each year.
150k per year move in numbers is pretty incredible. I have in-laws who are active LDS in little Lucas and think the Texas LDS lifestyle is better than their native California. I would imagine temple activity is pretty busy.
ReplyDeleteI think a temple in India is an eventuality so they may as well announce one tomorrow. Russia, too. Might as well start the process. Faith precedes the miracle.
ReplyDeleteI think the Church should boldly create an additional mission in Dallas/Ft Worth Area and move to reach out for convert baptisms more. If Phoenix area can have 6 missions, and Metro-Salt Lake City can have 4, there is no reason that Dallas/Ft Worth cannot support an additional mission.
ReplyDeleteI almost wonder if splitting wards into branches and creating districts might be the best growth strategies for parts of Dallas/Ft Worth area.
There are hundreds of people in the Dallas area, even among African-Americans, who will accept the Truth if it is presented to them. We need to stop being schooled by our fears and combine that with love for those we reach out to.
Our mission president in Detroit already has a story about reaching out in love to a person he met at a restaurant who was working as a waitress there.
The 150,000 moving to Dallas/Ft Worth annually include people of all races who have no religious home in their new city. Energetic outreach with love to them is the key.
Of course maybe I am just feeling excited from having been at the Detroit Temple tonight and seeing a black man getting baptized for his father who was born in Mississippi in 1926. If we can have African-American converts here in Detroit, long riddiculed as the most segregated city in the nation, and where the hero African-American mayor Coleman Young directly attacked the LDS Church in public speeches in the 1970s, it can be done anywhere.
Living in Highland, California and other parts of the Golden State, I was able to serve with and minister among some really sweet black members, many converts. The United States is coming along as far as our American family in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I can't help to think how awesome the growth of West African Saints have been doing abroad. I hope the work continues to go forward, with temples and lots of bishops and priests.
ReplyDelete@Eduardo Your in-laws live in Lucas? I live in Lucas! What are their names? For a city of only 5,000, there are a ton of members here, as we have our own good-sized Ward, with 7 new families moving in over the last 2 months alone. Small world!
ReplyDelete