After what seemed like forever, the large-print scriptures and Family Home Evening manuals arrived from the distribution center in Santiago. I'll save you the details, but it was really quite a pain (especially for my mom, who spent hours on the phone and through emails trying to get something we assumed would be simple worked out). We took the boxes to the Stake President and he will distribute them as needed.
A miracle did take place with all of the waiting and hassle though... it turns out there were way too many FHE manuals in the distribution center and they needed to get rid of them to make space for other inventory, so they gave them to us for free. That is $500 worth of free books. We then wondered what to do with the extra money and decided to contact the branch president in Tocopilla, about 2 hours north of Antofagasta. On November 14, 2007 a 7.7 earthquake hit this little town, causing extensive damage. Even living 2 hours away, it was a major earthquake to go through, not to mention 2+ months of large aftershocks.
The branch president gave me the phone number of the Relief Society President. I contacted Sister Victoria Diaz and she immediately knew how the money could be used to help buy supplies for rebuilding. I later found out that she had just talked with the branch president, asking for some more money from the branch to help buy a kitchen sink, a toilet and a bathroom sink. He said the branch didn't have any more money, so she asked if they could contact the stakes in Antofagasta for some help. He said it was a possibility. Not knowing that this conversation ever took place, I called Sister Diaz soon after, offering her the financial help from the Cedar Hills 1st ward. Talk about a modern day miracle!
We shopped for the supplies on Thursday night (the products are cheaper in Antofagasta) and delivered them on Friday. It was a very humbling and spiritual experience, and the members of the Tocopilla branch are very grateful to their brothers and sisters in the United States.
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