Missionary news

Congratulations to Darryl Green, who has been staying with the folks now for well over a year, for his mission call to the Italy North Mission. He will enter the Salt Lake mission home in July, then spend two months here in Provo learning the Italian language at the LTM.

Larrell Palmer, son of Ken and Berniece Palmer in Tooele, entered the mission home on Saturday, May 25, heading for the Oregon Mission with headquarters in Portland. Claudia, Michael Adam, and I—together with Ray and Sheryl and their family—drove out to Tooele for his farewell on May 19. Grandma and Grandpa Pledger, and Ruth and Ray Tovey were also there.

Dale, writing from his mission in La Paz, shares some insights into Bolivian customs and culture: The people are strongly Catholic, although the Catholic Church is slowly dying. The rising generation doesn't believe the Catholic Church and is looking for something different. When someone dies they dress in black from one month to three years. So half the people you see are dressed in black. The people here are people of fiestas. It seems every two weeks they have some kind of holiday so they can all get drunk. Many years ago they lost their sea to Chile. Every night just before the TV goes off the air they say, "We will have our sea again!" No one likes Russia; the majority like the U.S.; but you can't find anybody that doesn't like West Germany. It is more liked that the United States. The Indians here have legends of a white bearded god. Some missionaries in Bolivia speak one of the Indian lanugauges instead of Spanish.