The Perfect Fit

Flag of Texas

If you asked Declan if he would like to serve his mission domestically or foreign, he would tell you it didn't matter to him. He thought foreign would be neat because he could learn a new language and about new cultures, but he also thought domestic would be great because he would develop effective ways to talk to people in our own culture about the gospel which would benefit him for the rest of his life. A couple days before he got his call he dared to venture a guess that he would serve in Germany, a place he thought would be great to experience as he learned about his family's heritage since he has German ties on both Rodney's and my sides of the family. When Santiago, Chile was revealed as his destination he was thrilled, yet surprised since this was not a place he had pictured himself.

Flag of Chile

Over the next couple months we started gathering information and learning about Chile. On our way to Colorado for spring break, I stummbled across a web page designed for missionaries about his particular mission, Chile Santiago West. As I read the information aloud to Rodney and the girls we all could not believe how perfect he was for this mission.

• This particular part of Chile had a big German influx after WW2 and, as a result, has a lot of German influence. There are words in this region that are a mix of German and Spanish, and are exclusive to this region. Plus there is some German flair added to some of the cuisine.
• The biggest compliment to the people is to love and enjoy the meals they feed you. Declan has always been very willing to try new things, and genuinely enjoys the opportunity to expand his pallet. Even if he eats something new that isn't his favorite, he would never admit it and would make you think it was the best thing he has ever eaten.
• The flag of Chile is almost identical to the Texas flag which he loves so much. The only difference is the blue of the Texas flag runs from top to bottom while the Chilean flag's blue runs through the white stripe and then stops at the red stripe. This also makes the Texas star larger than the Chilean star.
• The people in Chile love blonde hair and blue eyes. They will bleach their hair making it an orangish color, and call that blonde. It is said that you could be the ugliest person alive, but if you have blonde hair and blue eyes they will think you are gorgeous. Declan's hair might not be as blonde as it once was, but it still has a tinge of blonde, and those blue eyes of his are beautiful - not to mention the fact that he is just pretty dang cute.

As we continued to read fact after fact, there was no doubt he was going to be serving right where he belonged. Funny how that works out isn't it ;)

 

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