Where did time go?
Wow, it's been almost three weeks since I last wrote! Time got away from me, mostly because of the mini trip I took to the south, and since then it's been flying by like crazy! So to begin...
The day after I last wrote, I had my weekly meeting in the office, where I was presented with the potential opportunity to go to Lautaro, Chile with Pastor Doug to work with a team from Thousand Oaks, California. Lautaro is about 7 to 8 hours south (depending who you're driving with!) and there's a church that's part of Iberamerican Ministries. It was only a possibility though, so when I found out Tuesday afternoon that I'd be leaving Wednesday morning at 8am, I got really excited! After spending the afternoon at the movie theater with the kids from Casa Esperanza, I packed for the 5 day trip to the south. That same evening, I actually went out to dinner with some Chileans that I wouldn't see again while being here because they were leaving for Ecuador a couple days later, and returning the day I get back into the US. So basically I had a really long, but fun, day and was out until 2am! And after about 5 hours of sleep, I started my small adventure. I was with Pastor Doug and another tall Chilean guy that I have been friends with since the first time I was in Chile, which made the 8 hour ride enjoyable.
On the way down, we stopped for lunch at a small restaurant on the side of the road. As we walked in, everyone was staring at us, and at first I was wondering why. Then shortly later I realized... We were a white male who is 6' tall, a blonde haired blue eyed woman who's 6'1", and a Chilean who is 6'8" (side note: only few people in Chile are over 6 feet). That was a pretty funny moment :)
When we arrived that night to the church, the team from Thousand Oaks, California wasn't back yet from the Hotsprings they had been visiting all day, so I got to meet the missionary Rachel who I'd be staying with. She's from Port Angeles, and is permanently living on Chile now, about to get married in November! Staying with her and her roommate Yesenia was such a fun experience. I learned a lot about how Rachel "found" Chile, which makes me have more confidence in my future and helps me remember to trust in The Lord...
Anyways, when the team arrived and before eating once (if you don't already know, that's basically dinner, pronounced "own-say"), we played a whole bunch of soccer! There were a group of Chileans who I played with, so for the evening I was a Chilena. My team did pretty well, scoring 4 goals with our heads in a row! Later, when I got to my home, we lit the wood stove in the living room. That's something I really enjoyed about the south because most homes have these stoves, and it makes the insides much warmer!!! Of course, when I got back to Santiago, everything smelled like campfire. Within the next two days I did so much shoveling and wheelbarrowing cement that my muscles hurt and my arms felt like noodles. If you've ever been on a mission trip and you know what I'm talking about, you'd also know that it's an amazing feeling! I was only there for half the time that the group from Thousand Oaks was there, but within those few days we finished the entire floor for a new school. It was a really amazing time working with this group because that was more of the work I'm used to when in a different country!
On Saturday, me and a small group of the Californians went to el campo (countryside) to help build a fence for one of the church members. It had been burnt in January, so there was just a bunch of rotten posts ready to fall apart. We re-dug holes and added in the new posts, and once that was done we put up the wires again. This was actually a big highlight for me because I got to be the translator! It's a little bit hard, because there's a lot of construction words that I don't know. You'd think since I've been on 4 mission trips to Spanish speaking countries that I would know some of those words already... But overall it was a fun and new experience!
I actually went back to Santiago a day later than Doug and Seba, so I took an 8 hour bus ride through the night on Sunday. It was a nice bus and I actually slept alright... Aside from the fact the guy next to me was snoring and had his arm on me the whole ride! But those things always happen ;) overall Lautaro was an amazing experience working with the Californians, making new friends, and learning more about the indigenous Mapuche tribes of Chile! (Of course another couple of highlights would be the nacho music party, my "boyfriend" named Jacob aka Juan Luis Esteban, and the crazy guy named Chelo... But maybe those stories will be left for another time!) ;D
God is good.
Anyways, when the team arrived and before eating once (if you don't already know, that's basically dinner, pronounced "own-say"), we played a whole bunch of soccer! There were a group of Chileans who I played with, so for the evening I was a Chilena. My team did pretty well, scoring 4 goals with our heads in a row! Later, when I got to my home, we lit the wood stove in the living room. That's something I really enjoyed about the south because most homes have these stoves, and it makes the insides much warmer!!! Of course, when I got back to Santiago, everything smelled like campfire. Within the next two days I did so much shoveling and wheelbarrowing cement that my muscles hurt and my arms felt like noodles. If you've ever been on a mission trip and you know what I'm talking about, you'd also know that it's an amazing feeling! I was only there for half the time that the group from Thousand Oaks was there, but within those few days we finished the entire floor for a new school. It was a really amazing time working with this group because that was more of the work I'm used to when in a different country!
On Saturday, me and a small group of the Californians went to el campo (countryside) to help build a fence for one of the church members. It had been burnt in January, so there was just a bunch of rotten posts ready to fall apart. We re-dug holes and added in the new posts, and once that was done we put up the wires again. This was actually a big highlight for me because I got to be the translator! It's a little bit hard, because there's a lot of construction words that I don't know. You'd think since I've been on 4 mission trips to Spanish speaking countries that I would know some of those words already... But overall it was a fun and new experience!
I actually went back to Santiago a day later than Doug and Seba, so I took an 8 hour bus ride through the night on Sunday. It was a nice bus and I actually slept alright... Aside from the fact the guy next to me was snoring and had his arm on me the whole ride! But those things always happen ;) overall Lautaro was an amazing experience working with the Californians, making new friends, and learning more about the indigenous Mapuche tribes of Chile! (Of course another couple of highlights would be the nacho music party, my "boyfriend" named Jacob aka Juan Luis Esteban, and the crazy guy named Chelo... But maybe those stories will be left for another time!) ;D
God is good.
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