Two down, 4 to go!

Getting used to the way of life

So now I've officially been here almost two weeks... Two down and 4 short weeks to go. Monday marked the day where I will have been in a foreign country for the longest amount of time! So yes, I got a little homesick already while seeing everyone's pretty summer pictures, but I'm happy to be here and excited what this next month will bring me! :) anyways...

On Monday I stayed home and got to get to know my family a bit better. We played some card games and just relaxed because of the futbol game. The place where I was supposed to go, La Casa Esperanza, probably wouldn't be the best place for me to be when people get excited about a game, to put it in a good way haha. Anyways, after a day of resting, on Tuesday I went to La Casa Esperanza with Becky. It's connected to another one of the churches of Iberoamerican Ministries, but is a place where some kids come after school to play and eat lunch. There I met Tia Dulce (Tia means "aunt" but can also go before a name of an adult) and she's a part of Overlake church, and is from The Bothell/Kirkland area! Overlake is basically my church Canyon Hills' "mother church." She and her husband Alejandro live here and help out at La Casa Esperanza. It also happened to be her birthday so we spent the day making paper flowers and preparing a little party. After having some cake and other treats, I got to play with the kids on a concrete soccer court. Dulce and Alejandro took me home and I ate dinner and went to bed a little later. Wednesdays I go to a thing at the church called "Cajas de Gozo." This is where a group of women get together and make little encouraging things, put then into a box, and give it to someone who needs some picking up. After that is a bible study led by Pastor Ricky. Last Thursday I went to Oriente, the school part, with Becky to help and English teacher. It was a fun experience  as we went into a 7th grade class, then wild 2nd graders, and ended with cute kindergarteners. Then I had the afternoon to relax! Friday I went to the Iberoamerican Ministires office to talk about my time here and make sure everything is going well. This is basically how my time is going to go here, plus some extra things here and there.

Last Friday/Saturday was something special though! Oriente had a vigilia, which basically was a lock-in. It started at 10pm Friday night and went until about 7:30am Saturday morning. It was an amazing night filled with games, worship, the Word, and a lot of coffee! I got home by 8am, slept until 2pm, and woke up just in time to see Chile lose to Brazil... :'(

Now to get a little more personal, I'll share something I've been working on lately: patience. Tracey, a guy from North Carolina who lives here in Chile, spoke at the Vigilia and something he said stuck with me. Sometimes we ask for something from God, and we wait and wait for the answer, sometimes losing hope. But an important thing to remember is that his timing is perfect, so whether we have to wait 2minutes or 20 years, it's all for a reason beyond our knowledge. Patience is a crucial part of our faith, yet is so easily forgotten...

Anyways I hope everyone enjoys their 4th of July in the states!!! Blessings! 😇