What a wonderful week this was!!

An Amazing Praise

The friend of mine who I had mentioned was hit by a car, only suffered a few broken ribs, and will be coming home on Wednesday! But the real miracle in this whole series of unfortunate events is the bridge that was built between the non saved family members, through the interaction that was had at the hospital. One of the uncle's ( who made it clear He wasn't interested in Religion) ended up wanting to meet with Mr. Hagerty to learn more about Christianity by the end of  6 hours of sitting and talking while in the waiting room! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! He truly works in mysterious ways, and in this family...we are seeing His hand pursuing each and every one! The older brothers have been attending church with us now for 3 consistent weeks!
Another Praise- Doug come home from the hospital! Thank you guys back home for praying, your awesome!


A Word of Encouragement :

I've become close with one of the high school missionary daughters, and her name is Joy. Its interesting because of all the conversations we have had, the one that meant the most to me was one we had just recently. She told me how she liked seeing my desire to be a part of this culture and "genuinely being glad your here". What she went on to tell me however, saddened me. She mentioned a lot of the short term missionaries have not seemed to desire to really get involved outside of the school and the American Bubble that is easy to seclude yourself in. I have to admit that honestly took me by surprise. I guess its because I couldn't imagine being here and not wanting to get out and meet people/make friends/witness, embrace the sights and sounds, and all the other "different" experiences that I know will not be offered anywhere else.
That conversation has stirred me on to pray that the Lord would use me in every way He wants to while I am here.  And that I would not allow myself to not genuinely be thankful that the Lord brought me here. I don't want to let one friendship or opportunity pass me by. Talking with someone who has seen short timers come and go her whole life, made me realize my time spent here will be impacting either positively or negatively the missionary kid's lives. Her telling me she was glad to see I wasn't "bitter towards God for bringing me here" really hit home.

An Adorable Interpretation:

We were driving one morning, myself and a family who has a young girl who is very inquisitive and apparently a sharp listener. Well we ( myself and the parents) began talking about numerous things, and it came up that if you have a baby here you must request circumcision. O.K..haha I will also add that it was a brief mention, non the less her ears had picked it up and had been pondering its meaning for some time. Well, at a pause in the conversation she piped up and said very quizzically " So, since the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck when I was born...did I have to be circumcised?!" ......
Oh...how we all tried so very hard to stifle our laughter at her adorable interpretation of what she thought circumcision must of been.


A funny moment in the classroom: 

It came while talking to my little ones about colors and asking them what color various things were. When I asked them what color my hair was I hadn't realized that that might be a difficult "color" to describe, and thus I became interested in seeing what they would say...
Their Answer
Bi- Black
David-White
Juliana-Yellow
Tomas-Brown
Cristina- Blue....is my mirror lying to me?

I then asked them to use their colors and draw me ( the best they could of course :))....well the girl who said I had blue hair,  I thought perhaps she had meant brown but said blue?! Nope, she gave me bright blue hair! Maybe she's trying to tell me something.....should I go blue?! :)


A Gift from My students:
SO upon learning of Lucas being in the hospital I knew I wanted my little ones to make a Poster sized card for him that incorporated prayer, and the Lord in it. We painted their little hands and put hand prints all over it, and of course they loved the paint. It was a challenge getting them to the bathroom afterwards, because they found it a much better idea to touch things like, each other the walls, my clothes, you get the idea :) I can't say I blame them though! The card on the inside said " We are sorry you got hurt, but are thankful you are O.K. We are all praying for you!" And each child wrote at least one of the words...which you could imagine caused the one sentence to be all different kids of sizes, shapes, and colors! I was so proud of their handwriting as well as their excitement  over making a card for my "sick friend". Lucas told me himself when I visited on Saturday that He loved it, and he must of because he had it sitting up right on a table by his bed! 


An accidental Road trip
I can now officially say I have seen even more parts of this huge, vastly contrasting and beautiful city...thanks to dinner and movie night with the Hagerty's! So as in most cities, the one way streets and sudden stops and turns, driving around this city tends to be very fast paste and an adventure...every time! This night not being the exception! We all loaded into the car to head out to a Chinese restaurant that " Was the best!" Well 2 1/2 hours later still driving around... decided on eating at the TGI Friday's at the closest mall! haha....
You know that funny 1/2 uncomfortable 1/2 tingly feeling in your legs when you stand up after sitting for a long time.....
I do love my evenings in my new home away from home. Such a blessing


A nightly Visitor-ers!
 Well I guess when they say the Holy spirit intercedes when there are no words, well i've found that to be absolutely true! I had mentioned that on one of my first nights with the Hagerty's some young girls from the neighborhood stopped by and ended up helping me wash my car. Well those same girls come by the house now just about every night...and ring the door bell asking for "Candy". IF they don't ring the bell, their riding around just outside our gate so as to easily be seen. :)
SIDE NOTE: About the "Candy" nickname. I decided to allow the people to call me Candy simply because Candace got way too many wide eyed...bewildered expressions. Much more difficult for them to say. However, if you speak English...it will never slide!
Back to the neighborhood girls....so we usually ride bikes together, go to the park, or sit down whenever there is a free patch of grass and have "Dance Competitions". Music and dancing is very big here, so because I can't dance ( :)) I am the judge! I am praying for ways to witness to them, and am thinking about getting some Spanish Christian Cd's for them....if you have any idea's of good ones let me know! It has been a huge blessing to me to see the Lord build friendship and break the HUGE barrier of language with not only these 4 girls, but where ever I go. Even though i've spoken maybe 2 sentences with them, they continue to come back. That is completely the Lord.

A-Tutoring I go!
SO it has begun! And I feel so blessed to be able to be tutored by a wonderful Godly Chilean woman, right there at the school! She teaches some Spanish classes at the SCA, and we get along really well...as in, I don't feel like an idiot when she has to repeat repeat repeat! I was worried the first time we met because she only speaks in Spanish...however after meeting with her again I feel confident that that is the best way for me to really learn. Something about knowing she will expect to speak to me in Spanish only and same from me, is a bit scary, but a welcomed kick in the toosh! :)

A knitting of souls.
Was so excited to be able to skype with two of my very dearest friends. Suzie and Caitlyn. Knowing they both also served and are still serving overseas, lends its self to  some very full, and very refreshing conversations. I was reading 1 Samuel 18 where it says " As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathon was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathon loved him as his own soul." What a perfect example of what I believe true friendship looks like, and how thankful I am to have my soul knit together with some of the most wonderful people I know.


A farewell for now!
I sincerely hope this is another wonderful week to be had by all:)
And thank you again for all of your prayers for me while I am here!

Am I proud to be an American and have a lot of Patriotism, yes. Am I saddened at the lack of Patriotism in so many American's these days, yes.

Would I ever do this however....NO!!! This is just crazy!! Someone posted " Well, the neighborhood said I couldn't wave a flag..."" haha Regardless of how extreme , it makes me laugh every time!!

"MOMMY I PROMISE I'LL KEEP UP IF YOU LET ME RUN!" - Would be my caption for this.

"My next door neighbor wants to BAN all GUNS! Their house is NOT ARMED! Out of respect for their opinions I promise NOT to use MY GUNS to PROTECT THEM."

Hahaha...

I was told when I arrived " Wait until you live through one of the Tremors/earthquakes here" and I indeed had no idea how regular and "normal" their occurrences would be!
Nor was I aware of how each one would remind me of the awesome, powerful God I serve who controls all the earth, the winds the waves ( Mark 4) , the Tsunamis and every single Tremor or earthquake that touches Chilean land. How in awe I always am once one of the 3 tremors that I have witnessed have ended, at how powerful the Earth's natural forces are, as well as recognising how unpredictable, wild and bizarre this earth is we live in. Knowing all of those unpredictable natural disasters were ultimately controlled by the Lord is so incredible to me and served as a vivid reminder of how Big my God really is. Something I believe sometimes it is easy to forget.
 Experiencing a couple big tremors ( as the Chilean people call them, but American's would consider them a quake) is like nothing I had ever experienced before, and the first one was by far the worst! Purhaps because It awakened me from my slumbering to my entire apartment rattling and shaking. Everything when your woken up is more extreme simply because your in that half awake/half sleep state, and nothing is making sense. :) I just remember sitting up and holding on to my bed until it passed, and then pacing my apartment for a couple minutes trying to digest what had just happened and slow down my heart rate, clearly going right back to sleep was not going to happen!

What is fascinating to me about these Tremor's are how different the entire experience is from say, a Hurricane which many of us have experienced ( if you live on the east coast) Forecasters are usually able to determine when they will be touching ground, the areas that will be affected, and thus making it possible to be emotionally and physically prepared. While an earthquake is very sudden, often unexpected, and different lengths and force depending on where you are. But just like Hurricanes on the East coast are normal and expected, these Tremor's are very normal and expected here in Santiago.

When people ask me how I feel during or after a quake ( Tremor),  my response would be it is a 2 fold emotion. One emotion is feeling awe and wonder of God's creation as well  as being excited and scared at the same time. Those couple of minutes are usually filled with my mind racing with, " Upstairs or downstairs, stay put or leave, inside or outside?" As well as with thoughts like..." This is kinda awesome!"All at the same time!

The most recent earthquake ( By U.S standards, though it might of been considered a Tremor here in Chile) was over a 6.0 and was long as well as powerful, what a shocker...it was in the middle of the night as well!
Alesha and I ran out of our rooms at the exact same moment....met up together by the stairs, and I must admit...we were laughing by the time it was over. Our dishevelled hair, puffy yet overly dilated eyes, were a site.

It will be interesting to see how many more Tremors or quakes I will experience during my time here, and I am sure...they will bring about stories and memories that I will never forget.

Please be lifting Doug Admundson up in Prayer. For his recovery from a very bad Fall where he broke many bones and will require months to recover ! Also continue to pray for His family during this time!


Also for my neighbour Lucas who is 15 years old. He was hit by a Vehicle on Wednesday evening and is being tested to see what damage was done. They fear he has broken his back..I will keep you guys updated! Also, pray for the salvation of the whole family. The Hagerty's and myself have grown very close to the family and pray often for them. The older two boys have attended church as well as have been attending the Saturday evening Young people bible study with us. :)

 The Lord is definitely drawing them to Himself.
Be praying that this tragedy would be a reminder of the frailty of life and be a stepping stone into opening up their hearts to their need for a Savior.
 


"When the world my heart is rending with its heaviest storm of care, my glad thoughts to heaven ascending, find a refuge from despair. Faith's bright vision shall sustain me till life's pilgrimage is past; fears may vex me and troubles pain me, I shall reach my home at last." Spurgeon

Hi my name is Iago and I need to be washed!

Highlights of this past week!

1. The reminder through the Easter Holiday that I serve a God who conquered sin and death and is alive and working all things together for His glory. And what a sweet day it was as I celebrated that Promise alongside 100 other Chilean believers huddled inside a one room shack. They had taken out a window which allowed for a nice size hole to provide the people in the room next door access to the service. A sign language group performed Sandy Patties "Via del arosa" and it was just as powerful in Spanish. The pastor had the most cheerful disposition and you couldn't help but be drawn into what he was saying, by just his attitude and constant smile. After the service some young people approached myself and my friends and immediately invited us to a youth activity that next weekend. Perhaps its because we are different-gringo's as they call us, but I do believe the body here reaches out to everyone in such a kind genuine way. I've observed it in most the church's I have visited.

2. A good example of their genuine kindness towards their own are Two of my neighbors. I convinced them to come to church with me on Sunday knowing that they are curious about Christianity and unsaved. They loved it. My favorite part of the service was when we started singing an Old Hymn about meeting the Lord in the sky and one of the boys turned to me with a smile and said " I like this song a lot, its very happy". They will be returning on Saturday for the youth event that they to were invited...persuaded too attend...:)

3. The Easter Production for the School was.......adorable at parts, powerful at others, and left us teachers feeling very proud. My little ones sang Jesus Loves me and UNFORTUNATELY I'm not able to upload it on this blog, but it is on my facebook. Lets just say...bribing them with the candy bag beside me on the pew...did wonders! :) There was little Bi with his hand in a cast twirling in circles on the other side of the stage where he had wandered off too, and Esther who was singing at the top of her lungs on some note i'd never heard before, and tomas waving his Smiley face confidently during the entire song. I must of had tunnel vision because Non of those things had I noticed until I watched the recording, and I must say, if you ever have a rough day...listen to or watch a 5 year old sing. Their enthusiasm and funny, individual quirks are priceless.


4. One of my parents asked me to attend church and lunch with them and their thoughtfulness meant a lot to me!

Where we will be going!! And that is not a mountain....the mist that looks like smoke, is smoke. :)

4. I was asked by the Senior class to be 1 of 3 Chaperone's on their Senior trip!! I was honored and have thus gotten busy looking at prices, various activities,and I've decided that I am slowly turning into my mom with all the list's and the organization mode that I've snapped into. :)

5. I learned how to make a Pecan Pie. Which is only...my all time favorite pie ever!! Well actually, it ended up being a Walnut pie because we couldn't find Pecans, but it was still not too bad! Yay, successes in the kitchen are always happy moments for me....

6. I went to an amazing Pizza restaurant with the cutest elderly couple and enjoyed their company thoroughly. For those of you who know me, you know its been a matter of time until I found me some elderly folks to make my friends! :) They are in their 80's and been married for 60 years...and speak fluent English. Their love for each other truly was amazing to witness, as throughout the evening he would touch her hand or shoulder and say " she is my love" or " the love of my life" for no reason other than to just love on her openly. How inspiring it was for me to see. Please pray with me for their salvation. Their names or Arther and Jenny. We talked about the gospel off and on, but I can tell he will be a tough cookie as he's been " catholic" for his "whole life". I had a good opportunity to share with them my faith as they were driving me home and the further we got from " the rich" part of town into the "other side" they began making comments like, " You shouldn't live here! Why would you a young American girl live over here, it is not safe?" My response was " Well, I came here because the Lord told me to. I don't have any fear living over here because I know He protects me." They sat there for a couple minutes without saying anything until Jenny spoke up again and repeated how she didn't know why i would live " over here" to which Arther spoke up and said " Jenny, she's a missionary, she'll be Ok." I took that as a good thing. :) Ill keep you posted!


7. Family dinner every night with the Hagerty's. I'm so thankful the Lord opened up  door for me to live with them because it truly is like going "home" after every day at work. Living on the Campus was nice because it was obviously close, but I am enjoying leaving the "Bubble" of westerners and living among the people so much more. Tonight was a perfect example for as I was washing my car 4 girls came over and ended up helping me wash my car while trying to interpret my horrible Spanish, and will be returning tonight to go for a walk!!

8. The whether has turned cool as we are entering Fall here, and I love it. The trees even change colors here! Call me ignorant...but I am continually surprised by things here in Chile. Who knew they had all 4 seasons?! Good thing I brought my scarf's and boots because it gets cold!

9. I found out Seth's band is opening for a Switchfoot concert and that made me very excited and proud of him. I am waiting for him to send me a cd and shirt so I can make him big here in South America! :)

10. I'm so thankful my daddy's surgery went well, and hate that I haven't been home with him and helping my mom . It touches my heart to hear of all the people who brought them food, and who even ministered to him during his surgery. The way he has handled this fall just like the others continues to amaze me. He is truly as my mom said  a "giant" of a man. I also have a wonderful example of a good wife in the way I've seen my mom nurture and selflessly care for daddy during this time..

11. Tried my first Pickled egg....and I must admit I'm not sure I'd ever be able to get past the bright purple color to enjoy them. Totally a mind over matter thing, and I couldn't get my Mind to get around it long enough to enjoy its taste. I continue to be very intrigued by them however.

12. We watched a Comedian the other night that was amazing- And I love finding good CLEAN ones who also make you laugh till theres tears! His name is Greg Hahn. Good way to end a long day at school!

13. I love the bouquet of flowers I have at the end of every day, hand picked by a couple cuties. Tomas, David, Juan Jose, DaMin, Esther and Bi. The ones that go in my hair are always checked for bugs before hand as of recently..... :)


14. I loved my Snooze button this week.

Iago!!

15. I GOT A CAR!!! Well the story is, a missionary is home on Furlough and left her car for whoever needed one. Long story short...It was offered to myself and my good friend Susan ( who im always with anyways!) Thus we are both using it whenever we have to go somewhere and don't feel like walking or taking the metro! One of the coolest blessings of the Lord so far! Oh and driving in South America is waaaaaayyyyyy  scary, always alert and hand near the horn! I have named "him" " Iago" :)

16. Thank you guys for being interested in my life here in Chile, this past week a new relationship was built with four non believers, my little ones memorised a song I pray always remains in their hearts, celebrated Christ's resurrection in a shack full of fellow brothers and sisters, and baked a pretty good Home-made Pie! :)

Some quotes for this week:
"There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart...pursue those!"

"God Whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." - C.S. Lewis

 I read these quotes in a book a missionary offered me to read by Vernon Brewer ( who I remembered from his many Chapel visits while I was at Liberty) titled Defining moments. I can't help but  feel that after a week complete with packing my bags ( again!) and moving into a new home, uncertainty seemed to want to set in. Uncertainty of what life would look like for the next 8 months, What would my transportation look like now that I didn't live on the campus? Was this really where the Lord wanted me if things were actually going wrong?! Ah but my Lord saw my ( thomas) heart questioning and so He chose to Answer.

Something I was thankful for this week:  He chose to do that through the Parent Teacher conferences that I had totally forgotten about, not been prepared for, and had somewhat dreaded all semester. :)
Never knowing I would end up appreciating that short meeting more than even parents themselves!
After coming into my classroom Friday morning and setting up their little chairs for "Friday Veggie Tale Movie Day" ( its now tradition)  another teacher stuck her head in my door and asked if I was ready for the Big Day! I was also asked if I would need an interpreter for my conferences, which is still something that can be somewhat funny at times, communicating with the many Spanish and Korean Parents! haha. My moto is ...just try, and when you can't...act it out.
After the early morning reminder I  began nervously skimming through the names of parents on the "sign up" form, and rehearsing the answers to the questions I was SURE they would ask, and somewhere in there I would send up some very skattered prayers. Talk about being caught off guard.
Well by 1 pm when my first conference was schedualed to happen, the Lord had given me a peace that He would give me the words to say, and I had begun looking forward to getting to know the parents. Funny isn't it, how something we fear, can so quickly with the Lord's help, be something that we end up looking forward to...in a matter of minutes ( or sometimes hours . :)).
My first parent who arrived at 1 was especially special because of the fact that she herself is the wife of a Korean Pastor of a church that has over 4000 korean people who seek to learn about Jesus. I wasn't prepared for the sweet encouragement she came in wanting to give.
I'll never forget her broken English with tears streaming down her face, right there in my little classroom, telling me" I know where your from is much easier than it is to live here, so thank you for coming."

 My role here is tiny, and I might never see someone come to Christ directly, but knowing im loving and teaching the daughter of a Pastor who is reaching lives of thousands of Koreans every Sunday, I began to see a little bit more of the "Big Picture" and be reminded of why the Lord had captured my heart for this ministry. 

Im thankful for how he finds ways to remind us of why our heart was captured in the first place, and gives us the strength to continue pursuing those things..

Something that broke my heart this week: Here in Santiago there are many beautiful homes and penthouse, skyline apartments, nice cars and palm tree lined Hilton Hotels, and beautiful candle lit restaurants with ornate furnishings and food lining the sidewalks, while just one block over there might be a cluster of shacks made from mud and wood boards, with sewage running down the sides of the road, and cable cords holding drying mismatched, old and torn laundry. The stark contrast still moves me. Litterely from block to block it will go from wealthy, metropolitan city, to destitution and slums. They say here there is either Rich or Poor, no blue collar, no middle class. You have, or you don't.

Something I Learned this Week:  I must say the hugs and smiles of those who "don't have" are some of sweetest, warmest hugs i've ever received. Im still getting used to all the kisses and hugs that are given at a greeting and departure, but I like it. I like that it just is naturally kind and disharming. Its made me realize we don't demonstrate our love for others as much as we could, You can go an entire conversation with someone back in the states and not touch them in any way. No hand shake, hug, definitely not a kiss, pat on the shoulder or back, or even acknowledgment, but here...you go to any social function, church, ect, and you will go around tha entiret room and greet every single person with a hug, and I just love it. Its sure hard to stay upset at someone if they greet you with a hug and a kiss. I think our church's in the states might be a little more friendly and friendships might resolve sooner if one was forced to hug and greet that other person!)

Something I'll remember about this week: I went to Word of Life Chile's Campus today to support the Soccer ( Futbol) tournament,outreach ministry that was going on, and felt again that I glimpsed the bigger picture of what God is doing in Chile.  As I watched a group of 10 men from Ireland here on a mission trip using Soccer as their outreach, praying with those men before each game and reaching out to them...was a very Special memory. Plus gotta love the accents!

Something New I was able to Do this week: My new room is a blessing. The family who offered for me to live with them has been so kind and welcoming to me, and I truly feel as though the Lord hand picked the family for me to live with. I was finally able to put up pictures on my wall that I hadn't been able to when sharing a room! And if you know me, you know my love for pictures, especially over here. Seeing faces of everyone  back home smiling back at me, is always instantly sweet and calming. My mom bought me a collage blanket that I was able to drape over a book shelf, thus creating an entire wall of pictures- That blanket is one of my favorite items I brought with me from the States for sure.






Some Things I loved this week:

Their salads. My flight attendant coming over here was right when she told me she'd never had salads like the ones here. When I come home to the states I might just go Organic fruit and Vegetables! I KNow! I can't believe im saying that. But having that be all I eat here, I can honestly say...there might be a reason Trader Joes is always wayy too crowded! :)
The New Shane and Shane CD
Meeting a New Friend, MaryAnn. 
Their grape juice- so much lighter than Welches

Hearing one of my little spanish students...singing Jesus Loves me IN ENGLISH as he was coloring!! :) 

Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening devotional.
Listening to Dad's Sermon series on Nehemiah
Figuring out how to use the beast of a Laminator at the School. I can't stop laminating things now!!
My little kids smiles and hugs


A Small Challange from this week: Next time you enter into a conversation with someone, start it out with a hand shake, or even a hug. It truly starts the whole conversation out on a better, slightly sweeter note!