Our Last Night

Hey All,

     Tonight is our last night in Chile (at least for the time being).  We have been very busy the past few weeks so we have not been able to post any of the extra stuff we have been doing besides service or tell you anything else about our friends here.  We will be back in Kansas City on Thursday and will do our best to write a few posts once we are back Stateside.  Plus tomorrow on our way out of Chile, we will be stopping at the branch, so we will have plenty of pictures to share from our visit that we will post in the near future.  Looking forward to sharing our stories with you in person (although it stinks we have to leave Chile to do so).

Oddities

Some of you may be annoyed that there are not as many posts as there were in the start.  The reason being is that Brandon and I have settled into the routine of things with service and daily life, so things are no longer "the first time". We are still having a great time, but the fun diversions are more balanced now since we did come here to work.  Here are some odds and ends though of the past week or so:

Brandon and I checked out a territory right in the heart of Vina, and it has proved to be wonderful!  Not only have we been able to work by ourselves when there is no group, but we have found many English speakers, and many diversions for after service.  This past Saturday we were the only two that showed up so after starting with my return visit (that will be a Bible study shortly!!!) and working some blocks we hopped into a nearby museum.  They have one of the 3 Moais in the world that have been removed from Easter Island and they have the entire history of the island and the meaning behind all of the different statues.  We can't make it to Easter Island on this trip, but it is on my to do list for the future.

Last week Brandon and I decided to do some cooking and introduce our friends to some new foods.  Chileans seem very particular in what they eat, and do not like to try new things (or so we have been told) so Brandon and I made some eggplant parmesan. It was amazing!!! Not only did it all get eaten, we ended up making it a second time last week, and Charese wants the recipe to make it for her mother-in-law.  We dub it a hit :) Because it went over so well, Charese also asked us to cook a second lunch for her before we leave.  We are hoping to attempt clam chowder with fresh clams from the market.







February is the middle of summer here in Chile, so there are many events this month.  One of the special things that was opened was a handcraft market that Brandon and I made a pit stop at to get some gifts for our friends.  One of the other things that they had going on in the shopping area was some traditional dancing in the authentic costumes of Chile.  It was very cool to watch, since it is common at weddings to hire people to dance it and we have yet to see it. Being the middle of summer it was also an eventful week for fires.  Since it is so dry here the hills are constantly on fire.  There were two big ones last week, one close enough to drop ash on us and block out the sun, and then a "toxic" cloud of unknown origin. Half the people think it was just a fire, some think it was a secret government test, and some didn't even know it happened.  Regardless, it made a cool thing to look at from our bedroom window. Amid all of this, Brandon worked hard on his public talk that he gave on Sunday, he did an awesome job!!

Wine Tasting!

 Meet our good friend Tamara. She once worked at a winery, then as a tour guide, and now as a English teacher. She is a wine enthusiast as well as a very fun sister, therefore she was perfectly suited to guide us through the many wineries in Chile. She can also tell you about any movie or any cultural event that is happening in the area, so she is a wonderful asset to have if you are looking for something to do.

The Chardonnays here are especially good because this region of Chile is known for its dry, sandy soil so white wines are their forte. Also the "tastings" were quite generous.

 Since it was a day off of life for all of us, we did silly things where ever we went. We took lots of crazy jumping pictures, but I think that this one turned out the best. Don't they look happy?!






A day of exploring wineries and tasting is hard work, so make sure you schedule a little rest time here and there.



Do you like the pictures? They were all taking by Andreas, the man of the house we are staying in. He also drove us and is responsible for this fun day. He is a very good, giving man. We are grateful.

Our New Friends

Due to popular demand, here are some of our brothers and sisters that we are "serving shoulder to shoulder" with here in Chile.

Nathan and Amy-
Amy is originally from Australia and Nathan is a Canadian. They are the newest arrivals to the congregation and will be here for 6 months. A very sweet couple who love to travel and serve Jehovah in as many countries as they can afford to. I can't remember how many times they have done need great work, but they know a thing or two about it.  My favorite part about them is Amy's Australian accent while she speaks Spanish (something I have never heard before) and Nathan constant use of the Canadian "Eh" even while speaking Spanish.

Carmen Gloria and Margarita-
Two pioneer sisters in our congregation.  Not only are they both pioneers, but they are also both English teachers at a university here in Vina so they are very skilled at English and assets to the congregation. They also both went to Bolivia to serve where the need is great in the Spanish field for a couple months last year. We haven't gotten to spend much time with them yet because they were on vacation in the South the past few weeks, so hopefully we can tell you more about them later.

Roberto-
How can we describe Roberto??? No words express his fun loving and amusing personality.  He is our dedicated territory servant (I give him a lot of props for doing such a good job with it) and field service organizer.  Every week he sends out an e-mail to the whole congregation with maps so we can find our ways to the various service meetings and make sure we are covering all of our territory.  He is also the reason that Brandon and I are picking up some Chilean slang. The only thing he likes more than talking is eating.

Cristhian and Maria Jose-
Cristhian is one of the elders in the congregation, and both of them are pioneers.  In a couple weeks they will be moving 12 hours to the South of Chile to serve in a congregation that needs help in Spanish and in learning the Native Indian language, Mapuche, to preach on the reservation there.  Very wonderful examples, though they will be greatly missed by all here.  Although if Brandon and I get to come back to Chile, we promised them we will come visit them, so it will be another adventure for us!

Justin-
Justin is originally from California, and is a fellow housemate of ours. He came here for three months in November, and has since decided to stay a year.  He has been most helpful in letting me and Brandon know which buses to take and some good places to check out for fun stuff while we are here.  He is also a fellow temp-worker at Bethel and hopes to return there after his time in Chile to help with the project in Warwick.

That is all we have time for now, but hopefully Brandon and I will be able to tell you more about some of our other friends later.  As I am sure you can guess, the are all great people, and, as you can see by these last two pictures of our recent service groups, they are all very zealous for their assignments.