Phase 2

Phase 2

We’ve begun phase 2 of our Chilean adventure. A new schedule has begun. Below is a new typical day for us:

·         6 – 7 quiet time

·         7 – 8:15 devotional

·         8:15 – 9:30 breakfast

·         9:30 – 10:30 Spanish class

·         10:30 – 1 visits

·         1:30 lunch

·         2:30 – 6 work projects

·         3 – 4 English class

·         6 intercession

·         8:30 – 9:30 internet

·         10 bedtime

With this new schedule, we’re waking up much earlier, and getting our hands a little dirtier. For me personally, this new change of schedule also includes preparing the meals for my team (something I’m enjoying very much so far, but always an adventure with an extremely limited budget, varying tastes and preferences, and random ingredients with labels that aren’t always easy to decipher… and a one functioning gas burner), and planning and executing the teaching of a bi-weekly English class to about 10 – 12 neighbors. It’s been great to utilize a few of the tools from my past in a practical and helpful way. For a mental image, picture me standing in a dining room, facing my neighbors who are gathered around the table, and I have a small dry erase board (about the size of 4 pieces of paper) to utilize. They repeat me as I say, “My name is…” It sounds a little bit like, “Maiee naima eez…” J

We are also now receiving our Spanish lessons from our coordinator and his wife. They are a lot of fun, and very understanding and patient teachers. Our lessons are very practical and can be applied right away. We are even learning culturally sensitive ways to ev-ng-l-z- (phew, that word is hard without vowels!) also. This month I’m also preparing to give the message at ch-rch on the 15^th, so you can join me in pr-y-ng that communication goes smoothly, and that my own words or thoughts don’t get in the way of the words of G-d. Thank goodness we’re hoping to utilize the help of a translator.

On a practical note, we’ve also adjusted our internet policy, which means that blog updates and e-mails will come on Friday evenings from now on, between 8 and 9 pm – my hour to utilize the computer. That is when you’ll be able to find me on Skype or Facebook, too (e-mail me beth.k.hale@gmail.com for more information if you are interested). While we are on the topic, I absolutely cherish any e-mails that come my way. I would love to hear from you. Snail mail… now that’s a different story. We’ve had some difficulties with this thus far. I’ve been expecting a Christmas card from my family for over 20 days now. To check for its arrival, I hop on a bus for 25 minutes, and go to the post office downtown. Once I get there, I stand in a long time. When it is finally my turn, I ask the man behind the counter, in the best Spanish I can muster, if I have a letter. He then leafs through a handwritten log book to search for your unfamiliar name. It’s never there. J Trust me, e-mail works great, and is a much faster means of communication.

For the week following Christmas, my team and I visited a nearby island, Tenglo – the same island where we spent Christmas Day. We enjoyed employing a different set of muscles (arms and legs instead of brains and handshakes) through some hard work in the sun, and loved supporting a nice m-n-stry there. The property we worked on serves the children of the island, and a house is being built to house a new m-ss--n-ry family as well. We weeded a greenhouse and several gardens, painted the outside and roof of the new house, swept a lot of sawdust, dug a trench for a septic system, cut long grass with a scythe, and did some small cleaning jobs, too. My team worked very hard and had great attitudes while they were working.

We also became better acquainted with an American m-ss--n-ry family while we were there, too. It was a nice rest for our brains, and I remembered how much easier it was to hold a simple conversation (though that is becoming easier in Spanish as time goes on as well). This family has been in Chile for a very long time, and has seen a lot of great things happen during their time here. Their two youngest daughters (13 and 11) spent a lot of time with us as well. They were very generous to us, and even invited us back to their home to enjoy hot showers for the first time since we’ve been here! A true luxury.

While we were in Tenglo I also saw a cow walking on the beach, wild dolphins, a funeral procession that wheeled a coffin down the beach, was locked in an outhouse (another story for another time), took my first water taxi ride in a motorboat, and went swimming in the bay (a whole 20 yards from our front door). Incredible. We are hoping to go to Tenglo for some more practical work, and I have been invited to help with a children’s music program as well; right up my alley.

The New Year holiday is a very big deal in Chile; much more than Christmas. On New Year’s Eve, we enjoyed a large meal with some friends from ch-rch (which began at 11 pm), watched the countdown on the TV, and clapped for the kids while they danced the night away. There was loud music in the streets until about 4 am, and the next day, everyone goes to the beach. My team had our day off that day, so we ventured into the city to eat at McDonald’s for the first time, and found most stores to be closed, and absolutely empty streets; the same streets that are jam packed every other day of the year (from our experience so far). We had a great time nonetheless, enjoying food that almost tasted American, and hogging the deserted sidewalks.

On most days, I truly enjoy learning more about the culture of our new country and the lives of our neighbors, but it would be dishonest for me to say that I don’t miss the familiarity of home. Please continue to pr-y for cultural adjustments, trouble-free communication, edifying team relationships, a smooth transition into a new schedule, and ever-increasing m-n-stry opportunities.

Thanks to you, faithful readers. I don’t always know who you are, but I trust that you are well and enjoying all of that American winter snow for me. Be looking for pictures to match these written descriptions on Facebook very soon!

Ciao!