We Broke in and ate Spaghetti

"Oh my gravy," as my mom would say... it's been forever since a post!

Buckle up, everyone, this is going to be a long one, but I think it will be worth it. In this episode you'll hear some of my favorite Chile stories to date!

Last time we left off after a trip to Chiloe. Since then, we've hiked in the Andes, spent a few more days in Alerce, and now we're all the way in Argentina to renew our visas, and take a tiny rest before the second half of our m-n-stry abroad.

Let's start with the Cordillera (the trip into the Andes). Actually... the day before. Since it was very close to Valentine's Day, my team and I wanted to give our coordinator and his wife a blessing of time with each other. Their lives are so devoted to serving others, that they rarely have alone time together. With a money gift for a nice dinner, and the promise to take good care of their children, we sent them on their way into the city. While they were gone, we helped the little ones make valentines for their parents, and we made cards for each other as well. We had also bought a delicious cake, and the kids enjoyed decorating it with sprinkles. Our coordinator and his wife were so grateful - they said that they hadn't had a dinner out in years! How cool that we could help them in that way!

I occasionally check my e-mail inbox for messages from our directors, and sometimes it awfully tempting to check personal messages, but my allotted time hasn't come yet. The night before our trip, I checked one last time, and I could tell by the subject lines of the messages waiting for me that a sad milestone had occurred for my family - our sweet almost 13 yr. old dog, Kazoo, had died. Kazoo had been a faithful friend to me since she had been born at our house, and she has been my buddy for half of my life. I'm still living in a bit of denial, since I haven't been home yet, but she is already missed incredibly. Not long after I had found out, a family that we enjoy visiting came over and invited us to watch fireworks in Puerto Montt, a celebration of the city's anniversary... it was 11pm. Of course we agreed, and we raced into town to catch only the last few. I pretended they were in Kazoo's honor.

Back to the Cordillera... Our coordinator's whole family (including the 4 yr. old, and the 7 yr. old), packed up, and the 10 of us hit the road early in the morning. A 25 minute bus ride, a 4 (that turned into 5) hour bus ride, a 1 hour boat ride, waiting 3 more hours for another bus (since the one we were planning on was just too full), and finally a last 1 hour bus ride. That made for a looooong day of traveling. During our 3 hour wait, I even met a Chilean guy who was asking us where we are from (very common). When we told him we were from the states, he said, "Which one?" When I told him, "Michigan," he said, "Oh really? I have an aunt who works at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. I'm going there in August." How crazy is that?! We even saw him again on our return trip a few days later.

After our last bus ride, all of us except our coordinator and Jeff were dropped off at the house we were planning to stay at. It belongs to a friend of our coordinator, who lives near us in Alerce. His son was going to be using it before us, so our coordinator and Jeff kept riding the bus to go find the keys, as the house was locked up tight, and so was the gate. The rest of us and all 10 million bags/boxes (we brought all of our food with us for the trip, too) climbed over the barbed wire fence, and made ourselves comfy in the grass while we waited. And waited. And waited. After a few hours of nothing, we were getting tired from the travel, hungry, and just ready to be inside. We noticed a second-floor window that was ajar, and found a rickety (and I mean rickety) old homemade ladder, and Jean shimmied up there, and climbed right in. We heard some clanking around, and she opened the front door triumphantly and exclaimed, "Guys! It wasn't even locked this whole time!" and she closed it behind her to prove her point. Well... it was. It was locked the whole time. SO up she went again. This time, we all entered before the door was closed, and we started setting up shop.

Our coordinator's wife got busy making a fire in the wood stove in order to prepare dinner, and the rest of us started to set up tents in the front yard, while we could still take advantage of the dwindling daylight. Once the spaghetti was ready for our dinner, we all gathered inside, and hoped that Jeff and our coordinator would be back soon to enjoy it with us. Just as soon as we had taken our first bites, Jeff and our coordinator rolled up to the gate (still locked) in a pick-up truck. Some Spanish words were said, but the gist of it was... we aren't allowed to be there. In a hurried frenzy, we packed up all the tents and the spaghetti (still hot), and we fit 12 of us and all of our things in the pick-up truck, and drove to another house. When we arrived, it was dark, and we tried our best to set up our mixed up tents and make things cozy outside right next to the pigs and chickens. Have I ever mentioned how incredible the stars are in Chile?! It's the clearest sky I've ever seen.

We joined the owners of the property in their home for some tea, and heard on their walky talkie (the preferred form of communication amongst neighbors there) that the people who were SUPPOSED to be in the first house were enjoying our leftover spaghetti. Thank goodness they weren't upset!

So basically... we broke into a house and ate spaghetti in it!

The next few days were spent meeting/visiting friends there, which meant a LOT of walking. An hour and a half or more in one direction, with the little kids also. They were such troopers.

During one of our visits, we even had an... exotic food item: brain and heart sausage, sliced like salami. Of which animal, I'm not entirely sure. My guess is sheep. It was kinda squeaky in your teeth. We washed it down with water that had been collected from a waterfall!

While we were in the mountains, it rained a LOT. By the time we were finished with our 1 1/2 hour walks, we were drenched; and so were the tents. But the visits were definitely worth it. We were able to visit for 2 afternoons with the family of a 16 yr. old boy who lives with our coordinator's family during the school year. He goes to school in the city, and it would be outrageous for him to travel back to the mountains every day. His grandparents and his parents live deep in the forest, and have a small farm. His dad works somewhere else for weeks at a time, and his mom stays home with her 8 yr. old daughter, who has Down Syndrome. This woman, our friend's mom, hasn't left her house in years; it's just too complicated. What a cool opportunity to be able to spend some time encouraging her, and bringing her some fresh faces to talk to. I absolutely loved spending time with her daughter, Luz (Light). She and I danced and sang and just spent time hugging eachother (she was a very forceful hugger). There is most definitely a special place in my heart for the special needs population. Everyone, all people, bear the image of our Creator. Everyone. I am convinced that the most evident piece of G-d's character that is displayed through my Down friends is joy. Joy and completely unconditional love. Psalm 90:14, "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."

While we were in the Cordillera, we also saw a rooster in a tree, and a duck bite a pig.

Once we arrived home, we were grateful to be done travelling (another trip that took most of the day... wet), and especially to be dry.
We are currently on vacation to renew our visas in Argentina! A great time to relax and catch up on the mental to-do list. I'll have to save those adventures for another post... be looking for that one soon!