Where to begin- its been almost two weeks since the last epic, and while it seems like things are really settling into a rhythm, we are at no loss for adventures. This weekend we, all 5 chile girls, are discovering Ovalle, a larger town SE of us, while staying with an older missionary couple. Things today were pretty relaxing- shadow michelle around and daphnie around their schools while they teach. Everything was pretty routine, whistles and cat calls included- which continues to puzzle me-if only they knew that, due to a gas run out=cold water dominates, jenny and I have,,, lets just say we have not showered all that recently. They use several songs to teach various English words, using tunes ranging from fra ra ja quais sp?? to the adams family. Next we ate lunch, (then another lunch) at a smallish restaurant that played beatles music and served huge portions. Also had a wildlife adventure- just as we were sitting down- I was just getting settled, saw something out of the periphery of my eye and felt just a hint on my left cheek, then on my right, was slightly confused, and decided it must have been my hair, which would make sense considering how unkempt looking it was. I said something to the girls, and wiped my face with my sleeve, and forgot all about it. That is until two minutes later, when we saw a smallish spider scurrying across the table. Putting my face and 8 together, I realized the spider had just used my face as a runway to launch itself midtable. I don’t think we killed it, I hope not, since it certainly had the opportunity to wreck havoc on my face but instead passed right on through. I cannot really complain- there are no snakes here, which is nice considering how easy it would be to step on them- even while running here the slippery gravel and rocks, combined with turbine strength winds, add a whole new thrill to running. I have a small mountainish/hill thing that I have been running up (semi) regularly- the going up is painful, but on the way down you can see the surrounding valleys and the lake and larger mountains rising in the distance. Just gotta be careful on this one spot- the wind whips through so fast I sincerely believe I could be a human kite if I was in the habit of running in ankle length dresses, with arm flaps of course. On the way up I usually try to review verses (take my mind off the mountain-goat-ready steep hills), but on the way I down I try to pray. It has been useful to spend just that hour by myself, seeing the huge mountains and the huge expanse- several times it has been a great reminder to adjust my attitude- one of the things I wanted to start practicing during my time here. If, while trotting along, I feel downtrodden or depressed, the heaving hills and valleys remind of me our God’s greatness; if my ego is kite high, I am reminded of my tiny-ness, that, no matter how much I feel like I may accomplish, really it is not me who is going to change anything or anyone. Daphnie said something that really caught my attention today during team meeting- she wants people not to remember her, persay, but rather the message she brings-the good news of the gospel of Christ Jesus. I think this caught my attention because, in the midst of trying to teach English, and befriend the community, and learn the way of rural peasant life, it is easy to forget why we are actually here. I think I have oftentimes fallen into the habit of putting myself first, wanting to make a good impression of Rebecca on the people of Gualliaguica, but the most important thing is that we represent Christ faithfully.
Rejoice that in the Gualliguica schools, this past week, we have had open opportunities to share parts of the Bible. I first read a passage from one of the gospels, while Jenny illustrates with her awesome art-minor skills, followed by a discussion on the lessons- both moral and theological, with much help from the professor Don Rene. I sort of get us pointed on the right track, then he takes over. Then we assign roles, go over the story one more time, and the children act it out. On Monday we did Jesus healing the paralytic that was lowered through the roof, and on Wednesday we did Jesus’ birth and the angels appearing to the shepherds-we even have two students, maria and josa (mary and joseph, in English) and we taught the angels to sing the song ‘alelu, alelu, alelu, alleluia, praise, ye the lord’. The funniest thing was that we used Pepito, wrapped in my scarf, as baby jesus. Pepito is the classroom anatomy manaquin torso-armless, legless; with his chest and stomach and half his brain open and ready for inspection, but he served the purpose well.
Our Tuesday night bible study has been not quite so successful- no one came last week, but we think its because one woman had a sick child, and the other girl didn’t want to come by herself, but it was sort of taxing to prepare, then wait, not knowing if they were just late, or were not coming at all, or if we had miscommunicated- but when we talked to the girl she still seemed interested so perhaps this coming week.
INTERMISSION-time for popcorn and cucumbers
While walking around downtown Ovalle today, (now Saturday) there was a make-me-want-to-dance band playing in the street, five guys with long hair and prize-worthy beards playing all kinds of ethnic flutes and the pan flute and tambourines and cymbals and acoustic guitars and drums and singing-after listening for a while I went up and talked to them- we even got invited to an ‘asado’ (cookout) they were having tonight but, alas, couldn’t go. Oh the frustrations of having to ‘be wise and cautious’- I guess that’s why they didn’t just send me out completely on my own into the heart of skinny ol’ chile- but I did buy one of their cds to break out at dance parties back in the US.
I think part of my struggle now, as I begin to miss friends and family more, is to make sure that I am living completely here, instead of spending time thinking about returning to life back in the US. I am somewhat surprised that I do look forward to coming back- I guess I find more joy in living in Auburn than I even realized, but then I am like ‘how in the world can I even think about wanting to go back- here I am, being stretched in all kinds of ways- (several times each day I have to remind myself ‘do hard things’) while having great adventures, meeting hordes of people, and getting to know well quite a few, surrounded by volumptuous vineyards (enough to supply southern Baptists with a lifetime supply of wine, haha). I also now have a pet chicken named Genghis Khan, who was supposed to be a ‘pio pio’ (little chick) but is actually a full grown chicken who lays eggs- yes, a girl named Genghis but she has less than friendly looking eyes so the name suits her. We have had one chicken chasing festival in our backyard so far- really it was me chasing the chickens and Jenny and Katrina laughing, but, after twenty minutes of failure, I didn’t manage to catch the most sissy chicken. Next time I am going to christen it and name it formally. I was explaining to my teacher’s family (while at her house for lunch) that I was going to ‘bautizar’ (baptize, I don’t know the word for christen) my new chicken, laughing between words, but the family just gave me a look which was hard to read, but I think it might have meant something like ‘is this a weird part of her religion, baptizing chickens?’ We have also adopted a cat, named Francis, because for a while we didn’t know if it was girl or boy, but now it’s a girl, and its sort of like I am a pirate and she my parrot, because, immediately upon being picked up, she insists on climbing up and perching on my shoulder. We gave her a bath last week- boy was that wet, because she wouldn’t stay in the tub so we she had a bath while sitting on my shoulders- but hey, it was warmer that day. Once she was clean I let her sleep with me, but once again, she is less than normal and prefers to sleep ON my neck. Out of goodwill, she licks my neck but sometimes gets carried away and takes a nibble. But back to the point, that I have such a unique opportunity here in chile, and I don’t want to miss any of it. I want to be focused on Chile, not preoccupied with the future, but living each day here, focused on doing whatever comes along to the best of my ability. Please ask God to give both Jenny and I courage- courage to use the friendships we have built to glorify Him and present the gospel. It is so easy to just never talk about spiritual things- but pray that not only that God would provide opportunities, but that I would be eager to talk about Him, not anxious, but trusting that He will provide the words and guide me, and that I would take every chance to speak about Him, and not wait until it is staring me in the face. Specifically, you can pray for our Chilean grandparents, Adelina and Orozimbo- that we would have opportunities to speak with them, perhaps over supper or dominoes, or maybe even a game of Dutch Blitz, which I have been trying to teach them (sort of ironic, Chileans playing dutch blitz). Also for Don Rene, our teacher at school- joyful praise that he is so open to the bible- on Wednesday he commented on how he was sort of surprised that we had not yet taught anything contradictory to what the catholic church teaches. Pray that he would have an increased desire to know more, and that even the simple stories we use with the children would spark an increased interest in the life of faith in Jesus Christ.
So here’s the quick prayer list:
- making a clear and true representation of Jesus Christ and the gospel, my focus, not simply making a good impression myself
- Adelina and Orozimbo and Don Rene
- active courage to speak openly about Christ in various friendships
- seeking God’s will each day, being fully IN chile, not becoming preoccupied with stuff back in the US
good news- pictures are up- all almost 500 of them. (I had to clean off my camera memory card). They are on snapfish but I will try and send you an email invite so you can go see as many as you want without being overwhelmed.
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