Blogging at 10,000 Feet

Greetings from seat 40E somewhere above Georgia...in the USA! I offer no guarantees that what you are about to read will be coherent, factoring in just a handful of hours we've been traveling by one means or another.

WiFi on the plane, what a modern world. In fact, I have a feeling modernity (or post-modernity, as it were) is about to give us a bit of a slap in the face. We haven't been gone all that long, and Chile is a modern place...but we didn't exactly live like some of the rest of you Jetsons families!

Today is Thursday. We left Temuco last Sunday. Sunday night we were in Primavera. We hit the road early Monday in the fog. Monday night was spent in Santiago. The plan was to spend Tuesday night on a plane and arrive Wednesday. That was until the first of a few little travel glitches manifested themselves. They canceled our flight. Nothing to do but wait a day. So, the amended plan had us spend Tuesday night in Santiago and Wednesday night on a plane headed for Atlanta.

In Santiago, we had ample time at the airport...good thing! After wrestling through a notably long line to check-in our 12 items, we then took our other 10 items to the international police. A rather snippy, unhelpful man behind a window sent us out of line and into another speaking about proof that Jessica and I are the parents of our children. He didn't care to see the birth certificates or Chilean issued identification cards that show them as my dependents. I could try and describe the strange feeling of extra heat in my head or the uptick in my heartbeat as we fandangled our way through all that, but suffice it to say that man number two behind a window was nice enough and they decided to let us out of the country.

The kids were absolutely AMAZING: following instructions, being patient (although overflowing with questions and comments), and to top it off they slept almost the whole way to Atlanta.

Ah, Atlanta. It would've been nice to feel like we were actually there but, simply put, that 1 hour and change was a blur! Our flight arrived late and left us very little time to pass through customs with 22 items, 2 kids under 6 and a pregnant wife! We even had a talk with the nice lady and her sniffing beagle who was rather interested in the breakfast sandwiches we attempted to salvage for the kids. Nope.

I admit, I broke a rule when I pretended not to hear one rather directive lady instruct me to take my stroller on the elevator instead of the escalator. But I had no time for such nonsense! And besides, the only passenger in that stroller was a carry-on bag, not the precious cargo of one of my children. In the end, we bobbed and weaved our way to the gate (figures it would be about as far away as possible!) and pulled up among a small crowd of other folks, wiping their brows and breathing as if they'd just beat old flash-bang-lightning-bolt-what's-his-name in the 100 meter dash.

And that brings us to 40E and free WiFi. Boden and Jessica are asleep again, and Adrielle is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the snacks and drinks.

The Lord has been with us and we are praising Him for abundant provisions of grace over these days of transition. May He be glorified in our efforts left behind in Chile, in airport hustling and sweaty traveler armpits, and in our bodies as living sacrifices.

If we don't get around to telling you because we're soaking in the joys of being together again with family, HAPPY NEW YEAR. May 2011 bring about great advances for the Kingdom of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Moving Day

SO much has been going on since our last post, but we have not had the time to slow down to blog. But it just felt necessary to do one quick post before... getting on our airplane to fly to the States in just a few more hours!  Yep, moving day has finally arrived. It is hard to believe that our short-term missions adventure has come to an end. The time has flown by. (We hope to have another post soon, perhaps reflecting on the past 2 years.) But, we have made it out of our apartment in Temuco, road tripped and stayed one night in Santiago to drop off our company car, and all our bags are packed and ready to travel. Tonight we are leaving the Andes mountain range and tomorrow we will be landing in our beloved Rockies mountain range. Thank you all who have been praying us through this transition, we have seen and felt God's hand with us through it all. We still have some major transition ahead of us, we appreciate all prayers lifted up on our behalf. God is SO good, and we are amazed and thankful that the God of the universe is personal enough to walk with us, the little Snyder family, through such days as these.

This morning in my quiet time, I was given this verse to hold on to throughout these next couple of days of transition and travel.
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him." Psalm 28:7

A Little This & That

Last Thursday Anders' parents, our "exit crew," arrived in Southern Chile.  It has been non-stop action from the moment they stepped off the plane, and things are about to pick up even more speed as we finish off our last week here.

Gordon and Sonja have joined us in visiting families and hosting families for our final visits and goodbyes. Raul and Evelynn, in Curacautin, prepared one of their lambs for us. We were also served warmed milk fresh from their cow, and Mom and Dad had their first rounds of mate... and Mom likes it! That's a good thing because we are planning on sharing in mate together while living at their house.

We had Heraldo's family over for tacos and red beans & rice. They really enjoyed a Mexican themed dinner of foods they have never tasted before. We shared in a sweet time of fellowship and prayer together. And as our goodbyes were being given, Heraldo gifted Anders his favorite leather cowboy hat.

We've enjoyed a lot of time outside in the beautiful summer weather, taking in the sunshine before heading back to winter in the States. The kids have loved taking PaPa and Grandma to one of their favorite places, our neighborhood park. There just so happened to be a special Christmas event going on at the park the day we went, and the kids enjoyed playing in those big jumpy things... for free!

We've been up to more things, (but unfortunately I don't have pictures to show). Mom and Dad attended a special church service that went from 8 p.m. till past midnight, (have we ever mentioned that it's a late night culture here?), in which Anders was the key speaker and the theme of the service was on missions. After returning home, we continued talking over a cup of tea about missions and life here and other various topics until about 2:30 in the morning. We've finished our Christmas and souvenir shopping at the downtown markets, and enjoyed meals of classic Chilean cuisine. We had a great time at the Tomlinson's house at our team Christmas party where we grilled out steak and had baked potatoes and homemade ice cream for Christmas dinner. There was a fun gift exchange and lots of laughter over games and fellowship. We are also managing to fit in some day trips in these last days.

Like to Valdivia's ocean coast and fish market where the massive sized sea lions live. 

 Today's adventure is to a volcano and the lava fields. Lot's of memories are being made, that's for sure.

Also, baby and I are at 33 weeks today. We've had our last doctor's appointment here, and the doctor said that baby's head is down and is in position and ready... but not TOO ready. All is looking healthy and good and we have been cleared for travel.

Please remember us in prayer this week as we have more goodbyes with some dear friends, all our packing and cleaning of the apartment needs to take place, fitting in some Christmas celebrating in the midst of the chaos must be had, and lots of traveling is ahead of us! Thank you!

The Goose Is Getting Fat

You know the old song, "Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. Please put a penny in the old man's hat." So, it's certainly on the way, and we are going through some of the traditional preparations, and many other preparations quite unique to our situation this year. Although our last night in our apartment will be Christmas night, we still wanted a good old natural Christmas tree.

If you tuned in about this time last year you'll remember that in our neck of the woods, folks just don't put natural trees in their homes. For me and my family, this just means that we have to be a little more creative if we want that telltale evergreen smell to dance through the air of our apartment and sing to us, "Christmas is coming..."

As we did last year, we present to you a video chronicling this year's little Christmas tree adventure. No matter that we'll need to toss the thing Christmas day! No matter that we only have two ornaments of our own! "Christmas is coming..."

If you've got 5 minutes, you can enjoy this little bit of festivity with us. And, yes, that is my beautiful wife in the red, looking rather pregnant. This all took place Thanksgiving weekend, so she's even bigger now! "Christmas is coming..."

Ready For My Close-up

We just wanted to share with you the glimpse we got of our little girl today. Isn't she pretty!

This coming Wednesday will mark 30 weeks...keep praying!

What are you thankful for?

I know, the question seems rather hackneyed around the end of November. But you know, it's a good way to look at things. At least God, the creator of all things, the architect of us, the supreme one, thinks so. "Give thanks in all circumstances..." (I Thess. 5:18); "And be thankful," (Col. 3:15); "...let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe..." (Heb. 12:28); etc. etc. etc.

Alright, so be thankful...that is, say thanks. This seems like a pretty vanilla flavored concept...you know, something just about everyone can handle. But you know, being thankful or saying thanks is a directional concept. Our thanks is to be directed toward someone, there must be a recipient. Someone says, "Just be thankful." Yes, but for what, and to whom? God rightly deserves to be that recipient.

Ok, ok, you've read and heard your "thankfulness" devotions and sermons. I only bring it up to briefly share about the joy of putting this God-concept into practice. First of all, may I say that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life makes all the difference, and thank God for that gift? "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (Gal 5:16) "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." (John 16:7). Cool.

I wanted to have a big adventure for my 30th birthday. You know, do it up right since I live in southern Chile. My grandest plans to cruise the fjords or wave hello to Antarctica turned out to be a little too grand. Still, in the end, we put together a plan to escape to Bariloche, Argentina (a place known for its mountain beauty, lakes, outdoor life, etc.) for 3 nights.

We made reservations online, taking advantage of a good off-season deal, checked State Department travel information about entering/exiting Argentina, traced out a route on the map, and hit the road! Nearing the border, we stopped more than once to marvel at waterfalls, rivers, lakes and lush greenery. Then we arrived at the border crossing complex. Passports - stamped. Exit forms - filled out. Vehicle papers? Oh, ok, we've got those. Hmmm, that customs person's eyes look concerned. Problem. The vehicle is registered in the name of the organization. They want an official, notarized statement authorizing my use of the vehicle and to take it across the border. There was no way around it, we were turned back. Despite our best problem solving efforts, it simply wasn't going to happen; we weren't going to spend my birthday in Argentina.

At this juncture comes the choice: be thankful, or grumble. And here we insert the difference of the Holy Spirit. I wanted to grumble. I could even list out for you all of the great reasons I had over those three days to do so. It was my birthday for crying out loud! Then again, if you really look at it, we would do well to leave out all the arguments about what we deserve. I know who I am and what rebellion I've committed against my maker. He doesn't owe me anything...at least not anything good. On top of that, we could fill a boat with the blessings that we encountered in "Plan B."

So it's like this: I had a wonderful birthday. Why? Because God's command to give thanks is attainable through his Spirit and his command fills us with life more abundant. That's not too bad a deal...a heck of a deal, in fact!

Here are some pictures from our "Plan B."

So again I ask, "What are you thankful for?"

Tis the Season to Give Thanks

This week during school the kids made Thankfulness Turkeys. They stuffed small paper bags with newspapers and carefully colored each tail feather, and one-on-one with mommy they shared 6 things that they were thankful for. Then we came together as a family as the kids took turns showing off their turkeys and sharing each item they are thankful for.

The Thanksgiving holiday provides great opportunities for us to teach our children about thankfulness. And not just for the sake of raising polite children who know how to say "thank you" at the appropriate times, but teaching our children to direct their thanks to God from whom all blessings come.

Here's what our kids are currently thankful for... in no particular order. (It's so precious!)

Addi- age 5, is thankful for...
1. Our new baby
2. School
3. Getting her face painted
4. The world
5. Making projects
6. God

Boden- age 3, is thankful for...
1. Daddy's birthday (which is coming up on Nov. 23rd)
2. Toy Story cereal
3. Having brown eyes
4. Our new baby
5. Being 3 years old
6. That Addi is 5 years old

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  James 1:17