Tourist on TV

Today we spent most of the day playing tourist around the historic sites of Santiago. The Plaza de Armas is surrounded by the ornate architecture of the Metropolitan Cathedral, a former palace, and former government buildings from the city's beginnings (think 1540s).

Out of the blue, two young people ran through the crowd right up to us...and they had a cameraman and one other guy following. "Excuse me, can you help us. Please!" I thought I was about to help somebody win the Latin American Amazing Race or something. So I said yes. All I had to do was sing a song repeating after the guy. Yikes! What can I say, I'm a good sport. Now to find out where and when this thing is going to air! Since I don't think we will, here's what Jess captured on our camera, just the tail end of the singing thank goodness. Our Kansas City peeps will be glad to know Living Fountains radio (www.lfradio.org) got (or will get) some free advertising on Chilean television (note the red shirt on the handsome bald guy).

Santiago

So we're on vacation in the great cosmopolitan capital city of Chile - Santiago.  A city where you find skiing/snowboarding shops next to surf shops, where the grand Andes mountains hug the edge of the city, and yet palm trees abound... such an interesting place to be.  There is so much about this city that intrigues me, and I can't quite place my finger on what that all is, but I do know that we find the architecture beautiful and impressive... charming and whimsical.

We are having a great time exploring a new city, and what a treat it is having Anders' mom with us.  She and I began our day with a delicious cup of Starbucks coffee, where the barista changed my name to Gabriella, (You can't tell in the photo, but that's the name written on my cup.)

We then had a fabulous time at the Zoo.  Adrielle and Boden showed genuine interest in all the animals, which is saying a lot for a 4 & 2 year old.  We were there during feeding time, which was great because most of the animals were up and about and it provided plenty of entertainment for the kids.  It did my heart good seeing our little ones enjoying their day as they did.

Boden was so exhausted from all the walking we did, he immediately feel asleep in the car.  Grandma stayed with him as Anders, Addi, and I took a quick peek at the Botanical Garden located next to the zoo.  I think we will have to go back sometime!  Here's a picture that Addi tried taking of mommy and daddy.

By this time we had worked up a good appetite, so it was off to the mall for some good ol' Americana!  Tony Roma's BBQ baby back ribs... and for dessert, Dunkin Donuts!

We are thanking the Lord for this little break, and for the wonderful time we are able to spend together.  We all need a chance to just sit back and kick up our feet every now and then.

New Company

We are super blessed to have Anders Mom here with us! 

The trip was long but she is here with us now,  and just in time to leave behind a snowstorm in Colorado and be present for a 5.9 aftershock her first night in Chile.  Praise the Lord she was so exhausted from her travels that she was able to sleep through the shaking... Anders and I woke up however, and were about to round up the troops and escape the building if necessary.  I suppose we are still a little jumpy from the whole ordeal.  We have been living in high stress for the past 2 months though, and having Sonja here is such a sweet blessing and breath of fresh air.  Thank you Lord!

We have been enjoying walks through our neighborhood and park, teaching mom how to play Canasta, taking her out for coffee at the mall, and driving through the beautiful Chilean countryside.  There are more adventures yet to be had, more games of Canasta to play, more cups of coffee to sip, and lovely strolls through the neighborhood in the crisp autumn air.  

Here are a few pictures and there will be more to come!

This Day & Age

I remember watching Back to the Future as a kid and thinking about how crazy it would be if in the future we could talk on the phone with someone and see their face at the same time on a screen. And here we are in the future, year 2010, with a wonderful tool called Skype!

The one thing that causes Addi's little heart to be sad the most, while living so far away, is the fact that she misses her cousins. So this morning she had the chance to hang out with her cousin Bailey on Skype. The girls were given the chance to talk all on their own. It made my heart happy hearing all the sweet girly giggles coming from the office. They told numerous Knock Knock jokes with one another, drew each other pictures, and even managed to play some Hide-and-Go-Seek. The hiding part was pretty easy, I'm not really sure how they managed the Go-Seek part of the game. I walked into the office at one point to look for something and Addi said to me, "Remember Mommy, you're letting just the girls talk?"     Oh yeah, sorry to disturb your girl talk time.

Boden Tells A Joke

Boden has learned two jokes. One is a knock knock joke. This is the other. That's our boy!

Easter Weekend

If ever there was a holiday to miss being with family and friends in order to go to another country for the purpose of sharing about Jesus, it seems Easter is the one.  This holiday isn't just about a particular gathering, it is the good news that begs to be told.  Being obedient to what God asks of you is hard at times, but it is so worth it.

For the first time since the earthquake, we were able to enjoy a weekend of being together as a family.  Saturday we spent the whole day just the four of us, just having fun.  First, we colored Easter eggs together.  Notice some of them are of the Russian design, compliments of Jessica's parents.

After coloring eggs, we noticed that our "adventure bone" was itching and we quickly filled some backpacks and took off in the car for a little adventure.  We ended up at a national park that surrounds volcano Llaima.  We scrambled around on fields of lava rock that flowed from the volcano in 2008, flew kites by a lake, took a small hike to discover another lake, and laughed and smiled a ton!

Easter Sunday was a day to celebrate!  The kids enjoyed waking up to lots of loot in their Easter baskets.  We worshiped with our Chilean brothers and sisters at the church we attend in town within walking distance of our apartment.  We had a delicious Easter lunch with our "M" family over at the Tomlinsons' home.  After our lunch, the kids had a blast hunting for Easter eggs.  We also enjoyed playing a couple rounds of Farkle, some more snacking on deviled eggs and chocolate, and ended the day watching "The Hope," which was a great reminder of the reason for our celebration: the promise of life sealed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Move That Bus

It didn't quite look the same, and the crowd wasn't quite as big, and the house, well, it was a mediagua, merely a shelter, not a mansion. But you know what? It sure felt like one of those Extreme Makeover moments...except even cooler.

It was the very first shelter we were able to put up, and it was for Rodrigo (pictured) and Rosa, a young couple who lost their home to the tsunami after the earthquake. But I tell you what, there was a depth present in that moment when Rosa and Rodrigo stood in doorway of their new shelter, tears welling up, surrounded by the circle of hands who helped raise it. Why? Because that circle was assembled for prayer, for seeking God, for invoking a greater power and greater peace in their lives than a home could ever offer, even if it had been one of those fancy ABC Extreme Makeover castles. We didn't get to say, "Move that bus!" but we will be back. And we will see to it that the physical blessing is accompanied by the knowledge that all good and perfect gifts come from above, that what we give we give in the love and name of Jesus. Here are some more images from that day in Tirúa.

This is Rodrigo and Rosa's little girl.

This is where they had been living for nearly a month.

This man also received a shelter from us that day. What's more, here he is looking carefully over the gospel tract he received as well.

An IMB media team was with us as we went out to deliver and install the first of our mediaguas. Here are some links to pieces they put together and posted on imb.org. One tells Rodrigo and Rosa's story with a little more detail.

Video: Missions Interrupted
http://www.imb.org/main/downloads/embedvideos.asp?flashvars=mvid=10822&mvidext=flv
Story: New Home For Quake Victims
http://www.imb.org/main/news/details.asp?StoryID=8520&LanguageID=1709
Video: Show Chileans We Love Them
http://www.imb.org/main/downloads/flashvideos.asp?filename=/files/108/10839/10839-57944.flv

After getting the engine running on our little mediagua factory with the team from Arkansas, we received a team of 17 people from Texas and Oklahoma through Baptist Global Response (BGR). They are in the air as we speak, headed back to their homes, but not without having left an impact. In their short week here, they turned out 15 shelters, all of which were loaded on a large flatbed and shipped up to Cañete last Tuesday. On Wednesday, the team rose early to make the road trip north to Cañete to install some of the shelters. Two were completed, along with the foundation for a third. The city will help build the rest.

As we saw in Tirúa, this day was not just about swinging hammers. We were among the people, sharing a physical blessing, but also sharing life and sharing Christ. Through one of the team members, a young man named David, another name was added to the Lamb's book of life: Antonio. Antonio has had trouble with drugs and alcohol and, it seems he was ready to let Jesus turn his life around. Pray for him. Pray specifically that he will be able to reunite and reconcile with a young lady who is pregnant with his child. It is a new, narrow road ahead. I was also touched to learn on our way home, after a long sweaty day, that the two women we brought along, nationals who have been involved in our church planting work, were able to spend the day praying with, offering counsel and sharing with the sisters, mothers and wives who watched us work that day. What a beautiful day it was. We had four Chilean pastors, one Chilean pastor's wife, one Chilean sister in Christ, two IMB missionaries and 17 BGR volunteers from the United States...all united to offer a small but practical help to families affected by a natural disaster. And? It was all worth it. Seeds are planted, the name of Jesus has been lifted up, some have believed and accepted His offer of new life...yeah.

Some of the precious ones who received a shelter.

Antonio, our new brother in Christ is on the left. His mom is in the purple and his sister is next to them. They received one of the shelters on Wednesday. Luis is the bearded one in the back. He is a national missionary to the Mapuche in Cañete who has been invaluable in helping make all the connections for this project. Marcela is on the left. She is involved in one of our church plants outside of Temuco.

The man in the hat is helping put together his own shelter. Some of you will recognize Mario in the background, our national church planting partner.

This is where one family's house used to be. The hillside it was built on fell away. They were inside the house as it slid at 3:30 in the morning!

The mayor of Cañete sent a truck to pick up our shelters in Temuco. He also had some of his city workers help us distribute them to the sites they would be built at.

David, a fluent Spanish speaker, playing soccer with some of the kids. 
David is the one who led Antonio to Christ.

BGR team from Texas and Oklahoma.