Well okay, not exactly first impressions, because as many of you know we had the delightful opportunity to fly into Santiago at the beginning of month 8 towards the end (middle?) of our 36 hour day. Technically my first impressions of Santiago were made up of the stressful and bewildering tasks of finding bus tickets to Mendoza and then an in-budget hostel (there aren’t any. Big thanks to the supporters who pitched in a little extra to cover the gap so that we didn’t have to sleep in the airport).

Anyways, my team and I are back in Santiago for month 9 (!!??!) so these are technically second impressions of Chile.  

Thankfully this time we don’t have to stress about finding affordable housing. I learned the other day that the cost of housing here is comparable to housing in Miami, Florida (so that would be why we couldn’t find anything). We are partnered with a church that we are also living in for the month so we have two upstairs classrooms as our home-sweet-home. 

We opted to all sleep in one and keep our stuff in the other so we have a nice cozy perpetual slumber party. 

The first night we arrived our host welcomed us with a lovely spread of snacks and tea and coffee and we also received a schedule (these are unheard of on the race and very much appreciated) as well as homework. Our homework was to write our testimony and a Bible story in Spanish. 

Yes, we were allowed to use Google translate but basically the expectation is for us to all be able to speak Spanish. Our host speaks a little English but most of our interactions are in Spanish. 

Now when we arrived in Argentina I knew almost nothing, but I have been picking up a little at a time and have even been able to string a few sentences together here and there. Every day I learn a couple of new words and can understand a little more of what people are saying to me. It’s a work in progress. Prayers appreciated. 

The people here are very kind. Their hospitality has been so incredible and they have been very helpful and flexible in the craziness of our first couple of weeks here. The craziness to which I’m referring, is that my team leader is currently on 15 days of bedrest. The spark notes to this story is that she got a pilonidal cyst and is not allowed to do things (including sit down) while it heals. Today is day 4 of bedrest and she is healing well. She wrote a great blog about it (here) if you want to hear the story in more detail.

For ministry we have been visiting families and neighborhoods to pray for people and spend time with them. We have been learning and singing songs in Spanish, sharing testimonies and Bible stories in Spanish, going to prayer meetings and old peoples homes, and working with kids. The kids here are really sweet and fun, and while kids ministry is not always my favorite, I have been really enjoying it. In Sunday school I was with a classroom of a handful of 11 year old boys who wanted to hear all about the United States and did a very good job of learning some new words in English.  

In other miscellaneous news: 

-We are cooking for ourselves this month and have access to an OVEN. It’s the first time in 9 months that I, personally, have had access to a working oven. Go thank your oven for its service. Bake some cookies or something. Wow. Ovens.  

-We still have a lovely view of the Andes mountains, though we are now on the other side of them. 

-It gets very cold at night and inside the church (because it’s still winter down here) but once again our hosts have lent us extra blankets, sweaters, and coats; and we have a little space heater to keep our room warm at night. 

-People keep telling me how much it rains in the south. I’m not sure why. 

-My team and I have a personal trainer who comes Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to lead us in optional workout classes. We have done some days of basic workouts as well as a body combat class and I believe we are scheduled for karate tomorrow. 

-They don’t really eat peanut butter here so it is expensive and hard to find. 

-Every Sunday a different family from the church has us over for lunch and does our laundry (So kind!! I love the people here.) 

Alright I think that’s all the important stuff. Hope you have enjoyed the highlight reel from our first couple of weeks in Chile. Thank you for your continued prayers for my team and my squad. Pray for Liv and her next 11 days of bedrest, that the Lord would continue to give her patience and revelation. Pray for my team that we would be able to really lean in these last few months and dig into that rich kingdom community. Also continued prayers for those who are still fundraising. As always, you guys are the best. Thanks for reading. 

Much Love and God Bless,

-Hattie