Bad blogger, bad!

Hello everyone! Is anyone still out there? Sorry, I've been a very bad blogger. It's actually very ironic because I get so frustrated when the blogs I always look at don't get updated for a while! Oh well, I'll try to make up for it now. A big event that has happened since I last updated is the visit of my mom and Becky! They were here for a week at the end of June and it was great! We visited all of my favorite spots around Santiago and, most importantly, all of my favorite restaurants! We had a great time, and I even stayed in the hotel with them most of the time! My mom and Becky both got to spend time with Rodrigo, which I know they enjoyed (and even found a way to communicate through the language barrier). Enjoy some pics!

Here we are at "Los Vikingos" (aka "the vikings" if you couldn't tell by the hats) enjoying some typical Chilean food!


Here is Mom and me on top of San Cristobal hill. We got a really great view of the smog that day!


Mom and Becky in the cable-car on the way up the mountain.


Here are Mom and Becky with a guard at La Moneda.. the building where the president works.


One night Mom and Becky made dinner for Rodrigo and me. Nachos and homemade apple pie! Yum!!! Something I had definitely been missing.



On Friday we drove out to Viña de Mar for some seafood and to get a view of the Pacific Ocean.


We had some time for some other fun stuff too, like:

Starbucks...


Video Games...


And "Once" at Ingrid's...


It was so much fun and I was so sad when they left! Thanks for coming Mom and Becky!

Baby Worley!

No, I am not pregnant (and shame on you for thinking so)! However, my sister-in-law Sarah is! We found out on June 8th that Jay and Sarah are going to have a little girl in October!!! :) I'm very excited and know that my little niece (Ava) is going to be spoiled rotten!

So, everyone keep Sarah, Jay, and Ava in your prayers! Enjoy the pictures below!

Precious tiny feet!

Can you see her little face?

Here's Sarah at about 19 weeks!


The happy grandparents with their granddog Mojo. Can you tell they're excited??

Mondays

It's Sunday night, and I'm already preparing myself. I'm preparing myself for tomorrow... Monday. Let me just tell you about my Mondays. I have four classes to teach on Mondays. I know that might not sound like much, but my first class starts at 8:00am and my last starts at 8:00pm. And, as I work for 3 different English institutes, none of the classes are in the same place, and if you didn't know this already, Santiago is a big city! By the end of the day on Monday I have taught 5 hours of English class, spent about 1 - 2 hours planning lessons, taken 8 buses, and walked for a total of about 60 minutes. Needless to say, when I get home at around 10:00pm on Monday nights, I AM TIRED. However, last Monday night when I walked in my door, this is what I found waiting for me...

The table was set, there were candles, there was music, and there was dinner, all prepared and waiting! Rodrigo had made an incredible dinner of Choripan and pebre (my favorite Chilean foods), grilled chicken and vegetables, mashed potatoes, corn, salad, and Black Forest Cake for dessert! I obviously couldn't eat it all.. but everything was DELICIOUS! It was so sweet and thoughtful and definitely turned my Monday around!

*You might be wondering why there is a pill bottle on the table. Well, I have to take a medicine with food, and Rodrigo was SO thoughtful that he put the pills on the table for me, so I would have everything I needed! What a sweetheart!*

Easter Activities!

Hola everyone! Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I REALLY am going to try to write more. I just haven't been taking many pictures lately, and don't like to post without them! :)

This last weekend was packed with activities for those of us at the Iglesia de Cristo. On Saturday the college and high school students put on "The Bible Adventure!" We created a bible-times market place for kids. There were five stations: writing, music, baking, pottery, and carpentry. The kids were separated by age into five tribes and got to go to each station and learn about how people did things in the times when Jesus was alive. We also had a temple where the kids went to sing songs and see skits of bible stories. A great time was had by all, and there were over 50 kids in attendance, which means there were a lot of visitors! :)

As you can see from the picture above, I was a tribe leader for the tribe "Jose" which was 4 and 5 year olds. I had the smallest group (which worked out well for me!) and we had a great time! The kids absolutely loved the bakery station. They got to make bread dough and get really messy!


They also loved the pottery station where they got to make a plate, or really whatever they wanted, and paint! Camilo was the leader of this station and he did a great job!


Here's a picture of some of the kids in the temple, listening to a story from the Rabi.


And here's our Rabi, Ryan Newhouse, with his fiance, Claudia. I just wanted to include this because I thought it was a cute picture! :)


Our bible times market place even came complete with Roman Soldiers, like there would have been in the times of Jesus. Here's a soldier Christian Moore punishing Rodrigo.


All in all it was a great day! And the college and high school students all did a great job! I think everyone is looking forward to doing this even again next year! Because we did this the day before Easter it gave us a chance to invite the visitors to church on Sunday. There were quite a few kids that came to church on Sunday as a result of the Bible Adventure. :) After church on Sunday we celebrated as a church family with a picnic in the park and Easter egg hunt! Have I mentioned how great it is to have a park right outside the front door of the church? Well, it's great!

I'll leave you with a picture of Rodrigo and me after church in the park. I hope you all had a Happy Easter!!!

Chile, Chile, Lindo...

Well family and friends.. I don't know if anyone actually even looks at this blog anymore... but I am back! I'm back in Santiago, Chile. I arrived on February 7th and have spent the last few weeks getting certified to teach English as a foreign language. Things here are going great! I was gone for 6 months, and when I came back it seemed like everything was different, but everything was the same. Weird, huh? And hard to explain. I just received my camera on Sunday, so I haven't had time to take any pictures. However, I promise to post some ASAP. Get ready for some bloggage!

Praise God!!!!

I am so thrilled to say that Camilo Gonzalez was baptized into Christ on Sunday, September 10, 2006. What a day! I know that there are many people throughout the world who are rejoicing along with the angels in heaven!! For those of you who don't know Camilo's history, Camilo used to be an aethiest. But little by little (and I MEAN little by little) he came to believe in God and accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Please say a prayer of praise to God for the way He worked in Camilo's life. Although I couldn't be in Santiago to witness his bapitism, I feel blessed to have been able to actually witness God calling out to Camilo and showing Himself to him during my time in Chile. I can honestly say that my heart is overflowing! Praise God! Enjoy the following pictures of Camilo's baptism.





A big victory for the day was the Camilo's family came to witness the baptism! Here is a picture of Camilo surrounded by his brother, mom, and dad.


Camilo hugging his dad.


Camilo hugging his mom.

New members of church family!

Ok, although I'm not in Chile anymore, the adventures there still continue! I just wanted to update you on a couple additions to the mission team.

Caleb Allan Hatcher was born February 9, 2006, but was born into the Hatcher family on August 10, 2006. Penne and Jeff Hatcher are the proud parents! The Hatchers went through a long process in order to adopt Caleb, and are so thrilled to be new parents!! Please be in prayer for Jeff and Penne!! I know God has big plans for them as a family! Below is a picture of Caleb!


Also, Sebastian Eduardo Del Rio was born on August 12, 2006. Proud parents are Jill and Eduardo Del Rio. Jill is a former member of the mission team, and although she and Eduardo are now living in the Las Vegas area, I still consider them a part of the church family in Santiago! Please remember Jill, Eduard, and Sebastian in your prayers! Below is a picture of Jill and Sebastian just after Sebastian was born!

Chau Chile!

*Ok, I started writing this on July 27th, and am just now finishing it... Sorry about the lateness! Things have been pretty busy since I've been back in the states! I hope you enjoy my final happenings from Chile!*

As I write this I am sitting in the airport waiting for my flight. I don't know how I did it.. but I managed to fit all of my stuff in 2 big suitcases and 2 carry-ons. Saying good-bye was really hard... but being that Chile is so much a part of my life now, I have a feeling I'll see everyone again. These last few weeks in Chile have been crazy and busy! I figured in this post I would just hit some highlights of my last few weeks in Chile... because if I don't do it all at once, I'm so behind that I don't think I would ever catch up!! :) So, here goes... Enjoy! I'll try to write more on my thoughts and feelings about leaving later!



Before I left Chile, I really wanted to see the second largest city in Chile, Concepcion. Unfortunately, I picked the exact wrong day to visit. I went with Lindsey and my friend Ingrid, and we ended up being stuck in a flood! We actually ended up spending the night in our car on high ground. We were very lucky that we didn't get caught in the water. And I will definitley never forget Concepcion, Chile!! For more on the floods of Concepcion, click
here.




One of the sweetest things that has ever been done for me was the surprise "Unbirthday" party some of my friends threw for me! I was in the states this year for my birthday, and so I never got to celebrate with my friends from Chile. So, my chileans friends threw me a birthday party in July and we celebrated my 26th and 27th birthdays (because I won't be in Chile for my next birthday either). It was such a sweet thing to do and I will never forget it!!




Christmas in July!
I'm happy to say we celebrated Christmas in July yet again in Chile! A great time was had by all. We ate turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and even gravy! Yum! The stuffing was a big hit, as most of the Chileans had never tried it! We had over 30 people in attendance. We ate, decorated Christmas cookies, and played "White Elephant" gift exchange. A great time was had by all.. and, as it was finals time for a lot of our college students, it was a much needed break!





My last Sunday in Santiago, the church had a going-away party for Lindsey and me (Lindsey left a week after I did). After church, we all had lunch together and anyone who wanted to was given the opportunity to say their special good-byes to Lindsey and me. Also, Lindsey and I each were able to talk in front of everyone and say our good-byes and thank-you's. The highlight of the afternoon was a slideshow put together by two of my good friends, Rodrigo and Cristian Rebolledo, which highlighted special memories Lindsey and I had made in Santiago. It was a great lunch, and I am so grateful to the Providencia Congregation for making me feel so special and loved! And it also provided Lindsey and me one last opportunity to get some of our contacts to come to church! :) The event turned into a beautiful memory for me.. and I will never forget it!

Welcome to the Family Nicolas & Felipe!

Nicolas & Felipe are 2 brothers who studied the bible with John and Tyler. Their father, Nicolas, started coming to English class about a year ago, which led to him and his wife, Toyita, going to Marriage Encounter. Shortly after Marriage Encounter, Nicolas and Toyita began stuying the bible with Kelley Grant, and then their children followed their example. Nicolas Sr. has a history with the church and was baptized when he was younger, and Toyita is still thinking about being baptized. This is a beautiful family and all of them have such servant hearts! I know they will do so much for the church here. Please be praying for Nicolas and Felipe and their parents!