Hello Readers!
I just finished Month 10 of my Race a little over a week ago, but I wanted to tell you about this past month in this blog, and give an update of ministry for my final month, month 11.
Month 10: this was by far my most favorite month of the Race for several reasons. Let me give you a glimpe into what I experienced and some of those reasons:
Reason #1: The people were amazing!:
– our contact and his family, the Trujillo’s: Daniel (34), Jessica (mid-30’s?), Anais (9), & Maite (2.5). They spoke english and spanish and joined us for several dinners.
– the ladies at Casa Esperanza where we lived: Carolina, Estafania, Anais, Ornella, Lily, Nicole, Susie, Ivette, & Keila.
– the tios (uncles) who came to visit from the states: Tom, Kerry, Lee, Dick, & Bob. Most of them are on the board of Vision for Children – U.S. & Chile.
– the teachers that I had the priviledge of working with in the classrooms: Barbara, Lorena & Marta.
Reason #2: The country was beautiful! Look, I’ll show you!
Well, I was going to show you but then my internet decided to not load any photos at this time. Check out my Facebook page, I’m sure there are some on there.
Reason #3: The ministries we worked with were right up my alley!
– Volunteered at two schools – I was in a Mathematics class (3 days/week) and a Special Education class (2 days/week).
– Tutored Anais (17yo?) in Math several times. This was both challenging and rewarding because I speak more Spanish than she speaks English and that isn’t much… Thank the Lord for Google Translate. She had a final exam while we were there and I am happy to report that she passed.
– “Helped”/learned in a Drum class a few times. Daniel, gave me a few drum lessons and I got to practice several times while there.
– Helped out at Kid’s Zone which was a Saturday junior church service.
– Helped out at a girls orpanage, Hogar, once a week where we facilitated games and messages.
– Helped prepare Youth Group services once a week – games and messages.
Reason #4: It felt like I was at home, like, I felt like I was part of the family. Living in Community was done well! We were put on the cooking & cleaning schedule and we had a chore to do everyday. We were put on the Laundry schedule. We ate most meals together family style all together around 2 large dining tables.
Reason #5: I burned and buried some lies that I had been believing about myself. This was very hard, but so freeing. Walking around in lies is a burden that we were never meant to carry, but walking in the truth brings freedom and is much lighter (Matt. 11:28-30).
I know I already said this, but Chile was my most memorable and favorite month. I hope to return to this country someday in the near future. My home church is looking to do a short-terms mission trip next year and I would love it if they (we) would go back there. 😉 I was telling several people that I felt like last month was created for me and it was exactly what I had been praying for.
When it came time to leave Chile I was not ready to leave. You see, all of my team was sick about the last week of our time in Chile and so we had to miss ministry at the schools the last several days (doctors orders). This made me very sad and I wish I had another week there to make up for it… oh well, I guess that just gives me another reason to go back.
I don’t know if I am ready to come home yet either though… I do miss my family and friends and church family, but I love being out in the mission field, espeicially after having a month like last month. But, ready or not, time on the Race is dwindling down and I only have about 2 weeks left of ministry. Prayers that I am able to grieve leaving the mission field well and prepare to transition into what is next, CGA starting in January in GA for a year. Also pray for my health… I have had a cold for about two weeks now and it just keeps hanging on and my allergies and sinuses are acting up on top of that.
Fast forward to the present day: I am sitting in a little town called Salto De Las Rosas, Argentina, at Tree House Hostel. We are staying with an older married couple who are missionaries: Stewart, is from the U.S. originally, and Maria, who is originally from Italy. Stewart has been to 18 different countries and is working on laerning his eighth language. They have 6 children, and one of them is in Argentina with them, which the others are spread out all over the world. Stewart and Maria own the Tree House hostel which is situated on 20 acres of land and has an abundance of olive trees. There is also a swimming pool that they just filled and is very cold, becuase it is the start of spring here.
As far as ministry goes this month, we have been to a few church services and were the “special music” part of service and also helped with decorations for the events. We are also partnering with an orpange to help out in any way we can. Another thing we are doing is helping with create a Bible currriculum for the Sunday school teachers at a local church. As you can imagine, there is a lot of work to be done on the property, and so we are also helping with little projects on the farm: raking, gardening, cleaning the hostel, etc.
Side note: There is a kitten here with the same name as me. Kind of ironic since I am allergic to cats. She is very cute though.
In other news, we have 13 days left of ministry here at the Tree House Hostel. Then, on the 17th I will be travelling to Bariloche, Argentina, for several days of Debrief with the whole Squad and mentors and coaches that will be flying down to join us. Then, sometime on the 23rd or 24th I will be starting my long days of travel home back to the states. I will be spending Thanksgiving through the weekend in MN visiting my sister and her family where our parents will join us. Then, I am guessing I will take a few days or a week to rest and relax. The start of December I would love to catch up with any one who wants to hang out. Get ahold of me and lets put something on the calendar! 😉
As always, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Keep Lookin’ Up,
Misha
