Some basics for those of you just now dropping in: My sister and I are on an 11-month Christian mission trip to 11 different countries across 4 continents. We’re headed to: Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Cambodia, and Thailand. The work will range from country to country in partnership with established ministries in each area.
It’s month 2. My team is in Mendoza, Argentina.
We’re working with a YWAM base.
Welcome to BLOGATHON. I haven’t had any WiFi in Argentina, so I need to play catch up. You’ll be getting five updates tonight. Prepare for the fourth and final Chile blog and all four Argentina posts. Enjoy! Next stop: Bolivia!
BLOGATHON 1/5: Six Portraits of Chile
A quick update: we’re in Argentina now. After saying a heart-wrenching goodbye to our Chilean church family, we met the rest of our squad in Valparaiso and then boarded a bus bound for Mendoza, Argentina. It took us 8 hours to get here, but the ride over the mountains was gorgeous. We are now at a YWAM base with kind people, temperamental toilets, and zero WIFI.
I’ll forever thank God for our month in Chile. My team was blessed tremendously- first with each other. My girls are fighters. For truth, for each other, for authenticity. It’s been work, but our community is strong and healthy and honest and fun.
Secondly with our host. Our pastor was so intentional with us. He took the time to check up on our emotional and spiritual health multiple times. We learned from his diligence, his faithfulness, and his experience. My teammate Taylor wrote his story here. Give it a read.
As a final goodbye to Chile, I’d like to share these portraits. Language barriers are hard. (Although my Spanish improves every day.) Pulling out my sketchpad was oftentimes the easiest way to communicate, to share joy and love. So, without further ado, here they are:
This is Sergio. We met him on a house visitation and instantly adored him. Sergio has debilitating diabetes and spends most of his days in his small house. Still, he is filled with joy and spunk, equal parts chivalry and levity. When we asked how we could pray for him, he said “Pray that I would have even more love for God. There is nothing else.”
This is Trini. My limited Spanish was even less useful with Trini; she was so timid that she never spoke a word to me. Still, we painted side by side for a full hour. I think this portrait is of me.
This is my teammate Taylor. Kind of. At our first youth night, we had everyone draw portraits of each other without looking at their paper. The second photo is one I drew one of a man named Ariel. He looked at it for a minute, and then said: “It looks just like my brother Phillip.”
This is Loreina. You can read the full story of our visitation with her here. It’s a great story. Drawing her portrait was hard because she was smiling and crying.
This is Magda. She was precious beyond belief. She came to all of our youth nights. After the first one, she asked her mom to help her accept Jesus. She’ll be baptized next month and promises to send us photos.
