Santiago, Chile you have been so great to my team and I! The days have been busy with working at the school, living at the home with the girls, team time, and other tasks we’re asked to do. Everyday has been different but we’ve been so fortunate to have a ministry host like the one that we’ve had. I’ve been asked a lot on what a day looks like for me, so here it is!
I wake up around 8am, get ready and then I have to be downstairs for prayer. We pray as a team until about 8:35 and then leave for our walk to the school. (We do this Tuesday- Friday) Once we get to the school we go to our classrooms we are assigned to or wherever they need us that day.
School starts at 9am. My class has four to five kids with different diagnoses, all pretty severe. Each child is nonverbal and only knows a few words but can understand you and has mannerisms that are easy to pick up on.
The day mostly consists of doing art, learning how to write, games, and listening to music. The language barrier has been hard between me not knowing Spanish and the teachers not knowing English but thanks to google translate we’ve been able to communicate. The teachers are amazing and you can clearly tell that they’re passionate about the kids and their well being. I’ve been able to build relationships with the students and teachers at the school that I will never forget. The teachers and children will continue to impact my life as my team and I move on to Peru.
We leave the school around 1pm and head back to the house for lunch. We’ve been staying at Casa Esperanza, a home for teens and young women who are currently in school but have no where to live. Most of the girls have left their homes due to negligence and abuse. After lunch we deep clean something around the house, like the floors but each day it’s something different.
Quite time usually consists of me crawling into my sleeping bag and reading for a few hours or watching a movie. Did I tell you it’s winter here and it’s freezing? After that we have team time. For those of you who don’t know what team time is, it’s when my team and I come together and give feedback or talk about something in particular. Feedback can be positive or constructive, whatever you feel is necessary to get your point across to another teammate. In order to grow as a team feedback is a good way to do it in a healthy way.
Then around 7pm we all come together for Onces (tea and bread or some kind of dessert.) And most nights we’re in bed around 9:30 pm.
Every Saturday kids come to Casa Esperanza from the community and the orphanages. English, math, bible study, music, and craft classes are taught and then the kids are fed lunch. We usually have the rest of the afternoon off unless we’re asked to do something around the house.
Sunday and Monday are our off days and that is when we hop on the bus and go explore the city. This past weekend we decided to use personal money and go to Valparaíso and stay the night. It was such a good way for us to have some time alone as a team and get to know each other more. The city was so vibrant with bright buildings and with murals covering almost every wall.
That’s basically what a day looks like for me in Santiago! I hope you continue to follow along as my team and I travel to our next country. The support I have been shown amazes me everyday and I am so thankful for you all. I’m about $1,500 away from my next deadline which is September 30th. Please consider donating and being apart of this amazing season of life God has in store for me.
