dear chile,
wow, my first month of the world race. come and gone in just the blink of an eye. and man, i am so thankful that it was spent here! I still can’t believe this is my life!!!! Chile, you filled my life with new, incredible memories. you are filled with endless beauty. you have also taught me many things. you have taught me that ministry is hanging out with new friends at mcdonalds and ministry is also seeing the Lord bring healing to a classroom of 11th graders. you have shaken my idea of fullness of life with the Lord and ministry as a whole. you broke down any expectations i had coming into the world race. you have given me new, wonderful friendships that i am so thankful for. I have gained a friend in Cony, and I could never thank you enough for that. Cony is a friend I will hold near to my heart forever. thank you, Cony, for selflessly helping these crazy Americans every single day in the school. thank you for choosing to translate for us and choosing to show us around your city. thank you for letting us enter into your family for a month; you have a family that brings joy like no other. seeing you love Antonela has inspired me. Cony, your jokes and funny spirit are something i looked forward to daily. you and your precious family will forever be a home away from home to me. I have gained sweet, unexpected friends in the school. these students showed me their culture, gave up their free time to hang out with me and my team, and asked questions to get to know our culture as well. they welcomed me each morning with a smile, hug and kiss on the cheek. they made the early mornings beyond worth it, because i desired to be around them and share many more laughs with them at each class period. thank you, Ms. Lilay, for letting us bombard your classroom everyday this month. thank you for letting us get to know your students and *try* to teach them English, although sometimes i think your english abilities might have been even better than ours. thank you, Chile, for the picnics at the beach, birthday parties, walks to the mall, Oreo Mcflurrys, times of worship, lessons on how to make empanadas, and LOVE. overall, thank you for letting me see a new part of the Kingdom of God and the work that He is doing in this country.
I love you, Chile.
