Seven months ago, God called Daniel (our host) and his family (wife and three daughters) to Frutillar to establish another location for Casa Esperanza House of Hope.
Casa Esperanza House of Hope is a ministry, currently in Santiago (that another team on our squad is serving with), that provides a safe place for orphans, women, and children. The organization presents opportunities for growth and skills for the women and children such as business, accounting, interrelationship, communication, education, housekeeping.
Since their move from Santiago to Frutillar was so recent, much of our team’s work here is to develop connections and relationships between the community, the team (the gringas), and Daniel. The expectation is that through these connections, when Casa Esperanza is established in Frutillar, the community will know and be able to utilize the organizations resources well.
Though our schedule is busy with scheduled and unscheduled tasks, and we may not see the fruits of our labor during our time in Frutillar, we can only trust that God will continue to be a presence to create community throughout the town. We are simply planting seeds.
Serving at Green Colegio (Monday-Friday, 8:30am-1:30pm)
Each member of our team is assisting in the class of a different grade level (2nd grade- 8th grade). Sometimes we assist the teachers with gathering materials, teaching English, or answering students questions. During their breaks, we lead structured activities such as crafts, yoga, zumba, volleyball, and more. It provides structure to their recess time instead of having 200 kids running around in a small courtyard.
My role has been to assist in a 4th grade class and lead the crafts table, with Abby and Aubrey, during breaks. I know God reveals different skills during this year of development, but who knew that origami would be added to my list of special skills?!
During our time at the school, we are developing connections with the students, either through classes or break time activities to bond with them and build a recognition with the gringas that visit and help at the school for future World Race teams
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Public English Classes- (Monday and Friday, 7pm-8:30pm)
We host English classes for anyone in the community who wants to learn and practice their English. Our team is broken up into 4 different levels:
Adults with little/no English
Adults with some English
Children with little/no English
Children with some English
Abby and I serve the group of adults with some English. Our class mostly just consists of making casual conversation and asking questions to gain their confidence in speaking English. Though our group is small (about 3 people from Frutillar), it allows us to have more discussion to get to know each other’s interests, family, likes, dislikes, and goals.
In the children’s groups, many of the kids attend Green Colegio (the school we serve), while some of their parents are participating in the group of adults with little/no English.
Youth Group English Classes (Wednesday, 7pm-8:30pm):
Similar to or Monday and Friday night classes, we are essentially just developing English skills of all levels. Most everyone in the group are the same people from the church group on Sunday. We have people ages 5 to 50 and beyond participating in games like charades, telephone, ball toss (whoever caught the ball had to say the name of the object Riley was pointing to or acting out. The gringas had to say the Spanish name to help us learn as well). Since most everyone is faith based, Abby shared a brief testimony and we sang contemporary Christian songs in English and Spanish.
Though the community is small and tight knit, it is growing through invitation to others. The daughters of our host, invited their friend Natalia to Wednesday night classes. Natalia is the daughter of the people who own Cafe Alto, the same cafe the team spends our rest days at and where Daniel and his small band performed at occasionally. Outreach is happening!
Children’s Ministry (Sundays, 11am-12pm)
We serve the kids. Last Sunday we performed a skit of the Good Samaritan (yours truly performed as a robber and the donkey). We sang children’s songs in Spanish. We sang Jesus Loves Me, with hand motions, in Spanish and English.
Adult Bible Study (Sundays, 12pm-1pm)
Participating in a bible study and engaging in conversation. While it may have been to build relationships, it was just nice to dive into some scripture.
Derusting Gym Posts on the Outdoor Covered Court (Misc task):
Further developing connections and serving Green Colegio. Soon we will be painting the posts to update appearance and longevity of the structure.
Digging Holes and Sawing Tree Branches (Misc task):
Part of the team physically started building the foundation of the future site of Casa Esperanza House of Hope in Frutillar. These holes are for the posts that will be installed for the fence of the property. Tree branches were also sawed for extra firewood.
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Chopping Wood (Misc task):
Serving our team and host directly by providing wood for our wood burning stove resulting in a warm home through these cold winter nights.
Speaking to an 8th Grade Class (Misc task):
This was a unique opportunity to speak to the 8th grade of a different school about future plans. Statistically, only 30% of the students graduate from high school and many become parents around the age of 16-17 years old. We provided personal stories of how our passions led us to where we are today and what we want to do with our future. While the meeting was a brief hour, the overall message was to dream big, follow your passion, and know that God has a purpose for your life.
Our time in Frutillar has been such a blessing beyond words. We have developed connections within the community that has stretched throughout all of our tasks and everyday we meet someone who knows someone involved in the school, English classes, or church. Cant wait to see what the next half of our time (11 days) here in Frutillar has in store!
*More photos on this post to come*
