But why Melipilla?! - Explore Archived World Race Alumni Blogs

Melipilla is a small Chilean town located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region southwest of the nation’s capital. Melipilla is also where the Lord directed my team and I to spend 11 days in. Why the Lord directed us here? We weren’t sure, all we knew was that we needed to step out in faith and be obedient. We set forth to Melipilla shortly after our attempt to stay in another town, Isla Negra came crashing down. The moment we arrived at our Airbnb, the neighbor greeted us with a warm lovely smile and introduced herself. After a quick introduction and house rules she followed up with “So what brings you girls to Melipilla?!” That was the first of MANY curious locals interested in why we choose Melipilla over so many other beautiful or touristy places in Chile. I lost track of how many people were genuinely curious about our motives there, everyone from Uber drivers, coffee shop owners/employees, grocery clerks, and friends we met along the way. Melipilla didn’t have much to offer when it came down to entertainment or things to do but what it did have to offer was much more satisfying. Our first day there we decided to check out a local coffee shop because coffee first, right! We were also hoping to find a place with WIFI because it was almost impossible to find WIFI anywhere in Chile. Bummer! My teammate Alyssa, found a local café named Carlota *thanks google* so we made that our first stop in Melipilla. After arriving at Carlota we quickly realized that there was no wifi there either, surprise surprise! However, after a brief conversation with the café owner Sandra, we decided to stay because of her warm greeting and her vibrant café style. This was just the beginning of a beautiful friendship we were able to cultivate with Sandra and her daughter Maite, and Sergio! For the remaining 10 days, we made the intentional decision to visit at least once per day even if we could only stay a few minutes. By the second or third day, Sandra and Maite quickly became our friends instead of strangers just trying to take our orders. We shared stories, laughs, what the Lord was doing in our lives and many delicious coffee drinks! Not only did we look forward to seeing them every day but they also looked forward to having us there. The night before we left Melipilla, Sandra invited us for a night out in town. We eagerly agreed and met that afternoon at her coffee shop so we could all ride together. She drove us to her house where Maite gifted us UNO cards because this reminded her of a card game we played with her during one of our many Carlota visits. After sharing stories and laughs throughout the night, Sandra shared something with us that touched my soul so deeply. She wanted us to know that our presence at the coffee shop everyday filled her with so much joy. Unbeknownst to us, Sandra was grieving her grandmother’s death the day we showed up. She also shared how she lost her faith throughout the years but on that day, she was asking for a sign and we became that sign of hope for her. That moment in itself will always be so dear to my heart! We stopped by Carlota one last time before taking a bus to the next city that Friday morning to say our final goodbye’s. That moment was filled with heavy hearts and tears as we prayed over Sandra, her family and Carlota. We met many more amazing people during our time in Melipilla, but it was during our last embrace that I realized the impact Sandra and Maite had over ME was far greater than any impact I could ever have on them. I realized I had the capacity to love a stranger I met a few short days ago. I realized goodbyes will always be hard whether it’s a friend of many years or a friend from 10 days ago. But lastly, I learned God provides where he leads! He provided this beautiful moment for us to be able to treasure for a lifetime and how to love unconditionally. And that my friends is WHY MELIPILLA!

Maite and Team ChurchCamp!