Our Chile trip came to an end only a few days before Christmas. We were so blessed to be able to spend time with Claudia’s side of the family as well as many of our Chilean friends and ministry partners whom we haven’t seen in four years! Abuelo (Grandpa) & the tias (Aunts) finally met Nicholas as we had Bar-B-Q’s in the spring air and got our exercise by walking to all the familiar places. It’s hard to be away from family for such extensive periods of time and we are praying that the Lord provides us with a way to visit them more often or have them visit us.
While in Rancagua we attended Claudia’s church “Renuevo” and had meals with many of our dear old friends. It’s exciting to see the growth of the church as well as their seriousness of solid Biblical teaching. Pastor Juan continues to be the solid humble servant I learned from during my four years there and Pastor Roberto’s passion for missions and furthering the Gospel once again encouraged Claudia and my hearts.
About half way through our time in Chile, tia Alejandra graciously loaned us her car so we could travel to Pichilemu where I had worked with a church for four years and we began our married life together. We visited our friends at El Faro church which grew out of the one we took part in planting back in ’96. Pablo Martinez was one of the kids in my youth group so many years back, and now he’s one of the associate pastors. How time flies!We were a little concerned that Jeremy and Nicholas would be overwhelmed with the travel and all the people we visited, especially since it would go way beyond the basic Spanish they now have. Thankfully though they loved their time there and are quick to tell anyone about our afternoon catching crabs on the beach in Pichilemu. Claudia and I are so pleased to see that the trip wasn’t a burden but a joy for them and that they’re ready to back to visit any time the Lord allows.
Our return trip offered us a three day layover in Lima, Peru. Christina, Claudia’s youngest sister works for the Sheraton in Chile, and was able to get us a price at the Sheraton in Lima that beat any of the deals I could find. The boys thought the guy who opened the door every time we got near it was pretty funny: “He’s like the doorman on Curious George!”. A nice hotel with a pool was a very welcome blessing and offered us a few days of good rest before returning home.We returned with a deeper understanding and appreciation of how the Lord has lead us over the years and been so merciful to our family in the midst of many transitions and living “in between” two cultures. Thank you to those who assisted us on this trip, you truly blessed our whole family as well as our extended family in Chile and the ministries we were able to reconnect with. May the Lord bless you in all you do this coming year.
Should you be lead to assist with some of the involved costs, please see our support information at the top of the blog on how to do so.
Thank you!
No comments:
Post a Comment