A crazy busy first week

   My first week here has been amazing and hectic.  I have not begun Spanish classes yet because we have been just TOO busy...I should start them on November 14.  The instant immersion has been wonderful...and really I am able to understand much more than I would have been able to just eight months ago!  Just a few ways we have entertained our time this week: taking/picking up the kids from school, preparing Casa Grande (the church)  for a mission team that will be staying there for a couple of weeks starting Monday, as well as cleaning the kitchen of Casa Grande in preparation for a dinner we had last evening (Saturday) as a fund raiser for the building project.  Below is a picture of Casa Grande...

  I have been able to attend one church service and a bible study/small group both in Spanish.  Also, something that has been neat and will continue week after week while I'm here is Worship team practice.  The leader of the worship team is the pastor of Casa Grande and also My Uncle's nephew.  He is an incredible musician and has an ear for every part in a song; meaning he knows exactly what he wants from each musician and tells you when and what to play.  He expects a lot from me but it has been a good experience thus far.  Casa Grande is currently under a major construction project to renovate it to hold up to three times more people than it held before.  So, we have been keeping crazy busy working there and the days we are not able to Bethy has had to take Uncle Ricardo.
  I have learned this week that I must set my focus on the positive things in life and encourage them, not the negative; for if I focus on those things that seem to go wrong or are disappointing, then I will become discouraged, depressed, and a very hard person to deal with.  This is something I must deal with daily just like everyone else.  Thus it is something we all should learn.
  Pray that I will be a witness to the people I come in contact with.  I have had the opportunity to meet several people that I would never have been able to meet other wise, and either my life or theirs will leave an impact in the life of the other.  It may be positive and it may be negative.  But I have Christ in my life so I pray that my impact will be strong and bright, encouraging those who are growing, challenging those who are seeking, and ultimately blessing the One who created it.  Pray for continued safety for the workers at Casa Grande.  Pray for endurance of strength for Aunt Beth who has a ton on her shoulders and the load seems to grow.  Pray that God would be glorified in it all.
   Thank you all for your prayers for me as I am here in Chile!  

 This is the home I am and will be staying in for the next three months.  Currently I am sharing a room with my cousin (Juliana), because a man who is working on the building project is living with us for the next couple of weeks. It is nice because Spanish is spoken more in this home with him being here then it would have been otherwise. And I believe that I need to hear it as much as possible in order to understand and learn it better.  

 

 Here you can see a man out on the end of the crane...just thought is was interesting and very creepy.  I wouldn't want to have his job!

   Santiago from our home.

One day Bethy and I babysat for Sofia...She is so cute!

 

 On the way to church last Sunday.

          

The kids enjoy playing with some neighbor kids at the park next to us.