Well thank the Lord it´s stopped raining this week and has in fact brighten up a bit, and today its actually feeling pretty warm!
We´ve had a really productive week, after demolishing the shed, we´ve rebuilt the walls and the roof, covering it all in new tin and filling in lots of holes! And the garden is looking cracking! I need to take some up to date pictures of it all, as we´ve now got flower beds along the side of the fences, all bordered and ready for planting up! The guys have all been working hard under the direction of Rocky as our gardening leader and hopefully its all gonna turn out looking beautiful!
And that´s pretty much been everyday this week, just working every day at the school and generally colapsing in the evenings with really aching muscles!
But I did remember the other day that I haven´t written about a very ...interesting episode that happened a week or so back, so I shall tell you now!
On the 13th of May, Nathan, Jonny, Jack and I went to collect our washing from the laundrette at about 8pm. We don´t have a washing machine in use at this house, so we general get all our washing done up the road at the laundrette. Anyway, we went downt he main street towards the shopping centre andf there were a lot of people around, and police redirecting traffic and a LOT of shouting and students around. As we got closer to Jumbo (the big supermarket), we realised there were a lot of people running away from the shopping centre and the road was blocked off, but we didn´t really think about it. That was until we started to go over the little bridge just outside Jumbo, only to find we were blocked in by riot police!!! We tried to get out of their way, but clearly they thought that Jonny was involved in the protests that we later found out were happening. They grabbed him from behind and started to take him down the bridge. It was at this point we realised that maybe collecting the washing tonight was a bad idea! We tried to follow them, but they dragged him through a hedge towards their riot van and wouldn´t let us through. At this point, Jonny decided he didn´t want to go into the riot van so grab the hedge and tried to get the police to explain what was happening (probably not the best idea!!) We were all trying our best to explain that we are English and literally had no idea what was happening! But they were having none of it, and took Jonny into the van... At this point someone asked me what was happening, and I explained that they´d taken our friend and we were English, so the whole crowd started to shout out the police :-/ But all we could do was wait until they let Jonny back out the van, which they thankfully did, and he was greeted by a round of applause by the surrounding Chileans and they sang their national anthem to him as we walked away. Safe to say we didn´t get our washing :P
All fun and games :P
Well until next time :) x
Friday 27 May 2011
Sunday 22 May 2011
Rain Mud Rain Wind Rain...
We´re getting well into our second project now and have been working a pretty long week! We´re up most mornings at quarter to 7 for breakfast at 7.15....and yes... it´s still porridge! Yum. We have devotions and team time from quarter to 8 and then at quarter to 9 we head off for school, work there until 12, go home for lunch, back to school for 2, work till 5... and then.... home for dinner and collapse for the evening!
And that´s pretty much every day! We´re still building the woodshed - which has been an interesting experience! A few conflicting ideas and a lot of rain has meant the progress has been a little slow! We´ve been rained off working outside about 3 days this week, and have worked inside instead, doing some painting and measuring up to build a load of shelves. All I can say is that I think my dad would be quite proud of the DIY skills I´ve picked up from him! :P Maybe I can help you with the house when I´m back dad ??? :P LOL!
We´ve also started working in the garden area outside and around the school. Rocky has taken charge of this as his area of expertise, and we have been doing lots and lots of digging, in the mud and rain, and slowly making progress with digging the ground and turning over the beds. We´re gonna build some raised flower beds to plant some non toxic plants and flowers in for the kids. The playground at the moment is so bland and boring that it´ll be nice to put a bit of colour in and some toys or something - like hopscotch on the floor etc.
The standard of living here is a big contrast to Santa Rosa, but also the area we live in and the area we work in has a big difference too. The kids at the school tend to have pretty basic clothes etc whereas a lot of the people we live near are wearing up to date fashion. It´s quite bizarre. It´s interesting to see how much people can be oblivious to what is coming on around them.
We´re living in an area with a lot of european influence and you can see that in the food. We´ve been round a couple of houses for seriously delicious food, like fondue and some other kinda french/swiss food with melted cheese in a tray... it was reeeeaal yummy. And a lot of people in this area are thinner and I haven´t seen a soppaipilla in weeks! Although I´m kinda glad about that tho!! The less fried food the better really!!!! LOL!
Ahhh yesss... and its getting so much colder here! It´s moving quickly into winter and temperatures are dropping like mad in the morning and in the evening. We´ve got a little ´estufa´ in our bedroom, which I managed to burn myself on the other day - bad times!! But it warms the room up well! :D
Well... I think that´s it for today! :) until next week :) x
And that´s pretty much every day! We´re still building the woodshed - which has been an interesting experience! A few conflicting ideas and a lot of rain has meant the progress has been a little slow! We´ve been rained off working outside about 3 days this week, and have worked inside instead, doing some painting and measuring up to build a load of shelves. All I can say is that I think my dad would be quite proud of the DIY skills I´ve picked up from him! :P Maybe I can help you with the house when I´m back dad ??? :P LOL!
We´ve also started working in the garden area outside and around the school. Rocky has taken charge of this as his area of expertise, and we have been doing lots and lots of digging, in the mud and rain, and slowly making progress with digging the ground and turning over the beds. We´re gonna build some raised flower beds to plant some non toxic plants and flowers in for the kids. The playground at the moment is so bland and boring that it´ll be nice to put a bit of colour in and some toys or something - like hopscotch on the floor etc.
The standard of living here is a big contrast to Santa Rosa, but also the area we live in and the area we work in has a big difference too. The kids at the school tend to have pretty basic clothes etc whereas a lot of the people we live near are wearing up to date fashion. It´s quite bizarre. It´s interesting to see how much people can be oblivious to what is coming on around them.
We´re living in an area with a lot of european influence and you can see that in the food. We´ve been round a couple of houses for seriously delicious food, like fondue and some other kinda french/swiss food with melted cheese in a tray... it was reeeeaal yummy. And a lot of people in this area are thinner and I haven´t seen a soppaipilla in weeks! Although I´m kinda glad about that tho!! The less fried food the better really!!!! LOL!
Ahhh yesss... and its getting so much colder here! It´s moving quickly into winter and temperatures are dropping like mad in the morning and in the evening. We´ve got a little ´estufa´ in our bedroom, which I managed to burn myself on the other day - bad times!! But it warms the room up well! :D
Well... I think that´s it for today! :) until next week :) x
Friday 13 May 2011
Second Project...
After a couple of days back in Temuco, we pack everything up and moved into our new project. We{re now living in a two storey massive house which a little old german lady called Ruth. It was quite an emotional goodbye to Pastor Ezekiel but we´re still able to stay in contact with him because we´re in the same city, so that´s quite cool. We´ve got a really big kitchen with an oven and a fridge - ohh its like luxury! lol!
This project is very heavlity involved in a local school, about 20 minutes walk away. We´re gonna be working there everyday, either in classes in the morning or in workshops in the afternoon. The kids at the school are from really rough backgrounds and basically have no discipline and their parents don´t really care about them or what they do. A lot of the kids are from broken families often with one of the parents being in prison. The kids live lives of stealing and drug taken even from such a young age. We´ve been warned not to take anything valuable to the school - so I dunno how many picture I´ll have from this project! But even to the extent of watching your jumper if you put it down, coz it might not be there when you turn around again!
So this wekk we´ve started with this! We´ve been to the school everyday, except today, working in the classrooms and getting to know the kids. Yesterday we spent the day demolishing a wood shed and prepping the ground for a new one which we´re gonna hopefully put up tomorrow. It´s a very different way of building here, pretty much, cut it if it doesn´t fit, add another bit, bang a flip load of nails in and hope it holds! So we´re trying to make a bit more of a sturdy structure with good foundations! I´ll let you know how it goes!
I´ve also been thrown in the deep end already, with the head teacher (directora) coming and asking for one person to help her... so I went.... She took me into a class and introduced me to the kids and said that I was there to have conversation with them and that they could ask me whatever they liked. And then she turned to me and said "okay, you´re the teacher!" and left me in the room on my own with 12 chilean kids! LOL! That was a fun hour! But it was deffo good practice for my language!
Yeah, so that´s the project we´re on at the moment, and I think it´s deffo gonna be busy. But it´s awesome that we´re in the same school the whole time so that we´re gonna be able to make a really impact on these kids lives and the school as well.
And we´re all having to get up earlier and getting used to sharing a house with someone else, but it´s all good! And having a oven is BRILLANT! Made cottage pie on Tuesday and it was flippin lush! Mmmmmm hmmmm... speaking of food... I should get some!
Will write again soon :) x
This project is very heavlity involved in a local school, about 20 minutes walk away. We´re gonna be working there everyday, either in classes in the morning or in workshops in the afternoon. The kids at the school are from really rough backgrounds and basically have no discipline and their parents don´t really care about them or what they do. A lot of the kids are from broken families often with one of the parents being in prison. The kids live lives of stealing and drug taken even from such a young age. We´ve been warned not to take anything valuable to the school - so I dunno how many picture I´ll have from this project! But even to the extent of watching your jumper if you put it down, coz it might not be there when you turn around again!
So this wekk we´ve started with this! We´ve been to the school everyday, except today, working in the classrooms and getting to know the kids. Yesterday we spent the day demolishing a wood shed and prepping the ground for a new one which we´re gonna hopefully put up tomorrow. It´s a very different way of building here, pretty much, cut it if it doesn´t fit, add another bit, bang a flip load of nails in and hope it holds! So we´re trying to make a bit more of a sturdy structure with good foundations! I´ll let you know how it goes!
I´ve also been thrown in the deep end already, with the head teacher (directora) coming and asking for one person to help her... so I went.... She took me into a class and introduced me to the kids and said that I was there to have conversation with them and that they could ask me whatever they liked. And then she turned to me and said "okay, you´re the teacher!" and left me in the room on my own with 12 chilean kids! LOL! That was a fun hour! But it was deffo good practice for my language!
Yeah, so that´s the project we´re on at the moment, and I think it´s deffo gonna be busy. But it´s awesome that we´re in the same school the whole time so that we´re gonna be able to make a really impact on these kids lives and the school as well.
And we´re all having to get up earlier and getting used to sharing a house with someone else, but it´s all good! And having a oven is BRILLANT! Made cottage pie on Tuesday and it was flippin lush! Mmmmmm hmmmm... speaking of food... I should get some!
Will write again soon :) x
Bariloche - Ohhhh Yehh!
So here´s the Bariloche run down!!
We got up at 4.30am on the 30th of April to set off to Argentina and Bariloche. We took a bus down to Osorno in Chile to change buses to travel over the mountains to Argentina. Only one problem... when we arrived at Osorno, it was discovered that Jonny had left his passport in Temuco... and there was no way he was getting into Argentina without it! So Dave and Jonny had to buy new tickets back to Temuco and change the tickets to Bariloche for the next day - there´s only one bus over the boarder a day.
So the rest of us set off over the boarder getting in trouble for not sitting in the right seats and forgetting some papers on the way! But its all fun and games. We got checked out of Chile into no man´s land, before being checked into Argentina. Such beautiful scenery and mountains all around, it was amazing! We reached Bariloche and Hostel 41 Below at about 5pm and it was lush - proper beds and a hot shower! winner!!
We spent Sunday chilling and resting, taking a couple of walks around the town and seeing the lake and the scenery. It was Holy Day - which was kinda like Labour Day, so not a lot was open, but we found a cafe and had a nice little cup of tea and some cake. The boys arrived in from Temuco at about 4pm and so we went out for steak to celebrate! And I cannot explain just how good the meat was that we ate in Argentina! It was insane just how good it was!!!
Monday was our bike ride day! We set off at about 9 to get the bus out to the hire place and went off on the 14km ride, that went round a big lake, up and down so many hills, finding hidden lakes and incredible views. Every corner we took just got more beautiful! And the final push up the biggest hill gave us the most stunningly amazing breathtaking view I´ve ever seen - it literally took my breath away! It looked something out of Neverland! It was amazing! No picture will ever do it justice!!
Tuesday was Bariloche day which was a full on parade day - the most ´interesting´ parade I´ve ever seen! They literally had every school, pre school, college, group, association, club, sport group, old people´s group, army regiment, police force, dog groups, fire engine, dancers, countries represented.... and it went on for HOURS! lol! But we got to have a look around some of the shops which we open and in the evening there was a dance exhibition in the town square. It was awesome - they had a suspended stage from which they suspended dancers who were dancing and doing acrobats in the air, and then a pair of people on wires who would dance up and down the clock tower, and they alternated between the two ´stages´. It was incredible to watch! And then it all finished off with a firework display, lovely :)
We had a couple more chilled days, eating lots of good food and steak and generally relaxing which was really lovely. We celebrated Jonnys birthday on´Thursday, and everybody went out for steak in the evening, and it was soooo good I nearly cried LOL! It was amazing!
I think everyone deffo enjoyed the break, especially as now we´re back into a hectic schedule! But I will tell you about that in a minute!!!
Much love
xxx
We got up at 4.30am on the 30th of April to set off to Argentina and Bariloche. We took a bus down to Osorno in Chile to change buses to travel over the mountains to Argentina. Only one problem... when we arrived at Osorno, it was discovered that Jonny had left his passport in Temuco... and there was no way he was getting into Argentina without it! So Dave and Jonny had to buy new tickets back to Temuco and change the tickets to Bariloche for the next day - there´s only one bus over the boarder a day.
So the rest of us set off over the boarder getting in trouble for not sitting in the right seats and forgetting some papers on the way! But its all fun and games. We got checked out of Chile into no man´s land, before being checked into Argentina. Such beautiful scenery and mountains all around, it was amazing! We reached Bariloche and Hostel 41 Below at about 5pm and it was lush - proper beds and a hot shower! winner!!
We spent Sunday chilling and resting, taking a couple of walks around the town and seeing the lake and the scenery. It was Holy Day - which was kinda like Labour Day, so not a lot was open, but we found a cafe and had a nice little cup of tea and some cake. The boys arrived in from Temuco at about 4pm and so we went out for steak to celebrate! And I cannot explain just how good the meat was that we ate in Argentina! It was insane just how good it was!!!
Monday was our bike ride day! We set off at about 9 to get the bus out to the hire place and went off on the 14km ride, that went round a big lake, up and down so many hills, finding hidden lakes and incredible views. Every corner we took just got more beautiful! And the final push up the biggest hill gave us the most stunningly amazing breathtaking view I´ve ever seen - it literally took my breath away! It looked something out of Neverland! It was amazing! No picture will ever do it justice!!
Tuesday was Bariloche day which was a full on parade day - the most ´interesting´ parade I´ve ever seen! They literally had every school, pre school, college, group, association, club, sport group, old people´s group, army regiment, police force, dog groups, fire engine, dancers, countries represented.... and it went on for HOURS! lol! But we got to have a look around some of the shops which we open and in the evening there was a dance exhibition in the town square. It was awesome - they had a suspended stage from which they suspended dancers who were dancing and doing acrobats in the air, and then a pair of people on wires who would dance up and down the clock tower, and they alternated between the two ´stages´. It was incredible to watch! And then it all finished off with a firework display, lovely :)
We had a couple more chilled days, eating lots of good food and steak and generally relaxing which was really lovely. We celebrated Jonnys birthday on´Thursday, and everybody went out for steak in the evening, and it was soooo good I nearly cried LOL! It was amazing!
I think everyone deffo enjoyed the break, especially as now we´re back into a hectic schedule! But I will tell you about that in a minute!!!
Much love
xxx
Wednesday 11 May 2011
Another Massive Overview!!
Okay, man alive... time seems to pass so quickly when it comes to writing on here, so I´m gonna do another overview of the last bit of time at our first project!
20th Apr - We went off to a village called Haulpin... although actually ended up near a place called Tolten. After a long journey filled with bits of sleep and getting woken up by rather large chileans knocking my arm off the arm rest!! :P Long drop toilet again :P We went to a local boarding school, did a little presentation to them, then drove to another school where we stayed for one night - all the girls cramped into one room!
21st Apr - Dave´s birthday! We did an assembly in the school that we stayed in and then packed up our things and moved back to the previous school as we´d be staying there the rest of the weekend! We did a few bits of shopping and visited a new church (where we prayed) and a lady in the village (who we prayed with) and then we went to a radio station where Jonny and Emily and Pastor chatted for a bit, until there was a power cut!!! Everything was in the dark for the rest of the night!!
22nd Apr - 3 of the boys went off the help fix some electrics at a local house, while the rest of us tidied the school and made some posters to go up. And generally had a restful afternoon as at 9.30pm we went down to the church for the start of the 8 hour service... which turned out to be nine hours!!! So at 7am we crawled into bed!!! It was a good service though, full of praise and prayer!
23rd Apr - after 5 hours sleep we were all up and heading to the coast, climbed some rocks, found some weird jellyfish things that apparently kill you, ate some seaweed, and saw some of the new town, as the old town had been devestated in the tsunami last year. There´s still evidence of it in a grove of trees were some are upside down the ground, with their roots looking like branches!! Half the team then went to be on the radio again for an hour, while myself and few others went to a local lady´s house to pray with her.
24th Apr - we got up early and set off back to Temuco, where the whole church was waiting to have lunch with us - asado disco and lots of salads and meat!! We got settled back in and then has another service at Puntilla, all about the message of the cross.
25th Apr - Domestic Day!! Rocky and I were on domestics and cooked some good old porridge for breakfast!! mmmm. The guys all went off to a school to work with some kids, while Rocky and I cleaned and prepped an awesome vegetable filled lunch! We all went out to celebrate Dave´s birthday again at a restuarant called Boca de Lobo in the evening - there was so much meat is was crazy! This is also the day I discovered Turkey Hill Peanut Butter Ripple ice-cream... it was magical!
26th Apr - We went to a girls school today to spend a class with them (very good spanish practice) and all the girls went gah gah for the blonde boys in the team! We came back did the first day of the kids club, but not a lot turned up as it was the first day.
27th Apr - we went again to the same school as yesterday and had a really good time with them all. We got to see where the girls stay and gave us a bit of an insight into their lives. Jonny also got given a white bear by one of the girls... manly. We had a good plan for the kids club, and even though it was raining, we got a good number who came and played games and made some bits and pieces and took home the message of God coming to be their friend.
28th Apr - Some of us popped round to the nursery next door to play with the kids - absolutely MENTAL! loads of running and playing with a parachute but well fun!! We planned the kids club and ran it a more outside coz the weather was better. Got a bit crazy at some points, but we had some good convos too. Went over to Yasmina´s in the evening and wacthed a film and got even beautiful momentos from her and her family!
29th Apr - Today we did a lot of cleaning in prep for leaving to go to Argentina, as well as planning and running the final day of the kids club! We made a load of goodie bags up to give out to the kids filled with sweeties and toys and paper and pens and teddies and all kinds of stuff, so that we could leave them with a present from us. The kids club went really well, and it was actually really sad to be saying good bye! On another note... Rocky and I made apple crumble in the little electric oven and it was wicked! LOL!
We then set off for Bariloche in Argentina....
20th Apr - We went off to a village called Haulpin... although actually ended up near a place called Tolten. After a long journey filled with bits of sleep and getting woken up by rather large chileans knocking my arm off the arm rest!! :P Long drop toilet again :P We went to a local boarding school, did a little presentation to them, then drove to another school where we stayed for one night - all the girls cramped into one room!
21st Apr - Dave´s birthday! We did an assembly in the school that we stayed in and then packed up our things and moved back to the previous school as we´d be staying there the rest of the weekend! We did a few bits of shopping and visited a new church (where we prayed) and a lady in the village (who we prayed with) and then we went to a radio station where Jonny and Emily and Pastor chatted for a bit, until there was a power cut!!! Everything was in the dark for the rest of the night!!
22nd Apr - 3 of the boys went off the help fix some electrics at a local house, while the rest of us tidied the school and made some posters to go up. And generally had a restful afternoon as at 9.30pm we went down to the church for the start of the 8 hour service... which turned out to be nine hours!!! So at 7am we crawled into bed!!! It was a good service though, full of praise and prayer!
23rd Apr - after 5 hours sleep we were all up and heading to the coast, climbed some rocks, found some weird jellyfish things that apparently kill you, ate some seaweed, and saw some of the new town, as the old town had been devestated in the tsunami last year. There´s still evidence of it in a grove of trees were some are upside down the ground, with their roots looking like branches!! Half the team then went to be on the radio again for an hour, while myself and few others went to a local lady´s house to pray with her.
24th Apr - we got up early and set off back to Temuco, where the whole church was waiting to have lunch with us - asado disco and lots of salads and meat!! We got settled back in and then has another service at Puntilla, all about the message of the cross.
25th Apr - Domestic Day!! Rocky and I were on domestics and cooked some good old porridge for breakfast!! mmmm. The guys all went off to a school to work with some kids, while Rocky and I cleaned and prepped an awesome vegetable filled lunch! We all went out to celebrate Dave´s birthday again at a restuarant called Boca de Lobo in the evening - there was so much meat is was crazy! This is also the day I discovered Turkey Hill Peanut Butter Ripple ice-cream... it was magical!
26th Apr - We went to a girls school today to spend a class with them (very good spanish practice) and all the girls went gah gah for the blonde boys in the team! We came back did the first day of the kids club, but not a lot turned up as it was the first day.
27th Apr - we went again to the same school as yesterday and had a really good time with them all. We got to see where the girls stay and gave us a bit of an insight into their lives. Jonny also got given a white bear by one of the girls... manly. We had a good plan for the kids club, and even though it was raining, we got a good number who came and played games and made some bits and pieces and took home the message of God coming to be their friend.
28th Apr - Some of us popped round to the nursery next door to play with the kids - absolutely MENTAL! loads of running and playing with a parachute but well fun!! We planned the kids club and ran it a more outside coz the weather was better. Got a bit crazy at some points, but we had some good convos too. Went over to Yasmina´s in the evening and wacthed a film and got even beautiful momentos from her and her family!
29th Apr - Today we did a lot of cleaning in prep for leaving to go to Argentina, as well as planning and running the final day of the kids club! We made a load of goodie bags up to give out to the kids filled with sweeties and toys and paper and pens and teddies and all kinds of stuff, so that we could leave them with a present from us. The kids club went really well, and it was actually really sad to be saying good bye! On another note... Rocky and I made apple crumble in the little electric oven and it was wicked! LOL!
We then set off for Bariloche in Argentina....
Tuesday 19 April 2011
Major Overview of the last weeks....
Okay, so I´m gona try and do a quick run down of the last few weeks since the 8th of April... :P
9-Apr Sat - We went to an area of Temuco to distrubute some boxes from Operation Christmas Child - totally amazing to see the end result of something I´ve been involved in at home! Then went round Luciano´s house to have asado disco (meat cooked on a massive hot disc over an open fire) which was deeeeelicious!
10-Apr Sun - Church for the kids in the morning and for adults in the evening, pretty full on day prepping and doing things
11-Apr Mon - We went with Yasmina round to some houses in the community and tidied their gardens, creating a path for one lady just generally making things tidier! Managed to hold a got hour long conversation with Luciano in Spanish :P wo0op!
12-Apr Tues - Day off! :D MAde lots of tiny fairy cakes and then went to Yasmina´s to watch a film :)
13-Apr Wed - We were meant to go with Pastor Ezekiel to the school that his wife works at...everyone was ready at 11 to go.... at 12 we got a phone call saying he wasn´t coming and we weren´t going there today... gota love Chilean timing :P So we went to the playgroup next door to the church and sang songs with them and played with them instead :)
14-Apr Thurs - Porridge for breakfast...as always, just thought I´d mention it again :P We went to the university and shared a bible study with some of the students, in English to help them inprove their language. Then jumped on a bus to Champulli... a village just outside Teodoro Schmitt, arrived and went straight into a service, before meeting Juanita, who was the girls host of the weekend - One of the most loveliest, warmest ladies I´ve ever met!!
15-Apr Fri - Got up and headed off to the church to start work on the kitchen there...only to find the kitchen was locked and the pastors had gone out.... soooooo we weeded the entire church garden :P And also were able to help with building a house nearby, and brought a load of stuff to start work on the kitchen tomorrow....
16-Apr Sat - did a bit of work on the kitchen and the garden of the church, and also visited a some ill people to pray with them and talk with their families. We´ve done that quite a bit, and it always amazes me to see Pastor Ezekiel´s hearts for these people, so reflective of God´s heart and of His love. We then had an 8 hour praise meeting from 8pm till 4am... wooooooooo..... that was mad!
17-Apr - Sun - Everyone was SO tired today! Shared breakfast with all the church members, and had to say goodbye... amazing how much they were saddened to see us go, it was like a member of their family was leaving... incredible love and warmth for people. Sarah, Emily, Jonny, Nathan and I travelled to Poucolon (another little village nearby) to visit a couple of families and pray with them, and then we went to a churhc service there to share with the people.
18-Apr - Mon - DAY OFF! wo0op!
And then we´re at today! We´ve been working in a school today, doing assemblies and getting mobbed by children as we tried to leave... that´s always fun! They all call us tia /tio (for girl /boy) and wouldn´t let go of us! Kinda scary LOL! But it was good fun.
We´re off to another village from tomorrow until Sunday called Haulpin, which is about 2 hours south of Temuco... and it´s gonna be cold! It was cold in Champulli, and Haulpin is further south... So thermal vests and mass amounts of layers me thinks! So the weather here´s been great, it´s so cold in the morning and at night! So glad I have a four season sleeping bag!!!
Anyway, hope that´s given a bit of an update to the events here :)
Much love
Sarah
xx
9-Apr Sat - We went to an area of Temuco to distrubute some boxes from Operation Christmas Child - totally amazing to see the end result of something I´ve been involved in at home! Then went round Luciano´s house to have asado disco (meat cooked on a massive hot disc over an open fire) which was deeeeelicious!
10-Apr Sun - Church for the kids in the morning and for adults in the evening, pretty full on day prepping and doing things
11-Apr Mon - We went with Yasmina round to some houses in the community and tidied their gardens, creating a path for one lady just generally making things tidier! Managed to hold a got hour long conversation with Luciano in Spanish :P wo0op!
12-Apr Tues - Day off! :D MAde lots of tiny fairy cakes and then went to Yasmina´s to watch a film :)
13-Apr Wed - We were meant to go with Pastor Ezekiel to the school that his wife works at...everyone was ready at 11 to go.... at 12 we got a phone call saying he wasn´t coming and we weren´t going there today... gota love Chilean timing :P So we went to the playgroup next door to the church and sang songs with them and played with them instead :)
14-Apr Thurs - Porridge for breakfast...as always, just thought I´d mention it again :P We went to the university and shared a bible study with some of the students, in English to help them inprove their language. Then jumped on a bus to Champulli... a village just outside Teodoro Schmitt, arrived and went straight into a service, before meeting Juanita, who was the girls host of the weekend - One of the most loveliest, warmest ladies I´ve ever met!!
15-Apr Fri - Got up and headed off to the church to start work on the kitchen there...only to find the kitchen was locked and the pastors had gone out.... soooooo we weeded the entire church garden :P And also were able to help with building a house nearby, and brought a load of stuff to start work on the kitchen tomorrow....
16-Apr Sat - did a bit of work on the kitchen and the garden of the church, and also visited a some ill people to pray with them and talk with their families. We´ve done that quite a bit, and it always amazes me to see Pastor Ezekiel´s hearts for these people, so reflective of God´s heart and of His love. We then had an 8 hour praise meeting from 8pm till 4am... wooooooooo..... that was mad!
17-Apr - Sun - Everyone was SO tired today! Shared breakfast with all the church members, and had to say goodbye... amazing how much they were saddened to see us go, it was like a member of their family was leaving... incredible love and warmth for people. Sarah, Emily, Jonny, Nathan and I travelled to Poucolon (another little village nearby) to visit a couple of families and pray with them, and then we went to a churhc service there to share with the people.
18-Apr - Mon - DAY OFF! wo0op!
And then we´re at today! We´ve been working in a school today, doing assemblies and getting mobbed by children as we tried to leave... that´s always fun! They all call us tia /tio (for girl /boy) and wouldn´t let go of us! Kinda scary LOL! But it was good fun.
We´re off to another village from tomorrow until Sunday called Haulpin, which is about 2 hours south of Temuco... and it´s gonna be cold! It was cold in Champulli, and Haulpin is further south... So thermal vests and mass amounts of layers me thinks! So the weather here´s been great, it´s so cold in the morning and at night! So glad I have a four season sleeping bag!!!
Anyway, hope that´s given a bit of an update to the events here :)
Much love
Sarah
xx
Friday 8 April 2011
Uppddaaaaaaaate....
Wow, sorry its been so long since I´ve written on here, it´s amazing how fast time goes and before you know it a week full of events has gone by and you haven´t written about anything!
I´ll try and give a rough overview of the last couple of weeks!
The good news is we now have a hot shower! Which means we all smell better and are generally cleaner! We´ve also now got a washing machine that works so we can get our clothes clean :D double yay!
We took a trip last weekend to Teodoro Schmitt, a village about an hour away, to work in a church there - a bit of painting and visiting people in their homes as well as singing a lot of songs at church services!
We´ve done a lot more painting in the place where we´re saying as well starting some work in the community more practically.
After the local kids trying to break in a few times, they seem to have calmed down a bit. They don´t come over the gate anymore, but I think they think we have loads of money...which I guess in comparison to them, we probably do. But I´ve found out that we´re actually in quite a tough area of Temuco, it´s called Santa Rosa, and a lot of the families have quite complicated lives - no dads around for a lot of them because they´ve either left or died. Which is really sad, and produces some pretty desperate kids.
But it´s hard to know what to do to help, but at the church we´re working with at the moment, there aren´t any young people and there´s no kids work at all. So anything we satar, will just fall on its ass unless someone here carries it on.... Ive been praying about what it is God wants us to do... and today I think we´ve seen the first fruit of that.
Last week we went out into the community to ask if we could do anything to help people (Love Horsham style :P) And we found a plot of land that is public land, but people have dumped stuff there and its overgrown. So we started cleaning it today and were discussing how it would be nice to do something with it, like make it into a park or something... when.... A random guy walked down the street who happens to work in the council... or with the council or summit... anyway, basically he was amazed by what we were doing and said that he has a groupd of young people who could help and would like to... so i think we´re gona talk to the pastor here and see if we can intiate this as a community project,. for and with the community :D
We´ve not got very long left at this project now, and the weeks are filling up fast, but hopefully we´ll be able to make a lasting difference here that goes beyond a group of westerns coming to take pictures and then leaving again.
I´ll try and get some more up to date news and events here in the next couple of days
Much love to all
xxxx
I´ll try and give a rough overview of the last couple of weeks!
The good news is we now have a hot shower! Which means we all smell better and are generally cleaner! We´ve also now got a washing machine that works so we can get our clothes clean :D double yay!
We took a trip last weekend to Teodoro Schmitt, a village about an hour away, to work in a church there - a bit of painting and visiting people in their homes as well as singing a lot of songs at church services!
We´ve done a lot more painting in the place where we´re saying as well starting some work in the community more practically.
After the local kids trying to break in a few times, they seem to have calmed down a bit. They don´t come over the gate anymore, but I think they think we have loads of money...which I guess in comparison to them, we probably do. But I´ve found out that we´re actually in quite a tough area of Temuco, it´s called Santa Rosa, and a lot of the families have quite complicated lives - no dads around for a lot of them because they´ve either left or died. Which is really sad, and produces some pretty desperate kids.
But it´s hard to know what to do to help, but at the church we´re working with at the moment, there aren´t any young people and there´s no kids work at all. So anything we satar, will just fall on its ass unless someone here carries it on.... Ive been praying about what it is God wants us to do... and today I think we´ve seen the first fruit of that.
Last week we went out into the community to ask if we could do anything to help people (Love Horsham style :P) And we found a plot of land that is public land, but people have dumped stuff there and its overgrown. So we started cleaning it today and were discussing how it would be nice to do something with it, like make it into a park or something... when.... A random guy walked down the street who happens to work in the council... or with the council or summit... anyway, basically he was amazed by what we were doing and said that he has a groupd of young people who could help and would like to... so i think we´re gona talk to the pastor here and see if we can intiate this as a community project,. for and with the community :D
We´ve not got very long left at this project now, and the weeks are filling up fast, but hopefully we´ll be able to make a lasting difference here that goes beyond a group of westerns coming to take pictures and then leaving again.
I´ll try and get some more up to date news and events here in the next couple of days
Much love to all
xxxx
Thursday 24 March 2011
¡¡¡¡Agua Friaaaaaaa!!!!
Buenos Tardes :)
Well, we´ve had gorgeous sunshine here again today and what a lovely couple of days we´ve had!
We´ve been finishing off some other parts inside the house, yesterday and today, painting and nailing up boards... all very health and safety concious of course ....yeeeah. But the rooms are now lovely yellow and lilac, ready for some other art work to go up... I think we might be painting actually footprints onto one wall, which´ll be wicked!
We´ve been making preparations for some community work as well. Saturday, Sunday and Monday we´re going to be going to 3 other churches to doing some outreach, door to door knocking and chatting with people in Spanish... wooo! Challenging or whaaaat! But its really good to be getting out into the community.
I think we´re going to try and get out in the community next week too, to offer to help people with gardening, painting their houses, or anything else they need. The people here are so generous even when they have nothing.
Luciano took us to see his house yesterday, that he´s built completely out of wood himself, and its just beautiful! He told us his testimony about how he was in a 85 mph crash when he was on a motorbike into a car... And he should have died. He only broke his nose... there were no other breaks on his body, even tho his helmet flew off and he was knocked unconcious. He even died for 15 minutes, but he´s still alive. He´s a walking miracle! Oh... and about a year later he had another crash... and again... he walked away without any injury. Incredible protection of God on his life!
He also took us to meet a poor family on the outskirts of Temuco, where a family live in a "house" that´s more like a small shed, that was no bigger that an average size bathroom. It was unreal. And even so... the man offer us food and drink, out of the kindness of his heart. It was amazing! We left him a cake instead so as not the eat all his food (I´m preet sure 11 of us would have!).
I hope that we get to work with some of these people more, because you just can´t avoid some of the things it says in the Bible when it´s in your face. We have so much and some of these people have so little, yet their hearts are also to bless others above themselves. If I can learn a little of the passion for people that this community has, I will be blessed!! And I hope that God can use me in an effective way to give back to this people.... to feed those who are hungry, give drink to those who are thirsty, and clothe those who have no clothes.
We have a day off tomorrow, so we´re off to visit Poucon (which is about 2 hours south of where we are) to see the volcanos and stuff :)
Hope everyone back home is doing well :)
Much love and buenos noches xxxxx
Well, we´ve had gorgeous sunshine here again today and what a lovely couple of days we´ve had!
We´ve been finishing off some other parts inside the house, yesterday and today, painting and nailing up boards... all very health and safety concious of course ....yeeeah. But the rooms are now lovely yellow and lilac, ready for some other art work to go up... I think we might be painting actually footprints onto one wall, which´ll be wicked!
We´ve been making preparations for some community work as well. Saturday, Sunday and Monday we´re going to be going to 3 other churches to doing some outreach, door to door knocking and chatting with people in Spanish... wooo! Challenging or whaaaat! But its really good to be getting out into the community.
I think we´re going to try and get out in the community next week too, to offer to help people with gardening, painting their houses, or anything else they need. The people here are so generous even when they have nothing.
Luciano took us to see his house yesterday, that he´s built completely out of wood himself, and its just beautiful! He told us his testimony about how he was in a 85 mph crash when he was on a motorbike into a car... And he should have died. He only broke his nose... there were no other breaks on his body, even tho his helmet flew off and he was knocked unconcious. He even died for 15 minutes, but he´s still alive. He´s a walking miracle! Oh... and about a year later he had another crash... and again... he walked away without any injury. Incredible protection of God on his life!
He also took us to meet a poor family on the outskirts of Temuco, where a family live in a "house" that´s more like a small shed, that was no bigger that an average size bathroom. It was unreal. And even so... the man offer us food and drink, out of the kindness of his heart. It was amazing! We left him a cake instead so as not the eat all his food (I´m preet sure 11 of us would have!).
I hope that we get to work with some of these people more, because you just can´t avoid some of the things it says in the Bible when it´s in your face. We have so much and some of these people have so little, yet their hearts are also to bless others above themselves. If I can learn a little of the passion for people that this community has, I will be blessed!! And I hope that God can use me in an effective way to give back to this people.... to feed those who are hungry, give drink to those who are thirsty, and clothe those who have no clothes.
We have a day off tomorrow, so we´re off to visit Poucon (which is about 2 hours south of where we are) to see the volcanos and stuff :)
Hope everyone back home is doing well :)
Much love and buenos noches xxxxx
Monday 21 March 2011
Domestication....
Oh what a glorious day it is today...again.... Hmmm loving the sunshine!
Well yesterday, Dave and myself were on domestic duty, which meant rising early and cooking the standard porridge breakfast for everyone. We´re still trying to find a way of brightening it up... so far we´ve had manjar, honey, jam, bananas, apple, nectarine, sugar.... and tbh.... it stills tastes bland. BUT... it´s a good start to the day!
Everyone else headed off to do sunday school (escuela domical) whilst Dave and I cleaned whilst plotting what to have for lunch. Wé popped to the market for some lush fresh veg and into chicken world for a nice bita meat and headed back to cook a ...kinda... roast dinner... Well the best you can do with just two gas rings for cooking... it was pretty nice actually! Oh and I nearly forgot to say... We did all our cooking by headtorch light because the power went out LOL! How could I forget that!!!
In the afternoon, Luciano took us all out to the countryside just outside Temuco. And it as gorgeous! We went to an orchard and eat sooo many apples it was crazy, but they were so sweet and delicious... except for the SUPER sour ones. He the took us to a farm where they make fresh apple juice... and then on to meet a Mapuche lady and to see her land, in which there was a river was you can drink from. His such a generous man, he just keps on giving and giving us things, and every time we do something for him, he does about 5 things for us!!!
Today, we´ve been practicing a drama and some songs for a church service tonight which will hopefully go well! And getting a whole load of paint and equpiment for finishing the house this week.
Which we´ll get cracking on tomorrow!
So, until nest time, ciao and hasta luego xx
Well yesterday, Dave and myself were on domestic duty, which meant rising early and cooking the standard porridge breakfast for everyone. We´re still trying to find a way of brightening it up... so far we´ve had manjar, honey, jam, bananas, apple, nectarine, sugar.... and tbh.... it stills tastes bland. BUT... it´s a good start to the day!
Everyone else headed off to do sunday school (escuela domical) whilst Dave and I cleaned whilst plotting what to have for lunch. Wé popped to the market for some lush fresh veg and into chicken world for a nice bita meat and headed back to cook a ...kinda... roast dinner... Well the best you can do with just two gas rings for cooking... it was pretty nice actually! Oh and I nearly forgot to say... We did all our cooking by headtorch light because the power went out LOL! How could I forget that!!!
In the afternoon, Luciano took us all out to the countryside just outside Temuco. And it as gorgeous! We went to an orchard and eat sooo many apples it was crazy, but they were so sweet and delicious... except for the SUPER sour ones. He the took us to a farm where they make fresh apple juice... and then on to meet a Mapuche lady and to see her land, in which there was a river was you can drink from. His such a generous man, he just keps on giving and giving us things, and every time we do something for him, he does about 5 things for us!!!
Today, we´ve been practicing a drama and some songs for a church service tonight which will hopefully go well! And getting a whole load of paint and equpiment for finishing the house this week.
Which we´ll get cracking on tomorrow!
So, until nest time, ciao and hasta luego xx
Saturday 19 March 2011
One Week In...
Hello,
It´s been a while since I´ve written and its hard quite hard to remember what´s happened!! We´ve been working in the community as well as painting the house that we´re staying in - lovely blue and yellow to be precise :) But so much more will have happened than I can remember!
So I´ll try my best to give you a flavour of life here at the moment!
Most mornings we have porridge for breakfast... which is fine... but.... lacks flavour! Even when you eat it with honey and manjar (dulce de leche - its kinda like caramel). Meals consist of a lot of carbohydrates and tomato sauce, but they´ve been very tasty... with the exception of the ´salt´ insistent where a whole load of rice suddenly tasted quite strongly of salt - but I guess thats what happens when an entire pot of salt is added... pucha!
Every day two people from the team are on´domestics´while the others have split into two teams - one working in the community and one working in the house. And the sun has been gorrrrrrgeous, and so so strong! I think we´re all burnt at least a bit and I´m pretty badly burnt - oops. But my spanish is improving, or at least my understanding of what people are saying, altho their accent is so strong and they constantly drop letters from words which is SO confusing!
What else has happened....? Erm... we´ve managed to block a sink and a toilet so Jonny is now our elected plumber and we´ve made good friends with our neighbour Luciano, who is so unbelievably generous that he just pops round with food for us all the time. He´s invited us to go to his house at some point to eat asado, which is like a massive bbq and Chile´s ´native´dish.
Today we did a funday for the kids... which was gooood-ish. The kids here are lovely, but they literally have no discipline and don´t care. They frequently climb over the gates to the church and throw things at our door. I actually find it really sad, because its so obviously a cry for attention, not that they actually trying to break stuff etc. At the moment, our padlock is broken tho, so it´s making it easy for them to come in, so prayers are appreciated for how to deal with that and for our protection.
Tomorrow, we´re running the sunday school and I think this next week we will be doing more of the same things.
I´ll try and get soem photos up soon and a bit more details about some things we´ve been up to.
Much love to everyone back home
Miss you all
xxx
It´s been a while since I´ve written and its hard quite hard to remember what´s happened!! We´ve been working in the community as well as painting the house that we´re staying in - lovely blue and yellow to be precise :) But so much more will have happened than I can remember!
So I´ll try my best to give you a flavour of life here at the moment!
Most mornings we have porridge for breakfast... which is fine... but.... lacks flavour! Even when you eat it with honey and manjar (dulce de leche - its kinda like caramel). Meals consist of a lot of carbohydrates and tomato sauce, but they´ve been very tasty... with the exception of the ´salt´ insistent where a whole load of rice suddenly tasted quite strongly of salt - but I guess thats what happens when an entire pot of salt is added... pucha!
Every day two people from the team are on´domestics´while the others have split into two teams - one working in the community and one working in the house. And the sun has been gorrrrrrgeous, and so so strong! I think we´re all burnt at least a bit and I´m pretty badly burnt - oops. But my spanish is improving, or at least my understanding of what people are saying, altho their accent is so strong and they constantly drop letters from words which is SO confusing!
What else has happened....? Erm... we´ve managed to block a sink and a toilet so Jonny is now our elected plumber and we´ve made good friends with our neighbour Luciano, who is so unbelievably generous that he just pops round with food for us all the time. He´s invited us to go to his house at some point to eat asado, which is like a massive bbq and Chile´s ´native´dish.
Today we did a funday for the kids... which was gooood-ish. The kids here are lovely, but they literally have no discipline and don´t care. They frequently climb over the gates to the church and throw things at our door. I actually find it really sad, because its so obviously a cry for attention, not that they actually trying to break stuff etc. At the moment, our padlock is broken tho, so it´s making it easy for them to come in, so prayers are appreciated for how to deal with that and for our protection.
Tomorrow, we´re running the sunday school and I think this next week we will be doing more of the same things.
I´ll try and get soem photos up soon and a bit more details about some things we´ve been up to.
Much love to everyone back home
Miss you all
xxx
Friday 11 March 2011
Rain Rain Go Away...
Happy Friday everyone :)
Yesterday we had a beautifully gorgeous day and we learnt a bit more about the culture here and about the projects we will be involved.
We´re spending the first two months working with Pastor Ezekiel in his church building (the place where we´re staying) and some relating churches. We´re gonna be doing some building of toilet blocks and helping paint peoples houses and doing gardening, as well as do up the place where we´re living.We´re also going to be involved in the children´s sunday school and possibly starting to run a childrens club for the kids in the community during the week - Friday Club comes to Chile!!! :P
The kids here are pretty much allowed to do what they like and parents don´t really ´believe´in discipline! The youth groups can also range from age 14 to 35 years old, as usually Chileans don´t move out until they get married... and even then, sometimes they move into the house with their new spouse!! Temuco has about 10 univercities in, so everybody goes to uni in their home town, and it usually takes 5 years minimum to complete the courses - hence the big youth group ages.
The people here are so generous, our neighbour - Luciano, has already brought us round an enormous watermelon...seriously, like the size of two people´s heads if not bigger!!! And his daughter is so cute!
Today, we spent the day in the city centre... after a night of horrendous rain and in fact all of this morning - we were soaked to the skin walking round the city, and going on a little bus tour. Oh and ...the whole in our bedroom roof? Yeah.... the rain came in last night.. although, it wasn´t too bad considering there was a torrential downpour, we only collected half an inch of water in a big tub.
Also, just to let you know, we´re all okay in terms of the earthquake in Japan. We´ve heard how awful its been, and this morning there was a warning of a tsunami sent out across Chile. But since, they´ve said that there is little risk and we´re not on the coast anyway so it wouldn´t affect us. But we are praying for those who have been affected.
We´ve been learning a bit of Chilean slang as well, which I will endevour to tell you about another time :P
Much love to you all... time to eat some empanadas! (chilean version of cornish pasties - but SO much nicer!!) Ciao xxxxx
Yesterday we had a beautifully gorgeous day and we learnt a bit more about the culture here and about the projects we will be involved.
We´re spending the first two months working with Pastor Ezekiel in his church building (the place where we´re staying) and some relating churches. We´re gonna be doing some building of toilet blocks and helping paint peoples houses and doing gardening, as well as do up the place where we´re living.We´re also going to be involved in the children´s sunday school and possibly starting to run a childrens club for the kids in the community during the week - Friday Club comes to Chile!!! :P
The kids here are pretty much allowed to do what they like and parents don´t really ´believe´in discipline! The youth groups can also range from age 14 to 35 years old, as usually Chileans don´t move out until they get married... and even then, sometimes they move into the house with their new spouse!! Temuco has about 10 univercities in, so everybody goes to uni in their home town, and it usually takes 5 years minimum to complete the courses - hence the big youth group ages.
The people here are so generous, our neighbour - Luciano, has already brought us round an enormous watermelon...seriously, like the size of two people´s heads if not bigger!!! And his daughter is so cute!
Today, we spent the day in the city centre... after a night of horrendous rain and in fact all of this morning - we were soaked to the skin walking round the city, and going on a little bus tour. Oh and ...the whole in our bedroom roof? Yeah.... the rain came in last night.. although, it wasn´t too bad considering there was a torrential downpour, we only collected half an inch of water in a big tub.
Also, just to let you know, we´re all okay in terms of the earthquake in Japan. We´ve heard how awful its been, and this morning there was a warning of a tsunami sent out across Chile. But since, they´ve said that there is little risk and we´re not on the coast anyway so it wouldn´t affect us. But we are praying for those who have been affected.
We´ve been learning a bit of Chilean slang as well, which I will endevour to tell you about another time :P
Much love to you all... time to eat some empanadas! (chilean version of cornish pasties - but SO much nicer!!) Ciao xxxxx
Wednesday 9 March 2011
We Have Arrived...
Good Afternoon :) Well good evening to you back home,
We arrived at Temuco this morning, after one of the longest, and at points, most interesting journey of my life!
We left Heathrow airport at 8.45pm UK time and after a 12 hour flight filled with movies, games, and not much sleep, we landed in Sao Paulo, Brazil at about 5am - not the most exciting airport I´ve seen but it was nice to be able to walk around for 3 hours before hopping back onto the plane for another 4 hours to get to Santiago.
We arrived at Santiago at around 12pm and met up with Ruth...eventually! Everyone had their luggage and we all got onto the minibuses to travel to the city centre. We the had to move all the bags (two pieces of luggage per person roughly 20kg each plus hang luggage... that´s a lot of bags for 11 people!!) from the 1st floor... to the 9th floor... Thank the Lord for lifts! We freshen up a bit and went into town to find some dinner. Fast food is pretty big over here so Mucky Dees and BK, as well as Doggies - a hot dog restaurant where you can buy a hot dog with advocado and tomatoes on... I didn´t try that just yet :P but opted for pollo asado - kinda roast chicken - with chips and peas... which were then covered in vinegar and oil... First taste of Chilean food :P We took a walk around the city centre, seeing the huge cathedral and a beautiful old fort, which gave us a gorgeous view of the capital and the sun setting.
But soon it was time for us to get on with the nest part of the journey... so we headed back to the room with the bags, moved them all back down from the 9th floor to the 1st, struggled along the pavement with them to wait for a taxi to the bus station. And this was certainly an experience! 3 people, plus 9 or so bags crammed into a taxi so we were spread across 4 taxis, which were all to end up outside the bus station. We´d met and head inside together... or so was the plan! I was in a taxi with Emily M and Sarah, and we arrived first, paid the bill of 3000 pesos (about 4 quid) and found the two other taxis... but not the third :S
After waiting for quite a while, it was getting close to when the bus had to leave, so we had to head upstairs to the bus depot. With that amount of bags, we couldn´t all fit in the lñift, so Rocky and I were left downstairs... only to arrive upstairs where no one else was in sight... This was not a good part in the journey - sleep deprived, carrying 3 heavy bags and lost! Eventually we managed to find the rest of the group, with little time to spare... and loe and behold, the third taxi had dropped off the girls right next to the bus!
So we all got on the bus and 11pm and set off for Temuco, and 8 hour journey over night with honestly the NICEST seats ever! They´re practically beds! They have leg rests and can go back so their almost horizontal. I woke up at abvout 7am, well rested and ready for the next bit! We met the Pastor and set about moving all the bags again! This time to a pick up truck, which took half of us to the little church where we´d be staying.
Now... this is what I call modest accomadation... We´re staying in a newly built building... will wooden walls, electrical wires hanging off the wall, a bathroom with no light and no hot water and a gas camping stove to cook on. But it´s great! The church have provided the best that they can for us, and it´amazing that they´ve pulled this together.
The people here are so lovely and generous and the looks we get in the street are funny - I´ve never felt so white in all my life!!! We´ll be getting into the projects from Monday, so we have a couple of days to get used to life here. Oh and its lovely and warm, approx. 25 degrees C although apparently it will turn cold soon :(
Anyway, I will try and write again soon. Much love to you all, I am missing you all
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We arrived at Temuco this morning, after one of the longest, and at points, most interesting journey of my life!
We left Heathrow airport at 8.45pm UK time and after a 12 hour flight filled with movies, games, and not much sleep, we landed in Sao Paulo, Brazil at about 5am - not the most exciting airport I´ve seen but it was nice to be able to walk around for 3 hours before hopping back onto the plane for another 4 hours to get to Santiago.
We arrived at Santiago at around 12pm and met up with Ruth...eventually! Everyone had their luggage and we all got onto the minibuses to travel to the city centre. We the had to move all the bags (two pieces of luggage per person roughly 20kg each plus hang luggage... that´s a lot of bags for 11 people!!) from the 1st floor... to the 9th floor... Thank the Lord for lifts! We freshen up a bit and went into town to find some dinner. Fast food is pretty big over here so Mucky Dees and BK, as well as Doggies - a hot dog restaurant where you can buy a hot dog with advocado and tomatoes on... I didn´t try that just yet :P but opted for pollo asado - kinda roast chicken - with chips and peas... which were then covered in vinegar and oil... First taste of Chilean food :P We took a walk around the city centre, seeing the huge cathedral and a beautiful old fort, which gave us a gorgeous view of the capital and the sun setting.
But soon it was time for us to get on with the nest part of the journey... so we headed back to the room with the bags, moved them all back down from the 9th floor to the 1st, struggled along the pavement with them to wait for a taxi to the bus station. And this was certainly an experience! 3 people, plus 9 or so bags crammed into a taxi so we were spread across 4 taxis, which were all to end up outside the bus station. We´d met and head inside together... or so was the plan! I was in a taxi with Emily M and Sarah, and we arrived first, paid the bill of 3000 pesos (about 4 quid) and found the two other taxis... but not the third :S
After waiting for quite a while, it was getting close to when the bus had to leave, so we had to head upstairs to the bus depot. With that amount of bags, we couldn´t all fit in the lñift, so Rocky and I were left downstairs... only to arrive upstairs where no one else was in sight... This was not a good part in the journey - sleep deprived, carrying 3 heavy bags and lost! Eventually we managed to find the rest of the group, with little time to spare... and loe and behold, the third taxi had dropped off the girls right next to the bus!
So we all got on the bus and 11pm and set off for Temuco, and 8 hour journey over night with honestly the NICEST seats ever! They´re practically beds! They have leg rests and can go back so their almost horizontal. I woke up at abvout 7am, well rested and ready for the next bit! We met the Pastor and set about moving all the bags again! This time to a pick up truck, which took half of us to the little church where we´d be staying.
Now... this is what I call modest accomadation... We´re staying in a newly built building... will wooden walls, electrical wires hanging off the wall, a bathroom with no light and no hot water and a gas camping stove to cook on. But it´s great! The church have provided the best that they can for us, and it´amazing that they´ve pulled this together.
The people here are so lovely and generous and the looks we get in the street are funny - I´ve never felt so white in all my life!!! We´ll be getting into the projects from Monday, so we have a couple of days to get used to life here. Oh and its lovely and warm, approx. 25 degrees C although apparently it will turn cold soon :(
Anyway, I will try and write again soon. Much love to you all, I am missing you all
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Monday 7 March 2011
Today's The Day...
Well my lovely friends far and near,
Today's the day that I start my journey to Chile. My flight leaves London at quarter to 8 tonight and after nearly 12 hours, we will arrive in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We then have a 3 hour wait until we board our next flight tomorrow, which will take 4 hours to get over to Santiago in Chile. With my bags stretched to the limit and enough sweets to last 4 months, I think I'm ready to go...
Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored me and helped me to raise money, it's been amazing to see how people have given even out of what little they have. I'm so thankful for every bit of money that's been given and I know it's going towards helping some people who are in real need.
I'm gonna miss people back home, but I'm also excited about the new friends I'm going to make and the wonderful people I'm going to meet. It's going to be one awesome experience and I'll keep this blog as up to date as possible with stories and pictures and all the little adventures that we have!
Please do email me and keep raising money/sponsoring me if you can!
Much love to you all and I'll write as soon as I can when I arrive
Sarah xxxx
Today's the day that I start my journey to Chile. My flight leaves London at quarter to 8 tonight and after nearly 12 hours, we will arrive in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We then have a 3 hour wait until we board our next flight tomorrow, which will take 4 hours to get over to Santiago in Chile. With my bags stretched to the limit and enough sweets to last 4 months, I think I'm ready to go...
Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored me and helped me to raise money, it's been amazing to see how people have given even out of what little they have. I'm so thankful for every bit of money that's been given and I know it's going towards helping some people who are in real need.
I'm gonna miss people back home, but I'm also excited about the new friends I'm going to make and the wonderful people I'm going to meet. It's going to be one awesome experience and I'll keep this blog as up to date as possible with stories and pictures and all the little adventures that we have!
Please do email me and keep raising money/sponsoring me if you can!
Much love to you all and I'll write as soon as I can when I arrive
Sarah xxxx
Saturday 5 March 2011
Full On Packing Commences...
I actually can't believe that I'm about to start packing everything for the trip - four months worth of clothes, essential foods (SWEETS!) and hair product contained in a rucksack! Little bit mad.
This whole week has been quite unreal, pottering around seeing people, making lots of phone calls, buying little bits and bobs, that I haven't really noticed that it's 2 days until I go.... It's really quite bizarre. I don't think I've quite realised what I'm letting myself in for! So the flight could be interesting!!!
It's such an honour and privilege to be able to go over to Chile and work over there, but I think I'm gonna miss everyone at home quite a lot. Still, chin up :) I know there will be lots of amazing people to meet and awesome stories to put up here! So though on one hand, I'm sad to be going, I'm also very excited about what I'm gonna experience over there - no doubt that it will be life changing in ways that I haven't even thought of!
Thank you so much to everyone who has given towards this trip, and please do continue to give if you can - literally every little helps! And actually still need to raise a couple of grand! Please let me know if you like more details about donating.
I'll probably write again on Monday :)
Much love xxx
This whole week has been quite unreal, pottering around seeing people, making lots of phone calls, buying little bits and bobs, that I haven't really noticed that it's 2 days until I go.... It's really quite bizarre. I don't think I've quite realised what I'm letting myself in for! So the flight could be interesting!!!
It's such an honour and privilege to be able to go over to Chile and work over there, but I think I'm gonna miss everyone at home quite a lot. Still, chin up :) I know there will be lots of amazing people to meet and awesome stories to put up here! So though on one hand, I'm sad to be going, I'm also very excited about what I'm gonna experience over there - no doubt that it will be life changing in ways that I haven't even thought of!
Thank you so much to everyone who has given towards this trip, and please do continue to give if you can - literally every little helps! And actually still need to raise a couple of grand! Please let me know if you like more details about donating.
I'll probably write again on Monday :)
Much love xxx
Tuesday 1 March 2011
6 days to go....
Wow! Only six more days to go until I fly off to Chile...
I spent the second half of last week in North London, meeting everyone from the team and getting to know them more - It's gonna be four very funny months! There was so much information to try and take in and process that I'm not sure I've got it all yet! Plus all the extra recommended items to take to Chile - it is gonna be cold, so get me some of them thermals!!
We spent a lot of time together as a team achieving tasks like our outing in London to collect photographs (which we all had to be in) doing various things, por ejemplo... everyone climbing inside a telephone box... playing football outside Wembley stadium... everyone in a tree.... wearing a random stranger's hat and shaking their hand... etc etc... It was such a laugh!
I honestly can't believe that it's only 6 days till I leave. It's going to be one amazing, life-changing adventure. From building toilet shacks to teaching in the churches, it's gonna be awesome! And hopefully I'll come back with some good language skills!!
Well... things to buy, people to see and stuff to pack, so hasta luego xxxx
I spent the second half of last week in North London, meeting everyone from the team and getting to know them more - It's gonna be four very funny months! There was so much information to try and take in and process that I'm not sure I've got it all yet! Plus all the extra recommended items to take to Chile - it is gonna be cold, so get me some of them thermals!!
We spent a lot of time together as a team achieving tasks like our outing in London to collect photographs (which we all had to be in) doing various things, por ejemplo... everyone climbing inside a telephone box... playing football outside Wembley stadium... everyone in a tree.... wearing a random stranger's hat and shaking their hand... etc etc... It was such a laugh!
I honestly can't believe that it's only 6 days till I leave. It's going to be one amazing, life-changing adventure. From building toilet shacks to teaching in the churches, it's gonna be awesome! And hopefully I'll come back with some good language skills!!
Well... things to buy, people to see and stuff to pack, so hasta luego xxxx
Wednesday 23 February 2011
12 days to go
Wow it's getting close! And I think I'll write a song... On the 12th day before Chile I packed my bags to go... To 5 days training in a church hall...
So this afternoon I'm off up to north London and it's gonna be the first time everyone meets. Im deffo looking forward to it! We've got 5 days of training and prep together and it should be good. It will be awesome to finally meet the other people in the same team as me and start getting to know them! Wo0op!
Well gonna have a sturdy lunch and finish packing,
Hasta luego x
So this afternoon I'm off up to north London and it's gonna be the first time everyone meets. Im deffo looking forward to it! We've got 5 days of training and prep together and it should be good. It will be awesome to finally meet the other people in the same team as me and start getting to know them! Wo0op!
Well gonna have a sturdy lunch and finish packing,
Hasta luego x
Monday 21 February 2011
45 Miles and 7.5 Hours Later...
Yesterday morning, at 8 am, Anna, Andy, Colin, Sarah, Toby and I gathered in Southwater Country Park to start the epic journey down to Worthing and back along the Downs Link, and I must say I was quite optimistic about how easy this 'little bike ride' would be - boy was I in for a shock! And so was every muscle in my body!!!
We powered down to Worthing - up and down hills, through muddy puddles and I think Sarah Thomas wins the muddiest person competition, while I managed to avoid most of the mud even though I went through the puddles - Thank the Lord for mud-guards!! ;) We across an epically boggy field, nearly loosing shoes and sped down long hills... only to realise... we had to come back up them!!
We stopped off for our half-way lunch break at Worthing pier, before turning round and coming back... and man was that tough! Even the flatter parts of the journey felt like effort, and the hills looked like they'd defeat us, but no! We pushed on and persevered! The last half an hour was probably the worst, as everything ached and it just never seemed to end. But we made it, we completed the whole 45 miles in 7 and a half hours :D Next mission.... collect in all the promised sponsors ;)
I'm so thankful to the other guys who came with me, it was a brilliant day, even if my body now kanes and doesn't like me very much! And thank you to everyone who's sponsored me to ride, every donation is seriously helpful and making a difference!
Everything seems to be happening so fast now and I actually can't believe that it's only 2 weeks until I go. My last day of work is tomorrow, then orientation and meeting everyone from Wednesday till Sunday... then it's one week left - scarily close! But bring on the adventure!
You can still donate towards my trip and even sponsor me for the bike ride by going to http://www.latinlink.org/Donate.aspx . To give towards my trip (Step 2011) please follow the link and select to contribute to a person - you'll find me near the bottom of the list as "Sarah Waterman (Step 2011)".
Alternatively, you can donate straight to me. Please email me on sarahinchile@hotmail.co.uk for details.
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated already, I really appreciate every single donation, whether its been 10p or £100, everything counts so thank you!
Hasta Luego Mis Amigos xx
We powered down to Worthing - up and down hills, through muddy puddles and I think Sarah Thomas wins the muddiest person competition, while I managed to avoid most of the mud even though I went through the puddles - Thank the Lord for mud-guards!! ;) We across an epically boggy field, nearly loosing shoes and sped down long hills... only to realise... we had to come back up them!!
We stopped off for our half-way lunch break at Worthing pier, before turning round and coming back... and man was that tough! Even the flatter parts of the journey felt like effort, and the hills looked like they'd defeat us, but no! We pushed on and persevered! The last half an hour was probably the worst, as everything ached and it just never seemed to end. But we made it, we completed the whole 45 miles in 7 and a half hours :D Next mission.... collect in all the promised sponsors ;)
I'm so thankful to the other guys who came with me, it was a brilliant day, even if my body now kanes and doesn't like me very much! And thank you to everyone who's sponsored me to ride, every donation is seriously helpful and making a difference!
Everything seems to be happening so fast now and I actually can't believe that it's only 2 weeks until I go. My last day of work is tomorrow, then orientation and meeting everyone from Wednesday till Sunday... then it's one week left - scarily close! But bring on the adventure!
You can still donate towards my trip and even sponsor me for the bike ride by going to http://www.latinlink.org/Donate.aspx . To give towards my trip (Step 2011) please follow the link and select to contribute to a person - you'll find me near the bottom of the list as "Sarah Waterman (Step 2011)".
Alternatively, you can donate straight to me. Please email me on sarahinchile@hotmail.co.uk for details.
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated already, I really appreciate every single donation, whether its been 10p or £100, everything counts so thank you!
Hasta Luego Mis Amigos xx
Friday 18 February 2011
The Packing Begins...
Well today is my big day to start packing all my bits and pieces to move all my belongings to my parents before my trip.
It's only 17 days till I go which is just mental! Had some more injections today and got the bike ride on Sunday - there's still time to sponsor me!! I'm doing a 45 mile bike ride and so far I'm got a fair bit of sponsorship but every little helps in reaching the 5 grand target!
It's so amazing the things you uncover when you start to move; pictures and little mementos that just bring memories flooding back! I'm definitely gonna miss some people when I'm away!! But it's gonna be an awesome experience.. Not long now!!!
Well better get back to packing - LOTS to do!! Lol
X
It's only 17 days till I go which is just mental! Had some more injections today and got the bike ride on Sunday - there's still time to sponsor me!! I'm doing a 45 mile bike ride and so far I'm got a fair bit of sponsorship but every little helps in reaching the 5 grand target!
It's so amazing the things you uncover when you start to move; pictures and little mementos that just bring memories flooding back! I'm definitely gonna miss some people when I'm away!! But it's gonna be an awesome experience.. Not long now!!!
Well better get back to packing - LOTS to do!! Lol
X
Tuesday 8 February 2011
27 days to go... Wait what??
Good gravy, I didn't realise it was quite that close!! Better a get a wiggle on with organising and starting to pack!
Sponsorships are rolling in nicely for the bike ride, please let me know if you can or want to sponsor me for the 45 mile ride I'll be going on! The bike ride's on the 20th of Feb so not too far away!
Our flights have definitely been confirmed for the 7th of march, in the evening, although it's gonna take a day if not more to arrive with all the traveling! We're taking a flight from London to Brazil, then Brazil to Santiago (Chile's capital) and then an 8 hour journey down to Temuco! :) think it could be a long day! And then 4 months of awesomeness then the journey back starts in reverse on the 11th of July!
I can't quite believe it's only 27 days till we fly, coming round crazy fast now! I've got my next session of injections on Friday - eek! But I'm sure that'll be okay
And before you know it, I'll be up in Northwood Hills meeting the guys that I'm traveling with for real and doing a bit of training :D wo0op :)
Anywho must dash, gotta enjoy the good British food while I still can ;)
Much love x
Sponsorships are rolling in nicely for the bike ride, please let me know if you can or want to sponsor me for the 45 mile ride I'll be going on! The bike ride's on the 20th of Feb so not too far away!
Our flights have definitely been confirmed for the 7th of march, in the evening, although it's gonna take a day if not more to arrive with all the traveling! We're taking a flight from London to Brazil, then Brazil to Santiago (Chile's capital) and then an 8 hour journey down to Temuco! :) think it could be a long day! And then 4 months of awesomeness then the journey back starts in reverse on the 11th of July!
I can't quite believe it's only 27 days till we fly, coming round crazy fast now! I've got my next session of injections on Friday - eek! But I'm sure that'll be okay
And before you know it, I'll be up in Northwood Hills meeting the guys that I'm traveling with for real and doing a bit of training :D wo0op :)
Anywho must dash, gotta enjoy the good British food while I still can ;)
Much love x
Sunday 6 February 2011
Bike Ride & More Fundraising
Hi de hi :)
It looks as though there's going to be nearly 20 of us doing the bike ride on the 20th of Feb, which is awesome! Hopefully we'll raise a good amount towards my trip and if you want to sponsor me or one of the other guys that is riding, then please either use the donate link or email me at sarahinchile@hotmail.co.uk for other details :)
We're gonna be riding 45 miles from Horsham to Shoreham and back! Which is probably gonna take the best part of 9 hours - definitely taking the advice on getting a good saddle!!!!
The other awesome odea thata gonna be happening that Friday Night Club this coming Friday is.... Chilli for Chile!!! We're gonna be selling bowls of Chilli for £2 - come along and buy some!!!
Wooo!!!
It looks as though there's going to be nearly 20 of us doing the bike ride on the 20th of Feb, which is awesome! Hopefully we'll raise a good amount towards my trip and if you want to sponsor me or one of the other guys that is riding, then please either use the donate link or email me at sarahinchile@hotmail.co.uk for other details :)
We're gonna be riding 45 miles from Horsham to Shoreham and back! Which is probably gonna take the best part of 9 hours - definitely taking the advice on getting a good saddle!!!!
The other awesome odea thata gonna be happening that Friday Night Club this coming Friday is.... Chilli for Chile!!! We're gonna be selling bowls of Chilli for £2 - come along and buy some!!!
Wooo!!!
Friday 4 February 2011
Let's Ride That Bike!!
Soo the bike ride is all set to launch on the 20th of February! Woo! I will be riding from Horsham to shoreham and back - thata approximately 45 miles in aid of raising money for my trip to Chile. Please sponsor me or some of the other guys who will be riding too, an hopefully we'll get a stack load of monoes towards my four month trip to Chile :D
Please sign up to my blog or emil me for more details about giving!
In other news.... More injections are looming eek!!
Love love x
Please sign up to my blog or emil me for more details about giving!
In other news.... More injections are looming eek!!
Love love x
Friday 28 January 2011
No me gusta las inyecciones!!
Hola amigos :)
So... Today I got the first of my injections and I'm clearly a big sap coz I nearly cried - although that may have been at the cost of the next 6 I have to have.. 3 lots of hep B at £40 a shot and 3 lots of rabies at £45 a shot. That's a wooping £255-shaped hole in my bank account ladies and gentlemen and were my birthday money is going lol!!!
Thank you to those of you who've blessed me so far with money, I'm brewing some fundraising ideas like.... A 'chile' bike ride... Cycling to Brighton and back and being really cold...
Anyway I shall keep you post - only 38 days till I go... Really??? Gosh.. That's soon!!!
Well ttfn xx
So... Today I got the first of my injections and I'm clearly a big sap coz I nearly cried - although that may have been at the cost of the next 6 I have to have.. 3 lots of hep B at £40 a shot and 3 lots of rabies at £45 a shot. That's a wooping £255-shaped hole in my bank account ladies and gentlemen and were my birthday money is going lol!!!
Thank you to those of you who've blessed me so far with money, I'm brewing some fundraising ideas like.... A 'chile' bike ride... Cycling to Brighton and back and being really cold...
Anyway I shall keep you post - only 38 days till I go... Really??? Gosh.. That's soon!!!
Well ttfn xx
Monday 17 January 2011
49 days to go....
Well it's currently 49 days till I fly out to Chile and have a complete lifestyle change!
Just a bit of an update on my progress... I've booked my first set of jabs :/ Eeek! Not looking forward to them really but it's gota be done! I've also been running round in circles trying to find out my blood group!!! Pretty much everyone knows their blood group in South America, so I need to know just in case. But in England, the only way to find out (apparently) is to.... 1. Give blood 2. Be pregnant or 3. Pay for it... So I was going to the last one, but it seems I can't even pay people to take my blood :P
Anyway, my wonderful mother has brought me a kit that means I can test and find out myself.... I'll let you know how that goes...
In other news, I've been doin a fair bit of researching the country itself - did you know that there are 50 volcanos in Chile?? And that it lies right next to a fault line... In fact the fault line passes just under Temuco (the city I'm gonna be staying in!) Chile also has 3 distinct climate areas - the north is pretty much also consumed by the Atacama desert which, I think I'm right in saying, is the dryest desert in the world. The central part is very agricultural and there's a good climate for growing things, they're winters are kinda similar to ours. And the south has quite a lot of forest and wood areas as well as lakes and fjords and little islands all very close together - Easter island is part of Chile which I didn't realise!
So it's a vastly varied country with several native tribes and fascinating things to learn
I'm gona sign off now, but will hopefully update again soon :)
Hasta luego
Sarah
Just a bit of an update on my progress... I've booked my first set of jabs :/ Eeek! Not looking forward to them really but it's gota be done! I've also been running round in circles trying to find out my blood group!!! Pretty much everyone knows their blood group in South America, so I need to know just in case. But in England, the only way to find out (apparently) is to.... 1. Give blood 2. Be pregnant or 3. Pay for it... So I was going to the last one, but it seems I can't even pay people to take my blood :P
Anyway, my wonderful mother has brought me a kit that means I can test and find out myself.... I'll let you know how that goes...
In other news, I've been doin a fair bit of researching the country itself - did you know that there are 50 volcanos in Chile?? And that it lies right next to a fault line... In fact the fault line passes just under Temuco (the city I'm gonna be staying in!) Chile also has 3 distinct climate areas - the north is pretty much also consumed by the Atacama desert which, I think I'm right in saying, is the dryest desert in the world. The central part is very agricultural and there's a good climate for growing things, they're winters are kinda similar to ours. And the south has quite a lot of forest and wood areas as well as lakes and fjords and little islands all very close together - Easter island is part of Chile which I didn't realise!
So it's a vastly varied country with several native tribes and fascinating things to learn
I'm gona sign off now, but will hopefully update again soon :)
Hasta luego
Sarah
Monday 10 January 2011
56 Days To Go....
Well... Here goes with my first entry on here! And for those of you how don't know yet, I'll fill in some of the details of what's going on...
About two months ago I decided to apply for a four month trip with Latin Link (an organisation who work in Latin America). Latin Link provide opportunities for people with a passion for Christian mission in and from Latin America. They run three different programmes called Step, Stride and Stay; the first being a four month trip, the second an eight month trip and the last staying in the country. They work with churches that are already working in communities in Latin America and aim to support and aid those churches through these three programmes.
So, after a whirlwind of filling in forms and an interview day, I'm off to Chile in March! I'm gonna be travelling with a group of 10 other Christians from around the UK and Europe to come along side churches in Chile. We are gonna get to be involved in some hardcore building work, kids work, street evangelism as well as church life. We're gonna be based in Temuco, a fairly large city approximately 8 hours south of Santiago (Chile's capital).
Our flights are provisionally booked for the 7th of March, so there's lots to try and pack in before then, including a horrendous amount of expensive injections, a weeks training with the rest of the Steppers, brushing up on my Spanish, and raising the money to go!
I'm aiming to raise £5,000 for this project, which will cover everything from flights and accommodation to money to give into the churches that Latin Link work with. I'll keep a running total of the amount that's been raised and the events that happen to help raise more! Current running total is £350! If you'd like to donate then please see the donate info in the right hand column.
I'm looking forward to this very exciting next chapter in my life and ask for your support and pray as I prepare to go and while I'm out there! I'll get some interesting Chile-esk info up soon!
Thanks for reading,
Sarah
About two months ago I decided to apply for a four month trip with Latin Link (an organisation who work in Latin America). Latin Link provide opportunities for people with a passion for Christian mission in and from Latin America. They run three different programmes called Step, Stride and Stay; the first being a four month trip, the second an eight month trip and the last staying in the country. They work with churches that are already working in communities in Latin America and aim to support and aid those churches through these three programmes.
So, after a whirlwind of filling in forms and an interview day, I'm off to Chile in March! I'm gonna be travelling with a group of 10 other Christians from around the UK and Europe to come along side churches in Chile. We are gonna get to be involved in some hardcore building work, kids work, street evangelism as well as church life. We're gonna be based in Temuco, a fairly large city approximately 8 hours south of Santiago (Chile's capital).
Our flights are provisionally booked for the 7th of March, so there's lots to try and pack in before then, including a horrendous amount of expensive injections, a weeks training with the rest of the Steppers, brushing up on my Spanish, and raising the money to go!
I'm aiming to raise £5,000 for this project, which will cover everything from flights and accommodation to money to give into the churches that Latin Link work with. I'll keep a running total of the amount that's been raised and the events that happen to help raise more! Current running total is £350! If you'd like to donate then please see the donate info in the right hand column.
I'm looking forward to this very exciting next chapter in my life and ask for your support and pray as I prepare to go and while I'm out there! I'll get some interesting Chile-esk info up soon!
Thanks for reading,
Sarah
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