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Heaven, Baseball, and EnglishWhy reinvent the wheel...especially when I could never do as good of a job? Click HERE to read Elise's amazing blog, with some great pictures, about the immeasurable blessings of the two VBS we were able to have during January. Odds & EndsJust a quick reminder that I'm coming to visit...maybe to a town near you! ;) (I am currently in Miami...and it is proving to be a wonderful stop on the way up north...not only because of wonderful friends, but because it is just a little bit colder... and it is obviously the United States but everyone speaks Spanish!) During my visit, I will be doing a few different presentations about life in Chile at different schools and churches. Below you will find 3 different places where the presentations are open to the general public. Feel free to contact me if you'd like more specifics for any of them! The first one coming up is this Sunday, February 5th @ 9:15 am. Church services are at 8 am & 10:30 am. Also, I sadly won't be able to go around and see all your lovely faces while visiting in the USA, but I still would love to see as many of you as possible! If you live near southeastern Wisconsin, please come and share a few hours or even just a few minutes! :) ♥ P.S. I guess I should tell you...because it makes me laugh (now, after the fact)...that my dog at my passport. I'm not even kidding. Guess she didn't want me to leave? Thankfully, it was Sunday morning and I didn't leave until Tuesday evening...so I had time to throw my things together, get on a bus to Santiago, and get an emergency passport from the USA Embassy! Phew! #closecall
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Wow, I haven't written to you guys since last year!
I'm guessing/hoping that with the busy-ness of the holidays you didn't even notice?! Either way, here is a little overview to get us up to date: uno). No more school, no more books...!
dos). Celebrate good times, come on!
tres). New year...new me?
cuatro). I'm but a stranger here...heaven is my home!
cinco). Party in the U.S.A!
If you've been reading this blog for awhile you've had the pleasure of seeing my beautiful puppy, Choripan {chor-ee-pahn}. She is silky soft, muy tierna y regalona (very sweet and cuddly) and the best part about coming home. In May this lovely lady turned one year old! One casual evening in March, Choripan and I were on a walk when we came across another cute little puppy who was wandering the streets. He followed us and played nicely with Choripan...and on our way home I tried to return him to the house by the corner market where I thought for sure he belonged. The shop lady explained that he had been abandoned a couple of weeks before and didn't have a home. {insert heart melting} He looked so young and frail but still managed to have a smile on his face and play nicely with Choripan...and because of that I just couldn't leave him there on the streets. I named him Mote {Mo-tay} after this lovely summertime cold drink "Mote con huesillo" made from peach juice and barley. Mote resided with us for nearly two months, put on a healthy weight and got his updated shots and many much needed cuddles. (He never quite understood where to correctly go potty though...I apologize once again, Jon & Elise...) #thatfacethough They played well together...AKA they made a mess together and Choripan was happy there was someone to share the blame with... There are a few active volunteer groups here in Linares in defense of our animal friends. One is called "Sociedad Protectora de Animales de Linares". They are quite active on Facebook, constantly helping to reunite people with their lost pets and offering low-rate sterilizations. Another great service that they offer is helping animals in need find loving families. Every Saturday for a few hours they set-up in the Plaza of Linares and help facilitate adoptions for newborns or rescued animals. I went two Saturdays scouting out a family who might want to adopt a cute grey haired puppy. Though Mote was very well behaved and as cute as ever the first Saturday, he just couldn't compete with twenty cute newborn pups. However, we ventured to the park two weeks later and were successful at finding a family for Mote! And while we're discussing dogs, let me tell you about Porotos {po-row-toes} First, here is the food: On the left, porotos granados and on the right, porotos con riendas (literally, "beans with reins"). The second is a delicious winter bean soup/stew with squash and spaghetti noodles...and I haven't had a bad bowl yet! If you know Spanish there are lots of recipes on the internet to try, but for those who don't speak español THIS was the best one I could find for you...give it a try! This is Porotos the dog. I had seen him a time or two in the park before and one night Choripan and I found him dying under a tree in the park by our house. Ok, well, I thought he was dying...so I took him home for the night and decided that if he was still alive the next day I would take him to the vet. Though he didn't move much, if even at all overnight, 24 hours later the vet called to say that it was just a lung infection, Porotos was already doing better, the owners had been identified, and the dog's name is actually Gary. Horray for happy endings! FYI: Here in Chile May 13 started Winter Daylight Saving (until August 13). We are currently 1 hour ahead of Central Time Zone. And last, but certainly not least...
Kathy, our new director for Kingdom Worker's: Chile, came for her first visit in May! We had a wonderful time getting to know her, showing her around, and introducing her to people at our schools and church! We look forward to working together and her next visit! Thank you, Kathy! Most of my week consists of your average daily activities: Wake up. Go to work. Ask students to please "Sit down", "Use nicer words", and "Put your cell phone away." Buy food. Prepare food. Eat food. Wash dishes. Hang with friends. Pay bills. Watch a movie. Read a book. Click the little blue Facebook thumb. Walk with dogs. Pick-up dog doo-doo. Cuddle with dogs. Do laundry. Sleep. However, sometimes there are some shining and exciting moments such as: Camping in the mountains. Going to the ocean for a day. Getting up close and personal with penguins. Surprise mail from the states hanging in my tree or laying in a corner half-eaten by my puppy. Getting the 'family rate' on wine and a private tasting even after showing up after-hours. Friends and family coming to visit. Picking up hitchhikers. (Wait...Mom, have I told you about that yet?) Well, this blog entry, unfortunately for you, is neither shining nor exciting...but it does give you a few little tidbits to answer the classic question "What's going on in your life?" #disappointedbutwarmChimney sweeps do NOT perform choreographed routines on neighborhood rooftops. I shouldn't be too surprised though...it isn't the first time a musical deceived me about the realities of life. Despite the obvious disappointment, he did a wonderful job and now I am enjoying a nice toasty house on chilly fall evenings. Speaking of fall...here is what it is looking like near Linares these days. #icantreadthatWhat exciting things have I done in my free time recently? Practice my Chilean penmanship. While the Spanish and English alphabets are nearly the same, neither good ol' Zaner-Bloser nor D' Nealian cursive do much good when working with young students... At fist I assumed I could avoid any misunderstanding by just printing my letters...but my third graders quickly helped me realize that was a very wrong assumption to have made! One can only hear "Miss, what letter is that?" a few hundred times before going crazy. After the second class of the year, one of the third grade teachers suggested that I write in cursive because here in Chile they start learning cursive right away in first grade. Ok, no problem! Then, about two days later, I realized that my cursive was also causing problems...yeah, one of those "Michelle Tanner Moments." Another teacher gave me a copy of the handwriting chart and I started practicing! Look especially at the upper case "i", because that's how I used to make my upper case"t"...talk about confusing. The capital "g" and "t" have been the hardest for me to get used to...but hopefully it will soon be second nature! At first I found the lower case "p" a bit annoying, but it certainly has grown on me and now I am rather fond of not closing it off. Once while I was practicing another teacher saw me and gave me an extra copy he had of a handwriting book. #awesome #itsthelittlethings #iwantallofthebooks #patienceisavirtueAnd last, but certainly not least...this is what the taxi line looks like when you go grocery shopping late on Saturday morning...
Ladies and Gentlemen...it is time for a competition!
Help me & my friend Carla think of some awesome names for our bikes! If we choose the name you suggest...you win ice cream! The competition ends Friday, March 11 @ 8:59pm CST (23:59 Chile). Click the button below to play! |
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