It really is chilly in Chile...I want some chili

As you may have guessed from the title, we are now in Chile, a land of absolutely spectacular landscape, blessedly cooler weather, and drivers who actually stop for pedestrians! Last week was a time of waiting for the right moment to leave for Chile and having a blast with the youth in the church as always. They almost didnt let us leave, even went so far as to barricade the door : ). It was really hard to leave them though, we had all gotten attached to each other. Its amazing how close you can get to someone in a week and a half even when they dont speak your language. They ran after our van waving until they couldnt see us any more. It was really touching, we are hoping to return to them for a few days after Chile. Actually, we had better return to them because at the moment they have possession of my (and Axis) suitcase. We decided that our suitcases were too big for the travel so we left them at the church. At the moment I am living for almost two weeks out of a backpack. Hallelujah. It is a good thing though because between all the car and bus rides I am glad to not have to worry about my suitcase.

So it took us about 30 hours to get here, 22 hours on a bus, then the rest in a car. The bus ride was glorious! 22 hours to rest, write, and sleep! The best part is that we rode a double decker and got to ride on the top, another one of my life goals accomplished! (haha). It was better than riding first class in an airplane. Plus, the scenery as we were crossing the Andes mountains was absolutely breathtaking. I tried to write about it so I will share some of it with you, but words just dont to it justice...."The farther we travel into this range, the views get more and more spectacular. Rivers and lakes of pure glass that reflect the splendor of the mountains with their carved edges and rising slopes that reach up to scrape the sky. Everything just fits, the sky seems even more beautiful when sprinkled with clouds and seemingly suspended between heaven itself and Gods own masterpiece of Earth. How lovely. I wish I could capture a piece of it and save it in time. But a pen and words are inadequate, I am not artistic at all, and a camera cant catch it all. So I am going to pray for these images to stay locked in my mind, for these are the times when I feel closest to God; when I can see His splendor and greatness reflected in His creation. When I can whisper any prayer and it just seems to swirl up to His ear with the warm, dusty wind. I know He is nearby at all times, but in some moments He just feels more accessile. Maybe that is why Jesus always went out by Himself to the mountains to pray...maybe He felt the same way."

Well, anyway our trip was for the most part enjoyable until we got stuck at the border because the officials thought Jennie was illegal. Apparently at the airport when we first got here, Jennies visa was stamped with the date 2008 instead of 2009. So it looked like she had been here for a year illegally. This caused a bit of tension to take care of, but thankfully everything got worked out to the tune of $. Tomorrow we are going to the island of Tabon for a few days, which I am very excited about!

Thanks to God for all of His provisions even when we dont ask, I will have many stories when I return. For now, thanks as always for the prayers!