Me with Paty and Anny, some Chilean friends


Last week we had our first English club...only 1 guy showed up, and he turned out to be a 30 year old man named Christian, who was not a student. During the middle of talking with him, he suddenly left. We weren't sure if he was going to return or not, when he showed up again with a big bottle of beer and proceeded to share it with some of the guys on the team. Needless to say, even though we were disappointed at the lack of students, this made a good story about our first English club. I think God has a good sense of humor. Hopefully, more students will come this Wednesday, as we've continued to meet students and invite them to come.

This week was also the first meeting of Raices (roots) at USACH (university of Santiago de Chile). The other STINT team here in Santiago works at this university where there is an established ministry. Raices is for the student leaders to come to to grow in their faith, fellowship, and develop as leaders. It was great to go to it and meet some of the students leaders there, as well as observe and see what the other team is doing with the students. I'm really ready to be on campus full-time!

This is our last week of Spanish school- we've been able to meet students from around the world and develop friendships with them. This Friday, we'll be having a BBQ (asado) at our apartments and inviting our classmates to come so we can hang out with them more, and have one last opportunity to have spiritual conversations with them, and hopefully to share the gospel. There are literally students from all over the world studying with us, and it's been so interesting getting to know them.

This weekend I'll be going to my friend Cote's house in Talca. She is a Chilean on staff with Campus Crusade here in Chile, and I met her last summer on project. We're really good friends, and I'm excited for the chance to spend more time with her, as well as to meet her family. It's so nice to be with families and in homes here when I have the opportunity. This weekend is also the 'fiestas patrias' (independence day) celebration in Chile, and I'm excited to be here for that.

Chile Fact: September 11 in Chile is a very controversial day, as it is the day when Pinochet (the dictator) overthrew the Socialist Chilean government (Allende). It's a little dangerous for us Americans to be out today, as there are many protests, riots, and general chaos in the street, so we stayed at home after language school. I seen a fire burning on San Cristobal, the hill in front of our house, but that was the extent of my excitement for the day.

Santiago