Santiago

The first step in starting my trip could have started at any point; mine will start at 4AM at the side of my bed. I had to be at the airport by “5ish” and poor Donna had to take me. The first leg of my trip was SEA to LAX, a short 2 plus hour flight. In that short time period my task was to finish reading “When God Weeps”. As I sat engrossed in my book, the lady seated next to me excused herself and asked what I was reading. I started to explain that it was a book about why our suffering matters to God, when she told me that was just what she needed. She was a “baby Christian” and had just gone through a bout with cervical cancer, a failed relationship with a boyfriend of a few years and the loss of her job. Wow, this lady was in the midst of real suffering and God put her seated next to me! As we were about to land and after a few tears this stranger had a new focus for her life. All those things that seemed so important didn’t measure up to what Christ had done for her. She left me with I hope a new sense of life.
On to Santiago via Lima, Peru. My companion for this part of my trip was a 70 something Chilean woman who spoke six words in English but loved to talk just the same. With my Spanish being very limited it made for a very long but interesting flight. This lady drug me around the plane introducing me to her new found friends on the plane. I saw pictures of her daughters wedding and heard of all her visits to Disneyland, the beaches and of course the movie studios. Marisa also thought I needed more food than the airlines served so she went to the flight attendants and told them they needed to give me extra food (LAN CHILE the national airlines serves more food and drink than most any other). She also insisted that I share in her snack bag. Marisa also tried to give me a little plastic dog, one of many that she had in her purse. I said no; she should keep it for herself. Wellll you don’t turn down a gift from a Chilean without insulting them. Marisa ignored me with her nose up in the air for at least a half-hour before excepting my most humble apologies. Marisa was a real jewel, she even insisted that she write me a note in my notebook (this was at three AM in the morning).
At 7AM Chilean time (2AM West Coast) I was finally on the ground in Chile. My friend Diego, a missionary there for sixteen plus years now met me as I flew through customs. We were off to his house to allow me to clean up have some coffee and something to eat (just what I needed, more food).
It was not long before we had to return to the airport to pick up the rest of my team (I flew on frequent flyer miles o had to use a different airline than them). 15 more Gringo’s and 16 bins of used glasses plus our tools did not go unnoticed by customs. The last four or five got stopped and with some delicate negotiations and some money we were allowed to pass on.
Upon our arrival at the Church/School we were greeted by hugs and kisses and guess what? More food! One of the hardest things for people from Seattle to get accustom to is drinking “Nescafé”.
Instant coffee instead of Starbucks. We also learned to eat a lot of pan (bread). Bread with every meal along with avocado, tomatoes and onion. Most of the time that was our meal, some variations but those were the basics. We were paired off and sent to individual family homes for our places of residence while in Chile. While few of use spoke no more than fragmented sentences in Spanish we all seemed to make do all right. We all came back to the church and set up for our vision clinic and work project. You can view some of our photos at “www.highlinechristian.org/ministry/chile2005/default.htm”.
I will try to write more tomorrow and tell some of the stories that I remember.
Chow!