Well, I am a terrible at blog maintenance. I was just looking at my friends Ali’s and Mark’s blog and feel a little lacking. AH, oh well! Here we go.

At the beginning of March I was graciously invited to attend the Team Banquet. It’s an evening dedicated to looking back over the year and enjoying an appetizing meal together. It also involves awards and videos. I had the pleasure of being a part of the production crew for the short films made in honor of some of the team members. Infomercials, top ten lists, and re-enactments. Oh man! I was bestowed the honor of The Wizard of Wikipedia. I have no earthly idea, ahem, what that’s getting at, but this one is another upon my mantle of titles, next to The Sultan of Slide.

Easter was quite an event this year, I don’t have much else to compare it to because it is my first outside of the U.S. Chile, as many other holiday traditions (i.e. Halloween – trick or treating, Christmas – Santa Claus, snowy images in the middle of summer, etc) has adapted Easter with foreign traditions. The jóvenes (youth) were in charge of Sunday games and Easter egg hunt. One thing that Chile has not is the plastic egg or variety of candy, everything hidden were small chocolate eggs. Delicious, and this year, they were kept our of the sun. For Viernes Santo (Good Friday), we had a progressive play with five scenes spread over the church building grounds. It was really well done and much of the preparation was put in Chileans hands.

Good Friday performers. Christian (no shirt) and Diana (only female).	Birthday cinnamon roll cake after two hours of sleep

Currently I am living with two friends, Christian and Diana, that are to be married this coming weekend. They were kind of forced to move out of his parents’ house in to their old house. Well I got the call two weeks ago, telling me (not asking me), that I was to come stay with them for three weeks. It’s been a lot of fun and great experience. I was living with Jeff and Penne before, who live a bit closer to the church building (i.e. bike ride of 15 min.), but now I get to experience the daily joy of Transantiago, the transit system of Santiago. My friend Rodrigo told me yesterday, “Creo que eres el practicante que ha tenido una experiencia más cercana a la verdadera vida chilena.” (“I think you’re the intern that has had an experience closest to the the true Chilean life.”) or something along those lines. It’s quite a compliment.

I had a swell birthday. I was taken out to eat by my friends Jeff and Penne. We had a lovely dinner and afterwards I returned to the church building to pull a near all nighter working on some presentations for the Deans goodbye the next day.

Oh the Deans! Man was that a day to celebrate, cry, share, and see the change they brought. There’s a hole here now and it hasn’t been filled, because, really it can’t be. Mark is a superb friend. Denise can make you laugh with nothing other than her own laughter. And their precious two children are a delight to be around. I’m going to miss the cooking together, talking about our lives, watching movies together, and just being in their presence. They left on April 2, woo was that a doozy of a send off in the airport. We miss them, but know who is guiding them.

The Dean Family	Christian and Jenny avoiding sleep prior to 15 hour flight

Some other quick updates:
- I’ve began meeting with two friends from my small group, Aníbal and Micheln, Friday nights to practice their English.
- I’ve been unofficially in charge of multimedia at the church (“button-pusher for PowerPoint”) and am trying to hand it back over to Chileans via hands-on training.
- My computer is currently backing up in Safe Mode. It’s on its last leg.
- I’ve been doing some more cooking. (See previous posts)
- The boy Felipe who had a brain tumor was operated on successfully and doing well. Thanks be to God.
- And my brother Christian and sister-in-law Jenny went to Japan and have some superb photos from the trip on Flickr (click ‘Fli’ for his photos and ‘ckr’ for hers)

Prayer Requests:
- The youth for clarity as we’re looking ahead
- God’s Spirit to lead me in all I am and do
- Christian and Diana in their new stage as a married couple
- Deans transition in to the U.S.

Recent Reads/Listens:
- Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time – book - “The very nature of a crowd is the ability to be lost in it. It costs nothing to be a part of the masses. One can either be positively or negatively inclined. A member of a crowd, such as a worshiper in a congregation, can remain lost in the sea of faces, neither having to commit nor declare loyalty… Jesus ministered to the crowd in order to call people out of it.”
- April Update – email from friend – “A seder is a neat experience – a ceremonial meal eaten to retell and celebrate the story of the liberation of the jews from egyptian slavery. It was a lot of fun, though we did do some parts of the meal incorrectly, but I figure we would be some very reform jews, so oh well.”

If you are interested in any other things I am reading or have read, please visit my del.icio.us page: http://del.icio.us/tterrag

Last week was superb. I bought some plants (cherry tomato, basil, and P. de M. pepper) and things started to look up. Tuesday afternoon, the team headed south of Santiago to Los Alamos for three days of relaxation. Oh man it was nice. It was the first place I had been in Chile with water slides, so we had a blast throwing our bodies down the two chutes. Although, I am paying for it now. I banged my head with one of the boys as we rode together and my back is scratched and bruised from hitting dry spots and flying through the air with hard landings. Between the slides, pools, gorgeous nature, disc golf games, devos, homemade food (yellow curry chicken, curry puffs, and fish tacos), and great company it was probably the best team retreat I have been on in my time here. It was the Deans’ last team retreat so after a thrilling game of Charades on our last night, we had an adjective bombardment – saying words that represented Mark, Denise, and the Deans collectively. It was quite good.

Well the day after, I decided to continue on the pain ride and went out with my friends Kani, Andrés, and Paul for a hike in the Andes that butt Santiago. After starting off with the idea to go on a new route, the heat and aridness changed our minds. We judged to go on the tried-and-true path that leads to waterfalls and natural pools. Near the first signs of flowing water were huge blackberry bushes. Oh so good. It takes a few hour to get to the last waterfall. We got off the path..err..lost the path a few times, but eventually arrived. It’s Texas-in-August hot sometimes so frigid ice melt is quite nice. I slipped in an attempt to get to the guys for a group shot and cut open my left foot under the ankle. SO the transit back home – three buses passing me by and having to walk home for ten or more blocks – was not the most comfortable; in the end it was a good time to talk with the Lord.

Yesterday was spent throwing down some new sod in Jeff and Penne’s (my current home) yard. In the evening, the two went out and I, after putting their son Caleb to bed, made fantastic Gai Pad Grapao. It was SPIIIICY, but delicious. Recipe to follow this post.

School has started back up, so things should be picking up with the youth back in Santiago. My prayer is to join God in the work he has already begun and not make my own plans.

Alright. I got my act together and finally I am completing this saga (two weeks after the fact).

Well the next day, it was the day forecasted to have the best weather, we awoke, had breakfast, packed up, and set out. The prior night I stayed up very late copying a map of the park, Huerquehue National Park, from a book I borrowed from our new friend Jörgen, a Dane that has lived in Temuco for over a decade working as a tour guide. He was fun and had some top-notch advice; shame I didn’t take his photo. Anyway, we head out in our rental car towards the park. We tack up a hillside to get to the entrance and on the way I ask Jeff to stop and we get out and have a Sound of Music moment in a field on the hillside. Gorgeous.

We arrive at the park entrance, pay (I got the Chilean rate, thank you very much sir), and park. Immediately, as it would be, two dogs from a nearby restaurant/lodge run up and follow us in to the park. We thought after a while they might turn back, but they did not. We decided to call them Rapa and Nui (look it up, if you want to know). Well Nui, the larger dog got scared by some workmen sawing some posts, but Rapa continued on. He was this odd mix, short dog. He honestly must have been an angel guiding us, because he was with us all the way up and back.

Jörgen and the ranger at the entrance both had warned us that there would be snow prior to arriving to the first lake on the hike. Well, after ascending for about an hour, possibly less, we started coming across patches of easily-passable snow on the path. Eventually the amount grew, the trail was buried, and we had to carve our own way. We almost turned around at the worries and pains of one of my fellow hiking companions, but with the spurring of the other and Rapa forging ahead we followed. An it was worth it. We arrived at Lago Chico. Oh it was gorgeous, but very different from the previous visit, due to it being laced and partially covered by snow. Still the water was as clear and still as before.

We continued on, more snow, brief glimpses of the path, and made our way to Laguna Verde and Lago Toro. Oh it was exhilarating. One of the things I love about this park are the Araucaria trees, the national tree of Chile, that fill the forest at higher altitudes. We returned hiking down. Jeff and Mark had a few falls. I had a close call, but we all got back to the car safely and headed back to Pucón. We had dinner again at Café Fresia. Oh so good hummus.

The next day was cold and wet. We walked down to the shore of Lake Villarrica, followed, yes, by more dogs. These were strange dogs – they kissed. We did some shopping; I got a copy of the book Jörgen had let me borrow and the three of us purchased a wheel of locally made cheese. Yum! That evening we walked through the light rain to the bus station and caught our ride back to Santiago. I slept much better this time around. We arrived around six in the morning and the trip came to an end.

This past week Jeff, Mark, and I took a trip down to the ninth region of Chile, Araucanía. “The heart of southern Chile.”

I had about two hours to pack after arriving back in Santiago from the church retreat on Sunday before I needed to be at Jeff’s house. I packed my things, plugged in the battery chargers, formatted the SD cards, and headed out to catch a bus. Well, if you have not heard, Transantiago, the transit system of Santiago, is horrendous. Understandably in the morning and evening commutes, but on Sunday evening. COME ON! Well after waiting ten or more minutes, the first bus arrives – FULL. Fifteen minutes later, another bus, PACKED to the second step. I have two backpacks on my back and front side. There’s no way I am catching a bus. So, cheerfully I flag down a taxi after another full bus flies by. I arrive at Jeff’s, we catch a radio taxi to the bus station and await for our bus. These buses are no Greyhounds or Chinatown Lines (“ahem, Robert”), these buses (TurBus) have seats that fold out in to beds and attendants walking the aisle to serve you a drink and lay a blanket over you.

We arrive early Monday morning to Pucón and walk down Avenida Brasil to Hospedaje Sonia. We get a room ($5000/person/night ≈ $10/p/n) and settle in. I love hostel travelling. We make plans for hiking and sightseeing, visit the grocery store, rent a car, relax by the fire, and get to bed early. Poor Mark, he slept maybe two hours on the trip down.

Tuesday, we wake up early. I am talking about six o’clock hour. Nothing is open, but we head out to see the city and wait for the grocery store (Eltit) to open (we forgot to get eggs for breakfast). We went to one end of the city to see a casino/hotel that completely burned down last month. It was quite a sight and at the same moment and from that point on, we had dogs following us. These dogs were not typical dogs either. There was one, a rather large dog, that picked up a stone and carried it in its mouth as we walked. It whaled and I mean WHALED the whole time. It even tore up a municipal flower box before our eyes in an effort to bury the stone, yet it continued carrying the stone and whaling. Well Eltit opened, we bought some b-fast items, cooked at Sonia’s, and ate up. Mark took me across the plaza near the hostel to Gloria’s flower stand. They were incredible (take a look at the photos to see what they’re made out of). Later in the morning we headed out for Termas Geométricas, but ended up at Termas de Palguín. It was a nice soak and cheap. Jeff had an accident which will forever be remembered. He ripped apart a wood railing in a moment of rage. On the way back to Pucón, we stopped at Salto El León, which was gorgeous. That night we enjoyed a dinner of typical comida peruana at Viva Perú. Try the Seco de cordero; it’s amazing.

More to come…

Analog Time Sand

Well I forgot to mention that Chile has “sprung forward” one hour. Currently we are two hours ahead of CDT (one hour ahead of EDT). When USA time “falls back” there will be an additional hour in between the USA and Chile.

time – is marching on
and time – is still marching on

this day will soon be at an end
and now it’s even sooner
and now it’s even sooner
and now it’s even sooner

this day will soon be at an end
and now it’s even sooner
and now it’s sooner still
(From TMBG – Older)

IMGP3515

Well it happened over a week ago, but I may as well let the world know. My television set has died.

Several friends came over to hang out on a Saturday night and they brought their Gamecube in hand. While I was cooking some grilled beef sandwiches, I heard a yelp, and glanced over to see the TV tip forward and smash to bits on the floor. The floor is ok. There was a small electrical fire inside and in the smoke I saw a little tri-colored dot matrix soul dissipate in the air.

Oh well. I don’t have cable.

After our Bible study tonight, several of us stayed at the church building to watch the Chile – Perú soccer match. As you can see, Chile won (which is great in the face of a loss to Argentina, of course, on Saturday). I was in charge of the food and ended up buying WAY TOO much. Well, at least we have plenty for next week. Thank God for freezers.

Wednesday was the birthday of Perla, one of the university students; and Friday was Scott’s birthday. Wednesday we celebrated egg-free, Perla is allergic, with some delicious ice cream. Today we celebrated Scott’s birthday with an asado. Remember my dieciocho post? Chileans love bbqs; and I do too. It was quite good. I’ll let the photos do the talking. I finally loaded some. Enjoy.

Last Sunday was a gathering of local churches to celebrate Fiestas Patrias, as I mentioned previously, worshiping together and with an ASADO! Woo! It was superb. Choripan (sausage in a roll) by the dozen! I love Chilean asados almost as much as Brazilian BBQ. I saw Melissa and Manuel Soto and their little new baby. I find myself saying to babies “Dame un beshito.” Rocío is to blame for that. That afternoon I headed out with Scott, Holly, and their kids to southern Chile. We had a good time. Scott can talk, so long car rides are perfect for some good discussion. He also has pretty good taste in music. We stayed the night at Salto del Laja.

The next day we went to Temuco to meet up with an old youth from the church that moved there with his family, Jean (‘Jon’) Franco. Oh man, his mom made some excellent pino empanadas. Delicious! We hung out for a few hours and then took off to Trailanqui.

A typical day at Trailanqui was: waking up to a typical Chilean breakfast, a small devotional with the families, some activity with the kids, a round of disc golf, lunch, maybe more disc golf or kite flying or something, hanging with Mark and Jeff, card/dominoes games, devo prior to dinner, dinner, goodnight kids, then more games, bed. Yeah. It was fun. Sprinkle in an evening of prayer, two massages, Rook, Boggle, and Farkle – you’ve got a superb retreat.

We came back Friday. We listened to The Muppet Show, Paul Simon, that girl the sings “Put Your Record On,” and I think that was it. Oh we painted the youth room upstairs and installed some shelves in the intern office Saturday. Fun stuff.

Saltos del Laja

I came down to the retreat site with Scott and Holly Emery. A bit, over half the trip to the south we stopped at Salto del Laja. Salto del Laja is a waterfall in the eighth region of Chile, north of the town of Los Angeles. It’s a spectacular gem off the highway and was quite calming to fall asleep to. Our hotel room was probably 100 feet from the falling water.