Maybe I should get back into this blogging thing...

It's a (relatively) beautiful Sunday afternoon in Tacoma, and I'm sitting here on my couch wishing like mad that I could be back in Lautaro... that I could be sitting on the dock behind the church looking at this picturesque lagoon and broken down, but precious boat.

I'm so thankful for having had the opportunity to travel down there and get to know the Chileans and help in whatever I could to improve the church building.

These last few weeks have been an interesting transition back to "real life" here in the States. I have a hard time adjusting back to this culture in which each of us seem to only care about our own needs and desires. I'm uncomfortable in a society in which the needs of others are not placed before our own. (Then again, I'm often influenced by this schema and struggle to follow my own convictions when it comes to helping others before helping myself.) I feel as though I need to make a lifestyle change--but I don't know where to start.

I need to get my finances in order so I can financially help those who need it. There are missionaries who need the support of people like me (who tend to spend their money on new shoes rather than compassion and ministry) to do the work of the Lord. So I guess that's step one: no more new shoes, more money to help serve.

*Note: In dealing with the aftermath of the shattering earthquake in Chile, the church and ministry with whom I was so blessed to work is in need of donations to put teams together to go into places that have yet to receive aid. They're bringing food and water to families that have not had food/water/electricity/etc for these last weeks after the quake. They could use our help. Follow this link to learn more and donate: http://www.iamweb.org/ If you can't donate, please at least pray for the people who are in need as well as the teams that are giving their time to help.

This is the church building that we worked on during our time in Lautaro. Part of it collapsed during the quake, but everyone is safe, thank God. The church members have rallied together to piece back together the section of brick wall that crumbled as well as the pieces of siding that flew off the building.

My favorite parts of the trip always had something to do with people-either from the mission team or the Chilenos. I knew my Boys & Girls Club job skills would come in handy at some point later in life :) I taught the little girls how to play "slide." I haven't giggled that hard in a long time. In doing this, I realized that there are so many things that don't need translation. The laughter of a child gets to my heart in any language.

Anyway, the trip was well worth depleting my savings account. I had an incredible time and can't really put into words the feeling that I'm left with after having experienced the people and culture of Chile. I miss it.