Un Mes de Memorias

Versiculo de la Semana
"La religion pura y sin macula delante de Dios el Padre es esta: Visitar a los huerfanos y a las viudas en sus tribulaciones, y guardarse sin mancha del mundo." Santiago 1:27

Before we left for Chile, I was given a copy of Beth Moore's Bible study of the book of James, which the women in Maple Park would be working through. While I wouldn't be able to share in a group setting, I wanted to be able to have a study to work through while we were in Chile. Interesting sidenote: James (the book of the Bible), is Santiago in Spanish. So I have been studying through the book, with my Spanish Bible, reading Santiago in Santiago! A few weeks ago we looked closely at James 1:27, which is the verse I have written above. In my NIV English Bible, the beginning of the verse says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." This verse has been familiar to me for quite some time, especially while attending George Fox and working in Christian Services and student ministry. However, as I read it in Spanish, one verb stood out to me. In Spanish, "look after" is stated as "visitar," which you may be able to see means to visit. Now I completely believe that ministry from a distance serves to bring about the will of God, and of course we can look after widows and orphans by sacrificing our various resources. But the idea of visiting struck me as much more about relationship, human contact, and reaching out.

The same day that I was studying this word, Chris returned from work and we took a walk around our neighborhood. As mentioned earlier, we live in a hotel amidst high rises, restaurants, and fancy shopping malls. The city in general has a lot of stray dogs (not sure if I have mentioned that earlier or not). Now those of you who have been to Mexico may have an idea of what stray dogs roaming a city may be like, but the Santiago stray dogs are large, well fed, and honestly kind of nice looking. Chris always stops to pet them, and I bring along hand sanitizer :)This particular evening as we went for a walk, one such stray dog, somewhat like a collie in size and stature, followed us the whole way. Chris would pet him, talk to him, call him to us when he seemed to stray, and we even thought of a name for him (Noche, which means night, because he was black. Maybe not the most creative, but Chris still talks about and wonders after Noche, two weeks later). At the end of our walk, I told Chris he had teased Noche into thinking he would recieve food. Noche waiting patiently outside the steps of our hotel, and when we reached our room, I told Chris we should go buy Noche an empanada. Apparently that is how all the stray dogs survive around here; the locals are quite generous is leaving out food and water. As we crossed the street to buy an empanada for our psuedo-pet Noche, I noticed a man and his son begging on the street corner. I recognized him from a few weeks ago, as honestly in our neighborhood the sight of begging on the street is not as common. He was sitting on the corner, with his son of about 7 or 8 asleep across his lap, asking for food. If I was willing to purchase an empanada for a stray dog, how much more was I called to reach out to this man, who bears the image of our Father? The verse from James was in my mind, and I went into the small shop, purchased three empanadas, some cookies, milk, yogurt, bread, and water, and returned to the street. Chris fed Noche, then the two of us walked to the corner with the bag of groceries. I wanted to quietly drop the bag off and sneak away. However, the man immediately smiled, woke up his son, and told his son, "Dale un besito!" which means, "give her a kiss!" in thanksgiving. As I leaned down to recieve the hug and kiss from the young, slightly smudgy boy, I was so humbled. I could have studied the intellectual and theological meanings behind James 1:27 for ages, but God gave me the chance to see in one brief exchange that "looking after," or "visiting," means more than dropping a bag of food beside a hungry father and son. It means being willing to pause, to make contact, to receive the blessing of a young boy's hug and kiss, and to look at the eyes of those we are serving and see the eyes of our Creator looking back at us.

That is a small picture of what Chris and I are learning together in our time here. We see so clearly God's perfect plan to bring us here, to grow together away from all that is familiar, and to begin the work of building a life and marriage that is not inward and self-focused, but that looks outward and gives glory to the One who has orchestrated it all for us. We are balancing the idea of doing life here and being tourists, of making friends and gaurding our time together, of missing our friends and family and home and secretly wishing we could remain in this place even longer.

Nuestro Trabajo
Our work here continues to go well. So far the plane has made most flights smoothly, and Chris is enjoying being able to work with the LAN team as they understand the various nuances of the 787. Beyond all the technical engineering news, some highlights at work for Chris include ice-cream Wednesdays and the "cartija" lady who brings a cart of snacks around the office each morning. He is making friends with the nationals, and we were actually invited to a wedding!

I continue to volunteer at the small high school, and for the past month I have been teaching classes of my own. I rotate between the different levels doing a range of activities and lessons, which today included playing "Go Fish" with the 8th graders to practice their numbers and asking questions. More of a challenge for me is teaching History classes (once the principal found out I was a history teacher in the states, he asked me to teach some of those as well). Needless to say I acquired some new vocabulary talking about social hierarchies during the time of the Greeks and Romans. Also, I had a moment in which I wished I were neither an American nor historian when one of the history teachers turned to me, in the middle of class, and asked me to explain the importance of Henry Kissinger in the Cold War.

Concha y Toro
Chris and I try to use the weekends to escape the city and explore the surrounding areas. The weekend after the Pomaire incident, we vowed to try and avoid tourist traps. We heard some of the Boeing crew had gone to a nearby winery and enjoyed the experience, so Saturday the 29th of September, we set out to do the same. I didn't quite realize how important advance reservations were for a wine tasting, so as I called that morning and found most wineries were booked, I realized in the future we needed to be a little more prepared. However, one winery had an opening for us: Concha y Toro. Chris and I have seen their "El Diablo" wine in grocery stores in Seattle, and it's a good table wine for say, a Tuesday night :) The winery itself was very extensive and beautiful, as you can see below. I may have booked the tour in Spanish instead of English, but Chris was able to understand most of what I was able to translate.

Carmenere, this grape, is the most famous in Chile. If you want a truly Chilean wine, find a Carmenere!

One of the famous wines at this particular winery is the Casillero del Diablo. It originates from a story that the founders of the winery started in order to discourage the workers from robbing the wine from the bodega. He claimed that the devil lived in the wine cellar and would haunt them if they stole any of the wine. For us tourists, it just made for an interesting tour including a video presentation and light effects in the dark Casillero. As you can see in the picture above, Chris had to sneak out :) And what better way to end an afternoon of wine tasting than with lunch and tasty ice-cream! The best part about our lunch was the table of 20 Brazilians singing songs next to us. Their joy and enthusiasm was hilarious to watch, and I only wished I knew that many songs to sing outloud at restaurants!

That evening, there was a group dinner for the Boeing crew at a local restaurant that roasted lamb on an open fire, as you can see in the picture. Chris was in heaven anticipating the lamb. I rather enjoyed the ceviche before the lamb, along with the pisco sour.

In true Chilean fashion, the dinner lasted well beyond midnight. Perhaps it is shameful to admit, but Chris and I were the first to leave just before 1am. The next day at breakfast, we found out the rest of the group went out dancing until 5am. Let me remind you all that Chris and I are the youngest of the group. I have found that the Chilean night life is much more vibrant, and no one can believe or understand that we would wake up at 5:30am for work in the states.

Haciendo Ejercicios
After the rich meal on Saturday night, Chris and I woke up Sunday a little behind for church, so we went for a walk to the Parque Metropoliano near our hotel. It was packed with people--cyclists, runners, and families wandering about the paths. As we neared the top of one hill, we noticed a group of people doing yoga together in the grass. Near a fountain, there were people on stationary bikes doing a cycling class. In a parking lot, a kick boxing class was getting started, so we went over and joined in! You can see some images of what it was like for us by clicking HERE. Every Saturday and Sunday, the government sponsors group fitness classes in the park! It's part of a measure to improve community health in the city, and it was very popular. After the boxing class, there was dance class (like zumba). I was SO EXCITED and was really proud of Chris for trying. After a few spins and kicks, I noticed he had opted out (apparently he doesn't know how to move his hips "that way") so we moved on to explore the rest of the park. That evening, we played lots of cribbage together so Chris was able to engage in an activity that showcased his talents a little bit better than Zumba.

Santa Cruz y la Ruta del Vino
The first weekend in October, Chris and I checked out of our hotel/home in Plaza El Bosque to go to Santa Cruz, a town south of Santiago in the heart of the Colchagua wine valley. This particular valley has been called the "Napa Valley" of Chile, and has some well known wineries, along with smaller family establishments. Though the weekend was somewhat rainy, we managed to really enjoy ourselves, especially the cozy Posada del Colchagua, the bed and breakfast where we stayed. The owner, Leonor, was warm, friendly, welcomed us with a lit fire and bottle of wine, and served delicious breakfast each morning.

Our first day of wine tasting, we initially planned on riding our bikes to a nearby winery in the morning and then going to a different winery that evening. However, the rain made the bike ride a little difficult, so we decided to go to the Museo de Colchagua in the town of Santa Cruz. Now, as I read about this museum, I was intrigued by the owner, Carlos Cardoen. The museum is entirely his private collection of precolombian art, colonial machinery and clothing, old cars, trains, jewelry... basically anything you could imagine to represent the history and culture of Chile. He has had time to grow this collection since he cannot leave the country of Chile because he is wanted by the United States for allegedly dealing arms to Iraq during the Iran/Iraq war. You can read a little more about his story and his influence in Chile HERE. And if you read that article, you will see he also owns a winery that has strong connections to California. Anyway, as I mentioned this to Chris, he was reluctant to go to the musuem and support an international arms dealer. But life is about risk and adventure, and the museum was quite impressive. Here are a few images:

In the picture above, there is apparently a small sliver of wood from the Cross of Christ, one reason this museum is also known throughout Chile.

There was an entire wing of the museum dedicated to weapons (a lot from the Third Riech actually), including this old steel canon, which was Chris' favorite. There was also a large area dedicated to the mine rescue of 2010, with rooms created to show what the space was like for the miners. There was also a wall with newspaper headlines from around the world announcing the successful rescue of all 33 miners. Interesting to note that not a single newspaper was from the United States. Perhaps there is a slight grudge over the whole warrant for arrest...

I really enjoyed the area dedicated to Mapuche jewelry, as well as the trains. However, after roaming around outside, Chris and I were cold and hungry. So, we went to a great Italian restaurant and there was a warm fire and pizza--the perfect way to prepare ourselves for wine tasting later that afternoon.

Can you find Chris in the vineyard?

Viu Manet
After lunch, we went to Viu Manet winery, hoping to do a carriage ride through the vineyard followed by a tasting. However, the rain caused the carriage ride to cancel, so instead we were able to do an extended tasting of 7 wines! This winery is one of the few wineries in Chile that produces a Malbec, and we were able to try some of their top wines and take notes on our placemats. Or just play tic-tac toe :)

On our drive home from the winery, we noticed a large cross marking the entrance to the town of Santa Cruz (which means holy cross in Spanish). Though we do recognize that Jesus' first miracle involved turning water into choice wine at a wedding feast, we still weren't sure what to make of this giant cross.

While I was taking a picture of the cross, Chris was making friends with another stray puppy and feeding it the rest of our pizza from lunch. He quickly made a new best friend.

Motemei
For dinner on Saturday night, I had read an online recommendation for a restaurant called Motemei. Basically, a well known chef in Santiago grew weary of the busy downtown restuarant scene, so he purchased an old bodega and opened a restaurant. He only opens with a reservation, and serves as the waiter, chef, owner, everything. When we arrived, he welcomed us, gave us a delicious chardonnay sour, and we began our seven course meal. Everything he cooks celebrates the cuisine of Chile, with a unique gastromic flair. After four hours of eating, he sat at the table with us and shared some pisco and stories. It was unlike any dining experience we had ever had.

Bicicletas
Sunday morning, after another tasty breakfast in the Posada, Chris and I decided that as people from the Pacific Northwest, it would be shameful for us to let the rain keep us inside any longer. So, we took the bikes that were offered to us from Leonor at the Posada, and explored the country region around us. Chris made friends with a horse, which he named Ernesto.

Clos Apalta
Our final winery stop in the Colchagua valley was at Clos Apalta, part of the Lapostolle wine group. During our tour (which consisted of me and Chris and the tour guide; apparently the rainy weather kept others away) we learned that the owner is the great grand-daughter of the founder of Gran Marineir and this winery is very famous for its' construction. Everything is gravity fed, and the grapes are hand picked and sorted to create a premium blend of wine. For us, especially Chris, the architecture and technology in this winery was fascinating.

Another interesting feature of the winery is the design of the staircase. Modeled slightly after the Gugenhiem museum, it is meant to represent wine swirling in a glass, in the direction it would in the southern hemisphere, of course.

Following our tasting in the cellar, we ate lunch at the home of the winery, that had a view of the valley below. For us, it was a bit cloudy, but nothing can rain on a day of delicious food, company, and wine.

En la Ciudad
Since I teach just three days a week, I have had a few days every week to explore the city, meet friends for coffee, read, and not write this blog (as nearly a month has passed since the last entry). Here are some pictures of the museums and sights I have enjoyed during those days.
Estacion Mapocho
I went to the Estacion Mapocho, an old train station along the Mapocho "river," (as you will see in the picture below, it's more like a sewage drain). There was a modern art expo, so I tried to open my mind and embrace my artistic side. My favorite work of art was a fish made out of recycled plastic bottles.

La Chascona
Nobel prize winning poet Pablo Neruda called Chile his home (except for a few years in Europe when he was fleeing the government because he was a communist), and has a few eclectic homes throughout the region that are now museums. La Chascona was built to look like a ship, since Neruda loved the sea, and it was named after his lover-turned third wife. Chascona is a name (I think from Mapuche) that means lion's mane, and his third wife had wild red hair. It was interesting to tour and see the various collections from around the world that inspired this great poet. I was not allowed to take pictures inside, but I have a few pictures of the grounds of the home. I purchased a book of poetry and after the tour went to lunch at a nearby cafe and read for awhile. Certainly not like any other Thursdays in October I have spent :)

Bellas Artes y Parque Forestal
The Museo de Bellas Artes was my next stop after La Chascona, and it was pretty to wander around and look at famous Chilean art from over the years. I was especially interested in the art that reflected the time of turmoil during the years of Pinochet. After the Museo de Bellas Artes, I walked around the Parque Forestal, which was green and fresh and blooming with spring.

In the picture above, near some of the sculptures at the park, you can see two people taking a nap in the grass. A common sight in the city parks... napping, kissing, snuggling, all in the grass. Chris and I have yet to be inspired, but I suppose this is what a culture without basements is like.

La Moneda
La Moneda is the presidential palace of Chile, where all the executive government offices are held. There is no actual presidential residence; the president lives in the home he lived in when elected, it is just given more security. It was interesting to tour the halls and be within a few feet of the window to President Pinera's office. It was also interesting to be in the place where the military coup occured in 1973. Much of the building was destroyed by tanks and gunfire, and has since been redone. In the palace are different patios, or open courts, and one was dedicated to the Mapuche people, and included totems. Beneath the plaza in front of La Moneda, there is a http://www.ccplm.cl/sitio/ with more art galleries and cafes.

El Bosque
Pastor Karim offered Kay and I the chance last Saturday to go to a church in a neighborhood in south Santiago to do a day of children's ministry. South Santiago is poorer than the northern part of the city, has a higher rate of drug trafficking, and a rapidly growing church in La Pintana, where we would be spending our Saturday. We had prepared songs and games (thank you Mexico mission trips for helping me learn some good songs in Spanish!), as well as a bible story from Exodus 17.

In this story, the Israelites are just about to enter the promised land, however first they must fight the Amalecites. Moses instructs Joshua to go into battle, and promises him that he will be on the hill, holding the staff of God. While Moses' hands are raised, Joshua and the Israelites are successful in battle. However, when he lowers his hands, the Amalecites start winning. Aaron and Hur are on the hill with Moses, so they place a rock beneath him for him to sit down, and they stand on either side of him, holding up his arms so that Joshua can win the battle. We had costumes and re-inacted the story with the students (they especially enjoyed being soldiers in the battle). We talked about how God is powerful and helps us overcome our battles, and how he uses people in our lives to support and uplift us, just as Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses. Our memory verse was from Philipians 4:13-14, and while of course we learned it in Spanish, here it is in English for you to see:
"I can do all things through Christ who stregthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well that you shared in my distress." (NKJV)
Of course the first verse is very familiar to me, and one that I have referred to often in life to remember the power of our Lord. However, the following verse is so important and part of that connection. Like Aaron and Hur, we are called to particate (the verb in the Spanish version) or share in the distress of our brothers and sisters, knowing that Christ is powerful and can accomplish His will.

After a snack, we painted rocks (that we had gathered from a construction site in the city) for the students to keep as reminders of the power of God and the importance of helping each other in difficult times. They loved the craft, especially the baby wipes that we provided for them to clean their hands. They would fight over the wipes, then hold them and caress them and rub them across their faces. Kay mentioned that many families in that area can't afford wipes, so it was a new sensation to many of the kids. That was very humbling to me. With all the games and activities and snacks we brought for the kids, the baby wipes were the true wonder.

Women in the church are often called "Tias," which means Aunt in Spanish. So as we were working with the children, I kept hearing over and over, "Tia! Tia! Mira que tengo...Prestame uno! Tia, yo quiero uno!" The other Tia's in the church were amazing women who have dedicated their weekends to providing activities, bible stories, and crafts for the children of the community. As we saw, all you need to do is start singing and playing games in the park, and the children will come. It was such a beautiful afternoon spent with the kids, and hopefully we were able to encourage the women working there, in some small measure, to keep lifting their arms in the face of all the challenges, relying on the power of our Savior.

Gumbo night!
When I returned from my day with the children, Chris and I went to the Jumbo grocery store and managed to find all the ingredients to prepare gumbo for some friends from the church and the school where I work. Kay and Leo offered up their kitchen, and after three hours of chopping and cooking and stirring, Chris had prepared his signature dish to everyone's delight!

Vina del Mar

Chileans have a lot of national holidays, and last Monday was one. Since Chris still had to work, and classes were canceled for me, I was very excited when Kay and Leo invited me to join their family for a day trip to the beach at Vina del Mar. A little over an hours' drive from Santiago, it's a beautiful beach town with high-rise apartments, seagulls and pelicans, and fresh sea air. That was probably the best part, breathing in the cool and fresh air. Of course, I also enjoyed playing on the beach with Sofia and Ben, and the carriage ride through the streets of the town, followed by ice cream, was a treat as well.

Dia del Profesor

In Chile, there is a day to celebrate everything, and teachers are not left out of that equation. Last Tuesday was "El dia del Profesor," which for me, meant a lunch and party at the school. For the entire day of class. We had cake, danced, played musical chairs, and each teacher was presented with a certificate by the students, along with a joke. My certificate had my name spelled "Leneayahh" and the joke was an impression of me saying, "Okay!" Now whenever I walk past the students they smile and say, "Okay!" very cheerfully and high pitched--apparently just like I do in classes. Hmmm... Nevertheless, I am thankful for the community of students and teachers at Instituto Agape, and felt honored to be considered and included in their teachers day.