House of Hope – Team One – Update 2

Update 2 – 10/9/09

The days go by so fast in Santiago! When we last updated you, we were about to go into the girls’ houses for dinner. We had about 3 people per house, plus a translator from the team. We had dinner with them (spaghetti), and spent some time just getting to know them. We had 1 person from each house designated to give a testimony. Depending on the house, we danced, sang songs, played games, and spent much time in laughter (mostly them laughing at our attempts to communicate!) The girls are very hungry for love, and showing God’s love to them is one of the important parts of why we are here. We are demonstrating God’s love when we build a building, but it probably is more concrete to them when we hug them and show them we care about them.

Tuesday
After walking outside to breakfast, we stop to get another breath-taking view of the Andes. It really is incredible. They are still snow-capped and are a magnificent demonstration of God’s creative ability. We have noticed that the Chilean’s don’t look much at the mountains—it’s probably a case of familiarity. It’s a good lesson for us to appreciate God’s blessings always—even if it’s something we have around us every day. More worship in the morning, followed by a devotional, and a time of prayer. This has been an important way to start each day. Many are anxious to get out to the job site—but it’s “first things first”. Another reminder for us when we get back home to start the day with God as a priority. We started putting up walls today, and built the large 3 story wall on the front side of the building. Tomorrow will be the day to raise the wall—we’re praying for Bill (our construction leader) so he will know how best to do that safely. We ate lunch at the C&MA church today next to the work site—they are so gracious to let us invade their space. We had an off night tonight—which was needed. Most were tired, and after another great dinner, we went to bed. Please pray for Cora who has to have a root canal—she is going to a good dentist, but still has pain.

Wednesday
We learned a Spanish song this morning from Jessica, our worship leader. Most of us had it in our heads all day at the work site. Today was an exciting day on the work site—we raised up a 3 story wall. It took lots of man (and women) power, ropes, a truck, and some help from our Chilean friends who are working on the concrete. We needed the some ladies to sit in the back of the truck for ballast, and the Chilean men wanted to sit with them in there! But—we had them holding the ropes. We were able to eat with the girls again tonight. We each went to a different house, and got to meet a different set of girls. The format was the same as Monday—we got to eat with them, play with them, dance, sing, laugh, etc. The girls are so hungry for companionship, and we get the opportunity to have positive adult interaction with them. Even though it is only for a couple of hours, it makes a difference! Of course, we are being blessed as well!

Thursday
Breakfast, devotions, singing, prayer, work, lunch, work, activity, bed. OK—that’s our day! Well—obviously there is more to it than that. This morning Jim challenged us from the Word. It was a little hotter than normal at the work site, so we needed plenty of sunscreen. A lot of the first floor walls went up today. Most of the exterior sheathing went up as well. We are making progress, but need to keep working hard in order to finish the framing during our time. Bill is doing an excellent job in leading our construction efforts, and Tom is making sure everything else is taken care of. Tonight we took a bus into Santiago to go to a Chilean restaurant. It was nice to get “offsite” for a change of pace. We had a wonderful dinner with a choice of chicken or steak, and rice or French fries. The real hit of the evening was the sopaipillas, which went nicely with the fresh salsa. Many slept on the way home, as we didn’t get home until after 10:30 pm.

Friday
We had the opportunity this morning to pray for Daniel (the orphanage director), and his wife Jessica. They are such a wonderful couple. They have been so giving of their time during our stay. Not only do they host us for the 2 weeks (6 weeks total when you count all 3 teams), but they do “extra duty”—leading us in worship, attending so many other activities that would be easy to skip. We prayed that Satan would not get a foothold into their family, and for wisdom and endurance for Daniel. We also prayed for patience and longsuffering for Jessica, as she is at home many times while Daniel has to work long hours. Would you join us in praying for them?
Most of the interior first floor walls are finished, and the floor joists and flooring is done on half of the first floor. Lord willing, tomorrow we will finish the other side, and start building walls on the second floor.
We had a special treat this evening. After we ate dinner, the girls joined us for a concert. Jessica played guitar and sang, Daniel was on drums, Janice was the keyboardist, and 2 of Daniel’s friends played bass and trumpet/trombone. It was an excellent musical performance. Jessica showed incredible versatility—she started out with opera, and then moved to Jazz, country (Country Road), oldies (Route 66), and traditional Chilean songs. We ended the night with sundaes—the girls could not get enough whipped cream. After exhausting 6 cans of whipped cream—we socialized with the girls for 30 minutes, and then called it a night.

Vision for Chile Team 1