Our Chilean adventure is over and we want to say thank you for your encouragement, prayers and support. We had an unforgettable time! We cleaned a lot of toilets, ate a lot of empanadas, saw a lot of lizards (but caught none), climbed a lot of trees and learned a bit of Spanish. We will miss working alongside the Sandvigs and being a Tio, Tia and friend to so many kids. We are spending a week in California before we get home. Thank you for following our adventure with us!

Goodbye Gifts

We were sad to finish up at the boarding house for the local Mapuche school that we spent a lot of time at. We used the S`s gift of money to buy goodbye gifts for each kid.

School Supplies

We really enjoyed our time at the inner-city school in Temuco. The teachers and administrators found ways to put us to work and the boys made some good friends. This Assemblies of God school has some government funding but it struggles with finances. We were so glad to be able to give them a gift of school supplies, including a gift from the R family.

Isaac's blog

I love Tia Sharon and Tio Tim. They took us to the airport when we left. They gave us trading cards to play with on the airplane. Tia makes good chutney and she let me help her make it.

Simon's blog

I like Erik. We miss him. He is a good mountain climber. He found a snake for me to see. He played with Phoebe and Chloe (the cats) with me. I am glad that we could be friends with him.

Almost as High

We couldn't handle the 6hr trek to the top so we climbed a smaller summit instead.

Out and About

We had so much fun touring Pucon this weekend! Pucon is an adventure-tourism center of Chile and is situated on a beautiful lake and the active Villarrica volcano so there was lots to see and do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villarrica_(volcano)

Journey to the Center of the Earth

We enjoyed the unique experience of travelling 400 meters into a cave created long ago by lava flow. The tour is on the Villarrica volcano.

Warm Weather, Cool Water

The black volcanic sand at this Pucon beach made the day warm enough to take a quick dip in the lake.

Forever in Bloom

We visited the beautiful city of Pucon this weekend. These flowers are works of art, made out of wood by craftsmen in Pucon and they look just as real up close. They welcome travellers on the way into town.

Get on the bus, Hus

Isaac and Jeremy took the bus into Temuco today to teach English. Buses going into Temuco come to our bus stop every five to ten minutes and cost our family 700 pesos (less than $2). The trip to downtown takes about 30 minutes. It can get pretty crowded on the bus, especially with the five of us and all our groceries!

Nuevos Amigos

A family from our church had us over for "once" (OWN-say) yesterday evening. "Once" is Spanish for "eleven" and it is the name of the light evening meal (bread, cheese, meat, avocado, jam...) that Chileans typically eat around 6pm or 7pm. Nobody really knows why the evening meal is called "eleven" but there are some good stories. Chileans eat their larger, hot meal during the day. And I thought it was hard to pack school lunches every day when it is just sandwiches!

Temuco

This is the city where we are spending a lot of our time. The school that we help out at is at the upper left hand side of the picture and we're staying really close to the large hill on the horizon just left of center.

Colo Colo or "U"

There are two popular soccer teams in Chili. Colo Colo and "U" are bitter rivals...but when the "U" fan can't make the craft (in the colours of his favourite team), the Colo Colo fan is still able to help. Las ninas just picked colours that they liked.

In Local News

This weekend, the volcano we visited a few weeks ago (~60km to the east) sprung to life! http://www.smh.com.au/world/fears-of-major-eruption-at-volcanic-hotspot-20090406-9tuf.html The sky was overcast so we didn't get a glimpse of it but the pictures are amazing! The affected area was evacuated safely.

Going to Sev, Southern Style.

It was back to nice weather today and we stopped by this Minimercado (mini market) for a drink. We went to two schools today and started working on a painting project here at Koyamentu.

Roaming Animals

These are some of the animals we saw wandering freely on our way into town. The cows are finding green grass on the sides of the road and the chickens are using the local soccer field (which doubles/triples as a horse pasture) to find their food.

Burning Garbage

Every now and then we burn our garbage here at Chile. We like to help our Dad or Mom to do it. Yesterday we did it first thing in the morning so my brothers were still in their pyjamas. The burning barrel is down by the compost so there are lots of yellow jackets (a.k.a. wasps) there. Simon and Isaac and I get to help put the fire out with water at the end. It is neat to live in the country.
Adios garbage!
By Ben

Dinner Guests

We had some new Mapuche friends over for dinner tonight. It was fun to visit and play UNO, the game without borders, with them. Their youngest boy won both hands we played.

Teaching English

The children that we are getting to know are so joyful and eager to share their world with us. We spent most of today teaching English in Temuco.

Awesome kids

We're enjoying our friendships with the kids at the schools that we work at. Whether we are teaching English, doing crafts, playing games or trying to have a conversation, these kids are so kind and friendly. We are having lots of fun with them!

Weatherproofing

Jeremy was busy sanding and staining doors this morning to protect them from the winter wind and rain.

That was then, this is now

It's autumn in the southern hemisphere which usually means lots of rain but we've had hot, sunny days since we arrived. The colder weather this week (10-20C highs and overcast) means that drying laundry is not so easy anymore.

Care Package

We had a rainy weekend, which was good for the farmers around here who are dealing with a drought. It was also a perfect time for us to open our care package. Thanks for all the treats L, C, Z, D&C-A!

Lots of soccer

This soccer ball has been well-used since we got here! We've spent lots of time kicking it around with our boys and other kids. Thanks T,K,J&A!

Story time

Tia Sharon (a.k.a. Sharon Sandvig) brought over a stack of Berenstain Bear books and the boys are loving them. We have had lots of time to read to and with each other here which is great!

Resting

The forecast for the weekend is rain and we're looking forward to some quiet time as a family, with a few short trips into town to visit the market and go to church.

Star of Bethlehem School

This is the street front for the inner-city school where we take turns (one parent and one boy each time) to go to help teach English. It's a church-sponsored school set in one of the poorer neighborhoods of Temuco. The doors and windows are barred and locked and the teacher with the key wasn't there today when it was time for us to leave. :) At the school there are not enough desks for the children so some of them share and some work on the floor. The kids are adorable and so eager to speak English to us. Instead of trading cards, some of the kids are collecting and playing with old valentines cards which they always share with our boys. Escuela = school, Estrella = star, Belen = Bethlehem.

The Road to Koyamentu

All forms of transportation are taken on the gravel road from the retreat centre to the highway. This is the half-hour walk that we take to get to one of the schools or to catch the bus into the city. We saw about eight stray dogs on the way today which kept the trip exciting!

Dedication

On Saturday, we attended and helped out with the dedication service for this new building. It sleeps over 30 people, has a kitchen, two bathrooms and a big meeting room. This building is used for retreats and as a training center for local indigenous pastors.

Shiny floors

We spent this morning working at camp. Simon did a great job of sweeping and mopping.

Climbing

No need for a playground.

The Andes

We spent the past two days at Conguillio National Park. We stayed in a cabin on a lava bed from the Llaima volcano, ate empanadas, saw a beautiful waterfall, did some good hiking and found lots of lizards. It was a great holiday! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llaima

Snake Charmer

Our guys really liked having the chance to see and touch a snake!

Feliz Cumpleanos!

We stayed at Koyamentu today and did some odd jobs and cleaning. We also had a party! Happy birthday Jeremy!

Thank you B boys!

The kids at the Metrenco school get so excited about the simple crafts that we plan for them. The group of 30-40 girls and boys about ages 5-14 make such amazing things with the supplies that we bring. Today we built popsicle stick boxes. A big thank you to sweet Z,W&J who saved up from their allowance to help us buy tons of supplies!

Wildlife

We've seen some pretty interesting birds here. This one sticks its long beak into the ground to find food.

It Fits!

The focus of our day was going to an inner-city school where we are helping with English classes. The children who go to the school are bussed in from poorer areas of Temuco. They were learning colours and were so proud to show us their work.

This evening we started a puzzle which looks like it will be a long project despite all the eager help.

Mas Espanole

Miriam and her family just got back from Minnesota where they lived for 4 years while they helped establish a Spanish-speaking church there. She is helping us with Spanish lessons once a week. She was well-prepared and fun to work with.

Green Eggs and Ham

We visited the kids at the Metrenco school again, making a craft and playing some games. In the evening we ate at our Mapuche co-worker's house and were able to have a pretty good Spanish conversation, thanks to their patience. Our boys had lots of fun playing outside with their boys and the chickens. We left with a gift of a dozen "campo" (country) eggs which have green shells. Happy St. Patrick's day!