Chile 2008, part 1

Well it's been about two weeks since I got back to the states, so I figured I better get this written up before too much time went by and I forgot all that went on. So to start from the begining, I would have to thank everyone at Faith Baptist Church and the few others from Thursday morning mens bible study that helped out with sending me to Chile. Without them, it wouldn't have been possible.

So my trip started out with 15hrs of plane travel down to Santiago, Chile where I was picked up by Dan Kunnari, who is a new missionary in Chile and also a good friend from bible college. I got to spend the weekend with them and spend a little while getting used to the time change, then sunday evening I hopped on a bus for Villarrica, where I arrived Monday morning. I got picked up by mycousin Danny, and we loaded up the luggage and went to their house just outside of town. That afternoon I got my first look at the camp in Lican Ray, got to walk around and see what all needed to be done on the house, and the dirrection they were wanting to take the camp. Along with all the needs that the property had. My first reaction was that there was a lot of work to do, and that I should have brought more tools!

Dan and I spent the first two weeks of my time there working on demolishing the old house to make way for the new one. The existing house was pretty far gone with lots of termite damage in the sills of all the exterrior walls. There was also some rot damage, and the house was generaly dark and musty. The demolition went pretty well, I was very thankful for the pickup we had, even if it was only a small 2 wheel drive truck it sure did haul off a lot of wood and trash. The original intent was to save all the old wood from the house to use for firewood, but it was too termite infested to keep around without worrying about infecting another structure. So after 2 hard weeks of driving out to Lican every day and back home in the evening, we had a clean slate to start from.

This marked the arrival of the work team from South Dakota, they got in to the bus station Sunday morning with a mountain of luggage. Between the truck, the van and a couple trips, we got all the luggage and people back to Dan and Liz's house in Villarrica. There they recovered from the traveling while we headed off to morning service at church. When we got back we got things sorted out to pile up the luggage in the truck, load the women and children up in the van, and get all the guys on a bus to Lican. And so the caravan took off. Once at the camp, we got everyone settled where they would be staying, most for at least 2 weeks, with the Chamberland family being there for a month and a half. Once everything was worked out Dan, Liz, and family, Uncle Terry and Aunt Carol, and I headed back to the house in Villarrica... only to find out that we had been broken into! As best we could figure, someone must have seen the mountain load of luggage leave so they must have figured that there was something worth stealing. The made off with most of the small electronics in the house, laptops, MP3 players, cameras and some other things. So there I was with no electronics to speak of. Which I think was a bit of a blessing because it helped me stay a little more focused on the project at hand.

Week three for me, was the begining of the construction phase. That week the foundation was formed up and mesh laied in for tying pex tubing to for a radiant floor heating system. The plan is to build a small wood furnace to heat the water that will be pumped through the tubing to help heat the house. Towards the end of the week we started pouring the floor, which took about 3 days to finish... one... wheelbarrow... at a time. Didn't have to worry about things getting too far ahead on that pour.

So that was the first three weeks of my time in Chile

Round two???

Wow, I just can't contain the excitement! So, Lord willing I would like to get back to Chile right after the holidays to continue working on the camp at Lican Ray. Please pray for me as the details work themselves out. As of this point I have no support, tickets, or time frame, but I would like to leave as soon as possible and stay for at least 2 maybe 3 months more to see the building finished at the camp. So once again I need to raise $450 per month for living expenses, along with a plane ticket. Dan and Liz are going to see if they can swing the plane ticket to get me down there, which would be more than wonderful. With God all things are possible!

Back in the States again

Well I made it back safe and sound, unfortunately my luggage didn't quite make it all the way. Best I can figure my connecting flight in Dallas from Chile to Seattle wasn't much of a layover and my baggage didn't make it to the plane before it left. So hopefully I'll be getting a call soon letting me know that its here and it'll be dropped off soon. Thanks again to everyone that helped out through prayer and financial means on this trip, I will be sending out thank-yous and letters as soon as I get settled back home.

Continue to pray for Dan and Liz as they work on the house by themselves, that things will be able to get done with the busy camping season starting soon.