Sealions and Sandwiches

Time is passing quickly and I can’t believe that it has already been two weeks since we left Pichilemu. We are really enjoying our time here in Arica, it is a beautiful city surrounded by total desert on 3 sides and ocean on the other.

Last week was definitely a difficult one for all of us. The team was adjusting to a lot of changes and we were all tired from the two-day travel. We had to deal with a lot of difficult situations and it took a lot of patience and strength but we gained so much experience and learned a lot. This week it feels like we have a new spirit. The group is really learning to work together and to be flexible will all of the changes. It is beautiful to see the transformation in each one of them especially looking back to the start of the school in January seeing how far they have come!

During our time here we have been visiting houses, going to schools, doing street evangelism and putting on services at the church. The people are so open and hospitable here and we’ve formed some really great friendships. We were also able to have a free day at the beginning of the week which helped us to recharge and be rested for the next week. We found a beautiful harbor complete with pelicans and sea lions. We also walked around the center, watched the sunset from the rocks and got an icecream cone from McDonalds. It was nice to relax and also get a chance to see more of Arica

I am really amazed with the amount of hospitality that the people have here. For example, Aaron and I were walking in the neighborhood yesterday looking for something to eat. We couldn’t find any food shops but instead we ran into a lady that we had seen in the church services. She quickly invited us into her home and served us tea and delicious lomito sandwiches. It was such a blessing to be able to spend time with her family and get to know them better. The people really live with their doors open and it is encouraging to see such kindness from people.

We will be finishing up the week with this church and on Monday we will be moving to another church in the city for a week. It will be interesting to see what happens as we enter into week three!