The Traveling Tome ...touching down and getting to work

Hace dos días llegamos en Chile y es invierno, y hace frio, pero no es tan miserable como pensaba sería.  (Rusty but happy Spanish. :) )

We arrived in Santiago on Thursday morning, and were greeted by Jennifer and Kendra Rubin, who brought us to the apartment at Santiago Christian Academy (SCA).  We stay in the same apartment as we did last year which makes this feel more at home.

We started work that very day... Working on the glitches--mostly technology-based) took a while, but we're past that now. (Thanks to the Lord, some ingenuity, and Bob, Becky, Kathy, Duane, Leslie, Jennifer, and others.)

We have now started to roll down that busy library highway of organization and circulation.  Our project focuses on the elementary/early sections and the biographies and a variety of miscellaneous. Pray that all the bugs are behind us and that the momentum will continue.

As far as Chile goes, snow capped mountains greeted us and decorate the edge of our vista here at school.

The people are warm and welcoming and remember us. That warmth balances out the chilly early winter weather--as do the tiny gas heaters and electric sheet warmers (thank you, Leslie!).

The ABWE team here radiates hospitality. They provide a great apartment, sprinkled with sandwich fixins' in the fridge, a bowl of fruit on the table and a tray of tea and cookies on the counter. They quickly offer to help out with errands, and Bev enjoyed getting reacquainted with an old friend John Barram, an 81-year-old volunteer teacher. I enjoyed seeing friends from Texas (language school), ConoSur days (ABWE South America), and Costa Rica (kids and parents who studied Spanish at ILE/Sojourn Academy).  Sweet, sweet reunions and hugs. What memories and ministry!

After work on Saturday, Jennifer Rubin drove us to Los Dominicos, a restored convent that now houses more than 170 artisan craft stores.  Yes, we went shopping in an intriguing and artistic setting.

Afterwards, the Rubins hosted us for a grill-out at their home.... with their kids--Matt, Micah, Julianna, and Kendra--all a little older than last year.  Matt and Julianna even invited me up to their high-rise clubhouse.  I went, but no, no pictures exist of that adventure.

Tomorrow we are excited to venture out to church with Lori Brock. She works with the deaf in a church where we visited last year. Vibrant people. Pray that in spite of the language barriers--Spanish and Sign Language--we will be sharing God's love and joy.