Welcome to Santiago!

I've been in Chile now since early Tuesday morning! It is mind boggling to be in a country and hear and see Spanish everywhere. My favorite word I learned so far today is Sonrier (sp?). It means to smile! There are 11 semester missionaries that are participating in my orientation with me. Three are serving in Brazil, two serving in Mexico, and the rest of us are serving in different parts of Chile. It has been so encouraging to hear how God has brought them to their countries of service and the things that God is doing in their lives.

It is really really cold here. I keep 3-4 layers on most of the time. Most of the reason is because there is not central air or heat, so we have gas heaters that we light periodically as we need the heat. Michelle bought a jacket today for 14,000 pesos. :) No worries, it is only about 28 US dollars

Michelle, my partner for these four months, and I are getting along great. It is so cool to see how God has specifically chosen us to be together for this time and how I can already tell that I'm going to learn alot from her. 

Pray for us as we continue in orientation. I am trying to learn Spanish as quickly as possible. We are going out around the city in small groups tomorrow on our own, so we'll see how I do without having a strong Spanish speaker with me, as Michelle and I are fairly limited in our Spanish.

Pray that God stretches and grows me even this week. Pray that he uses these days to refine me and equip me for these four months.

May the Father's love and grace be with you all.