Day 13 Update

K. So here is my update for the last week, Friday, September 22 through today, Friday, September 29:

Basically, my trip up north to Antofagasta (which is a city in the northern regions of Chile, in the middle of the desert, but on the coast) was pretty uneventful, with the exception of some pretty sights and one really life-perspective-changing event that really started me thinking. I was bored for probably 95% of the time I was there, but I’ll give the highlights of the 5% that was memorable. (Sorry this one is so long. It’s been a week!)

So I left at 5 am last Friday to get to the airport on a transport bus. Checked at the airport and got on our 7 am plane. Security is like, on a scale of 1 to 10, a 2. Both on the way there and back, I carried on liquids- a drink, hand sanitizer, even nail clippers. They didn’t stop and search any of my bags, and I didn’t even have to take my shoes or belt off. It was just an in-country flight though. So, pretty easy. I slept on the plane there too. I was freezing though!

Not to fear though.... I was warmer while I was there! (And now having returned to Santiago a week later, spring weather has hit and it is much warmer!! Like in the 60s at night, and high seventies during the day.) Since Antofagasta is a two-hour plane ride north of Santiago, it is closer to the equator. In fact, it’s on the Tropic of Capricorn! So the early springtime weather there is like a nice summer day at home.

That first Friday night, I went with Lina´s mom to see an annual folkloric festival that is put on in a downtown theater. It was awesome to see all different sorts of cultural dances and hear music from South America, which included: regions of Chile (one such culture represented was the Quecha, a native Indian population), Bolivia, Argentina (the tango!!), and other more obscure regions but prominent in this area’s history. It was very educational, and, as I am a dancer and enjoy watching such performances, it was fun to watch at the same time. See my pictures for costumes and such. I’ll try to see if I can upload some of the videos I took somehow.
Here is one picture from that night:

Then Saturday was the conference, the reason for which Lina had to go to Antofagasta. Lina´s mom lives in Antofagasta, and she is getting old and forgetful, so we were also there to help out for the week. I just got to come along for the ride... and to see some of the sights and enjoy the warm weather. Anyway, the conference... It was a very long day... and very interesting. The conference was hosted in a church that is a renovated movie theater. The building is very interesting. The historian side of me wanted to explore the building. So, after the first couple speakers (by which point I was extremely bored, as all of it was being done in Spanish and it takes some work to fully understand what’s going on 100% of the time and all...), I was restless. So I got up and took some pictures and then was walking around, beginning to go exploring. Carlos, the man who was hosting the conference, found me and gave me a little tour. He used to play in the theater building when he was little. It was still a theater back then. The theater was built around the 1880s. It was sweet. All the old dusty rooms and the ticket-taking booth and the upper levels. It is all old and dirty now, but I could just imagine how it was in the old times! Such a romantic old building.

Well, there was lunch halfway through the day, and then round two, going back for more conference speakers. There was one lady who spoke who was deaf, and another girl probably in her early 20s who was deaf and could not speak as well who shared testimony. There were sign language interpreters there. One of them was really animated and he was really fun to watch when I was really bored. Then during the church service that night, I was shocked for the first time since I had been here. I had a hard time dealing with what I witnessed during the five-hour service. Well, first there was a blind woman who sang (she had an amazing voice), but what really shocked me was what was to come towards the end of the service (and by “the end” I mean the last two hours). I don’t really know how to put it into words... it was hard for me to deal with my emotions for the next couple of days, and hard for me to think about what had happened and write about it even in my daily journal entries. Finally by Monday night, after thinking a lot and talking to Carlos on Monday during the trip he took me on to Mejillones, I was able to write about what I had experienced…

The best way for me to convey what I was going through is just to quote parts of what I was able to write about in my journal. So here goes…

On Sunday (this was the day after the conference) I wrote, "Well, last night was something I’m not sure I can write about. I have never experienced such a thing in my life, and and so many things come into my head at once, I’m not sure what or how to write about my experience... I struggle to hold back tears of great emotion when I think abt how I felt last nite... I wanted to talk with someone abt it so bad.... [but I couldn’t because there was nobody. The language and the cultural barriers were really tripping me up at this point.] ... I want to write abt what happened last nite but I’m not sure I can. It was all so strange, so new. I’m not sure what to think or if I should just keep [the things I witnessed] to myself- it could take up pages, all I could say [about Saturday night]. I’m not sure if [what I saw] was of the Lord or just the extravagance of these people."

Then by Tuesday, I was actually able to write more in detail, with more understanding about Saturday night. I just needed time to get used to the idea of what I had seen, and to think about the conversations I had on Monday concerning the events of the service... So this is what I was finally able to get out on Tuesday that should explain a bit of why I was so impacted: “So, I’m gonna talk about my life-changing weekend. On Sat. nite, there was a church service after the conference. It was intense. It went from 7pm to midnight! And ppl kept talking and talking- preaching, singing, sharing their testimonies, giving religious messages, etc. It was ok for a while- b/c I loved all the music and songs, and it really didn’t feel like all that long, except for the fact that I had to go to the bathroom SOOO bad for abt 3.5 hours of the time! And the end of this service was the worst! I already knew the deaf girl was long-winded, [she told this ten-minute joke at lunch earlier in the day] but she carried on [with her testimony and message during the church service] for AGES! And then she began to pray and ppl came forward [to the front of the church up by the stage where she was... and then she came down on the floor to touch people and pray in person... I was in the second row of pews so I was really up close and viewing the powerful events of the night.]... praying and suddenly there were ppl falling all over the floor and the women of the church were laying ´holy blankets´ over the ppl who were falling to the floor. They were all women. I was completely stunned. [For a loss of words at a lack of reaction, I just sat there and watched, I’m sure I was wide-eyed and just completely stunned.] These women were being overcome by a power I wasn’t fully sure was from the Lord. What were they feeling that was so extreme? I wasn’t really sure if it really was God’s power. I’m still not. Anyway, it had already been a long day, I was lonely, bored, and the service was definitely dragging on forever! And I still had to go to the bathroom! Furthermore, with ppl laying on the ground still, yet another guy came up to preach more! I was able to get out finally to go the bathroom and came back and the service was still going on! Finally, we left, but I was still shocked. I had only eaten some rice and chicken at lunch that day, and really felt like not eating for a really, really long time after that. [I really had no appetite for the next few days. I was emotionally worn out after thinking on the events that I had seen.] ... SO all day Sunday, I just relaxed. I woke various times during the morning, but finally got myself up around noon. Lina took me to the beach and I worked out... jogging and doing cardio-workout routines to relax my exercise-craving body and work out anxieties and stresses of the last few days. Ahh, it felt so good... In the afternoon, I just watched tv and hung around like a complete lazy bum. I went to bed early, for a lack of much else to do. So Monday... Carlos came to pick me up at 10:30ish and we took a one hour bus ride to Mejillones (further north) to go to the beach and see his pastor and that family there. Well, so on the bus ride there, Carlos [who is extremely talkative, but only speaks Spanish] and I talked a lot.

This is a picture of Carlos:

...So, among other things abt the Bible, cultural customs, etc., we talked abt the "falling" ritual that occurred Sat. nite. He was one of the ppl talking to those falling, saying words of the Lord, so powerful that the presence of the Lord knocked the women to the floor!?! I wonder why men don’t go up there? Lina said she hadn’t seen stuff like that but a couple of times, and never as intense. So anyway, he asked if I believe in it, and I said it was possible, but I just need time to think about what happened, [as I have never seen anything so religiously dramatic before... at least in person. I mean, I’ve heard of religious extremes and really getting into worship, and realize that the possibility and this form of worship could be something really powerful from God that one may experience, but I needed time to think on it really.] I had to adjust. What I had seen that night was just so different. I know the conversations I had with Carlos where really good for my Spanish skills, [and it was a really intellectual and deep topic to be having to think on... It really did exhaust my brain (thinking in English and then to Spanish and having an in-depth conversation in another language, on religion at that, is very taxing on the brain, let me tell ya!)] but also for me religiously. This exposed me to something I had not encountered ever before. Then we got to the beach in Mejillones, and Carlos went to pray for a few minutes while I just thought to myself and walked up and down the beach taking pics and surveying the sights of the gorgeous day- the wind on the water, the bright sun... and thinking about my weekend. My purpose. Family and friends. What was I doing here? What might I learn? How might I benefit from my stay here? How will I change? Will I help others? What am I doing here? How are other people around the world going to be impacted by religion? So many things. After a few minutes, Carlos was finished praying and we started walking down the beach back into the town. Carlos told me that one of the things he prayed for was for me to experience falling sometime in the next six months that I am here, before I leave. I was hesitant, unaccepting, and in all honesty, a bit annoyed, and I told him I just wasn’t sure if I wanted to experience that. He couldn’t understand why, and I still don’t think he does. Then when we got to his pastor’s house after walking down the beach into town a couple hours later, we talked more abt the whole falling thing and I explained I didn’t want to fall b/c I’m just not ready. It’s something so new and I need to think, research, learn more, or just talk to God a little bit more before I commit to such an extreme and powerful experience. The pastor’s wife there knows the Thurstons and she is super-nice and knows a bit of English because her best friend is a missionary who came to Chile. She let me taste some really awesome fruit while we were visiting. Anyway, in brief, that’s a lot of what I’ve been struggling with, wondering abt really deep, existential God-stuff. And being lonely."

That pretty much covers what I was dealing with, for the most part, last weekend. It’s been tough on me, though it may not sound so bad in writing. Already in the first couple weeks here, I can see I am in for some deep spiritual things. With so much down time, I have been able to spend a lot of time thinking about really deep stuff… spending a lot of time talking to God and beginning to get into His word. I know I’ll be growing and learning a lot, and all this stuff will make for a really good article for the church newsletter.

So anyway, back to the rest of my trip. This’ll be more brief. On Monday I took the trip with Carlos to Mejillones. This picture below is of me on the beach about an hour´s walk outside of the center of the town of Mejillones...

(Another quick tidbit about the land… Geographically, Mejillones is located in the band of the widest part of Chile. Take a look at a map.) Tuesday, we went to the beach close to Lina´s mom’s apartment. Warm (like mid-seventies) but windy. In the afternoon, we went to the brand-new mall that just opened there last week (it is the newest of three in this city). Wednesday a man from Lina´s mom’s church toured me and Lina around the typical touristy sights of Antofagasta. It’s not really tourist season there, and since it was a weekday, it made it even better for us. We went to La Portada, which is the sight that Antofagasta is most famous for. It is a natural formation of a rock along the coast that is in the shape of a door ("una puerta," or "una portada," hence the name). I took pictures there. It was windy but the sights were really fantastic. (I’ll be posting pics on my website soon and everything so make sure to check them out!) Then we went to La Rinconada, which is a beach in this rounded area of the coast, shallow and gorgeous. "Rincon" means "ring" in English. I also got some great pictures of that area! It’s where the hot, sandy desert meets the Pacific Ocean, and the phenomenon is absolutely marvellous! Wow. God’s creation is absolutely just SO amazing! I collected a ton of very pretty, unique seashells here (with which I was able to decorate my room a bit too!). That afternoon, Lina and I went around Antofagasta and I got to see more sights... The uber-huge "Lider" supermarket, which is the size of a warehouse, and also the more artisan booths in the center of the city. We also spent some time at Lina´s brother’s little coffee stand along a side-alley high-business-person-pedestrian flow area. Thursday I packed, cleaned, went jogging and exercised more, and Lina and I flew home during the evening (7 pm flight), returning to ´home´ in Santiago at around 10 pm. It was nice that among all the long hours of being bored and watching more tv than I probably ever have in my life (for hours on end!) with the exception of maybe when I’ve been sick, I was able to get out and exercise as well. I got to walk around a lot and put in over 4 hours of walking on Monday in Mejillones alone! I really felt like I was wandering the desert like an Israelite, and had a sunburn show up the following day to prove my wanderings! Within 48 hours it turned tan though, and my skin is regaining my quickly-faded U.S. tan. O and I got another ring, so My fingers should have thicker tan lines now. LOL.

As for today, I rested and then finally decorated my room! O you should have seen it when I arrived. Just two sad-looking twin beds, an armoire, a broken sewing machine, and a sad-looking old, dirty yellow stool. I took pictures of how it is now. I spent a little more than $1 (buying lavender-colored tissue paper) in total. Jim and Lina bought a set of drawers that I am proud to say I constructed/set up all by myself!!! 30 minutes of hammering, gluing, pegging, and piecing together some wood boxes was well worth it. Once I decorated and cleaned up, the room finally looked a little better. I felt like I was on a home-makeover tv show. I did what I could with limited resources and what I had there in the room and with my shells and colored tissue paper. It was so much fun to spend the day doing what I could. Rearranging, organizing, changing my mind and reorganizing lol, and switching the good mattress from the top, to the bottom, and then top to bottom once more before I finally decided on which bunk I wanted to sleep! Now that was a nice little workout for my arms!!! We also took the dog to the vet. And I’m just working on updating and getting pictures and everything online now. This weekend I’ll be updating a lot, getting my webcam set up and all, and then next week I’ll be in the studio with Jim, learning more and helping in the ministry. O and tomorrow night, Saturday, I Mary Jane and Paulo will be taking me to the youth group they went to. I’ll get to meet some people my own age, finally!!! You don’t know how excited I am at those prospects. There’s so much to look forward to other than sleeping and watching tv and eating like I did for the majority of last week!

Yeah, so that’s about it for now. Keep checking the website and the pics in the next couple of days... I’ll be updating! And email me! I’d love to hear from people!