Day 142- UPDATE FOR WEEK 20

NOTABLE EVENTS:
· Going to an Anglican, English-speaking church on Sunday morning
· Other than that, it was a pretty dull week...

WEATHER:
It must be something about Mondays... because yet again, today it is unusually cold and overcast. So strange! It is around 60º as I am writing this morning. It will most likely warm up and burn off by this evening, and if not, it will definately be warmer again by tomorrow. Last week's weather was more enjoyable than today's cold bite. It is usually in the low-to-mid-80s, sometimes with a breeze. Evenings have really cooled down though, and the temperature sometimes dipped below 65 during the nights of the past week. Brr! I had to shut my window in the middle of the night. I heard the weather out at the beach is really nice, and I should be heading out there sometime this week I think...

MISSIONS PROJECTS, EVENTS DURING THE WEEK, and AROUND THE HOUSE:
Jim and Lina headed out to the beach again on Wednesday, this time for vacation time together, as February is their "relaxing month" during the summer here. They were here in the city (Santiago) last weekend through Wednesday to get meetings and business things taken care of, and then they headed off. So here, it has been a bit more quiet, as it has just been me and Paul (Señora Mercedes is taking her vacation time this month as well). Elías (who works in the ministry) is here for lunches during the weekdays though. Speaking of lunches, I have been doing all the cooking since Thursday, and been having quite a good time! ;)

Once again, this week I mostly was at home and working in my routine of getting out to exercise in the mornings and evenings, as well as going about the video-transfering process. I have been reading, writing, and doing some self-motivated studying on the side while I wait in between recordings.

On Sunday, I wanted to get an experience of attending other churches in Chile. So Paul and I went to the only English-speaking church in Santiago (or it might be one of two?). It was an Anglican church, so it was very similar to a Catholic service's format. Since it is summertime, the congregation was not very large, but there was a fairly good number of people there, including children. It was nice to hear a sermon in English, haha! The contrast of the length of a typical English-service as compared to Spanish-speaking ones was major! haha. The whole service was only one hour, as compared to Spanish-speaking hour-long SERMONS. hehe. It was amazing how short this minister's sermon seemed, after going to all these long, drawn-out services over the last few months, where the message itself is at least one hour! Going back to North American services will seem quite short indeed, I have a feeling! Anyway, the service was enjoyable, and then we walked home since the morning was not too hot, and we were out of church much earlier than normal. The 50-minute walk home left me with nice blisters from my wedges (but I'm a dancer, and it's not like I have never had blisters before!). The weather was nice, as was the exercise walking home and seeing the sights of that area in the city a little better than from a bus window. So, my new Sunday morning experience was pleasurable, and in the next couple weeks, I should be able to experience some other churches as well. The variety and just the general experience is interesting and mixes things up, as well as introduces me to other parts of the culture and religions here.



You may be wondering how my works down here right now can be classified under the occupation (if you can call it that) of "missionary." You have been hearing a lot about the fun things I get to do, the sights I see and where I travel, and of course, the WEATHER! haha. Also, I've written a lot about transferring these tapes to DVD, which is one of the major ways I am helping in the Thurstons' ministries right now. So let me summarize my work here, and how I have experienced life as a "missionary."

When I first arrived, the Thurstons taught me the ropes in their daily lives as missionaries. Just by living here and helping out in whatever ways I could assist, I learned a lot about their ministries and how they reach people for Christ, spreading God's Word, love, and bringing people to Him. During the springtime (which was the first three months I was here in Chile), I participated in a variety of events that we covered to film, edit, and post online on their webpage. I learned about the format of their ministry, and all the branches that it supplies the world with, particularly the Spanish-speaking part. This introduction into one type of missionary life was very beneficial, and I realized that one can be a missionary anyWHERE, anyTIME, no matter what your circumstances are- in a jungle, or in the "concrete jungle."

Then during this summer (my last three months here), as far as my ministry work goes, when people leave the city and events quiet down a bit, I have been able to focus on transferring these hundreds of tapes to DVD, which may not sound that fantastic, but I know that I am helping. This is how I view it... All of the Thurston's past work from when they first began with the JTV Studio recording videos and making movies such, is documented on these tapes. All the conferences, works of outreach, and messages are contained in these tapes. In order to continue effectively spreading the Word, and getting messages out, they should be able to use these messages over and over again. That means that the old technology of VHS tapes should be transferred to a more updated technology- DVDs. From this format, we can easily transfer messages to the computer and digitally put them up online for literally the world to see, and not just a select few who have a video tape delivered to their hands. While transferring tapes is a long, monotonous task, I know that I am saving the Thurstons a lot of time (which really, they do not have, among all their other ministerial goings-on). This way, sometime in the future, their past work still can be accessed. This is just one of the ways that I am contributing to the "missions field." I feel blessed to be a part of this whole ministry, in numerous ways.

I have also been able to experience things as a missionary in an everyday light, since six months provides adequate time to settle into the ministry work and life in a foreign country, becoming culturally accustomed to routines, the people, etc. A lot of being a missionary teaches a person how to react to different surroundings, cultures, and just the general demographics. This experience is not only spiritually rewarding as I grow in my faith, learn more about God's workings, and study new materials, but in my encounters with another part of the world and its people, God is continually teaching me new things as I grow up.



Well... that is about it for now as far as an update. Only about a month more left here in Chile, and I expect God has more learning in store for me! (Oh and Jim just called me and let me know that in a couple of days, I will be heading out to the beach, so that should be fun!)


(Sorry, no pictures this week! -how boring, I know!)