The days are getting longer and each increment moves me closer to the end of things here in Chile. Now, after three months in here, as the air finally changes to something other than cold (just as I experienced my last weeks in China before coming here) I am looking down to the finally weeks in this school. I have been looking forward to this time with anticipation now since 2007. Now, in unbelief I am looking at the close of such a long anticipated experience. I think that I never really knew what this time would be about completely. Open to the fact that this could be the start of a shift to Latin America, though content with knowing that it might be a time to do “language learning” simply because it is something I have long wanted to do as well I was in need of a sabbatical of refreshment and time to just be with able to get refreshment both physically and spiritually. Well, with that said, I can see more clearly that this time has been more of the latter and even more needed than I had ever thought. This time for me as been so very far away from all that I have known and come to love and with such newness I have found this place to be such a wonderful place of solace. All of my last five years have been invested into one particular place; Maui. Well, as many of you know, that doesn’t mean in one specific location on a map, more a specific focus of relationships with a pretty narrow purpose to do things that actually don’t coincide on a map - but I was working in Maui and investing my time working with a training program called DTS (which by nature was pretty specifically focused in a few locations in Asia). Coming to Chile was very much a leap of the imagination, yet somehow made sense after the last several years of craziness. I won’t lie that much of my time here left me with plaguing questions of why, but I have known more and more each day that it was the perfect place for me in this season in life.

My time here has been sweet and I am stoked on the last four weeks to enjoy learning Spanish as well as the great people here. Looking forward to my sisters coming wedding and the joys of being together with my whole family soon. She is having it at the beach and my family and friends will be having a crazy week together there at a beach house in the OBX the week prior. It is going to be incredible and I am overjoyed for her and her husband-to-be. Originally I planned to fly home from Chile to then return to finish with about six weeks of a practical period in my language learning though things have pragmatically changed. After observing the skyrocketing prices of flights from Santiago to mainland U.S. it has become unrealistic to return to Chile. Thus, in my prayers and search of a location to have this very important part of my language learning I have come to a new plan, which allows the same opportunity yet in a different country here in Latin America. I will be leaving Virginia just two days after Rachel’s wedding to fly to Bogotá, Colombia where I’ll be spending this time working along side a ministry there as a volunteer for those six weeks and speaking LOTS of spanish.

I’ve been invited to speak in a school with a YWAM base in Kauai, Hawaii this November. After finishing my time in Colombia I’ll be flying back to Virginia for a day or two and then flying back to these glorious isles for an exciting week of teaching. I’ll be teaching on the topic, “An Introduction To A Christian Worldview,” which I am very excited about. It’s a pretty quick turn around from a crazy 11 months out of the country, though I am very excited about the opportunity to teach. I’ll post more info once this happens, but for now I look forward to this time with expectation.