Midnight Mania

As I mentioned in my last post, Friday was an all nighter here at the school. All but two students in the Junior and Senior High were able to make it. As per the norm here in Chile, the scheduled starting time was 8 but we didn't really get started till about 9. That was ok... cause we had all night! We kind of kicked things off with a game of soccer, some knockout, and four square. It was fun to get everyone involved. Around Midnight we fed everyone some spaghetti then headed out to the bonfire.

We had the usually bonfire activities of singing and devotional. However, the students were also presented with a challenge to read through the whole New Testament in the month of November. Most all of the students as well as the faculty have accepted the challenge. Please pray that they would be faithful in doing this and that through their reading they will have a desire to read and search apart from this challenge. Of course, you can't have a bonfire without smores... so we indulged. However, I was surprised to find that many of the kids had never had a smore before.

We closed out our bonfire about 3 and headed inside for some more games. Some were messy and some weren't. The real down time didn't happen until about 4:30. Though it's been a while since I've stayed up all night... we were busy enough pretty much all night and I didn't have a whole lot of trouble staying awake.

The kids were each sent home with bellies full of pancakes and other junk food from the evening. I finally crawled into my own bed about 8:30, but unfortunately wasn't able to sleep much more than a couple of hours. Slowly but surely I'm recovering! It was an exciting time!

Quick Update...

Ok... so I did make it back to Chile before today, but I simply haven't taken the time to update my blog. Sad... I know! The remainder of our time in Argentina was fairly uneventful... which was great! The only thing that was very monumental was the 4 1/2 hour wait at the border on our way back. Apparently last Sunday was Mother's Day in Argentina and because there are many Chilean/Argentine marriages many were heading back across the border that night.

Today was a pretty normal day of school, but this evening will be different from the normal Friday. About 8 the Junior High and Highschoolers will be meeting back here at the school for an all nighter. A good number of activities have been planned for this evening and the general attitude among the students today was anticipation. So I'm excited to see how the evening progresses. I will post pictures sometime soon!

Halfway through...

So, we arrived here in Mendoza around 8 pm last night. For the most part the trip was uneventful. The bus we rode on was filled with about 15 other Americans who are currently studying in Santiago. So, it definitely had a different feal to it. The border crossing went so smooth and didn't take long at all. Driving through the Andes Mountains was very beautiful and I'll definitely post some pictures when I get back to my own computer.
The three of us are staying in the home of a single American missionary lady who is with Campus Crusade. She's been very gracious in putting us up in her house. After our arrival, the three of us wandered around in search of a McDonald's. I don't remember the last time I really wanted to eat at a Micky D's, but for some reason a burger and fries sounded sooo good. We were talking about it almost the whole way on the bus! :)
This morning we were able to sleep in for a while and then took our sweet time getting ready. We managed to make it out the door in time to get some coffee and french fries (what a combo) a little after 11. The really cool thing is that there is Wal-Mart here in Mendoza! It was fun to visit and compare with the States. It's similar, but different too.
The plan of attack... after siesta... is to wander around a little bit more and do the touristy thing. I'll have to fill you in on the rest when I arrive back in Santiago!

Voy al Mendosa!

My visa is about to expire! In order to get it renewed I will traveling to Mendosa, Argentina for the weekend. In fact, my bus leaves in about 2 1/2 hours. I will be traveling with one fellow teacher and another friend of hours. The plan is to come back Sunday evening sometime. Please pray for safety and for smooth crossing of the border. I will post pics and other stuff once we get back. Thanks for your prayers!

Slumber Party...

I realize that it's already Tuesday, but I wanted to fill you in on the happenings of this past weekend. All of the 7th and 8th grade girls joined me in my apartment for a sleepover on Friday night. (I'm not really sure why it's called a sleepover... cause very little sleeping is ever accomplished.) Anyway, we ate pizza and tons of junk food, watched a couple of movies, and talked. It was a lot of fun. I actually didn't make it all the way through the second movie before I fell asleep. I finally crawled into bed about 3:00 am, but I know the girls didn't sleep much at all.
The next morning, we enjoyed a group trip to the Feria (open air market). It was so much fun to go with the girls. We definitely stand out in a crowd!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I just wanted to let you all know that today is the Birthday of a very special person in my life... My Mother! I'm so thankful that the Lord gave her to me! We have a very special relationship. She is my Mom, my friend, my listening ear, my shoulder to cry on, my encourager, my cheering section, and I can't say enough about her. I love it when we spend time together! For a while we even worked at the same grocery store and that was soooooo enjoyable! I wouldn't trade a moment with her for all the tea in China!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

An International Meal

School yesterday was thrown off slightly by an all school dinner. The purpose of this dinner (which was actually lunch) was to have each family bring a main course and desert from their native land. Because of the variety of our students we had representatives from Costa Rica, Colombia, Korea, China, United States, Canada, Africa and probably others. Everything looked great! It was interesting to watch most of the younger kids gravitate toward the foods that looked familiar to them. However, the parents and most of the high schoolers did branch out in their food choices. Over all, it was an enjoyable time.

End of the first quarter!

Yesterday officially marks the ending of the first 9 weeks of school. Which means grades are due into the office by Tuesday. Time is passing rather quickly and it seems as if school just started. Everything has settled into a rather nice routine though.
On Tuesday we will be having an international dinner here at the school. Because we have so many people from different backgrounds and nationalities, the idea is to have each student bring a main course and desert of something that is unique to their home area. It was rather a challenge to come up with something that is particularly unique to Nebraska (Wyoming or South Dakota), and be able to make it correctly. Cooking down here is not the same as at home. For one, the ingredients are not all the same and the fickleness of the oven proves to be quite a challenge. So, my end decision is to make a fruit pizza. The fruit is readily available and Fruit pizza is just plain yummy!
The sun is shining so brightly today and I'm super excited about summer being just around the corner. I know there will probably be times when I'll wish for the cooler weather back, but I'm pretty sure it won't be very often! :P
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! Phil 1:3-4