July 7, 2008

Many cold, cold days have come and gone here in Talca since I last wrote. We are in the heart of winter, with temperatures hovering around freezing, and have plenty of rain. To keep warm, we’ve closed off our one heated room, which has become our living room, in addition to being our dining room and kitchen. It feels rather quaint, but we are quite thankful for the warmth from our wood stove, as the rest of the house is freezing. Most homes in Chile do not have central heating, so keeping warm during the winter is a real challenge. Many use wood for heating – unfortunately, many use wet wood (which is cheap) despite the laws preventing it. As a result, the city is blanketed with smog on the colder evenings and mornings. A few of our photos show you what it looks like.

Despite the cold, our days continue with a predictable routine centering around school, daycare, and ministries. At the Centro Social Quidell and the local Network against Domestic and Sexual Violence, I’ve been compiling materials on program administration and strategic planning, and will be facilitating a number of workshops in the coming weeks with the teams and boards of directors of each organization. As in other parts of the world, it is very difficult here for small grassroots programs to obtain financing, so much of my effort is spent helping the women who run these programs become more familiar with program planning, grant writing, and project proposals. I also do a fair amount of grant-writing myself, and am pleased to report that the first grant proposal I authored in Spanish was successfully funded!

Through your generosity, Steve and I provided grants totaling $2,000 to Centro Quidell and to the Network against Violence, from the funds in our Maryknoll Mission Account.  Quidell is using the funds maintain the rent on their small office space, and provide workshops to poor women who have experienced violence. The Network is using the funds to sponsor a public forum with other non-profit organizations and government officials, and to provide a two-day training for 40 members on the themes of sexual violence, peaceful conflict resolution, self-care, and building an effective network.

To support Steve’s ministry with the small farmers’ cooperative, we also provided a $500 grant to COAMA for the purchase of an office computer. This makes a total of three computers at COAMA for the staff of six, and the 30 members of the agricultural cooperative who also have access to the office and equipment. Many, many thanks to all who have made these grants possible through your donations to our mission account!!

In other news, Steve and the girls and I recently made our first visit to a native Mapuche community, where fellow Maryknoll lay missioners, Carolyn and Bosse, provide pastoral care, and accompaniment to the sick and elderly. It was truly an amazing experience to learn more about the Mapuche culture and traditions, and to attend a Sunday worship service spoken in Spanish and Mapudungun. All of us also enjoyed listening to Carolyn and Bosse’s mission stories collected over their 20+ years in South America: all of which have been spent working in and with indigenous communities in Peru, Argentina, and Chile.

On our way to visit Carolyn and Bosse, we stopped to see Chile’s largest waterfall, Salto de Laja, and spent the night in a small, rather run-down cabin near the falls. The girls were enchanted by the flocks of peacocks and guinea hens which roamed the nearly abandoned property, but weren’t so thrilled to be chased and “herded” by some local sheep. I will never think of sheep the same again. They actually appear rather frightening while they’re charging directly at you, despite how funny that might sound!

All in all, we continue to enjoy all the new adventures as well as the daily routine. We appreciate hearing from you, and thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Until our next update, be well and enjoy the summer!

Peace,
Laura and Steve