March 28, 2008

By now, we’ve breezed through the quiet days of summer…long, hot days filled with sports camps and bike riding for the kids, gardening and more relaxed ministry schedules for Steve and me.  We’ve made it through the hectic days of early March, filled with ministry planning meetings and all the errands that accompany the beginning of the school year…hair cuts, new shoes, and purchasing hundreds (literally!) of school supply items to equip our kids, their classrooms, and their art classes for the year.  Finally, we’re settling into the rhythm of the school year.

We jump into the week with “hot chocolate Mondays” and finish it off with family lunches on Friday afternoons (half-day of school).  In between, while Emily and Anna are busy with school and Ella is having fun at her daycare, Steve and I continue our mission journey: improving our Spanish speaking abilities, learning more about Chilean culture, and integrating more deeply into local ministries.

Steve and I have both taken a break from our visiting at the local Hospice, finding ourselves getting burned out by the stress of accompanying people in an institution with so few resources and so little support.  For me, the lack of opportunity to address systematic issues at the Hospicio made the work more draining.  I had hoped to be able to raise funds for additional staffing or begin a capital campaign for a new building, but wasn’t able to move forward without more support from the administration.  I believe the administrator of the Hospicio would welcome additional support and funding, but he appears to be too overwhelmed with the present to focus on the future.  After all, he does managing all the finances, intakes, medical emergencies, staffing supervision, legal issues, and public relations…alone.  Steve and I have “left the door open” to additional ministry at the Hospicio, so we may yet be able to contribute more to this truly abandoned place.

In the meantime, Steve continues with his work on fair trade labeling with COAMA, and improvements to the facilities of the Hogar Padre Hurtado [home for abused and neglected boys].  I’ve become integrated into the team at the Centro Social Quidell [a women’s center focusing in the prevention of violence], and the Red Chilena Contra Violencia Domestica y Sexual [Chilean Network Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse].  I assist the teams with program planning, public awareness campaigns, and fundraising, and provide supportive counseling to women experiencing domestic violence.  It’s been a sobering learning experience, but also a wonderful opportunity to serve.  Our photo album this month provides a glimpse of the violence prevention work, and documents some of Steve’s improvements at the Hogar.

As always, we so appreciate your correspondence, prayers, and financial support of our mission work.  We keep you in our prayers and hope that you and your loved ones are well.  Enjoy the blooming of spring while we prepare for the cold winds of winter!

Love,
Laura and Steve