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Christmas Update

By Daniel Lins - 2009-01-04

December 30, 2008—53° 9’ 23.21" South Latitude, 70° 54’ 20.08" West Longitude

"-53.156447, -70.905579" in http://maps.google.com/ for the exact location!

We had some memory card malfunctions, so we don’t have as many photos this week. But guess what. We’re warm and safe and dry! And, this whole week has been magnifico (magnificent)!

We took a ferry from Porvenir to Punta Arenas, Chile. The wind was so bad that the cars started rocking on the deck. A big trailer situated next to our bikes almost squashed them! The crew eventually tied it down securely, but not until they got a few worried complaints.

Christmas Eve was spent with a local pastor and his family. The way it happened is very interesting. A friend from home had given me an address in the city of Punta Arenas, Chile (it is the largest we’ve been to yet, with a Mall and supermarkets and the equivalent of a Wal-Mart (in fact, Wal-Mart just bought out this supermarket chain two days ago. It’s called Lider if you want to Google it)). As you may know, I’ve been asking people to pray for us, and especially that we would be able to interact with the locals more. Well, these prayers couldn’t have been answered more generously.

Here’s the story:

We really haven’t met many people at all. The whole island of Tierra del Fuego is a Mecca for adventure tourists, with more tourists per square mile than locals. People from all countries on the globe can be found there. The problem is that we tend to meet only other tourists. And the locals see us only as tourists, with nothing to contribute but money. So, we’ve been hurting to get to know the natives.

The day before Christmas Eve, we arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile. It’s a little port city with a lot of outside influences. It’s also the gateway to the Falklands. The local estancias (massive sheep farms) bring their wool here to ship around the world.

We didn’t know where to stay that night, and all I had was the street number of a church in town. We hunted it down, and found it in the middle of a windswept neighborhood with brightly painted houses and red tin roofs. Plastic bags floated across the streets like tumbleweeds, and la gente (the people) held their hoods tightly to their faces as they walked down the sidewalks. The wind was blowing more than 100km/h through the streets. Some houses lost telephone service.

The church was locked up, but the proprietor of the tienda (store) next door gave us directions for the pastor’s house. We hunted that down as well, and I timidly knocked on the door, not knowing what to say to this man whom I’ve never met, and really not knowing what I wanted from him. The door opened, and I was greeted by a short man in a nice suit with a gray mustache. He invited me into his house, and I ducked my head to fit in the doorway. I tripped over my Spanish words, trying to explain who I was and why I’d come. He was gracious and patient, and I eventually communicated who we were. He had been expecting us, and was happy to see me.

The guys waited outside, around the corner, as he served me tea. Luckily, I had unveiled a stash of bread before we split, so they weren’t too impatient. We had decided to separate so as not to intimidate our host. Four big strangers tramping into your house can be a little unsettling – especially because most of the people here are shorter than the average American.

After a few minutes, the other guys came in for tea and a freshly baked cake, and we talked with Juan, his wife, and their son (a law student) for 5 hours! The sun didn’t set until around 11pm, and the evening flew by.

Juan introduced us to another pastor and his wife, Edwin and Erica, who were to host us that night. We are still with Edwin and Erica, now 7 days later!

Christmas Eve, we were back at Juan’s to consume an entire sheep! Las Magellenas (area around the Strait of Magellan) have some of the best sheep in the world. You saw some in the photos from last week.

For La Navidad (Christmas), we spent the day with Edwin’s congregation, an annual bar-b-que in the countryside. We started around 10 in the morning, and didn’t finish eating until 6pm. It was a feast! Literally, they’d grill one course of meat, we’d eat it, and then they’d start grilling the other. We played soccer and sang camp songs between bites.

The next day, Edwin invited us to a youth retreat for the weekend. It was a great privilege, and evidence of his increasing trust in us. For three full days, we hung out in cabins and played games with the youth. It was an excellent time of fellowship and learning Spanish. I think one of the other guys will write an update about this.

We decided to stay here in Punta Arenas for a few more days to encounter the New Year with friends (now, family!) and to escape the dangers of the drunk drivers on the roads. We bought a new back wheel for Dan’s bike, in the hopes that this will stem the tide of broken spokes.

Tomorrow we go for another picnic with the congregation, and attend a New Year’s Eve party!

Peace, Peace, Peace,

Daniel