Hansel and Gretel...???

The adventures just never seem to end. Nor do we want them too!
We arrived in Santiago last night around 7:00pm. We were greeted by a man at the airport who was holding a sign that said, " Dennis Alpha" Clearly this man was waiting for us. He did not speak English, but managed to direct us to a bus that was waiting to take us to the retreat house.
Our bus driver then proceeded onto a highway that looked like a smaller version of the 401 in Toronto. This driver navigated the lanes with incredible skill. Felt like we were in the middle of a video game (Mike and Barrett you would have loved this.) The bus stopped in front of a large set of metal gates that surrounded a forest. We grabbed our luggage and proceeded through the gates and down a long path looking for anything that looked like a retreat house. There were several small buildings, different pathway ways and all signs were in Spanish. We came to a fork in the pathways and attempted to read the signs. Dennis decided to go one way and look for a place called, " Central de Perogies." We laughed thinking he thought he was in the Ukraine. Carrie went into a small building, Dave was taken behind a locked gate with a masked man, while Ramona and I stood with the luggage waiting for something to happen. We thought for sure there was going to be a part two of Hansel and Gretel unfolding before our eyes. Nobody took bread crumbs. Then after we got hold of our imaginations and realized we were standing on holy ground, Carrie came back and told us of the beautiful chapel she went into and felt the holiness all around here. Dennis didn't find Central de Perogies as it does not exist, but clearly the Lord lead him to some very nice nuns eating their evening dinner who helped him and showed him where we needed to be. Dennis came back to get the rest of the group. Now we were just needing to get Dave back. Ramona was calling under the fence into the dark...DAVE...DAVE... in an area of silence. Thought for sure we would be evicted before we even got in. Finally Dave appeared in the distance with the same masked man that took him behind the gate. Still aren't sure who this was, guessing it was a security guard as we now know these grounds are for the retreat and are very secure. Finally we were all back together with clear directions of where we were going and how to get there.
We have a little old house all to ourselves. Our house is called Casa Betania. Two single beds in each room with a couple bathrooms in each wing. Six bedrooms in total. A fairly big common area which is great for gathering and prayer time. The temperature was 14 degrees in the building when we arrived. We quickly turned on ALL the heaters in the house to try to bring the heat up to something that was doable.
This morning we woke up very cold temperatures outside. Ramona figured it was around minus 3. There was frost on the ground. Although cold, the view was spectacular. We are in a forest that fairy tales could be written about. With the backdrop of snow topped mountains, really beautiful.
We all gathered for a breakfast of fresh bread, homemade jam, ham and cheese. FABULOUS! We then returned to the house for our morning prayer. Our very good friend Edu arrived and joined us for prayer. God blessed us with this awesome guy (who absolutely ROCKS) for the rest of the week. We were all in awe at prayer time as the prayer for the day, (which by the way was written by Cheryl about a month ago) said the following: That the Away Team have a special day with anyone they have built relationships with throughout their stay, especially the leaders. We could not believe this. We were planning our day with our new friend Edu.
God is GOOD!! But you all knew that already.
We then took the subway downtown with Edu as our guide. We could never have navigated this without him. He took us to the Parliment buildings and the Mascaras del Eduador museum. It started to rain very slightly and we then went into Santiago Cathedral. Wow, words cannot describe this church. Not even sure pictures will do it justice. Incredible places to see. We went shopping at a really large shopping mall. Arrived back at the retreat house exhausted and ready for bed. But before that happens we have to eat "again" before bed. Their supper time is 8:30pm each night. Then we have prayer time. Tonight Karen arrived and both Karen and Edu are staying with us at the Retreat House. Lots of laughter and fun times together. Looking forward to whatever the Lord has in store for us tomorrow.
We all wish we could bring our new friend Edu home with us. Words cannot describe this young man. He is 28 years old and hears God like no one I've ever know before. He is so kind and funny. He has bailed us out of so many things. Can't imagine what this trip would have looked like without him. Edu is nothing short of a true blessing from The Lord to help us through our journey.
We have also been blessed with Karen. She is our Regional Manager from Argentina, quite the "wee cracker." She is lots of fun to be with and so kind and gentle. Love her Scottish accent. Karen will be with us this weekend to help us through the training event. Presently she is working on setting up meetings with the local team for us. Still do not know the details regarding our social project. Will let you all know when we know....as I was typing Dennis just heard our social project has been canceled. Apparently the parish priest who was in charge was down south and stuck there due to bad weather. We will however make sure the correct people get the blankets and money. We have our first meeting tomorrow at noon with the local coordinator.
Its been so incredible and each day brings a new adventure.

Miss all of you!

Carole