all is well

living with a family of three, juan, sylvia and their 4 year old satya.
in the middle of mountains and volcanoes, small farm w- greenhouses, small gardens, pasture, and the likes. working on fences, cutting and hauling firewood down the mountain, transplanting and preparing more soil, cooking with sylvia, learning new dishes and types of bread.
i am blessed to be here with these ppl. sometimes it is trying and i find myself thinking of home, of life as i know it. i have to force myself to stay engaged here, but i know my blessings, and the LOrd´s continual faithfulness, in his protection and provision. i am learning a lot about patience right now. patience with place and people. patience with myself.

all is well, life continues to go on, day by day. i am taking joy in the small things, and the effort i must put into communicating and understanding.
miss you all, happy thanksgiving!

al dedo

well, it´s been quite a trip this past week and a half. Tom and i have hitched from Santa Ines all the way down to Temuco, where we currently are spending a couple days. rides in the back of pickup trucks, squished in backseats, beds of vans with music blaring, an old man, several couples, a man selling bread, couple students, and more to count. we have been so blessed in these people as many have told us things to watch for when hitching, and my spanish has been surprisingly good, able to carry conversation for the car rides, ask pretty much what i want, get most of the jokes, interpret some for Tom.
san fernando, curico, linares, past talca, villa alegre, chillan, concepcion, talcahuano, lota, laraquete, cañate, argol, parque nacional nahuelbuta, and now temuco. plus some ground in between. many beautiful places and beautiful ppl. each day seems like a week in itself. it is amazing the contrast in location that can take place in only a few hours, or few days. it is not something that can be reduced to words, and i won´t try to here.

Tom and I have become fast friends, and have realized how rediculous the odds are of finding such good traveling companions on a farm in the middle of nowhere Chile. for me it is an answer to prayers. we are good for each other and i believe are helping each other in a process of life that is important, important for growing and reaching, believing and trusting. it is beautiful and i am blessed to be a part of this.

the future holds another farm next, near Temuco, near a town called Melipueco, with some friends i met on the first farm. nestled between two national parques and volcanoes, i don´t know what to expect but am sure it will be beautiful. i´ll see what comes my way, how long i´ll stay before heading further south.

i also am understanding the importance of relationships back home, their strength and significance in my life, and how much a part of me they are. family, friends, and loved ones, it would be foolish of me to think i could leave that behind in another place. i am very much a part of something special, and i know this more as i am separated from it.
i am well, and continuing this process that will not end when i leave chile, and did not start when i came. it is a process of living and of taking things as they come. letting plans and expectations go as life continues to be. to be and come and go and turn, shake, rattle and roll. choices and control and learning to laugh at myself for being such a stranger in a foreign place. i am humbled everyday. and it goes on...
thanks for your thoughts and prayers, they are felt
-joshua

goin´south

hello to all,
writing from san fernando, a town south of Rancagua. i am hitch hiking south with my friend Tom, another wwoofer i met at the farm. we´re headed towards the same farm south of Concepcion, hoping to make it there by this Friday or Saturday. so far we have had great luck hitching, three rides this morning, and my spanish is better than i thought it would be.

this past week and a half at the farm were the hardest.
i found myself very ready to go, to leave, to change, to move on. i have realized that there are more important things to a place than just the place itself. i found myself in a beautiful atmosphere, excellent food, people who seem to value the same type of life that i do,... but something was lacking. the sense of community that i am used to was not there, not permanently. i don´t know why, but it seems that once you stay in a place long enough to start to know the people and their motivations, how they function and what they value in life, this is when i start to realize my differences.
to truly have something special it takes more than good food and a beautiful place, similar ideas, or the pursuit of adventure. the love that i know from the Lord, and that i feel from other people cannot be replaced or mimmicked, cannot be faked or substituted. i feel like this realization is only on the tip of my tongue, and i am starting to taste its bitterness and sweet flavor.

i am well, and blessed to have a companion on this southward journey. Tom is from England, studies in Canada, and has a dry sense of humor that keeps things rolling.
i left about 25 lbs of stuff at the farm, and feels good to be traveling lighter now. i know more of what i need, what i don´t, and what i want to haul around on my back.

thanks for your thoughts and prayers, the Lord continues to pour his grace on me
-joshua