Responding to Questions #4

Continuing with our "Responding to Questions" series (One, Two, & Three)...

Alisha asked the following questions...
What is Kristi's typical day like?

One word answer: Busy

A normal day would include the following (in chronological order):

*Getting breakfast ready
*Breakfast clean up
*Getting ready for the day
*Homeschooling the boys
*Getting lunch ready
*Lunch clean up
*Finish up homeschool
*Laundry
*Getting supper ready
*Clean up from supper
*Getting the kids ready for bed
*Down time (reading, watching TV, or talking with David)

Throughout the week there are various evening things that Kristi attends or does that are inserted to the above schedule.

Mondays - Typically our "go to the grocery store" afternoon or evening
Tuesdays - Kid's bath night
Wednesdays - Attend Bible Study at church (7:30 - 9:00)
Thursdays - Attend Missionary Prayer Gathering (4:00 - 5:15)
Fridays - Attend Prayer meeting at church (7:30 - 9:00)
Saturdays - Attends a Ladies Bible Study at church (3:30 - 5:00); also kid's bath night

As you can see, Kristi manages to stay busy with home, family, and ministry responsibilities. When the baby comes in August, she will have yet another plate spinning! Of course, dad steps in and helps in the above schedule. Please pray for Kristi in the next year as she will need strength and wisdom to manage her time, home, and ministry.

Has Kristi found a good panadería (bread store) close to the house?

Yes. There are a couple of small villa (neighborhood) stores just a short walk down from our house. There is a little fruit and produce store (on the right in the picture), a small botillería (where you buy soda and other drinks), and two little "general" stores that sell bread.

Kristi has found that one of the general stores is a little better than the other one. Around five days out of the week, Kristi walks down to buy bread. She often takes one of the kids with her, which has been a door opener for short conversations with the owners. There is a larger breadstore around 8 blocks away, but it has been more convenient to give our business the closer store. It probably is a hair more expensive, but we value the contact with the same neighborhood owners and customers. I plan to start making those bread runs after the baby is born to not only help Kristi out, but to start using my Spanish more and making my physical presence known in our villa.

Pray for these contacts with our neighborhood. It takes time for people to get over the fact that we are here to stay and not just some random "gringo tourist family" that just so happened to need something to buy.

How is the homeschooling going?

There are good days and bad days. Since there are later bedtimes here in Chile, due to later church service starting times, we start school a little later in the morning than we would, say if we lived in the States.

Some days are a struggle due to many factors:
*Both boys have different personalities, study needs, and mood swings.
*Kristi tends to get tired quicker due to her pregnancy.
*Kaylee wants to join in, but is at times a distraction.

Some days are a blessing due to:
*The flexibility of the nature of homeschool. For example, something comes up each week where our family needs to go downtown, or travel out of town.
*No one comes to the door asking for something, trying to sell something, or asking to provide a service.

One of the challenges of homeschooling on the mission field is ordering the next year's materials early enough to have them:
1. Shipped to our missions office in FL
2. Put with a shipment to Chile through a Chilean Christian bookstore contact
3. Picked up at the Christian bookstore in Santiago by a co-worker
4. Finally, arrange either a trip up to Santiago to pick up the material, or have someone bring it down with them if traveling to Temuco.

All of this takes time.

What differences do you notice between Santiago and Temuco?

Santiago:
*Dirty smog
*Cosmopolitan feel
*More European influence
*Unbearable traffic
*Dry and Dusty
*Everything is pretty much available
*Crime
*People are uptight and stressed

Temuco:
*Smoky, but from all of the wood stoves to heat homes.
*Small town feel, despite being a major Chilean city
*More Mapuche (indigenous) influence
*Bearable traffic as long as you know where to avoid at certain times
*Rain and Humidity
*Items are somewhat limited in quantity and/or quality
*Less crime
*People are more laid back and relaxed