We arrived at Hotel Aloha Sol in downtown Santiago late on Saturday night (9/4/10). It was a nice place with a lot of cultural characteristics. Now to get all 40+ bags off the bus! We filled the lounge with all our gear. The staff their brought us all welcome glasses of their special fruit punch. It was yummy! We finally settled in for the night with anticipation for the next day.
Sunday came quickly. We ate a delicious breakfast at the hotel before leaving to finally see the village we were going to be driving to every day. It took an hour to drive on our bus to Villa Tapia. We saw many interesting things along the way throughout the week driving there. I noticed there was trash any where you looked. The only place that I didn't see any were in the nicer areas of the city, but that was it. One day we saw a little car pulling a dead horse along the highway... Not your every day sighting in Indiana. Half of the population seemed to drive mopeds. We saw a guy somehow fit 4 children with him on his. Then there was the man riding with a small washing machine on his moped! You name it, they were selling it. On every street there was someone selling things ranging from cell phone covers & chargers, puppies, shoes (hanging from tree branches as a display), baby chickens, and many types of food. It is a largely populated city, so it is hard for many to find jobs, so they sell whatever they can.
After our first long, interesting ride, we finally arrived to The Manantial de Vida y Amor Child Development Center started by Mission of Mercy & diagonal in same courtyard was the Church. The Center is a safe, nurturing Christian environment where children's basic needs are met. They receive medical check-ups, education assistance, and opportunities for healthy social & emotional development. Most importantly, through a program of Christian education, they are introduced to Christ and given the opportunity to develop a lifelong relationship with Him.
We were greeted by the villagers with huge smiles and great excitement! The women greeted us with hugs and a kiss on the cheek. The children had worked on a program for the church service that morning. They were amazing in front of such a big crowd. I included a video of an 11 year old, Giannabel, singing in my Photos post. She had a neat and outgoing personality, as you can see. Throughout the week she and I grew a special bond.
One of our group leaders, Mark's friend, Brian Correll, preached with our interpreter/Mission of Mercy Coordinator, Dimos. He did an awesome job! The seats were filled, so there were many people standing in the isles and in the back...there were even people watching through the windows from outside. Maybe some were curious to see "Americanos! : )" When the service had ended we were flooded by children and villagers in the church's courtyard. We were thrilled to have such a greeting. The women and children love to have their pictures taken...most don't own a camera or have many pictures of their own, so they loved to look at ours.
While having fellowship with them, Mark recognized our sponsored child, Junior. We introduced ourselves with an interpreter and explained we were sponsoring him. His mother was nice but we noticed she didn't smile much as all the other people and Junior was extremely shy (which was totally fine). We were to visit their home later in the week to bring them gifts.
Once the crowd diminished, we enjoyed our first lunch of many: beans, rice & chicken. We toured the center and planned our work for the next day. The rest of the day was full of fellowship and rest.
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