Warm Welcome

We arrived back in Santiago on Wednesday morning and were greeted by beautiful 80 degree weather. I know we were only gone for 10 days, but the whole place seems to have changed a bit! Everything is super green, colorful, and lush-just beautiful. I think it was good to go back to the states - maybe we just needed a little break!

Beautiful morning view out of our window

India was well taken care of while we were gone by our friends.
She did seem glad to have us back.
(No, the flowers are not from India - she's a cat!)
Joe & Rachel, thanks for the beautiful surprise and for taking such good care of India.

One of my favorite trees in Chile (I'm unsure of the name). These lavender flowers cover the entire tree & they hardly smell!

The path welcoming us home, to our apartment!
The whole right side is covered with pink & purple azaleas, which are cousins to rhododendrons (one of my favorite flowering plants).

Roses are blooming here like crazy and many are the size of grapefruit!

For more Spring in Santiago pics, check out Brad's flickr page.

Good to be in Kansas

It was so nice to be back in Kansas for a good 10 days. It was unfortunate that we were there under such sad circumstances, but it was nice to visit our family! Thanks for the great visit & we miss you all! Also, thank you to Brad's cousin, Jessica, for giving me a fabulous & much needed haircut!!! I've just been too intimidated to get one in Chile!

Here are a few pics of some of the kiddos in our family.

My cousin's 2 month old baby, Victoria, & my sister-in law, Cindy.
I was glad to be able to attend my cousin's baby shower while we were in Kansas.

Brad's cousin's little girl, Mira. She has the sweetest smile!

Our nephew, Luke & uncle Brad eating popcorn.
Stay tuned for some good video footage of Luke!

Sweet Grandma Gerry

Brad's grandmother passed away last Thursday, with the funeral on Saturday. We are very thankful that we were able to be with our family during this time. The service on Saturday was really wonderful, but sad because everyone misses her. The funeral displayed how Grandma Lewis lived her life for Christ and how she has passed this legacy not only to her 5 children and their spouses, but to her 15 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren. She will be missed dearly by all those who knew her.

Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:28-30 (ESV)

Sad/Glad to Be Back in Kansas

We received some sad news last Thursday, that Brad's Grandma Gerry, who was on the road to recovery from her aneurysm, had suffered a stroke. The doctors are not expecting a recovery, and she is now in her final days.

She had really been making great progress - she was even able to go home last Tuesday. She is one strong lady - I guess you have to be to have 2 sets of twins!

We arrived back in Kansas on Saturday morning thanks to the kind people at American Airlines and a lot of shared airline miles. We are so thankful for the time we have been able to spend with Brad's family. Grandma Gerry has again surpassed all the doctor's expectations, but it is just a matter of time..... Brad has said that even though this time has been hard, it is a nice way to die; surrounded by your family and everyone that loves you.

Guest Post: El Ladrón

Brad here, I thought I'd take a turn posting on the Queso, and boy do I have a story to tell.

Okay, we're back from a long and unexpected break. Thanks for checking loyally, we promise to blog more often in the weeks to come.

We have much to report from the past weeks, so let's begin with our trip to the Lake Region. We had a wonderful time visiting Valdivia, Niebla, and Pucón, but the trip got off to a rocky start. Our journey began in Santiago, where we boarded an overnight bus. We had been told that on holiday weekends the bus station is crowded, so we took precautions to avoid the pickpockets that are infamous in this town. We finally made it to the right bus (despite our pedestrian understanding of the Spanish language and the Chilean accent), and settled in for a relaxing trip. We were even pleased to have a kind older gentleman show us to our seats and helped us place our bags in the overhead bin.

Only, after about 5 minutes, that kind man showed himself to be a very dedicated thief (a "ladrón" in Spanish). When I decided that I wanted to read a book I had brought with me, I discovered that the guy, instead of placing my bag in the overhead bin, had made off with it entirely. I was seething with anger, and he was nowhere to be found. Both Amy and I felt utterly stupid. We were now the dumb, trusting gringos that everybody targets. Things could have been worse, to be sure, because our passports and cash (and my iPod) were secure in my coat pocket. The real tragedy is that our camera was in our bag, so there are no pictures of our wonderful trip.

We searched the web for some photos of what we saw, and we will recount some of our stories in a few future blog posts, so all is not lost. And, a replacement camera is on its way, so we'll make sure to take lots of pictures as spring arrives down here.