2 months and 10 days left..

^^^ Can you believe that??  I've been here for so long already, but the time has just FLOWN by!  I'm trying to fit in so many things in the time that I have left here in Chile.  That means...busy weeks and crazy fun weekends.  My classwork really isn't that bad, but I AM still studying here...that means that I DO still have work to do.  I try to do it all during the week so that I don't have to worry that much about it on the weekends.  Good plan, eh?  :)  It helps that my classes with the most work are on Thursday and Friday. hehe! 

I haven't written in a long time so there is just so much to talk about!  I think I am just going to have to accept that I can't write about EVERYTHING.  So, I won't.  Lucky you. :) 

Okay....how about with Easter Sunday!  We had a nice day with the family...and even did an Easter egg hunt--which was so low key!  Our Easter egg hunts are rockin' awesome in the states! haha!  I was pretty much the only one dressed up for church too. hahaha!  I guess they don't dress up for Easter Sunday here!  We had a really nice lunch and I could finally eat sweets!  The first sweet thing I ate after giving them up for lent was--drum roll please--a chocolate eater egg! haha!!  It was a really nice day to spend with the whole family!

One of my very good friends here, Felipe, turned 23 so of course we had to celebrate!  Me and two more of my very good friends here (Andrés and Cony) surprised him at his university on his actual birthday with 23 balloons that I pretty much had to blow up all myself (as Cony can't and Andrés...well...I don't remember, but he did blow up maybe 5).  It was a great day to be with Felipe and let him now how much he is loved.  Then he had a party on the weekend and I made him American cookies (Chocolate Chunk and Oatmal Raisin) and they were a HIT!  They don't really have cookies like that here...so it was a new experience for a few.  This past weekend I taught Felipe how to make them and in return he taught me how to make Lemon Pie!  Delicious! 

Wow....I haven't written about the retreat I went on with my youth group yet!  That was probably a month or so ago...oops!  Well, let me tell you about it.  For two days we stayed at a huge school that used to be a boarding school in a city further towards the mountain range...but still close to Viña.  It was nice to be out of the city and spend time focusing on God and building relationships within the youth group.  The theme of the retreat was ''Die to Live.''  Which means that in order to live in Christ, we must first die to the world and ourselves.  God thus makes us a new creation -- restoring us -- freeing us!  And it is so so so soooo true!  Easter weekend it kinda hit me as I had time to really meditate on all that I learned during the retreat.  The depth of how He heals us...how He forgives us..and how He helps us forgive ourselves really struck me.  It's difficult to explain, because it's something that goes so deep in my being.  If you want to know more or are just interested/curious...let me know and I can try and explain it to you more profoundly (in person hopefully...or by skype at least!)

Let's seeeee....oh yeah!  I'm ALL BETTER!  I had been sick ever since I went on vacation to the north with my host family.  I came back to Viña with a horrible cough that lasted more than a month...then I supposedly had 'allergies'...then I got a virus and had to go to the hospital because my fever was really high...then I think I caught a cold...then I got an ear infection which ended up being 'Glue Ear'.  The worst part of it all: not being able to ride my bike.  haha!  Sounds so...trivial...but I'm being serious.  Anyways...thanks to God...I am allllll better!  I was suppossed to have had glue ear for at least 3 months...6 months...and it could have lasted up to a year!  It usually takes a really long time to cure and the options of treatment are 1. time and 2. an operation.  So...with all that said, Thank you, God...for healing me.

Well, I have to head off to my French class now...I'll write more soon! :)  I love you and miss you all back home!