God never changes!

---

I have found a church! Praise the Lord! This morning I arrived at 10:27 at La Iglesia Union Cristiana, approximately 7 blocks from my house. For the past week I have desperately wanted to find a church body and God provided. As the congregation began to sing familiar songs (in Spanish) I was overwhelmed by the closeness of God, even in a place so far away from where I’ve always called home. I enjoyed the service so much that I decided to stay for the second service as well. What a blessing that God never changes! He’s the same here in Chile as He is in the states. I was instantly invited to about 4 different meetings a week. Prayer groups, college groups, concerts, and even a soccer team! This soccer team was in need of two more players so they asked Kristen and I if we would join them. So we played. I scored my first two goals ever! (Ok, this is not entirely true. I’ve scored a goal before. It might have been for the wrong team, but it was a goal.)
Alas, I will not be able to make a living off of my soccer skills so I must go to school to learn other trades. Classes start tomorrow, although the protesters are still going strong so only my classes with international students will begin this week. I can be thankful for this, however, as a way of easing myself into Chilean school, a few classes at a time.
The North American influence is very strong here, especially when it comes to politics. Every night we watch the news and my host family discusses the current economic state of the US. I, not being able to completely understand the news and also not being able to completely understand my family’s discussion, am often left without words when asked my opinion. So, as any logical, rational person would do, I choose to agree with a different person every time asked. Just to keep things fair. Thinking back on these talks, I now realize that this was perhaps not the most effective way to contribute to the discussions ☺.

---