We visited the northern town in the out skirts of Santiago and were able to reach very large crowds. The governor of the city organized an event for us once a week in a large plaza. He payed for chairs to be brought out and publicized our event to the public. We had some very long, special, (did I say looong), nights there reaching a lot of people from all over the country.
The director of the Mendoza prisons asked us to visit a prison waaaaaayyyyy out in the middle of nowhere with desert before it and the Andes beyond. There was no lodging around, so he arranged for us to actually stay on the prison grounds in the guards quarters near the dog canals (no, not a quite place). It was one of the most amazing experiences I have had, the prison was very big and we were inside one fence with three more before the prison. A severe thunder storm moved in and it poured all night with lightning splitting the sky….
We have also had some really sweet times of ministering in the down town center at a large plaza. There was a huge wine festival going on that drew huge crowds from all the surrounding villages and cities. It was an awesome opportunity to reach people that we could otherwise not get to. I had a lot of fun using my self made puppet theater and doing magic with my sisters for all the kids.
One day I went to a certain prison and asked if I could talk to the director in regards to getting authorization to visit. There was a little window on the door which a guard finally opened after I knocked ten times (like the gate in The Wizard of Oz). He barely listed to what I was asking and then slammed it shut and said no, I could not talk to anyone. After repeating this process a good, oh…60 times until, long story short, I eventually found a door where I found a guy that got a guy that knew a…
The down town center is so very busy and we spent many days walking the streets talking to crowds and individuals and caring for the many homeless that sit in the corners. Everything is pretty expensive here like the taxis, so that means a lot of walking. One day I added it up and I had walked over 8 miles just going down town, running errors and getting groceries(at least I’ll stay in shape right?) The economy here is on the verge of collapse so there is a lot of poverty and even the middle class find themselves struggling. Up…
