End of July

Today is July 31st.   Two and a half months in Chile.  I know my parents will kill me when they read this but I almost feel like this is home.  Well... except for the spanish (or Chilean ugh...).  But it has been an incredible experience so far.  Coming from a town of 11,000 to Santiago with a population of 6-7 million people is so different.  The only thing that I dont like about Santiago is that people have no concept of personal space.  They crowd around and push past each other to be first in line.  Grown men run past ladies in order to be able to get a seat on the subway.  Very selfish and immature to me.  Besides that, the people are very nice and hospitable here.  I love it.

A lot has happened since my last blog... These videos include a little of the Yellowcard concert (my favorite band... I couldnt hear out of my left ear for 2 days!!!  So incredible! :)  

There are also a few more important videos of a free medical clinic we did in Coronel... a small town 6 hours south of Santiago.  Of course I didnt take video of the actual clinic as I was working a lot of it.  But after the clinic we went into the neighborhood and did some stuff for the kids who showed up.  We were able to share the gospel with the kids that came.  It shows a little glimpse into my life here in Santiago.  This is what I get to do!


Yellowcard Opening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heXf1O12sbU

Ocean Avenue   (Drum solo and last half of song and show)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SfxNMuNJiw

Light Up the Sky  (This is my favorite song ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmiJpmsnRRs


Videos from weekend clinic in Coronel with Recetando Sonrisas!

First Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66VUB1Entlk

2nd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ym8y3glQ7c

3rd   Spanish lesson after street soccer with Cliff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOruwQhMpsQ

4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKpmXTBTTws

5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2suRBgfhyLQ

Kids singing at the operativo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubt8kiwL7i0



And thats all I took at this weekend.. But this will give you a small glimpse into my life and some of the things that Ive been doing.  Continue to pray for me, especially with the spanish... Im getting a lot better but its still a struggle.  Thanks for everything... Ill try to upload some more stuff sooner and more often rather than dumping all my videos into one post lol.

Thanks,

Un abrazo grande de Santiago, Chile    

Aaron Smith

Chao

1 Month Update

Ok... so this is a real update. I noticed afterwards that my hair looks ridiculous. I just finished playing a soccer game (scored 2 goals! ;)) and had headed the ball several times so yeah... I look kinda crazy. But here is a brief update of the last month. And once again... I tried uploading a video to this site but it was taking hours... which I don't have. So, I guess from now on, I have to upload to youtube and link it. oh well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f_7QqBr0Qw

1 month in

So, in 4 days, I'll have been in Santiago for a month.  A lot has happened so far.  The hardest has been the spanish by far.  The Chileans speak so fast and have a unique dialect.  They cut out parts of words and then say it as fast as humanly possible.  I'm slowly starting to pick it up bt it's taking me a lot longer than I thought it would.  I actually gave my testimony in spanish last night at a Bible study we had.  I'm starting to get more comfortable speaking it and my speed is starting to improve.  I'm still thinking almost solely in English however... the transition is hard, especially when I can hardly understand people here.  I can speak to them but it's hard to catch on to what they say back... very interesting.

Anyway, uploading videos to this site was taking way too long with my computer.  I found that it's a lot faster to upload to youtube and then link here... so... here goes try 2.

Some of these videos are from La Serena (The Serene)... It's a beach/coast town about 5 hours north of Santiago.  Very beautiful.  We saw penguins, dolphins, seals, crabs, sea otters, and all sorts of birds and native animals.  The water was a pristine blue.  So unreal.  There are also some videos of Valle de Elqui which is a quaint little town that are full of vineyards on the outskirts and sides of the mountain. 

So, I wanted to post some videos I've taken over the last few weeks. I'll post some new ones pretty soon!

Valle de Elqui
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e8N9WhsAkQ

Chilean Desert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYTwlxVQ56I&feature=related

Seals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oXX-4_HoN4&feature=related

White Water River Rafting Breakdown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QZ_hYmkSDU&feature=related

There are others on this channel you can check out!! 

First week in Chile!!

Chile!!!! 

It's very beautiful here.  A little smog but still beautiful.  Over the next year I'm going to be uploading videos fairly often about what's going on in my life.  I hate writing so I'm going to do an Avatar style video journal/blog.  Feel free to ask questions or comment and I will  respond whenever I can.  Continue to pray for me to be able to understand and translate the language here.  Pray for strength, vision, direction, friends and support, and for God to use me in a great way! 

I'm going to be doing this and try to do a little potojournaling.  The thing about photos is that I can't be in them myself so I'm going to try and keep the pictures based on the life, customs, and everyday situations of Chile along with my personal experience.  The videos will be aimed directly at whatever is happening.  I will be posting pictures on facebook from time to time so stay connected there!

Thanks for your prayers and interest.  Chile is beautiful and the people are friendly.  I miss many of my friends and family back home and think of you often but I am excited for what God has planned for me here.  I have already seen him at work.  I have no idea what is about to happen over this next year but I can't wait!

I hope you enjoy!

Aaron


(okay... so the video was taking forever to load... I'll load it when I get a better connection... sorry)