We had our first snow last weekend (10/21) here in Denver. We woke up Sunday morning to snow showers and a blanket of several inches of snow covering everything outside!

Of course everyone else here is used to it, and hardly a mention was made of it at church. We bundled up and spent some time walking around outside, throwing snowballs at each other and making a mini snowman.

That same week it warmed up to 80 degress, but the snow did stick around for a full day or so.

This weekend we got to go on a day hike up in the foot hills, it was too overcast for any good pictures, but it was good to get out for a few hours and enjoy some time in the quite woods outside town.

We even saw a red fox!

Amanda is looking foward to her Fall Break, a whole week off this coming week, she'll be doing alot of resting, relaxing and maybe doing some grading. maybe. She is also looking forward to spending some more time cooking, which she is excited about (and I am too of course).

hola del estado de Colorado

howdy-
Sorry its been so long, we've been crazy busy looking for work, moving getting settled etc. but we wanted to take a minute and update y'all on our going on. We've both been working now for several weeks. Amanda is teaching 6th grade Literacy at Aurora Hills Middle School in the Aurora District just east of Denver. Its one of the more low-performing districts in the state, and there are great opportunities to make a difference for kids who are willing to work. Amanda is experiencing the normal difficulties of a first year teacher, but has also enjoyed being in the classroom and feels very supported by the school administration.
I was offered a job with WIC of Denver County. WIC stands for Women Infants and Children, its a program funded by the federal government to assist low-income pregnant women and their kids up to 5 yrs old. We provide nutrition screenings and education to moms and their kids as well as financial assistance with certain food items. The foods included on the program are high in nutrients that are more likely to be deficient in our high-risk client population. I get to speak spanish on a daily basis, and I've translated a couple of times for other dietitians in the clinic. This has helped me feel useful as the first several weeks are usually alot of reading and not much time actually counseling clients.
We also recently placed membership at the Littleton Church of Christ, just a few minutes away from our apartment. We were invited to join the missions committee, and have met with them a few Sundays. Last Sunday we met the Roehrkasse family that work in Hildesheim Germany. The church is looking to greatly expand their overseas missions program this year, so its an exciting time to be getting involved. We're getting settled into our daily routines, and getting to know some other young couples at church. We're also looking forward to some winter weather, as we haven't had a winter in over a year. Thanks for reading, more to come and hopefully some pics of our new state.

Y ahora en español –
Primero que nada, disculpa por no haber puesto nada en español antes. Nuestro tiempo desde que salimos de Chile ha sido una locura, buscando trabajo, un departamento en Colorado y cambiando la casa de Tejas a Colorado. Amanda empezó a trabajar en Julio en 6 basico, en un colegio en Aurora, una ciudad al lado este de Denver, enseñando ingles. Muchos de sus estudiantes vienen de familias de bajos recursos, pero al mismo tiempo hay muchas oportunidades de tener una influencia positiva en la vida de los alumnos. Por mi parte estoy trabajando en una clinica para mujeres embarazadas y sus guaguas y niños. Esta clinica es parte de un programa del gobierno fundado para ayudar mamás, bebes y niños de bajos recursos. Proveemos consejos nutricionales para las mamás y sus niños que tienen un riesgo mas grande de estar deficiente en algunos nutrientes importantes. Tengo la oportunidad de hablar en español algunas veces cada dia porque muchos de nuestros clientes no hablan nada de inglés. Tambien hemos encontrado una iglesia, y ya estamos participando en el comité de misiones. Nuestra iglesia apoya misioneros en Alemán, Francia y algunas islas del Pacifico, y tuvimos la oportunidad de conocer la familia que vive en Alemán. ¡Ellos han trabajado allá por 25 años!
Sobre todo, estamos acostumbrandonos bien a nuestro nuevo hogar y trabajos, gracias por leer, y vamos a poner fotos pronto de neustro estado nuevo, tal vez algunas de las montanas aca en Colorado. Bueno, este es todo “pa’hora”, queremos escuchar de Uds. tambien, tenemos los mismos email, mountainmann42@hotmail y [email protected]

¡Cuídense, y que Dios les bendiga!

Lasting Beauty

Enjoy the slide show! These are some beautiful pictures of Chile.
love, Amanda

New beginnings...

Ok, so we have been back in the USA for about 6 weeks. We spent most of the time between College Station and Corpus Christi visiting family and friends, and we celebrated our 5th anniversary on May 18th!

Saying goodbye to the church, our friends, and the team was so hard to do! We miss them so much, but we are continually praying for them and keeping in touch through email. We had a crowd of our family and friends greet us at the airport when we arrived. It was wonderful to see them!

Our next step is to find jobs. Our starting point is Denver, Colorado. Our gracious friends, James and Kirsten Wilson, are letting us stay at their house as we job-hunt. It has been a learning experience, and we are anxious to find jobs and get settled again.

We want to say thank you so much for keeping up with us and reading the blog. I am sure we will keep posting every so often, if you want to keep up with what we are doing. May God bless you and your families! Keep us informed with what you are up to!

[email protected] & [email protected]

Love in Christ, Amanda & John

This picture was taken in Corpus. My mom threw a luau party to welcome us back.

Two weeks notice

Howdy---

Yep, it's true! We only have 2 weeks left in Santiago. I can't believe how fast the time has flown by! As you may guess, things have already started getting busier/crazier. Our thoughts are filled more and more with matters in the USA: resumes, packing, plans, relocation, job interviews... At the same time we are still pulled in the work here.

We have been reading up and preparing for what they call "Reverse Culture Shock" or "Re-entry," which is the natural process that people go through in re-adjusting to their own culture after living in another culture for a period of time. I guess the key word is "natural" and that this change we are about to go through is totally normal. For me personally, living in Santiago has changed me and I know that there has been change back in the USA. What I have learned from my reading so far is that I can't come back to Texas thinking everything will be the same. I suppose I am saying all of this to solicit your prayers on our behalf as we re-enter American culture. And as we embark on another adventure of job searching, interviews, looking for a place to live. Thank you so much in advance for your prayers in this matter.

After my mom's visit, my sister, Emily, came to visit us for about 10 days. It was so fun to show her around and for her to see first hand what our lives are like in Santiago. We had some good catching up time and were able to visit some tourist sites. And, Emily helped us by bringing back another full suitcase of our stuff. She was able to be at church last Sunday the 15th to witness the baptisms of Laurindo, Charlene, & Claudia and John preaching for the first time in Spanish.

Enjoy the pictures!!!

It was great to be with my big sister!!

Emily, a geologist, absolutely LOVED the rock formations and mountains in Chile! She was really happy to explore and educate me on how the rocks in the picture were formed. A smart lady!!

With much love and anticipation to see you soon, Amanda