Tuesday, December 22, 2009

The dressers have Arrived!

The sisters were recently able to purchase 3 dressers/amours with the donation money that you all have helped to raise. They are beautiful, made of quality wood, and have deep drawers and shelves. The space was very much needed and we have filled them right up. They have made it easier for the houses to organize the girl's clothes as before the clothes were overflowing the store room, hard to get to, and the shelves were awkward and disorderly. Here's a picture of the new addition.When my family came to visit, my mom brought down some of letters that you all wrote in response to our fundraising letter. I was able to sit down and read them the other day. They were all so special and full of love and support. It touched my heart when I read that many of you were so happy for the opportunity to be a part of something so special. THANK YOU for your prayers, your generosity, and for wanting to be a special part of our little home.

Each time we talk with Sister Leonore about the donations she says, 'please tell everyone how thankful we are.' She also said, 'I would like to tell them directly but my English needs a lot of help.'

So thank you, thank you, thank you all, from the bottom of all our hearts!

Monday, December 21, 2009

A meeting of hearts

We had such an amazing time with with my folks and sister here for their visit. It was so much more than I had hoped for! They were able to meet so many of our amazing friends and family here in Chile. The sisters liked all of our ideas for spending time with the girls, and we were able to spend 3 amazing afternoons at the home. They loved each little activity from exploring the peas in the garden with Tio David (Kurt was a bit complicated of a name for most of the girls), to playing jacks, jumping rope, a rousing card game and especially TAKING PICTURES!!

Cinthia and Yenny came with us for the afternoon on the 2nd day and it was their first time eating in a restaurant for both of them. Then we went and rented go-carts in the plaza and turned it into a bumper car game! So much fun. The third day was towards the end of their trip, but we got a wonderful surprise. Joce was dancing at the kindergarden graduation so we all went with her to cheer her on. They did a Rock and Roll song and she cut a pretty mean rug for a 4 year old!

How amazing and special to be able to witness the meeting of hearts - over continents and hemispheres - between the family that inspired me to reach out and love, and these beautiful girls that fill our hearts with sweet kisses each day. Truly the best Christmas gift ever.

Check out more pictures here.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Chilean Carino

I was walking Tania home from School yesterday when I realized how many of the little idiosyncrasies of Chilean life have become so familiar to us, and give me a little tinge of peacefulness and happiness. We went to cross the crosswalk of a major thoroughfare that comes through Maipu. Two other people, one crossing to the West, and the other to the East, recognized each other excitedly. There was an energy in the air of happiness connecting them as they walked towards each other. Instead of waving or doing the head 'hey what's up' thing, they met right in the middle of the street, gave each other a kiss on the cheek and then went on their way to school or work, or grocery shopping. Sometimes I feel so blessed by the little moments that God lets us witness and enjoy with those around us, even with complete strangers.

Fun times and great plans ahead

Wow, we sure have had a crazy last couple of weeks. 2 Saturdays ago we got locked out of the main gate and secretly snuck in over the reja! I thought for sure we'd get caught, and the skirt and flip flops weren't helping matters much.

Last weekend we went down to the beach to check things out for my parent's and Emily's visit. We stayed at a beautiful old colonial home where the matron rented rooms for 10 dollars a person. We were quite excited about our great find until we realized that the owner was certifiably crazy in no uncertain terms. She wanted to spend all our time we were visiting the town there with US! She gave us a tour of her garden, tightly grasping my hand as she explained that she was evangelical, but that was ok, because we were still all brothers, even though some of us did worship idols... The best part was when she busted out her own rendition of an old hymn in her front parlor. Never a dull moment in Chile!

We're working with the sisters right now on figuring out when our last day at the home will be, and are hoping to be able to stay working with the kids through February. Then it's off to do some traveling in the South of Chile, and after that some Spanish classes to beef up the grammar side of things now that we've got lots of conversation time under our belts.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Making French Fries

Matt finally got a few of the girls in on the cooking action. The house we work in used to be exclusively the little girls, but they have decided to mix the age groups more to better reflect a true family. Cinthia and Abigail are our first 'older girls' that have moved over. They loved helping peel and cut the french fries. Looks like we've got some assistant Chefs! by the way, yes, Cinthia does have newspaper in her hair, they are her ingenious curlers for ringlets tomorrow.

VIDEO to come SOON!

Check out the new pictures too. I got some pictures of our pea garden (haven't had time to plant more yet!) Millaray's birthday, Our trip up into the mountains, some traditional Chilean bits (just for you Hughy), and some fun shots of the girls. Enjoy!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Letter about our Hogar

I have been meaning to post this for a while. We sent out a fundraising letter a few weeks ago and I wanted to share some excerpts/reflections on our work here at the home. If you have already received the letter, sorry for the duplication. Much love, Janelle and Matt

Dear friends and family,

As most of you know, Matt and I decided this year to take a leave of absence from the United States and the salaried working world, and have dedicated this year to volunteer in Chile with the Salessian Sisters. It has been an amazing journey so far... The children that live at the home are not orphans, but they have indeed all experienced great trauma in their lives, either in the form of abuse or neglect. The state has deemed their home environment no longer safe to live in and so they have come to live with the sisters, while the family works with staff towards reunification.

The sisters and the staff at the home do the best they can to provide for the needs of the children, to make sure that they get a good education, to create a family like environment, and to guide them and teach them right from wrong. This is definitely a formidable task given the limited resources and the challenges the children bring with them. Matt and I have had the opportunity to work with the 15 of the youngest girls these last 3 months (now it has been 5!). They range in age from four to nine years old. They are children dying for attention. They are children who are intensely angry, and who often do not like themselves. They are children trying to figure out who they are, who their family is, and where 'home' is. Like all children, they love to laugh, to play soccer, do head stands in the hall and jump on the bed. Many of them have learning disabilities and focusing on school work is hard for all of them as they have not had stability in their family lives.

...How do you provide for school, health, food, a clean home and the emotional needs of 15 children? One sister, two women and a novice. 15 children. I can't explain how overwhelming it was for me when I first started working at the Home. I wasn't the one in charge of meeting all the children's needs. I helped get them off to school, helped with meals and bedtime and some basic sweeping and mopping. Never mind enrolling them in school, the parent teacher conferences, the doctor/psychiatrist visits, the shopping, the cooking, the long talks about respect, the importance of not stealing, of grades, why your parents didn't show up this weekend/missed your birthday, or where you'll go when you leave the home at 18.

We have now been living and working at the home for 6 months. The rhythms and routines of the home have now become our rhythms. Matt's Spanish has improved as well as my child management skills so we can share more rich experiences with the children. ...The people of Chile have been so warm and generous, and the children have taught us so much.

Many of you have asked how you can help out and be a part of our mission. We’ve worked together with the sisters to set up a fund and we hope you can help us to keep it over flowing. Every little bit means so much to the girls, the sisters and the staff. ...

Sending all our love and blessings,
Janelle and Matt Costanti

Parent Meetings, School Assemblies, and a Growing Garden

The sisters have started asking me to fill in for parent meetings and take the girls to Doctor appointments and what not. It has been a great opportunity for me to see more of the bigger picture, and understand why we do things the way we do at the home. Granted a few of the experiences at the doctor's office I could have done without. I got to take our little Drama queen to have blood drawn. To top it off, the nurse was far from helpful!

I have been blown away by the frustration the parents have of lack of parent involvement. It is so hard because some parents can barely pay the tuition money, and then don't have enough to stretch for school supplies, to buy toilet paper and paper towels for the classroom each month, much less to help with raffles and to pay $20 USD for an end of the year party. Here in Chile you get about 1/2 the parents coming to parent meetings and each class meets individually! In the states we would die for that level of involvement. On the positive side of the parent meetings, every group of parents has been so generous in supporting our girls when they find out that they live at an Hogar. Everone ends up pitching in.

Matt and I were also invited the end of September to speak at a school assembly in front of 380 high school kids at Colegio Maria Auxiliadora. It was a bit last minute, but it went great. It was part of their activities they had for the month of gratitude. We did a round table on different opportunities for volunteering. Matt was shy to talk in front of the group but in the end he did a great little speech about what a great impact even just 1 person (like Don Bosco) can have on the lives of so many. The kids loved him, and it was a great confidence boost for his Spanish.

The garden has been going fabulously and the kids have loved it. We had our first harvest, and while all the girls were so excited to try their first radish... they weren't too thrilled about the flavor. The peas are coming along just fine, and we even have a potato plant that popped up in the most bizzare location. The girls kept digging up the potatoes that Matt planted last June and moving them around the garden. My Yoga class is just about over, and we've transitioned into doing a power point for the girls to do a presentation on the benefits of yoga. They've been loving working on the computer and have learned a lot.


'Ommmm.'
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Friday, October 16, 2009

A little bug...

So many days I am reminded that the kids at the home are just like any other kid, but there are other times when I am reminded of the uniqueness of the hogar, this space that we have been so blessed to share with everyone here. Sometimes these reminders are painful, or sad, other times they are wonderful and funny.

My favorite story revolves around a little bug we like to call the 'piojo.' In common English, better known as lice. The first stories that I heard about lice have to do with a little girl named Margarita. Sister Bernadet, in the evenings, would flip up her veil and Margarita would jump on her back and start looking for piojos. One day, Margarita came up to me in the hallway with this excited look on her face, she wanted to give me something she had found, she opened up her hand and gave me... a piojo. The girls used to have a carpet in the living room, but there were so many resident piojos that you could be entertained by watching the jumping contest.

Now one might ask, why can't they get rid of the lice?! The biggest obstacle we have is that about 1/3 of the girls go home on the weekends to spend with their families. There is lice in the homes, and they bring it back to the Hogar. The battle becomes insurmountable. We just do not have enough control over the kids' environments.

The part that seemed so surreal about the whole thing is that the kids talk about lice like they're talking about what they ate for breakfast. Sometimes it's borring, sometimes it's exciting. The other day I was picking out nits from Connie's hair. It's a great time to talk with the kids because it can take quite a while and the mini-head masssage is kind of relaxing. She started telling me stories about her neighborhood and how funny one of the neighbor kids is. She claims that she has a circus in her hair. She has named all the big trapeze artists, and they do backflips and swing from hair to hair. Kind of makes the whole story you heard as a kid of flea circuses make sense at a whole new level. When you hear the girls tell their stories, and just be kids, it doesn't seem like such a bad thing after all. And in all the funkiness of living with hundredes and hundreds of piojos, it's just another day at the hogar, loving these amazing kids.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Pictures!

Hello everyone!

What a hiatus from blogging we have had! It has been a busy couple of months (more of that to come later.) I finally got some more great pictures of the kids up, along with commentary and all! Click on the tittle of this entry to check them out.

Much love as always,
Janelle and Matt
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Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Another BIG thanks to all those who have donated!

I've been thinking a lot about how generous all of you have been and was just thinking about all the different ways you have helped touch the kid's lives here in Maipu, and I just wanted to share with you. It's amazed me, so I hope you enjoy as well. The Lord works in such wondrous ways!

- Birthdays presents and cakes for about 25 girls
- Ballet slippers and costumes for the performance last May
- Gardening supplies and veggetable and flower seeds
- Food supplies for Sunday Lunches
- Washmachine
- New Refrigerater!
- Potato dicer and a real can opener
- Tuition for school
- Doctor Appointments for the girls
- Music CD's for relaxation and classes
- Fees for swimming Classes at Alberto Widmer School
- Soon to come: We are setting up a fund for additional school costs including field trips, events at the school, and extra curricular activities. We are also raising money right now for new Dressers in the bedrooms and new comforters for the beds.

Thank you all so much from the bottoms of our hearts. It has meant so much to us and the the girls and the sisters as well! God bless you all. Matt and Janelle

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Sunday Cookin', Wash machines, Yoga and gardens

It's been a long time since we've gotten a post up on the blog. I feel like we've got so many wonderful stories to share... and the days zoom by so fast. Well, today is the 19th of August and we've officially been here for 6 months. They always say that it takes at least 6 months to adjust to a new culture, new ways of living, a new language. I always seem to want to speed up the process, but no matter how hard I try God just looks down, laughs, and says nice try.

I can proudly say that we have finally come into our own here at the Hogar. Matt works hard in the kitchen each morning, and he now is the official cook for Sunday lunches. He plans out the meal on Wednesday, does the shopping and cooks the meal on Thursdays to freeze for the coming Sunday. The kids have been enjoying lasagna, Risoto, pizza, stuffed shells... basically all things Italian. Lots of new flavors for the kids, but they've really been enjoying it, as have the sisters as it has lightened their work load for Sundays. Thanks to the amazing donations that we have recieved from the States, you all have been able to pay for these meals, which has enriched the children's diet on Sundays and allowed the sisters to buy additional foods for the other days of the week.



With the donation money, the sisters have also bought a new refrigerater and the lovely Wash machine demonstrated here by our lovely assistant Tia Roxana. Believe me, this baby will get A LOT of use, and is a life saver when you're washing for 45 people.



I've been busy lately too. The Rhythms of the Hogar can absorb you, but in a good way, with a lot of belly laughs, smiles, hugs and kisses from the kiddos sprinkled throughout the day. The day starts early with getting ready for school, showers, dressing, breakfast, brushing teeth, combing hair, cleanning up the house, homework... then right into lunch, picking up kids from school, dropping off, more kids coming back home for lunch... finally time for a short lunch with Carlos, Vero, Roxana,Matt and myself. After lunch it's another hour of chores and beauty of all beauties a 2 hour break for Matt and I. The idea is to have time for each other, to connect and run errands etc. half the time it gets set aside for cooking, yoga classes, gardening, and every now and then helping kids with studying. I keep telling Matt, we have to make our breaks sacred but it is sooo hard! We're working on it. After break it's off to pick the kids up from school, back for dinner, showers, chores and bedtime, but wait there's still chores, lay out clothes, shine shoes, and another pass of the broom and the mop. Sit down for a hot cup of tea and bread for Onces, and a nice Chilean tele-novela. Bedtime at 10:40pm and repeat the next day!

We're coming to the end of yoga classes with about 12 of the girls. They've had a lot of fun learning the new moves. There's always one of them that says, 'oh that one is sooo easy!' Then they try it. If it's something involving balance, they fall over laughing. If it's a flexibility move, they wind up like little pretzels. All I can say is wow, wish I was as flexible as a 9 year old! Check out the pictures on the photo link to the left. The kids are putting together a power point about what they've learned about Yoga. They're loving learning about the computer. I've never seen them so eager to learn.

Just a few weeks ago we finally got our winter garden planted. It took a lot of paperwork and a lot of waiting but Dad's peas finally made it to Chile and to the Hogar. We used some of the donation money to buy supplies and the girls all helped plant a row. Yesterday we got so much rain that the whole garden flooded... I guess we didn't pick the best spot along the wall. The girls have been so excited. In reality they're much better at digging holes and fighting over the hand rakes than they are at weeding or at taking the rocks out, but either way they're having a lot of fun.






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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Buenos Aires in July

Hello all, just wanted to let you know that I just posted a bunch of pictures.

Buenos Aires was absolutely beautiful. It´s a really old port city and so the buildings were fabulous, and the downtown is much more centralized than Santiago because everything is centered around the port. We met up with our friend Magali and her mother to see the city. Magali was born in Buenos Aires, is %100 Italian heritage, and grew up in California. Talk about a multi-cultural chica! She goes back to visit her family every summer for a month so we took advantage of having a personal tour guide.

We got into Buenos Aires and headed straight for our hotel. The Lola House is run by two sisters... who also happen to be Italian-Argentinian. They were the most amazing hosts we have ever had at a hotel. They served us up with a late breakfast, and all the drip coffee we could want (which was a lot b/c we'd been living off of instant coffee for 5 months!) If anyone is ever traveling through Buenos Aires we highly reccomend the Lola House.

The next biggest attraction (after the drip coffee) was the tango dancing. They have tango shows all over the city... some are short exhibition dances and others are more like broadway productions. We went to a broadway production and it was fabulous. Talk about your professional athletes. I never realized before what a versatile and intricate dance the tango was.

Our biggest adventure in Buenos Aires was the great search for Matt's family in Buenos Aires. We opened up the phone book and looked for Arcuri's, which is Matt's greatgrandmother's maiden name on his dad's side. The phone book was loaded with them! We started with Anna Arcuri and worked our way down. We got some pretty crazy responses. Lots of people thought we were playing a prank, some of the older gents couldn't get their hearing aids turned up high enough, and I'm not sure what the others were thinking because they just hung up on us. We finally had the luck to get ahold of a gentleman by the name of Hector Arcuri. His grandfather, Bernardo Arcuri immigrated from Conzensa, Italy about 100 years ago. Which is the same town that Matt's family is from. He was as excited to talk to us as we were to talk with him, as he has been trying to work on family geneology and had had a hard time building the family tree. Unfortunately we weren't able to meet up with him as we weren't in Buenos Aires very long... so I guess that means we'll just have to make another trip! If any of y'all in the States have any names or dates/birthdates that might help us, let us know. It's been really fun to work on.

Loves, Blessings and Big Hugs,
Janelle and Matt

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Happy 4th of July, and the Chanchito, oh my!

Here is wishing you all a very happy 4th of July, with lots of family, HOT Weather!, Great food, and FIREWORKS!!!We had a marvelous 4th of July. We were a little short on the HOT weather... and the fireworks as they are illegal here. We celebrated by going to the US Embassy where they had a flag raising, speaches and an amazing big band brought to us by the Chilean Airforce.

It was cold and windy... but we've just figured that this year is 'opposite' year for us here in Chile... hot summer days in February, and cold winter adventures in June. We had our first taste of reverse culture shock being around so many Americans again.


We even got a picture in with the Mr. and Mrs. President... they weren't even cold!


The Swine flu hit our home a few weeks ago. 13 girls were sick in bed with it. Everyone got their medication and all are doing fine now. It has given us the opportunity to live for a few weeks at the provinicial house here in Santiago as they needed our bedroom for the enfermary. It has been a wonderful experience to come home to the loving community at the Mother House and to hear the evening reflections of Mother Superior. They have created such a calm, welcoming and joyous atmosphere here. Sometimes we're even able to catch the Vespers and Rosary before dinner.



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Skiing in June baby!

We had a wonderful first Anniversary. We made a trip up to El Colorado, which is a ski resort only 1 hour away from Santiago. We rented all our equipment and took a bus up to the ski hill. The Hill is high up in the Andes where it is all rock and no trees.
The view from the hill looking down on the Valley of Santiago was amazing.



Our first friend we met up on the ski hill. I thought at first he was a large stuffed animal instead of a sweet dog with dreadlocks!


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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Beautiful Vilches

  1. Wow, it is amazing to think about all the adventures we have had lately. Our first story starts with a train ride down south to the sleepy little village of Vilches... ok, it's not really quite a villiage... more like a string of houses, along the road side, nestled into the foot of the Andean Mountains.

We had the amazing opportunity to get in touch with some Maryknoll Missioners who are working with the rural poor on agriculture projects and public health. They also open up their home for retreats and get aways for religious and other people working in service in the larger cities. A real need if I may say so myself. Meet Ted and Maruja along with their daughter. (If you click on the Title of this blog entry it will send you to their Maryknoll bio).

It was our first really relaxing weekend get away in a long time. They invited us to stay with them at their cozy little home where we slept in until noon and woke up to a sleepy drizzling rain. The hills, the trees, the pastures, the greenery was so refreshing. They have two beautiful black horses that we just had to go visit and they sent us home with home grown honey. The perfect weekend! Probably the most refreshing part of the visit was to be able to talk with lay people who work with Sisters and Priests. Who know the unique struggles and challenges of working within the Religous culture; the structure, the hierarchy, the rigidity and the strengths. They had some very good ideas and suggestions and were so encouraging.
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Sunday, June 7, 2009

Happy (belated) Mary Help of Christians Day!

May 24th is the biggest celebration next to Easter for us here. It is the Celebration of Mary Help of Christians, who is the ´patron Virgin´ of the Salesian order. It was like a second Christmas at the home. The girls stayed home from school, they busted out the party dresses, there was a special Mass, a really nice lunch with 4 courses and lassagna, and gifts and candies for everyone. The girls put on a wonderful recital the night before with poetry, dance and a little play. We have been working on a ballet with some of the girls for the last month and a half and they were all excited to put on their costumes and do up their hair. The practices were a bit chaotic which made me a bit nervous, but when it came time to do the performance they transormed into elegant balarinas. You´ll have to check out the pics. Now we´re starting up with a Yoga class for the girls to try for some ´tranquility training´ in the form of soft music and meditation! Wish me luck :).

It´s been a nice month. With the day to day we´ve gotten more comfortable in our routines, Matt working in the kitchen, me with the girls and their school routines, and lots of mopping floors and washing dishes. Each day we get to know the girls a little more... they share their successes at school with us, talk to us about their families and their desires to return home. So many of the things they talk about and their struggles are the same struggles all children go through, another kid took their toy, playing with the hose and getting their clothes all wet, struggling with Math. Other parts are distinct, like their challenges in focusing on their studies with so much instability in their lives, the intensity of the home environments they come from, and the challenge of competing for the attention of 3 adults with 14 other kids.

The youngest and newested addition to our family at the little girl´s house is 4 years old. She can throw quite the tempertantrum, and on the flip side she is always giving away hugs and kisses. I take her to preschool 3 times a week and it´s been so interesting to watch her grow and try to find her place in this new environment. One of her first steps was to try and figure out the role of mom in the context of the home. Who has moms and who sees their mom. A young man in his 20´s was walking down the street and she would say, look, he´s going to school all by himself without his mommy. Right now she´s working on figuring out the new relationships she´s building with the ´Aunties´ at the home, but isn´t sure exactly who is part of this new ´family´ and who isn´t. Her whole understanding of the world has been turned upside down. It is such a big challenge for such a young child. Some days it can really hit you.

In the evenings we go with the bus driver to pick up the girls that go to school in the evening. One of the girls that rides back with us has built a special bond with Matt. She always makes sure to tell him goodnight and give him a kiss before headding to her house. She is a bit quieter, and more reflective than a lot of the girls at the home, and has such a sweet sincere smile when she is connecting with you. She told me the other week, ´you know what, I pray for you and Tio Mateo every night.´ For some of the other girls, I would have chocked it up to brown nosing, but coming from her it was genuine.

In the evenings we get together with the other adults and cook up something simple, eat lots of bread and drink lots of tea. We´ve gotten addicted to Chilean telenovelas. The one we´re watching right now is called ´Donde Esta Elisa?´ or Where is Elisa? supposedly it´s about a girl who goes missing and about her family´s search for her, but really it´s about this big family who all work in the family business. They´re all cheating on their spouses and slowly but shurely everyone´s finding out! Drama of Dramas! It´s good for a good laugh, and some ADULT time without 15 kids running around.

Well, I´d better get going. It´s back to the grindstone for the week. Hope all is well in the States. I haven´t been good at keeping up in touch with everyone individually but know that your cards, emails and love you send keep us going down here and it´s so wonderful to hear from you all. We continue to keep you in our prayers and thoughts. All our love from Chile, Janelle and Matt

Sunday, May 17, 2009

A visit from the States, A Move next door and a New Stamp on the Passport

Well, you´re probably thinking... hey, long time no blog! After 2 months, wanted to get you all caught up on the goings on in Maipu Chile.

For Easter week Matt´s folks came to visit. We had a wonderful time and they absolutely loved Chile. We were so spoiled and tried a new restraunt each night and got to experience some amazing Chilean (as well as Italian) cuisine. We made a trip back out to the Cajon de Maipo so Barb and Mike could see some of the Andean Cooridor scenery. Our other day trip was out to the Chilean coast to a little town called Isla Negra. We visited one of Pablo Neruda´s homes which was such a treat. Neruda is Chile´s most famous poet, and a Nobel Laureate. He was quite the excentric man, with a taste for the unique, a love for the sea and also for a good party.

Barb and Mike got to spend two afternoons with us at the Home in Maipu and to get to know the girls. They were a great hit. All the girls wanted to know what they did, what it was like in Tacoma, and of course, what movie stars they knew personally. The girls loved the Easter gifts and the donations of books and medical supplies. They have been put to good use these last few months with all the trouble that 36 active girls can get into.

Mid April brought another big change for us. We talked with the sisters here about the work we´ve been doing and decided that we could be more helpful working with the younger girls than with the Middle aged girls. It turns out that 4-9 years olds are quite a bit more forgiving of language struggles, as well as child management slip ups, and they´re more likely to believe you when you tell them you know what you´re talking about. Another factor that made it better for us to make this move is that there have been a lot of changes in staff over the last 6 months at the Middle girls´ house. The end of March they had another change in Tias (or house marm). The move over to the little girl´s house has really decreased the pressure, and created more stability for us as we continue to get settled in to the culture of Chile, the intricacies of community living, developing more language skills, and learning about child management.

We´ve been here now for 3 months, which means we won a trip to Argentina to renue our visas. The pass across the Andeas was amazingly beautiful with steep and dramatic peaks. Climbing up to the pass is dessert shrub land, and as you get higher, there is absolutely no vegetation in this section of the Andes. After a short stop at the top for customs (it was a good thing we brought our winter coats) we scooted on over to Mendoza Argentina. Mendoza is known for it´s wine country, it´s olives, walnuts and Italian influence. Matt swapped olive recipies with an Italian-Argentinian shop owner, we had the best Calabres Pizza south of Chicago, and caught a ballet in the evening. All in all a successful weekend trip.

We´ll have more anecdotes from the Home, along with more pictures soon. We had a glitch in internet connection at the home so it´s been a bit more difficult to stay up on this. Fall, which starts in March here, is usually rainy but we´ve been blessed with mostly sunshine up until now. Hope you all are having a wonderful May and enjoying the Spring and all the blessings that it brings with it. All our love, Matt and Janelle.

Monday, March 9, 2009

The 2nd Birthday bash!

We just had a birthday bash for one of the girls. It was so much fun, she was so surprised and was just glowing. Wanted to post a few pics for you all. Thanks to everyone that made this possible, keep praying for us and for the girls and their families.


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El Hogar, Bob Barker and WHEN do I sleep?

It’s hard to believe, we’ve been here for 10 days now at the Hogar for the girls. This last week we got sick with the flu, along with 3 seven year olds that live across the hall, so we weren’t able to write. The days here are long and intense. School just started last week so the girls get up at 6am, then it’s straight through until bedtime at 9pm. The mornings are quieter. All except two of the girls go to school in the morning. The other two girls go to school from 2pm-7pm. It is similar to the system in Mexico where the schools have morning and afternoon sessions in order to double up on the use of the buildings/rooms.

The Hogar is really nice, with patios, lawns, trees, a pool and a slide. Here's a picture of the front patio, and the second one is of the side garden area where the sisters walk and pray the rosary and where the kids have their visits on Saturday with their parents.




















Matt and I have a two hour break mid day and then it’s back to the grindstone. For our breaks we’ve ventured out to the Jumbo grocery store two blocks away where they sell everything! We were so lucky to have a store in walking distance. It also offers a variety of entertainment. Bob Barker – decked out in suit and tie – now works in Maipu, Chile. He walks around the Jumbo store with his nifty little wireless microphone and announces the sales. I swear, it’s really him, with the awesome Bob Barker voice and all. The poor guy though, the first time we saw him I couldn’t help but stare, and the second time I couldn’t stop laughing. The other Tias that work here at the home didn’t think it was funny at all, and said all the stores have an announcer. Who would have thunk it!

Our second great blessing here at the home is that we live right across from a great park. It’s not very big, but they did wonderful at using the space. There’s a walking path, bike trails, a big toy and a plaza on the top of the hill where they do traditional dancing classes. There’s a brass band that practices in the parking lot and there are lots of trees. There are always a bunch of lovers in the park and stray dogs taking advantage of the shade and the grass.

We have definitely been initiated by fire here, feet first. The girls had no mercy, as was to be expected from rambunctious 10-12 year olds. The first days were pretty chaotic trying to figure out how to set limits and take charge in the home. Luckily the sister that is helping out at our house is also known as the Ogre, and she’s been helping us regain order and learn more about the routines and the do’s and don’ts. By the 6th day of working I finally figured out their routine for getting meals ready and reheating the food. (the actual cooking is done in the main kitchen for all the houses). The girls all looked at me in surprise and asked, ‘When did you learn how to cook?!’ I had to explain that yes, I already knew how to cook, so then the logical next question of amazement was, ‘What ELSE do you know how to do?’

Here's some pictures of our angels heading out for their first day of school.



















Some of you have been asking what the girls are interested in here. Here’s a short list for you. First and foremost they want to know if we’ve met anyone famous. They have had a hard time understanding that most famous people don’t visit Washington State. They love Ragaeton, whis is Spanish pop music mixed with rap, Hannah Montana (even the older teens), Thriller movies, and Chilean Soap Operas. They ask about Britney Spears, Angelina Joeli, Brad Pitt and the Jonas Brothers. Hello Kitty, Winnie the Pooh and Frutillita (Strawberry Shortcake) are all really popular. They all have a million sparkly plastic bracelets on their wrists and know how to make them into flowers and other fun designs. The middle aged to older girls all have an English class, so they all say ‘bye’ and ‘how are you?’ and then giggle uncontrollably.

Matt has started reading with the girls and teaching them hand games and setting up a garden. They all adore him and think he can fix anything and do anything. It’s so amazing to watch. I’ve started talking to the girls about doing a little ballet class (I’m thinking Yoga would be pretty boring right now, either that or once we did one downward dog the uncontrollable laughter would never stop) and then we’re talking about doing a conversation club in English with some of the older girls.

The language barrier continues to be a struggle for both Matt and I. The kids talk faster, slur their words more, use more slang, and like to tell you things on the run. I’ve had to teach them to stop, look at me when they talk, and keep on explaining to me what they are trying to say after I’ve said ‘What’ 5 times. Matt is learning a little more each day and the sisters and his pocket dictionary help out a lot. Right now we keep telling ourselves poco a poco, one day at a time. We know that we are where we need to be, and that there is so much yearning for God’s love here. Sometimes it’s hard to see through the challenges of this first transition, but we’re blessed with beautiful moments mixed in to remind us that God is still right here with us and we are not alone in the journey. We miss you all very much and hope all is well in the US of A. Until next week, take care and God Bless ~ Janelle and Matt
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Monday, February 23, 2009

Chile, the City and a Birthday adventure!

Wow! I can't believe we have already been here for almost a week. There are so many things here that remind us of home that it almost doesn't feel like we are in another country. The landscape, just a little more dramatic here, the trees, the pitched roofs. The Spanish definately does not remind us of home, and has been quite a challenge with the change in vocab, and the tendancy to drop the last costantants or whole sylables. With a little more practice though, we'll be speaking Chilean Spanish with the pros. Just remember, it's not maiz, it's Choclo, and a Torta is not a large sub sandwich, but instead a cake. The tride and true Chicharos (peas) are now Alverjas.

We got in to Santiago early last Wednesday and then slept for the rest of the day. The flight was good, but I do not recommend 20 hours in transit. After we finally recovered from the flight and the 5 hour change in time zones (Chile is on the reverse daylight savings time as the United States) we ventured out into Santiago.

The buildings are amazing, the old architecture nestled in with the new. We went up the hill Santa Lucia where the first Spanish Conquistadors built their stronghold for defending Santiago. They shoot off a cannon every day there at Noon and we wanted to catch it, but we were caught off guard and it gave us quite a fright. Next, on our way to the Fine Arts Museum we happened across a shoe commercial shooting on the street. It was very cool, everyone dressed in black and white and there were some 20 models just standing around. We talked with some of them and sounds like most of them have day jobs. I'm not much of a shoe girl, but it was very exciting. We went to the Fine Arts Museum where they had sculptures, paintings, and a whole exhibition of Cartoons from Chile. It was so neat to see this side of Chilean humor and learn more about the country through the drawings.

The sisters here have been so nice, they're all so giving and wanting to help us with everything and also to hear about our adventures. We've been making it to evening Rosary and Vespers, but getting up for Mass has been a harder stretch. We are staying at the Mother House in Santiago just until tomorrow. It's not far from downtown Santiago, but you would never know it. Once you enter into the convent the pace is peaceful and calm, and they have the most amazing flower garden where we have been praying the Rosary every evening.

They have a large school attached that is old and beautiful with about 900 students. Matt and I are sleeping over in the old school dormitory/or nunnery two patios and several thick concrete walls away from everyone else. We thought for a while that there was a ghost in the old school as we kept hearing footsteps and doors opening and closing at night. We were ready for a juicy story, but turns out our ghost was just a night watchman! I think we will sleep much better tonight!

For Matt's birthday we went out to a lovely canyon not far from here called Cajon del Maipo. The Canyon reminded us a lot of Chelan and up by Leavenworth, only a bit more dry. It is just 45 minutes from Santiago and is where everyone goes for the weekend during the summer to camp, swim, hike, and relax. The cliffs of the canyon are beautiful and the Andes behind them are amazing. They grow a lot of grapes for wine and goat cheese is a specialty. We tried a lot of traditional dishes and finally got our first Chilean empanadas. They are all meat and vegetable filled here and kind of like a small calzone. Our really adventuresome dish was pastel de choclo which is a casserole dish with all sorts of meats, olives, a hardboiled egg and a sweet desert like crust made from corn that, believe it or not was quite spectacular. We stayed at a beautiful resort that had a hostel attached. Matt had lots of firsts for his birthday this weekend… for example, first birthday swim in an outdoor pool, first time there were leaves on the trees, and first birthday sun tan. All in all a very successful birthday. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to share it with all of you.

Pictures to come soon!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

St. John Bosco




Hello Everyone! Thought You all might be interested in learning more about the founder of the Salesian order, St. John Bosco. We just found out that EWTN (the Catholic TV Station) is doing a special on him this Saturday, Jan. 31st at 8pm. Enjoy!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Chile Details

Well... we were able to talk with Sister Olga in Chile, and as it turns out we were wrong (not an uncommon occurance...) We won't be working in a school, but a home for foster girls. It was so wonderful to be able to talk with Sister Olga, and she was full of invaluable information.

So, Here's the scoop! There are 42 girls that live in Maipu with the sisters. They are between the ages of 5 and 17. The home actually is made up of 3 little homes, or Casitas, with the youngest 14 in one home, the middle 14 in another, and so on. Matt and I will be living in the Casita with the youngest children, about aged 5 to 9. So, we're going from no kids, to 14 kids! But do not fear, as it turns out there is a nun that works with the children at each Casita as well, so we will not be alone! So, 48 girls and Matt, all living together. Not to fret, Matt is creative, and he's looking into some ways to get a good dose of testosterone from time to time.

We will be working with the girls as Aunt and Uncle, a sort of House Marm set up, helping them get ready for school, helping with homework, playing games, activities, and tucking in to bed at night. We'll have a 'little appartment' of sorts off to one side of the Casita with a bedroom and bathroom, and then we'll be sharing the common rooms with the girls.

The Sisters work closely with the state workers that place the girls, and also with the girls' parents. The goal is family reunification, and Sister Olga said that about 4-6 girls are able to return home every year. It's exciting to know what we will be a part of, the vision, the mission, and the passion. Each day we get more information, the trip seems more and more real.

Many of you have asked us how you can be a part of our adventure as well. We want you to know that the most important thing you can do for us is to pray for us, for the sisters and for the girls in Maipu. It means so much to us to know that we are not going at this alone, and that we have a whole community of friends and family supporting us, thinking of us, and praying for us.

Another way to help us in our work is to make a donation to the Home in Maipu. You can send a check to Sister Mary Gloria in San Antonio and write "Mission; Costanti's" on the For: line.
Her address is; Sister Mary Gloria Mar, 5630 W. commerace st., San Antonio, Tx 78237-1313.
Know that we will take all of you with us to Chile in our hearts, and we will keep you all in our prayers as well. Thank you all for all the support and love that you have given us as we prepare for the next leg of our adventure.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Beautiful Baby Ian!


Wanted to introduce you all to Ian Riddle. Here he is with his proud parents, John and Cynthia. It was such a special treat to get to visit them in Austin during our Texas trip. He's such a good baby, and it was such a nice relaxing couple of days we were able to spend with them. Even with a new baby it was such a wonderful get away to the Riddle Spa... hum... now there's an idea!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

San Antonio Tx, where are the 10 gallon hats?!!



We just wanted to write a quick note to let you all know that San Antonio has been wonderful and beautiful. We are coming to the end of our two weeks of formation with the Salesian Sisters. We have learned so much about the Salesian style of working with children as well as their approach to spiritual life. It has been a whirlwind of an adventure.

We found out that we have been accepted to work as volunteers at a girl's school in Maipu, Chile, a subburb of Santiago. The School year doesn't start for them until the first week of March. We'll most likely be going to Chile mid February. It's nice to know that we will have some time to really get ready for the trip, in every aspect... physically, mentally and emotionally! This Sunday we have set up to call the head Sister in Chile, Sister Olga, and talk with her about our strengths and what we have to offer, and to find out more about the school. I'm really not anticipating any complications... and I am sure that they will be able to find a way to fit us into the rhythms of the school.

Well, just wanted to let you all know the good news. Hope all is well for you and your loved ones and May God bless you abundantly. Love, Matt and Janelle




The Salesian Sisters in San Antonio.