Pray for Phillip

Today I had my last day of language class! I finished up level six (the last level in which you learn actual grammar). The rest of the levels consist in basically just learning Venezuelan history, customs, etc....so those are not necessary for us to take, since we'll be learning that from our interactions with the estudiantes at La Universidad. (I'm throwing in Spanish words, partly on purpose - so you can learn with me! and partly just because I'm consistently speaking in Spanish and the words are stuck in my head) Anyway, I finished my class today.....it's a good feeling - even though we've only been there for 2 weeks, 4 hours a day of Spanish has been a little bit grueling. I am at this point, by no means, fluent - however good enough to get around.

During our time at the language school, we met several other travelers who were also attempting to master this Latin language. There is one African American girl - Jessica from the U.S. One guy, Martin from Sweden - he's almost 7 feet tall!!! He's mostly just here to party, before he heads back to Med School. The third is Phillip (one L, two Ls?) Phillip is a very interesting character. He's very outgoing, and very self sufficient. He is an older man, probably in his 40s, from Switzerland. He told us a significant amount of his life story, leading up to his choice to leave his home and job, buy a huge boat, and sail around the world for as long as he wants. Phillip is from a small town in Switzerland, where he has lived all his life. He plays the mountain horn (pictures will follow at some point). A mountain horn is 3 1/2 meter long instrument - you may have seen it on a Ricola commercial. There is only one man in the world that makes them! Phillip brought his to class this week to show us, and play for us, it was incredible! Apparently they were originally used to communicate between monasteries in the hills of Switerland. I will post pictures as soon as I get them from Amanda or Eben, because really you have to see it.

Anyway, getting back to Phillip's life story. Basically he grew up in a small town, grew up and got a really good job (well, he makes lots of money). He was telling us that he's always wanted to sail around the world, and he's been putting it off and putting it off. About a year ago his live-in girlfriend (of 17 years.....wow) left him. Not only did she leave him, she took every physical thing he owned, leaving him with 4 suitcases and no home. He decided it was time to go for his dream. He bought a 42 foot catamaran (? I have no idea how to spell that) and took off. Currently his boat is parked in a harbor in Grenada and he is spending 6 weeks adventuring and learning Spanish here in Merida. Our conversations with Phillip have been brief, mostly only between classes and during breaks, but he has been very open in sharing about his life and beliefs. Currently he does not believe in God, or have any inclination toward religion, however, at the same time - he was very interested in what we're doing and what we believe. I think that God is working on the heart of Phillip - I think Phillip has hit a point in his life where he's truly beginning to search for what is meaningful in life - HE NEEDS JESUS!!!

I had my last interaction with Phillip today (because it was my last day of class). He bought me a cafe con leche - how sweet! He is truly nice guy, who is just so lost! I'm writing this blog today, so that you can "get to know" Phillip a little. I'm asking you to pray for him. He may not have accepted Christ with us this week, but God has definitely planted seeds of interest in his heart and mind. Somewhere down the road, I'm praying for Phillip to have continued interaction with Christians, and that God would call him into His kingdom.

It's a small victory but it has been encouraging to me this week to talk to Phillip, for him to share with us so much, and to be so interested in what we believe in and are doing.

Pray for Phillip! Pray that he would lay down his pain and burdens and humble himself to the Lord. He's tired, he needs Jesus.

Just a quick sidenote: Currently the water is out in our apartment. I just washed my face and brushed my teeth in a tiny little bowl of bottled water. It reminded me of my time in New Orleans. Shout out to all of you who did Katrina Relief!!

CSI: Merida

Well a while back we had an interesting house-guest that I've been meaning to write about and as of yet have not had the time or the relevant photographs. Here it is, it's a simple story really. The team has finished dinner and is relaxing and chatting together when suddenly there is the sound of scurrying and yelping from the kitchen, where the boys were doing the dishes (since the girls had prepared the dinner). Eager to find out what the calamity was some members of the team jumped up and ran to the kitchen to inspect the source of the noise. To our dismay, the scurrying noises were coming from a gigantic CUCARACHA! (cockroach). He scurried about the floor of our kitchen perusing for dropped snacks, or perhaps a holey get-away, while I clambered up onto the couch with surprising speed, yelling "get it!" and keeping all my apendages from touching the floor where the cucaracha could potentially bite or crawl on them. The others did not agree with me, however, and opted instead to take pictures of it (Ivan is pictured here).

Finally, after all of the picture taking fun had ended, Eben (Superman, the Rock, Antonio, there are many names for him) sent our friend to an eternal resting place with a forceful and loud smack of a his shoe. R.I.P. cucaracha.

It was only after the brutal mutilation of the giant beast that Claudia told us it was probably their pet from last year named Rosie. Apparently, they had captured Rosie and given her a plastic bag habitat. Being a hungry little bugger (I'd imagine) Rosie gnawed her way through the bag and escaped. Looks like we killed Rosie, and did a good job at that. oops!

Needless to say, after rounds and rounds of pictures had been taken and many laughs had (rather, horrified nervous laughter from myself) we decided they looked like pictures from CSI. So we've begun a new show CSI: Merida, which will be taking place throughout this year. I will keep you posted.

Thought of the day: If you had told me 4 years ago when I left my small hometown, Sequim, for the big city (Seattle) for college, that after graduation I would be living in a foreign country in a home where cockroaches are acceptable visitors for afternoon tea, I'd have laughed at you. It's amazing how different things are in your life, when you relinquish control to the Almighty, am I right?

I don't know if I still hablo espanol.....

Our first week has almost pulled to a close here in Merida, in fact, it was one week ago today on a dark and stormy night (I'm not kidding) that we landed here in Merida.....This week has mostly consisted in acquianting ourselves with the culture - finding edible food, riding buses, constantly being stared at, learning to communicate in broken Spanish, and getting to know our team more. Our Maracucha (from Maracaibo, a big city in VZ that is very different than Merida) teammate Claudia, has been here with us guiding us in a lot of the things we need to learn. She is such a blessing to have on our team, I think we'd be lost without her! To the right is our first official picture together as a full team! Now, this picture was taken on a night I think none of us will soon forget....here's how the story goes.....

Amanda decided she really wanted fish for dinner. I, personally, not only detest fish but throw up when forced to eat it, so I opted for chicken instead. However, the rest of the team decided fish would be a good idea as well. Well, at the store (which is still very difficult for us to navigate....) Amanda picked out what appeared to just be some fish fillets. I, never having cooked fish myself, assumed they looked normal, and picked up some chicken for me. Later that evening (as the picture suggests, it had already been a LONG day) after we had all returned from a long day in th Centro for classes, Ivan decided he would take a stab at cooking the fish, as he grew up in Alaska and had worked on a boat. Well, from the moment he took the plastic off of the styrofoam holding the fish I knew something was wrong. It reeked! Now, mind you, I do detest the smell of seafood, but this was beyond anything I've ever smelled - fish-wise anyway. They debated the smell for a few minutes, but proceeded to be adventurous anyway and began cooking the painfully smelly fish. During the cooking of the meal, a Venezuelan friend of ours, Teo (he was also with me in Lake Tahoe 2 years ago) came to visit. He decided to stay and have dinner with us. Ivan pulled out the fish and set it on the table, for all to see. Teo said it looked okay, and proceeded to eat some. With that bit of assurance Ivan dug in, and others followed with minor hesitation. After a bite, Ivan paused and looked at Teo.....He said, "Hey, my lips are numb.....?" Teo started inspecting the fish as he ate it and also pronounced that his throat had gone numb. After asking Amanda what kind of "fish" she had bought, it was discovered that they were in fact eating "DEVIL RAY". Hence the toxins had caused their mouths to go numb.....oops! Needless to say the rest of dinner consisted in rolls and me sharing my little bit of chicken with 5 people....Also, our apartment still smells like devil ray.....boo.

Another side note, we've started intensive Spanish classes for the next week or so, until ULA (la Universidad de Los Andes) begins it's fall quarter, then we will only have class once a week. Right now we go to class 5 days a week, twice a day for 2 hours. Let me tell you....I haven't studied Spanish since high school, and this can be grueling at times! We took a placement test to see what level we should be in, and I tested into level 5 (of 9) although they wanted to put me in 6, I opted for 5, since the girl on my team who is practically fluent was placed in 6......It's not easy! Fortunately the teachers are both pretty good, and although we have a lot of homework, I am enjoying it for the most part and my Spanish is slowly coming back to me. Praise Jesus! Here's a picture of my team (minus el jefe Ivan) in front of the language school:

Sunny Morning.

This is the first morning we've had in a while that it isn't raining or drizzly out (like Seattle! it's still the rainy season here, it randomly pours various times during the day, and then the suns shines brightly) So I took a couple pics of the mountains, etc.....enjoy!

Out the window - note the bars that cover all the windows....


Sans the bars (my hand fits through them).....isn't it beautiful?


A look down the apartment complex.

One Brisk Morning.

After a cold shower this morning, due to a pilot light problem (I think I lit it correctly though, so who knows....) I'm wide awake enough to share a few more stories. Especially since we are waiting for the guys to make it to our apartment. Neither of us has keys to the others apartments (you need keys to even get into the building) so they have to stand below our window and whistle until we drop the keys down to them. Needless to say, it's rather fun, although ghetto.

A few of you have asked about my facebook status concerning the "exploding toilet". Well, it's exactly like it sounds, however not nearly as bad as it sounds. It does not explode from the bowl, but rather the top tank part. There is a faulty connection, and every once in a while (well, it's happened 3 times so far) water will just begin to spew from the top of the tank and flood the bathroom and user of the bathroom. Yes, that is correct. We never know when it will happen, so far it has happened twice in the middle of the night. That has deterred me from using the bathroom at night....so we'll see what happens.

Yesterday on the bus, the cuuuuuutest little girl sat across the aisle from me. She was maybe 4 or 5. She kept staring and staring at me. She tried to talk to me a couple times, but she was so quiet that I couldn't hear her (and she was speaking Spanish, of which I only speak a little). I laughed though because she turned to her mom and said (in Spanish of course) "I think she speaks English!!". It was too cute. Eventually she did get to talk to me and ask me my name, in turn I found out that hers was something along the lines of Flelanglee? I'm really not sure......

Anyway, the guys are here so I've got to go....we'll see if more comes to mind later. Chau Chamos!

New Apartment in VZ.....so cute!

Dining Room Table Area

Part of the living room.....

I'm on the bottom.

Skinny Kitchen!

Pilot Light....we have to light it ourselves to get warm water!

First Few Days....

A few short stories (I'm only telling a few, we've got lots...) and photos from our first few days in Merida...

Once we got to Caracas, we made it to our hotel, they had given us one room - not two! So, we began with some great team bonding of all sleeping in the same room. Come to find out - we alllllllll (including myself) talk in our sleep. Does it pose a good sign that we can still carry on conversations while unconscious?

Our taxi to the airport was in a minor collision, in which another car bumped us (there are no traffic laws in VZ) - we lost a piece of our bumper. The drive got out, picked it up and just kept driving.

On our flight from Caracas to Merida we were sitting pretty, happy, and ready to take off. Our plane was taxiing down the runway at break-neck speeds, as the front wheels lifted off the ground, I felt a surge of pressure (more than normal) in my head/ears, suddenly (!!!!) the emergency exit swung INTO THE PLANE!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not kidding. Luckily, I was nearer to the back of the plane. One brave Venezuelan soul jumped up and began pounding on the door of the cabin to alert the captain. We slowed after a moment of severe ear pain. The whole plane was in chaos and all the Venezuelans started pulling out cameras and phones to take pictures. We were all safely evacuated from the plane and spent houuuuuurs waiting for another one. (we made a couple friends and I got to practice my Spanish while waiting).

We were also sent to another airport (an hour outside of Merida) because by the time we actually got a flight the airport was closed. We took taxis to Merida and stood with our luggage in the rain trying to find a way to actually get into the apartment.

All of that to say.....we are here, there have been many adventures (more stories to come). Here are a few pictures of the apartment, for your viewing pleasure (I'm actually going to put them on the next one). I love it!

Safe? and Sound?

So, we're here in Merida! I don't have much time to write, but I just wanted everyone to know that we're all here, we made it - all fingers and toes still attached! We're only missing one bag of luggage, so hooray! Our trip did include, however, many interesting incidents, which I will write a longer blog about later. Suffice it to say, after 2 very full days of travel, we have made it. Merida is as gorgeous as I remember (well, at least the mountains are), and our apartment is fabulous! After we have completely unpacked I'll post some pics......

WOW

We're leaving at 7:00 tomorrow morning for VENEZUELA! Can you believe it?!!? God is so good :)

Please pray for safety, health, and that all the little details would work out.....also pray for patience and flexibility on our end, as it's something that Americans aren't great at, but Venezuelans are - even in airports!

Soon you'll be getting updates from Venezuela.....thanks everyone!

3 Days baby!

Hey all, so good news = my support is done! God is SO GOOD, He has brought in everything I need to spend the next year of my life in Merida, Venezuela. Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far, and will continue to do so over the next year. This would be impossible without your support and your prayers!

If for some reason you're not already on my update list and would like to be, let me know, I'll add you!

My team and I are officially leaving on Wednesday morning early, so please pray for safe travels and that all of the details would work out according to plan.

I want to keep in touch with all of you over the next year. Please add me on skype or AIM (both screennames are chelsearoseh). I want to be able to both share my prayer requests with you as well as hear yours so I can pray for you.

In case you feel like mailing me stuff, here's the address:

Chelsea Hasenpflug
Res. Monsenor Chacon, Edif C, Apto 2-4
Av. Las Americas
Merida, Merida Venezuela 5101

Thank you so much everyone, I love you all, and I miss you already!

Love and blessings, Chels

It's official - 6 Days!.....Need a phone?

Hey all, so we finally have our plane tickets. We are leaving on the 12th - that's in 6 days my friends - 6 days! I'm not sure where my teammates are support wise, I am currently at 96% - praise God!! I still need about $1,300....but I believe He will bring that in in the next couple days, I mean really - He has already brought in about $33,000. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So yeah, pray for the rest of our support. Pray for our travels, and details that go along with that. Pray that God would go before us and begin to open the hearts and minds of the students in Venezuela that we will soon be interacting with!

On a side note:
Sadly, I cannot take my cell phone with me. I am only halfway through my contract, so it's going to cost me almost $200 (which I do not have, in fact I have about $13 in my bank account) to cancel. Is there anyone out there that wants to take over my contract and needs a phone?!?!?!?! Either that, or pray that an extra $200 of support will come in to cover it, otherwise....I'm in trouble!

So yep, 6 days baby, 6 days until the adventure begins....please keep us in your prayers!

News....

Here's the latest news in the Chelsea-goes-to-Venezuela saga....Our leave date has been pushed back to the 10th of September. Mostly this is due to the fact that my team and I are still lacking about 10% of our support. Yikes!

Currently, I am only lacking about $200/month in support....so please pray that God would bring in this last little bit ASAP! We are praying for a miracle, so that our departure date will not have to be postponed any longer - we are excited to actually get to Venezuela and begin doing ministry......

Please keep us in your prayers this week......we need them!

https://give.ccci.org/give/0597022

Another cute picture, just for fun....my dog Jake.

Quick Update

Ok folks......I'm down to needing $250 monthly......keep praying!

A cute picture of my baby - Boo - just because she's so dang cute, and she keeps my company when I'm support raising.