missing now, what I will miss

Come and listen, come to the water's edge, all you who know and fear the Lord. Come and listen, come to the water's edge all you who are thirsty, come.

Let me tell you what He has done for me. Let me tell you what He has done for me, He has done for you, He has done for us.
 
I'm already preparing for final exams and projects, the end just seems to be coming so fast. Sometimes I feel like I got here yesterday and sometimes I feel like I've been living here a year.

I've noticed that when I'm walking down my hill in the mornings, the same store owner greets me. The collectivo drivers recognize me now, and they don't ask me where to drop me off anymore. I notice when the specials change at the café on the corner. I notice when the woman with all the plants has planted new ones.

I will miss walking down la calle Urriola to the street with all the banks (la Calle de los Bancos). The buildings are so tall they block the sun, and it's always colder from the shade.
I will miss the salty spray when I run by the ocean. Gosh, I will miss my runs here so much...

I miss home too...

I can't wait to walk out in the woods with my dad and hear the crunch of frosty leaves. I can't wait to watch the sunset in the deer stand. I know when I'm watching the sunset over the ocean, I'm wondering what it looks like in the woods. And, I know when I'm sitting in the woods, I will wonder what it looks like over the ocean.

This campus made me think of LSU... (Universidad Frederico Santa María, Valparaíso)

Rosa was cooking something this morning that reminded me of Ms. Helen's deer steak she always made growing up.  Which made me miss a whole list of foods...Mom's rolls, her apple crisp pie...my dad's gumbo and the way he cooks duck and dove.

I can't believe it will be Christmas time when I get home. The coffee mug I use in the mornings has a Christmas tree, lights and presents on it. It's my favorite because it reminds of home.


I can't wait to smell pine needles, ride my bike in the country, drink eggnog, drink coffee with my mom, see my Uncle John and my grandmother...

<< Everything was so green in Puerto Varas, it made me think of Louisiana.

(<< Driving through the countryside in Puerto Varas.)

I miss my brothers so much. I was telling someone the other day that when we were kids, we had this huge rope swing by the creek, and Noah, Bails and I would play on it for hours. We would take one of my dad's ladders from the shed and carry it out to the creek to use it as a platform to make the swing go higher. Clearly, safety was the first priority. I just love them so much, and I can't wait to hug them.

I don't want to say goodbye to Chile yet though. Sometimes, I take the long way home just to walk by all my favorite streets. I love the smell of fresh bread when I walk by a panadería. I will miss the huge golden raisins I buy from the mercado. I will miss eating avocados every day. I will miss watching people paint murals. Sometimes I run longer just to go sit on the rocks by the ocean.






This morning, I was reading Psalms 66, and I was encouraged, humbled and basically thought it was awesome, so I just wanted to share it.

"He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot--come, let us rejoice in him...we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. 
...but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!"

Psalm 66

ok, chao for now..off to the water's edge to study.

mucho MUCH, a-whole-bunch, grande love,
sophie