Moms!

With new babies arriving, and many other reminders for how important it is to celebrate life, today I want to dedicate our blog entry to my mom, on the day of her birth. We are thinking about you, Mom,and love you immensely. We are glad you were born, (I won't say howmanyyears ago:) Happy Birthday!!! (I'll be in touch).


It is a beautiful day here in Buchupureo. I crossed the creek and walked out to the beach, this morning, to get creative with sand-writing. The boys have gone surfing. All is well.
We love you all,
Jess & Ryan

It's a....

BOY!!! For those of you who haven't already heard the news directly from Oregon, we want to inform you that Kimmy and Randy gave birth to a "perfect" baby boy yesterday afternoon. His name is Oliver Michael Kenyon and, to quote his beautiful mother, "He is perfect." We had the privilege of connecting with them in the nursery last night, via Skype, with video!!! Ryan and I stood speachless, watching little Oliver wriggle in his bed, using wireless technology. It was all completely surreal: seeing Oliver outside of Kimmy's belly; witnessing the radiance emanating from the new parents; catching it all live through video feed, in Chile. Wonders never cease.


Another timely reminder that life is precious, and that every day is the first day of the rest of our lives.


Beaming love,


Tia Jess and Tio Loco

New Friends

Hi friends and family,
While there is not a whole lot that is new to report, since I last wrote, I thought I'd post an update so you would know we are alive and well, here, in still-quaking Chile. Yes, the tremors (called temblores, in Spanish) are still happening daily, but they are pretty mellow and rarely cause alarm. Any building or road that survived the 8.8 three weeks ago certainly holds strong for a minor tremor! It sounds odd, I'm sure, but we have grown accustomed to them.
We are staying in a cabin in the town of Buchupureo and have continued to enjoy our time here, including the surf, helping out, making new friends, and learning Spanish. LJ has been kind enough to give us some more structured Spanish instruction lately. That, combined with immersion in conversations with the families we have befriended, means that Ryan and I both are feeling our progress with speaking and understanding Spanish.
As you began to see in the photos I posted last week, most of the work we have been doing here has involved deconstruction of damaged homes. Yesterday we went to a new level, I think, when we tore out the ceiling boards of Pepe & Irene's house and ended up covered from head to toe, including every orifice, in the dust that has been accumulating under their roof tiles for 50 years. Besides the pleasure I've gained from learning a new skill --how to use a crow-bar--we feel so good about helping them salvage building materials that they will be able to use to rebuild.
While Pepe & Irene and their families have continued to show us their gratitude by inviting us into their homes for amazing lunches, their grandkids have also welcomed us at their waves. El Furgon is currently the official surf-mobile of Buchupureo, as you will see from the following photos:

Local surfers (yes, that is LJ in his tighty undies on the right...)

The record is 9 people in El Furgon. Fun times!

These are the real local surfers--our new friends!

This gatito (little cat) is one of our new friends, too. We named her Terremota, after the earthquake.

So, that's the news from Quaking Chile. We are still enjoying our time here, immensely. We are doing our best to spread love and goodwill, through working and playing with new friends. We have purchased our plane tickets home, for April 15th into Eugene (just so you know that we are planning to come back). In the meanwhile, we have some more exploring, surfing, learning, and growing to do. We hope you are enjoying each day, and your loved ones.

Con mucho amor,

Jess & Ryan (and LJ)

This is from a couple weeks ago, but is one of my favorite pics of us, just in case you had forgotten what we look like!

Epic Center en photos

Hi again, amigos.

Today, thanks to LJ's computer and a wireless internet connection, I have the luxury of being able to post photos that help tell the story of the last few weeks. Hold on to your hearts!

A picturesque camp marker, along one of many country roads in Chile's south-central coastal region.

Packing up supplies in El Furgon. Note to self: the people here don't need potatoes (three bags of potatoes are all we have left after distrubuting everything). They have potatoes coming out of their ears.

We arrived to the coastal region at night, greeted by ominous signs of the damage, such as this sign which reads Bridge is in a bad state. Only light vehicles. El Furgon esta bastante liviano. Ha!

Yes, we get it. The earth shook very very hard here!


Each family's camp is marked with a sign like this one, and a flag, so those who are helping will know where to look, in the countryside, when bringing assistance.

This region is known for its beautiful, antique, adobe houses. Like this one, many of them were structurally compromised by the quaking earth and will have to be torn down.

This cross is still standing, but a little worse for wear. How beautiful, still.

While there is a lot of road damage, construction teams have been working very efficiently to make roads and bridges safe. We haven't been stopped yet.

Another example of the previously-beautiful adobe architecture in this region.

A lot of deconstruction and reconstruction needs to happen. It is happening.

The Chilean pride is a beautiful thing to see. It's everywhere!

"Fuerza Chile" are caravans of people from all over Chile who have joined together to help people in the areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

Just as we were arriving to these camps to deliver our second round of supplies (mostly plastic tarps to protect tents from the rain), the first of three helicopters swooped in from above. It was pretty amazing.

Ryan and LJ run in to help unload supplies from the helicopter.

Beautiful cooperation.

One of Chile's powerhouses, Teresa, looks on from beside her family's camp while the helicopter lands.

One of Chile's noble caballeros watches the helicopter from his family's camp. Yes, that's the ocean in the background. Que lindo!

Notice Ryan and LJ there in the lineup. Surfing muscles appreciated!!!

Young people look on from their camp, while the helicopter is being unloaded.

People, who have been camping on high ground in the countryside for a week, wave goodbye to the helicopter as it leaves, after depositing supplies.

We're inspired. Can you tell?

Someone has come through and determined which houses need to be torn down. The house behind this wall was one of the most beautiful in the whole town. We had the privilege to walk through it during deconstruction, and to imagine its glory days.

What a window into people's lives we've received.

Here, I am doing my Spanish-language best to converse with this woman, to learn something about her experience during and after the terremoto.

Tia Herminia is 78 and was alone in her adobe farm house during the terremoto. I went with her and her grand-neices to her farm to help move valuables and furniture out of her house, because it will have to be torn down. She barely even needed our help; she is a powerhouse! Still, she has had to relocate to town, and live with her nephew's family, and is very sad about it. "Que horrible!" she said. :(

Me, Ignacia, and Marcela (Herminia's grand-nieces)

We have been helping this couple, Irene and Pepe, with their home. It will have to be torn down. Their extended family, currently condensed from four to two households, has virtually adopted us. They are beautiful people. We love them!

When we arrived to help Pepe & Irene, this is what their house looked like. Our task was to move furniture and valuables out, and to salvage what could be salvaged: wood flooring, windows, corrugated tin, etc.

This is the house after some deconstruction work.

Ryan and LJ move debris before helping salvage the wood floor.

Another beautiful home that will have to go...

We have found a great balance between work and play. Here is Ryan carving one of Chile's pristine lefts.

Another beautiful wave.

When he's happy, so am I. :)

Another Furgon special feast by our favorite chef! Yes, that's sausage!

This is LJ, overseen by the saint who protects fishermen.

LJ carving it up!

We're remembering to always celebrate life.

Joyride!

Yay!

Needless to say, they are so glad to be both helping out AND getting to surf. Que increible!

There are so many stories to share, from so many beautiful people, but we'll save some of them for next time. So, that's all for now. We love you all dearly and are thinking about you every day.

With love and gratitude,

Jess, Ryan, and LJ