slice of life – Cornerstone Chilean Mission

Twelve

June 3, 2018May 26, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Uncategorized

Warning: Sappiness ahead. You have been warned.
Written by: Tabi

They met at college. He was shy. She, most definitely, was not.

She spotted him sitting contentedly on his own in a corner of the cafeteria, and crashed into his life with all the grace of an excited puppy.

Bam! She slammed her tray down in front of him. “You’re sitting all by your lonesome self, and I’m not going to let you do that!” she announced, and promptly sat down in front of him. Thus a friendship was born.

Mike and Tabi 2006 — She ain’t lettin’ this one go!

They were friends for a year before she asked him out. They dated a year before he asked her to marry him. And year after that, they married.

Carl and Ellie — ~~Oops. Wrong picture. Sorry. It’s the next one.~~

Mike and Tabi Wedding — Ah, there we go.

They had decided from the beginning that they would be missionaries. Where, though? She was from Mexico, but she wanted somewhere foreign. He told her all the stories of his internships in Chile, and that’s where they decided to go. It took them three years of support-raising to reach the point where they could go.

They celebrated four years of marriage in their first year in Chile. (It was quite the adventure. Ask us to tell you the story next time you see us.)

Then, they celebrated 8 more.

There have been ups and there have been downs. They’ve lived through earthquakes, blackouts, riots, travels, disappointments, joys, and laughter. Their ministries have grown, their family has grown, and their love has, too.

Why post this on our blog? Well, we are very happy to have reached 12 years of marriage. Furthermore, we are thankful to have the great blessing of living and working in Chile. And that’s all thanks to our supporters. We thank you for being a part of our big adventure and ministry here in Chile. We hope for many more years of this partnership. And, until next time, God bless!

IMG_20180311_123858 — Blessings from the Boyce family!

A Day in the Life: Tabi

October 24, 2017May 28, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Family Life, slice of life

A Tour in Black and White
(because I’m artsy and stuff)

IMG_20171023_122958237_HDR — My daily dose of caffeine. You know what’s expensive in Chile? Milk. We buy milk anyway, for Lydia, but I found a recipe for oat milk. Surprisingly similar to creamer! And it’s cheap. I’m sold.

IMG_20171019_095213138 — These two. They drive me nuts and fill me with joy. Most of my day is about them.

IMG_20171015_164914293_HDR — Most days, after breakfast, we play or watch TV. If it’s TV time, Mami has some time to spend on the computer, or to do housework.

IMG_20171003_170003849 — If it’s a really nice day, we might take a dip in the pool.

IMG_20171012_173430261 — Then it’s lunch time. “Noonows, peas?” Noodles, please?

IMG-20171006-WA0008 — Lydia often helps me cook. She does very well!

IMG_20171002_205146520 — Then it’s nap time. Mami’s favorite time of day!

IMG_20171020_133338_969 (1) — This is the time of day when I can get some serious work done! It’s during this time that I buckle down and tend to the website, update blogs, translate, do some studying, upload articles, work on newsletters, write articles, or work on photos.

IMG_20171018_174133559 — When the kids wake up again, we might stay home and play. Sometimes, though, we go out. This may be to the mall or to a nearby park.

IMG_20170923_121123411 — The mall has three free playgrounds, two fish tanks, several paid play areas, mechanical games, and, Mami’s favorite . . .

IMG_20171014_181044595_HDR — The Starbucks has a kids corner, where Lydia can play and color. We usually get much cheaper drinks than in the picture, but I had a free drink pending on my account, so we enjoyed something nicer.

IMG_20171013_113913504 — If we stay home, we might go to the store to pick up some fresh veggies, or some fresh bread. Lydia likes to help me carry the bags.

IMG_20171003_101508417_HDR — On special days, we go out in the morning and do a day trip! Lydia likes the bus, because she gets to sit like a grown up and look out the window. We don’t get work done those days, but it’s a good time to bond.

IMG_20171004_190349984 — They go to bed early, so I can have a little more time to work (as long as I don’t end up falling asleep as soon as they’re down!). I use the night time to either have a little bit of “me time”, or to work some more on urgent projects.

And that’s what an average day looks like for me. I am, first and foremost, a mother and wife, but I try to make sure to get my missionary work done as well. Both are priorities to me, and I want to make sure they both get my time and attention.

I am grateful for my life. It is blessed, and it is beautiful. It isn’t always easy, but it is full of love, and that makes it all worthwhile.

Allergies and Vandalism

September 27, 2017May 28, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Chile Life, Family Life

It’s that beautiful time of year when everything blooms, the days get warmer, and allergies make everyone miserable! Why is it particularly bad in Santiago? Well, because of a tree called Oriental Plane.

It’s a nice-looking tree, fast-growing and shady. Which is why landscapers decided to plant them all over Santiago. It’s also highly allergenic. Wherever these trees are planted, they compose a significant percentage of allergens. And now they’re blooming. Our go-to website for checking allergen levels showed the following levels for this week:

So basically, they consider any levels higher than 70 grains per square meter a high level. And, as you can see, Oriental Plane is at 647 g/m, out of 864 g/m for all tree pollen. Yes, we are sneezing our heads off right now.

On other news, adding insult to injury, yesterday Mike was driving home from work and some guys vandalized his and other cars. In his own words:

“Last night on my way home I was waiting at a traffic light, in the left turn lane, when a car flew by in the median with a guy hanging out the window with some piece of metal scraping all the cars in the turn lane…”

So now we have a long scratch on our car. The good news is that it wasn’t worse. Still, it’s unpleasant, and we hope these young guys learn some respect for others.

Fiestas Patrias

September 22, 2017May 28, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Chile Life, Informative

\And lots of photos.

September is an interesting month in Chile. Spring is just coming in. The cold days are warming up, the sun is shining, and the flowers are blooming. It’s the perfect weather for parties.

For the most part, people are gearing up to celebrate “El 18” or “Las Fiestas Patrias” or “Las Fiestas Dieciocheras”. There’s a lot of games, fairs, music, dancing, and revelry.

The few days that are the exception to this are the days surrounding the 11th. This is the day that Chileans remember the “Golpe”, the day of Pinchet’s military coup. These are often troubled days, and so we usually stay indoors, or at least are home early.

Once these days are past, though, the celebrations begin in earnest. Music plays everywhere, dancers take to the streets with their cuecas, and the sky becomes a murky gray from all the “asados” (BBQs) going on. It’s a time for family, for parties, and for fun. Work basically comes to a grinding halt during these days, and people from all walks of life find a way to enjoy the holiday.

We have, so far this year, been to two asados (BBQs), and gone to two fondas (a fair).

Padre Hurtado

The first asado was at a church in Padre Hurtado on Saturday. What you see above are called “anticuchos”, and they’re basically kebabs. Down at the end, there are sausages, for the traditional “choripan”, which is two words smooshed into one: chorizo (sausage) and pan (bread). We also had empanadas, which are the Chilean version of a pasty.

This church has a lot of Haitians who have started attending. They love Caleb, and Caleb loves them. We did a lot of dancing. Goodbye, uncomfortable shoes! Eventually, Lydia got tired, so we went home.

Jesús es el Camino (JEEC)

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Our second asado was programmed to be at the park near our home, on Sunday. You know, this one. However, when Mike went over early in the morning, it was already full. So, the asado was moved to our house. We prepared meat and grilled it. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and laughter. We took Communion sitting around the table together. And then we sang songs.

El Quisco and Algarrobo

On Monday, we went to the coast with our friends, Jim and Kari Hurley (and family). We stopped by the beach, first, to let the girl climb on the rocks for a while.

We then went to the fonda in Algarrobo, where we got some food. We ended the day at the beach, the adults playing a game while the kids played in the sand.

Fonda Buin

Finally, on the last day of celebrations, we went to the fonda in Buin, just for a few hours. Lydia had way too much sugar, and got to jump on a trampoline. We had way too much sugar and grease. It was a good time.

WhatsApp Image 2017-09-22 at 11.23.20 (1)

So, the celebrations over, we now turn our attention back to work. Mike goes back to working regularly at the Institute, and I go back to being a SAHM, and keeping websites updated. Ahh, life. Isn’t it wonderful?