Jan 2005 Update

I know that it has been a while since you have heard from us in written form. It has been a little over two months since we arrived back in Santiago. It was a much more difficult transition for us than we had anticipated, or at least what I had anticipated. We really like to live in the country where God has called us to minister, but major changes bring along with them crisis. I personally suffered some times of depression and frustration. I think that we have overcome the majority of those cultural transition stresses and I am convinced that your prayers were instrumental in helping us. Thank you so much for lifting us up and encouraging us through prayer.
We were able to be in our house within a couple weeks of arriving here and even though we have had to do some work on the house, such a put down carpet and paint, we were able to move in without spending an excessive amount of money. There are pluses and minuses about living in a house here in Chile and that has come to our attention very clearly over the short time that we have been in our new house. Houses require a lot more care than apartments. They do not provide the security of an apartment, so we have installed an alarm that we turn on when we are gone and when I am on a trip and Angie is alone with the girls. Overall, we like the house and it provides us with the opportunity to entertain more people. Also, my office is in the backyard and that allows me to spend more time with the family.
I have already been involved in several ministry projects. We hosted a team from the Indiana Christian Youth Convention (ICYC) for a week. Five youth pastors came down to do youth leader training at the National Youth Convention. Also, I was able to do some youth leaders workshops at another camp about 7 hours south.
Please continue to pray for us as we make contacts and begin new ministry projects. Aaron Arnold, Santiago, Chile