Welcome to the End of the Earth...

Santiago and Chile in it's entirety over the past decade has built a solid reputation for itself to the world outside. The government here, with support of the U.S. and the world's media, has led you to believe that Chile is some sort of up and coming economical super power inside of Latin America. We have also as American passive observers here in this country, living in a mainly middle class section of the city, sending our daughters to a middle class private Christian school and shopping at the mall, have allowed ourselves to fall into this same mindset. But honestly, this week I have had a rude awakening to some realities that I have long known to be true about this long sliver of a country, but in my stubborn "gringoness" I had fooled myself into buying the same story the Chilean government is trying to sell to the outside world. The truth is people...this country has some serious problems when it comes to education and health care. These are two issues that us being missionaries working with and training others to work with the countries youth, should never have been blinded to.

I don't know how many of you follow the world news, or even how much exposure this uprising has received on local news broadcasts but CNN has given the story some airtime this past few weeks. Here is a short synopsis of what has been happening here over the past 2 weeks in Santiago according to Reuters news service:

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Police used tear gas and water cannons to try to break up Chile's biggest student protests in decades on Tuesday as thousands of students marched to demand the government spend more of its fat budget surplus on education.
Dozens of students were arrested in the capital and protest leaders said half a million students occupied hundreds of schools all over Chile calling for free bus fare, free college entrance exams, more teachers and improved school buildings.
"We are protesting on behalf of our school. The bathrooms are disgusting, you can't even take a shower in the locker room, and they don't do anything about it," said Bernardo Ferrada, 15, his nose and eyes burning from tear gas.
Ferrada said he and 25 other students from the Arturo Prats high school in the middle class neighborhood of Puente Alto joined a march headed to the national palace before police sprayed them with tear gas from armored vehicles.
Protests began two weeks ago when students took over a few schools in the capital -- sleeping overnight in classrooms and eating food brought in by sympathetic parents.
The movement spread all over the country and has turned into the biggest street protest faced by new President Michelle Bachelet. Local media said Chile hasn't seen student protests on this scale since the early 1970s when Socialist President Salvador Allende was in office.
Bachelet is highly popular and her center-left coalition has been in power for 16 years in Chile, one of Latin America's wealthiest countries. But students say schools should be seeing more government funding at a time when profit from high-priced copper, Chile's main product, has handed the government billions of dollars of budget surpluses.
"Copper sky high and education in the gutter," read a banner at one school.

These events touched us personally yesterday during the protest when Aaron and another young chilean man that he works with were downtown to attend a meeting. They found themselves in the subway directly below the street where the police were shooting tear-gas at the students and at that moment the kids on street level tried to escape the gas in hords by entering the subway stations and with them bringing the noxious gas into the subway system where Aaron and Jonathan were waiting to take a train. In Aaron's words "it was the most disgusting painful thing I have experienced. My eyes felt like they were on fire, the air smelled absolutely terrible and I thought I was going to vomit." Fortunately they managed to get onto a train quickly and escape the scene, but it just goes to show how close we are to the events that you see unfolding on the television.

Let me just say...Aaron and I have been inside the public schools here and it is a shock. Little or no heat in the classrooms, no cafeteria to have lunch, paint falling off of the walls, infiltrations of water leaving the ceiling tiles drooping, bathrooms so disgusting that no one wants to enter, broken windows that are never replaced...and on and on and on. I am about as right winged, protests and violence don't solve anything mined as they come, but this morning I had a revelation. I think the students are right to takeover their schools and to go on strike if it is the only means they have to call attention to the huge misjustice that is being done in this society where only 5% of the population has access to a decent private education.

So what is the point of all this for you the reader. First, don't believe everything you hear about Chile being this wonder land in South America and second, pray that the youth leaders that we are working with and training here in the country will deal wisely with these challenges that face them daily in the lives of the youth that they minister too.

The following posts are just a few photos of what is going on here with the protests. Take a look at them and think about your local public school and it's students and realize that you live in a country rich beyond belief. At least beyond belief for these kids.

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

My cool spiritual picture

aaron pic

arnold family 

The Journey is About to Begin

In about three weeks, I will be arriving in Chile to begin a new chapter in my ministry career. Thanks to God, I will not be alone. My wife and two beautiful daughters will be there to support me. Also, I have been blessed to have the support and backing of the Latin Summit, YouthWorld and many others involved in Global Youth Ministry all over Latin America. Please pray for me and visit this blog to see how God is doing amazing things through a simple person like me. I look forward to sharing this roller coaster ride with all of you.

Obispo