These were the steps I walked down to get back down to the street that I had crossed over from the bus terminal on.

just SLIGHTLY awkward ... you don't really want to put your arm around a grave marker ... fortunately, there wasn't anyone around, so i just set the shot, and the timer, and walked back over to the marker and stood ... :-)

here is one view of the marker. i was able to take several pictures and print off a draft copy of them all and give them to the member who had asked me to see if i could track it down. it was pretty cool to be able to travel all that way and actually FIND what he asked me to look for.

This day was important for a number of reasons, most of which i'll be figuring out over the next few months, if not years. i decided to go back to Valparaiso on my own on Monday afternoon. Partially, I had promised one of my church members that I would look for the grave marker for the sailors from the first USS Essex, which engaged two British ships in the bay at Valparaiso and lost 89 of the 255 crewmen on board in a battle in March of 1814, during the War of 1812. Partially, I needed to go because I needed to prove to myself that I was able to DO that -- on my own, without any help from anyone ... and get there and back ... and it went perfectly well. This shot was from the bus on the way over -- vineyards between Santiago and Valparaiso.

Lolly and ERose on the beach. Lolly was in the middle of either playing with ERose or trying to reason with her to come along with the rest of the crew to grab a snack at a local cafe ... funny ... ERose was perfectly willing to stay and play by herself. :-)

Becky on the beach that night ... that circle in the middle is something with the camera, not a UFO.

the beach at night ... with Valparaiso in the background.

We got over to Vina del Mar on Sunday afternoon and evening, and managed to get together with Karen Wright, a missionary who lives there, and with Pablo Mussiett, the only sibling of the family who couldn't make it to the wedding. Had a great time reconnecting with him, and then drove down to the beach. Of course, it was already dusk, if not NIGHT, but Angela and Joey wanted to at least TOUCH the Pacific ... and guess what? The Pacific TOUCHED BACK ... with predictable results -- soaking wet clothes -- not ENTIRELY, fortunately, but still ... enough!

this was our first home in Chile. This was where, as a three-year- old, i rode my tricycle down the steps from the yard (uphill behind the house) downhill onto the patio IMMEDIATELY behind the house -- and have the scar from 7 stitches on the crown of my head to show for it.

Soozin took this picture last Saturday, while we were getting ready to celebrate the renewal of wedding vows for Jim and Mary Morgan -- it was a beautiful afternoon. (there was even some DANCING in the fellowship hall!!) :-)

see?? there i am! the one in the mirror! i really WAS there!!!

the house we lived in ... still belongs to the mission, but it looked like they were doing some work on it ... or something ...

interesting feeling ... going back to the place you lived ... not a BAD thing, just realized how important it is to BE from where you ARE.

reference why do YOU believe, Sunday, April 23rd, 2006, on emmertonmessages. (http://www.emmertonmessages.blogspot.com/)

momma, daddy, jorge, and dina, an adoptive aunt of their family, and dear friend of ours, hashing out most likely something to do with what happened at Third Church ... this was on Friday evening at the Mussietts, who put on a dinner for us ... de maravilla!

catedral de san francisco ... downtown santiago ... it's REALLY dark inside ... but it is the oldest ... uy ... not sure if in the city ... don't think in the country, though it MIGHT be ...

jimmy and his (now) father in law, Jorge.

pretty cool to think we are now related. :-)

these are the bell towers of the monastery ... at los dominicos ...

this is my current desktop picture. these are the mountains i grew up looking at. they helped remind me that there is something bigger than i am ... something bigger than 'man' in the corporate sense ... things we have to work around ... things we have to climb, things that will keep us from seeing what is beyond the horizon ... yada yada :-)

seriously.

mountains give you a sense of perspective that is hard to get from hills and trees.

this was my first afternoon there ... at Los Dominicos, a folk-art center, where i basically ended up sitting at an outside cafe table while everyone else came and went, or stopped for a snack or a drink or a sandwich ... that's most, if not all the group ... i hadn't slept since wednesday morning ... this was thursday afternoon ... :-)

jimmy's all 'when is this going to be OVER so we can get to the honeym ... the reception! yeah, that's the ticket, the RECEPTION'

apparently, what i'm seeing on my laptop isn't completely true to what is actually happening ... for example, right now, all i can see of the picture to the left is the top of the picture down to about my eyes ... everything else stops there.

so this is us ... Lolly, Karen, me and Becky, with jimmy and mane sitting, of course ... does the joy we feel come across in the picture??

aaargh .....

i'm at the library, and the broadband wireless is SUPPOSEDLY working ... and i've got the pictures loaded onto either the hard drive or on CD ... and i go through the steps ... and nothing ... can't get them uploaded ...

will keep trying ...

grace & (relative) peace

Kenny

addendum --

it posted! it posted! momma and daddy NEVER dance ... i suspect their laughter was at THEMSELVES as much as anything else ... but i LOVE this picture ... David Mussiett took it and sent it to me monday evening. what a blast.