Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from January, 2006

Tim Keller

I know my reformed (in the theological sense) are sometimes silly, but really I am jut so encouraged by some of the things I read coming from that circle. I recently started reading some articles from Tim Keller who is a pastor in Philly. Okay, Kallie before you use this as amunition to get me to move to Philly with you... I am not ready for that. But I really like what this man has to say. One of his articles is about the centrality of the Gospel and its basic message is that every part of our lives need to be centered around the Gospel. And it made me think, how is my life changed by the Gospel. All the different parts of my life (talk about modernistic thinking, compartimentalizing my life) should be not jusdt touched, but moved and changed by the Gospel. And what is the Gospel? I have used my own version of Tim Keller's definition of the gospel for years. But here is his: "I am more sinful and flawed than I ever dared believe" (vs. antinomianism) "I am more accep

my dream come true

A few months ago when I first arrived in Chile, i started thinking about how cool it would be to open up a preschool for really poor kids, where I could tell them about Christ and get to help their families. Well, I have already mentioned this ministry with street kids here in Santiago that I have been hoping to be a part of. I went to a meeting of the leaders yesterday and got to see what is really going on. And I am so stinking excited. There is a group of chileanos and a missionary couple from switzerland who are starting up this project. At the meeting we started to work out the details. Basically, we are going to start this year with only the 5 year olds and hopefully in teh future we can work with more ages. A program that basically looks like a kindergarten will offer free schooling to kids from Reñca, the worst part of Santiago. At this time we already have 35 kids signed up and we will be opening the school the second week of March. The problem is that even the public schools

This is such a rollercoaster

When i wrote earlier today, I was pretty upset and not that I would leave this country because I had a bad experience with one person, but I was definitly reminiscing about the US and what I miss. I had to run some errands downtown and as I was waiting at a crosswalk for the light to change, a woman randomly started talking to me. It was just about the heat (it was VERY hot here today) but all the same, she just made conversation with me. A few minutes later, a different person randomly struck up a conversation with me. THis is normal, although still nice behavior for a small town. But I live in Santiago, the 6 million person capital of the country! If would be like someone in San Francisco randomñly striking up a conversation with you on the street as you wait to cross. It just doesn't happen. And here, it is just normal. People here maybe be blind to the beauty of other cultures, but they sure are nice. Language update: A gringo just moved in to my apartment (that makes it 3 guys

I found my thorn

So the Bible is pretty clear that we are to love everyone, especially our enemies. I always seem to skip that part, since I don{t really know who my enemies are. But today I realized that my enemy is not necessarily a particular person, but a person who has a particular mindset. I have never been very outspoken or gone to human rights rallies, or protested testing on animals, but living here in Chile has shown me just how passionate i am about a few things. One of them is anti-racism. I met a man on the bus today. He was reading a book and so was I, so we started talking. He was probably in his sixties and I soon found out that his parents came here from England just before he was born. I am not sure how or why the topic came up, but we were suddenly talking about "negros" which is how they say black people here. Even now, a good half an hour after the conversation, I am blushing in anger. This man was SO racist! I mean I have never met someone so absolutly rasicst. He basica

my new place

I just love it. I do. Yesterday was spent going to church, both the ingles and espanol ones, and then picking up some groceries since I have literally nothing in the house, reading my bible on a bench outside of the apartment building, and then for a good few hours hanging out with my new roomies. I was eating my tofu and broccoli stirfry when the boys came home and they cooked up dinner and soon we were all watching a horribly corny movie on tv. We talked and laughed and had a great time. We finished off the night with some red wine (my new chose for alcohol) and got to bed fairly early (chilean time) at 1am. In any case, I really like the guys. Both are very laid back and easy to talk to. I am even understanding more and more of what the Argentinian says. The only down side to the apartment is the absolute loudness of the night. Since I live on the main street of Santiago and in almost the center of town, it is active all night, and I am telling you I am woken up so many times during

wow, this could be a long one, but I will keep it short

So I have safely arrived in Santiago. Here is the low down on my last 24 hours or so. Yesterday after noon I packed and cleaned and packed some more. Then around 11:30 pm I left with my host parents and sister to go out one last time before I took off for Santiago. We went to this restruant/club, that had an amazing blend of entertainment and participation. There was an 80{s band there for the first 30 mins and then the party really began. The MC for the night announced that there was going to be a contest. The winners would get a bottle of champagne. The rules were sketchy to me since they were in Spanish, but I didn{t ask any questions. The floor was open for dancing and Claudia my sis and I went for it. Even though the building was big, there were over 200 people in there dancing so it got hot really fast and soon everyone was sweating. But that didn{t stop the dancing. The music stopped and we all returned to our seats to watch a couple from Argentina perform a Tengo for us. Whoa,

more on the medical system

So I had an appointment today at noon to see my doctor to talk about the results from tests I got done. Really, appointments don´t exist in this country, her receptionist just wrote my ane down in a book to make me feel better. This was evident by the hour and a half wait in teh hot waiting room after I arrived at noon. THEN after my wait I get into the doctors office, expecting her to tell me the results from the tests, and she asks ME for them. Umm. in the states, there is no way the labs just give you your results even if you wanted to get them before the doctor. But no. Here in Chile, everyone gets the tests done, and then returns to pick up the results. And then, if they want to, they can bring those results to get examined by a doctor. AND, I have not found any medicine here that the pharmacies won´t give you if you don´t have a prescription. You can get anything over the counter! When i found out that I had to make the 10 minute trip in the sun to the hosptital where I got the t

a lack of culture

These are just some random thoughts that have been on my mind recently... I want my children to spend par tof their lives in the States, especially California. Why? well, I have been realizing how much I respect other cultures and many people here just have not been around other cultures enough. Like the fact that people say ¨heil hitler¨ when refering to a visitor from Germany. It KILLS me, and I don´t want my children saying things like that. How rude to the German person who had nothing to do with Hitler, and how rude to me who is Jewish. Or for example, one of my buddies made the comment the other day that he doesn´t like people from middle eastern countries. I was horrified that he had such a comment and trying to constrain my absolute distaste for his comment, I began to talk to him about it. It turns out that he knows next to nothing about the people, just that he knew a man from Iran one time who smelled bad and rarely showered. You just cannot decide that a whole group of peop

the medical system here

So I have been a little sick recently. Not a big deal but I went to see this doctor from New Zealand (she is this hysterical Jewish woman). So I can´t go into details, but there are a few things going on with my body and she recommended a few blood tests and I agreed. So I went to the hospital clinical lab and prayed that the blood tests, all twelve of them, would not cost me an arm and a leg. Two of the tests I had done today, I have had many times in California and I KNOW that they cost like $300 in the states. So add another 10 tests and I was getting nervous. But I got to the counter after waiting for an hour, gave the secretary my list of tests, and joyfully found out that the total came to about $150, for everything ! So once again, I found a reason to love this country. Even without insurance, my costs were lower than the states. Amazing. In any case, I am waiting for the test results and praying that I can get things figured out before I go back to Santiago on Saturday.

La Presidenta

Yesterday were the elections here in Chile for our new president. And guess what?? the WOMAN WON! That is right folks, history in the making. The second woman president in all of South America (correction made from earlier blog publication)! Her name is Michelle Bachelet and she is the with the chilean version of the the democrat party here. Don´t ask me how an agnostic, divorced, single mother, and not to mention just the fact that she is a woman , won the election here in the conservative catholic country of Chile. But despite all her shortcomings (it´s a joke mom) I think she will make an excellent president. I have been watching the debates here and I think she will do a great job leading this country. Now, I don´t really remember what I did after the last election in the States. I remember watching the news and seeing the Bush got re-elected and then I probably went to bed. But last night. as soon as the results were announced the streets were filled with cars honking, people wavi

Postmodermism and worship

I have been doing a little research on a ¨non-movement¨ movement called the Emergent Church and I after talking to my friend and fellow questioner, Kallie, here is the begining of my exposition on the topic of worship within the postmodern culture. First, the point of worship is not to connect with God. The point of worship is adoration, worship . This being said, I do believe that a common effect of worship is a feeling of connection with the God of the universe. But this is a secondary matter. The motivation and goal of worship is to bring praise to a worthy being. Romans 12:1, Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, {which is} your spiritual service of worship. (NASB) I am a firm believer it is only with a right view of the Gospel that we can offer worship to God. It is in view of those mercies that God has extended to us through His son, that we have the ability and the privilege of bringing our

Some pics of the week

here are some pictures of the past week or two. It has been a pretty good time... New Years Concert at the beach Claudia (mi hermana) y Aylen (mi sobrina) Micheal singing in the antidrug concert a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2514/1140/1600/100_9715.jpg"> Marilyn and I on our way to the concert Michael singing some corny romantic song (I am the one in the back blushing) Michael and I at the Kareoke Bar

My casa

Anyone who wants to see pictures of the apartment I am going to live in... here is the site: http://www.contactchile.cl/en/rooms-santiago-02.php Look for Flat share Sebastian. Knowing me I probably choose it just because they had a book shelf. My address is: Rebecca Lipkowitz Providencia Nº 1765.Departamento 1113 Santiago, CHILE (there is no zip code in Chile)

Mom, you would like this one

I mean to say that you would like this guy. His name is Michael (not a very Chilean name, but he is indeed Chilean). Although he lacks the PhD in Political Science that I know would please my family oh so much, he does work for the government singing in concerts that promote an anti drug campaign. Anyways, we kinda went on a date the other night (a surprise blind date that my family set up) and then again last night (not so blind or surprise). It was fun but he is missing that very important element in a man, nerdiness for God. In any case, he´s realizing that we are friends, and not more. I just couldn´t be with someone who wasn´t totally a nerd for Jesus (maybe I should start up a non profit modeled after Jews for Jesus, but we would witness to nerds primarily!) Today, I am off to Ovalle, a farming town about two hours away, for one of his concerts. I will be the one laughing in the corner at all the teeny boppers who are throwing flowers at him and screaming his name. Sounds like fu

theological conversations in my head

So I have determined that I was born a nerd. Given the academic professions of many of my family members, this fact does not shock me. I made it through 3 months without studying much theology. I still read my Bible and a few other lightweight books that I ordered online (like Edersheims The Life and Times of the Messiah- highly recommended!). But I have recently began to study again. I am currently looking at dispensationalism, covenant theology, and the Emergent Church. Very interesting topics, indeed. So with this in mind, I am not sure what I am going to do here. Many, if not most Chileans, just don´t really care about these things. Which is fine, but I love to study them. So... I am not sure. I might end up walking the halls of Westminster for a few years.

Some pics of Valparaiso

These were taken by my buddy James over New Years weekend. Valparaiso is a port about two hours from Santiago. Probably the most beautiful town in Chile.
My friend Carleigh, who was stuck living in our house of Jesus freaks last year, sent me this cartoon. I´m not sure how Kosher it is, but I like the fact that Jesus is drinking a Mountain Dew. Check it out: http://www.innernutentertainment.com/jesus_idol.htm

How much would you give?

How much do you give the homeless people you come across on the street? Do you give nothing, or everything, or something in between the two? Do you walk by and not look them in the eyes, or do you look at them and smile as you pass them. There is a man who sits on the ramp that leads to the supermarket that I go to everyday. He holds a little boy, not more than 3 years old in his lap and holds out a box with his free hand. I am not sure if the boy is sick, but everytime I pass him, the boy is asleep. My first reaction is disgust that he would use this child to get money. But then I think, if the boy is really sick then he should get more money from us becuase he needs it to help the child. Growing up in towns like San Francisco and Santa Cruz, i ahve always seen homeless people on the streets, and somewhere down the line, I decided that I didn´t like giving money to them, except for the elderly and really young, but I was okay with giving them other things like food or blankets. So yes

Breakfast with my girlfriend

One of my students and I have become fairly good friends over the course of the month that I taught her. Her name is Veronica and she is in her mid twenties and just a genuine sweet person. She is married to a guy from Wisconsin and they lived there for 3 years before coming back here to Chile. Her suegro (father in law) is in Chile visiting them and they came up to La Serena for a few days. So this morning Veronica and I went out to breakfast, just us girls, and I realized how extremely blessed I am to have a friend like her. We talk so easily about so much, in both Spanish and English since we are at about the same level in each of our second languages. When we go out though we speak in English becuase we can talk about personal issues and not worry about others understanding, nice huh? An interesting note: in one of my guide books it warned me that making friends in Chile would be difficult because everyone has grown up together in small friend circles and are not likely to make new

The heart of a woman

Have you ever met a person, or actually not really met the person but still somehow feel a lot for them. Like, someone who you don´t know well enough to really claim any friendship, but still you have heard enough about them from someone else that you feel like you know them? And then, take it a step further, have you ever felt like they were stuck in your heart? I heard about this guy a while back from a friend (and now the girls from Bible Study are laughing!), but I have never really met him and probably never will, and yet my heart feels for this person. I have prayed for them on and off for over 6 months, just praying that they are doing well and that they are desiring God more and more every day. I don´t understand why people like that are placed on our hearts and minds, but I like it. I like knowing that I am praying for someone across the world and they have no clue. Why do I like that? I don´t think I will ever understand these little pleasures of the heart. It reminds me of t

New Years Chilean Style

So honestly, I was feeling very antisocial on New Years Eve, and I almost stayed home alone to just eat some dinner and watch the TV version of the celebration. But I knew that my family would be horribly upset, so I went with them down to the Avenida del Mar (the beach) where basically all of La Serena goes for New Years. The Avenida is fairly long, about 5 miles or so and there are 4 spots where you can watch fireworks at midnight. Two of those spots also have a live concert afterwards. The family and I went to a fancy shancy place at first for dinner, but them walked just in time for the countdown to the Kareoke bar which is directly in front of the concert stage! Okay time for a little honesty here and for those of you who don´t know me personally, here you go. I have never kissed a guy on the lips. This used to be a point of embarrassment for me, but I have learned to appreciate the fact that I won´t kiss unless I am in love and I am certanly not in love right now. But for probabl