VIDA EN EL SUR: Keitt Update

This month, as our first non-video month, we wanted to highlight some things that have been going on at the Keitt homestead, where the Coen kingdom is plotting a coup d'etat, but we're still standing firm :)

Coen's a legal citizen. Maybe he'll resent us later for keeping this picture when the man asked if we wanted to retake it... but it was just too funny. (Plus, it's hard enough to get a 6-week-old to look forward, keep their eyes open, and not cry all at the same time.) But Coen is officially a dual citizen with 2 passports and one heck of a Chilean ID.

We have our permanent visas. Remember all those prayer requests for favor with paperwork? Not only did we get favor, we got it months earlier than we thought we'd even hear a response. In Chile, this is truly a miracle.

John came to visit. Our friend John Turner got to visit again for a few days while he taught a leadership class at the Institute 8 hours south in Lautaro. We got to share a few meals together on his weekends on either end of the trip. It is always great to see him!

Coen was dedicated at church. We were honored to have our neighbors join us at church for the first time to see Coen dedicated, and to our surprise have John be a part of the presentation and prayer for him. It was, as he said, "a little touch of home" that we needed and appreciated having for that special event.

We're revamping good ol' Sunday School. We're at the edge of a new beginning and I'm both excited and nervous. The long term goal is restructuring how we teach and connect to not only the students, but their families and the communities in which we live. We've got some big audacious goals. Tears, frustation and confusion will happen, but I've always seen those as necessary elements for any sort of true growth. A few weeks ago we did our first ever financial simulation with the kids; which was a hit. We're hoping to make this an annual event along with others that bring reality ans application to our faith.

House of Hope has almost 20 kids! We finally got to catch up with Tia Susi over bread and tea one evening. She got to meet Coen, and we got to hear everything that's been going on at HOH these last 2 months. Seems like things are going well and hopefully we'll be able to visit them and meet the new kiddos soon.

I'm not pregnant. I wrote the first part of Coen's birth story (I am going to finish it someday...) and due to an ironic play on words on my part, a lot of people thought I was pregnant again. I found this to be hilarious, as well as not true.

We have our tickets to go the States! It is real, people. We will be visiting our families between 3 states from July 11th - August 10th. We have been more homesick for them than ever before, so this is excellent timing.

We're moving. Our landlord kicked us out so we will be moving out a week before leaving for the States in July. What was an initially super stressful situation, as it's not quite as "adventurous" to think about being nomads with 2 large dogs and a newborn, could end up being a great change for us. We will be renting a friend's house for 2 years while he and his wife complete a master's in Mississippi. The timing is perfect, and we're so thankful to not only have somewhere to go, but a place in our price range that we won't have to fix up before we move in. They are also letting us store our stuff (aka entire house) there for the few weeks we'll be in the States before they leave.

And to conclude, because we couldn't resist, here are the latest developments from Lil' Man's end. No wonder this kid sleeps most of the day as he has been quite busy learning how to smile, stick out his tongue, grow and raise his eyebrows, and communicate to us with coos.