While in the Atacama Desert, junior Meredith Harmon enjoys the sunset in Valle de la Luna, Chile, on Sept. 25. While inValle de la Lu na. students also sand boarded, rode horses through the desert and went mountain biking. -Courtesy of Vanessa Borsheim • . ... HULA students connect"'with local Christians Harding University in Latin America students had the opportunity to live in the beach side resort town of Villa del Mar, Chile, for the duration of their stay in the HULA progtam. They braved the Spanish-speaking world daily doing grocery shopping, cooking and other everyday activities for themselves in a foreign language. They were fortunate to have a church family to call their own during their three-month stint in Latin Americ-a since the brethren ofthe church in Villa del Mar provided a semblance of home for the students. Sophomore Heather Dozier said she was surprised by how welcoming the Vifia del Mar church members were. "They let us come into their church like we were already part oftheir tunily, which we actually were [in Christ] ," Dozier said. Sophomore HULA student Taylor Box said he was similarly impressed by the love and acceptance of the Villa church. "I loved how friendly and excited they were to have us there with them," Box said. Junior Kristen Sober said she liked how the members made sure to greet every single student with a hug and a kiss upon meeting them. "I always feel so special when they greet me, but surprisingly, I don't feel uncomfortable at all when everyone is kissing me on the cheek," Sober said. Junior JD Sandoval lived in Yina del Mar since he was 12 years old, when his parents were missionaries to the people ofChile. He remembered when the first HULA group came four years ago and interacted with the church for the first time. According to Sandoval, the Villa church used to have close to 60 members, but in recent years, membership declined to around 30. Junior BeccaMilner said when HULA students attended church it seemed like they almost quadrupled the size of the congregation. Out of the approximately 14 weeks of the HULA program, students attended the local church 10 ofthe Sundays. Services were conducted completely in Spanish. Despite the language barrier, many HULA students forged friendships with church members, friendships they felr were sure to outlasr the semester. Students felt they became closer to church members as the semester progressed, especially after the brethren hosted a picnic lunch after church in September. Junior Katie Anderson said HULA students and church members shared a meal together in a local park and played "competitive" team games to get to know each other better. The ladies ofthe church prepared an array of side dishes while the men grilled steaks for everyone. "I was very impressed. by their serving attitude," Box said. Other smdents had the opportunity to visit church members in their homes for meals and fellowship. New relationships that were formed were not just with adult congregation members; children held a special place in some HULA students' heartS as well. Sober said she helped with the younger kids' Sunday school class and gOt to know many of them. ''I'm close to one little girl named Victoria, who is 8 years old," Sober said. "At first she was really shy, but as the weeks went on she started approaching me on her own to give me hugs." HULA students agreed the semester abroad was not only an enriching cultural experience, but it also provided spiritual encouragement through the Yina church. In spite ofthe language barrier, both parties were able to convey the most important message of all: love in Christ. "It doesn't matter ifwe can't quite understand each other because the message can still get across," Dozier said. "Words aren't necessary when there is love." -Kristin Kelley hu - latin america 19
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