Day Two

Notes From Day Two

At Rolando’s house Wednesday morning, we all started to move about six a.m. By eight a.m., we were ready to move out. After we stopped for gas, we were on the road by 8:30 a.m.
On the road, we had to drive back to La Serena before we could continue on to Antofagasta. I decided that we would continue with our study of Nehemiah with the emphasis on how to study the Bible. One conversation that occurred in the course of our journey addressed the Great Commission. Somebody mentioned that the phrase “preach the gospel to the ends of the earth” was a direct reference to Chile. Chile of course is the end of the earth, which is true, especially if you consider Punta Arenas in the south of Chile. I used the opportunity to point out to the men that we were obeying the command to the gospel to the ends of the earth, as well as the command to preach the gospel to all creatures.
We ate lunch at a roadhouse that was on the road on the way into Copiapo. We always look for the restaurants where the truck drivers stop. Most of the restaurants on the road give you a good meal for an inexpensive price. The meal usually consists of a soup, which is usually a cazuela, which is either a beef stew or a chicken stew, and a main course, which is usually fried fish, rice and a salad. All of this for a reasonable price. Most of the time, it is better than eating in a fancy restaurant. Since the road follows the coast a lot of the time, the restaurants serve a lot of fish.
In Copiapo, we visited a person that we had studied with at various times during the last few years. One of the things that is true of Milton, Pedro and me is that we know people all over the place in the North, because we have been all over the North at various opportunities. We visited with this family and shared a few things from the Word of God with them. We then promised to visit in the future.
As we continued on our journey to Antofagasta, we drove for hours. By the time we arrived in Chañaral, we were in the desert. This was apparent when we went to the bathroom in the gas station there. They charged us almost a dollar each for the use of the facilities. I assume that this was for the cost of water in the desert.
Another thing that I find outrageous is that there are toll booths everywhere on the road. Each one costs from seven to ten dollars a piece. On a long trip, we can wind up paying as much for tolls as we pay for gasoline. It makes the trips expensive.
We continued with our reading of Nehemiah on the road. I have the men make all the observations that they can about the chapters we read. We still have a lot of work to do.
We arrived in Antofagasta at midnight. We had called ahead and made arrangements with the hotel to let us stay. As soon as we checked in, we found out that the bathroom in one of the rooms was messed up. We went downstairs to tell the clerk, and she had already left and went home. We had to go to the owner’s house and get him out of bed to come take care of us, if you can believe that. Fortunately, he was able to fix us up, because I was ready to go look for another place. After a long trip, and a bit of discomfort at not being able to go to sleep right away, we finally hit the sack.