Individualism in Portillo

So its kind of a long story, but this week I have been fortunate enough to enjoy a couple of days off and as well as enjoying the celebration of Chile's independence 140 years ago and learning lots about South America's history I have also managed to come to Portillo and am staying in the lodge pictured above, whilst working on parallel turning and hanging out with Susan, a friend I met in one of the Santiago vineyard churches.

So ski-ing is cool and i am totally glad i have come but i have to say i think i much prefer ski trips shared with friends cuz day to day life in a ski resort like portillo is pretty sad. Susan is quite ready for a break from working here in October, when ski season comes to an end and I can totally understand why.

For instance today I met the only British guy here, who is basically in charge of avalanche management - if you can really manage them , he basically skis around the resort all day checking stuff is safe and he has been here for 11 years and seems to really like it. For me it is a lot of fun to be here for a couple of days, I mean how many peeps get the chance to ski in chile, but this kind of lifestyle i reckon can only be bad for the soul. makes me sad that people can just live this you know, maybe i am in a wierd headspace - i know i have had WAY TOO MUCH time to think and refect but how can simply living breathing skiing and apres skiing truly fulfill you for eleven years, or six months of the year, entertaining rich tourists (only the richest south americans come here) and all that comes with.....?

think its a good thing for me to remember when stuck in an nhs ward, screaming for freedom that actually being on a ski slope, surrounded by God's majesty displayed in the mountains, thousands of miles from home, can actually not be much better! i mean if we are made to worship, and we are slap back in the middle of stuff which shouts of his glory, and all that concerns us is making that jump, a good bit of powder snow, or whatever skiing depends on, well i would rather take rainy bristol and coming face to face with someone trying to face the big questions of life with reverence and awe.

think this sums it up...

my friend was once in Rwanda and was trying to explain what ski-ing was to a pastor.

Apparently, he was so puzzled by it and questioned her in disbelief 'so you go all the way up a mountain of snow, just to come down again...because it is fun...and for no other reason'. To this humble guy just trying to serve our God, day to day in his simple life the concept of spending all that money, to do something like that, that was not useful at all, was diabolical.....hmmmm makes me think and get a little depressed.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.