más Chile

    We were Skyping tonight - me and Abby and the director of Cru Study Abroad - and reflecting on our trip, talking about new ideas, throwing out prayer requests. It was good to talk about our time in Chile with someone who knew what we had been experiencing and had follow-up questions to things we had shared with him during the semester. 

    Then Brian was starting to wrap up the conversation, to say goodbye, and I understood that this is the end. Our 5.5 months in Chile is over. Even though we've been home for over a month, it's finally, unfortunately, officially over. Back to our normal lives. Closing this chapter. Beginning a new one. Our life-changing, long, scary, fun, loving, growing, stretching, strengthening semester is done, gone, and past. This Skype conversation tonight was our last scheduled follow-up and it hit me hard. I'm not ready for it to be done.

    Chile is now a big part of my life. It's a part of my story. And anything a part of anyone's story is significant, right? This definitely is for me. 

    I, Alyssa, with the middle name Procrastinator, haven't done much reflecting. I've not thought a ton about how God changed me or what he taught me or what I need to take and apply to the rest of my life. I don't want it to be the time where Chile is over, where I have to actually begin the "reflection" stage and move out of the "living" stage. I don't want it to be, but it's happening. The world is moving on, whether I'm ready or not.

    And although I'm not ready and it seems like my time is over, it doesn't matter. My physical time in Chile is long gone, but life is just beginning. Each moment is a new start and a new opportunity for God to use me and for me to let God do so. For him to take control, to sweep me off my feet, carry me where I need to go, and do what he asks me to do. He'll teach me and guide me and comfort me and choose me and love me again and again and again. He'll push me if I'm not ready, and he'll take my hands once I am. 

    Because I want God to reveal my heart and his works in it to me, I need to move on - to not be stuck in a time that really was wonderful but that really has passed. This exact second is a new beginning. I wouldn't quite say "ready" is the correct word to describe my feelings, but I know that now is the time for me to live in the present and let God teach me what he will. 

    Chile isn't really done, partly because I haven't let God help me apply anything I learned there to my life, but mostly because it's a part of my story. And so it won't ever really be done.

my chilean happy

This is probably just a bunch of random words to you but to me, they make up what made me fall in love with and remember Chile.
If you get to the end, you're awesome. If not, you are still awesome.

And if you're like, "Hey! What are completos?" or "¡Oye! What does English Club mean to you?," ask away, friends; I love sharing. :)




             Español; Espanglish; teaching English to my friends. My patient friends teaching me Spanish. My patient friends listening to my terrible Spanish. Cón Cón. Coné. The sunset over the ocean. Getting to know Abby. Swimming with Pame. Walking to the store. Going to Viña. Going to church in Viña. Riding shotgun. Las Deliciosas. Driving to Santiago. Going to church in Santiago. Meeting the grupo de jóvenes. Walking 12 miles in one day. Gypsies. Freddy teaching us the metro. Learning the metro. Not understanding the micros. Buying a bike. Biking. Wearing a helmet. Biking to the first day of school. Leaving two hours early. Getting terribly lost. Needing every minute of those two hours. Getting lost the next day. Abby complaining about biking. Me hating public transportation. Well, hating walking from the metro station to my house. Classes. Especially Spanish classes. Our 5 hour break on Wednesdays between classes. Hanging out with Eder. McFlurries with Eder. Weird McFlurries. Jesus. Seeing $4 movies. Not reading for history class. Eating 6 donuts instead of studying. Walking countless times back and forth to the mall. Jumbo. No picnic tables. El casino. Eating lunch in the casino because it was for food, not gambling. Walking to the Costanera Center. Gross instant coffee. Drinking gross instant coffee. Peeling potatoes. Peeling tomatoes. Sunday dinners. Sunday naps. Sunday sunshine. Black tea. The twins. Watching Cueca. Learning Cueca. Chilenitos. Manjar. Powdered sugar. Pesos. The little bakery down the road. Them knowing me. Visiting the bakery with my family. Gelato. So much gelato. Cru, but in Spanish. Vida Estudiantil. Jesus, but in Spanish. Benja singing. Worship. Langham. Jesus. The first three 13 hour days of Vida Estudiantil. Meeting all the students. Everyone loving on us. Taking a nap on the couch with Abby. Getting gelato with Julia. Cutting tomatoes for completos. Completos the first few times. Playing Settlers of Catan in Spanish. Explaining it in Spanish. Cerro San Cristobal. Praying on the way up. Waking up to see the sunrise but it hiding behind the mountain. Being up early with Abby. Being up late with Abby. Walking home in the dark (sorry, Mom). My flip phone. WhatsApp. Walking to Abby's. Frozen in Spanish. Watching The Office instead of studying. Starbucks. Too much. Going on strike. Staying on strike. Leaving while on strike.  Biking to school. Being freezing in the mornings. Being dripping hot in the afternoons. Wearing my Chacos. Everyone looking at me funny. Wearing hiking boots. Everyone looking at me funny. Bip cards. Finally getting my student card after 4 months. Losing it a week later. My bike breaking. A lot. Gaspar driving me to pick up my bike. English Club. Packaged cookies. Learning English. And Spanish. Staring Gaspar in the eyes for two minutes. Laughing. Meeting Stephanie. Soularium. Jesus. Bananagrams. Hanging out with Stephanie. Staying after English Club for an hour talking 'cause we were on strike with no plans. Going to the cat café. Hanging out with Freddy and Ander. Eating a cocoa bean. Going to the concert of the girl whose name I don't remember. Watching the boys dance to her singing. Staying out late on school nights. Being scared of our history professor. Then finding out we could've been friends all along. Using our dictionaries on his test. Almost failing. Him pitying us. Bad Spanish. Good people. My family coming. Staying up late eating ice cream. Hiking in the rain. A dried-up riverbed. Stray horses. Playing in the ocean. Flying. Sharing a bed with my sibs. Eating weird cheese. Not drinking wine. Braiding Abby's hair. Tuesday mornings. Our sweet-hearted team. Drinking real coffee. Having real talk. Having real friends. Jesus. Babysitting. Brianna taking two hours to eat dinner. Matilda missing her mom too much. Matilda falling asleep in my arms. Playing with Brianna. Brianna playing with me. Brianna's lovin. Julia's birthday. That boy being obsessed with MN. Meeting Birte. The German party. Cutting so many potatoes. Speaking bad Spanish. Having a baby voice. Being told I'm a baby because I was 19. Going to Jason Mraz alone. Getting jipped by the taxi drivers. Seeing Santiago Benavides. Missing the metro curfew. Sleeping over at Abby's. Fresh raisins. La Vega. The giant farmer's market. Reading at the park. Playing soccer with the kids. Biking with the kids. The Disney concert. Free toilet paper. Buying wheat bread. Eating my American peanut butter. The kids being amazed at my peanut butter. Pastel de choclo. Cazuela. Empanadas. Yummy fruit. Going to Punta Arenas with Birte. The little kitten. Sleeping at 8pm. Making stew. Being cold. Streets flooding. Wearing layers. Seeing penguins. Seeing the waterfall. Seeing glaciers. Using glacier ice. Collecting rocks. Taking pictures. Taking a ferry. Crazy wind. Not being able to take the ferry back. Sleeping overnight in the bus. Pisco and Pringles at 12am. No one home at the hostel. Birte climbing through the window. Almost missing my flight. Talking to a Venezuelan boy that went to the UMN. Falling asleep so I didn't have to talk to him. Weird airplane meals. Flying solo. Going to La Serena with Gaspar and Abby. Overnight bus ride. Breakfast outside. Patio on the roof. Laughing so loud they think we're high. Playing Phase 10. Staying up too late. Getting up too early. Walking to the beach. Seashells. Sugar. Sushi. Ceviche. Abby's wine. Staying an extra night alone. Being bad at adventuring alone. The micro at 5am. Vincent, the concierge. The other concierge. And then the mean one. Awkward elevator rides. High rises. Sunset. Sleeping on the balcony. Jesus. Leaving the apartment before the kids are awake. Waking up after they've left for school. Eating breakfast with the host fam. Watching the kids love on their mom. Playing Just Dance with them. Being really bad. Being sarcastic with them. Them thinking I'm serious. Teaching Constanza the cup song. Alonso showing me his fútbol cards. Abby. Stephanie, Gaspar, and Carlos. Freddy. Eder. George, Lisset, little Brianna, and Matilda. Pame, Jeff, and Elisa. Julia, Kro, Angie, Benja, Pablo, Chiky, Karina, and all the other loving, welcoming, and Christ-sharing friends at Vida Estudiantil. Javiera. Leslie, Constanza, y Alonso. Ema, Manu, Nicole, Paloma, Feru, Maria José, Josefa y todos los otros chiquillos dulces a la Iglesia Providencia...



I seriously could go on and on and on because of the time I spent there and the love I received and all the things I left out but for now, tonight, that's it. That's my Chile, and I love it all.

He's working

I spent a lot of my semester wondering what was happening on this campus for us - why I was here; why our efforts weren't bearing fruit; why it seemed like every conversation we had was a disappointment. And then God taught me that these "efforts" wouldn't be fruitful by our own will and wisdom, but by the power and desire of Him.
One of his desires that I learned is to pick up everything I have, toss it up to him, and rely on my glorious God to take the reigns and to be there through my every letdown, every victory, and every in-between. Without this reliance (aka a little thing called "faith"), I'm not letting God be glorified. Without it, it's just me - trying to get any and all attention, hoping that what I do is good enough - that what I do is capable of changing hearts and opening minds.
But friends, that's not what happens when you take those reigns into your own hands. You fail. Because we're human! Our nature is brokenness - we're not capable of complete goodness, compassion, love, and especially not perfection.
I, as a broken human, literally cannot succeed.... but our God can. He is entirely filled with love, and from love comes everything good. And if this God makes the rivers flow, gives millipedes their legs, created every atom in your body, and lights up the world with the sun, try to imagine how big that makes him. This huge God is entirely filled with an unconditional love from which all things come. Why would I want to take the spotlight from someone so amazing? Why would I think I can even compete with that?

When God opened my eyes to this truth about a month ago, desires for Him to show up on this campus so that His sweet name, not mine, would be worshipped, He knocked on the door to our little house to show that he'd always been here. That he's working.


We'd actually met Stephanie two or three months ago. But what's another face? Another name? Not much to me, sadly.. but so much to God. We'd been walking around, butting into conversations, inviting people to come talk with us about Jesus. We would introduce ourselves, where we're from, say we're Christians, and explain that we wanna talk about Jesus with all the students on this campus. Puttin' it right out there. We hadn't had any luck yet, and this afternoon wasn't any different for us.

But it was for Stephanie.

I, myself, barely remember the conversation (I don't even remember Stephanie - an unknown face - being there) - just that it was a little awkward because I'd met a couple of the kids before. I also remember that I had hoped one of my semi-acquaintances would say something encouraging, but not a single person in this group of 10 or 15 kids showed any interest in what we were doing. We continued on, mechanically talking to lost kids, but believing they were so lost that nothing would change them.

A couple weeks ago, Stephanie told me that that invitation was the first positive Christian theme she'd heard on that campus in the four years she'd been there.
She told me she was scared to speak up in front of her atheist friends during that brief conversation, but it was one of the most encouraging and interesting things she'd heard there.
A week after this conversation, she and her friend were quietly spinning on the bikes in the gym when her friend glanced over and said, "Ya know, praying to God just gives me a lot of comfort," and didn't say anything more.
A couple weeks after that, she went to the English Club led by some of our Christian friends.
The following week, she and I both went to English Club. That day we spent playing games and finished by doing a picture survey - one that finishes with the question "In one image, what do you wish your spiritual life were like?"

Miss Stephanie responded to the question with the desire to grow in her relationship with God - to fall in love again with him, to find happiness and peace in Christ, and to refocus her life on him.

God is working.

He wants Stephanie. And actually, now he has her.
Two weeks after this, Abs and I spent some time with her, the Holy Spirit worked through us, and we tried to explain the unconditionality of God's love and Stephanie began to understand that that was what she wanted in her life. That that was what she needed.

God's really been here, working. I just need to step off to the side, catch my breath, and let him permanently take the lead to keep bringing his truth to the corners of the world.

things i took for granted

1. real coffee
    because instant coffee is where it's at in Chile....

2. dryers
    i have to hang dry every single item and my clothes are never soft anymore

3. fast internet
    i don't have wifi in my room. i guess there's a first time for everything, right?

4. central heating
    they only use space heaters. and i'm cold.

5. driving
    ya know

6. living on campus
    for the past 2 years it took me 5 minutes to get to class (even in high school it only took me 15 minutes once I stepped out my front door). here it takes me 40+ minutes and a whole lot of people staring at me.

7. not peeling my vegetables
    weird, i know. i never knew how much i loved eating the entire vegetable until they made me peel my tomatoes. (i guess the pesticide use is really bad here, but still....)

8. Target
    You know the loveliness of Target.

9. milk
    the milk comes in a box, unrefrigerated.
    i explained this to one of my teachers and he was like, "I've been consuming fake milk my whole life?!"

10. peanut butter
      i'm addicted and i'm almost out. (it's supes expensive here)

11. buying/having textbooks
      they make photocopies of the pages of any readings they need. they don't even have the option of buying the books. blows my mind! saves a lot of money, i guess, but it's so weird.

12. sales
      i only like sale shopping and sales don't happen here :(

13. free public transport
      students in Duluth get to use the buses for free and here I pay over a buck every time I get on the metro. it hurts.

14. English
      Spanish is hard. :)


These must be in order of importance/significance because this is the order that I thought them in. Except I reallyyyyy miss good milk.

When I was skyping Pierce at the beginning of my trip, I was complaining about how much I wanted some milk, so he took the end of the gallon from the fridge and chugged it for me on Skype. Then when we hung up he was so worried about me not drinking milk that he told my mom that they needed to figure out a way to get me some. He's so cute. And the best.


And although this seems like a list of complaints, I'm not only so much more thankful for these fourteen things but also thankful for how much I've learned and experienced while in Chile. Living in a different country has really opened my eyes to the endless possibilities that are other cultures and that it really is possible to survive on instant coffee (though I'm beyond excited to go to Caribou when I get home.)

Yay for studying abroad!

two months today

I started this post a month ago but never finished (or barely even started). I wanted to make a post every week, giving updates about my life here in Santiago, but so far that hasn't happened. I'm hoping that changes today!

So, Abby and I arrived in Chile on Thursday, February 19th around 10am. Our program director Pam (who is so, so awesome) picked us up from the overwhelming/crazy/scary airport in Santiago. Both of our host families were still on their summer vacations, so Pam took us to their second home with her on the coast in Con Con, 1.5 hours away from Santiago. There were her husband, Jeff, and the most beautiful baby (1.5y/o) I've ever seen, Elissa. Staying with Pam's family for our first few days in Chile was such a great way to start our time here! They showed us around the coastal area, introduced us to some Chilean food, and helped us start to learn real Spanish (because the stuff you learn in high school is not real. I thought I knew Spanish. But I didn't....).

Here's a cute story:
Every night that we stayed at Pam's house, when she put Elissa to bed, she would curl up into a little ball and fall asleep with Elissa in her crib (SO DARLING). One of these nights, Pam fell asleep before Elissa did and Elissa crawled out of her bed, grabbed a toy in one hand and a book in another, and toddled into my room! We read and played with my sunglasses for close to half an hour before I put her back to bed. Now we're friends. We hang out every Sunday at church before she has to go home.


After spending time with their fam, I went to my host family! (I almost just started typing this next sentence in Spanish) The family is mama Leslie and two ten-year-old twins: Alonso and Constanza. They're so much fun and so patient with my lack of Spanish vocabulary and speed at which I speak and comprehend at! I'm having a good time getting to know them and teaching them how to make pancakes. :)

Before Abby and I bought our bicycles, we walked SO MUCH. We still do, but at the beginning we were walking like 10-12 miles the days that we were exploring Santiago. Now, I'm walking like 4-5 miles a day and riding my bike when I'm not too tired. Maybe like once a week though my Fitbit reads 9 miles! Sometimes I wonder if it's completely off but then I think it's not when I notice how exhausted I am at the end of those days.

School is so different here! I'm taking three Spanish language classes for foreigners and those are really awesome. I love them because 1) the professors are great, 2) they know English so when we're making gramatical mistakes (because of the way grammar is in English), they can correct us AND explain why it's not the way we think it is and 2) I just love learning Spanish!! I'm taking 3 other courses as well, though: Social History of Chile, The Photographic Representation of the Body in Chile, and Environmental Problems in Chile. They're mostly good but my history class is kicking my butt. It's 1.5 lecture 3 times a week in Spanish. I have a hard enough time listening to that long of a lecture in English, let alone a language I'm still learning!

Besides trying to listen to that much Spanish history, Spanish itself is getting so much better. Chile is one of the hardest places to learn Spanish because of the speed at which they talk, but I can tell that my comprehension of the language is way better than it was even a week ago. It helps that most of the people I spend time with understand that I'm still learning and will slow down or re-word what they say when I don't understand. Also, Abby and I have made a friend, Eder, who is learning English and gets to practice that with us and loves to help us with our Spanish. I'm so excited for where my Spanish will be when I come home in August. :)

Ministry is tough here, but God has plans and I'm so thankful that I get to be a part of them. A lot of the students here have grown up Catholic but had really bad experiences with the church and have turned from the belief in God to trying to find happiness in drugs and alcohol. I thought that that was how it was at home but here it's at a whole deeper level. We're trying to meet students and just invite them to come to our "Missional Community" - no need to be Christian, no need to believe what we believe, we just want to get to know them and have a good time together. The going is slow but if we rely on the Lord and really have faith in the power of the Holy Spirit, I know that some good things will become of our time on this campus. Even impacting the life of just one student would be so worth our semester here.


My family has already been here and left! They came 3.5 weeks and spent 10 days with me in Chile. We spent Thursday-Monday exploring Santiago, then went down to northern Patagonia to a biological reserve where we stayed at until Thursday, and then headed to the Con Con/Valparaiso/Viña del Mar area on the coast. (Santiago is closer to the eastern edge of Chile, while the coast is on the western side.) We went zip lining through the mountains, rock climbed in an extremely dry (AND DEEP) riverbed, and got a really great tour of one of the cutest cities I've ever seen - Valparaiso. I think it was probably one of the hardest vacations we've been on (because of the language barrier, my lack of knowledge about the country, etc.) but it made me SO happy to have them come and spend the time with me. My family are literally my best friends and I'm glad they got to be a part of this time in Chile! I miss them so much already and I know it'll be even more once (your) summer rolls around but I also know that this semester here will be one for the books.

My friend (that I've known since elementary school, got close with in junior high, and have continued to be friends with), Paige, also came and visited me!! She got here 3 days before my family did so I got to spend some quality time with her before I saw my family. I still can't believe that she decided to buy plane tickets to come see ME in CHILE. So crazy that that happened but so great.

That kind of sums up the past two months that I've spent here and I promise I will try to be better about posting (even if no one reads them)!

Here are my prayer requests:
1) We make more, good friends on campus and are able to love them well.
2) Homesickness wouldn't be a big problem for us (as I'm afraid it will be for me).
3) Language would not be a barrier when having conversations with students on campus.
4) We're able to learn a lot of Spanish.
5) We take advantage of the time we have in this country and continent that we're in.
6) We study hard and well. :)

What are your prayer requests?

2 Corinthians 4: 8-9
We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed.

(these are Chile's school buses:)

("Alyssa, why is your jacket zipped up so high?")

P.S. Here's a hilarious (to me) and SO embarrassing story:
One day towards the beginning of our time here, Abby and I were kinda lost and needed directions somewhere. I went up to a man in an information booth and asked how to get to the nearest bus stop. He then asked me where we needed to go (yadayada) but he said it with a smirk on his face.
Now, as I mentioned, Chileans talk sosososo fast. I couldn't really understand but I heard "where" and saw the smirk. I thought he was making fun of me and asking where I was from because of my accent (like other people have done).
So I responded, "The United States."
He then looked at me like I was completely crazy and I realized he asked where I wanted to go, not where I was from.
I just told him I wanted to take a bus to the United States.

You. Are. Beautiful.

I watched this video yesterday and it reached right where I needed it to.
I watched it again today and cried for a second time.
Have a look!


Here’s What Happens When Women Decide to Call Themselves Beautiful (with the article)

Ever since the world taught me what "pretty" was, I've struggled with the decision of whether or not I fall into that category. This didn't just affect how I feel about my appearance, but also about how I think others perceive my opinions, reactions, and conversation. My self-confidence is normally low and the anxiety because of my awareness of my low self-confidence can get really high.

I saw this video posted yesterday on a friend's FB page (thanks, Emily!) and opened it up. I almost immediately started crying, sympathizing with the women in the video defining themselves as "average." I knew the pain that that label causes me and also knew that each of the women in this video - each of the women in this world - are beautiful and I did not want them to feel that pain. I wanted them to know that they're beautiful!

And then it hit me.

Alyssa Anne Holbeck is beautiful as well.
She is beautiful because God made her - a piece of work that he carefully and lovingly crafted, that he knew and loved before anyone else had imagined her existence.
That is me. And I am beautiful.

I watched this video in the morning before I left for class, and I noticed all day reminders floating through my head that I am beautiful. When I was starting to feel ashamed - "Alyssa, you're beautiful!" When I was feeling timid - "Alyssa, have confidence. God loves you, and he made you - beautiful."

My Father used this video to remind me that I don't need to pay attention to what the world believes about beauty. I need to turn to him, trust in his everlasting love, and know that because I am a child of God (just like every other human being out there), I am beautiful.

I want you to have encouragement from this video as I have. I want you to be uplifted and joyful and triumphant and to know you're loved by an almighty God. I want you to know that

You. Are. Beautiful.


You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up, you are still with me!
Psalm 139: 13-18

#ChooseBeautiful

discouragement turns to encouragement

[here's a reflection before an update of my time in Chile]

(written a couple weeks ago)

the more time I spent on the Juan Gomez Millas campus here in Santiago, the more I see how lost the students of this university are.

every day I experience more and more of what Satan is doing in the lives of these kids.

two weeks ago, I met a boy and half an hour later I was sitting across from him as his friend had him roll his marijuana.

last week, I met someone who asked me what I like to drink and when I answered “water” he replied “Water? With vodka? Or what?”

earlier this week, I watched the upperclassmen tie the freshmen to a rope, take their shoes, cut up their clothes, douse them in paint, vinegar, and mustard, make them roll through a mud pile and then one of rotten garbage, and then send them out to the streets to beg for money to buy their shoes back.

i talked to a boy who told me this was a terrible experience as a freshman but he’s looking forward to doing it to the current “mechones" in a few days.

there have been many times in the past two weeks that have made me question what good I can do here and doubt the supreme power of God.

i’ve wondered why i’m studying in the philosophy department

i’ve wondered why i’m on the most run-down campus of this University

i’ve wondered what one little gringa can do 

i’ve wondered how I can effectively communicate in a language that i thought i knew (but actually don’t)

and the list goes on.

But God has been listening and has encouragement for me!

Alyssa, the philosophy department is the most lost department at the University

Alyssa, these are the students that are looking for answers to their questions

Alyssa, who sent you to Chile? I did. Do you know who I am? GOD.

Alyssa, I am the one with the plan, the power, the love, the energy, and the will to reach these students

Alyssa, I will meet you where you are and use your Spanish as it is

Alyssa, you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13)

and while remembering these things, God is using me and showing me how he’s working in this environment:

in a two hour timespan, we shared the Gospel with four students

we met a boy named Hector who is looking for somewhere to fit in

we met Camilla who defended her faith in front of her anti-Christian friends

we met Karen who willingly listened and let us pray for her

in all of my God-centered conversations, Spanish has not been an issue

the lectures that I have the attention span to listen to are the sermons at church and God is using those to grow my relationship with him and to build up my Spanish vocabulary to further his kingdom

we are starting a “missional community” time that will meet every tuesday for two hours to share lunch, talk, and love one another

the Lord has big plans for this lost campus, and those plans include me. when I am weak and turn to God, he reminds me of what he’s revealed to me.

He reminds me that 

Christ is enough for me.

I need to trust in the Lord with all my might and lean not on my own understanding

He has given me gifts and will use them in his great plan

He knows how to speak Spanish

He has given me his Holy Spirit that will work through me for Him so that others can have the joy of knowing Christ.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love-not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

1 John 4:9-12