Yesterday was a Catholic holiday all througout South America which means that most Peruvians get the day off. Whenever there is a holiday here a couple people from the Church go to a retreat site just outside of Lima. It was an incredible experience. We were able to spend some quality time playing soccer, eating, and enjoying live music. The Onofre's acompanied us out to the site. The father Cesar is a leader in the Church and also a brain surgeon. His wife and daughter are both named Gladys, they both have a quiet spirit about them. Miguel, the youngest son, is one of the guys i have become closest to on this trip. He is studying to take the entrance exam to be accepted to college. I am excited to get to know him better. The retreat was a full day event. I have attached a video to hopefully show a glimpse of the experience because i think words can't do it justice. Next week Jeremy and I are hoping that we can get in contact with the orphanage the church is a part of to help out there. Enjoy the video.
I arrived in Lima a couple of days ago and I am started to get settled in. Lima is a very interesting city. It has around 8 million people and it is on the coast of Peru. The city is in the middle of a desert and it is also closer to the equator which makes the temperature much warmer than Santiago. I have already learned a lot about missions since i have been here. The missionaries down here are Paul and Amy Dowell. They have been in Lima for four years and have been doing incredible work here. The Sunday we arrived is the day they had to move out of their building. They were no longer able to pay rent, and so they decided to split up into 3 congregations. It first this seemed bad but the local leaders have really stepped up and taken ownership of the church. There are small group meetings almost everynight of the week to focus on discipleship and continued encouragement. It has been really cool to be a part of these meetings and my spanish is getting good enough to be more active in the meetings. Every Wednesday we meet with the youth for a devotional. It has been my favorite time here so far. After the devotional time we broke off into prayer partners. It was very cool to be able to pray with someone in another language. I look forward to building deeper relationships here in the next couple weeks and learning more about missions stategies. Please be praying for the church to be able to find places to worship at and to keep the incredible unity they have maintained even though they are so far away.
I think this picture pretty much sums up the three weeks i spent in Santiago, Chile. I spent most of my time with the Grant Family, they are part of a mission team along with 6 other families. Kelley and Julie have been in Santiago for about 8 years and they have four Children: Duncan, Abbey, Victoria, and Konner. It was such a blessing to spend time with a family who has devoted their lives to serving the Lord. I have learned so much here about missions strategy and raising a family. I cannot say enough about the work going on in Santiago.
While in Santiago I spent most of my time with the youth group. Jeremy and I worked with the Aggies for Christ encouraging the Youth and also helping the Church gain more contacts. The picture above is of me inviting some guys from the San Gabriel school to come to the events that we hosted at the Church. We didn't have a whole lot of kids show up to the events but I think it was very beneficial to the Chileans sharing their faith with their classmates. It has been incredible to see the growth of the Christians here. A couple of the youth are really stepping up as leaders and is really cool to be able to see the transforming power of Christ in their lives.
I did not know what to expect when i stepped off the plane to enter Concepcion, Chile. I had only seen pictures of the buildings downtown and heard that it was a port city. Little did i know that it was going to be one of the most interesting cities i've ever been to. Concepcion is a unique city in the south of Chile. It is on the coast of Chile and is also next to a large river that feeds into the Ocean. I came to Concepcion expecting brutally cold weather(because its winter in South America) and not a whole lot of scenary. From the moment i stepped off the plane i thought i had been transported to Portland, Oregon (my favorite place in the world). There were trees everywhere and they were ginormous. The city is clean and full of bright colors. Concepcion has about 300,000 people but it is surrounded by little cities which adds that number to around a million. The best way i can describe it is that it is similar to Houston. There is not much room for growth in downtown Concepcion, but all of the towns close by are expanding rapidly. It is interesting to me was how easy it is to get around there. All of those towns are within 8 minutes from Concepcion. During the first day of surveying the city we came to a crossroads of Concepcion and two other cities. Within a mile of eachother lies the richest, poorest, and middle of the road towns. It blew my mind to see such contrast within such a short distance from each other. In Chile there are very distinct lines between the social classes. It is very easy for a person of the upper class to associate with all classes, but it is almost impossible for a person of the lower class to go up. After hearing this from Chileans and seeing the distinction in standard of living i have been challenged with whether or not the power of Christ can break down these barriers. I have begun to dream of how God can use our team to bring the kingdom of God to the city of Concepcion and join in what he is already doing there. During the second day of surveying the city we met with a real-estate agent to get an idea for the pricing of houses. We were not expecting to try and rent an apartment but our curiousity lead us into conversation with Beatrice. Beatrice is from Temuco the other place we were looking at as a possible site for a Church plant. After the first day in Concepcion we all had a good feeling about the place, but our conversation with Beatrice was another confirmation of the plans that God has for our team. Beatrice is not a Christian, but when we told her that we were looking to start a church she was very open in sharing some advice for us. She told us that we shouldn't go to Temuco because it has the most churches in Chile. She said "The people in Concepcion are searching for something, somewhere to belong". My heart couldn't help but hurt as she spoke to us. It is a couple more years before our team is going to be ready to hit the field, and it is obvious the field in Concepcion is ripe for the harvest. Although i have left the city it will continue to be in my prayers and my heart.
One of the most amazing experiences i have had in La Paz is with the shoe shiners. Randy, the guy we stayed with there, focuses his ministry with the shoe shiners. Randy works with the Youth for Christ and is from Colorado. All of the shoe shiners cover their face with tobagans so that they cannot be recognized. They cover their face that they are not discriminated against by the wealthier class. If their face is not seen they cannot be looked down on. After spending some time with them, we realized that many of them continue shoe shining because they can make more money in that profession. Even if they had an education is hard to get a good job. Randy reaches out to them by teaching them basketball and taking them on retreats up into the moutains. Many shoe shiners have come to know Christ because of his outreach. Randy has used an interesting approach to teach them the gospel. He teaches them the passage in John 13 when Jesus washes the disciples feet. To know that the Savior washed feet is very important to them and it should be to us as well. It is very powerful for them to hear that the Son of God kneeled down to wash the feet of man. They wash peoples feet daily and they are continually reminded of what Jesus is calling us to do. He wants us to be willing to serve others as he did. These guys have created an image in my heart that is hard to forget. Their job calls them to wash feet, but the followers of Christ take that calling as a way of life and not only a job. As a follower of Christ i am trying to adopt their way of life even though it might look different. I can never forget the time I was able to spend with them.
