Viva Chile

So begins edition 2011!

It has been crazy but it’s something that you just get used to… got the word on Monday, on a plane on Tuesday, and getting thrown into a pool on Wednesday…

We had been planning on me heading out from the states at the end of March for a while now, and I even had a tentative date to head out on Tues. the 29th.  I say tentative because it was depending on whether or not I had raised enough financial support to safely join the ministry in Chile, or if I should stay back and focus on support raising for a little longer.  WELL, on Monday, the 28th I asked the team leader in Chile, and the Globalscope president where I stood with these plans.  They talked about it for a bit, got back to me with a “green light to go” and the next day I was on a plane headed toward Santiago.

I arrived in time to act in the weekly video, present the prayer focus, and get thrown into a baptismal pool… all before Friday!

I appreciate the time that I got to spend with friends and family in the states, and am already excited about all that we are going to be doing this year… so I hope you follow these posts to keep up on what is going down.  Thank you for being a part of this

If you want to watch our Thursday night event, you can see it live at http://www.justin.tv/eloasischile password 2011.

bye

Finally, this week promises to be a nice little “rest” from the recent weeks that were full of talks and videos… this week the students that have “graduated” from the ministry (a college ministry so those who graduate are considered graduated from the ministry… they are still a part of the ministry) are planning the Thursday night event. So I’ll hopefully have time this week to think and plan a bit.
I joined a soccer league down here… it is 7 v 7 on a field that is a little bigger than a basketball court, we play every Sunday and the league is pretty strong (quality). We are a group that doesn’t really know each other yet… but we are starting to get a bit closer just because we all show up to the fields together. Only one of the students participates in El Oasis, so its a pretty nice opportunity to get the word out. I’ll keep you guys posted.
This weekend is a guys night where we will mostly hang out and talk about subjects that are best talked about when there are only guys present
Until next week

Hello!
Hey guys, It has been a while sense the last post… but today starts a new page in the blogging adventures.
We just got done with an all night hang out time this past weekend (called Pasar de Largo), which marked the last of three… somewhat nerve racking, times that I spoke in front of the students in quick succession. The first was when I was the Emcee of our Monday devo-dinner, the second was the devotional at the Monday night dinner, and the last was somewhat of a testimony this past weekend that explained how I came to know Christ. The “Emcee” part went well because I felt pretty comfortable up in front of the students… although I didn’t really know what to say at times, I still felt pretty good thinking on my feet in another language. And thank you for all the prayers that went out for this one
The devotional also went really well, it was a 10 minute devo about the importance of Godly friendships (Ecclesiastes 3). The feedback I got from the students was really positive… and they are usually pretty honest.
The final talk was my testimony that was about how I became Christian and the work God has been doing to bring me down to Chile, as a part to show the students God’s purpose in my life. This one I didn’t feel too good about because it was a bit rushed with preparing for the event, and in the end I only practiced like one time before I got up there… so I felt a little less prepared than I would’ve liked. However… we had a bit of group discussion afterwards, and from that time I saw that the students related a lot to the message, so I’m happy about that, but still I know I can prepare a lot better.
Right now, its back to focusing more on the soccer ministry here… but that is for the next post.
Please keep me in your prayers and I hope this is a special experience for you too, because you are a part of these students lives. Thanks
Until next week

I arrived in Santiago at about 7:30 or 8:00 tuesday morning after an overnight flight from Atlanta and it has been a mix of emotions… some ”highs” and then some “lows” too.  Always excited to get to see and talk to students and friends that I have not gotten to see in a LONG time and it’s cool to get to hang out with them as well as new students.  But I can get real tired during the week with all the things I am doing, which sometimes keeps my mind from functioning in Spanish.  That can get a bit triring in itself.

Since I’ve been here I’ve jumped into being part of the ministry and my responsibilities.  Right now the team is being very gracious in allowing me to “ease” into the responsibilities that I will have, for example we had our first Thursday night event called “Tertulia” and my responsibilities were to clean up, help cook, give name tags, and choose a song to relax to before the event (not too difficult).  I will have plenty more things next week to do, maybe announcements.
On to the first incredible moment of this trip so far: One of our students just went to Spain to help out with the ministry there and we got to here about how it went, the people, the ministry, and the most exciting thing was to here that she plans to stay in ministry, wherever that may be.  She just wants to serve God.  This was a student that was baptized when I was here in 2008, so it’s REAL cool to see how she’s been continuing in her faith and what she has allowed God to do in her life.
I feel a lot more “at home” than I thought I would, maybe that’s because I’ve not been out a great deal yet, but the transition with my Spanish and the culture so far has been so much better than I expected.  I just want to thank you very much for your prayers, if you’ve been praying for these things, God has been listening

Hey everybody, thank you for your concern about what just happened in Chile.  For those who may not know, an Earthquake of 8.8 magnitude struck Chile this morning around 1:34 EST about 200 miles southwest of Santiago and 56 miles northeast of Concepcion (US Geological Survey).  Though 200 miles away, the affect in Santiago would measure around 7 magnitude and buildings are down.  However, around the area of the ministry, Nunoa, there is minimal damage and I have heard word that all but one of the ministry team members is accounted for and fine.  Communication is difficult so that is why one is unnaccounted for, but we expect to know shortly that she is well.  The authorities are doing very well to handle it as of now around the area.  Earthquakes are nothing new in Chile so they are decently prepared for such a disaster, though this is far worse than they could ever have been prepared for.

I am seeing many updates that my friends and the students in Santiago are fine, so that is a huge relief and encouragment in this situation.  I want to thank everyone who has been praying for and checking up on me, it means a lot to have people caring about me, the ministry, and what is going on in Chile. You guys are awesome. Please continue!  I want to request prayers for Chile, Santiago, the students, and all those affected by this catastrophe.

Hello and welcome to my blog about my life and the ministry in Chile while I will be there for the next 9 months.  I look forward to keeping you guys in the loop as to what I am doing and how things are going for the ministry.  I am in KY right now still awaiting a departure date that will come as soon as all of the funds are raised for the trip.  However, I am pretty excited because I know that it is only a matter of time before all of the hard work pays off and I will be ready to ship out!  Please pray for the final 20-25% to come soon and that God will continue to prepare a place for me in Chile and prepare me for what is in store in the months to come.  Thank you for following me in my adventures.

Feel free to browse around the blog, check out my bio, the pictures, and visit the links of the ministry’s webpages.