Sharing faith on retreat in Olmé

Last week I went on a 5-day retreat for all of our colleagues working in the Southern Cone - Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. The retreat was at a convention center/resort in Olmué, a town here in the coastal mountains of Chile.

During the day, the focus was very much on meetings. Organization leaders introduced themselves and presentations were made about projects developing in the field. While not too exciting, it was informative and helpful.

The real benefit of the week came in the evenings, however, when we were free to mingle with our counterparts working in other parts of Latin America. The people actually working in the field are some of the finest I've ever met - and getting to know them has been my favorite part of this job.

Of the couple hundred who attended, there was one other person my age. Hanging out with him was a breath of fresh air. It was great getting to compare notes on the experience we've had. Seems loneliness is ubiquitous in this program.

One night, my friend and I got to sit down with a resort employee named Sergio. He's a Chilean our age who mostly just wanted to practice his English. But when he asked about our group, the conversation turned spiritual, and we were able to share our faith with him. Among other things, we talked with him about who Jesus really is and the importance of a relationship with Him. Sergio didn't give his life to Christ, but he heard us out and was clearly interested.

The week was great for several reasons, but that conversation was definitely the highlight. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get his contact information before leaving, so I have no way to follow-up with him. Please pray that God would send someone to Sergio to continue the conversation we started.

Sweet pics from Lima

Santa Rosa

The other story I covered in Lima was about a group of volunteers who came down from Texas to work in the Santa Rosa barrio just outside Lima. They were helped by one of our missionaries and a local pastor.

Santa Rosa is on a sandy, desert hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The community is made up primarily of mining families, and during the day most of the men are gone to work. The land was purchased from the government, so the people living there are there legally. But there is no electricity or running water. Most live in very simple homes they constructed themselves. But even amidst poverty, there is a strong sense of community.

Last year, a man in Santa Rosa had a dream that missionaries would come to his door to share the gospel with Santa Rosa. The next morning, volunteer missionaries from Texas knocked on his door. They were doing door-to-door evangelism, and his was the first house they had gone to.

Since that encounter, the volunteers’ church has decided to adopt Santa Rosa and now sends volunteer teams several times each year. These teams train believers in Santa Rosa to lead Bible studies, and hopefully, to plant churches.

It’s amazing how in-control God is.

Seminaries supporting seminaries

The first story I covered in Lima, Peru, was about a pastors’ conference led by a group from a seminary in New Orleans. But, as sometimes happens, the real story was something else.

A month before the conference, the Peruvian government passed a law saying for the first time in the nation’s history that non-Catholic seminaries can receive official accreditation. It’s a new opportunity for evangelical schools in Peru, but the possibility also comes with some challenges. So while the group from New Orleans was there, they met with leaders from the Baptist seminaries in Peru, and offered their perspective.

But we still covered the pastor’s conference. The New Orleans seminary president and a professor led the men’s conference and talked about leadership qualities. Meanwhile, their wives led a woman’s conference to talk to the women about walking with the Lord.

More than a hundred people came for all three nights of the conference, some of them traveling more than 2 hours both ways to be there. A question-and-answer session in the men’s conference revealed that the material was valuable to those in attendance – particularly when it came to how to lead a family in a godly way.

It was great to see Christians from one culture reaching out to encourage their brothers in another culture. In particular I was impressed with the man who translated everything – He did a great job.

Lima, Peru

I spent Last week in Lima, Peru.

While there, I covered several stories, got to meet a lot of people working for the company who I had heard of but never actually met before, and got to see both the city and the surrounding communities.

During that week, I stayed with a couple of friends who treated me like family and really made me feel at home. They were easy to get along with and we had some great, interesting conversations. I really appreciate their hospitality.

Over the next couple days I'll be posting entries that go into more detail about the trip, but I just wanted to say that, all-in-all, it was a great time.

And yes, that's a Peruvian Harry Potter pink baby onesie. It's for my niece who will be making her debut in less than a month!

Happy New Year

Chile Christmas

My parents came to visit me for Christmas!

The day they arrived, we went into the city and actually saw more of it than I had seen in the year since I arrived. At the Plaza de Armas we met up with my friend Scott, a single guy from the U.S. who's here on his own teaching English, and checked out the Cathedral and the history museum. Then we went to the central Market for an empanada lunch and ended the day at San Cristobal hill where an iconic statue of Mary - "The Virgin" - overlooks the city.

The next day, Pato and Theri took us to San Antonio. We ate in a seafood restaurant on the boardwalk, walked on the beach and visited their summer home.

Then we met up with Scott again and headed south to Chile's Lake district for a week. Along the way, we stopped at Salta de Lajas, Chile's biggest waterfall. Then we continued on to Temuco, where we stayed nights on our trip.

Our first day we drove to Villarrica and Pucón. Both of these tourist destinations are on lake Villarrica and in view of Volcan Villarrica.

The next day we drove to Frutillar, a small german-immigrant town, where we visited an open air history museum.

Then we went to Puerto Varas and shopped at a street fair.

And to end the day we drove all the way down to Puerto Montt where we met a friend of Scott's who invited us back to her home for tea and to meet her newly adopted baby grandson.

On our last day we visited Valdivia and saw the botanical gardens on Isla Teja. And before leaving Temuco, we visited the Pablo Neruda train museum.

After seeing the best the lake district, we returned to Santiago. On Christmas Eve, we took a day trip to Valparaiso. We tried to go out for dinner that night, but almost everything in Santiago was closed. We finally found a Chinese place that was open, and then went back to the guest apartments where my parents were staying to watch It's a Wonderful Life on my laptop.

On Christmas day we went to a missionary Christmas party and then Skyped-called my sister and brother-in-law. That evening we went for a walk and discovered that the municipal plaza was beautifully decorated in lights.

On their last day here, my parents and I went to the Precolumbian Art museum. Then it was time to take them to the airport and say goodbye.

It was great having my parents here, and seeing so much of Chile was fun. But the best part of it was that, for once, I was able to share the experience with people I love.

Merry Christmas everyone.