Chile has been nothing less than eventful this last month.
In the last 30 days I’ve slept in 14 different places. I’ve met people from all over Chile, many who I hope to revisit someday and some I may never see again. I’ve worked through some really tough things with the Lord and even tougher things with my teammates. I’ve had some of the most challenging days to date in my role as logistics yet I’ve also gotten to worship from a rooftop on two different occasions. I have seen prayers answered in a matter of minutes and I’ve seen people experience the presence of the Spirit for the very first time.
This month has been one for the books, but if I told you every single story from this place you would be reading for days. This blog is a tribute to my top three favorite moments here in Chile.
First: Pastor Marcos.
We met Pastor Marcos and his family during our time in Calama. I have never felt so loved by a bunch of strangers. We were their first World Race team and being able to simply do life with them for a few days was exactly what our team needed.
Marcos and Polly didn’t do anything special – they simply invited us into their lives. They were honest about who they are, where they’ve been and how at times they too don’t feel qualified to do what the Lord has called them to. I’ve never in my life felt more like family in such an unfamiliar place.
Pastor Marcos with his family. (Valle, Tito, Marcos, Polly)
Second: Roland Hostel, Claudio and the revival of Valparaiso.
(PS: It’s long but worth reading.)
This month Ben (my co-logistics leader) and I spent much time planning our Month 4 debrief. Long story short, after an entire day of exhaustion, frustration and dead ends Ben & I finally found a hostel big enough for our entire squad in Valparaiso – enters in Roland Hostel and Claudio. Claudio helped us make arrangements for our squad, our coaches, our mentor, our squad administrator and all of our squad leaders at Roland Hostel. After 8 hours of walking around Valparaiso, I was more than thankful for him.
Here is the thing about Claudio, he made it very clear that he wasn’t a Christian or remotely interested in what we were doing during our time in Valparaiso. “I’ll respect you while you’re here but I’m not into that whole thing,” he said during our first meeting with him.
All month I’ve been spreading the word about Claudio; how excited I was for our squad to be friends with him, how excited I was for him to hear us worship, for him to feel the presence of the Spirit, for him to be surrounded by people who love him for who he is. I even spent time talking with my squad leaders, telling them how amped I was for Claudio to meet everyone and praying with them for his salvation. Now here’s the thing about this prayer, my expectation was for Claudio to be saved, oh I don’t know, like two or three years from now. Boy was I wrong. During our third day at debrief Claudio was in a desperate place, his mom was sick and he needed a miracle. “I’m not usually a believer but I need your help,” he said. Immediately, we all gathered around him and prayed; we laid hands on him and declared the Father’s goodness over his life. Later that night he asked my teammate Jess to pray for him, and with tears in his eyes he accepted Jesus for the first time ever! I want you to know that we didn’t sit Claudio down and preach to him, we didn’t recite bible verses to him about how we disagreed with his lifestyle; we simply loved him.
Claudio with our C-Squad coaches.
During the rest of our time at debrief, Claudio took us to the streets where drunks, drug addicts and homeless people live; he introduced us to the “real” Valparaiso and asked us to help. Just a few hours after praying with Jess, he was on his knees with a woman who was homeless, who had lost custody of her two month daughter, who was addicted to drugs and he was praying for her. He even lets us worship from the rooftop of the hostel.
9:00 AM rooftop worship.
The story about Roland Hostel and Claudio doesn’t stop there. As the staff saw what was happening with Claudio, they started approaching us one by one and asking us to pray for them. They would say, “I don’t know what it is but I feel peace when I’m around you. Can you pray for me?” Then Claudio brought in a couple local musicians to play for us during our all squad dinner. Guess what happened, they asked us to pray for them too!! Not only did the local musicians tell Claudio about the presence and power they felt in the room, Paulinne (one of the musicians) came out with us that night to pray for people on the streets!
Third: Alan.
Alan is someone I only spent a few hours with but my time with his was more meaningful than most. I met Alan during our night of ministry in the park lead by Claudio. While I was translating for some of my squad mates I couldn’t help but notice three younger guys off in the distance across the plaza; I knew I had to go talk to them. A few us walked over towards them, and I almost turned around in fear of not knowing what to say, but as we approached them they simply asked “Are you the police?”
They were very apprehensive towards us and one of the guys even got up and walked away. I could tell they were preoccupied by something but I just couldn’t figure out what it was. We asked them where they worked, what their names were, about their families, etc. Still nothing.
Finally, I just asked if I could sit down with them – that’s when I met Alan. He slowly started telling me his story. In between pulls of alcohol he explained how he had lost everything; his kids, his wife, his job, his home. “Me siento solo,” he said, telling me how lonely he felt now that he had nothing left. Come to find out, just one day before our conversation he had been released from prison after being there for four years.
I sat with Alan for probably an hour or so simply listening to him. His wife was now remarried and his oldest daughter was in jail. He had been in and out of prison since 1998 and he was hopeless. “¿Quieres la misma vida?” I asked, asking him if he wanted the same life as before. The obvious answer was no. We continued talking with Alan and my heart physically ached for the pain I could see in his eyes.
Doug, my squad coach, prayed over Alan which I translated for him. Doug prayed for redemption, for restored relationships, and for Alan to find a job. The likely hood of me seeing Alan again is very slim, but I know the Lord isn’t done with him yet. I just can’t wait until Alan realizes it too. Here’s the cool thing, the next morning we found out Alan had been given a job. One of the many answered prayers during our time at debrief.
YOU GUYS! The Lord is seriously at work here in Valparaiso. I could literally tell you so many other stories that happened during debrief – healings, salvations, midnight prayers at the park with drunks & drug addicts.
God is good, y’all. Like so, so good!
