Welcome to Chile. What had only been a shape on that old wall map in school is now living and breathing reality for me. Chile. People live here. Cars run here. Dogs bark here. And it’s normal everyday life for many.
Leaving Elizabethville was hard. I love my home and my people there. I love my church family. But that first night’s time of prayer and fellowship with the church here gave me a fresh perspective of the body of Christ being international and not limited to a certain denomination. And if you are of the body, you are family. If I am a carrier of the presence of God, I am always at “home”.
After spending four days in Atlanta, Georgia for the final preparations for the race, we launched early Tuesday morning, and 30 travel hours later, after three flights, we arrived in Santiago.Pastor David met us at the airport and brought us to the church where we are living.
We were warmly welcomed and they have lavished such love and generosity upon us ever since. The cultural manner of greeting is with open arms and a kiss on the cheek. The people here are very friendly and in spite of the language barrier, I feel friendships form effortlessly.
Our living quarters are attached to the church building. It is very nice and certainly has surpassed my expectation of living conditions on the race. But it’s so chilly. Chilly in Chile. Makes sense.
We are just wrapping up the season of spring here so warmer temperatures are on their way. Trees and flowers are blooming. We are located right in town bustling with activity. And the backdrop of it all is the majestic Alto Huemul mountain range, complete with snowcaps. Ya’ll it’s awesome.
Today we had our first experience of house visits ministry which is a large part of our work for this month. It’s a time of sharing in fellowship, prayer, worship, and sharing a testimony, reflection or Bible story. After much effort and time, and with the aid of google translate we had completed our individual assignment of each writing out a testimony, devotional and a Bible story in Spanish.
Today I shared my testimony in Spanish. It was so fun! We spend approximately two hours at each house and without fail, so far we’ve always been fed chips and juice. Yes, it’s only been twice, but it seems very customary.
Our host, Pastor David, is experienced in training missionaries and he has an excellent way of challenging us and setting us up for this race. I am so excited to see what God has in store for this city, specifically this church. Please partner in the mission as a prayer warrior. Thank you…
