The last time I wrote a blog post, I left all of you with what Chile was going to look like for us. Well, we left Chile about a month ago (at the time of writing this post) and I still have not updated all of you on how it went. So I’m sorry I’ve done a bad job at that. Writing in general is just not my jam so I really have to force myself to do it… which I haven’t obviously. That and I got my laptop stolen which makes it a real pain in the butt to write. But, I got a new laptop now so I promise I’ll get better!
Anyway, a lot happened in Chile. And by that I meant we were some busy people. Our main ministry was teaching religion and english in the school which took up most of our day. Like I said in my previous post, we were at the school from 8-6 with a two hour break for lunch. Then after school our team would do something that we call Team Time. I know, super good name right? During this time, we would do basic check-ins to see how everyone is doing, give feedback to each other (both positive and negative), and we’d tell each other our testimonies. Finally, we’d get home at maybe 8 or 9, eat dinner, socialize with our host family and go to bed. Sometimes we had to prepare for the next day of school on top of that too.
If you know me, then you know that I need my alone time. This part of me was really tested in Chile because I did not get much. It was hard enough to find time to spend with God, let alone finding time that I can just be by myself and rest other than sleep. But, all of that has definitely been getting better during my time in Peru which I have been really thankful for.
“All that is cool Brandon, but tell us about how your ministry went!” Alright, alright, I hear ya.
I had the awesome assignment to teach in the religion classes which I was pumped about. Not that teaching english is bad, but I really like learning and teaching about the Bible so I was right at home. Or so I thought. I soon realized that although I was comfortable giving more in depth teachings on religion to the older kids, I had no idea how to teach religion to the younger kids that had trouble keeping their fingers out of their nose. So, a lot of what we did with them was teach them songs in English like Jesus Loves Me. And by teach, I mean that we got in the front of the class and sang. I was not in my comfort zone there lol.
But even though that wasn’t in my wheelhouse, we were able to teach on more fun topics to the older kids. Some of my favorite were the Second Coming, the Church as the Bride, and types of prayer throughout the Bible. It was really encouraging to see all of the kids eager to learn about these topics and ask questions about them.
My favorite day by far though, was when we were given the opportunity to talk about the different types of prayer. As we were teaching, Patrick, one of our squad leaders, leaned over to me and said he thinks we should ask anyone if they need prayer for healing. It’s one thing to go into these classes teaching information, but this would give us a way to have them put this into practice.
At the end of our teaching Patrick asked if anyone needed physical healing and one girl’s hand went up. She said she had problems with her back. So, Patrick led the class in prayer asking them to lay hands on her and to pray as he was praying. Afterward, she said that she had felt a big area of heat where most of her pain came from and that her back did feel better. Then the teacher of the class said that she needed prayer for her stomach. This time, Patrick asked one of the students to lead the class in prayer. The teacher didn’t feel anything in particular change, but that’s ok. We know that sometimes God does things instantly, and other times he does things gradually. The important thing is building the faith and knowing that if it is God’s will and timing, then it will be done.
Finally, we asked anyone if they needed emotionally healing and no one raised their hand. So, we just prayed over the whole class because we knew a lot of them came from broken families and bad situations. And after the prayer had ended one girl burst into tears. She said that God was really comforting her in that moment and that she was overwhelmed with his love. The awesome thing was that Patrick prayed in english and this girl didn’t understand english very well. It just showed me that she wasn’t taking comfort in the words that Patrick was saying, but in the presence of God. I thought that was awesome.
All of this, by the way, was made possible because of our translator and my host sister, Cony. She’s awesome, I wish all of you would be able to know her.
So that about wraps up what we did in Chile!
I wanted to take some time to thank my supporters as well. Because of all of your donations I’m only $200 away from my goal. If you’re wondering why the amount isn’t updated, it’s because I have some awesome monthly supporters! So once again, thank you all. This wouldn’t have been possible without your support.
