Máté (“mah-tay”) is an herb tea enjoyed in southern Chile and parts of Argentina. It is made by soaking herbs in hot water, and it’s a great depiction of the Great Commission. You see, máté requires a lot of patience to make. You must be intentional and wait for the herbs to soak up the water and mature in order to enjoy the taste. If you drink it too soon, the straw clogs and nothing will get through. In the same way, when we teach someone the Gospel, we must be intentional with them and wait for them to mature in it before diving straight into the deep conversation of Christ. A person might not be ready for that conversation just yet, and the opportunity may become blocked from getting to the heart of the issue. Being intentional looks like meeting people where they are and is an important aspect of sharing the Gospel.
Chilean children are often put in orphanages for a better life away from abuse and hope for a future, but there is a cycle that women and children experience: A woman is let go from an orphanage at 18 years of age. She then may find a guy to live with, has children, breaks up, moves out to live with another guy, has more children, and eventually puts her children into the orphanage to have a “better life”. It’s a cycle that our ministry this month (as well as others, I’m sure) are trying to break by teaching young women to be self-sufficient by making and selling jewelry and accessories, tending a garden, keeping a job, living on a budget, and maintaining healthy relationships.
This month we are right outside Santiago, Chile at a ministry called House of Hope. They currently house females ages 18-30 years, and exist to teach young women about discipleship and how to live in Christ. Our host and his family serve as an example of how to have a healthy and functioning marriage and family.
CULTURAL THINGS
It’s April and we’re currently in Chile’s fall season.
Greetings are made with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Tea and coffee beverages are enjoyed during conversations after lunch and dinner, as a snack, and with house guests.
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day and is usually eaten around 1pm. There is a snack time here around 7:30pm called once (“ohn-say”) which consists of bread, cheese, and tea to serve as a light snack before bed. We usually have a devotion during this time.
We must introduce ourselves as “from the US”, not “from America”, because everyone here are still Americans.
There’s a segregation of upper and lower classes that is just as bad as segregation from blacks and whites used to be in the States. The east side of Chile are the only ones who are more upper class, the south are ones who are in the lower-middle class, and the outskirts of the Santiago metropolitan are in the lower class.
They are very resourceful and use everything. Celery leaves are used for a tea to ease menstruation pains. Vegetable leftovers go to the compost. Gray water goes to a rock filtration system that leads to a small pond that waters the garden. Chicken eggs are incubated; females (hens) are raised for more eggs and eventually meat while males (roosters) are used for meat because they fight.
WAYS TO PRAY
- Pray for one of our teammates, as she returned home for recovery after an emergency surgery to remove an abscess. Pray for quick recovery so that she is able to join our team and the World Race again.
- We have a debrief at the end of this month. Pray for us to be well-rested and re-energized during this time. Also, there is rumor of team-changes, so please pray against any anxiety that may distract from our ministry and rest time.
