I find myself constantly re-learning the important lessons of faith and obedience. In fact, they are both related to one another. You cannot have one without the other. As I take this time to reflect on my short four day trip to Chile, I realize how much of my life and where we are as a church are related to faith and obedience.
As I think about how God even opened this door for Chile, I wonder to myself, “What would have happened if I did not obey the Holy Spirit that early February morning when God spoke to me about Chile?” In light of everything that is going on in my life and the life of the church, it would not have made sense for me to make this trip, but something was stirred within me.
Now, after meeting so many great people, leaders and pastors, along with the privilege of witnessing the earthquake and tsunami affected areas, I can say with 100% confidence that God somehow rewarded the steps of faith I took in trying to obey His leading.
This is the amazing part of our journey with Christ. He sometimes takes our faltering faith and even our opaque obedience and then turns it around to show us something incredible. I am realizing in greater magnitude that this is how our relationship with Christ is supposed to be lived out on a daily basis. Is there any other way? No wonder, this life with Christ was promised to be abundant and full (Jn 10:10).
On our last day in Chile, Pastor Pete, Pastor Ben and I sat down with the leaders of the Pueblos de Dios church on a beautiful ranch near the mountains. We began to dream together about how God wanted to reach the great nation of Chile through the partnership that God forged together. We are thrilled at the prospects.
We will be sending a team from HMCC-AA in late December of this year to partner with the members of Pueblos de Dios. The focus with be to minister to some of the devastated areas in Constitucion and Cauquenes. Our hope is that a church can get started through our joint efforts. Then, we will do ministry in and around Santiago by working in some of the local churches, as well as linking up with the college students and young working professionals to reach out to several of the universities in Santiago.
It is amazing how God orchestrates and brings like-minded people together. As we shared our vision of reaching out to university students around the world, they expressed how God has been placing that burden in their hearts as well. The university students are the future of Chile and we want to make impact for the next generation. As we will see lives being transformed with the Gospel, the transformation of Chile will soon follow.
I am thankful that God is truly opening a door for us to re-engage Latin America with the Gospel. Now, as God is already doing His part, we need to do our part – this is the beauty of hopping on the train with what God is doing. All we have to do is enjoy the ride.
We went to a ranch to spend some time to strategize and plan for the future
The view was awe-inspiring. There is definitely something inspiring about mountains
I love the Latino culture. We just hung out and sang songs together
Street entertainers are common in the streets of Santiago
My little Latina friend
