Whole New View

Yesterday was a holiday here in Chile. We have had beautiful late fall weather. It was refreshing to get out of the city and enjoy nature. The summer project students and some of my team went on a hike to El Pochoco. After a steep climb you get rewarded with a whole new view of the central Andes from the summit. They are big! The creation declares the glory of God!
Today on campus I met with Patricio for discipleship. We went to a classroom of freshmen and invited them to our winter conference. Afterwards we ran into one of his classmates. She had just given a talk in her class about world hunger. And it wasn't just homework for her she truly values the needy, working for a social service organization here in Chile that creates jobs for the poor. We started talking about world hunger and ended up talking about the gospel for over an hour. It was great to be able to take her to a few new places where she could begin to gaze into the beauty of God. He is BIG!

"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." Psalm 90

My Heavenly Father

As I think about my dad, all the memories, I am filled with gratitude to my Heavenly Father. There are so many good things, indeed everything comes from Him. And as I think upon the good memories I can't help but recall things I would like to forget. But thank God I am free! Thank you Heavenly Father for the cross where your Son died for my sins and set me free! The wonderful cross, that bids me come and die and find that I may truly live. This love so amazing, so divine, demands my souls deepest affection, my life, my all. Thank You Father, your steadfast love is better than life.

My Dad

I grew up on a farm in southeast Nebraska. As I grew up I was able to do more things and spent more time working with my dad. We would work together in the shop fixing and maintaining the machinery. Listening to Christian radio as we worked was a significant part of how I began to walk with God in the mid 90's. My dad had already laid a foundation in my life by reading the Bible as a family on Sunday mornings when we were kids.

My dad loves music. He plays the guitar and encouraged and taught me to play as well. My dad is a learner. I remember him reading lots of books during the winter when there is a little less work on the farm. He modeled to me the value of reading. My dad and his dad are inspired. When they talk about certain things their eyes will tear up and you can tell that it is more than an idea, but truly inspiring to them. They have shown me to be passionate about things. My dad is fascinated by maps and loves to travel. We would pile in the van as a family every couple of years and take off on a long road trip across the USA, good times. My dad and his dad are faithful men who have loved their wives. My dad is talented and knowledgeable. After many years being a farmer, when God gave him the opportunity to work at the nuclear power plant, he studied hard and passed all the exams to work as an engineer. I am proud of my dad! And thankful for all he taught me and for his love.

My dad loves God and is growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. He has made knowing and following Jesus the main thing in His life.

Dancing In The Streets

On Saturday I spent the afternoon with Chilean students and summer project students. We went to La Moneda, which is like the capital building and went to Bellavista, a part of town with lots of places to hang out. Joel is a project student who happens to be a dance instructor. He surprised the Chileans by inviting them to dance in the street. It was a fun afternoon hanging out with students and building friendships. I had a few of the project staff over for dinner that evening.
Most people aren't dancing in the streets, more like protesting in the streets. Tonight as I went to buy groceries I got a good dose of teargas. Classes are still suspended at USACH and many other schools. Protests will likely continue most of the week. They are usually not too violent. But if they are not authorized by the government the police do break them up with force. They have these big trucks that spray water on the crowd. Chileans call it the guanaco, which is an animal like a llama that spits a lot. Rumor has it that they use sewage water. But I took this foto of them filling up at the fire-hydrant on the corner by my apartment building.
We will have to be extra creative as we try to keep moving forward in establishing a movement during this last month of the fall semester.

Summer Project in Winter

The summer project from the USA arrived last Saturday. And Chilean students gave them an interesting welcome week! The protests have continued to escalate. The major public universities (USACH is one of them) decided to join the high school students in pressuring the government to change the laws that guide education in Chile. This means a strike, with classes canceled most of the week, and probably next week as well.
On Wednesday I was waiting at USACH to welcome the project students. Everything was very normal, and then all of a sudden 1000 high school students showed up and started going nuts. Marco, one of the basketball players, helped me escort the students away from the violence and we were able to get in the back entrance. We had a great day on campus! Meeting students, hanging out and doing a survey about the Codigo Da Vinci. In just over an hour we had 200 students fill out a survey. We gave them a magazine that addresses the fiction and provides the facts about the secret societies, the church and Jesus. It was very interesting to see the different viewpoints of students as we looked through the surveys later that evening. One student wrote, "I am just starting to learn more about Jesus." Another said, "Jesus was just like us, not important." Other expressed their faith in Jesus.
We are also spending time at the private universities. They don't close when there are strikes! Hopefully we can establish student led movements at these campuses next semester from the contacts that we meet through the summer project. Oh, the weather is not all that wintry, but it is definitely not summer in the southern hemisphere.