Polarized

I went to church on Sunday excited to celebrate Jesus' power over death and simply amazed that the God who created everything went to such great lengths to save rebels like us. I can barely get my mind around a group of Christians who don't make mention of the historical reality of His resurrection from the dead after Passover, but that is what happened. This illustrates the tendency to polarize that is part of Chilean culture. Some say the tendency to polarize into one group or another among Chilean's comes from the colonial times and the polarization between indigenous and Spanish people. That makes sense. Not celebrating Jesus' resurrection on the other hand... This effort to not identify with the Catholic church seems to have gone too far.

There are extreme circumstances where the search for and giving of identity happens in society. However I think this search for identity is just as real but more subtle in our ordinary lives. The first question we ask a stranger is often, "What do you do?" Why? Because we think that their line of work will help us identify them. It would be highly irregular to ask, "Who do you love?" But that question would probably help us know the person better. Maybe that question asked as frequently as "What do you do?" would begin to change how a society understands and creates identity. That would be an interesting experiment!

The shocking thing about a church not celebrating the resurrection is that it is the church that should be most given to finding identity in relationships and not work. Our relationship with Jesus should cause us to celebrate Him, and our salvation in Him. Having been reconciled to God by grace not works, this relationship with God is the center of this community, the church. There is plenty of room to celebrate in different ways. But to polarize so much as to not even mention the resurrection on Easter Sunday seems to fail to apply the gospel to life. Being Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal or Evangelical does not give a CHRISTian their true identity. Those titles define the form of religious practice and point to important doctrinal beliefs. And while I love God with my mind by pursuing sound doctrine, I don't think I can love God at all until I am reconciled to Him/identified with Him in love. We love God because He first loved us. The good news is we can know the most wonderful King as our King. Our identity, first and foremost, is in relationship to Him, not in what we know about Him or what task He gives us.
How do we create a movement on campus where the gospel does not isolate us from a culture that is already prone to polarize? By understanding and applying the gospel to our lives! Our good works and our speaking in love are what students will see.

Freshmen

The freshman class is getting the hang of things. Last week was 'semana cachorro' or 'freshman week'. There were lots of activities for the first year students. Thursday between 4000 and 5000 students piled onto 100+ buses for a huge beach party. You can imagine what a all day beach party of freshman and sophomore college students is like. The trip is financed in part by the donations that the freshman gathered as people pitied their mechoneo experience during the first week of classes.
This week we have been tracking down the classrooms of freshmen so they can get to know us. Just before the professor starts class or as he is leaving we take a few minutes to present Vida Estudiantil to students. We invite them to our meeting and English clubs. We also give them a pen and a contact card so they can let us know if they are interested. We are trusting that the follow up of hundreds of interested students will provide opportunity for spiritual conversations and an open door for the gospel.

I'm a pluralist

I sat down to speak with the secretary of the Federacion Estudiantil at USACH. After explaining a few of the things we do and the purpose of Vida Estudiantil he summarized what we are doing with the word 'pluralism'. My first thought was, "That is not a word I would use to describe our work." My second thought, "Fantastic!" Paul said, "I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." As we explain who we aim to serve and what we do it seems that this administrator understood that we want to appeal to everyone. We want to remove all excuses that are keeping people from the truth about Jesus. We are carefully engaging a culture that has embraced pluralism so that they can see the gospel, hear it and believe.
Later that day, Christian, my good friend and teammate met with the president of the federacion. After a month of bureaucratic maneuvers to get a room for our meeting with other administration, this guy offered us the Salon de Honor (the name speaks for itself) for our first meeting. These kinds of experiences are encouraging because we are becoming known as a group that serves students and is a blessing to the campus.

Concepcion

I will be traveling to Concepcion once a month to support the ministry there. Cote, Veronica and Delia are Chilean staff working on 3 campuses in Concepcion.
Yesterday at the Universidad de Concepcion I met Gustavo and Tania. They are first year biology students. They showed me around campus and we talked for about an hour. Later on they came to the Vida Estudiantil meeting. In some ways this is a very small thing, but these simple things are how a movement grows.
Today I will be meeting with the men involved here in Concepcion for discipleship. And we will also have a meeting to equip students leaders to lead a movement on their campus.

Creating and Joining

Last week I started training with the basketball team at the university. Soccer is the undisputed favorite sport of chileans. I don't play much, and fankly was missing a good game a basketball. I told the coach that I wasn't a student, asd was just looking for a good game. He invited me to practice with the team. Besides enjoying basketball I also hope that by joining this community that already exists I can be a blessing and influence in those young mens lives.
Our ministry team is also working to create a community for students. As we meet more and more students each day we are inviting them to English clubs and will also have a meeting every other week for students to come together, have some fun and interact about some topic that relates to what they are facing in life.

Raices

One of the best parts of serving the Lord and people is you get to see people grow and change. This past Saturday we had our first meeting with a group of committed students who's lives are being transformed by the good news that the King of heaven has included us in His kingdom, and gives us everything we need for life and godliness.
Raices (roots) is a time we have each week with students who are committed to bearing fruit as they know and follow Jesus. We want to help them experience the promises that God has made about those who have good roots, getting abundant life from Christ. Our goal is develop mature people who will follow Christ and be effective in accomplishing the commission He gave us. Many of these students have come to Christ in the past year.

God has some sweet promises for the those who trusts in Him:
"He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers." (Psalm 1:3)
"Abide in me [Jesus], and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)

On a fruitful mature life:
So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books. (2 Peter 1:5-9)

Mechoneo

Bienvenidos??? Mechoneo is the official term for the welcome that all first year students get at the university in Chile. This was the first day of classes at the Universidad Santiago de Chile, and the first year students were subjected to all kinds of crazy stuff. The typical thing is to smash an egg in their hair, spray them with water and then put flour and other stuff all over them. They also cut their hair and clothes up, steal their shoes and make them beg for money for a party that they will have at the end of the week. Sometimes it gets extreem. I am not sure how I would feel about it if I was a student. But it seems like it might help them take themselves a little less seriously.
As you walk around campus and talk to students you will find the occasional first year students who decided not to show up to their assigned classes today. However I am not sure that strategy actually works, I think they track you down eventually... What would you do if you knew that you were going to be "welcomed" to campus some time this week?

Opening Doors

There are campuses all over this city. I couldn't begin to tell you where they are at, how many students they have or when we might show up there. Some time in the future we might figure all that out. But for now our team is going to focus our efforts on the Universidad Santiago de Chile (USACH). Not so much on the campus really as on people, on students, reaching lost students and making disciples.
One of my roles on our team is to think about expansion, how we will get to students that are on campuses where there is not a movement of students reaching their peers with the good news about our God who saves.
Yesterday as I sat in the metro waiting to meet someone, I struck up a conversation with a man who was a professor at a growing private school. Today he introduced us personally to the public relations director, who received us very well and put in a good word for us with several other staff at the university.
As I went back home I stopped in a barrio that has a number of larger private schools. At one university I was introduced to the assistant to the president. He was extremely helpful and interested in the possibility of having us serve students on the campus.
These seemingly open doors do not mean that we have to go to these campuses. When someone asks us to come, then we have to go. Pray that the doors continue to open up for us to share Christ.
"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison-- that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
(Colossians 4:2-4)

First Day

This was the first day our team went to campus. I went to the Universidad Santiago de Chile. I figured out the geography of campus by walking around and praying for the students. Unlike most Chilean universities this one has most of the areas of study grouped together in one major campus. After getting the lay of the land I introduced myself to some students. Juan, Jonathan, Jose and Joanna are second year math students. There were planning the hazing that many first year students go through. We talked for about an hour.
Yesterday was my first full day living in my apartment. I had been praying for direction in reaching the young professionals and others who live in the building of about 400 apartments. God answered that prayer yesterday as I returned from my run along the Maipo river. Pablo was walking down the street, and I asked him about a large business whose headquarters is across the street from the apartment building. From there we ended up spending several hours together and talk about many things, following Jesus, golf, economics, family, the kingdom of God. He knows others who are Christians in the building and is very open spiritually. Pray this would be the beginning of a community of God seekers and Christ followers in this building.

Move In

Moving into an apartment downtown is a surprisingly significant achievement. I am grateful to have a place that is very centrally located for getting to the major campuses in Santiago. Being a block and a half from the metro is a plus.
The process of finding a place and getting moved in has been much more challenging that I had expected. Learning about the different areas in Santiago, figuring out how to utilize websites and newspapers, getting a cell phone to communicate... Finding the place took me about two weeks. Then I spent another week getting the papers, securing a co-signer and getting his papers together. Getting the contract signed and then getting the keys took a few more days. Moving in has taken a few more days.
Along the way I have been surprised by the culture shock that I have experienced. I have had to adjust my expectations. Things will be more difficult, move slower and require more effort than I think they should.
Being in a new place means I am around new people. I am praying for opportunities to bring the blessing of the gospel to people around me where I live. And I am thankful for God's provision.

Following Jesus

A Christian is a follower of Jesus. But I think we see a lot of Christianity that is at best an attempt to follow Jesus' example. However you can´t really do that unless you love Him in an intimate, relational, joyous way. Without really wanting to we define our Christian faith by a very small subset of things Jesus does and goals that our church or mission organization helps us take on.
Jesus did everything the Father gave Him to do and spoke what the Father gave Him to speak. And He did it so that the Father would be glorified. (John 14) We can´t really follow Jesus and try to follow His example if we won´t love God with all we are. I can´t follow Jesus unless I experience Him personally today and want to be with Him, love Him, obey Him, and bring Him honor and glory with all I am. Thankfully He gave us the Spirit to help us do just that. The promise is that He will teach us and empower us to be witnesses of Jesus. What do you see Jesus doing today? The greatest adventure ever, seeing and following Jesus!

Oh The Places You´ll Go

Before I left for Chile a good friend of mine, Kip, told me to go to Borders and read Dr. Seuss´s "Oh The Places You´ll Go" That was a great read standing there in the isle. As I walked up the hills and valleys in the southern Andes of Chile last week I was often struck with the thought, "Who would have ever guessed I´d end up here.."
The Mapuche are the indegenous people of southern South America. Mapu means land and che means man. And they are a people who´s identity is deeply connected to the land and the araucaria tree. We were told to expect resistance and social problems. They certainly are skeptical, but they should be after hundreds of years fighting for their land and their rights. Meeting the community leader, called the lonco, and hearing his stories and reflections on their lives, goodness, politics and spirituality was an amazing experience. We got permission to show the Jesus film in each of the four communites and showed it in the Mapudugun language.
One day we faced significant spiritual battle and it looked as if we might not be able to show the film or get to the remote houses to meet the families. In the midst of it God continued to give us a love for these poeple that would not quit. It was an emotional experience to see a pickup full of people arrive to the film that evening.
On this first trip we established trust and learned a lot about the people. I hope to return in May before the hard winter sets in with several students. We will follow up with several families that received us well and expressed an openess to the gospel. Pray for Luis and Cresencio's families.