Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sowing and Reaping
About an hour later I was standing at the entrance to the university with one of our staff. And there was Fernanda making her way towards the metro on her way home. I called out her name and we got to chat for a few minutes about how things were going in her life. Three years ago we had met her and some of her class mates as freshmen. She had come to a few things and had the opportunity to hear the gospel but did not stay involved or trust Christ. It had been about two years since I had talked to her.
I asked her how her family, studies and plans were going, and then asked her what her experience has been spiritually for the past few years. She admitted that for most of that time she had distanced herself from God and been very focused on her studies. But she recently had started to think more about God. I asked Fernanda if she considered herself to have a personal relationship with God. She said yes. Then I asked her how confident she was that she would be with God for eternity. She said that she thought she probably would but that it is hard to know. My next question, "If you could experience greater confidence and intimacy with God, would you want to?" She replied, "Sure!"
So we got a drink at the cafeteria and sat down in the grass for about 45 minutes. She was very honest and genuine in her desire to know God. We talked through the 4 Spiritual Laws. But more importantly God was talking to her heart if a special way and she received Christ with the joy. Her hunger for truth was evident in the questions she asked as we finished our conversation. She immediately accepted the invitation to study what the Bible says about growing a relationship with God.
Three years ago during my first semester, I do not remember anyone coming to Christ all semester. And without a doubt there are no new believers involved with us from that first semester. But we sowed. And now it is time to reap.
Over 40 students have trusted Christ in the past year. Most of them are studying the Bible with us. Just today on campus three young men from electrical engineering met over lunch to plan how to reach out to the freshmen class. All of them have trusted Christ within the past two years. And two of them just came to the Lord last semester. Seeing their desire to study the Word, reach out to the lost and encourage the body of Christ is a tremendous joy for me.
"Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him."(Psalm 126:5-6)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Re-purchased

Saturday I bought my own bike back, it was a pretty cool experience, living out Luke 6.
"To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, gift-wrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.
(Luke 6:27-30)
While waiting in the long lines at the bank. A couple thieves stole my securely locked bike just 15 feet from armed guards. Life in Chile is usually normal, but defies common sense at times.
When I realized it had been stolen it I immediately... was angry.. and then prayed that God would work in the lives of the thieves. Then I told the cops of the incident, which felt like wasting my time. A week later a bike suspiciously similar to mine appeared on a eBay-like website in Chile, for the same price I had bought if for in December. I made the purchase online and arranged to meet with the individual.
I gave it the normal test ride and bargained him down a bit. After paying him for the bike I let him know that it was absolutely my bike. He offered to give me my money back. Assuring me he did not know the bike was stolen when he bought it from his friend. He was lying and I was telling the truth. I told him that I forgive him and even though I had little reason to believe him, I would give him the benefit of the doubt. So I asked him return to me what would have been his profit from the sale. Then I shared the gospel with him, and with his little brother who accompanied him. And exhorted them to repent and live lives of self sacrifice not selfishness. I am praying for Cristian and Esteban. And plan to send him and email and or give him a call next weekend to see if he would like to get together to talk more about the extraordinary love of God.
God works according to His word, answers prayer and is in control, even when it feels like the world is evil and we suffer loss. This could not be any clearer; the cross screams these truths at us every day.
I am the only person alive who can tell that thief, "I forgive you for stealing from me." And show him the generous mercy of the King by paying him for my own possessions. And Jesus is the only one who can truly forgive his sin, and I am forever indebted to Him for paying for mine.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Team in Santiago
Israel, Lisset, George, Maria Ignacia, Veronica y Juan Carlos on campus at USACH
As Jesus taught us, we are asking God for more laborers for the harvest. Our staff invest their time sharing the gospel with students and primarily training students who are following Jesus to multiply their experience with God through evangelism and discipleship. This year we have experienced lots of growth in the number of students being trained, the number of students coming to faith in Christ and the number of campuses were we are working.
It is a great joy to receive Juan Carlos, his wife Veronica and Maria Ignacia into the campus team here in Santiago. They have recently completed their team of ministry parters and are now with us on campus. I appreciate their faith and enthusiasm, as they trust God to use them to start spiritual movements.
Listen

We already knew that individualism, pluralism, relativism and pragmatism are significant influences in the minds of young people. As we hear their stories there is a sense that this generation is generally full of hope, believes in a god without religion and is pretty comfortable with the “confusion” of conflicting ideologies. Many indicate they are searching, but a search for truth is seemingly out of reach. The search is much more passive and their choices while not unreasoned seem to be based on sentiment than evidence. While there are lost of answers that might be helpful in the midst of the confusion, belief is experiential for this generation. A good argument is interesting but rarely convincing. They need to see it work.
What a great challenge! And the church is up to it, because the Holy Spirit is at work in us.
Church Planting Among the Mapuche
Each summer we spend a week training our students in a cross-cultural mission’s experience. Planting churches among the Mapuche is a challenging task. In the region where we are working there is a clear need for a person who will disciple local church leadership. A couple weeks ago I was able to travel up into the mountains once again, to encourage the local church leadership, share from the Word with families and get a head start on the plans for the missions experience with students in January. During the trip three people indicated a decision to trust in Jesus Christ. We also were able to visit local pastors and encourage them.
Jerry and Daniel are pastors and missionaries who are also committed to helping establish churches in this region. It is great to partner with such quality people who work with a kingdom mindset. Unfortunately others who are “serving” in the area do not have this perspective. One of the biggest problems we face in evangelism in the area is a hypocritical and religious church that is divisive within the community and does not teach the Scripture.
Another challenge in evangelization in this region is the limited ability to comprehend texts.
This summer we hope to have 6 teams of students. They will spend significant time with families who are open to the message. Rather than visiting a family for a couple hours and asking them to come to a film showing, our evangelism will be based on two or three days teaching the Bible from start to finish with families who are open. In this way we hope to help these families know Christ and get involved in a local church that teaches the Scriptures.
Friday, September 05, 2008
No Reason To Believe
Our first time setting foot on the INACAP on Av. Apoquindo campus we met Juan Pablo, Kenneth and Camila. The week before a student from this campus, Felipe, attended our student leadership meeting, Raíces. I set up a time to visit his campus with some of the summer project students who were visiting us from the US. As we introduced ourselves and shared briefly the vision of Vida Estudiantil it was natural to ask them about their beliefs.
I asked them, “On a scale from 1-10, how interested are you in knowing God personally?” It doesn´t happen very often, but Kenneth answered “zero” with an honest grin. He indicated that he thinks people make too much of religion. He did not understand my question, but I could understand his point of view. Over the next month we got to hang out with them a couple of times on campus.
Last week when Felipe and I had made a time to go share our faith, we ran into Kenneth. After talking about girlfriends and different places in Chile, I reminded Kenneth of his response and asked him if he would be willing to share more of his story. He gladly accepted. While he went to buy a pack of cigarettes Felipe and I prayed.
Kenneth has just gotten to campus from donating blood to help his grandmother who is very sick. As he told his story it was easy to see why he found it so hard to “believe”. His story is full of difficulty. The injury that almost cost him his leg when he was young, his broken relationship with his father, the tension in his living situation with uncles and a very ill and cranky grandmother… He could find no reason to believe, even though he had tried. (Kenneth is at the far left, with the summer project)
Even though many things in life may not have a satisfactory explanation, Felipe and I could share how the cross of Christ and the unconditional love of God were even more inexplicable. Kenneth told us that he felt like something really extraordinary would have to happen for him to be able to believe. We helped him consider that perhaps something extraordinary was happening and had happened to reconcile him to God. Please pray that God help Kenneth to see light of the world, Jesus, and that God help us to be lights in the darkness on campuses in Santiago.
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
(2Cor. 4:4-6)
Many Reasons to Believe
“After thinking about it and having it on my mind for several years, I decided that it is the best thing I could do in my life, and I feel very good about it, so during my winter vacation I decided to be a Christian… several factors influenced this decision: my mother has been a Christian for no more than 4 years, I have seen her happier than ever during these 4 years, my brother and I experienced a couple miracles (we had an accident 3 years ago, and today we are without adverse effects). Another important factor was the English Club of Vida Estudiantil, to which I went with the sole purpose of learning some English, but little by little I realized the quality of people who have a happy spirit, a kind-heartedness and availability, and a great strength in their beliefs which in an authoritative way coincide with each other.
Another very important factor leading up to my decision was a special Christian young lady who I had gotten to know. She is able to speak with ease about God in a simple way, coherent and pleasant, and with the same point of view as many others… so I told myself, I should belong to this group, it is without a doubt the best! On top of this I would have to add the services of the church in La Serena that my mom goes to, where there is a an equally pleasant atmosphere. I admire the pastor, very intelligent, and he knows how to apply Biblical values to everyday life. Also my mom is always reminding me of the things the Bible describes and how they are based in history and still speak to our world today, and this is very convincing!
So there are many reasons, I just was slow to see them and take them into account, but I am happy to have given myself to Christ because unquestionably, it is never late. That is all! Haha. I hope to see you more often this semester!" Tomas
After English club one day we went bowling with the students. Tomas is holding the dark blue bowling ball.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
31
Faithful and Fun
They are from Osorno, in southern Chile. And have been dating for a year. They both knew Jesus personally, and asked us to train them to share their faith and how to establish new believers in the Christian faith. It has been a real treat to teach them and get to know them over the past few months.
I think they are probably the most faithful students I have ever had the opportunity to train. They showed up for every meeting and generally had prepared the lesson. Diego has also been able to involve a classmate of his. It is a real joy to work with such great people. Cote, pictured also invests time with Connie in discipleship. It is sweet to be part of a team that invest their lives in others.
I am confident that Diego and Connie will both see the lives of many of their peers transformed by the Lord. They both have 5 more years of studies at the University of Santiago de Chile. Diego studies Electrical Engineering and Connie, Surgical Medicine.
Good Time For A Protest
For our ministry the strikes have historically been harmful, causing us to loose our momentum on campus and loose touch with the students we were getting to know. But this year it has been a tremendous opportunity for us. The reason is that we now how a critical mass of involved students leaders and have a base of contacts already established among the freshmen that allows us to continue our ministry. In fact the strike helped us in significant ways because students had lots of free time. For the newly involved students it allowed them to spend lots of time together during the past 6 weeks. And the contacts that we are developing relationships with were also able to participate more. In the end our relationships with key students have really grown through the shared experiences we had this past month.
Two weeks before the strike started I was able to get an English Club started with the freshmen in Electrical Engineering. We have had English club every week except one. And as a result I have gotten to know Oscar, Cristóbal, Pablo, Jaime and Carlos. I have also been able to continue to involve Alan and Nicolas, seniors who are preparing their thesis, in co-leading the English Club. Students have been enthusiastic about English Club and have also been open to the gospel. With classes re-starting this next week I hope to continue the English Club for a few more weeks and grab lunch with them from time to time to continue the spiritual conversations that we have started.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Roommates: From all over the world and now one who is not of this world
Tonight we had the tremendous privilege of seeing Guillermo place his faith in Jesus Christ. He moved in almost exactly a month ago. We have had several good spiritual conversations. His marriage troubles brought him to the end of himself. As he came to the King in his need, he received repentance, the forgiveness of sins and new life.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Developing Multiple Generations of Leaders
One of our new staff, Israel, has been attending a training in Bolivia for a leadership development curriculum called LeaderTreks. The first workshop, “Fundamentals of Leadership” was attended by 9 students from four different universities. This is a great start for another program that will help us see students lives changed. It works well for both Christian and non-Chrsitian students.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Invasion and Progress
The primary goal of Invasion is to equip students in evangelism. While we are also publicizing the activities that we are doing to serve students the main focus of this time is to train students in the art of initiating gospel centered conversations. The benefits of doing this together are many. It allows our staff to model evangelism with student leaders. It creates an awareness of the scope of every campus and every student. It deepens the sense of teamwork among students. It creates momentum on the campus we visit. It fosters the sharing of ideas. It builds up the faith and courage of the staff and students. And it created the instance for at least 20 students to hear the good news and consider Jesus' offer of new life; abundant and eternal. In the future I believe that Invasion will become an instance where student leaders launch movements on new campuses.
There is still a lot of work to do, but many of the key elements of the ministry are beginning to take shape. As this second school year draws to a close, I am really grateful and a bit surprised at all that God has given us.
We have developed and refined several ministry tools that are helping us step into the lives of lost students: English clubs; a campus meeting format and content that is getting positive feedback from non-Christian students; the Effective Study Seminar that will help us reach freshmen and has caught the attention of school administration as a valuable service to the university; a fall retreat format that got positive feedback from non-Christian students who attended.
We have also refined and adapted our student leadership development. Raices is a community of personal and leadership development that is structured so that we can develop multiple generations of leadership. We have a yearly calendar of student leadership retreats, and have seen God bless these times. In January we will have our first national conference aimed specifically at developing Christian students for mission. In January we will also establish our national summer missions project which will cast vision for and train students in trans cultural missions.
We have seen God bless us in the development of key resources. One of the biggest challenges has been to form small groups where non-Christians can engage with Christians in life and seeking the truth. We are still working on this but have made significant progress in the past year. We have been blessed with the financial support from Chileans to advance needed initiatives. Right now we are in the process of getting a new evangelism tool into print. Our website is also a significant resource. http://www.vidaestudiantil.cl/
The progress we can see after two years here in Santiago has been the result of hard work and the grace of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1Co 15:10)
Saturday, September 29, 2007
A Hard Winter
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Pato's CM2007 experience

“CM2007 in South Korea was an unforgettable experience because God put in my heart a passion for missions. I know that I am called to be on mission and share the gospel with others students in Chile and the world, and in reality we are all called to this. I came to understand this much better in Korea. Personally I would like to go to another part of the world where there is great need for Christ. I could see, because of my experience at CM2007, the great need for Christ in other countries is shocking. They lack people who are guiding others to Christ. Yet first I want to work to reach the students in my university, and if God permits to be a missionary in another part of the world. This is what I feel that the Lord is calling me to every day and it is what I want to do.” Patricio Maricán
Monday, August 06, 2007
Honor Thyself
While in Colorado, a friend of mine said, "I have always thought of you as driven." I think he meant it in a good way. But God wanted to test me with it. I was getting burned out during the last semester in Chile. Unless I am led by the Lord I will mainly have my own strength to depend on. And that is not enough. And even worse the result would be me getting the honor for any accomplishments. Another friend of mine always tells me, "God is not so interested in what you do for Him, as He is in who you are and who you are becoming in Him." God simply wants to be the source of our strength and make us more like Christ. He wants us to live out of abundance for His glory, rather than live to get what we lack for our good.
What is interesting to me is that this is a universal value. Most everyone seems to know that what really counts is character, what is inside of a man. The lack of integrity of Barry Bonds and his "it is all about me" attitude are repulsive. They totally undermine his stellar achievements.
"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James 4
Thursday, August 02, 2007
New Semester Soon Underway
The spring semester in Chile is about to start. I was able to chat on instant messenger with one of the guys I know from the USACH basketball team. He is already practicing and is back to class on Monday. The ministry staff in Chile had the national staff conference this past weekend. It was a good time to seek God together, strengthen relationships and establish focus for the rest of the year. There have been lots of changes. Nine short term missionaries completed their term in July and have returned home. We will have to work smarter with less people this spring.One of the most encouraging things from the first semester is the commitment of student leaders from seven different campuses. God is raising up committed laborers who are trusting Him for spiritual movements everywhere.
The staff and students are currently making plans for the semester. There are many things we could do. Please ask God to help us follow His lead with great sensitivity.
"Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God." William Carey
Sunday, July 29, 2007
U.S. Staff Conference
During the first few days of the conference the staff for each ministry meet. I serve in the campus ministry, but there are dozens of different ministries that are part of Campus Crusade for Christ. One of my passions in ministry is to be a sender, to mobilize young men and women as missionaries. I have been seeing that we lack some expertise and resources to make our campus ministry more effective in this area. It was great to hear that they have assigned a new leader at the national level to address this issue. The vision, 100% sent, that every student who is involved with us is prepared to make their lives count for fulfilling the Great Commission after they graduate. I also felt like God was challenging me to think outside of Chile and try to help the campus ministry throughout South America create solutions to common problems or needs that we face in each country.
The second part of the conference is for all the staff. One of the ideas that was repeated was that of story, how our lives are a story that God is writing and how we can use story to tell the good news. I also really enjoyed seeing staff friends from around the country. The whole time helped increase my desire to trust God for supernatural things in my life and in Chile.