Spiritual Aftermath of South America

I have a lot going on in my heart right now, and I'm finding that sharing it one-on-one hasn't been that easy. I know some of you want to hear the stories, but I've had a lot of people ask me how my heart is or how I am spiritually or how my relationship with God is after the trip... I've not been able to answer those questions very well... so we'll try it this way. It's said that you process things differently when you write them verses speaking them. Let's give it a shot.

After returning to Boise, I find myself reliving so many of the experiences we shared in South America. My heart is moved... broken... homesick. At night, I see the faces of my new friends and family and the memories come flooding back. Yet the inner peace is overwhelming.

For me personally, God changed my heart and met me in my doubt. I arrived in South America believing I had nothing to offer, and you know what? I was right. I didn't have anything to give the people, but God did, and He used me in areas I didn't think possible... He's funny that way. He enjoyed taking a few of my weaknesses during this time and turning them into strengths and such. That kind of molding HURTS! But it was because I wasn't willing to accept, let go, and let God.

I had the opportunity to work a couple of times with the doctor that traveled with us to Paraguay; his name is Mauricio. Now, the medical field is not something I've been entirely interested in, but for some reason, I found that I became more and more eager to work with Mauricio and the families as more and more of them came through. In all, he saw almost 100 patients when he was only expecting 50. God totally came through and blessed the socks off of us and showed me that even though I hadn't a clue what I was supposed to be doing, I could still be useful.

Mauricio taught me a lot... not only about the various ailments that came in or the medicine he was dispersing (although I learn quite a bit about that stuff), but about God and about His heart for His people. I couldn't look at Maurio (as I started calling him near the end of the trip) and not see Jesus all over his face. It was one of the last days we were in Paraguay, and as usual we went out to lunch at this place that was like a supermarket, a mall, and a buffet all in one... oh yeah, there was a cinema too! Maurio sat down across the table from me and we started talking. Painfully breaking the language barrier (again) he asked me about my life, and I about his. I was about to get up when he looks at me and says something that will forever remain in my heart. "Stacyann, when I see you, you show me God... who God is." I felt so unworthy of that statement. And yes, I cried. "You will always remember this time, this place, your friends," and well, he was right. I will remember that day for the rest of my life. If I had to choose three things that impacted me the most in Paraguay... this would be the first.

Second. We were hanging out at the Paraguayan Church getting ready for Linda and Captain to teach. Captain called me to him and asked if I'd like to do house visitation. Before even thinking about what I was getting into, I said yes and off I went. I ended up partnering with two women from the Santiago Vineyard, one who knew a lot of english, another who didn't. Along with our group there was three or four other groups that went with us. We hopped on our bus and headed out into the communtiy. We were the first to get dropped off and the first to be picked up. When I got out of the bus, I immediately felt like throwing up. It smelled of... well, I don't even know, but it was bad. I blocked my mind of the smell and followed Sandra and Patti up the dirt path. We crossed a small canal on a bridge that looked like it was about to fall apart, but it didn't. On each side of the road, small homes, shacks really, and rickety fences were lined. I caught some people poking their head out their doorways, some children would peek through the fences. We would just wave. Chickens ran wild and a dog here and there would pass by. Now, here in that states, we'd ring a doorbell or at least knock on a door if we wanted someone inside the house to know we were there. But since there were no doorbells and hardly any doors, we made exceptions. Standing outside of the gate, we banged on a fence rail and yelled the woman's name (which I'm not recalling right now). A small, thin boy poked his head around the corner of the doorway just as a small woman appeared. She greeted us with enthusiasm and invited us in. Well, actually we ended up sitting in the backyard because there wasn't much room in the home. Fanny, the three year old daughter, ran to Sandra. I guess they knew each other. ;) The women had brought two gift bags full of little things that so many Americans take advantage of having, but are so valuable to the children there; crayons, paper, pencils, pencil sharpener, erasers (Fanny had never seen an eraser!)... it was so fun to watch her drawing and trying out her new treasures.

The other bag was for Fanny's niece who was the same age as her. I don't remember her name, but she had become very ill and was dying. It was some disease that was causing all the water in her body to flow to her brain. Because the family has no money for the reversal surgery, she will die very soon. It broke my heart when I heard this. I don't understand how that could even be considered okay. It could be fixed! I don't get it...

Fanny was the sweetest little girl... she had a smile that radiated to everyone around her. I totally fell head over heals with love for her. But she got sick. She got the Dengue Fever while we were there... and I don't think I've ever been so scared. Dengue kills. I went with her and her mother to see what Maurio could do. He checked her out and decided on a medication that would help reduce the fever. Problem was she didn't want to take it. It came down to her mother and I holding her down while Maurio forced it down her throat. It was either that or give her a shot, but the way she was wiggling, personally, I don't think it would have been wise. We got the medicine down her throat, but it was just the beginning of the battle. We prayed... and prayed... and prayed. Two days later, I saw her, and I wanted to cry. She was healed. God healed her. Dengue isn't something that just goes away after two days. Fanny's eleven year old brother got it and now looks like he's like eight. He's so small... the disease just drains your body. But she was healed... that's my number two.

My number three is hard to decide upon. The worship was absolutely amazing! I've never felt God so strongly as I did during those times of worship. But I'd have to say that it was the community that won my heart for Paraguay. The Chileans had such a heart for the Paraguayans and vice versa. It was so amazing to watch the prayer times and when I got to pray over someone, I felt blessed myself. I met so many people and just fell in love. And... I kinda liked the greeting process down there. I hope it rubs off on America...

Overall it was an amazing trip. I am kinda lost at this point, somewhat unsure about stuff, but I know it won't last long because I'll be back in South America among my friends very soon. I plan on finishing school then working for a while to pay off the money I owe and save up for my next trip down there. I left my heart at the boarder, so I have to go reclaim it...

Thanks for listening and thanks for your prayers... if you want to hear more... let's go out for coffee or something. Love you!

Chau! Y Dios Te Bendigo!
(Bye! And God Bless You!)

Family Reunion in South America!

So welcome to the wonderful experience of Chile, and the adventure to and from Paraguay- a few countries that i had no idea i would EVER be able to experience in my life...

<---This is a picture of a woman with God's heart of love, that shined through as pure gold in my eyes. We got to stay together in Santiago the first 2 days we were there before heading out for Paraguay. Alejandra along with 2 other women from Southern Chile named Margarita and Veronica completely took Alyssa and i under their wings. We stayed up talking and laughing, and making great use of my Spanish-English dictionary. They introduced us to many things, including putting mayonnaise on your rice!!! It was actually quite yummy. Alejandra and her 2 friends were the first impression I received of Chile; and I would go back in a heartbeat on simply the love and compassion and excitement she had for life, and that she poured into mine. The constant sweet comments she would express to me made me confident and more willing to be flexible because I knew I was taken care of. I have never been more at peace in my life! I honestly felt like I went to a family reunion and we all met in Chile, except this was family i had never met.

This is a picture of an amazing girl that i met named Romina. She lives in Chile, and also went to Paraguay with us. She acted as our translator and soon became one of my best friends! Her and her dad took us on a tour of Chile the first full day we were there, sacrificing their time to educate us and share the day with us. The day that we were at the bus station, preparing to leave to Paraguay, she could choose ANYONE to sit with, and we had barely met from the days before and she chose me. Thank you God! We spent the first part of the trip sleeping because we both experience the amazing effect of driving on mountain rodes....Car/Bus Sickness. She taught me so much, we were either talking, laughing or sleeping. A few people asked if we ever slept, Mrs. Stevens said she fell asleep to us laughing, it was better than the crazy movie that they were playing on the bus. We would talk while everyone else would sleep and we would sleep during the day, so just a little opposite of the crowd is how you might describe us. This girl has amazing faith, and wisdom beyond belief. She encouraged me so much with every day battles and situations i shared with her.

This is a picture of the place that we went to lunch almost every day in Paraguay, so we didn't eat as bad as i thought we would. No monkey noses, or cow who knows what, simply great food with tons of choices, it was a Buffet in Paraguay- little taste of heaven i would say. It was very inexpensive also, we did the math and it was about 4 American dollars for plenty of amazing food, including my favorite- italian ice cream, again in Paraguay where you sweat every minute of the day, what more could you ask for!?

This is a precious little girl named Jessica that i met while we were having a play day with a bunch of kids in a park. She was so beautiful, she seemed to always be wherever i was, just waiting to talk, waiting to play.

A few other precious ones

All in all, God showed me and gave me the opportunity to lead, something that i have always wanted to do, but always let someone else do instead. God showed me that it is possible and that i am capable of leading. I was so encouraged and respected by my peers and by complete strangers, i was constantly looked after, completely loved and so emotionally and spiritually lifted by almost everyone i came into contact with.

On the last Sunday we were in Chile, Matt and i got the opportunity to go to another Vineyard church in Chile called the Provencia Vineyard. It was a recently planted church within the last year, aimed towards the drug population and hurting families in the area. We shared about our trip to Paraguay, and were immediately welcomed and completely loved. Unlike everyone else, we went to a church where there was no one from the Chilean team; therefore we knew no one! We went to Pastor Isaac's house for dinner afterwards, and got to spend the day with his kids, and their friends. We ended up catching the subway and going to a movie "Pursuit of Happiness" which was conveniently and surprisingly in English, i guess all the movies there are, so of course we loved it, we didn't have to read sub titles, and no wonder the people CAN speak english they hear it through the whole movie! We ended up staying out quite late, it was amazing because of the completely different culture, it's not that big of a deal... it was amazing when Pastor Isaac dropped up off at Pastor Rodrigo's house at about 12:30 am, Pastor Rodrigo came outside and greets him "Pastor" at almost one in the morning. I think that there might be different words than that here at that late! But only a thought....

A Bit of Isaiah's Heart.

This trip all in itself was extremely beautiful. Words sometimes had a hard time capturing the moments that took place in South America. It was a place where I left a piece of my heart. I really believe God moved in my heart to see the inner beauty in people and just how much I need to interact and share and always be in community of believers. I think that yes, people are coming on here to hear stories, but I believe that they also want to hear what went on deeper. I'm willing to go there.

Coming back from the trip first off, my heart has grown more towards Boise and the culture here. It's unlike everyone else who wanted so badly to go back to South America. I guess God really loves to work like that through life-changing mission trips. Instead of feeling depressed and jetlagged, which is what has happened in the past with mission trips that I've been on; I feel completely at peace and have more of a seeking mentality.

I absolutely loved being flexible on the trip. I think the flexibility that I had to show really strengthened my maturity in Christ. My ability to interact with different people really spoke to extravert side. It was something I was struggling being real with for awhile and it so happened to mature with people that didn't even spoke English. The liveliness in the Paraguay Vineyard church was amazing. God showed up massively with each worship service, with each prayer service, and each moment of intimacy with him.

The relationships I formed with the people down there I will never forget. I know people say that a lot, but I want to mean it. There was such of a love between the Chile group and our group; intimacy through physical Godly love and prayer for each other. The people down there are completely hospitable. You don't find that very much in the States anymore, even in the church. It was a humbling experience because we had to be willing to be served as we were serving. God proved faithful in his promises, in his guidance, and in his over abundance of love. There was peace through the times of unorganized chaos, understanding through the times of despair, and strength amidst the spiritual warfare. Jesus came up on top in this trip. He always does.

Love.

Isaiah

p.s. come to Epoch, this Thursday night if you want to hear more about the trip from all of us. Open to all ages.

Matt's Story

My time in South America was a once in a lifetime unforgettable experience. I realized before we went on our bus trip that the same ministry here in the U.S. is the same ministry in South America and all over the world. The same love that God has for his children in the U.S. is the same love he has for his children in South America and everywhere else.

I went to South America with some bad expectations but ended up meeting a family in Chile and Paraguay that I fell in love with and hope to come back down and have a huge family reunion.

One of the biggest things that happened to me was being able to be used by God for a miracle. The day we got back from Paraguay Isaiah, Andrew and I met up with a guy named Rodrigo who spoke English well. Rodrigo and I went to get groceries for dinner and breakfast and on our way back we saw a guy in his twenties who was passed out unconscious half on the sidewalk and half on the road people. He did not respond to anyone he was breathing very lightly but not responding to anybody. Rodrigo asked "should we pray for him" and in my head I was like no we would look like idiots but I realized that this was not about me but it was about God. and I remembered the verse that talks about with the laying on of my hands and so I knelt down and prayed for him then I stood up just a little and pointed at him and said "in the name of Jesus I command you to stand up and walk" and when I said that his eyes opened and a few minutes later he stood up with a little help but he was ok.

Now I am not afraid to look like an idiot for God because he loves me and provides every breath that I breathe. He takes care of me each day.

Alyssa's point of view

I was so exhausted after our flight to Chile! Right when we got there we only had time to drop our bags at the church and head to 2nd service. It felt like an old southern small church with friendly people and many happy faces. We sat not to far back from the front and yes we did get the “are those new people” looks from others around us. At first I took in everything around me like what the people looked like and how everyone dressed. Did I look too casual ? How, if at all, did I fit in? Well worship began, of course in Spanish, and they had a little smaller set than ours. I recognized the songs, well most of them, yet at the same time I tried to learn how to say the words in Spanish. I finally got into the rhythm then the next thing you know we were being asked to come up front. It took us a while for us to respond but we understood when someone was motioning us to come up front. At that moment I saw most of our new Chilean team that we would travel with. The church prayed over the whole team. Later that day we all had a huge luncheon at the church. We represented seven different churches and communed with each other. We also were able to surprise Captain with a Birthday cake and sang the Happy Birthday song in both languages. (His first summer B-Day).

That night Elyce and I stayed at an apartment with 3 other ladies that don't speak hardly any English. (Thank God for Elyce's Spanish/English Dictionary.) We all personally met and said our “how do ya dos”. It got quiet for a while until we started to understand what we where talking about. That was fun it was like playing charades. Later that day I started doing my journal on the balcony. (awesome sunset to see) Some may not think that what I saw from there was a great view but I sure liked it with all the buildings and some view of the mountains peaking behind them. I got to see how things were and smell the cool summer air. (at the same time basking in the sun) I had a hard time getting to sleep because I was so excited and I still couldn't believe I was in Chile! The next day the Boise team had a tour of the capital, Santiago. We saw great sights and saw so many different people. We kept on seeing those sights until dusk. (That was a great work out for me.) At the end of the tour I was so tired all I wanted to do was sleep.

We have already had couple of days go by (That went fast) and we start our mission on the bus. Yes we are off to a land far far away. Through that time we were able to build relationships talking with the Chileans and casually introducing ourselves individually. My first friend that I meet on the bus was Carlos. I had so much fun talking to him and getting to know his story. He does not know all English but he does know enough to get a conversation going. I found out he loves to talk. (why does that sound so familiar?)

One of our stops (and this was weird to me) we were all able to take showers. I didn’t know that you had to pay just to use the restroom or take a shower. Things were so different in Argentina. I didn't really like the service in that country but like everything I got through it just fine. It seemed like forever going through that country. I lost count how many stops we made after the 3rd one. Finally after 52 hours on the bus we arrived in Paraguay. Yahoo!

Aww home sweet home away from home. We arrived at the place that 8 of us would be staying at for the time we would be there. It had no AC and yes it was very hot and humid but, at least we had nice fans that kept the house cool. (Quite frankly it was the right temperature for me.) Shortly after having like say 5 minutes we got back on the city bus and headed straight to the church. When we arrived there we headed out to outreach. (Don't forget the bug spray!) Our outreach was to give juice and sandwiches (which we have made at the church) to the vendors on the streets. (starting age was probably around 6 years old to about say 60 years old give or take) It was late afternoon going into the evening hours (the hottest time of day). They came to us like bears to honey. I had a great time being with the locals and getting a first hand perspective on how they live.

Later that night we had our first service in Paraguay. I loved it the worship was awesome the preaching was great. The most awesome thing though is that within minutes of it starting I could easily see and feel the presence of God. I automatically knew I was going to love this place.

The next day (or I think it was the next day) Captain and Linda taught the team about how to evangelize and how to let God lead into things instead of us leading and Him helping. Right after that we got into small prayer groups and started praying for our hearts. Well this one lady started praying for me. She said that I am very precious and am to be called princess. God values me and that even when I was in my mom's womb God saw me and I saw Him. I was considered brand new as a new creature. ALL THINGS ARE PURE! I never knew that I could receive while being on a mission trip. I knew that I had to give but now I realized in order for other to receive I had to have something to give. That next night I was praying for a girl (it was during the women’s meeting) who needed that same love and compassion that I was given. (MAN, GOD IS GOOD!)

I later on met a family at the place where I was staying at. That night I started talking to one of the brothers (Danny) and we ended up talking for hours. The next night I talked to the other brother and his sister (20 years apart, him being the youngest) The sister Maria I found out has lived in the states for 20 years but her parents are British. Her family ended up living in Paraguay where the youngest Matt has been most of his life. (soon to come to the states for the first time.) They were there at her sister-in-law's house. (same place to where I stayed) Their mother was there too for medical reasons (wont go into detail) That is why they were staying there in the first place. The next day Maria and her mom was at the church Elyce and I started to pray for her mom. I prayed for both since Maria was like the glue to the family. After I prayed for them I hugged Maria and while she was hugging me, she said to me in my ear that she saw the armor of God on me. I was blown away when she said that. I hugged her again and from that time on that family, Elyce and I became like one family.

A few days later the church and the team had a kid day at a park. (about 150 kids) Right as the bus doors opened we had this overwhelming greeting by the kids already there. Once we finally got into the park you would think it was a holiday with all the kids there having the best time with all the games and balloons. Seeing those kids faces light up like if it was Christmas that made my day. We ended that day with a few skits one done by the Boise team and another by the Chileans. At the end of the skits we had an alter call I saw at least 50 hands go up. Yes some may not know at that time what they where doing but I did see many that truly did and was an amazing sight. It was hard to see the kids leave that day but at least we know they can have hope of a better day.

Before our last few days there we where able to go to the falls in Argentina (forgot the name at the moment) God was so amazing that day. I was able to see some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in my life. We got to see so many different waterfalls and so many different spectacular views. They say a picture says 1000 words well my friend this could not even fit in a picture. I love how God loves us so much that He even delights in us when we see what He has made for His Glory!

The last night in Paraguay was incredible! Isaiah and Carlos started it with worship songs both in English and Spanish. The unison in both languages amazed me so much. At one moment I had pure joy and a privilege to see and hear what God hears all the time from his people all over the world. Just that one small glimpse made my heart full of joy and compassion. After that we all shared some stories and gifts to give each other. Then the Chileans prayed for the Boise team and then the Boise team prayed for the Chilean team. Unity was spilt all over that church and us. We then prayed for the Paraguayan church and pastor. We started our service and it ended up being a good bye party. All of the Paraguayan people prayed for us and gave each of us a gift to remember them by. It was a bitter sweet day but ended well.

At the bus station the next morning we said our goodbyes to all of our dear friends and now family too. This time it was a straight shot to Chile and we only had to go on one bus. During this bus ride we were saying our goodbyes to the Chileans and remembering our last moments together. Did the whole get email and addresses thing and 32 hours later most of us parted our own ways.

Thankfully we (the Boise team) still had a few more days in Chile. We had a few days rest until Sunday. Sunday all 8 of us went in teams of 2 to different Vineyards to tell what we had experienced in Paraguay. We all had our different stories so I'll just tell you mine. It was Linda and I who went to Vina de Florida. We had a small crowd of around like 20 people. I smiled when we got to meet up with some of the Chileans that was on our team there. Well like always we had worship then the pastor talked a little about outreaches. After that his wife (one of the Chileans from the team) spoke about the people in Paraguay and her experience there. Next was Linda she did the same and also spoke about the unity in our group (the whole team both Chileans and Boise) as we where there. Lastly I spoke. I spoke about how the 6 students form the Boise team wrote a journal on different things we got from God. One was about a miracle by the river. Well it so happens that we (the Boise team) had a miracle by the river. Then I went on to how my word from God was fulfilled. Every time we had our meditation time to then write in our journal about it, I kept on getting unity. Yes, that is right I said UNITY! I love how God uses us and shows that we do matter to Him. He loves us so much He is willing to share a few tidbits to us about what we will see or have later on in life. The funny thing is, is that we don't even know when its coming and He surprises us with it.

Linda and I and our translator Fernando was invited to the pastors house to eat. The pastor had so many questions on our school and how things run and they even asked me how I liked it. It was hours again before we saw the rest of us. I love how South America loves to fellowship. ( I could get used to that.)

The next day we finally met up with Isaiah and Andrew in Vina del Mar. We had this wonderful time with the pastors from both Santiago and Vina del Mar at seafood restaurant and the beach. My favorite part though was being able to see one of the Chileans from our team to go with us to the beach. Claudia (the Chilean) Elyce and I had a wonderful time together on the beach just body surfing and hanging out like typical girls. I loved it! (Got a tan to prove it!)

The last day Fernando escorted us and took us to the market for last minute souvenir shopping. We spent all day doing that and even meeting up with another Chilean from our team who was the one who took many pictures. Ricardo (the Chilean) showed us many, many pictures and they brought back so many memories from Paraguay. Lastly we had to rush back to the church and grab our stuff and go. It was a sad, teary time. I myself am going to miss it in South America considering that most of my heart is still there. I have gained many new relatives and friends. I will never forget the time that God told us to go. I am so glad He did.

It is so amazing what God does when we obey his every command and do what He wants us to do when we do it in His timing. Thank you God for this life changing experience. I can not wait for the next chapter in my life to come. This truly was a dream come true. Love your daughter Alyssa (your little princess)

Home, sweet home, but not

I have had a blast the past few weeks. God had fulfilled so many promises and has blessed us with so many friends and even family. It seems as though I left most of my heart there. While I was in South America it was like God opened a whole new chapter in my life and He has given me so many new dreams. Doing this missions trip was a dream come true. I have wanted to go on a mission trip since I was 14 years old. I am so glad God told our school to go on this outreach.

I have met so many people that have become my brothers and sisters. I started missing them within hours of leaving; one of which I felt I have known for 10 years. We connected instantly with so many things in common and were able to talk for hours and hours and not get bored. I can not wait to see them all again.

May God bless all of you and keep on living in Him.

Love Alyssa Johns

so much happened, here's my favorite parts

So I've finally made it on. i have three things to share with everyone.
The first story is about a Chilean i met named Gonzalo. He was amazing. As some of you may know, I have a hard time showing love most of the time. Somehow (with God's help) this man was able to draw it out of me. When he prayed for me one day, i had a picture of a floodgate opening a little. The gears would get jammed on a rock and struggle for a little bit. Then it would slam shut. This repeated a few times. Then, the gears gave a mighty turn and the rock was launched away and the gate was locked fully open. I felt like going around and hugging everyone when I saw this. I want to continue to walk in this goldmine of love that's inside of me. I hope to go back to Chile one day to visit this amazing man.

Next, we got this book called God.net. It talks about a journey where one walks in absolute faith and belief in God. Once i started, i could not put it down. I wanted to know everything this amazing author had to say about journey beyond belief. i wanted to walk in faith and finally get my ear tuned into God's channel . During and after consuming every word of this book, i had multiple opportunities to step out in faith. I had various words for members of the Paraguay Vineyard as well as for the Chileans on our team. For some it was direction and other encouragement in their God given purpose. This included Rodrigo. He had volunteered to stay in a one bedroom apartment with Matt, Isaiah, and me for a night when we got back to Chile. He told us about some of the struggles he was going through and we were able to pray for him. We got picture after picture and word after word from as the Spirit of God absolutely overwhelmed him. Not only did i have words of direction for him, but i also saw him and his current girlfriend getting married (we prayed for him before he showed us the picture of her). I was also able to help him interpret a picture he had gotten while we prayed for him. I want to continue walking in absolute faith which means a lot of work on my end.

So i guess there were really only two things that directly affected my walk with God. There was so much that happened, but it would be rude for me to tell it all and not leave anything for the others to share. Having a couple days off in Chile was nice to process everything and get some stuff down on paper, as well as some much needed sleep.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and support.

peace out

Andrew

p.s. this is what i got to look at while i journaled on our couple days in Chile.

Clicking the Ruby Slippers

"Home! And this is my room - and you are all here!" - Dorthy

We are home and we are safe, yet pieces of our hearts remain in South America. Many tears were shed on the mini-bus ride away from the church and our friends on the way to the Santiago airport.

We arrived in LA and found that we had two different airplanes for our last leg home. But by 7pm we had all been gathered in our families and Boise friends arms.

There were very few hours of sleep in the last twenty four so this blog is done for now. I am sure the students will log on soon, if only to correct the things I have said about them.

Thanks again to all our faithful readers.

Snow Day on the Beach

Originally on the school calendar today and tomorrow were to be vacation days for the students; a mini spring break. We tell the students it is so they can have a couple of snow days. The truth is that the staff’s own families occasionally like to see us as well. Last year my family and the Stevens family took all our kids to Wallowa, Oregon so we could experience a few snow days of our own.

This year we spent our spring break in the summer on the Chilean coast. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. We went to an amazing beach and I am bringing home a little sun burn just to show off to all those white bodies in the Idaho winter. The beach we were on was over two miles long. It had beautiful sand, nice waves, horses, hang gliders, cliffs and caves. It was spectacular. The only thing missing was a little more clothing on some of the local beaches inhabitants. Matthew commented that he had seen more cotton in a bottle of aspirin.

We also got to have lunch together at this amazing seafood restaurant in Vina Del Mar: ocean view, fresh fish, very reasonable prices – I’d come back here in a heart beat. It would be very easy after today to hear a call from the Lord to minister on the Chilean coast!

We are all gathering at the Vineyard Las Condes church at 1pm tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon from our various host homes. We will have a few hours for a last meal in Chile and spending the end of our pesos on souvenirs. What we really will take home from this place is the love of the Chileans and the heart they have to see the Kingdom of God come in a more powerful way to their continent.

We will head to the airport Tuesday evening to start our flight home. We look forward to seeing many of you in Boise when we return. For those who don’t call Boise home, stay tuned- this group heads to the Philippines for another mission trip in two short months.

Again we have been grateful for your prayers.

Pastor Chad Estes

Church Hopping

Today was a great day in the Vineyard churches in Chile! What an amazing opportunity it was to have our school share in so many churches in one day.

We haven’t heard from Andrew and Isaiah yet. They are at the Union church in Vina Del Mar, on the coast of Chile about two hours from here. Both guys have shown some real maturity during this trip in different arenas. I will be excited to hear how their sharing went.

The church that they are sharing in is very unique. It is the oldest evangelical church on the west coast of South America. When the Catholic church gave permission for the church to exist it was limited to the Europeans in Chile. But things have changed in the past 150 years. To make a long story short, the church became a Vineyard a few years ago and is open for everyone to attend. But since the church is so historic, they have decided to keep the name Union. That Andrew and Isaiah get to share at this church is a privilege beyond belief.

Linda and Alyssa went to Vineyard La Florida today. The pastor’s wife of this church, Marcella, was one of our team members to Paraguay. She opened the morning by sharing a whole bunch of pictures and stories about the trip. Then Alyssa was given the opportunity to share the story about God getting us back across the Argentine/Paraguayan border on the ferry. Linda shared her heart about taking what we learn from mission trips and applying it to our every day lives. Linda was just beaming when she told us her story. When she was finished the pastor came to the pulpit and announced that instead of sharing his prepared message he just wanted to reiterate what Linda had just shared. Pretty nice honor!

I had the opportunity to speak in two churches today. It was a great experience. Stacyann went with me and got to share about some of her mission trip moments in the second church.

Then we went to the homes of some of our team members from Chile. Linda and Alyssa went to Marcella’s home where they were presented with a wonderful meal.

Stacyann and I went to Francesca’s home where we were joined by two other team members Ada and Victor and other members of the church about 16 in all. Francesca’s parents fixed us a feast! We sat at a table and laughed and ate and visited together for over two hours. The Latin’s really know how to be relational at a meal. I wish we were more like this at home.

Apparently Matt and Elyce are having a good time with their hosts too. Last thing we heard they were being taken to the movies with them and wouldn’t be home till midnight. You will have to hear about their church experience later!

Tomorrow is our day off. We are going to the coast to pick up Isaiah and Andrew at Vina Del Mar. We will do some sight seeing, eat a meal together and then spend the afternoon on the beach. I think the students all want to come home with Chilean summer tans when they get back to winter in the states. Several of our Chilean friends are coming with us tomorrow. I think they like the beach and hanging out with us.

Captured Moments

Friends from America and Chile
The Girls!
The Guys praying for their Paraguayan Host
At Igauzu Falls

Children's Ministry Outreach
Street Outreach
10 year celebration!

Teaching on Inner Healing & the Father's Heart
Preparing for Medical Outreach

Processing Paraguay

Today we woke up in Chile after a peaceful night’s sleep. Peaceful can be described as a bed that lies flat and doesn’t have rotating tires underneath it.

We had a team meeting this morning after breakfast. We have received our church assignments for tomorrow. Andrew and Isaiah are going to a town on the coast where they have relationship with the Pastor. He is from Maine, and is excited to have the two guys share in church tomorrow. Matthew and Elyce are going to La Providencia Vineyard, Linda and Alyssa are going to La Florida, and Stacy and I are hitting two Vineyard churches, Las Condes and Neunoia. I actually get to preach in both churches, as soon as I finish speaking in Las Condes they will drive me to Neunoia where the service will have already started. Jack Hayford gets to do multiple services in multiple locations like this, but I never thought I’d get the opportunity!

We had some remarkable things happen during this trip. There are a few stories that involve the students specifically, so again I’ll defer to them sharing them. However, here are a few teasers:

• Matt told a man that was passed out on the ground to “get up in the name of Jesus” and he did.
  
• Elyce, who had a typo on her Paraguayan visa was mistaken at the immigration office for another American whom the ministry department had told the immigration people to wave through with no problems.
  
• Alyssa, who was missing an entry stamp into Paraguay (not her fault) rode Elyce’s coattails of favor through the border as well.
  
• We had a malfunctioning ferry on our trip back to Paraguay from the Asuzul Falls so the barge with us and our rental van was stuck in Argentina. They wanted to take us through Brazil to get back to Paraguay. (But if you’ve been reading this blog you know that it wasn’t an option as it would have cost over $1000 to get our team through Brazil.) We stayed in the van, the ferry got fixed, and ours was the next to last vehicle to make it across the border that night.

This trip has had some great outreaches and I’ll post a few pictures later. I also want to process some of my own highlights of the trip in a future blog.

To close for now here is the rest of our schedule:
Today, Saturday, the students are doing laundry, getting rest, finishing their books, and writing in their journals.

On Sunday we all go to the various churches, including fellowshipping with the people from those churches that were on our outreach. Each church is holding a lunch for our team, their team members, and anyone in the church that wants to hear the stories.

On Monday the rest of the team will join Isaiah and Andrew on the coast for a day at the beach – it is their day off, after all.

On Tuesday we head for home making stops in Peru and Los Angeles before touching down in Boise. We will see your faces then!

Chilly in Chile

Hi Everyone!

We are back in Chile after a 32 hour bus ride. We have lots of stories to tell about God's faithfulness to us on this trip. It is late, though, so I am going to bed for now and will try to update everyone tomorrow.

One thing to share though, we had a snow storm today in the Andes as we passed through. It is absolutely beautiful seeing them all white from snow. The cool thing is, it is summer here and they say it hasn't snowed like this in February in 30+ years. We are loving it after the heat in Paraguay!

Peace. Out.

Heading towards a whole lotta water

Greetings again,

We had another great day of outreach, but it was preceded by a very powerful intercession time for Paraguay. It was really wonderful to see how the Chilean´s responded to their brothers and sister´s needs here in Paraguay. Linda commented that it was a different burden than what our students experienced for them.

We have a few hours break and then will get on a bus at midnight and head to the Waterfalls at the corner of Argentina and Brazil. We are being good and staying on the Argentina side and found a travel service that will ferry us there for a reasonable price. One of the Paraguayans from the church, Sergio, who is who our guys have been staying with is going to go with us. The Paraguayans and Chileans will drive through Brazil and meet us at the falls. We will spend the whole day there tomorrow and then return to Asuncion through the night, getting back early in the morning on Wednesday.

I do not expect to have any Internet service until at least Wednesday. I am hoping we can give you an update then, before we head back to Chile on the bus on Thursday.

We can´t wait to share our stories and pictures.

Please pray that our travels go without incident. We are also looking to see what God is doing in the Kingdom even in the midst of a day of sight seeing. Keep that in prayer too.

Much love from Paraguay,

Chad

The Weekend Update

Saturday was a day without any Internet access so I apologize for the delay in writing. It was a very full and fun day.

First off, Matt is feeling much better. His color has returned, he could eat again today, and he was excited to have lost about 20 lbs in 20 hours.

We did an outreach for about 100 kids today in a poor area near the church. We had brought about 30 pairs of tennis shoes with us Chile to give to the kids, along with a bunch of candy that our team brought from the States. We set up a bunch of carnival games to play with the kids (spin the umbrella, squirt out the candle, bounce the ball into the cup, etc). But I think the funnest game was when the kids would climb the tree, point at one of our guys and jump into their arms. No Paraguayans were harmed in the relating of this story.

When the carnival was over our outreach team performed a couple of skits, one of which was done by our students from Boise. I have an confession to make here; I promised several years ago, before we even started the school that I wouldn’t have our students do the typical outreach, pantomime, sin sketches that every youth group has learned the last 20 years. No masks, gloves, or felt hearts for our school- no way.

Trevor and I even witnessed a horrific skit by a youth group a couple of years ago that was using one of Bonnie Tyler’s songs, “Turn Around, Bright Eyes” that should never, ever have been played after the 80’s let alone have an outreach sketch written about it.

I don’t find these skits to be particularly moving or communicative. I find them to be scary and fear based. (I’m also afraid of clowns, mime’s and French midgets.)

So apparently yesterday, while I was tending Matt at Pastor Pasquels and sending you all an update the team took instructions from one of the Chilean leaders, as I had asked them to do, and learned a skit for today. Linda looked at me with amusement this morning when I realized what was happening. I think God was having a laugh too.

Isaiah was the man who was tempted to sit in the chair of sin, which was marked, “do not touch” in Spanish. All of the kids yelled at him to stay away and Isaiah really hammed it up. Once he sat down and got stuck other students showed up with potential remedies – Alyssa with education, Andrew with brute strength, and finally Elyce with her Bible. The kids cheered when Isaiah was freed from the sin chair with the help of the scripture. The students did a great job with the skit, the kids enjoyed it, and so I chose to grin and bear it.

After lunch our team gathered at a mall, near the place we have been meeting for lunch. We found a coffee shop and sat down to check-in like we do at home. It was a much needed time together. Although we love being a part of the bigger team, it is also good to get the students together and reconnect. As a whole they are all being stretched, in good ways. They also are showing their strengths and giftings. Linda went around the table and affirmed each student for the areas she saw them showing great strengths.

We went back to the church, fueled by our espresso, and scrubbed down the church from top to bottom. Then we decorated it with streamers and balloons for the 10 year anniversary celebration. It really was a wonderful meeting. The pastor that planted the church was invited to come to Paraguay and give a greeting. We had an amazing time of worship, of which Isaiah got to participate as part of the band. He is loving that!

We continued the party again this morning at church, we all were introduced to the church after the worship time and then two of the team members from Chile gave testimonies. After that I got to teach a message. God really gave me a good word for this morning and I really enjoyed teaching it. I had a great interpreter and it was followed by a ministry time where we got to lay hands on every person in the church and pray for them. I still find it hard to believe that they gave me this honor.

The whole team is in the mall right now after lunch. It was supposed to be siesta time, but now all the Chileans and several of the Paraguayans are hanging out with us at the mall. It is too expensive for us to buy anything, but we enjoy the air conditioning and the espresso bar.

Tonight we are heading back to the church for a meeting. The men are going to play football in a local park (soccer), and the women are holding a prayer and counseling meeting at the church. I explained to the group that this church had figured out how to minister to the felt needs of the people. The men needed athletics and the women needed counseling and prayer. That joke only got laughs from half of the group.

Tomorrow is another day of outreach around the church. Honestly, this is a very easy place to be. These people and this culture is very easy for us to love. I think some of the students would stay, but I have told them they have to finish the school first before moving here.

That is all for now. Thanks for your prayers. We can feel them!

Chad

You can´t float around authority in a canoe

Greetings again friends. I have sneaked away to Pastor Pasquel´s house to update you.

The team is doing very well. I will let them relate their own stories when they can, but I will give you a few morsels here.

Matt is sick, most likely something that he ate combined with some dehydration. He has been off his feet today except for when he is sitting on a toilet. Not a fun day for him. It is nice that we have a doctor on the team looking after him. Right now he is asleep beside me at Pastor Pasquels. We will wake him up to go to the church meetings tonight and see how he is doing then.

We all appreciated our accommodations. Elyce and Alissa are at a ladies house that goes to the Vineyard along with several of the team members from Chile. The three guys are at one of the guys homes that goes here to the church. Linda, Stacyann and I are at a hostel run by some European Mennonites. The rest of the Chilean team is with us along with the doctor and another adult male. Somebody joked that all the Old Men were staying at the hostel. Somebody is on KP duty tonight.

Last night Isaiah played guitar with the worship band. This morning we had some workshops. I lead one on evangelism and Linda led the second one on Inner Healing (dealing with the Father Heart of God). It was followed by a great time of ministry. Andrew was the doctor´s aide today at the medical clinic and Stacyann got to do house visitations for people in the church that are currently sick.

While the rest of the team went to lunch those of us from Boise went to the Brazilian consulate to get our Visa´s for Monday´s trip to the waterfalls. When we tried to get these visa´s from the states we ran into red tape. We could get the Brazilian visas at any consulate if we were in person for $50. If we wanted to mail them in we had to use our regional consulate only. For Boise that means sending them to Los Angeles. Unfortunately for us, the consulate in LA doesn´t accept mailed visa requests. So...we were told we should just apply for them here at the Brazilian consulate in Paraguay. That was the plan, but at the counter today they demanded $133 each for the Visas. Well, I didn´t come with that kind of cash, nor was it in my budget, nor was it worth a day trip to the falls.

The Chileans and Paraguayans all felt bad for us because they don´t need a visa to travel to the countries in S.America. Patricia, our team leader, and Pastor Pasquel devised a plan to get us there anyway. We will now be going with the whole team to the place where Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil connect. From the Argentinian side we will take a ferry ($20 each way) with a tour guide ($10 each) to the Argentinian side of the falls. The rest of our outreach team will continue on the bus, through the edge of Brazil and meet up with us at the waterfall. So it has worked out great that we still get to visit the waterfalls, we still are at budget, and we didn´t have to be illegal to do it.

(Unfortunately for my sake, that last line became a good teaching point. At first when the Chilean´s suggested we get in canoes to get around the Brazilian border, I was all for it having being a little frustrated at the run around from the Brazilian government. Linda quickly got my attention (a jab, a look and a hissing sound) and politely reminded me that we wouldn´t be doing anything illegal with the SCCD students. ¨We´ll smuggle Bibles¨ I suggested, which the students found to be hilarious but didn´t move Linda. ¨Pastor Tri smuggled Bibles¨ I continued, with less and less conviction in my voice. She was right of course, this is a day off for sight seeing, we are not heading behind the iron curtain. The civil disobedience will have to wait for another day. In truth Linda showed great courage, she helped me save face (and possibly my job) and helped get the conversation back to a point where we could find a legal means of arriving at the falls. I made a funny comment to the students about knowing who really is running the team and Elyce responded that it just showed I could take wise council and not get stuck in being right or having to have my way because I am the leader. It proves that being in authority means being under authority. Once again, I am so thankful for the staff that these SCCD students have been so privilege to learn under.)

When I left the other students they were learning a skit that they will be doing tomorrow during an outreach. Tonight we will divide into men and women´s group for teachings held at the Vineyard.

That is all for now. I would really appreciate your prayers for Matt. I know he will survive, but he just isn´t enjoying today all that much.

Love from us all,

Chad

Safe, Sound and Saddle Sore

Greetings Friends!

We arrived in Asuncion, Paraguay today at 1.30pm. It took us a whole lot longer than thought... We spent a total of 52 hours getting from Santiago, Chile to Asuncion. It was a total of six bus stations, four busses, three countries, two full days and a partridge in a pear tree.

The Chileans keep asking why we would drive with them to Paraguay instead of flying straight here, but the laughter and friendships we have made along the way have more than made this bus trip worth it. We are working together as a team now that we are ministering together and I think that would have been more difficult had we just shown up here.

The bus ride itself was pretty uneventful. I definitely have nothing to complain about as I have ridden on bus trips in the Philippines that made this trip look like first class. Our seats reclined, we had movies shown in screens throughout the bus, they fed us bus food (think of downgraded airline food), and we were even able to sleep with some tossing and turning.

One miracle we had was regarding our luggage. A Chilean doctor brought several suitcases full of medicines with us. In the past they have been confiscated at the border. We were all praying that they would make it through. When we were entering into Paraguay they took three of the medical bags off and asked to look through them. We produced the doctor and a letter of what we were carrying and what it would be used for. Then they saw another guy on the team and asked him what his name was. Well he shares a name with a famous soccer player and so they treated him like royalty. They waved us on and we got through with all our baggage.

The Andes were amazing! What beautiful, beautiful mountains! Argentina wasn´t too bad itself.

The students all have some working knowledge of Spanish, definitely much better than mine. I know some words but freeze when it comes to using them. I am thankful for my dictionary and for the patience of the South Americans.

After a big lunch we went to the church today to start our outreaches. Elise and Isaiah helped with the medical outreach today, taking temperatures of the patients and interviewing them before they saw the doctor. They did amazing! The other students helped prepare meals to hand out to the street vendors during a street ministry later this afternoon.

Tomorrow I will teach a short evangelism seminar and then in the evening Linda will teach on inner healing followed by a ministry time. Both of us are excited to be used.

Today is the 10 day anniversary of the Paraguay Vineyard. It is such an honor to be here. There is a party to celebrate the occasion on Saturday.

Besides some sore backs, bums and the normal cases of missional digestive issues (think either going too much or not at all) we are all fine. Ask the Lord to smite the mosquitos here. We are keeping a lot of Off on since the mosquitos here have stuff we don´t want to catch.

I need to run for now. I don´t know how much we will get to be online this week, but we will post when we can.

chow,

Chad

Sightseeing in Santiago

Today we had an amazing time of taking a tour with our Chilean outreach partners. They took us to see hundreds of years of history. We saw the governmental palace, an amazing old cathedral, the Santa Lucia fort (which we climbed to the top of), the national library, the national archives, and a fun outdoor market.

This is a city of 6 million people out of a country of 16 million. Santiago is the heart and soul of Chile. It was fantastic to spend a day viewing it’s history while making friends with Chile’s true riches, it’s people.

We walked long and hard through the city and also took a couple of city bus trips. On the way back to the church the students got into a pull-up competition on the bars inside the bus. Linda smoked them. They don’t want to admit it, but that lady put those boys in their place!

Everyone is enjoying their host families. It seems that everyone got just the right fit.

Tomorrow morning we meet at the church at 9am and head to the bus station together. In all we are 28 Vineyardites. Our trip over the Andes and across Argentina will include several bus changes along the way, at least three we have been told. They told us to sleep very well tonight, so it feels that they are preparing us for something rather unpleasant. I think it is one of those things that we will look back on as an accomplishment.

I don’t know what sort of internet access we will find in Paraguay, but I hope we will be able to update you often. We sure appreciate your prayers.

Pastor Chad

Safe, Secure and Celebrating

It is at the end of very long day. The trip was around 20 hours long to get from Boise to Santiago (via LA, Dallas, and the grumpiest set of flight attendants you have ever seen).

Want an example of how grumpy they were? Well consider this little speech, “Welcome aboard American Airlines Flight 457 to Santiago, Chile. To operate your seatbelt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seatbelt and if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised. In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with two small children, decide now which one you love more.”

Honestly I wanted to sing a little Tony Bennett to them, “Take off the gloomy mask of tragedy, It's not your style… And if you're feeling cross and bitterish, don't sit and whine. Think of banana split and licorice and you'll feel fine.” Some of our students had never been on an international flight before. They aren’t really scared of flying, but they definitely are intimidated by the Nazi cart pushers.

I learned a little something in Dallas. Linda keeps telling us that Manhattan isn’t all that big, that the Dallas airport is bigger than Manhattan. Well they believe that in Texas too. There may be something to that rumor, but then again Texas thinks it is bigger than most everyting.

Sleeping on the airplane is no small feat, especially with no small feet room. Isaiah and Andrew sat next to each other and cuddled the whole trip. It was really cute and I’d wish I had a picture to share, But I thought better of it since I think they could take me if they ganged up. We do have a few colds and sniffles in our ranks so a few doses of cough syrup and the pm versions of over the counter drugs helped others get a little bit of rest. The only doses I took were of coffee so my dozing was minimal at best.

Our reception in Santiago was great. We made it through immigration, customs, baggage and money laundering without a hitch. We stared at the luggage going around for about 20 extra minutes only to find someone had set some suitcases off to the side. Two great ladies from the church met our team with kisses. They bundled us into a couple of vans and got us to the church in time for us to join the second service. More kisses on our cheeks greeted us at the church. It is really a gracious greeting for a group of gringos. Linda and I noticed that our guys on the team were really enjoying this Chilean custom – it was kind of like getting to first base on an intentional walk, without the fear of striking out.

During the service they invited all the team members going to Paraguay to come up front to be prayed over. There are seven churches participating in this outreach! Four of them were represented this morning. There was immediately a lot of great mingling together of the people from our teams.

After sitting back down in our chairs I was rudely awakened to an elbow in my ribs from Linda. Seems the whole church was waiting for the both of us to get back up front and give a greeting. I stumbled through it and all the people smiled, but I seem to remember using the word, “crazy” a couple of times and "according to the prophecy" as I was wrapping up. I think Linda wanted to elbow me again.

It was a great service and I am glad that we will be back here two weeks from now to experience another morning with this great Vineyard family. Next time I promise to be more awake.

After the service we had a great meal of fried chicken, watermelon, rice & vegetables, beef empanadas and birthday cake. One of the ladies in the church had seen on our passport information that today was my birthday and she made me a cake and made me smile. It more than made up for the flight attendants.

At about 4pm we all broke up into small bunches to go to our host homes. Most of the students are staying with other people from the church who will be going to Paraguay. Linda, Matt and I are staying with the Cunninghams, the pastors of the Vineyard church here. After a luxurious afternoon nap we woke to a perfect, San Diego-ish evening. It is summer here and the sun sets very late. Gloria is a glorious host and took us on a great walk along the river near their home. We then had a great dinner of fresh fruits, bread, and cheese while we sat on their porch watching the SuperBowl. It was a grand birthday and a wonderful first day in South America.

Thank you for the prayers and the support from back home. We love you all.

Pastor Chad

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Greetings to our blog friends!

We take off in a couple of hours for an 18 day trip to South America. This trip was the brain child of Pastor Tri and Pastor Tim after getting home from a mission trip down south. They had visited the Vineyard church in Santiago, Chile, which has been established for a long time now, and the Vineyard church in Asuncion, Paraguay, which is the only Vineyard in the country.

Their idea was crazy, which is probably why I liked it. They suggested that we fly to Santiago, hang out with the Vineyardites at the church for a couple of days, and then go with them on outreach to the church in Paraguay. The catch was that we would take a bus to Asuncion. At first hearing this sounded grand, but after looking at the map I realized just how grand a plan this seemed.

To get from Santiago to Asuncion on a bus means a 30+ hour trip over the Andes Mountains and all the way across this little country called Argentina. Wow! Sounded like something we just had to do, at least once... (well, twice if you count the return trip).

Our travels today take us to Los Angeles (on United 6527) to Dallas (on United 492) and overnight to Santiago (on LAN Airlines 5631). We arrive at 10am, Sunday morning the 4th. (It is four hours later in Santiago and Asuncion than in Boise for those of you keeping time.)

We don't know how often we will have internet access, but our team will blog when possible. Our request is that you will keep us in prayer on this trip. Here are some things on our heart:

1) That we would be see what God is doing in South America and that we would get a chance to pursue and love those people that He is loving and pursuing.

2) That we would receive all that we can from these people and these cultures that we are going to experience.

3) That we would give all that God has given us to give to those that God puts in front of us.

4) That we would have health in our bodies and safe travels in the air, land, and sea (I don't know how and if we are traveling by sea, but it is good to have that covered as well).

Much love!

Chad Estes

And We're Off.....

We leave very very soon and i can't wait.. I love and will miss you all...Hang in there while we are gone, and please keep us in your prayers... Thank you everyone for all your prayers and for everything you have done to assist us and make it possible to actually go.... I love you... XoXoXo Elyce the periods are in place of exclamation points, because apparently they don't allow them.... so here........i'm excited you just can't tell........... Adios.............

hi everyone

Hi its me Alyssa aka easthergirl keep in touch people love ya all take care.