We, along with our colleagues, the Bonilla's, have been hosting members of our MPT's this month.January has been a full month.It is high summer here.We have been delighted to share with our friends from Indiana and New Jersey some of the best of Chile.

Dick Sharber, who is the energizer for the Bonilla's MPT, is pastor of Ramapo Valley Baptist Church in New Jersey.He shared the following sermon with his church upon his return.We are always trying, in our own voice, to describe for you what sharing and living the gospel is like in Chile.Here is what it is like to experience it for the first time.

The Chile Side of Church

3 John 1-8 & Psalm 96

The day after New Year's we were running down the concourse at 11:15pm.Our connecting flight to Santiago was to take off at 11:20.The plane from Newark had been 2½ hours late taking off.At 11:22 we walked onto a plane waiting just for us.Somehow they even got our luggage loaded.God seemed to be smiling on us from the start.And he kept smiling over and over the next few weeks in the faces of many new friends and fellow believers.

Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go to the churches where we brought the gospel and see how they are getting along."So 5 of us went to see how our missionaries and the believers they serve are getting along.We went to make our relationships more real as brothers and sisters in Christ.We went to encourage them and to be stretched and uplifted ourselves.The other two from NJ were Carol & Carolyn, both musicians from Freedom in Christ Church in Middlesex.Carolyn had congestive heart failure 3 years ago.She said, "When I almost lost my physical heart, God gave me a new spiritual heart for him and for missions."Still, she was concerned as to whether she could handle the physical demands of such a trip.The other 2 on our team, Dan & Cori, were a married couple, from Indianapolis. (Cori Catellier is the Bolick's MPT energizer)The women were all handy with crafts.Carol spoke Spanish.Cori offered experience from 2 previous Chile trips.Dan was our recreation coordinator and extra good with kids. Each one brought a helpful attitude—open, appreciative and flexible.

We covered about 500 miles and visited with 7 congregations, staying a day or two at each place in members' homes.We led a VBS type experience for kids 3 times.I did some magic for the lesson time.During recreation, I helped teach American football to the boys, which they loved.One hot day we mixed concrete in the street to help lay a foundation for a church's expansion project.We participated in 7 services, in which I was usually the preacher.

We learned.New shower temperatures at times, new mealtimes and some new foods, almost always a pleasure.We learned to stay alert till 1:30 in the morning, and then give thanks for the next day without always knowing what the schedule would be.We learned to communicate with a different language.I used my Spanish / English dictionary even more than I used my Bible.

"Declare his glory among the nations" the Psalm read.We went to support our missionaries by watching them in action.Carlos & Mayra Bonilla most of you remember, with their 3 beautiful children, Alberto, Carolina & Daniella.They are committed to serving as a family, and each member has something to offer.Carlos, from Columbia, and Mayra from Puerto Rico are especially well suited to establishing friendships of guidance in the congregations.Much of their time is given to coaching pastors and leaders.They have been teaching several courses through the theological institute as well as developing custom made weekend workshops for various churches.Now in their second term, the Bonillas have the joy of seeing several of the students they have taught and mentored growing into key positions, and several of their churches growing.

Our other missionary family in Chile is Dwight & Barbara Bolick.They are also blessed with a delightful family in two full-of-life boys, Jack & baby Will.They serve mostly to the south, the gorgeous region of lakes and volcanoes where some indigenous Chileans live, the Mapuche.The Bolicks aim at economic and leadership development. Their two main goals are identity recovery and vocational discovery.That's because the Mapuche have suffered discrimination and exploitation, like our native American Indians.Even within the past generation they have been forbidden to use their native tongue in school.So the parents have kept their language a secret.Dwight believes it is critical to their identity to restore what was taken from them.And especially to allow them what we read in Acts 2: for people to hear the word of God in their own native language, the language of their heart.So Dwight studied their language and found a teacher for classes in speaking and reading Mapudungun.We enjoyed seeing the pride with which the class could read the Bible in their own language—including a few non-Christians.

Finding work can be slim pickings, especially for the Mapuche.With vocational discovery, Dwight has coached several of the men in bee keeping.This is a helpful addition to their income.We watched a demo from a safe distance.Barbara has taught weaving to the women.[One of their colorful efforts is now displayed downstairs.]Some of the women have told her that God has showed them in dreams about Jesus and also about weaving.Their skills are rising.Dwight and Barb also work with several mainstream churches in stewardship and Christian ed programs.

John wrote, You are doing a good thing by taking care of these traveling teachers.We should support them and so become partners with them for the truth.We were inspired by the loving commitment of the Bonillas and Bolicks with a strategic approach and a Christ-like spirit.Our support in prayer and personal relationships and finances are all ways of partnering with these friends.

Barnabas was once sent to visit a new church in Antioch.Acts 11 says that when he saw evidence of the grace of God, Barnabas was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.Our team did not have to search hard to find evidence of grace and joy.It was pouring down around us.Now, churches down there have their problems, too.And all the ones we saw were about our size or smaller.But here are some things they excelled in.

Gracious hospitality.Such generous spirits.The homes and congregations served us VIP banquet style.With far less money to share than most of us, they welcomed us like family, lavishly and tastily.Lots of hearty bread, sometimes luscious empanadas filled with beef, onion, olives and raisins.Chicken soups with home grown fruits and veggies.And we were saturated with hugs and kisses.As someone who has been a longtime insider in the church, I was reminded how much it means for an outsider to be expressively welcomed from the heart.

Another strength on the Chile side of church is joyous worship.They sang their hearts out.Often the only accompaniment was a praise CD.They'd sing 5 or 6 songs, then do a reading, a choir, a prayer, a dance, spontaneous Spirit-given word, a time for response, sometimes with tears of repentance or dedication.Then they would sing some more.The first night we started worship at 8:15 and ended at quarter to midnight.After that services were shortened to more like 2 hours.

Such responsive congregations (as you will see reflected in photos in the foyer).Often they would nod and Amen when they felt a deep agreement.One night some in the congregation seemed especially moved by the worship and message.They didn't want it to end.So the pastor and wife, Hugo & Carmen, invited some to their house along with us.At eleven o'clock in the evening they were barbequing a stack of various meats.As nearly 20 of us crowded around their table, one of the guys pulled out his guitar and we sang for about an hour, till around 1:00 in the morning.They were ever ready to be praising God together, and especially with us strangers.

Another strength we saw: a desire to serve.We heard it in the vision of a women's' leader, to feed hungry children from the neighborhood and also reach people for Christ.We saw it in the pastors who were working other jobs to support their families.A 25 year-old young man we stayed with, Ronald, works at a fish hatchery.He wants to serve more in his church and reach outsiders.He can't afford formal training now so he studies on his own.I saw a driving desire to serve in one of my home hosts, an abused and divorced mother of teenagers.5 years earlier she had felt dead inside.But gradually, Ilsia said, God brought back flesh to my bones and spirit to my heart.Now I am at peace.So I want to help other women who are depressed or hurting.She said, someone called me with her problem and I wasn't sure what to say.So, she exclaimed, I've got to get training as fast as I can.

The results?A whirlwind trip like this may seem superficial.But an invitation to serve, especially on a team, opens us to God's working in a unique way.We experienced genuine mutual fellowship: giving what we could offer and receiving a sincere response along with a heart full of Chilean kindness and infectious hope.And there were also individual blessings.Carolyn was ecstatic that she could meet the physical challenges of the trip, even when tired.She added, "Every time I take a risky step for God, he comes through for me."Carol found her fluency in Spanish used over and over.Dan & Cori wound up appreciating their marriage in a deeper way and renewed their vows in one of the churches.And for me, it was a time of extra freedom and joy in ministry and also of sharpened clarity about my own calling.I regret not having some of you there with me.But I'm grateful for your support.I'm grateful for another glimpse of how gracious our God is and how big and wondrous is his world.And I'm glad for a preview of the picture in Revelation, when people from every nation and tribe and language are gathered before the heavenly throne, shouting in unity, "Salvation belongs to our God."