Buenos Dias, mis amigos!
I'm writing you from the city of Pichilemu, the surfing capital of Chile. We are about halfway through our eight-week outreach as part of my Discipleship Training School with YWAM Salem.
It's my first time being in a country whose seasons are swapped with ours in the United States; currently, in Pichilemu, it is 63 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny. It actually hasn't rained since we've been here, and I don't think it will until the fall. Because Pichilemu is a coastal town, there's always a nice breeze bouncing off the ocean. I'm glad I brought a sweatshirt! However, the lack of ozone is quite a shock to everyone—most people are tanning and burning very quickly. Sunscreen is a necessity. Although, I have developed a Teva-tan that I am quite proud of.
It's also very unique to spend an extended period of time in such a warm culture, and I don't just mean climate-wise. Latin Americans are extremely welcoming and familiar with people, whether they've known you for a year or an hour. It's not uncommon to be greeted with a kiss on the cheek (that's something I'm still getting used to). People have been so hospitable, particularly a woman named Ruth from El Salvador. She's invited us over to her house nearly every week for snacks and a movie. And, she's hilarious! We've adopted her into our group.
Right off the bat, as one of our ministry opportunities, we were invited to serve at a wedding taking place on the base the following week for two former YWAM students. We scrambled to find white shirts and black pants, and when the day arrived, we showed up promptly at five o'clock. Little did we know that in Latin American time, it's pretty normal for things to start at least thirty minutes to an hour past the initial start time. After the ceremony, cocktail hour, and pictures, dinner was served around 7:30 p.m. (and it was delicious). Dancing most likely began close to 9 or 9:30, and my team and I greatly enjoyed the music. Everything wrapped up around eleven or eleven-thirty.
By far, the most foreign element of our outreach to me has been celebrating Christmas away from home. I shared my testimony at the church we've been attending in Pichilemu at their Christmas Eve service, and in it, I reflected on how I've lived out of a suitcase for six months of this year. The weight of carrying that suitcase finally caught up with me on Christmas weekend as I imagined my family gathering together around the tree, exchanging presents and snacking on delicious food and sharing laughter. I often pride myself on my wild, wandering spirit, and how I'm used to being away from home for longer stretches. However, as this year draws to a close, I realize how deeply I feel the absence of my family and how grateful I am to have such treasures to return to when I need to unpack my suitcase for a little while.
Our outreach leaders, understanding how difficult it can be to spend the holidays away from home, made the atmosphere merry and bright. They prepared a colorful spread of cakes and pasteries, candy, chips, fruit—all our favorite snacks—as well as a pot of coffee (which, instant coffee being the norm in Chile, I appreciated greatly). As an additional surprise, we discovered presents under the tree addressed to us. Our leaders had arranged for our parents to mail us each a shoebox of little gifts which they so diligently hauled through customs in our extra team bags (we wondered why they were so heavy). What a sweet treat that was! Tears were shed. For the rest of the day, ee all got to talk to our families on Christmas and spend the day doing whatever refreshed our spirits.
Our ministry in Pichilemu has been nontraditional and often unexpected. We were given a lot of liberty to create our own programs and classes, which is exciting but overwhelming at the same time. A typical schedule during the week looks something like this:
8:30 A.M.— Breakfast
9:15 A.M.— Team Meeting
9:30 A.M.— Team Worship and/or Prayer Time
10:30-12:30 A.M.— Dance & English Classes OR Christmas-card distribution/prayer walks (Ministry)
1:00 PM— Lunch
2:00-4:00 P.M.— Work Duties (Cleaning)
4:30-6:30 P.M.— Volleyball (Ministry)
7:00 P.M.— Dinner
Additionally, we've been able to participate in the local church hosted on the YWAM base, the Iglesia Bíblica Cristiana (Christian Biblical Church), by sharing our testimonies during the service and offering child care and a childrens' program during the holidays.
I also wanted to share a little bit about the classes we've been offering as part of our ministry in Pichilemu, as well as our beach volleyball games. For part of the month of December, we offered two classes at the Pura Vida community center (part of YWAM Pichilemu)—a dance class and a conversational English class. It will come as little surprise to you that I volunteered my services for the English class, despite the fact that all I have to show for my qualifications is a degree in writing. So, along with two of my other teammates, we taught the English alphabet and some conversational phrases to whoever showed up (which, some days, nobody did). I made a long-term connection through my bumbling contribution though—a new friend named Diana.
Diana works at my favorite cafe, a small place called Marea Dulce. My friends and I frequented this cafe an embarrassing number of times every week (sometimes twice in one day) because of their delicious pasteries and espresso. One day, we struck up a conversation with Diana, who speaks English very well. I invited her to our English class, and she came a couple of times after the holidays with her mom, who wants to learn English for her grandchildren who live in the U.S. It was a real blessing for me to strike up this friendship with Diana and learn more of the English and Spanish languages from each other. One of my concerns with short-term outreach trips is that they won't be beneficial to the communities they serve or that the relationships won't be long-lasting. It was a quiet desire of my heart that God would provide a friend that I could stay in touch with in Chile, and He answered that unsaid prayer so effortlessly.
With any missions work, it's always a desire to see salvations—new lives in Christ claimed. We saw four young men accept Christ as Lord over their lives during one of our volleyball matches. We always gathered everyone around for a short devotional and prayer time after the games, and there were a few guys who had been coming back. The Gospel message was given, and four of them decided to take the leap of faith. It was a blessing to our team to be part of that journey with these guys, even if it was just for that initial moment. Praise God for the way He faithfully pursues the hearts of His children!
Another type of unconventional minsitry we participated in during our time in Pichilemu was, unfortunately, attending a funeral. An esteemed member of the YWAM base passed away from a long and hard-fought battle with cancer. All activities at Pura Vida and on the rest of the base ceased for the day. Christian, our contact, encouraged us to attend the wake, funeral service, and burial, which felt like an imposition to most of us. However, whereas in the United States it would appear as an intrusion to respond to a stranger's grief, it's the opposite in Latin America. Even though we had only been living on base for three weeks, we were included as part of the family.
Attending the funeral was a sobering experience. It was also uncomfortable for many of us, but I think it was also a beautiful expression of Chilean culture. We watched as grown men and women wept and comforted one another, so open with their emotions. It's more common in the United States for people to keep their feelings under wraps rather than wearing their hearts on their sleeves. I was deeply moved.
We also developed long-term friendships with the students participating in the ongoing schools at JUCUM (YWAM) Pichilemu. Our team connected easily especially with the DTS because those students were doing exactly what we were doing! Their DTS had a sports focus, and the students came from Chile, Columbia, Peru, Brazil, and even one from California. When we arrived, they were preparing for their outreach in the Amazon in Brazil to reach some of the unreached people groups that resided there. Our groups got along well, and we certainly shared some teary goodbyes as we wished them well on their outreach a few days after Christmas.
With every schedule, balance is key. Our outreach leaders were diligent to build a little fun into our schedule! In addition to our weekly day off (Saturday), we also got to ride horses on the beach! This fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine. Mind you, I was a little bit terrified. Unlike my mother, who had a pet horse when she was younger, my childhood wasn't exactly filled with horse-riding opportunities. In fact, my most recent experience riding a horse was in Ireland last March while studying abroad, and it was English-style. Everything was very proper, right down to the riding boots and helmets. The horses trotted and cantered when the guides commanded.
This experience, though, was very different and honestly, a little heart-racing in the best possible way! Our guides, who really only spoke Spanish, helped us onto the horses and off we went! My horse was eagerly racing to be at the front of the pack, and broke out in a canter (and sometimes a sprint) as often as possible! I cannot describe the wild freedom I felt as we sprinted down the beach. I pictured myself as the heroine of a Renaissance-era film, the overcast sky and crashing waves making for a truly dramatic and once-in-a-lifetime moment.
In addition to horseback riding on the beach, I checked off another bucket-list item—surfing! In South America's surfing capital of the world, no less! Go big or go home, am I right? On one of our off-days, a few of us decided to try our hands at surfing. We zipped up our wetsuits (with great difficulty) and carried our ginormous boards down to the beach. If no one has ever told you, surfing is much more challenging than it seems! Even after a brief lesson (completely in Spanish) before entering the water, it's definitely the sort of activity that takes practice to master. I swallowed more salt water in an hour than I probably will in my entire life, but I did manage to stand up several times! Surfing requires delicate balance and weight distribution, so if you are a dancer, you might pick up on it rather quickly, like my friend Abby!
And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't give the 1001 stray dogs we encountered in Pichilemu the credit they deserve. It was actually quite sad to see so many sweet pups roaming the streets. Not all of them were friendly, naturally, but the majority were very cuddly and lovable. Our contacts told us that this is because many people who live in the largest neighboring city, Santiago, will adopt dogs when they're puppies but drop them off in smaller towns like Pichilemu when they grow to be too big for their apartments. So, that's why most of the strays were quite approachable, because they are domesticated. I hope you enjoy the sweet faces in this lovely collage I put together of some of our furry friends!
Perhaps the most significant takeaway I have from our five weeks in Pichilemu was that the Lord taught me more about His grace and the wisdom of letting the Holy Spirit guide us in our ministry. We all struggled collectively and individually in Pichilemu because our ministry schedule didn't seem as full of fruitful opportunities as perhaps other outreaches in the past. We often became suspicious of why our time seemed to be so full of free time, breaks, and blessings.
It seems to be a very Westernized-Christianity thing to make missions work harder than it needs to be, that we are only "worthy" of financial support when we're sleeping in tents outside, trekking for miles in the Himilayas, eating rice and beans every day, or risking our lives for the Gospel. But God nudged me to confront those expectations in my own heart, and He gently revealed to me that the worthiness of someone's missions work isn't determined by humans, but rather by God. If I am living out the calling He has given me in obedience, I must trust that He will take care of the rest. God specifically called each of us on my outreach team to Chile, and the first five weeks of our outreach, He really used us to minister to and bless the other students, base staff, and townspeople with encouragement, friendship, and prayer. Discipleship is such a key element of a life with Jesus, and it happens to be something I am passionate about.
I'll leave you with this—
God often speaks to me through books (big shocker there), and while I was on outreach, I read The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. This book is all about God's unfathomable grace and love for His creation. As so often occurs, the words and message of this book came to me at just the right time. Manning writes,
“For those who feel their lives are a grave disappointment to God, it requires enormous trust and reckless, raging confidence to accept that the love of Jesus Christ knows no shadow of alteration or change. When Jesus said, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, He assumed we would grow weary, discouraged, and disheartened along the way. These words are a touching testimony to the genuine humanness of Jesus. He had no romantic notion of the cost of discipleship. He knew that following Him was as unsentimental as duty, as demanding as love.”
If you want to learn a little bit about the cost of discipleship, do a YWAM DTS. Go on outreach. Watch as the Lord wrecks your perspective of people, service, culture, missionary work, and even Jesus Himself. You will walk away forever changed.
Stay tuned for a blog recap of the last half of my DTS outreach in Chile!
xoxo,
Hannah Rose Rob
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