Team update and last post for the trip

The remainder of the team arrived into the US on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately for them, there was a very strong storm system in Dallas/Houston that morning. The team arrived on time into Dallas / Fort Worth (DFW) airport on time. However, American had already cancelled their 7:45 flight and rescheduled the team on various other flights on multiple airlines to multiple destinations.

Some of the team decided to wait for their flights and arrived in Houston after lengthy delays. The earliest group arrived at around 1 pm and their luggage arrived after 2:30. Others didn't arrive till much later.

A few intrepid souls went to rent cars to drive to Houston. Thanks to Renee Schirra and her Hertz Gold Club membership, some were able to actually rent cars.

At the end, after much adventure, everyone did arrive safely in their destinations.

Since I wasn't at the excursion hotel on Sunday / Monday, I don't have anything to post about the team's activities, but I know that several went on hikes, canopy rides and horseback riding.

We had a great group and God blessed us on the trip. We hope to see everyone again next year if God leads us to have a trip.

Thanks again.

Safe arrivals in houston

I arrived safely in houston on time and with my luggage this morning. It was an uneventful trip, once I retrieved my camera and got on board.

I will provide one final update once the group arrives tomorrow and pictures sometime over the next week.
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The day of miracles

Well, I am now on the plane to miami. I didn't have any issues on the train thanks to the conductor. When we got to san fernando, he gave me his seat to sit in the rest of the way to santiago!

Then, when we arrived, I went to the taxi line and was waiting. There was only one guy in front of me when one taxi pulled up. He started to put his bags in, but then took them out and waved me over to take his cab! No explanation, just gave it to me.
I made it through the airport just fine and got checked in. I had to rearrange my backpack before going through security and went through.

I had dinner and did a little shopping. I went to turn my laptop off and put my contacts in and reached into my bag, only to find.......no camera. My heart sank and immediately literally started sweating! I have some great pictures that I would be very sad to lose.

So I busted it to the gate and asked if they could call security to see if they had found any cameras. Keep in mind I had rearranged my bag right outside of security. They asked what type of camera and I told them. They said that they had one there and would breing it by. This was with about 20 minutes till takeoff. So, I had to sweat out the longest 10 minutes of my life while they brought it by. It was mine, thank God! I got it and ran onto the plane, happy for another miracle! Who turns cameras in anymore?

Well, here's hoping for a good, restful flight. I hope I don't need any more miracles to get to houston!
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Elena to the rescue!

I am on the train in Chillan. Elena and I met with the bus driver and ended on a good note. He had confused us with another group and was very concilatory in the meeting. We paid up and ended as friends.

Elena then took me to the train station. When we got there, they said they didn't have any space on the train to Santiago from Chillan. They could only book me to San Fernando, which is 100 kilometers away from santiago. So, Elena helped me purchase the ticket and we talked to the conductor to ask if I could just stand up for the last 100 km. The conductor was great, smiled and said no problem, he would take care of me. So, problem solved thanks to Elena and God. Now, I just need to get there and to the airport!
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Leaving chillan

I am in Chillan now waiting to pay the bus company and settle a few other things before I catch the train to Santiago. I have a few random things to catch up on.

Cathedral on the square where I was sitting as I typed

I had already wrote about Bobby Battistone going to a store every day to get chicken. Well, others started going as well and she wanted to know about us. Through that, she became interested enough and was at the church dedication on sabbath! Bobby wants to start a better ministry through meat program next year!

The Chicken Lady in the green jacket at Church

During the lunch with the church yesterday, they presented me with a very nice copper engraving of a map of Chile. It was very touching for them to do that and it is much appreciated.

My new cool copper Chile map

We had a few challenges with the bus yesterday. We took the bus we had been using all week from Cabrero yesterday and that was fine. When we got to Chillan, we turned into the bus company depot. The owner met us and was angry about changes and the amount of luggage. He wanted to argue and have us pay for another bus. Tito shut him down and said we weren't going to negotiate on the Sabbatha and that we were fine with putting the luggage in the back. The owner still wasn't happy and said that if we got stopped by the police, we were on our own because apparently it is not legal to have bags inside the bus! Well, no police, but one wrong turn and a few hours later, we arrived at the Gran Hotel at Termas de Chillan. Everyone was very glad to get there.

Discussions with the bus company owner

The "false" hotel. Everyone was ready to kill me when they thought this was the hotel!

The hotel was beautiful and the food was great as well, especially for the meat eaters that didn't get their fill during the week. We were able to get a meeting room and had our meeting and one of the hotel employees explained the activities for today.

The real Gran Hotel at Termas de Chillan. A very beautiful place.

Ed Dewar with the nasty fish head that he and Ray Wolff ate.

After a final late night card game (which I finally won!) I got a good nights rest, but really missed rachael. The hotel was very nice and had big rooms.

The final Uno game. You can actually see Claudell cheating in this picture by looking at Glenn's cards.

I convinced Tito to go running this morning with me. We were going to do 3 miles, but neither of us accounted for the altitude, which was about 5200 feet in elevation. I haven't ran for about 2 weeks, so I wasn't in great shape. That combined with the week and the altitudes kicked our butts. We only ran about 1.8 miles. It was a good workout and a good way to see some of the beautiful scenery along the golf course that we ran on.

The view from the hotel window.

I will post more later.

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Church dedication

We just left our hotel to go to Chillan. We had a wonderful service at the new church.


Our entire group at Church on Sabbath
When we were eating breakfast, it was raining. We were thanking God that he held the rain off all week until we were done with the construction. It rained until about 10:30, so we benefited from the newly placed roof!

Church service in the new Church - with roof to protect from the rain!
Mark Murray led our sabbath school sevice and we had 5 people give testimonies about how the trip has affected them. We had a wonderful Chilean quartet of a father and three sons for special music.

David Spencer Jr. giving his testimony during Sabbath School

Chilean quartet with father and three sons

Renee Schirra with her VBS attendees showing what they learned during the week

Pastor Tito preached a powerful sermon and we had three baptisms in the new church. One gentleman came to the meetings all week and wanted to be baptized today. His house and business burned down a few weeks ago and he realized his need to lean on God.

Pastor Tito preaching

Pastor Tito with all three baptismal candidates

Pastor Tito in the pool

The gentleman whose house and business burned down after baptism

At lunch, the baptized gentleman wouldn't let go of the new bible we gave him. He lost his bible in the fire.

The pastor called for others to make a commitment to baptism and we had six people come forward to give their lives to the Lord, so the Cabrero church is already growing.

Maranatha produces a half-hour TV program called Maranatha Mission Stories. They air on religious channels and you can now download as podcasts from apple.com for free. The host, Dick Duerksen happened to be in Chile today. When he heard from Roger and Darrell Hardy that we were dedicating the completed church and having baptisms, they rushed over and filmed the service. After church was over, he interviewed the Cabrero pastor, Juan Vera (the gentleman that loaned Tito the car) and myself at the actual church. We then went to a potluck lunch with the church members. Dick and his team are going to be at Chillan and will interview Tito and other team members for our very own Maranatha Mission Story! They will let us know when it will be aired. You can order free copies from http://www.maranatha.com/ and we will let you know how when it airs.

Dick Duerksen interviewing Juan Vera in the back of the Cabrero church

Juan Vera during his interview discussing the church and the miracle of the car

Our group having a potluck lunch served by the church. I am happy to report, no cheese and no illnesses!

We have realy enjoyed our stay in Cabrero and what God accomplished through us. We are now looking forward to a little rest before we head back.

I leave for home to be with Rachael tomorrow. I will be sad to leave our group, but happy to see Rachael. We really had a great group and team. I enjoyed everyones spirit and cooperation on this trip. I pray that I am able to get my way to the airport.

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Final report

We had a great worship tonight and said goodbye to our hosts at the hotel. They are very nice and appreciative. We had a great housing and food situation. I have heard no real complaints about either.

Final worship at the hotel

Rodrigo and his wife - they made us very welcome and comfortable

We got done with work early so a lot of people jumped in the pool before dinner. Still cold, but not as cold as late at night like I did to make good on my promise the other night.


Team members in the pool after a hard week of work

The weather has been fantastic every day. It starts out cool/cold (around 40-45) and warms up to 75-80. No rain at all and little wind. Great working conditions.

We also had a great team that worked together and didn't have any arguments or short tempers. I am very thankful for that because we really had to switch everyone around again on their job roles.

We learned a lot about the brick churches. If we do another one, we will be better prepared. Different tools, different techniques, etc.

We don't know yet where we will be headed next year, assuming we do a trip. I am sure God will make it clear. Our options look like they include Chile, Mozambique and maybe Mexico. Nothing is scheduled yet for the March timeframe yet, so we don't have any direction yet.

We are looking forward to the church dedication and a well-deserved rest for a few days. We are sad to say goodbye to my Uncle Roger and Ellie, who have been with us all week. It is great to see him for an extended period of time and to be able to work with him. Ellie was a huge help to our VBS crew. Roger and Ellie leave tomorrow to go lead another project in Chile.

Ellie (far left) at VBS in her western gear!

Roger and me at the church on Sabbath

Roger and Darrell Hardy (Darrell is in the green shirt through the doorway). Darrell is in charge of all Latin American construction and spent some time at our job site.

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Jubilation!

We got the church completed today! We got the last forms on and poured the entire church by about 1:00. The roofing crew also completed their work.

Our team after the church has been completed.

The church looks great and is ready for Sabbath. Some church members already set up a swimming pool for baptisms since the baptismal hasn't been waterproofed yet. We are looking forward to a great church dedication and worship tomorrow.

The team cleaning the brick after the concrete was poured. We had a challenge in that we didn't get the concrete off the brick soon enough (only one water hose) and the team had to scrub all afternoon. We will do this differently in the future.

Exterior of the completed church

Interior of the completed church

Edward and me. Edward was the Maranatha foreman. He did a great job and was a joy to work with - I think he appreciated my attempts at spanish.

Me addressing the team on the bus ride on the way back to the hotel

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Daily report

The dental team had a small space for their work, but saw 14 patients will multiple procedures. His room gets smaller each day.

We dispensed at least 80 people for glasses-some with entire families.

Medical team treated 98 people.

Bobby and Ernie went to a store and got an entire chicken each and ate it for lunch.

Ernie, Renee and John enjoying their chicken.

Bobby, aka, the Chicken King

I did jump in the pool after worship. It was absolutely freezing! We will post video when we get back.

Signs you need a tan: Frighteningly white chest - check. Highly visible tan lines from golf and work - check.

As promised, humiliating video. It is very dark, but wait for the countdown and you can see the white flash going into the pool. The video got cut, so the second part follows.

We played mafia tonight as our activity. Per usual, claudell did a great job!

David Spencer continually trying to (unsuccessfully) convince people that he isn't guilty.


Claudell leading out in Mafia.

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Completed two walls!

We had a good day on the construction site. We got the front and one side wall completed and grouted up to 14. We are at 13 on the other side and back.

Front entry of the church - brick completed

Baptistry wall at end of day

We were only at 10 this morning and as a motivation, I told the crew to think of a humiliating or other task I could do as a reward if we got up to 14 today. I said I would have shaved my head, but had already done that! Leigh came up with a good one and suggested that I jump in the pool at night when it was cold. I said it was a good idea and that if we did get at least one to 14 while the others were at at least 13, I would do it. Looks like I am swimming tonight!

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Mid-week report

We are about halfway through our work week. The medical group saw about 100 patients, mostly senior citizens. They gave out 200 glasses-so happy that they can see after years of not being able to. Dental treated 14 patients-all with multiple procedures.

We got done with the tenth course today. Not where we wanted to get to, but pretty close. We really need to get done with all 14 courses in order to complete the church. If God is willing, we will get done!

Church at end of the day

We had a great worship tonight by John Garofalo that put things in perspective. If God is behind this, nothing will get in our way.

Our food and lodging situation has been great. This is one of the best locations we have stayed.

Joanna says she can fly.
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Safe arrivals

We had a great day today. The remainder of our team arrived safely today. They had a few challenges at the airport and got their medicines confiscated. They made it to the train safely and Roger picked them up in Chillan.

The medical team had a succesful day. They were at a handicap center today. The dental team treated 16 patients, they dispensed over 100 glasses and the medical team saw 50 patients. The VBS team started today and had 52 kids! Tito had over 120 people each night for the meetings.

The medical and dental team with the banner advertising their work

Dr. Dewar getting his (small) workspace ready

The handicap center where the team worked today

VBS attendees

Our VBS team leading out

We don't have any phone access and our cards aren't working. So, Bobby and Michelle want Isabeau to know that they will call her when they can.

We did well on the job site today. We got the window frames set, rebar extended and all of 7 and half of 8 done. We made good progress, but had to slow down to make sure we had good quality and that the work was clean.

Our team hard at work on the baptistry. I think our grout team (and everyone that helped) was ready to shoot me when the realized how long it takes to fill EVERY little hole in the brick with concrete. Luckily, we only had to fill six levels.

The church at the end of the day - with windows set

The team playing Uno after a hard day