First day with the full crew and sad news

We completed our first day with our (almost) full crew. The medical team had their first day of their clinic. They treated 26 dental patients, dispensed 126 glasses and treated 105 medical patients. The best news is that everyone received their Steps to Christ (thanks to Elena Perez) and was invited to the meetings. People were genuinely excited about the meetings that started tonight.

Our usual morning prayer before we start our day

We completed the fourth course on the church and started the 5th. We moved a little slowly today, but that is because we had a lot of new team members that have never worked construction before. We will move more quickly tomorrow.

The church at the end of the first day with a (nearly) full team

We pray that our remaining three team members arrive safely tomorrow. We have arrangements worked out for their transportation.

I received some terrible news at 11:48 Chile time today. My phone can make but not receive calls. Rachael had emailed me, but couldn't call me. I finally got her text message to call her urgently. That is never a good sign. So, I went into the tool shed to call her and she was crying and told me I needed to be in a good place and to sit down (also never a good sign). Expecting the worst, I did and she told me that her father, John Mutchler, had died of a heart attack this morning. I am very glad that I was in the shed because I am not ashamed to say that I completely lost it. I haven't cried so much since my grandparents funerals.

John H. W. Mutchler (1944-2008)

John was a devoted father to my wife, Rachael, and her brother (and my friend) JJ. John was a wonderful pastor, good friend and most importantly, a true warrior for God and always wanted to share the news about his best friend, Jesus.

John Garofalo hapened to be in the shed at the same time getting his lunch out of the cooler and clearly knew I was in distress and that something was terribly wrong. I will always thank him for being there-he didn't even know what was wrong, but held his arm around me while I cried my guts out for Rachael's loss and for my loss of a great father inlaw and a greater friend and person.

I would have never expected to hear the news of John's death in a shack in Chile thousands of miles away from Rachael. I will miss John terribly. He was a great father to Rachael and JJ (her brother). I will eternally thank him for raising my best friend, Rachael, and instilling in her a deep love for God and a passion for sports! John was our pastor for years and our families were together a lot. He knew that I cared for Rachael and did everything he could to get us together. He often said that if he could have picked anyone for Rachael, it would have been me.
The shack where I heard about John's passing. Not sure why I took this picture, but it seemed appropriate.

I loved the fact that John was the one that performed Rachael and my wedding ceremony. I will also remember the summer of my senior year in college where John and I played a lot of golf and he would give me tips on how to win Rachael's heart.

John at our wedding. It was a wonderful to have him perform the ceremony

I am sad that he never got a chance to see the Lions in the super bowl. I could sit and watch sports with John for hours and we would often talk about his teams on the phone.

The thing that I am saddest about is that he won't be able to finish the work that God had put before him with his new church in Weatherford. After being out of the ministry for years, he had recently accepted a call as a lay pastor in Weatherford and had found his place.

God truly is amazing and has a plan for all of this. Now we all know the real reasons why Rachael wasn't supposed to be with us in Chile. I am blessed with a tremendously perceptive and spiritually aware wife. She had never felt at peace with her role on the Chile trip and didn't feel like she was supposed to be here. She had some other ministries and people she is working with in Houston that she is working with that are her passion. When she found out she had some skin cancer that needed to be removed, that was the final call from God saying "you aren't supposed to be on this trip". Now we know why and we praise God for his leading.

I am finding blessings in this from the support of the team members here. John Garofalo and Michelle Battistone were a real support to me in the tool shack and I thank them for that. Claudell had a beautiful prayer for Rachael, me and her family at worship tonight that I will treasure. Leigh also had some wonderful things to say about God's leading and I thank everyone else on the trip for their kind words and encouragement.

We don't know details on the service yet. I will most likely head back early, but probably not till construction is complete. Keep the group in your prayers along with Rachael and her family.

UPDATE: John's funeral services were held on Wednesday the 19th. It was attended by friends, family and his co-workers from two different city emergency services departments. What a beautiful service and celebration of life and remembrance of John and what he meant to so many people. I honestly believe it was the longest memorial service I have ever attended. So many people wanted an opportunity to say a few words about what John meant to them and / or how he impacted their lives. John led many people to Christ. His life serves as a reminder to me that we may be the only Jesus some people ever see.

While the service was very tough emotionally for me (seeing my friend buried and moreso, seeing Rachael and her brother struggle with their emotions over the loss of their father), it was very uplifting because if reinforces that God is in control of everything. Most importantly, John is at rest in Christ and will arise with the rest of the faithful on that glorious morning with Jesus returns.

We still don't have internet, so no pics till we return.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.