Thank you for committing to pray for the Chile Outreach team, the logistics, and the work of the church at La Farfana and the Gideons soccer school. By partnering in prayer, you are choosing to walk alongside and uplift the team, Pastors German and Carmen Gloria, Carolina and Cristian and the families they serve. You can watch the team's commissioning at our Open Life Church service on June 15th, 2024 below.

Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting of the need to pray at different times throughout the trip. Through prayer you will accompany the team, contribute to the work, participate in difficulty, strengthen and lift them up in divine moments of opportunity. Through prayer “God has given you a way to make your presence count, a way to be a true partner in His kingdom’s work.” (Touch the World through Prayer, Wesley Duewell)

The team arrives home today.

• PRAY that we fully comprehend what God has done in and through us and that we would desire to continue to reach the world right in our own neighborhoods, schools and communities.
• PRAY for each team member to be physically strengthened today as we rest and recover from travel.
• PRAY for others here at home to be blessed by the reports back from this trip.
• PRAY for our acclimation back into the daily routines quickly.
• PRAY for lasting fruit in the lives of our team.

Scripture to Pray: 
"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ...that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.” Colossians 4:2-4

“Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf! Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives, and kept our feet from slipping.” Psalm 66:5, 8-9

“Lord you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.” Isaiah 26:12

As updates are sent to us we will be posting them below. Enjoy following the experiences of our team.

Today was a great day. This morning I (Stephanie) had the privilege of working with the group of women on a story discovery project followed by a time for sharing testimonies. The women shared stories of pain and triumphs through many tears, hugs and prayer.

While Stephanie was working with the women, Nathan and Henry started a building project to add a dividing wall to a bathroom. They made a great start and should finish before lunch tomorrow.

Greg, Dani, Owen and Charlie continuó with their soccer clinics. I am told by German and Carolina that they see progress in the boys’ playing abilities.

Everyone is tired by the end of each day but all are well. We are  receiving warm hospitality from our hosts and very much enjoying the Chilean food.

I am honored to be sharing a home with the pastor’s family. We have great evening conversations and just this evening they shared with me the impact of our team’s presence here. Several new families are sending their boys to the soccer camp and many new children are attending the afternoon children’s program, both of which are providing opportunities for the church to share the love of Jesus and the Gospel with them.
- Stephanie

Today was another long day full of positive interactions. It started as usual, with breakfast as soon as all the parties wandered in. Then it transitioned over to soccer for the Watson’s minus Henry, who stayed with Nathan and Stephanie to work on some church maintenance. A quick trip to the local market provided change from the usual routine, as a few extra minutes were filled in. Lunch and dinner were good and filled with connections and finally the day ended with thoughts looking towards the end of the soccer camp tomorrow.

- Owen

Today was the ending of a few projects and the start of some more. Henry and I finished the new bathroom wall and the rest of the Watsons finished up the futbol camp with the kids all before lunch, after lunch our time was spent getting ready to start the great amount of painting that we’ll be doing over the rest of our stay. We’ll also help put up some new shelving in the church’s storage room. We’re all looking forward to spending some time working alongside the church to make it look nice and pretty.

Nathan

Today was fun. We started the day with a tour of the Santiago churches that are all part of the same church planting movement. After lunch, we started painting the church and building shelves to help better organize their storage and create more efficient spaces. I [Charlie] worked outside with some of the Chilean boys to remove an overgrown tree. We enjoyed empanadas for lunch and dinner. As with most days, we played ping pong to fill the gaps and ended our day watching the Chile Copa America soccer match.

Charlie (embellishment by Stephanie)

Yesterday was a day for rest. After a sleep in we all attended church at La Farfana during which we all participated in the message by creating the armor of God in groups. After church we went to the Pilcoles for pizza and games. Dani and Stephanie braved IKEA on a Sunday (yikes!) to purchase needed items for this week while all the guys played games. They have a new favorite. The next two days we will be painting and organizing at the church. Pray we are able to complete our projects in time for our final free day Wednesday.
- Stephanie

Today was a good day. We started with a delicious breakfast of bread and eggs and got ready to do some more painting and work around the church. We worked hard on murals and general painting and organizing until dinner which was Mapuche Sopapillas made by German himself with guacamole and pebre which is like a Chilean salsa which we have at nearly every meal. After dinner we played games and watched soccer.

Henry

Our last work day was spent painting, building and organizing. Owen’s height came in handy to reach the tallest walls; Stephanie, Nathan and I finished painting murals; Henry assembled IKEA storage units and Greg and Charlie installed shelving in the kitchen for much needed storage. What would normally take Greg a a few minutes, took much longer... drilling into brick was tricky work!

‘Once,’ the dinner time meal, was a birthday celebration for our new little friend, Cristobal. He spent the first week with us at soccer school and his parents have been here daily helping prepare meals and spruce up the church. It’s been a joy seeing Charlie bond with Cristobal these past several days - thoroughly enjoying each other’s company. It seems that ‘joy’ and ‘fun’ transcend any language.
- Dani

Today was our last day in Maipu and it was filled with an adventure into the city and lots of heartfelt goodbyes. We started the day with breakfast at the church where several of the members of the church thanked us for coming. It was gracious and we all felt connected to the church and sad to be leaving. We then set out for the city center where we braved big crowds (it’s still winter break from school so lots of people were out) and went up the Mountain of San Cristobal. We took in incredible 360 views of the city and the mountains. We then took the metro back to Maipu for a late lunch at the local mall and quick souvenir dash. Afterwards, we set off for the airport and our final sad goodbyes to the Pilcoles and several other new friends who helped us to the airport. The immigration line made us a little nervous and say a few prayers since we were a little late but made it to the gate. We will soon be departing and grateful to come home but dearly blessed by our time in Chile.
- Greg
NOTE: The team left late Wednesday evening in Santiago and will fly to Los Angeles, and then will arrive in Seattle around 12:30 pm. Their flight left late, so be praying that they can make their connection quickly and not be delayed further.

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