Inaugural Service and Voces Concert

*Sorry for the lateness of this post!!!*
The biggest thing that happened during the month of March was our Inaugural service on March 19th. It was such a special day, and the place was PACKED with visitors (Chilean and North American… we even had a friend come that we met in Peru!). Normal church attendance is usually between 100 -120, but on inauguration day we filled the building with 360 people! We had a great service, full of singing, a sermon on the good news, and even a baptism at the end!

After the service we had a reception where people could mingle and talk with visitors, and the interns were in charge of serving food and drinks (a.k.a. we were the waiters). After the reception a concert was performed by Voces (a group that sings Acappella songs, but in Spanish). The concert was a big success, as many people stayed for it. Many of the Chileans had never been exposed to Christian music, and they all really seemed to enjoy themselves.

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO DONATED MONEY FOR THE VOCES CONCERT! IT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS! THE FRIDAY BEFORE OUR INAUGURAL SERVICE, VOCES PERFORMED A CONCERT IN THE PLAZA IN FRONT OF OUR CHURCH, AND AS A RESULT 2 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, PERLA AND FRANCISCO, CAME TO THE INAUGURAL SERVICE AND HAVE BEEN COMING TO CHURCH EVER SINCE! EACH OF THEM ARE NOW INVOLVED IN A BIBLE STUDY! PRAISE GOD!

All in all it was a great day for our Christian family. And, as a result of all of the visitors, several new bible studies have begun. We are truly blessed to have this new building and had so much fun celebrating that together in our inaugural service.


Voces performing for the church on Sunday afternoon


The crowd watching the concert. In the front few rows are my friends, and English students, Raquel, Carl, Ingrid, Francisca, and Matias. Also, can you spot my dad? ;)


John Mann, an intern, serving trays of food to our guests.


I met Alan (in the Voces T-shirt) during my trip to Peru, and was able to witness his baptism. He traveled all the way from Lima to be with us on our Inauguration day! He is pictured here with some boys from our University group.

Rafting!

March was a month full of visitors here in Santiago (with it being Spring Break in the U.S. and the church holding it's Inaugural Service). My parents and my friends, Kristin and Melissa, all came down to visit. You can see a few of the photos from their visits by clicking on the "My Pictures" link. Another intern here in Santiago, Lindsey Peterson, had her brother come and visit for about 3 weeks. While he was here, we traveled about 10 hours south to the city of Pucón for a weekend. If any of you come to Chile.. I definitely recommend visiting this small town! It's very touristy, but a lot of fun. And one of the most fun things we did was go rafting! I would seriously say it comes in #2 of the most fun I've had in Chile (#1 being the soccer game between Chile and Bolivia). So, here are some pics... enjoy!

Matt, Lindsey, and Me in our wetsuits, ready to raft!


In the raft.. ready to go!


So much fun!


What a ride!

A Month of Baptisms!

In the last month 5 people have put on Christ in baptism at the Iglesia de Cristo in Santiago. Needless to say it has been a great month! It all started with Jose Ramon.... Jose Ramon is a recovering drug addict who has been in contact with our church for quite a while. In January he started studying with Kelley Grant and decided he wanted to commit his life to the Lord. He was baptized at the end of February and has been on fire for God ever since! The next Sunday he brought 4 friends and his 3 children to church with him! His friend Sebastian, who came with him to church that day soon started to study the bible as well. Sebastian was so amazed but what he studied in the bible with Kelley that he started studying everyday... sometimes twice a day! As a recovering drug addict himself, Sebastian was overwhelmed by the thought of being forgiven and starting a new life with Jesus. He was so attracted to that thought.. that when he asked Kelley to baptize him, he wanted Kelley to hold him under the water for a while... so that he would really feel he was leaving his old life of sin behind and raising up to a new life... free of sin and full of God's grace! When Sebastian came out of the water he was so excited and held both arms in the air.. like he knew he had won the victory! It was a great moment.. one that I will always remember! There are just the stories of two of the baptisms that took place, but please be in prayer for all of the people that were baptized this month... Jose Ramon, Sebastian, Roberto, Carito, & Ricardo. Enjoy the pictures below.. and pictures of the inaugural service are soon to come!

Here is a picture of Jose Ramon's Baptism


Here is Roberto & Carito.. a married couple who wanted to start their new life with Christ together. They have already started working hard for the church congregation here. Roberto prepared all of the food for the inaugural service!


And here is a picture right after Sebastian was baptized. It is a moment I will never forget!!

Coca Cola Sign
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

Here's a picture of Lindsey and I in front of a Coca Cola sign that, translated, says, "The hotter it is, the less clothes people wear." We thought it was funny. :)

Summer Fun!

Well, summer is coming to a close here in Santiago. Most of the schools start back up next week, everyone is back from vacation, and the hot weather is starting to cool off. I know most of the time I put pictures up of events, but this time I decided to just put some photos up of us having fun and enjoying the summer time!! I hope you enjoy! :)

Mendoza Gang
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

One of the highlights of our summer was taking a trip to Mendoza, Argentina for a couple of days with some of the Univesity students. Pictured here from left to right is me, Cristian, Lindsey, and Kani.

Mendoza noche
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

Cristian, Lindsey, and me hanging out in a plaza in Mendoza, Argentina. I love the summer nights!

Asado
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

Jeff Hatcher was kind enough to host a barbeque at his house for all the high schoolers and college-age students. Sausage dogs and Hamburgers! It was a blast! The two girls on the left are Daniela and Brenda, contacts from English class.

Dinner
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

For Valentine's Day a few of us got together and made a Mexican feast of Nachos, Guacamole, Refried Beans, and Brownies for dessert! Yum! Pictured from left to right... Me, Camilo, Lindsey, and Rodrigo (Cristian was taking the picture).

Brownie fight
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

Things got a little out of hand while preparing brownies for Valentine's Day... but obviously we didn't mind too much! :)

New Church Home

Well, we finally made the move to our new building! We moved on January 28th and it was a great day! Over 50 church members came to help, young and old! Everyone is so excited to be in our new beautiful building! Our first church service was very special. We had well over 100 people present! After services, we had a ceremony and watched as several men from our church placed a cross in the tower, and then we had worship time together, praising and thanking God for all He has done for this congregation.

Being in the new building is so exciting! When I see this building, I see hope. I see a future for this church in Santiago. We are here to stay. I get chills when I think of all the things that will happen in this building... baptisms, weddings, celebrations, lock-ins, and so much more! I hope you will take the time to celebrate with me and thank God for what he has done in Santiago, Chile!

Below are some pictures of our move day and the new building, and there will be much more to come (how cool is that?!?). Enjoy!

Moving Day
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

Loading up the truck for the move!

Moving Day2
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

Helping carry some boxes! :)

Moving Day 3
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

Everything ready to be loaded on to the moving truck!

Street Sign
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

Chau Carlos Antunez con Los Leones! (The corner where our old church building was located.)

New Church
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

The new building all ready for the first service!

New Church
Originally uploaded by JWorley28.

After our first church service, we all stepped outside and watched as several men of the church put the cross in place in the tower.

Meet My Storgin!

I would like for you all to meet Konner Glen Grant. He is the newest member of the Kelley and Julie Grant family, and the newest member of the mission team here in Santiago! What makes him even more special is that he was born on December 28th... my birthday!

Ok, so you might be wondering about the title of this post. What's a storgin you might be asking? Well, you know how when you share a birthday with someone it just seems really special? I mean, twins have the title of twins, so there should be a title for anybody who shares a birthday, right? I was sharing these exact sentaments with Kelly and Sara Davidson and they told me that in their family they did have a word for it... Storgin! My life has been changed ever since! :) So, hopefully you were looking for a title to put on 2 people that had the same birthday. And now you have an answer!

With all that being said, let's all welcome, Konner Grant, my storgin, to the world!

Meet the Newest Member of Our Family!

I have some exciting news! Gabriel (pictured on the right), a boy who has been coming to our church for about 2 months was baptized into Christ on Dec. 21, 2005! Gabriel is originally from Venezuela and came to our church on his own. He just decided to stop in one day and see what we were all about! It's always amazing to me how God leads people to Him! Not long after Gabriel stopped by, he began to study the bible with Rodrigo, a member of the University Ministry, and John Mann, a University Intern. After the lesson on baptism, Gabriel knew right away what he wanted to do. So, we called his family so that they could come, and filled up the baptistry! Gabriel has been a great asset to our group here. He's already planning a bible study with another friend! Amen! Please be praying for Gabriel!

Christmas with Luz de Cristo

Luz de Cristo is a home for abused children. The Iglesia de Cristo en Los Leones has been involved with this home for the past several years. This year, I was asked to help plan a Christmas even with the kids from Luz de Cristo. We invited the kids to come to church services and then afterwards we had a feast of pizza, empanadas, and cake! At the end of the day the church gathered around to watch the kids from Luz de Cristo open Christmas presents! We had received a "wish list" from each child and, with the donations of the church, were able to get each child something that they really wanted. It was a great day together with the kids from Luz de Cristo. We're hoping to be involved in their lives even more in the future. Another great aspect of our Christmas party was that it gave many people the opportunity to serve. The pizza and cake that we ate for lunch were homeade by Roberto and Carito, a couple who have been attending our church, but are not yet Christians. This was a great event, allowing the church to work together, and showing us the REAL spirit of Christmas!


The Christmas tree with presents for the children!


Some of the church members who stayed to celebrate Christmas with the kids from Luz de Cristo.


Some of the kiddos showing off their gifts!