Report from Santiago, Chile for March and April, 2005
Greetings. Old Man Winter walked in the door last weekend. Now what we go through here in Santiago would be mild by most peoplés standards, but to hear people talk in Chile it is the end of the world. Since most people cannot afford to heat their homes, it is pretty hard to stay comfortably warm. However, you get used to being a bit colder than you would be in the States. At any rate, last weekend we had thunderstorms and rain and cold.
I may have mentioned before that the television ministry based in Miami, Con La Biblia Abierta, approached me about running a television program in Chile next year. I am all for that, because television has been our most successful mass media effort here in Chile. Through it, we were able to start up several congregations in Chile. We also baptized such wonderful people as Augusto Fuentes and his wife Berta in Arica and Jaime and Eliana in Iquique. Our success in bringing people to Christ is the reason why they want to start with us. In order to prepare for the program, I started up the class in evangelism. Right off the bat, I was disappointed on two levels. I had made arrangements to videotape the class, but the guy who was supposedly the expert in that did not show up, so we did not get to do that. The other thing that disappointed me is that we have had only about fifty people participating in the class, and I was hoping for twice that.
The classes that I have had so far on evangelism have been really good. The goal of the class is to teach the members how to evangelize, and to give them the knowledge necessary to evaluate their success in evangelizing. In other words, I give them the lessons that they need to evangelize, but I also explain what each lesson tries to accomplish. I also explain that each evangelist and each congregation must develop the spiritual environment necessary for evangelism to take place. For example, in the first lesson, I explained that evangelism is a teaching ministry. In Matt 28:18-20, Jesus gives a model for evangelism. Making disciples of all nations involves baptism and teaching. The two go hand in hand. In a very few words, our model for evangelism is that correct teaching produces correct practice, which is obedience. A person is not evangelized until he understands certain teachings and responds to them. In the Churches of Christ, we have always had difficulty getting people to study long enough to understand the concepts in order to act upon them. Thus, the church and the evangelist have to create an environment where people want to learn. I suggest that two factors help us do that. One is that the church must set the example in learning. If the church is not willing to be taught, then how can we expect others to be excited about it? This also suggests that those who are in charge of teaching classes or evangelizing need to teach interesting classes that actually make people want to learn more, which is the second factor. Our strategy in evangelizing is to ignite the imagination of people where they are thinking about the teachings of God. When they do this, they want to learn more. When I came here in 1991, I assumed that people wanted to know as much about the Bible as I did. So I determined that I needed to teach lessons that were spiritually profound for two reasons. Spiritual growth does not take place if people are not challenged to grow and they will never teach others if they are never challenged to learn themselves. One way that I challenge people to learn is that I ask questions and then I guide people to the answer. I never answer my own questions. Sometimes I have people really sweating as they try to figure out the answer, but then they always do, because I never ask questions that are too difficult. The result is that we have fine people here in Chile who are members of the church, including ministers such as Milton, Pedro, Sergio, and David. We also have lots of people that are eager to learn.
I am happy to inform you that we have begun the new congregation in Independencia. We rented a building on the street Independencia, which is a major thoroughfare in the north part of Santiago. This is really a good location where hundreds of people pass by our building every day. The rent is expensive for us at 300,000 pesos a month or about $530.00 US. I agreed to pay half of the rent from the work fund if the church pays the other half. Your support for this effort is needed. Already one couple has been baptized. About forty people are meeting with us. Most are members that live in the area who had been worshiping at the other congregations. We are going to try and maintain a program of activity in the location every day, which is difficult, considering the lessons and obligations that we have every day. Sunday we had three visitors. All had visited the previous Thursday.
In April, Fred and Esther from Austin Avenue in Brownwood came down for a visit. The Chileans really enjoyed their visit. I am sure that I walked them much more than they were used to. They had a chance to get around and see some of the congregations in action. During the weekend of April 15-18, we went to Arica, where they were able to see the work in Arica. I should point out that we had an earthquake while we were in Arica. This was Fred and Esther’s first. It was not much, but since we were about a half mile from the beach at the time, you cannot help but think about tsunamis. You probably cannot run fast enough to get away from them, so you have to trust in God that he will protect you from them.
I learned in a phone call to Arica prior to the trip that our brother Augusto Fuentes, whom I esteem a lot, suffered a heart attack. When we had a chance to see him, he was weak. It made me sad to see him in that condition. He can surely use our prayers. He will always be a spiritual hero for us for his faithfulness in beginning the work in Arica.
David Cisternas seems to be doing a good job in Arica with the help of the brothers. Augusto will have to slow down a lot, but everyone else seems to be doing a lot of hard work there. David’s brother Luis has married and settled down a lot, proving to be a more stable Christian. I appreciate him more than ever now, because he has gotten up at five a.m. twice now to take us to the airport. While in Arica, I was able to visit with Emilia Rabi who was a Bible Correspondence student who was baptized several years ago. I renewed my acquaintance with her daughter who is now about twelve years old (if I am not mistaken). I also met her niece, whom has been attending church regularly. This niece is also quite young, thirteen or fourteen or so. She rides the bus alone on Sunday mornings and was the first to arrive the Sunday we were there. Several new families have been participating evidently, with at least one married couple having been baptized.
A brother from Iquique, Carlos Segura, was at worship in Arica when I was there. He informed me that the church in Coihaique in the far southern part of Chile is worshiping together, as they should be. We have not been able to visit there for a while due to the cost of the travel. Carlos informed me that two people want to be baptized in Coihaique. Thanks to some additional help that we received with the work fund, Pedro Sanchez is going there tomorrow to work with that congregation.
Jaqueline informs me that a married couple was baptized. This couple has participated in the Marriage Enrichment meetings that Milton and Jaqueline do. Jaqueline also informs me that the lunch program for children is feeding about forty-two children every day. Currently the money that we have that goes to that is about 450.00 dollars a month, although we spend a little bit more than that on the food. You have to admit that feeding one child for a month for ten dollars is a pretty good bargain. What I especially like about this is that the congregation in Población Santiago is taking these kids into their hearts and is working with them. Let’s not forget the children. Even though it is not exciting news to say that forty-two children have been fed this last month, it is important for them. In this, the church is a blessing to the children. This is a necessary ministry, as much so as the Marriage Enrichment ministry or the prison ministry.
I made a few trips. I returned to Vicuña once again to visit with Rolando. We studied the Bible with him and Hugo. Rolando is following in the footsteps of Augusto Fuentes, in that he is being a force for the church in his community. I am working with him when I can. You can find a picture of Rolando and me here:http://harry1976.blogspot.com
On the last Monday that Fred and Esther were present, Rolando rang my doorbell. We shared a good visit. It was also good that he came over on that day, because he was able to visit with several of the ministers and get to know them.
I made a trip to Ecuador to visit with the church in Ibarra and Guayaquil. I held a conference in each city. These churches need a lot of work, but they are hanging in there. I am glad to be able to help. They seem to like my teaching quite a bit. In Ibarra, three people were baptized. I must be used to the mild climate in Chile, because Guayaquil is hot and humid to the extent that you are constantly aware of it. I also found out that the city is in the midst of a malaria and dengue fever epidemic. Since the mosquitoes were eating me alive, I figured I was a goner. This is one of those things where you just trust in God to take care of you.
A while back, in 2004, Helmer was leaving the home of one of the Christians when he met a lady and asked her if she would like to study the Bible. She agreed and studied to a point where Helmer was just about ready to start talking about obeying the gospel. Before he could begin that conversation, she decided that she would stop studying with him. Helmer told her that she was about to begin the most important study of her life. She agreed to continue studying and was baptized, along with two family members. In March, she passed away from cancer. While this is sad, we know that she is with the Lord.
The church that started up in Chillan last year is up to ten people meeting together. Our brother Jaime who lives in the country outside of Chillan is doing a good job, according to one of the brothers, Sergio Bustamente, that went there to visit.
I continue to hear good news about the good work in other places, such as Los Andes and Puerto Montt, to the extent that it is hard to keep up with everybody.
I want to thank all of you for your support. It is necessary since we need your help to continue doing what we do here. May God bless you.
In Christ,
Harry R. Hamilton
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