These are some pictures from the youth center that I talked about in the last post. We will get some video of the whole property so you can see it all.
Blessings!
Living in Him,
Daniel and Michal.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
God has opened doors.
As I am updating our blogspot for everyone to catch up with us before our visit I would like to share with you the doors God has opened in these past couple of weeks.
As many of you know I have started teaching English on Saturdays to a church staff that has a very similiar vision to ours and have started a feeding program for children in their area. They recieve missionary groups often and were in need of English lessons. Well the pastor of this church is named Cristian and is in charge of a youth center where he lives. This youth center is seperate from his church. He has been there for about 20 years, but recently the ministry´s leaders who are in Santiago have not been involved in this part of their ministry. So there have not been any recent events or activities for the youth in this humble area. The main reason no church group or the leaders of "Youth For Christ" (the name of this ministry) have left Cristian sort of out in dust is due to the kind of youth that live around this center. Cristian told us they did not want to risk anything by working with these young drug addicts and robbers. Daniel and I looked at each other and have been brainstorming about how to work with these kids. The property is there and ready to use. Cristian has seen our plan of work for this place and on Thursday Jan 22nd we will travel to Santiago to speak with the president just to see if Uriel could merge on their ground and work with these people that so much need the message of Christ.
Secondly, if you can remember a few months ago I told you all about this little school down the street from us. It is very poor and full of needy children. Well there is a possibility that Uriel could start to do an after school program with these kids. Also a saturday feeding program is also a possibility. We have been told that about thirty of the students there are malnutritioned and the school provides them breakfast and lunch throughout the SCHOOL year, Monday through Friday. That means these kids during summer vacation are not eating what they are supposed to, and the weekends throughout the school year are also not full of balanced meals. We will hopefully be having a meeting with the super advisor before we head off to Washington in order to bring you all this information.
Thank you!!
God bless you all, and I hope you have a wonderful day.
As many of you know I have started teaching English on Saturdays to a church staff that has a very similiar vision to ours and have started a feeding program for children in their area. They recieve missionary groups often and were in need of English lessons. Well the pastor of this church is named Cristian and is in charge of a youth center where he lives. This youth center is seperate from his church. He has been there for about 20 years, but recently the ministry´s leaders who are in Santiago have not been involved in this part of their ministry. So there have not been any recent events or activities for the youth in this humble area. The main reason no church group or the leaders of "Youth For Christ" (the name of this ministry) have left Cristian sort of out in dust is due to the kind of youth that live around this center. Cristian told us they did not want to risk anything by working with these young drug addicts and robbers. Daniel and I looked at each other and have been brainstorming about how to work with these kids. The property is there and ready to use. Cristian has seen our plan of work for this place and on Thursday Jan 22nd we will travel to Santiago to speak with the president just to see if Uriel could merge on their ground and work with these people that so much need the message of Christ.
Secondly, if you can remember a few months ago I told you all about this little school down the street from us. It is very poor and full of needy children. Well there is a possibility that Uriel could start to do an after school program with these kids. Also a saturday feeding program is also a possibility. We have been told that about thirty of the students there are malnutritioned and the school provides them breakfast and lunch throughout the SCHOOL year, Monday through Friday. That means these kids during summer vacation are not eating what they are supposed to, and the weekends throughout the school year are also not full of balanced meals. We will hopefully be having a meeting with the super advisor before we head off to Washington in order to bring you all this information.
Thank you!!
God bless you all, and I hope you have a wonderful day.
December 2008
Dear Friends and Family,
First of all we wish you a late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. My first Chilean Christmas and New Year were wonderful; we had a great time together. We definitely missed everyone this Christmas and hope that next year can be our first Christmas in Washington together.
This Christmas Daniel and I along with a group of about seven others decided to do something a little different. Here in Chile Christmas is celebrated at midnight on Christmas Eve. So Wednesday the 24th at midnight we headed downtown with hot coffee and sandwiches for the people who were going to spend this special season alone in the street. We were prepared for about thirty people and only found about five. But these five people were the first steps into a new open door. We were collecting used clothing about a week before and collected a bunch and were able to wrap up sets of clothes for these people and families. The people we met that night were very grateful and received not only a hot cup of coffee but also an amazing message. Everyone got a love letter from our creator and an evangelistic message about our Faith.
This group we have gotten together are mostly young people and we have an older couple with us as well. We all have been given the same passion for being light where it’s needed and warmth in the cold. Another great way to put it is what Daniel and I learned in Mazatlan Mexico at the Vineyard church meet the physical needs first and then you can reach down and meet the spiritual ones. This might just be Uriel growing before our eyes as God wants it to be or it’s just a wonderful opportunity to serve together as God wills it.
The day before New Years Eve we were told that a couple had just arrived to our area from northern Chile and has absolutely nothing. We got our little booties moving that day and prepared a package for them of clothes, and groceries to get by for a while. It was a wonderful visit. They live in one of the poorer neighborhoods around up high in the hills and since they hadn’t found work couldn’t get electricity up. So all of us (the group from above) went to their place and shared some words and this package that they gratefully accepted. We found out that they have a ten year old boy and we were able to find him something as well. This little family has started going to church and the man of the house Carlos found work last week!
Now for some really, really bad news…after eight months here we are going to pack our bags and travel to Washington for a quick stay!!! We are planning on being there for about a month which I know will just fly by but we are so excited for this opportunity to see family and friends and share what God has put on our hearts since we arrived here. We have found a lot of need and God recently has opened some doors for us to start the community center we want Him to control. I hope in the next few weeks we can confirm more about what this means and if it can really happen in order to bring this praise along with us to you personally.
Daniel and I are in a search for a new church. If you can remember from the last letter we were possibly going to begin a search, and well the search has begun. Nothing horrible happened to make us look for a new church, nobody did anything for us to leave but there were a few family problems and thought it might be healthier for everyone if we took a look around to see where God truly wants us. We have not made a decision on where or to stay where we were yet but we have started to visit a church very close by (about three blocks away from the house) and are very interested. I will keep you all updated.
You all are in our thoughts and prayers and we hope to see everyone very soon. A special shout out goes to those in Mazatlan receiving this letter, we love you very much.
God Bless. Daniel and Michal Vergara.
Dear Friends and Family,
First of all we wish you a late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. My first Chilean Christmas and New Year were wonderful; we had a great time together. We definitely missed everyone this Christmas and hope that next year can be our first Christmas in Washington together.
This Christmas Daniel and I along with a group of about seven others decided to do something a little different. Here in Chile Christmas is celebrated at midnight on Christmas Eve. So Wednesday the 24th at midnight we headed downtown with hot coffee and sandwiches for the people who were going to spend this special season alone in the street. We were prepared for about thirty people and only found about five. But these five people were the first steps into a new open door. We were collecting used clothing about a week before and collected a bunch and were able to wrap up sets of clothes for these people and families. The people we met that night were very grateful and received not only a hot cup of coffee but also an amazing message. Everyone got a love letter from our creator and an evangelistic message about our Faith.
This group we have gotten together are mostly young people and we have an older couple with us as well. We all have been given the same passion for being light where it’s needed and warmth in the cold. Another great way to put it is what Daniel and I learned in Mazatlan Mexico at the Vineyard church meet the physical needs first and then you can reach down and meet the spiritual ones. This might just be Uriel growing before our eyes as God wants it to be or it’s just a wonderful opportunity to serve together as God wills it.
The day before New Years Eve we were told that a couple had just arrived to our area from northern Chile and has absolutely nothing. We got our little booties moving that day and prepared a package for them of clothes, and groceries to get by for a while. It was a wonderful visit. They live in one of the poorer neighborhoods around up high in the hills and since they hadn’t found work couldn’t get electricity up. So all of us (the group from above) went to their place and shared some words and this package that they gratefully accepted. We found out that they have a ten year old boy and we were able to find him something as well. This little family has started going to church and the man of the house Carlos found work last week!
Now for some really, really bad news…after eight months here we are going to pack our bags and travel to Washington for a quick stay!!! We are planning on being there for about a month which I know will just fly by but we are so excited for this opportunity to see family and friends and share what God has put on our hearts since we arrived here. We have found a lot of need and God recently has opened some doors for us to start the community center we want Him to control. I hope in the next few weeks we can confirm more about what this means and if it can really happen in order to bring this praise along with us to you personally.
Daniel and I are in a search for a new church. If you can remember from the last letter we were possibly going to begin a search, and well the search has begun. Nothing horrible happened to make us look for a new church, nobody did anything for us to leave but there were a few family problems and thought it might be healthier for everyone if we took a look around to see where God truly wants us. We have not made a decision on where or to stay where we were yet but we have started to visit a church very close by (about three blocks away from the house) and are very interested. I will keep you all updated.
You all are in our thoughts and prayers and we hope to see everyone very soon. A special shout out goes to those in Mazatlan receiving this letter, we love you very much.
God Bless. Daniel and Michal Vergara.
September/October 2008
Dear Friends and Family,
So it has been a few months since our last letter. As most of your know Daniel started working in August and school started for me towards the end of August, so we have been getting used to our new schedules and time apart.
First of all I hope and pray that this letter finds you all well. You guys are heading into winter and we are heading into summer, isn't that just so weird. I hope this season doesn’t bring too many colds your way.
Chile is beautiful. There are still many unknowns for me, and I just try to stay on the safe side all the time Daniel wouldn’t have it any other way. In September God blessed us with a little Scotty Dog puppy; his name is Phillip or Poopies. We are in love with him even though he gets into everything, eats everything, and cries for everything. He just turned five months yesterday and is getting bigger and bigger. Also about two weeks ago God blessed us with living room furniture! We can now watch TV or just relax on the couch instead of the dining chairs. Truly we are very blessed and happy.
About two weeks ago we had quite the scare. On Thursday (2 weeks ago) Daniel had to go to the emergency room due to bad stomach pain and a fever. We got to the hospital around 8:00am and didn’t get home that night until about 9:00pm. They put him on an IV because he was dehydrated while they checked out his blood and urine and found an infection. He was then sent to another hospital in ambulance to see a surgeon because they thought he had appendicitis. I went along with him in the ambulance completely freaked, they weren’t driving with the siren or anything because Daniel was stable. Thank goodness because that would have been worse. After hours and hours of waiting for the one surgeon in the whole hospital to see Daniel we find out it was just an intestinal infection. This was after all the nurses had told me they were going to hospitalize him and start the operation as soon as possible. I am sure that God heard me. Daniel had just one day to rest up and was off to work that Saturday.
I am going to take some time and open up to you about some challenges Daniel and I are having. We have been having some spiritual challenges since about September or so. Truly what we need is to hear His voice to give us some direction. Since September so many new ideas and plans have formed in our hearts. What Daniel is going to study, should we really be in Chile, let’s go back to Mazatlan, when will God allow us to start His ministry, why are we stuck, where are we going, who are we hearing, where does God want us to be? We have so many questions like I am sure many of you have had at some point or another in your walk with Christ. I know marriage isn't easy, starting is never easy, being obedient does not come to us easily, but sometimes we just look for the easy way out of things. Personally for me it has been hard having Daniel working so much. He leaves at 9:30am and gets home now after 10:00pm. He has two Sundays a month off, and it’s hard for the both of us. Daniel is personally struggling with our church situation. The pastors are his aunt and uncle, and the church is full of family. I think we all know a little bit about the difficulties or pressures working with family brings. In a nutshell that is where we are at this point. We would really appreciate your prayers and encouragements!
Now for some new stuff. Next Saturday, November 15th I will be starting English classes. This is apart from Uriel, there is a church nearby that was formed out of the church we are going to that is focused on doing community outreaches and social work. They have asked me to teach them English. If this is something I plan on doing in the future I need all the practice I can get, so I said yes. There are people that will be attending that do not know Jesus Christ, and the class will have a Christian foundation. I will let you know how it goes. This month Daniel and I are dedicated to getting through the legal hoops here in Chile to make the Uriel organization legal here. We need 16 board local board members and a written statement of our vision. In October Daniel had a great meeting with a woman in charge of these things, and she loved everything Uriel wants to accomplish here and told us she would arrange a meeting with the mayor once we have our board members. Why a meeting with the Mayor? Well the Mayor has many pieces of property to give away or loan to causes he sees fit. If he likes Uriel´s plans it is very possible that starting December/January Uriel would have a place to start ministry. We hope to send you more news about this next month.
God bless you a million times more than He has blessed me!
Daniel and Michal.
Dear Friends and Family,
So it has been a few months since our last letter. As most of your know Daniel started working in August and school started for me towards the end of August, so we have been getting used to our new schedules and time apart.
First of all I hope and pray that this letter finds you all well. You guys are heading into winter and we are heading into summer, isn't that just so weird. I hope this season doesn’t bring too many colds your way.
Chile is beautiful. There are still many unknowns for me, and I just try to stay on the safe side all the time Daniel wouldn’t have it any other way. In September God blessed us with a little Scotty Dog puppy; his name is Phillip or Poopies. We are in love with him even though he gets into everything, eats everything, and cries for everything. He just turned five months yesterday and is getting bigger and bigger. Also about two weeks ago God blessed us with living room furniture! We can now watch TV or just relax on the couch instead of the dining chairs. Truly we are very blessed and happy.
About two weeks ago we had quite the scare. On Thursday (2 weeks ago) Daniel had to go to the emergency room due to bad stomach pain and a fever. We got to the hospital around 8:00am and didn’t get home that night until about 9:00pm. They put him on an IV because he was dehydrated while they checked out his blood and urine and found an infection. He was then sent to another hospital in ambulance to see a surgeon because they thought he had appendicitis. I went along with him in the ambulance completely freaked, they weren’t driving with the siren or anything because Daniel was stable. Thank goodness because that would have been worse. After hours and hours of waiting for the one surgeon in the whole hospital to see Daniel we find out it was just an intestinal infection. This was after all the nurses had told me they were going to hospitalize him and start the operation as soon as possible. I am sure that God heard me. Daniel had just one day to rest up and was off to work that Saturday.
I am going to take some time and open up to you about some challenges Daniel and I are having. We have been having some spiritual challenges since about September or so. Truly what we need is to hear His voice to give us some direction. Since September so many new ideas and plans have formed in our hearts. What Daniel is going to study, should we really be in Chile, let’s go back to Mazatlan, when will God allow us to start His ministry, why are we stuck, where are we going, who are we hearing, where does God want us to be? We have so many questions like I am sure many of you have had at some point or another in your walk with Christ. I know marriage isn't easy, starting is never easy, being obedient does not come to us easily, but sometimes we just look for the easy way out of things. Personally for me it has been hard having Daniel working so much. He leaves at 9:30am and gets home now after 10:00pm. He has two Sundays a month off, and it’s hard for the both of us. Daniel is personally struggling with our church situation. The pastors are his aunt and uncle, and the church is full of family. I think we all know a little bit about the difficulties or pressures working with family brings. In a nutshell that is where we are at this point. We would really appreciate your prayers and encouragements!
Now for some new stuff. Next Saturday, November 15th I will be starting English classes. This is apart from Uriel, there is a church nearby that was formed out of the church we are going to that is focused on doing community outreaches and social work. They have asked me to teach them English. If this is something I plan on doing in the future I need all the practice I can get, so I said yes. There are people that will be attending that do not know Jesus Christ, and the class will have a Christian foundation. I will let you know how it goes. This month Daniel and I are dedicated to getting through the legal hoops here in Chile to make the Uriel organization legal here. We need 16 board local board members and a written statement of our vision. In October Daniel had a great meeting with a woman in charge of these things, and she loved everything Uriel wants to accomplish here and told us she would arrange a meeting with the mayor once we have our board members. Why a meeting with the Mayor? Well the Mayor has many pieces of property to give away or loan to causes he sees fit. If he likes Uriel´s plans it is very possible that starting December/January Uriel would have a place to start ministry. We hope to send you more news about this next month.
God bless you a million times more than He has blessed me!
Daniel and Michal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
