Today was the big day.
You could see Josh's excitement and nervousness as he stood before the congregation to give his first sermon as their pastor. Although typical Chilean time is always late, Josh was determined to start the church on time. As the band began to play, more and more people entered the church. By the third song, there were about 100 people present. For the first time, the congregation was introduced to a live band, welcome table, greeters, bulletin, and an attendance card. The service time was reduced from 2 1/2 hours to 1 hour and 15 minutes. The great part was that the people used this extra time to fellowship with one another. Josh did a great job preaching and sharing the vision of the new church. He asked us to come up on the stage and we held up the banner that contained all the well wishes from our church. I shared how our two churches are closely tied together even though they are many miles apart.
You could see Josh's excitement and nervousness as he stood before the congregation to give his first sermon as their pastor. Although typical Chilean time is always late, Josh was determined to start the church on time. As the band began to play, more and more people entered the church. By the third song, there were about 100 people present. For the first time, the congregation was introduced to a live band, welcome table, greeters, bulletin, and an attendance card. The service time was reduced from 2 1/2 hours to 1 hour and 15 minutes. The great part was that the people used this extra time to fellowship with one another. Josh did a great job preaching and sharing the vision of the new church. He asked us to come up on the stage and we held up the banner that contained all the well wishes from our church. I shared how our two churches are closely tied together even though they are many miles apart.
After church, we were treated to a great lunch at a restaurant by Danica's parents. It was a great meal and a great time for fellowship. We then over to a fellow church member's home to pray for her as she was having health issues. Later that night, we went over to the Phillip's for a Wii party. It was fun watching everyone playing "Just Dance." I did not participate as I am still feeling bad.
Please keep Enrique and I in prayer as we are not feeling well, as well as the other members of the team to keep good health. Tomorrow we are planning on spending the day in Valparaiso before our flight home.
Please keep Enrique and I in prayer as we are not feeling well, as well as the other members of the team to keep good health. Tomorrow we are planning on spending the day in Valparaiso before our flight home.
It was a great trip.
We met with over 30 people of the church individually. There is a great core group here and they contain lots of excitement. It was awesome to have Enrique and Norma join us. They did such a excellent job interpreting for us and they have such a great heart for the people of Quilpue. We will share more with you all in detail when we get back.
We met with over 30 people of the church individually. There is a great core group here and they contain lots of excitement. It was awesome to have Enrique and Norma join us. They did such a excellent job interpreting for us and they have such a great heart for the people of Quilpue. We will share more with you all in detail when we get back.
~Rob
To God be the glory!! I just caught up on your posts and I am praying for you all! What an exciting testimony of Christ between the first church service, the prison, and just the spirit of the people. God bless you all! - Robin
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