Saturday 24 March 2018

Day 1: Santiago - Jaxon Lutzer and Ryan Kaefer


Hey, it's Jaxon and Ryan! Even though we haven't been in Chile for 12 hours, we are all exhausted but  incredibly encouraged.



Once we got on the plane in Edmonton, the flight was great to Toronto. In Toronto we had some time to get some food to eat, before the grueling ten-and-a-half hour flight all the way to Santiago. We hit the ground running as we landed in Chile, as we headed straight to the local church to do some training and meet the translation staff. After the training, we feasted and fellowshipped with over 40 local youth at Padre John's. Before you read the rest of this post, make sure to read 1st Corinthians 16:20. Now, back in North America we would find this awkward and untasteful. Luckily in Chile, they don't! It was certainly awkward at first, but I think we can say for the rest of the team, we've all come to love it. The mutual cheek kiss is oddly intimate and symbolizes the unity of the church down here in Chile.

After leaving Papa John's, we hit the streets, gospel in hand, and began to evangelize. It was terrifying initially, because we were forced to be vulnerable and it was very out of the ordinary. After about half an hour, we became comfortable in sharing our faith and I (Jaxon) certainly embraced Luke 12:11-12. After a few flopped conversations, we began to actually resonate with people and we were able to hold a conversation for more than three minutes. Our deepest conversation occurred with a universalist - a man who believed in no religion, but in the God behind all of them. This belief system didn't make sense to us then, and it still doesn't now. He even had a tattoo that depicted all basic religious symbols - a cross, the star of David, a yin-yang etc. - surrounding a circle with the words "ONE GOD", with the whole tattoo being engulfed by a spirit of some sort. We were able to talk to him and his wife for around half an hour, we could see that what we were saying was really impacting him. We were able to rattle his worldview, and both him and his wife began to open up to us. We were able to speak truth into his life, and he began to really take seriously every word we said. He began to speak less and listen more, as he began to question his foundation of his beliefs. We were even able to get him to read Romans 10:9: If you declare with your mouth "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. The two of us are both incredibly encouraged by this, as we were able to effectively explain and show the love of God to someone who purposefully and actively rejected the gospel for many years.


Prayer requests.

First, that we can continue to effectively preach the gospel to everyone here in Chile. We've had many great successes today in leading people to Christ and hope to continue to do so throughout the week! Also Cam and I (Ryan) are still feeling a bit sick since before the trip, so if you could pray that our health would return to full strength that would be greatly appreciated. In addition to this, health in general for the whole group. Lastly, for the people that we gave the gospel to today, but didn't think much of our message, that they may read what they received and understand and take it to heart.



What is God Saying, What Are You Going To Do About It?

For the both of us, God is telling us that we need to be doing this great work not just in Chile, but in Edmonton and wherever we go. The gospel is not just something to share exclusively to people you're never going to see again, but to people you can build an ongoing relationship with. The atmosphere is a bit more accepting in Chile, as people are willing to be more vulnerable and open with their beliefs. The experience we're receiving in Chile will assist us in evangelizing to those back home who have much harder hearts. Mainly, what we're going to do is obviously evangelize more back home, but other than that we will continue to pray and ask God what he wants us to continue to do. In all that we do here in Chile and back home, we pray that we (and you) will be fearless in our faith. Just because you don't know how to evangelize effectively doesn't mean you can't evangelize.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold your with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10






5 comments:

  1. Great post. Keep stepping out in faith with your eyes on Jesus!
    Love hearing your experiences!

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  2. Wow what an unbelievable first day! So excited to hear how God is using you already to help plant that seed and impact lives for eternity. I will pray for strength and health for the group. Also that people’s hearts will be receptive.
    Angie Depner

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  3. Thanking God for what He is already doing through the team, and also for the impact on each of you! Praying with you for this man and his wife, and for the others you are sharing Christ with- for seeds planted, truth received, and then freedom!

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  4. Praying for God's continued strength, increased confidence, spiritual growth and good health. So proud of you for letting God use you in this way.

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