Laretta K. Shrader

Seven Days in Chile
Cost:  Priceless

     I am on the board of IberoAmerican Ministries which is the legal entity of the churches and workers in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Spain the Middle East and North Africa.  These are the churches and workers with whom we work yoked together.  The board made the decision at its meeting last year to have a reunion of all workers in 2009. The event took place March 4-7.  Money was pledged to bring all the workers back to Chile.  The Chilean churches raised over $3000 for the event. I was appointed to plan and execute a day of encouragement for the women.  I considered this a great honor and spent many hours praying and planning.  The theme of the Re-Union, as it was officially called, was Philippians 1:6.  I spoke to the women from verses 9-11 of that chapter.  There was a craft time when the women got to make greeting cards from designs and materials created and furnished by Noel Morago and Kappy Bickel.  Listening to and watching the women enjoy being together as they worked and laughed brought me incredible joy.  We closed with a time of small group prayer. Not one woman in my group asked for personal prayer.  They all wanted prayer for their churches and fields of service. 
     The leaders in the churches in Maipu had been working for months to plan and prepare for the event.  It was held at a retreat center outside Santiago. There were meeting rooms, large outdoor areas for group gatherings, sleeping rooms, showers and a cafeteria.  It was in a beautiful valley.
     The Chileans hauled gifts, snacks, water, juice, coffee pots, tables, table cloths, sound systems, cameras, projectors, chairs, and everything else needed to the site.  The logistics were incredibly well planned.  It took a moving truck and many personal vehicles to get everything there. 
     Then came the people. Re-Union is too small of a word to describe what happened. Three generations of families came.  Couples with new babies came. Single people came. Gringo board members came.  Pastors and their families came. Interns came. Friends that had not seen each other for 5 years came.
     After hugs, kisses, and handshakes everyone found their cabin and dropped off their lugage. 
     As dusk fell around us, we walked a few feet to the outdoor worship area and sang praises to our Lord.  We had these worship times morning and evening, and each time a different team led worship.  The worship was followed by a video of the work and workers in each area; Peru, Ecuador, Melilla, the Middle East and North Africa.  After each video, the workers from that country were called up, and various ones of us prayed for them.  During the last session the video on, "New Areas" was shown.  In the next two years 6 teams and/or individuals will be leaving for new fields or to join existing teams.
     Four men preached at the five worship sessions.  Jeff Phillips, who has been in Chile for 30 years, spoke the first night on where the movement had come from.  The last morning he spoke on where it was going. His desire is to see 1000 Chileans in the 10/40 Window in his lifetime. Gideon Tanubunaan of Asia Pacific Christian Mission was the keynote speaker.  He challenged us to keep on keeping on. 
     Each afternoon there was time for the families to swim, hike, play or nap together.  Bonfires each night and meals during the day provided time for fellowship. Some nights young men who grew up together in Chile and who are now serving on different continents in difficult and even dangerous places would stay up all night sharing.  Saturday morning after the final worship service a sheep was roasted on an open fire. This is the traditional Chilean asado.
     Packing up was a huge job, and it was followed by the hour's trip back to Maipu.  We had two hours to unload, unpack, shower, and be back at the church for a celebration service which lasted until midnight.  At one point all the missionaries and their families, plus those leaving soon, were called up front and prayed for. The entire front of the church was full at least three people deep.
     This incredible church planting movement has happened in less than 20 years.  I told the women; Jeff and Cathy Phillips begat Doug and Shelly Kallestad who begat Tono and Janet (who helped found the Oriente Church and were sent by that church to Los Angeles last year to plant another church) who begat Miguel and Marta (who were sent by the Oriente church to Lautaro) who begat Luis and Andrea, the first Mapuche missionaries and who are now pastoring a church near Lautaro.  That is five generations of workers in less than 20 years.
     Church on Sunday was another joyous celebration.  That afternoon we started the actual board meeting on the Kallestad patio under a grape arbor. That Monday was a long day of meetings, praying, packing, and climbing on a plane for home.
     I stayed with the Courtney family. They are incredible, humble servants.  You will soon be hearing more about their future plans. In the meantime, please pray. God has placed a call on their heart to go and serve in a country practically destroyed by civil war. They have always said they want to do holistic ministry among "the poorest of the poor."  I stand amazed.
Because He Lives,