Home Safe and Sound...

For all of you who have been praying for us and thinking about us, we are home safe and well.

God Bless

Phil

Last Day...Coming Home...

Well;

It truly is a sad day for us as a team. We are all looking forward to our homes, our beds, our families, and our church. But, the time that we have spent here has been life-changing and unforgettable. We all love Chile. We love the people, the weather, the food, and the fellowship. The Lord is so good and we are blessed to be able to serve. Thank you for sending us to represent Summit and to be Christ´s ambassadors to work in Chile. God bless you all and we will see you soon.

Phil

Judy in Paradise

Louise is a wounderful man whom I got to know during my time in Chile while I was working on building the christain church at Playa Ancha. Everyday he would be there whistling some very wonderful bird calls and music tunes. He was there sitting in a wheel chair and seemed so happy. I started to talk to him and he relaid his story to me how he was injured and ended up in the wheel chair. As he conveyed this to me I coulded help but feel so sorry for him. He had been hit by a vehicle as he was driving his car in front of the old church that we are now rebuilding. He was driving and when he was struck so hard that the bumper had forced itself against his hip and pushed him out of his own vehicle through his door out into the street. The force was so great that it broke his hip and lower spine. Since that time he has been in a wheel chair and had been angry until he met the lady that now is his wife. She loves him so much that she cared for him for the longest time. God had revealed to him that he could bring peace and joy to people by whistling these wonderful tunes. These tunes not only bring a wonderful blessing to me but to the others here that are working on the church. He was told that he and his wife would not have children because of his injuries, but God has blessed them with two wonderful daughters now. He doesn´t spend a day that he doesn´t thank God for that blessing. He enjoyes whistling to us everyday.He invited me and Micheal to his home to introduce his wife and one of his daughters to us after we spent a day at the church. We feel the blessing that he has brought to our life and this is one of many blessing that we have had here in Playa Ancha.
We have met so many people that reflect their willingness to do Gods work. Another is a man named Victor, a native Chilean retired military man that spends everyday here helping us. This man starts the same time we do and ends his day with us, never asking anything in return, but just to serve God. Another very friendly man that enjoyes his time with us and not only helps with the church but asks if he can guide us around if we like or even take us to see some of the beauty around Playa Ancha. This man is so hard working that you would think that he was being remunerated for his time, but as he puts it, God is paying him for what he does. Another person is this
We met this lovely lady called Vilma, she teaches adult classes here and is blessed with a wonderful understanding of the Bible, what a LOVELY LADY. She has touched our lives with her life in the LORD and what has she has indured in her life. In her life she always had the lord in her life but a tragedy took here husband and her best friend, that same event almost took her life as well as her daughters. Her husband was a police officer here in Playa Ancha and a dedicated Christain that helped with classes at the local church. One day at the beach her family decided to go to the beach and in a quick moment she was being pulled under by the undertow of the ocean and her husband went out to help her and lost his life while saving hers. It is not clear how her friend lost her life other then she was caught up in it too. One daughter wasn´t paying attention and the other was in the water, but after it was all over she was in a ambulance going to the hospital and her husband was in her air lifted to the hospital and died in route, while the ambulance was on the way to the hospital who was their pastor and she asked why. He had conveyed to her that her husband had died in route to the hostipal and needed that information. Her faith has been tested over and over since then and she feels strong in the Lord and has become more commited to the Lord since that loss.
This helps to reinforce my faith in my God and every memont spent with these wonderful people is a testemonial to that. It will be very difficult to leave here and I will never forget how they have touched my life in their own ways. There is so much to share but this can be saved until later.

Mike y Judy

Dan chill'n in Chile

Hola mi Amigo's,

Hope all is well up North. We are having the time of our life down here. I feel somewhat guilty becouse the blessing's I have received are in excess of what any one person deserves. I have made new friends down here that will last a lifetime. I have learned what it means to be bathed in prayer. I have sung praises to God almighty with quite possibly the most passionate people on the earth today. These experiences that are part of a normal week for the Chilean's that live here, have changed me forever.

My wife Karla and I had the most remarkable of experiences while down here the other day. We, as most of you know, are heavily involved with the AWANA ministries. Being that that is one of the things that God has called us to, we decided to bring some stuff with us. The hope was to see some interest and maybe start a Chilean club!!! To us that was to be a side note on this trip becouse the overall focus was for the building of the Playa Ancha church. God has other plans!!!! We talked to Pastor Steve Phillips about the program on the ride from the airport to the church and he seemed very excited. We set up a day to talk to him and his staff about AWANA for thier church in Quilpe. It turns out that not only is there a church but there are ten Christain schools that pastor Steve runs. That is about six thousand children. The estimate is that about five percent are saved. At this point I start to understand a little more about God and his plan for me. The schools have the room for AWANA, the kids for AWANA, and the resources for AWANA!!! Talking to Steve and his staff we learned that not only are they interested in the AWANA program, but that they have been in heavy prayer for this very thing!! Books, supplies, and information for an after school Christain activity are virtually non existant down here. Ahhhhh now the plan is not only clear to me but I can feel God in the room as can everyone else in attendance. We have decided to help in the start up of an AWANA chapter in Quilpe. By the time it is up and running strong the church here in Playa Ancha should be built and ready for a program. My wife and I will be in contact with Steve and through him when the timing is right, together we will help start the Playa Ancha chapter!! Watch out South America here comes AWANA .

On the lighter side we are all having fun to. Some of the team went to the stores on Saturday, and some of us decided to fish. Fishing here is a little different than in the states. We went out on a boat with two proffesional commercial fishermen. As the boat was lowered into the water we began to notice the lack of fishing poles. There were nine people total on the boat. There were no fishing poles. In Chile these fishermen use a piece of plywood with fishing line wound around it. A weight is tied to it, this can be anything from a piece of rebar to a hunk of metal. One lowers the line to the bottom and jigs. If you get a bite, set the hook and haul it in! Seems a tad ineffiecient? We caught over fifty fish in four hours. It was just the type of fishing I was looking for.

I hope everyone enjoys the blog. Blessings from your brother in Christ, Dan

Randy´s praises:

Bendiciones! ( Blessings from God!) We are not on our own here. The body of Christ our Lord has many parts, and like two hands that live on opposite sides, we are two hands of the body from North and South America reaching together and grasping in the middle.

There is no distance between us like strangers at a family reunion who are meeting for the first time at age 10 or 20 years old. From the first moment at the airport with pastor Steve and then with every prayer meeting and church service and good morning and good night are hugs and handshakes and holy kisses (to the left of the head) and great joy and laughter and LOVE of God our Father is obvious and everywhere! We are family here, and every house is our home.

I am humbled everywhere I look at the great peace and joy and love with so little of the perfect things we expect and strive for at home. We don´t need most of what we want, and what we need most is what we already have: The moment by moment opportunity to Love God and Love everyone else like HE DOES!!! Practical application here of this basic 3 truths we learn at church to Love God, Love people, and Serve others is the way here. The congregation prays alone and together much more than I have ever known. Their love for our Father is huge as lived out by the desire to pray to him and thank Him for great blessings of what to us looks like less than poverty level. Their love for people - for us and with us - is lived out in prayers and kind wishes for many good things for us and all of you at home in requests and thanksgiving for God´s constant blessings. And their love to serve is lived out in blessing each other and all of us all the time with beautiful service in preparing 4 meals a day, assisting with every possible comfort, going with us and guiding on every excursion, and with every joke and kindness and smile.

Shannon and Judy are better like new - thank you for prayers. Ross has some rash and cold sore concerns to pray for, Mabel is our Chilean mom and has a stomach flu also, and Marina is on her way still to serve her family in the things of completing Hal´s affairs.

Thank you all for sending and funding and supporting through your continuing prayers the great good work of God with us here in Chile. We are a beautiful smile together from the father´s face to our family here. The world looks very small from our perspective now, and we are all hungry to come back and go also other places even with you next time!

BE BLESSED TODAY AS IT IS YET ANOTHER GIFT FROM GOD!!!

Humbly your brothers and sisters from Chile!

Randy

So far so good

Hi there - this is Ross Foote.

The job site is going well. We have portions of the stemwall poured and most of the stemwall set up. The concrete is poured in sections as there is not enough lumber to set up the entire wall and pour it. The concrete is mixed on site with 2 barrel mixers and then wheelbarrowed with 2 wheelbarrows. This is a bit of a challenge as we are used to setting up the entire area, have trucks bring the concrete and a pump there to place it!! This is their way and we will do it their way. Our hours are 9am to 6:30ish.

Food is plentiful, delicious and after a full workday, we are very hungry. Last night we rode a bus into town, went to the mall, ate at a resturant, and visited. Some of the host families came along and it was wonderful. Mabel had eaten there once before but not her family. They said it was a treat and we had a great time just talking and eating - a true blessing for Mabel who did not have to cook for all of us!!!

Today is a visit to the touristy part of town and I get to go fishing with Dan and Phil. I love to fish and am looking forward to catching the largest ocean fish, the first fish and the most fish on this trip. Love to my family - I miss you all and your mom says hugs and kisses.

Ross

Contact for Philip Vana...

Hello everyone;

If you would like to contact Phil then please email philandjess@gmail.com.

Gracias.