As Ferdinand Magellan was discovering the passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean he was amazed to see to the east huge bonfires built by the Ona or Sélknam Indians along the shoreline. Because of this continuous sight along the coast Magellan named the large island “Land of Fire” or Tierra de Fuego. The island’s Indigenous population, as well as throughout the Patagonia was literally wiped out by the colonization which drove them from their homes and sources of food to make way for sheep and cattle ranches on the island.
Most of the land is part of the Patagonian Pampa which is an immense desert, by some accounts among the five largest deserts in the world. It is good for sheep and cattle as well as the local wildlife which includes guanacos and ñandues. The people on the island work either in petroleum processing, ranching or in fish canneries. The city of Porvenir is the provincial capital and has a population of close to 10,000 people. Tourism is beginning to become a source of income due to the sport fishing in lakes throughout the island.
Tierra de Fuego is an enormous island shared by Argentina and Chile. The northern area of the island is Chilean. To reach the Argentine side one must travel into Chilean territory on the continent, cross the straits of Magellan into Chile and then finally arrive at the border with Argentina. There are two ferry crossings from the continent to Tierra de Fuego. One leaves Punta Arenas and takes 2 ½ hours to arrive in Porvenir. The second crossing is at Punto Delgado and using that ferry makes the trip to Porvenir a bit longer, some 6 hours, but the crossing is only 20 minutes. Because of the wind in this region the crossing from Punta Arenas is often cancelled leaving only the shorter crossing or a 15 minute plane trip across the Straits.
The Lord has been leading His people to come and share on Tierra de Fuego. His flame has been over the island for many years yet just recently are His followers beginning to come and share that flame with those in this “land of fire” In July 2004 a volunteer team from Cumberland Baptist Church in Knoxville, TN came and ministered to children in various places in the Patagonia. One of those places was Porvenir on Tierra del Fuego. The team worked in the school two days during winter vacation. Many children heard the Gospel message for the first time because of this team.
In 2005 the Xtreme team decided that the Lord was leading it to return to the school in Porvenir for another opportunity to share the Good News. Five volunteers from First Baptist Church Concord in Knoxville arrived in Punta Arenas June 11. The plan was to travel to Porvenir and lead four days of spiritual emphasis at the school. It was decided by the school to call the program “Friendship and Values Week” because it would be a time of making new friendships as well as a time to teach Christian values to the students.
Because of bad weather in southern Chile the team arrived a couple of hours late, thus making them experience a near 30 hours of total travel time in their quest to arrive in Punta Arenas. After a night’s rest the group took off for Tierra del Fuego. In order to gain a couple extra hours of sleep the team opted to take the longer journey to Porvenir. On the trip the team was able to capture the great distances that exist between towns in the Patagonia.
With snow and ice covering the roads the journey, while slower, was filled with examples of God’s creation. From water birds and flamingos, to foxes, rabbits, guanacos (type of llama) and ñandues (a small Chilean ostrich) to fields filled with sheep the Lord blessed the journey with sights not seen anywhere else in the world. By the time the team arrived in the town of Porvenir it was 4:30 in the afternoon and completely dark outside. The final calculation of time traveling to Porvenir from Knoxville climbed to about 36 hours. The team was now ready to begin its task.
Winter had settled into the Patagonia with temperatures well below freezing and wind chills falling to near zero F. What a change from the hot summer left behind in Tennessee. Because of the slick roads and the darkness that is present until after 8:30, the staff at the hotel was unable to arrive in time to prepare breakfast for the team. Annette and Jackie were given freedom of the kitchen to prepare the morning meal after Mike had turned on the heat in the kitchen and dining room. Every morning the cars had to be defrosted to make the journey to the school, not far away but up a very icy hill. Only after the team left Punta Arenas to return to Tennessee did the temperatures climb back above freezing.
The Porvenir Elementary school has more than 400 students in grades one through eight. While most of the students live in the town of Porvenir, many of the students board during the week because their homes are on sheep ranches further into the interior of the island. The missionaries had worked earlier with the school’s director and guidance counselor preparing a program for the week. Victor Hugo, a member of the local Baptist mission and teacher at the school served as the liaison between the team and the school in the preparation of the week.
The team was well received by the school officials, teachers and especially by the children. One young man tapped one of the missionaries on the shoulder and said that he remembered coming to the school last year and meeting the team from Cumberland. He then wanted to know if this team was going to be telling the same stories. While the stories were different the love that was shared with Diego was the same.
Each class came to a central location for a period of 90 minutes. In that time they were taught praise songs, a Bible verse, a Biblical story from Genesis and enjoyed a time of recreation and getting to know one another. On one occasion the question was asked if anyone else, other than the team had been born outside of Chile. One second grader raised his hand and said: “Yes, I was born in another country.” When asked which country he replied that he had been born in the country of Chiloe. Chiloe is an island but is definitely part of Chile. But for children raised in the Patagonia Chiloe, as well as the rest of Chile, seems like a whole different country because they are so far away. One can only get to the north by driving three days through Argentina, taking a three day long boat ride or a 2 hour plane trip.
The Biblical lessons were presented to the children on their particular level of understanding. However, all of the lessons spoke of God’s perfect plan for man and how from the beginning of time we have fallen short of that plan and must seek a personal relationship with Jesus in order to please God. Because many of the children do not have knowledge of the Bible the group would explain where the stories were found and why we have a Bible.
One extremely bright first grader when asked if he knew what the Bible was replied that it was a book that had been written by a group of historical scholars to tell the story of God and His son Jesus. Ignacio knew all of the right answers but he, like many others, still needed to know Jesus personally. There was an opportunity given in most every class to pray and ask Jesus into their hearts and many children did during the four days.
During the recreation time the children had opportunities to try new things, such as playing with balloons and a parachute left by the Spring Hill Baptist Church from Mobile AL; playing with hoola hoops left by the Concord Baptist Church in St. Louis MO; and learning a very loose version of baseball. As with the Cumberland Baptist church these other two groups also played a role in this evangelistic endeavor in Porvenir.
By the end of the week a bond had been formed between the volunteers and the students of Porvenir. Many would come and visit with the volunteer team during their recess time. Often the teachers and other staff would stop by and ask questions. This volunteer team came not just to preach to the children and teachers in Porvenir. They came and shared their lives with whomever that would receive them. The children and adults of the Porvenir School have had the opportunity to hear the Gospel and see it being lived in the lives of volunteers in two occasions now. Some have responded positively to God’s love, others are just beginning to understand it and will be waiting for the next opportunity to hear and to responds. Pray that they will have that possibility.
This team has been invited back next year, so pray with them about that new opportunity. Pray for the school director, the teachers and the children to remain open to the Good News message. Pray for the Xtreme team as it decides on how best to follow up this time with the school. And, pray for Victor Hugo as he shares his own faith with his colleagues and students at the school. We want to be faithful to our Lord’s leadings and remember that from the beginning of time He has been guiding us. Just as Exodus 13:21 says: “By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.”,
We too have God's pillar of fire to lead us to do His will. We just must decide to follow or not. Thank you volunteers of the volunteers who have followed that fire to the Patagonia and to Tierra de Fuego.
