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Immigrants from the United States Missionaries “around” the world March 6, 2006 |
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Translated from an article published in the Punta Arenas newspaper “La Prensa Austral” January 26, 2006 The year 1985 took Mike and Annette Racey far from their home to relocate in Chile. Because of their strong relationship with God, they feel that they were called by Him to help others. They are evangelical missionaries from the state of Mississippi in the United States. Their first four years in Chile were spent working with Baptist Churches in the cities of Concepcion and Chillan. Later they worked in schools and institutes in Temuco where they spent a much longer period of time. Mike and Annette belong to a religious entity named the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention which named them as representatives. The IMB sends their representatives to different parts of the world. …And this is how they came to live in the Magellanic Region of Chile. They have been instrumental in planting new evangelical churches and they teach English classes in the Theological Institute. The classes are open to anyone who wishes to attend, and these classes are much more economical than those offered by any other institutes in this city. They have been married 32 years and are the parents of four children, 3 sons and a daughter. Jeremy, 30 years old, Joshua, 25 years old, and Travis 20 years old all live in the United States. Alicia is 17 years old and lives with them here in Chile. Mike and Annette express their fascination with the region stating that they have visited the National Park of the Torres del Paine eighteen times, more than almost any Magellanico (someone from the 12th region of Chile). They also shared that whenever people come to visit or do mission projects, they always make sure to show them the wonders of the region. They are not anxious about the future. They don’t seem to know when they will return to the USA permanently, although they return to visit family and friends whenever they can. Mike and Annette are impressed with the importance of family to the Magallanicos; it seems to them that people here have stronger ties to their family members than in other places. It surprises them that young adults in Chile are seemingly more interested in world and social issues than the young people of their country.
In the last five years the whole world has been impacted by many different types of issues. Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating storms in the history of the United States. It principally affected the Raceys’ home state of Mississippi where the majority of their family members still live. Never before has the American Red Cross mobilized such an enormous response for one catastrophe. The states most affected by the hurricane were Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Raceys shared that almost everyone in their family had been touched in some way by the storm. Some lost their jobs and suffered loss of material possessions. One month after the storm Mike’s mother passed away so they had to return to their home state for a time. “At that time we were able to see the reality of the devastation of the hurricane …everywhere we looked there was destruction”. Katrina was an enormous storm which slammed into the south and center part of the United States in August of 2005. It produced great destruction including huge material losses and great flooding. It was confirmed that more than 1000 persons lost their lives because of the storm. The cities of Biloxi and Gulfport were severely damaged. Mike and Annette express that it was only their faith in God that helped them to remain calm here in Chile as their family suffered in Mississippi. They thought about traveling home after the storm, but it would have been logistically impossible. Without a doubt the war in Iraq is a historical act which has claimed the lives of many. When the war started, Annette was in the USA and Michael in Chile. When asked their opinions about the war and their president’s part in it, although the subject is very personal to them, they stated that they believe that being the president of the United States is not an easy job and is very complicated. They remember the 11th of September of 2001 which was an event that marked the pages of history of their country. In 2001 the Twin Towers in New York City were blown up. Annette shares that they were in Temuco then and that it was impressive to see how the people came to comfort and share with them during the moment that was so dark for their country because of this awful act of terrorism. During all these types of times the Chilean people have proved to be very concerned and loving to this family. THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD The relationship that they have with God is very strong; they feel that they live for Him and that the promise of eternal life helps them to be calm about being so far from their family. “If it wasn’t for believing in the gift of eternal life, we wouldn’t have left our loved ones”, and it’s being able to share the promise of eternal life with others that caused them to elect to follow God and to live in this land. Their desire to come to the Region of Magellan was born two years before they arrived when they traveled here and saw that there were less churches and social work being done here than in Temuco. They have always worked with Bible studies, and he was the Chaplain at the the Baptist Academy in Temuco and is a Theologian. Mike was a pastor in a Baptist Church before they left the United States and they were both raised in Christian homes. “When I was 16-years old I had an encounter with God that marked my life, I felt that He was talking to me.” says Mike. He recognizes that this encounter with God changed his life completely as well as his way of thinking and his relationship with others. They feel called to help others. It is incredible to listen to their passionate words about God. After talking to Mike and Annette one must consider the dimension of their relationship with the Lord. Having God in their lives seems to be the most important thing to them. Their work is to help others see the love of God and to help them understand that each and every one on this earth can have a personal relationship with the Almighty God. Their opinion about those who claim to be Atheist is clear. They simply don’t think that there are people who really don’t believe in anything; maybe philosophically they believe they are atheist, but inside the heart of every human being there is a need to believe and therefore everyone is always seeking to fill the empty space. Mike and Annette believe that in this region of Chile there are many people who are searching for something…”there is much hunger and thirst for spiritual things”. They have done many social type projects with all kinds of people who have come from the United States. They have helped to organize Medical Mission Projects, bringing doctors and nurses to show God’s love by helping to care for the needs of those most in need of help in our region.
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