Once again the Xtreme Patagonia Team has returned to Puerto Williams at the bottom of the globe. During the last 9 months the XPT has prayed for this town, visited there, and have taken a volunteer medical team to minister to these southern-most people. With each visit the XPT has seen the Lord’s hand working in the lives of people.
In the two previous visits to Puerto Williams on Navarino Island, below Tierra de Fuego the team had discovered a great thirst among the people. The same thirst as mentioned in Psalm 42: 1 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God”. That thirst is often manifested in extreme problems: alcoholism, drug abuse, depression and desperation. People are slow to put their trust in others and often prefer loneliness to relationships that leave them vulnerable.
For the last year Southern Chilenos have been praying for ways to reach this extreme population. In January Annette and Jackie visited the town, walking on every street and visiting many who had contact with the Casa de Acogida in Punta Arenas. In April they and Berta Sosa from Santiago took 7 medical professionals from First Baptist Church of Concord in Knoxville, TN to work in the school, the clinic, community centers and the Red Cross. The team shared their testimonies by giving medical attention and health talks. The Xtreme Patagonia Team continues to make Puerto Williams one of its points of major concentration during the coming year.
In August of this year Annette began to be led by the Lord to put a Bible in every home in Puerto Williams. She shared this with Mike and Jackie, and they all began to pray together--asking God to reveal how this could happen. Marcela, the deputy mayor of Puerto Williams and a strong Christian, upon hearing about this God-sized task, revealed that she had been praying for ways to not only share the Gospel, but ways that would bring the three evangelical churches together, which had not happened in the last several years. There are about 100 people who participate in the three churches, the largest being the Iglesia Flotante (the non-denominational, predominately navy church). The Bible distribution project would be a tool to bring them together.
With the help of Marcela and other Christian leaders in Puerto Williams the Xtreme Patagonia Team began preparing for the September 10th trip to the island. Fellow Great Commission missionaries, Darryl and Joan Evans and their daughter Rachel were enthusiastic about going along and helping with the project. Killy Stanton, a good friend from Temuco was invited to be a part of the team. She would also be sharing her testimony in a couple of the meetings during the weekend.
To reach every home 500 Bibles were needed – a larger task than first anticipated. But the Lord is good and would provide. Many people around the world responded with prayer support for the project as well as by sharing additional funds for this task. The Spanish New International Version of the Bible were purchased and sent to Puerto Williams to await the team’s arrival. One of the greatest tasks and blessing was asking and receiving permission to distribute Bibles to the navy personnel and their families in the town.
After a spectacular flight down over the Darwin mountain range, seeing fiords, canals, snow-capped mountains and glaciers, the missionary team arrived in Puerto Williams. During the week Puerto Williams had received about a foot of new snow. By Friday the streets and sidewalks were clear enough to move about them. The entire weekend the weather, though cold, was dry and bearable for walking the streets.
The first task of the project was the packaging of the Bibles and other materials for distribution. It had earlier been decided that just giving a Bible to the families was not enough. In the bags the team included with the Bible, two short evangelistic Bible studies, a tract and an invitation to participate in a Family Night activity. In the evening there was a time to visit with the leaders of the churches to pray and discuss the Bible distribution, scheduled for the next morning.
Saturday morning the Lord blessed the team again. The weather was beautiful. In the beginning the missionary team had counted on little help in the distribution, yet some 35 people were present to help with the task of distribution. After a time of prayer the group was divided into six groups, each taking about 70 Bibles with them. Within 2 hours the group had gone to every house in the town and either left a Bible bag, or when no one was home left a note on how the family could obtain their gift. During the distribution, only one family refused to receive this gift of God’s love. In nearly every other case the gift was received with joy and often surprise.
That evening the town people as well as the Christians experienced a new way of celebration and worship through the family night activity. This was a night of games, songs, prizes, hearing testimonies of new life through Christ and prayers. It was exciting to know that more than half of the 70 plus participants were non-church members. Afterwards even the most skeptics of the leaders were excited to see that the Lord could work through fun and games as well as through formal church services.
After the meeting ended a lady (we will call Julia) with her two children talked with Jackie, asking if it would be possible for some of the team to come to her house the next day and pray with them. Jackie and Joan made plans to visit with this family. As Julia shared Jackie and Joan were saddened by her story which included child abuse, incest, a marriage break up, exile from relatives, strong feelings of hurt and anger and a growing distance from the Lord. After sharing from the scriptures and praying for her and the family, Julia was encouraged to return to church. It was a joy to see them in attendance that afternoon and evening. She later said that the Lord had given her new joy and a new hope. Praise God for His cleansing and new beginnings. As II Corinthians 5: 17 says: “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” Do pray for Julia and her family as they continue to heal from past wounds and learn to grow strong in the Lord.
Sunday afternoon the missionaries visited the Flotante church, filled to capacity and took “once” (tea) with them. It was a great time of fellowship and worship. In the evening at the Assembly of God church and after a good time of worship songs, Mike preached, sharing the Gospel’s message. Five people prayed to receive Christ as savior. Others prayed, rededicating their lives to God’s direction. During the weekend there were also opportunities to visit and share God’s love with a senior adult group as well as a group of recovering alcoholics.
The Lord used the weekend to do many things: 1) to put the Gospel in the hands of every interested family on the island. We know that the Gospel will never return void, but will be a testimony in itself to those willing to read it; 2) to bring three church groups together with the hope of future joint ministries to reach the people of Puerto Williams; 3) and to give opportunity to share a verbal witness with many people who otherwise would not hear it.
In January a team from Spring Hill Baptist Church in Mobile, AL will come and work with children, youth and adults as they direct day and evening camps with the residents of the island. Pray for this team as it prepares for the project and for those who will hear the Gospel.
And please “Pray for us that God may open up doors for the Word, so that we may speak boldly the mystery of Christ” Colossians 4:3 (paraphrase)
Mike and Annette’s photos at: http://community.webshots.com/album/167552893HOcBrQ
and Jackie’s at: http://community.webshots.com/album/167785854NXdGlG
