APRIL, 2012 TRIP UPDATES

4/18, 12:05am -- We had a great day today. We were able to get a little rest and tour the area before meeting the visitation team on Placeres. Visitation is always a highlight of our trip. Fred visited with Daniel, the owner of a restaurant on our hill, and we visited a few homes today. Several people on Placeres mentioned the earthquake, but the locals call this a tremor. It isn't considered a "quake" in Chile until it hits 7.0. Some did sustain damage and asked us to pray for their houses. It was a great way to pray for the peace that only God can bring. Michelle prayed for a lady named Sylvia who is raising her great grandchildren. Michelle swayed the baby and prayed for him in the most soothing voice. I think she's practicing for Jeff's job! We also had a Bible study in which Elaine, Karen, Pauletta, Craig, Michelle, and Fred all had great things to share with the people on Placeres. Our driver's wife is the chef at the restaurant, and it just opened yesterday so we went there for dinner. She is a great cook! We ended by praying for the restaurant and those who worked in it. It was a great way to kick off their opening week.

Since yesterday's update was filled with earthquake news, we did not give an update on the day. We started the day by speaking to two English classes and then ended with the Courageous conference. The attitude and hearts of the people on Placeres are hard and need a lot of prayer. The response to the movie was much better at the church than on Placeres, but we wrapped up the evening with a message. Craig did a great job sharing with the youth, while Kathy, Elaine, and Pauletta worked with the children. I think those children were more involved and calmer than I have ever seen them. We are hearing more about some of the things God has done in people's lives after our events. We can't wait to share them with you when we get home!

4/17, 11:55pm -- Gabi blessed us with some words tonight. The home visits were very enlightening and made our hearts even bigger for the Chilean people. The Bible Study was small but sweet and intimate. It was basically made up of the people that we visited right before the Bible study started. Pastor Alex talked about how it touched him that Kathy encouraged him by saying that we are planting seeds. Pastor Alex said yes, that we were at the ground/planting seeds time on Cerro Placeres. What Kathy said seemed to be a great encouragement to him.

Also, we all had lots of fun laughing at dinner. Roberto's wife is some kind of cook! It is definitely a God thing that Roberto drove us this week. Not only did he make us feel super safe, but he began to really intently listen each time that The Word was presented. He could have just stayed with the van or read a book, but he really seems to be searching. Love it.

Nelson, Sara, and Sara's 90+-year-old mother raise Carolina, Sara's niece (her brother's daughter). Her brother went and lived in the states when Carolina was just a baby and left Carolina in Chile. Since then, Carolina has always lived with Nelson and Sara. From what Sara says, Carolina is about 30 years old, has a mental disability and a face that is childlike. She is a joy to Sara, and Sara says that Carolina is like a daughter to her. Sara talked much about Carolina in the car on the way from the airport to Valparaiso. Just this evening when everyone was together at dinner, I asked Sara about Carolina, and she said--here is Robert, he is the father of Carolina. That is when I put it all together.

The Courageous movie and conference topic have been very applicable to many of the needs and hurts that we have seen and that the people have expressed this week.

4/16, 11:50pm -- This has been a good week! You're probably in bed by now, but tomorrow you will probably see that there was a magnitude-6.7 earthquake just 26 miles north of Valparaiso. I (Jeannie) was at the doctor with a team member who has a virus and did not feel a thing. But the team felt the quake. I came back to all kinds of people standing outside the hotel, but everything is okay. Our team is actually in bed.

4/15, 10:40pm -- The Courageous Movie that we showed at the JEV conference was a huge hit. Parents talked about how they had not loved on their kids, and they want to learn to be better parents. This was God's plan for this week because the church is doing a conference on families in a month or so. They used this event to promote their conference. Tomorrow we will speak to an English class and present the conference again on Cerro Placeres.

4/14, 7:30pm -- We had a great day today. We started at the orphanage. Michelle shared a story about a starfish and how God uses everything for good. Craig led "Father Abraham" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" as we sang with about 30 kids. Then Jeanie called "Cabeza" (head) a "Cerveza" (beer) and everyone was rolling. Good times! We asked the kids to draw pictures of something God turned into good for them, and several drew pictures of them being abandoned and then adopted. We were all fighting back tears. We loved working at the orphanage today.

After that, we prayer walked Cerro Placeres, and we have a new brother. As we rounded a corner, Sebastian was just sitting out on the sidewalk. He had a backpack with a NLT Bible in it and told us he had been reading to understand. It sounded like he was a Christian until Fred asked if he knew where he would go if he died tonight. He didn't. We talked to him for a while and answered questions, and then he accepted Christ. He was already trying to read the Bible through in a year. We're praying for Christian brothers to walk with him and that he understands what he reads.

Tomorrow we'll start our Courageous conference at 8:30am Texas time. The church has invited many people. We're praying for open hearts and that God turns families to him through our time tomorrow.

Thanks for the prayers.

4/13, 1:40pm -- The team arrived an hour late due to issues at DFW, but they are now checked in. They are eating and getting ready to visit our partner church. Pauletta Meek has a sinus infection that is slowing her down, so please pray for healing and strength. The team has a BUSY week ahead of them. Keep them ALL in your prayers.

NEW PARTNERSHIP

In 2011, First Hurst entered into a new multi-year partnership in Chile, working with the European South Latin people in Chile's #1 port city, Valparaíso. Valparaíso is known as the "City on 42 Hills" and spans an area of 155 square miles in central Chile. Please contact for information about upcoming trips.

THE WORK

We are partnering with the IMB and a local church, "Jesús, Esperanza Viva Church," to reach the people on Cerro Placeres (Pleasures Hill) in Valparaíso. There are approximately 275,000 people living on the 42 "hills" in Valparaíso, and 50,000 of them live on the hill we have adopted. It is estimated that less than 10% of the people on Cerro Placeres have heard the gospel in a meaningful way.

Jesús, Esperanza Viva Church is a church in a neighboring city that is committed to reaching this area. Our goal in this partnership is to encourage and multiply the efforts of this church and share the truth and love of Christ with the thousands who live on Cerro Placeres.

During the first year of our partnership, we are focusing on an area that begins at the community plaza and extends east to a secondary school which has close to 400 students. Over 80% of the students in this school come from high-risk home situations. As a result, the school has a specific focus on teaching morals and values and has opened its doors to us for future work.

GET INVOLVED

There are several ways you can get involved. If you are interested in participating in any of these areas, please contact .

• Prayer – Jesús, Esperanza Viva Church visits homes on Cerro Placeres several afternoons each week to evangelize and lead Bible studies. You can be part of the prayer team that prays for the visitation efforts during specific visiting times.
• Spanish Translation – Are you fluent in Spanish? We need help translating email communication and various materials as we plan future trips and activities. There is also a great need for Spanish speakers and translators to go on our trips.
• Costumes, Puppets, & School Activities – Some trips will involve teaching K-8th grade students different Bible stories and applications through various activities like conducting a play for their parents, puppet shows, and art activities. If you like to sew, make puppets, or draw backdrops, we need your help!
• Donate Miles – The trip to Chile is a great way to use frequent flyer miles. A round-trip ticket to Chile can be purchased with 40,000–60,000 AAdvantage miles. Donating miles to someone going on one of our trips reduces the total trip cost to less than $1000 and is a great way to contribute to Kingdom work.
• Go – Pray about going on one of these exciting trips. We will fill teams of 4–10 people for each trip. A $300 deposit on or before the due date will hold your spot on a team. Please contact if you are interested in going on one of the trips or have any questions.