Thank you for your prayers and be careful with those street vendors

The long and odd title to this post actually has some meat to it. Many of you (hopefully there are many of you read this blog) have been praying for us. Again we humbly say "thank you". These last days we have especially sensed the need for prayer.
We have been here for almost three weeks now and have been overwhelmed with all the things that we've needed to do. We went from the near purchase of an "almost" new home to the need to fix various things in a "no way close to" new home. Mountains of paperwork from opening a checking account (not nearly as easy as in the U.S.) to getting a national i.d. card and a Chilean driver's license (both for Daniel) to many other beaurocratic wranglings. Fun, fun, fun. Well, not really but all quite necessary to live and minister most effectively. ***I know for those cynics out there you could say the Apostle Paul didn't have a driver's license nor a checking account. Amen. But we are living in the 21st century now aren't we?!?***
Then on this past Tuesday as I was beginning the first of my three day journey towards obtaining a Chilean driver's license (yes, that's how long it takes down here in southern Chile! So don't go complaining about the EXCELLENT attention given at your local Secretary of State) and I was getting a little hungry on my way back home. So as my friend Jorge and I were crossing over on the ferry from the main island to our smaller island I was intrigued by the street vendor's offer of some meat empanadas. (for those of you who might not know, an empanada is a baked or fried bread stuffed with meat, chicken, seafood and/or cheese) I am always up for an empanada and I was really hungry and she was selling them quite cheap so I went ahead and bought four, two for Jorge and two for me. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized that I shouldn't have eaten those empanadas! I was totally wiped out for two days. High fever, chills, head and body aches and I probably lost at least 5 to 10 pounds. When I called Jorge last night (Thursday) to ask him to fill in for me at Bible Study he told me that he as well had been knocked down by some bug but that it only stuck with him for 1 day. That was when we traced our infection back to the empanadas that we ate on Tuesday afternoon. Whereas I realize that I am not a detective (well, of sorts as the Scripture tells us to diligently search the Word of God-2nd Tim 2:15; Acts 17:11) the empanadas are the prime (and only) suspect. Anyway I am so, so thankful to be feeling better and I will be much more careful and disciplined when the next street vendor approaches me about purchasing their wares.
Some of you knew of this situation as it was going on and were praying for me (Daniel) specifically. There are those of you who were praying generally for me and my family. To both of these groups, thank you very much. The Lord used all of your prayers and the prayers of our Thursday night Bible Study group to bring about healing. After a 10:30 pm visit from the paramedic, an injection, and some "stomach calming agents", I actually had a decent night's sleep and woke up today feeling like a new man.
Have you realized how we tend to forget how good we have it until our situation changes for what appears to be the worst? If we are accustomed to feeling good we can take it for granted. If we are accustomed to being able to drink the water (without getting sick) or use a public restroom for free we can take it for granted. If we are used to having a hot shower or a large, warm house in which to live we can take it for granted. May it not be so. May we learn to be thankful and rejoice in the Lord for what He graciously provides for us. (Matt 6:25-33; James 1:17) But may we never cease to thank the Lord for His incredible gift to us in Christ. (2nd Corinthians 9:15) God is great and greatly to be praised. May we focus on Him and His Kingdom and His righteousness. And always be thankful! And once again, we are thankful for your prayers and ask that you continue praying for us and the work down here in Curaco. Your prayers are being mercifully and graciously answered by the Lord and we give Him all the praise for any good thing that results from our ministry down here on the island. To God be the glory!
Daniel (for Ruth and family)

$5.30 a gallon for gas and the need to eat jurel

Yes you read that title correctly. I was not too pleased when I pulled up to the pump and saw that my gas would cost me about 700 pesos a liter and that would equal out to about $5.30 a gallon. But we need to roll with the punches or just go out and buy some horses. We have noticed that the prices of a lot of things have gone up over this past year. Milk is about twice the price as it was a year ago, as are many of the fruits and vegetables. The price of bread is about 35% higher and the big thing with this is that bread is one of the staples down here. (Chile is said to be the country with the 2nd greatest amount of bread consumption, trailing behind France alone) Added to that the devaluation of the dollar it makes the foreign missionary seek to cut corners wherever possible. Seeings that we can't afford to eat canned tuna we have turned to one of its uglier sisters, jurel. Just today I was telling Ruth that it was a luxury being able to eat a can of tuna. With canned tuna you just open the can, drain the water (or oil) and eat. Not so easy with jurel. The canned jurel comes complete with the bones, the skin and the blood. The only things we don't find in the can are the internal organs and the head. So the process with the canned jurel is a little more complicated than with the canned tuna. I need to open the can, drain the water/blood/slime mixture, scrape off the dried blood and then take the bones out. Then I rinse it again and it is ready to eat. Not nearly as easy as the canned tuna and not nearly as flavorful, but still a good source of protein and Omega-3's and hopefully not too much mercury. But at least there is food to eat and just as the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 6 in His "do not worry" passage (verses 25 thru 34), He will take care of our needs and we see Him doing that most clearly as we recognize that He is the greatest need that we have. (Matthew 4:4)
So please take note that we are very thankful for being able to eat jurel in Curaco de Velez. The Lord has opened up many doors for ministry and I like the Apostle Paul ask that you pray for us that we would be faithful no matter what may arise against us. (1st Corinthians 16:9) There are those who seem very open and anxious to hear more about the gospel. Just last night we had the wonderful opportunity to share with a woman named Juanita. She is the employer of two ladies that attend Grace Baptist. They have been praying for her and just recently she expressed to them that she was glad that Ruth and I were back in town and that she wanted us to counsel her. Well last night was our opportunity to visit her and we had the wonderful opportunity to share with her the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh that the truth of the gospel would resonate in her heart and that the blessed Holy Spirit would convince her of her sin and of her need for the Savior. Please pray for Juanita and many others like her. Religious people in need of a restored relationship with their Creator. May we never cease to thank God for the one way that He has established for man to be reconciled: by grace (God's gift) through faith (again God's gift) through God's Son Jesus Christ (and one more time, God's gift). To close I encourage you to meditate upon the words of the Apostle Paul in 2nd Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"
At the end of the day it doesn't matter how much gas costs. It doesn't matter how much a can of tuna costs. It doesn't matter how clean or dirty jurel is. It doesn't matter how high or low the dollar goes. What matters is the gospel. May we never forget that!

We are in Chile!

Yes it is true. We finally made it back to Chile. We haven't made it to the town of Curaco de Velez yet, but we hope to in a couple of days. The trip down here was quite uneventful. The kids were relatively well behaved. A little cranky at times, but that is to be expected. We didn't miss any of our connecting flights. (probably helped that we only had one to make!) All of our luggage made it down with us. And we had zero complications with immigration and customs. So overall it was a good experience.
Now we will be in Santiago until Tuesday when we plan on flying down to Puerto Montt and then catching the bus that will take us down to Quinchao Island and the town of Curaco de Velez. During our few days here we plan on getting some paperwork done for me (Daniel), visit with family and catch up with some old friends. Some of those friends are fellow missionaries, Pedro and Stephanie Garcia. They are just across town and we hope to see them tomorrow. (Saturday)
We would like to thank you all again for your prayers and financial support of the ministry in southern Chile. May the Lord be glorified as His gospel goes forth!