The Guys in White (and Us)

Today I read an article called, "Chile's Fruitful Vineyard" on The Church of Latter Day Saint's website (www.lds.org) and just had to share not only what I read, but also about what I observed while in Chile last month.
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Here are some of the quotes from the article (bold emphasis added by me):

-In Chile, one in every thirty-eight people is a member of the Church, missionary labors are yielding a bountiful harvest.

-In the 50 years that LDS missionaries have toiled in Chile, The LDS' membership has swelled to 540,000, the third-largest Mormon population outside the U.S. (behind Mexico and Brazil).

-The Chile Antofagasta Mission was formed by dividing the Chile Santiago North, Chile Santiago South, and Chile Vina del Mar missions. The new addition gives Chile a total of seven missions.

-The LDS Church is on a major push to see converts in the northern cities of Arica, Iquique, Tocopilla, Calama, Antofagasta, Copiapó, and Vallenar.

-Membership has more than doubled as annual growth rates have averaged 10 percent. Chile’s seven missions have been bringing more than twenty thousand people into the Church every year.

-Fifteen years ago almost all the LDS missionaries in South America were from North America. Today half are South Americans, and it is hoped that within a few years South America will be a self-sufficient source of missionaries. These South American missionaries with no language or cultural barrier to overcome, should accelerate even more the phenomenal growth of the Church in this part of the world.

-Baptizing Chileans is easy. People have little trouble finding Jesus among the Mormons, shifting allegiance from pope to prophet, or seeing visions of church founder Joseph Smith rather than the Virgin Mary.
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To read the whole article from www.lds.org click here

Also HERE is an article called, "Building Faith: The LDS Church in Chile".
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(Photo: Two of many American LDS missionaries I saw in Antofagasta.


(One of the 13 Mormon churches in Antofagasta - all pre-fabricated and shipped to Chile for assembly)

My thoughts:
-This is no joke. The guys in white are effective.
-This is sad. The guys in white have an annual crop of new missionaries.
-This is convicting. The guys in white fund their mission with passion.
-This is misguided. The guys in white really believe that they have the truth.

-Am I (are you) effective in our mission to make disciples?
-Am I (are you) encouraging others to participate in Great Commission Living?
-Am I (are you) funding missions (local & foreign) with passion?
-Am I (are you) confident in the sufficiency of Scripture and that it is Truth?

-Pray for our family as we minister in Chile amongst many other "groups" who are trying to make their own disciples (disciples of Joseph Smith, disciples of Satan, disciples of Science, disciples of Materialism just to name a few).