Trip to Temuco: Sunday

Trip to Temuco Series: Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3

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On Sunday, Daryl Thompson and I were able to attend the 21 de Mayo church in Temuco. (All the churches here in Chile are named by the street or neighborhood where they are located. This church is located in the 21 de Mayo section of the city.)

During our orientation time in Temuco, our family will be visiting the other 6 churches in the greater Temuco area, but will faithfully attend the services at the 21 de Mayo work. I was able to meet the members and the leadership during the morning service. They all were very welcoming and excited about our family coming in the near future.

The 21 de Mayo work has a new young pastor, Marcelo Figueroa. He has graduated from the Bible Institute in Temuco and has been the pastor for just over a year. He also just recently got married to Daryl's youngest daughter, Teresa. Our family will plug into the church and assist in various ways. The main task is, for me (David), to continue to learn Spanish and have increased opportunities in speaking and communicating in formal and informal contexts. I will NOT be taking over Pastor Marcelo's role, since he IS the national pastor, but will be his biggest ally in the ministry.

The Sunday I attended was Graduation Sunday (or Promotion Sunday). Since March is the month when Chilean schools start back into session, Sunday school classes receive their new students on this special Sunday.

Teresa (Pastor's wife on left) and another teacher present their two graduates and lead them to their new SS teacher.

Our family looks forward to getting to know Pastor Marcelo and Teresa and the group of believers at 21 de Mayo. During our orientation time there are several different ministries we will have exposure to and have opportunities to learn and gain experience. One of the ministries we are super excited about is the new church plant work that is being planted from the 21 de Mayo church in a growing community just south of Temuco, called San Ramón.

Come back to the blog tomorrow to find out why we are so thrilled to see this national church's vision for this needy area of San Ramón.