Antofagasta: The Challenges Ahead

To some, a ministry move to Antofagasta seems to be a foolish decision. There are so many known and unknown challenges that face Gospel ministry, especially a ministry starting from zero.

Yes, there are many challenges facing our family as we prepare to move up to the city of Antofagasta. We would like to share some of them with you:

1. The high cost of living - For starters, we will be paying $1,000 dollars per month for renting a 3 bedroom apartment in Antofagasta (our apartment building below). The housing market in Antofagasta is crazy right now (borderline unfair), due to the mining boom and growing industry in the city. Water, gas, electricity, and food are more expensive in Antofagasta. On a human level, it would seem to be a foolish thing to move to such an expensive city and tighten "the financial belt" another notch.

2. Distance from fellow GMSA co-workers - The nearest GMSA missionary will be 678 miles away (as the crow flies). Interaction with co-workers will be few and far between. It would seem foolish to move so far away from fellowship, friendships, and joint ministry interaction.

3. The Desert - Why would anyone move to a city that is in the middle of the driest desert in the world (the Atacama Desert)? It would be foolish to leave southern Chile, where it rains and stays green all year round.

4. The Difficult sub-culture of Northern Chile - In southern Chile, people are warm, loving, and more open to the Gospel (in general). In northern Chile, it is the exact opposite, then times it by two. Those who live in Antofagasta are tough...you have to be (see #3). Money, drugs, alcohol, idolatry, broken homes, dangerous neighborhoods, and unhealthy physical and moral lifestyles are just a few of the common characteristics of daily life in Antofagasta. It would seem foolish to move a young family of 6 into the middle of that scenerio.

Despite the above, the Lord has lead us to serve and minister in the city of Antofagasta. As I was packing up my office the other day, I came across a poem written by a fellow Minnesota missionary in Africa. The words were impacting when I read it and thought about our upcoming ministry move from Temuco to Antofagasta.

To leave a place

You've learned to love,

To follow guidance

From above,

May seem to some

A foolish step

When path is dark

The way not kept,

But O the joy

of steps in air

When God directs

When He is there...

To make that way

We fear to trust

The very path

He planned for us!

-Kevin Zakariasen