October Prayer letter

Getting to Know Students in Chile...

Barrio Republica. This is where I go everyday. The universities line these streets and students hang out on the street. It’s definitely not a a traditional college campus!


This past month we’ve been going to campus full-time. God has been so faithful, and it’s amazing to see how he’s working here in Chile.

I’ve been able to begin building relationships with students here that I’ve met through English clubs or doing surveys on campus.

A typical day consists of having prayer or Bible study with my team in the morning, heading to campus and doing a spiritual interest survey with students, and then having lunch either with students or as a team. After lunch, I sometimes meet one on one with a student I’ve met to get to know them more and talk about spiritual things, and afterwards, I do more surveys with students. Often, I’ll run into some students I’ve already met on campus and talk with them for a while.

The point of the surveys is to know the spiritual climate on campus. There are 4 areas of questions: friendships, purpose, fun, and spiritual life. It’s been a great way to get to know students, their thoughts, and Chilean culture. They’re also a great way to start spiritual conversations and often lead to the gospel.

The spiritual climate here is very hard– very different than I expected. Many students don’t even seem to have thought about spiritual things or have an interest in them. The Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses have a big presence here and many students have a hard time seeing how a relationship with Christ is anything different from what they’ve heard from them. A few students claim a Catholic background, but aren’t practicing Catholicism at all. The ground is very hard here, and the spiritual atmosphere is very dark— yet these students are searching for meaning and for Christ. There is no ministry in Republica, and it seems like this could be a year of sowing.

Sometimes, I want to see results and students coming to the Lord left and right, but I’m learning to be content to plant the seeds and trust the Lord for the harvest. He can use me as he wants to.


Chile Facts
Santiago has great public transportation. There’s a metro (subway) that connects the city and also micros (buses) that go everywhere. This is how we get around. The micros are crazy– sometimes it’s like an amusement park ride riding on those things. And people jump on to sell ice cream, pens, play the guitar for money… there’s culture there!!

English club– Susana is the one with a red shirt.

We Got a Classroom!!

We now have 2 English clubs a week– one in a food court, and the other in a classroom!! The classrooms are a little difficult to get here, but we took a Chilean student with us to ask, and the Lord provided for us. The English club is definitely where I’ve built the best relationships with students.

Susana is one of these students– she is so sweet and has helped me with my Spanish too! She is a strong believer in reincarnation. We’ve had a couple of spiritual conversations, and we’ve shared the gospel with her.

Hopefully, through pursuing a friendship with her, loving her, and speaking truth, she will see a difference in our lives and desire a relationship with Christ. I desire to see her know the Lord so much. The Lord has definitly been answering my prayers about breaking my heart for these students, and giving me a love for them.

Prayer Requests

· For Susana– that God would draw her to himself
· That we could learn Spanish quickly-this is definitely still a big barrier
· For the English clubs– that the same students would keep coming back, as well as new ones
· I haven’t been able to see Tomoyo again– we’ve been emailing, but she’s been unable to come to English clubs– keep her in your prayers– I still want to share with her
· For God to show us students who will be leaders in this movement– we truly want it to be a Chilean, and not an American, ministry

It’s strange that it’s getting warm outside, and yet it’s November. I’ve been missing home a bit… thanks for your prayers! They’re so encouraging for me here- Julie Sorensen