the beginnings

I begin this blog in a similar fashion to the way I began my life as a church planter. I feel compelled to do it, but I am also overwhelmed by the sense that I am not old enough, wise enough, or ready enough to move ahead in this adventure. And yet, here I am. Actually, at the moment, I am sitting at one of my favorite cafes. It has some great sidewalk seating along a street that runs into a small hill with a castle surrounded by beautiful gardens. It's in a neighborhood called Bellas Artes. A block away is the art museum, Bellas Artes. People in this neighborhood tend to be more artsy, more liberal, more independent of the greater Chilean culture. And yet, it is on the edge of the center of this grand city. And as all good urban missions people know, life and culture come from the city. It's in the city that the culture is formed and moved forth to affect the rest of the society. So even as this neighborhood feels more secular and liberal than the rest of chilean culture, I have a suspicion that it is indeed the direction of the culture.
Everyone, both in the States and in Chile, keeps asking me about why I am here. Why did I come to Chile? What am I doing here. I wish there were an easy answer. A job. A university. A man. Ha, if only. Instead I am left to scramble for words. I have a job here. I am an English teacher. I work full time in a company teaching the executives conversation English. But I didn't come across the world to do this. It's merely a means to pay for my life. My passion lies in bringing the gospel to this neighborhood. Gospel means good news. And I have witnessed first hand in my life the marvelous reality that is a living relationship with God. I have also seen a bit of the brokeness that permeates life, every life in every culture. So my heart is filled with the desire to live here in Bellas Artes, to love deeply and to share this good news that there is hope.
This undertaking seems beyond anything I can ever accomplish, and indeed it is. But I have a great God who has been paving the path before me. I hope this blog serves as a record of the challenges and joys that will arise over the next few years. Since 2005, I haven't lived in the same country for more than 2 years, the same house for more than one year. It's been a long season of transition after transition. But I can feel the Lord planting me deeper here. May this season be full of His blessing and His guidance. And may this blog be full of tales of His goodness.