Author: cornerstonechileanmission

Mike and Tabi are independent missionaries. They arrived in Santiago, Chile in December 2009 to work as full-time missionaries. They are sent out by Cornerstone Chilean Mission, a ministry of Cornerstone Christian Church in Alliance, OH and under the authority of the eldership there. Tabi is a missionary kid who grew up in Mexico, near Mexico City. She has a B.A. in Bible and Media Communications from Johnson Bible College. She plans to help with video and sound productions for churches and missionaries here in Chile. Mike has a B.A. in Bible and Missions from Johnson Bible College and received his M.A.R. in Theology from Cincinnati Christian University. He plans to focus on helping train Christian leaders, especially in the areas of Bible and doctrine (2 Tim 2:2). Thus, their desire is to help equip the Christian Church in Chile to accomplish the Great Commission.

Supporting Your Missionary: Exchange Rates

October 11, 2017May 28, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Chile Life, Informative

By: Mike and Tabi

Let’s talk money.

We aren’t complaining or suffering. Things are a little tighter right now, and we thought we would explain something most missionaries deal with.

But why? You send your money to our sending church, and they pay us our salary. It’s always the same amount, and no changes are made unless they’ve been discussed in full by our missions board. We’ve been doing fine so far, so there’s no reason why we should be struggling now, right?

Well, not necessarily. Because the salary we get paid does fluctuate; not in dollars, but in pesos.

To get an idea of how exchange rate impacts our budget. Earlier this year we were near 700 pesos per dollar. We recently dropped to near 610 per dollar. Now it has rebounded a bit to about 630 per dollar. Below I use 690 for the before and 620 for the after.

Our rent costs 253000 Chilean pesos (this is really, really good!). A couple of months ago it was $370, now it is $408

A monthly grocery shopping trip might cost 100000 pesos. It has gone from $144 to $161

All our utilities together come to about 100000, so about $144 to $161

Our health insurance costs about 170000 pesos a month, so $246 to $275

Our public transport, cellphones, gasoline, doctor visits, clothes, diapers, and other expenses all do the same thing. We are easily looking at a 10% variation in monthly expenses. We also had a stretch for a couple of years after we got to Chile where it was at or below 500 pesos per dollar.

Let’s pray it doesn’t go back there!

A time to wait, and wait . . . and wait

September 29, 2017May 28, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Chile Life

Written by: Mike

Well, after having my car vandalized the other day, I decided to go file a police report in case they happened to find the guys. So, I looked up online the police station nearest to where the incident took place. I wrote up a summary the same night to make sure to have all the details I could remember written down in an orderly fashion.

So, Wednesday afternoon, after working on sermons and lesson plans a while, I went to the police station. I asked about filing a report and was told to take a number. I got 99. The screen showed they were on 92. Not too bad. Until I figured out there was only one desk attending the public. After about half an hour, the officer at the desk called 92. Two people went up to say that they had been skipped.

I stepped outside and was chatting with another officer. He informed me that they take between an hour and an hour and a half per report. Doing the math, I decided to give up. They told me that the best time to come in is between midnight and 6AM. Sure… I bet it is. But, another option, he told me, was to go to another station in a less busy part of town.

The next day I went to another station. After waiting a while an officer asked me what I was there for. When he heard that it was for a case of vandalism and that I would not be able to identify the culprits I was told not to waste time filing a report. Nothing would be done for such a common, insignificant crime, so there was really no point. So, I wasted several hours over two days in trips to and from police stations and waiting in line to accomplish absolutely nothing.

That’s how life goes sometimes, I suppose. Now, I’m off to waste time with the insurance company.

Allergies and Vandalism

September 27, 2017May 28, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Chile Life, Family Life

It’s that beautiful time of year when everything blooms, the days get warmer, and allergies make everyone miserable! Why is it particularly bad in Santiago? Well, because of a tree called Oriental Plane.

It’s a nice-looking tree, fast-growing and shady. Which is why landscapers decided to plant them all over Santiago. It’s also highly allergenic. Wherever these trees are planted, they compose a significant percentage of allergens. And now they’re blooming. Our go-to website for checking allergen levels showed the following levels for this week:

So basically, they consider any levels higher than 70 grains per square meter a high level. And, as you can see, Oriental Plane is at 647 g/m, out of 864 g/m for all tree pollen. Yes, we are sneezing our heads off right now.

On other news, adding insult to injury, yesterday Mike was driving home from work and some guys vandalized his and other cars. In his own words:

“Last night on my way home I was waiting at a traffic light, in the left turn lane, when a car flew by in the median with a guy hanging out the window with some piece of metal scraping all the cars in the turn lane…”

So now we have a long scratch on our car. The good news is that it wasn’t worse. Still, it’s unpleasant, and we hope these young guys learn some respect for others.

Fiestas Patrias

September 22, 2017May 28, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Chile Life, Informative

\And lots of photos.

September is an interesting month in Chile. Spring is just coming in. The cold days are warming up, the sun is shining, and the flowers are blooming. It’s the perfect weather for parties.

For the most part, people are gearing up to celebrate “El 18” or “Las Fiestas Patrias” or “Las Fiestas Dieciocheras”. There’s a lot of games, fairs, music, dancing, and revelry.

The few days that are the exception to this are the days surrounding the 11th. This is the day that Chileans remember the “Golpe”, the day of Pinchet’s military coup. These are often troubled days, and so we usually stay indoors, or at least are home early.

Once these days are past, though, the celebrations begin in earnest. Music plays everywhere, dancers take to the streets with their cuecas, and the sky becomes a murky gray from all the “asados” (BBQs) going on. It’s a time for family, for parties, and for fun. Work basically comes to a grinding halt during these days, and people from all walks of life find a way to enjoy the holiday.

We have, so far this year, been to two asados (BBQs), and gone to two fondas (a fair).

Padre Hurtado

The first asado was at a church in Padre Hurtado on Saturday. What you see above are called “anticuchos”, and they’re basically kebabs. Down at the end, there are sausages, for the traditional “choripan”, which is two words smooshed into one: chorizo (sausage) and pan (bread). We also had empanadas, which are the Chilean version of a pasty.

This church has a lot of Haitians who have started attending. They love Caleb, and Caleb loves them. We did a lot of dancing. Goodbye, uncomfortable shoes! Eventually, Lydia got tired, so we went home.

Jesús es el Camino (JEEC)

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Our second asado was programmed to be at the park near our home, on Sunday. You know, this one. However, when Mike went over early in the morning, it was already full. So, the asado was moved to our house. We prepared meat and grilled it. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and laughter. We took Communion sitting around the table together. And then we sang songs.

El Quisco and Algarrobo

On Monday, we went to the coast with our friends, Jim and Kari Hurley (and family). We stopped by the beach, first, to let the girl climb on the rocks for a while.

We then went to the fonda in Algarrobo, where we got some food. We ended the day at the beach, the adults playing a game while the kids played in the sand.

Fonda Buin

Finally, on the last day of celebrations, we went to the fonda in Buin, just for a few hours. Lydia had way too much sugar, and got to jump on a trampoline. We had way too much sugar and grease. It was a good time.

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So, the celebrations over, we now turn our attention back to work. Mike goes back to working regularly at the Institute, and I go back to being a SAHM, and keeping websites updated. Ahh, life. Isn’t it wonderful?

Seminario Bíblico Restauración Cristiana

August 26, 2017May 28, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Mission Update

“No one cares about your fancy degree, son. To them, you’re just a young man pretending he knows more than they do. If you want to teach, first you have to gain their trust.” The man leaned back in his chair and eyed Mike skeptically.

It was 2007, we were recently graduated and beginning our fund-raising journey. We had decided to visit Chile so that I could get to see it before moving here. We also wanted to meet the director of the Institute that Mike wanted to join, once we made it to Chile. He was unimpressed with Mike, but decided to give him a chance, once we came as missionaries.

So we considered it all set up. We came. And, as things often go, we found upon our arrival that the Institute had stopped functioning from lack of attendance.

From that point on, he made it his goal to start another one. Remembering the advice given to him, he has patiently worked toward that goal for 7 years– building friendships, earning trust and a reputation, developing material, and finding a place to begin. He taught classes at churches, and word spread about them. After a few years, the ministers hosting the classes at their churches began encouraging him to start the Institute.

Which brings us to now. Seminario Bíblico Restauración Cristiana has finished the first semester of the trial run successfully, and is set up to start its second semester of the trial run in September, with four professors, as well as the excellent support of Habacuc Díaz and his media team. We are so grateful for how well things are going. We pray things will go well. We ask for your prayers, as well. Seminaries are difficult to run and maintain. Often they start off strong, only to taper off in attendance later. We hope that this will not be the case, but time will tell. For now, things are looking good.

Please visit the Seminary’s YouTube page, where you’ll find promotional and educational videos. You can also visit their Facebook page. Thank-you for all your support and prayers.

Three Days to Rest

August 15, 2017May 28, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Family Life

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We took a short trip about 6 hours north of Santiago, to take a rest. Mike has been working very hard with the institute and the church, working several days a week at his office, and working late hours. And we all needed some exclusive family time.

We went to La Serena and Coquimbo, which are two beach towns, side by side. The climate is desert, though, so it was interesting to see that mix.

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Mostly, we just strolled around town and visited the beach. It was a very relaxing trip.

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We took the long way back home and found this beautiful cross at just the perfect time of day!

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We arrived home refreshed and ready to continue with work. We are thankful for the chance to get out for a few days and enjoy God’s great creation, and human creations, too!

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Snow in Santiago

July 16, 2017May 28, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Chile Life, Family Life

By: Tabi

It snowed in Santiago. It does snow occasionally in the parts of Santiago that are nearest to the Andes, but I’m told it hasn’t snowed like this in the rest of Santiago in 40 years. Although it knocked out our power for the rest of the day, it was still nice to watch. The city of Santiago, though, is not equipped to handle snow. There were quite a few car accidents, lots of smashed plants, fallen branches, and slippery streets.

P1330951 — The snow crushed and broke our canopy, and may have killed off our poor lantana. Nevertheless, it looked nice.

P1330984 — The cacti in the front yard seemed to do just fine, though.

P1330982 — Fallen branches and leaves littered our street.

P1330990 — By the time nighttime came around, things got pretty dark. We pulled out our emergency lights and used those until the power finally came back on, around 8PM.

A Worthwhile Task

July 14, 2017May 28, 2018 by cornerstonechileanmission, posted in Family Life, Meditation

By: Tabi

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Sometimes I feel like I’m not doing very much, in terms of “missionary work”. I spend most of the day with my kids. Sure, I get an article translated and uploaded once a week or so, but that’s about the extent of it. I spend most of my day with my kids. If I am truly honest with myself, it doesn’t feel very spiritual or “missionary-like”.

I don’t know if it’s just to make myself feel better, but when I start to fall in the trap of feeling unimportant or useless, I remember the paralyzing fear I felt when my daughter was born. It sounds unreasonable to remember a fear when I’m seeking comfort, doesn’t? Bear with me.

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When she was born and they wheeled her into the room, I was struck by the enormous task ahead. There she was, all tiny and helpless. I’m responsible for a human being, I thought. And it was terrifying. I was responsible for raising a kind, decent, loving human being. I was responsible for teaching her about God and the person He wants her to be. I was responsible for keeping her healthy and generally happy.

This awe tends to get lost in the shuffle of day to day life. I’m just trying to survive each day, but still do a good job. And now there’s two, and things feel more difficult than before. I spend most of my day getting food ready, doing a minimum of housework, and occasionally remembering to do some kind of educational/developmental activity. And because I admit that I am a computer-holic, I remove myself and the kids from the temptation of computers/tablets/TV as often as I can by taking them out to the mall or to a park. Disconnect from tech. Connect to fun, and games, and nature. Go to the library and bury ourselves in books. Have an oh-so-healthy meal of chicken nuggets.

IMG_20170526_150356 — They like each other. Honest.

I’m responsible for raising human beings. It may not feel grand or spiritual, but it is a task that is worthwhile– valuable. I don’t know what they’ll grow up to be, and I’m only just beginning to get an inkling of their personalities. But I know that, whatever else, they will know they are loved, by their parents and by God. They will know that they must love, themselves and others. They will know that Truth is worth searching for, mysteries are worth exploring, and adventures are worth having. Beyond that, we’ll see.

I’ll do my best. Because it’s the best job I have right now.