.

2011-05-13T18:03:00.001-04:00

On May 13, we arrived back on US soil, concluding our international service as workers of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. I remember back in1992 when we left for Costa Rica and Chile still seemed like such a faraway goal that would never arrive. Nineteen years later we are experiencing the same feelings about our leaving that country of which we knew hardly anything.

The two most characteristic words for the final days were sadness and thankfulness.

We feel sad because of all that we left behind. We leave friends, fellow-workers and the church family that so kindly ministered to us as we served among them. We also leave Chile, its rich culture and warm people, the land that adopted us and which our sons call home. I will miss the daily drive along the coast, taking the boys to school. There were many tears shed and probably even more that were held back.

Yet we feel thankful, also because of what we left behind. We left a church that is now larger, stronger, more unified and more mature than when we arrived four years ago. There are more equipped people to carry on ministries and the church has moved to a stage where it can continue to reproduce disciples in a healthy way. We are thankful, because that was our desire for this fourth and final term in Chile.

The Story of the Love of God

2011-03-31T15:11:00.001-03:00

There is no greater story that the story of the love of God. That is the story that we told to 54 young people on Saturday, but in a most interesting way. Through interactive multimedia and contemporary methods, we told the story of God's love expressed through Jesus. Our church kids were enthused, and a dozen friends were led to receive Christ!

Personally, I have never seen a presentation of the gospel that was so clear, so complete and so personal. As we concluded, everyone understood the amazing love of God and the most natural thing to do was to respond in faith by receiving God's gift.

This week we begin to encourage these new followers of Christ. And already the group is dreaming about repeating this event so that more teens and college students can be blessed in the same way.

The 3.16 Code

2011-03-13T09:45:00.000-03:00

Codes are to protect important information. In this case, the 3.16 Code holds the solution that brings a happy ending to life's story.

On March 26, our youth group will hold an all day activity called Code 3.16. Our young people are already inviting lots and lots of teens and come hear the story of God's love like they have never heard it before. It will be a day of interactive, multi-media, relational activities with a simple goal... that their friends receive the love of God in Jesus Christ.

Our young people are working harder than ever in preparing drama, music, stage sets and more. And we are praying. We would appreciate very much if you would also pray with us, and then check back in a couple of weeks to hear what God is going to do.

The End of our Last Year

2010-12-13T09:11:00.000-03:00

Today, with joy and sadness, I will finish my Peacemakers course in our local Bible Academy. It has been a wonderful journey of growth with 20 students, but it is also the final class of my final course before we conclude our ministry in Chile early next year. We restarted the Academy when I arrived in July of 2007, with 16 students in one doctrine class. By the grace of God and with the help of a growing team of teachers and tutors, we have more than 60 students participating several courses this semester and over 50 certificates will be handed out. The church of Jesus Christ is growing stronger in Reñaca.

We are also growing in other ways. Sunday attendance has increased from a previous average of 100 to 125 this semester. Our church income has finally reached our budget for the first time this year. Our ministries with men, women and youth have all grown. To the glory of God, this is not the same church we came to four years ago!

I love numbers, but we know that is not what it is all about. It's about people and changed lives... people like Miguel and Nisser who attended our September Marriage Encounter. After five years of separation they reconciled. That weekend, Miguel came to faith in Christ and in December they were baptized together. This is what brings joy to our task and we thank you for your partnership with us.

A First New Beginning

2010-12-13T08:58:00.000-03:00

On Saturday, December 11, the Curicó church dedicated its new sanctuary, 288 days after the earthquake that had shattered their old building. With rejoicing they celebrated the first of the six Alliance church buildings to be rebuilt. They are already working on plans for the next stage of construction and hope to have it under way soon.

Please continue to pray for the other five churches. Most of them have only recently been able to complete the demolition of the old structures and are now working on plans and resources.

Reconstruction begins to move

2010-10-19T13:25:00.000-03:00

In September, Chile celebrated two hundred years of independence, and spring was never more welcome than in 2010. It was a winter with exceptionally complicated respiratory infections for many... I was down 15 days with a sinus infection. But it was particularly hard for the churches who had lost their buildings to February's magnitude 8.8 earthquake. Churches wrestled with plans, permits, weather and in some cases, discouragement, while some faced the challenges of overcoming their personal losses. Only recently have things begun to move on church construction.

The work of demolition is finally moving ahead quickly in Cerro Alto, Los Alamos and Arauco. In Talca, the municipality graciously tore down the remnants of their buildings and cleared the site of rubble, saving the church thousands of dollars that can now be used for reconstruction. The best news so far is that in Curicó they are building. They hope to be using (the first stage of) their new building by the end of November! They have received help from the national church, CAMA Services and the Hillside Church of Denver.

We have just learned that the Hualpén church of Concepción, after a lot of prayer and consultation with building professionals, has decided that it would not be wise to repair their severely damaged building. They will tear it down, making a final total of six Chilean Alliance churches that must rebuild from the ground up. The church in Hualén is currently meeting in a fire hall on Sundays and the local fire captain has accepted Christ.

The prayers, gifts and encouragement from Christians around the world continues to be a boost to the pastors and church members. Thank you for remembering those who are rebuilding.

This is the goal

2010-07-26T10:46:00.006-04:00

It was three years this week that we settled into Viña del Mar and I began, among other ministries, working as a 48 year old rookie youth pastor! I began with a group of 8 to 10 kids and a lot of fear and trepidation on my part. Today I'm having a great time with a group of 20 to 25 teens and college age youth. Saturday was a sign that we have reached a new level.

Five of our group had just come back from a week-long evangelistic project in our city and they shared with the same kind of enthusiasm as the 72 when they joyfully reported back to Jesus, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name". They fearfully took a step of faith and God changed their lives. One of them shared a very solid message on faith and they all challenged the rest of the group to get involved in training and mission work. We also prayed for another college student of ours that was out on an evangelistic trip to the cities that were ravaged by the tsunami in February.

This was the goal from the beginning... to form disciples. We have a growing group of leaders, an increasing hunger for solid biblical truth and a willingness to serve. We are planning a major outreach event to share the good news with more young people in the second half of the year. I have been encouraged greatly by what God is doing among my young friends.

My family and I are currently less than 10 months from finishing our time in Chile and in the Reñaca church. The congregation hopes to be able to bring on a second Chilean pastor to work with youth, but that is still not financially feasible. Regardless of whether it can be done or not in the next year, it is crucial to see this development among the young leaders. Thanks for your prayers for them, that God will continue to build them in spiritual maturity, faithful ministry and love for the lost in our community.

2010-06-08T14:56:00.000-04:00

During my June visit to Talca, in Chile's central valley, I was awakened by an aftershock at 4:15 a.m. It was one of three that gently shook that night. Three months after the 8.8 cataclysm, the ground has ceased to tremble with the same frequency or intensity; now the aftershocks that are most evident are the personal tremors of the millions who lived through the disaster.

To my eyes, Talca looked worse than it had in the first weeks after big quake, when the streets were congested with piles of rubble and partially collapsed buildings.

As I lay awake, I reflected on what I had seen driving into town that evening. Bulldozers and front end loaders had trucked away mountains of rubble and torn down the remains of hundreds of former homes and businesses. Several city blocks were almost barren, except for a few temporary wooden homes that had been placed there by the government. There were still hundreds of buildings with walls cracked and split and I wondered if how many, if any, could be saved. The images brought tears to my eyes, and I thought how Nehemiah had cried over the walls of his city so long ago.

Despite the devastation, the church in Talca was celebrating. For two Sundays they had not met, while they worked on an emergency structure where they could meet during the winter. With help of a Santiago men's group they had taken the old rafters and placed them over the courtyard where they could make a temporary meeting hall for 120 people. It was filled on Sunday and there was great joy and more than a few tears. Tears for their old building, now a broken shell, and joy for being together once again.

The day before we had traveled from Arauco, a small logging town on the southern coast of Chile. They were spared from February's tsunami, but they were struck by the power of seismic waves that moved the sandy soil almost as if it were liquid. Most of the streets were broken and the entire city water system was ruined. In the 50 member Alliance church, five families lost their homes and the church building will need to be rebuilt. Despite such widespread damage, Pastor David Cabezas says that local church giving has increased, because the people want to rebuild as soon as possible.

That night, as I waited for more tremors (none came), I meditated more on the story of Nehemiah. It is natural, I thought, to shed tears when one's city is in ruins. It's ok. But it is also natural to take steps to rebuild. Many of our churches here are doing major repairs and others are speaking to architects about new plans. But not one of them has the funds they need.

Just as in the days of Nehemiah, rebuilding the walls will take a concerted effort of all the people working together. Several of the churches have been helped by a special offering of all the Chilean Alliance and others are being assisted through a cooperative project set into motion by CAMA Services. Offerings were received from other Alliance national churches and from interdenominational agencies as well. We are currently trying to help establish partnerships for earthquake recovery.

I share the sense of loss and the sense of hope that is present in so many of our Chilean brothers and sisters. I know that many of you do as well. On behalf of the Chilean church, I want to personally thank the individuals and churches who have shown fellowship and compassion by giving for this reconstruction. We have felt your love and we praise God for you.

Grace and peace,
Bob Hepokoski
Renaca, Chile

Back to School

2010-05-17T11:12:00.004-04:00

What an amazing thing to see twice as many students in our Bible Academy this year! This is our weekly Bible teaching and discipleship ministry for adults in the Reñaca church and we recently began our new semester with over 60 students enrolled! That is compared to last semester with 30 to 35 participants. Just three years ago we had just one course and 14 students.

What made the difference? On the one hand it is because we have grown. We continue to see new people come into the church with enthusiasm and a desire to grow in Christ. And on the other hand it is because we took the months of March and April for a spiritual growth campaign with daily readings and weekly small groups. People were encouraged and grew in their desire to keep learning about Jesus.

When people come together around the Word of God to seek to become more like Jesus... only good things can come from that!

Nehemiah and friends

2010-03-30T08:21:00.010-03:00

It encourages me to find a book of the Bible that has its plot centered around the rebuilding of walls. Nehemiah shows that God cares about fallen walls and he helps his people to restore what has been broken. That affirmation means a lot in Chile today.

The story of Nehemiah shows us several important principals of rebuilding, and one of them is very simple: rebuilding is a job that requires many and diverse people, each one fulfilling their particular role. Chapter three tells of men like Meremoth, Meshullam, Zadok, Uzziel and dozens of other anonymous workers who each worked on one part of the task, making it possible to complete a whole reconstruction in record time.

After the powerful earthquake that shook the majority of the Chilean people, the rebuilding task is bigger than what Chile alone can manage right now. For that reason, many nations have sent field hospitals to take the place of damaged health care facilities. The UN has sent relief aid. International NGO's are helping rebuild schools and homes. A well-known national charity is building thousands of one room shelters for families. But the churches that need to rebuild will depend on the Church to help. We are the Church.
I encourage you to take four minutes to view this interview with Pastor Ricardo Fernandez of Curicó... and then take a minute to pray. Let's be the Church.

Teddy Bear

2010-03-20T13:31:00.007-03:00

Exploring what used to be the riverfront area of the city of Constitución was like walking in a dream. Nothing I had ever seen before could compare with the near total destruction of a large portion of this coastal city that made its living from the pulp mill, fishing and tourism. All was gone. The pulp plant will take several months to be reactivated if it can be rebuilt, fishing boats were parked in the streets and scattered amidst the remains of the former high school gym. Hotels and restaurants that had stood along the shoreline were broken in two or simply gone.

After an hour of walking, I found myself studying one partially destroyed home. Suddenly it dawned on me that it was resting in the middle of an intersection! I had walked around the house in the middle of the road without even noticing! Among all the destruction, it was just another detail.

Some residents were seeking to salvage belongings from among sand and splintered boards, while others tried to go back to their jobs. Many had left the city, but had spray painted graffiti on their own walls. In some cases it was good news, that all were well and they left a phone number to reach them. Many wrote messages pleading with the city crews to not demolish what was left of their home. Most houses still carried the markings left by rescuers, often telling the sad tale that victims had been found inside. Despite demolition and army patrols, there was a strangely peaceful quietness about Constitución.

One family, whose home had partially fallen during the tsunami, left an unexpected caretaker. Amidst the broken pieces of their house they had placed a child's teddy bear to silently watch over their property. It carried on its vigil undisturbed. Even the would-be looters seemed to recognize that this child's companion was left to safeguard their memories. Their home, the lives and their town had been shattered. But their memories could not be touched. Teddy would make sure of that.

Our church in Constitución was above the water line and survived, and continues to minister in a community that was devastated. They have been a source of help to those without food, shelter or hope. Please continue to pray for our pastors and churches in the earthquake zone. They too have suffered great losses.

The Recovery Begins

2010-03-08T13:29:00.004-03:00

It has been 10 days since the mega-earthquake that fiercely shook the ground through the most populated centers of Chile. Despite tremendous complications, food, water and medical needs are arriving now to all areas, including the isolated coastal towns racked by the tsunami. The looting that marred the first days has subsided with military assistance. The emergency response was criticized as slow by many, but that initial goal has been met.

Now the staggering task of recovery is apparent. Conservative estimates are half a million homes that are destroyed or unsafe for occupation. The cost for replacing and repairing hospitals and medical centers is estimated at $3.6 billion dollars. Bridges, schools, homes and churches need to be rebuilt. Although the loss of life was minimal, the recovery task is enormous and government representatives are talking about years. Our new presidente, Sebastian Piñera takes office in just two days.

Thus far there has been international help from the UN and many nations around the globe. Our Alliance people have also given generously, many have sent pickups with water, diapers, blankets and staple foods. Trucks have arrived to the epicenter zone from north and south with goods donated by our churches. CAMA Services has sent help as well. I will be traveling to the zone shortly with Bryon Butler of CAMA to see the needs and plan for ongoing help to our churches.

These days of great need and great opportunity in our churches of the central valley and coast, people are fearful, hurting and uncertain. Sadly, our churches are also hurting. It is imperiative that these churches be equipped as soon as possible to minister once again to the needs of their communities. Please pray. Please give. Chile needs the Body of Christ in this hour of suffering.

Miraculously Saved!

2010-03-01T12:40:00.003-03:00

On Saturday, February 27, Chile shook violently. The 8.8 magnitude quake was centered in the south central coast of Chile and the city of Concepción was the hardest hit. The image of this high rise apartment building on its side has been seen around the world. It is the site of many deaths, but also of miracles.
Just a month ago our church bid farewell to a beloved Ecuadorian family, Alex and Rosa Maria with their two children after they had been with us for more than a year. They moved to Concepción where they rented an apartment in this very building. According to Alex, "I'm from Ecuador and they kept telling me that here the buildings are made to withstand earthquakes and that I shouldn't worry." It was not so.

When our church learned that Concepción was hard hit, we prayed for them specifically and anxiously sought information on their whereabouts. This morning we celebrated as we saw Alex on national television telling the story of how they were able to find their way out of the building after it fell to the ground. Alex, his wife and their two young children are alive and well. "It is a miracle," he said in the interview.

Amidst such tragedies in Chile, there are miracles for which we give thanks to God, our Protector. We thank you for your prayers for Chile in these very difficult days.

Video Part 2

2010-02-03T11:45:00.000-03:00

We thank all of you who have kept in touch with the work here in Reñaca and Viña del Mar. You have been patient in waiting for the second part of the video that was posted in October. May it encourage you about what God is doing!

Youth Ministry

2010-01-05T15:40:00.001-03:00

Youth ministry is not just ministry to youth... it is also ministry by youth. For that reason we were very excited when we were finally able to solidify a music ministry among our young people. After several attempts, they finally came together for a local retreat last September, and from the very first day, God chose to use them.

As our retreat was beginning, two teen boys came into the church. They were just passing by and heard the music... the first time in month that the youth had sung in their activities. One of the two, Diego, is faithful in attendance and learning what the Christian life is about.

Recently in December, the group was invited to be part of a children's Christmas carnival at a local stadium. They sang about the love of God to well over a thousand people who circulated at the event. On a personal note, we are please that Brent has joined in as the keyboard player. He has advanced a great deal in his music skills since this time last year.

New Life

2009-11-24T14:27:00.000-03:00

On Sunday, November 22, we baptized 14 people at our church! It is an amazing thing to hear each one speak of the changes God has made and is making in their lives. Lots of friends and family came to participate and it was clear to anyone who came that God changes lives for the good.

2009-10-22T09:48:00.000-03:00

Welcome to our new blog page. We are glad you found us! After reformatting my computer, I realized that I did not have a backup of the files for our former web page, and instead of trying to recreate that whole site, we opted for a blog page which is simpler to keep up.

We invite you to come back to this page to find news of our ministry. It will inform you as to the prayer needs and also God's answers to prayer. This is the best way to keep in touch. We do send occasional emails and you can contact us directly if you would like to receive those.

The following is video that we prepared for our colleagues, Chuck and Betty Ostlie, who are currently visiting churches in the Southern District for their missions conferences. It will give you a good sense of what God has done in our church up to now and we sincerely hope it will encourage you. Thanks for your partnership with us.

Grace and peace,
Bob and Giselle Hepokoski