In my last letter I had written that Marcos, our Evangelical driver was to give his testimony on Sabbath. But as it turned out he needed to drive Dr Tim and his wife Donna Bainam to the airport as they needed to leave the group early as did Dr. Ki on Friday. So Marcos was never able to talk to the group as a whole. He did however get to tell Bob Young, Pastor Rigo and me the story. It was breath taking and needs to be shared now with everyone. This man had a divine appointment with God and Praise the Lord we had a part in the meeting! Marcos began his story by telling of his younger brother who the doctor had sent home to die saying that the extent of his wounds were so severe that in no way was it possible to survive as they would never be able to heal. He had been in a fight with a man who used an ax on him. Cutting into his skull and exposing the brain. Marcos said he could actually see the pulsation of the brain as there was no bone or skin present on a large portion of his head. He had also been hit in the arm and a portion of his leg from the hip to the foot was gone as the ax slid down his side. The doctor assured him he would not live more than 7 days. Marcos who is a very humble and simple man took his brother to his house and prayed to the Lord, pleading in behalf of his brother’s life. He relied totally on the mercy of God knowing that only God was capable of saving him by a miracle. Well that was over 20 years ago and the brother now walks around with only a limp and a slightly deformed but perfectly working head. Marcos life has been one of hardship and barely getting by but the Lord has always seen him through. A few weeks ago there was no food for his family to eat and he prayed asking the Lord to help him make some more money so he could feed them. That day he was pulled over on the road by Lewis, the first Elder of the Los Alamos church and asked if he would like to drive for the Director of the American group that was coming that day. Marcos agreed to do this and by the mercy of God ,Bob was impressed to offer him an advance in his pay right away. He never told us of his problems, and was always kind and ready for us when ever we needed him. We had gone about our duties, using Marcos to take us to all the various places each day. When we stopped for a drink we always bought one for Marcos, not thinking anything of it. When it was lunch time and Bob stopped to eat Marcos was invited to eat with him, just a normal thing to do. We had no idea what was going on in his mind about us, we were just always normal acting to him. We arranged for him to get glasses and also to get his teeth taken care of at our clinic. We had given Marco a Bible and he was at our meetings several nights. With eyes filled with tears and lips that trembled, he told us that he keeps it on his dashboard and reads it every spare minute during the day as he recounted the rest of this story to us. He has a hard time reading as he is slightly illiterate and because he hasn’t been able to see anything that small in years. But now that he has glasses and his first Bible ever he has great hope. He went on to tell us that he has never had people be as kind to him as we 7th day Adventist and that we must have something special. Not ever has he been treated so kindly in his church by anyone. He has plans to keep attending the Los Alamos 7th day Adventist church and it is our prayer that he finds a happy forever home there until Jesus returns. When we paid Marcos that night Bob gave him a little extra and I had remembered that I still had $30.00 left in my purse, and wanted to add to his salary knowing that he needed it desperately. Before we had left home our little 6 year old grandson Matthew had sent money he earned selling vegetables this summer and wanted it to go to something in the Chile mission. His money was given to that special man to help feed his family. That God had this all planned out for this very humble and faithful man is of no doubt. It was a divine appointment and makes me tremble to think of what took place and we didn’t even know what was going on until the end. There are so many more stories from others in our group that haven’t even been told yet. How many stories there are going to be like this that we will be able to hear in detail at the throne of God!

There are people that we have impacted forever through divine intervention and never even knew of it. How important it is to have our relationship with Jesus be tight and right so as not to miss out on that meeting time. Of all the stories I have heard of our Chile trip, and there were many, in my estimation the story of Marcos was the most divinely appointed. But I am sure there are many more to be told in heaven. What an exciting and happy time to look forward to!

After leaving Los Alamos we headed to the most fantastic excursion yet. Everyone was thanking Bob and Eric, saying how they had outdone themselves this time. It was a 4 star resort in every sense. The surroundings were breathtaking and the food was fabulous. What a wonderful way to unwind after such an intense 2 weeks. We were certainly spoiled as we partook of all the various things to do. We were treated to a fantastic showing of 4 Magellan woodpeckers right near where we ate. It was if they were sent by God as a treat for our eyes and senses. Betty T. even saw a Condor and of course Dwight added many more birds to his life time list. Many of our folks took advantage of the horseback riding that was offered while others soaked in the hot water pool filled from the water running over from the volcano spring on the mountain. It had 25 minerals in the water and we were told that it had healing powers. I know it sure did feel good for sure. A good time was had by all. After leaving the hotel we stopped for some souvenir shopping and then at our beautiful University in Chillan where we had lunch before heading to the airport. We were disappointed that we had to deplane after being boarded and waiting to take off but after learning that there was a problem that could not be fixed we were happy to get on another plane a couple hours later. We were late getting into New York but our bus was waiting for us and the drive home was uneventful. We pulled into the church parking lot to find all the school children and many adults waiting for us and jumping up and down and waving their arms and shouting. They had put up a big sign saying “Welcome home Berkshire Mission team”. It certainly made our day to be so welcomed and loved. And it was especially wonderful for the few of our team that had children in the school jumping and yelling for our return. God is good. His mercy endures forever. Again I am reminded of the words from that song, “why me Lord? What have I ever done? To receive even one, of the pleasures I’ve known?” May we each have a story to tell along with a thankful heart for we deserve none of this.

May angels walk with you and may you hear the songs of love coming from them telling of the great love of the one who has always loved you best. Lets make a date to meet at His house…don’t let anything get in your way of that great time.

Smiling because there is Hope in Jesus,

Jennifer L. Young

Mission Reporter