Summer Missions 2026 Week 3: Chile

Hello everybody! I hope you are all doing well. The third week of mission has gone great, and it is hard to believe that we are already more than halfway through the month. Here is a quick update on what has happened this past week.

Last week, we joined El Oasis for all of the same weekly events listed in the previous update, as well as Tarde en la Tarde (late in the afternoon), a short gathering on Monday evenings that was cancelled the first full week to give the staff a much needed break after the retreat. In addition to the usual snacks and games, the staff and students at El Oasis are using part of this time to teach our team common Spanish words and phrases, as well as popular Chilean culture, media, and history. It has been such a joy to learn more about the lives of the people we are serving, and to share in the things that they are passionate and excited about.

We have also been able to return the favor through a new event preceding the Thursday worship service: Cafe a lo Gringo. This event is an opportunity for students to gather and practice their English over snacks and coffee, and the students are making good use of having eight native speakers around this month. This has been one of the events where we can more readily see the immediate impact of our work, since improving their English skills can give students a significant advantage in their education and the job market, but it also has been a blessing just to have another time to sit down and talk to the students. Already, I can see God at work through the friendships that are forming between our team and the students at El Oasis, and I am excited to see how He continues to multiply those blessings through the rest of the trip.

This week, we were also given tours of Santiago by the staff of El Oasis. They showed us several important historical and cultural sites, such as the human rights museum and an agricultural research center that was later turned into a park. It was a very important experience for the team to learn more about the history of the people we are serving, and also a blessing for the staff to be able to share with us such an important part of their lives.

This past weekend, we hiked up a mountain for our “rest” day. I put rest in quotation marks because the hike was considerably harder than we were led to believe. But the view and the fresh air were more than worth it. After our ordeal of a hike, with the daylight quickly fading, we rushed back just in time to catch the Saturday evening mass at the Catholic church down the road from our hostel. This service was a particular blessing not only because Catholicism is a significant part of Chilean culture, but also because one of our team members, Paul, is Catholic. It was such a blessing getting to see the Church worshiping together across denominations.

The next morning, we joined two of the staff members of El Oasis, Kata and Mao, as well as several of the students we have met on this trip, at their church, Viña Agape. A very kind member of the congregation, Sebastian, offered to translate the sermon for us, which we greatly appreciated. 

Overall, this past week has been such a blessing, and we are seeing more and more every day how God has been providing for us and using our time here to bless both our team and the people we are serving. Please continue to be praying for our team, and I look forward to bringing you the next update soon!

Caleb and the Chile mission team