Impacting Chile!

Here is a recent email I received from Julie Sorensen. Julie was a student at Wayne State College, and after she graduated from there she went on to Nebraska Med Center for Pharmacy. She is currently taking a year off to do a one year STINT (short term international ministry) with Campus Crusade. It is so exciting for us to read about the impact a student from Nebraska is making in Chile and we wanted to share it with you.

Hey-
I made it to Chile! Thank you so much for all of your prayers- we had a great flight and all our luggage even arrived with us. The Lord has blessed me a lot with a great team of 6 other people- 3 married couples- Jason and Kristi, Clint and Maggie, and Vince and Holly. Things have started off well between us and we really do enjoy being together and definitly have a unified vision to see the Chilean students reached for Christ. I live with 3 other girls that are also on another STINT team here in Santiago- 2 are from Mexico and the other is from the United States. They're a lot of fun and I'm so thankful that I get to live with them. (I think I might get to learn to cook!) The briefing in Colorado was good last week too. It really helped me to get focused on why I am going to Chile, as well as helping me to really connect with the Lord again.

We arrived last Monday and got settled in and figured out how to live in Chile with grocery shopping and other essentials. This week we started language school and will be going everyday- we're all at different levels, but it's definitly a challenge for all of us to try to understand and speak this Chilean spanish. They talk so fast and don't pronounce their words very clearly- but I love the language. We've also been going to the campus we're going to work at - it's actually a street called Republica and there are several campuses together on this street. We've done a prayer walk and are going to 'decode' it tomorrow.

The Lord has been teaching me a lot about what it means to love these Chilean students as he does. 1 Cor. 13 keeps coming to mind, and I try to put myself in it and it seems I am the opposite of all the things that love is. But it is so strengthening to know that He is all these things- he is love- and He can love these people through me. It's so incredible to truly look at people and know that Christ died for them specifically - that they have a story and God is infinitly interested in them, just like He is in you and me. I keep praying that God would break my heart for these students, and I feel He is beginning to do that.

Please keep praying for us that Spanish would come quickly- it's definitly a big barrier right now to talking with people. Also for continued team unity and unity with my roommates- the language barrier makes things a bit more complicated. Also pray for wisdom in talking with students- a lot of them are closed to anything about God, so we need wisdom for the context in which we present the gospel to them. We definitly want to focus on building relationships with the students there.
Thank you so much for all your prayers- it's such a blessing to partner with you all in reaching the Chilean students for Christ.

My Chilean address is
Julie Sorensen
Carlos Antunez 1867, Edif. 18,
Depto.1007, Providencia
Santiago, Chile

In his love and grace,
Julie Sorensen