Hope in the Desert
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom… they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.” Isaiah 35:1-2
It is still dark when Aracely Castillo wakes to pack her bags with the supplies she’ll need to spend a day with the children in the world’s most arid desert. Copiapo is a mining town in northern Chile surrounded by the Atacama Desert, and receives only a half-inch of rain per year. Not only must Aracely travel before the intense desert heat sets in, but she must also carry drinking water along with the materials and books she needs to teach the children about Jesus.
The children Aracely ministers to are in an underserved community with poor access, no electricity, and reduced bathroom facilities. Education and entertainment are limited, leaving many children exposed to neglect and some even turning to drugs. As secretary to the director at Haggai Chile, Aracely has a passion to bring the hope of Jesus to these children in this hard-to-reach place. And so, she makes the journey each week as the sun rises to bring cake, milk, and balloons to celebrate what Jesus has done and to pray with the families she encounters. She knows that if she does not share the Gospel with them, as she has been equipped by Haggai to do, they will grow up without ever hearing about Jesus and His great love for them.
In addition to having a heart for children, Aracely has a desire to see all people set free from the bondages of sin. She remembers doing a ministry outreach at a park in Caldera, a coastal town west of Copiapo: “We went to talk about Jesus in a park and carried a little book with us of how Jesus can get you out of the prison of slavery and sin. I took one of these books to a young man who smiled at me because he had just come out of prison that day! He was preparing to travel but wanted to meet Jesus. We prayed together and he made a confession of faith to Jesus. It was beautiful… and shocking!”
The last story Aracely tells is of the favor she has gained with leaders who work with government organizations at a national level, like the Armed Forces of Order and Public Security and the Chilean Gendarmerie (Chile’s uniformed national prison service military). Having personally met several Christians from these organizations on Chile’s National Day of Evangelical and Protestant churches, and then seeing some of these same people at a Haggai Chile equipping, meant that not only were relationships already established, but there was a trust in the tools provided by Haggai to equip leaders to share the Gospel. In her own words: “It has been a big step to get to work with these leaders and be able to train coaches to go out and share the Gospel.”
Aracely is bringing the hope of Jesus into desert places and there is much rejoicing — the fruit of which we are only seeing the beginning.
Written by Carolyn Grant
Hope in the Desert
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom… they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.” Isaiah 35:1-2
It is still dark when Aracely Castillo wakes to pack her bags with the supplies she’ll need to spend a day with the children in the world’s most arid desert. Copiapo is a mining town in northern Chile surrounded by the Atacama Desert, and receives only a half-inch of rain per year. Not only must Aracely travel before the intense desert heat sets in, but she must also carry drinking water along with the materials and books she needs to teach the children about Jesus.
The children Aracely ministers to are in an underserved community with poor access, no electricity, and reduced bathroom facilities. Education and entertainment are limited, leaving many children exposed to neglect and some even turning to drugs. As secretary to the director at Haggai Chile, Aracely has a passion to bring the hope of Jesus to these children in this hard-to-reach place. And so, she makes the journey each week as the sun rises to bring cake, milk, and balloons to celebrate what Jesus has done and to pray with the families she encounters. She knows that if she does not share the Gospel with them, as she has been equipped by Haggai to do, they will grow up without ever hearing about Jesus and His great love for them.
In addition to having a heart for children, Aracely has a desire to see all people set free from the bondages of sin. She remembers doing a ministry outreach at a park in Caldera, a coastal town west of Copiapo: “We went to talk about Jesus in a park and carried a little book with us of how Jesus can get you out of the prison of slavery and sin. I took one of these books to a young man who smiled at me because he had just come out of prison that day! He was preparing to travel but wanted to meet Jesus. We prayed together and he made a confession of faith to Jesus. It was beautiful… and shocking!”
The last story Aracely tells is of the favor she has gained with leaders who work with government organizations at a national level, like the Armed Forces of Order and Public Security and the Chilean Gendarmerie (Chile’s uniformed national prison service military). Having personally met several Christians from these organizations on Chile’s National Day of Evangelical and Protestant churches, and then seeing some of these same people at a Haggai Chile equipping, meant that not only were relationships already established, but there was a trust in the tools provided by Haggai to equip leaders to share the Gospel. In her own words: “It has been a big step to get to work with these leaders and be able to train coaches to go out and share the Gospel.”
Aracely is bringing the hope of Jesus into desert places and there is much rejoicing — the fruit of which we are only seeing the beginning.
Written by Carolyn Grant
Hope in the Desert
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom… they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.” Isaiah 35:1-2
It is still dark when Aracely Castillo wakes to pack her bags with the supplies she’ll need to spend a day with the children in the world’s most arid desert. Copiapo is a mining town in northern Chile surrounded by the Atacama Desert, and receives only a half-inch of rain per year. Not only must Aracely travel before the intense desert heat sets in, but she must also carry drinking water along with the materials and books she needs to teach the children about Jesus.
The children Aracely ministers to are in an underserved community with poor access, no electricity, and reduced bathroom facilities. Education and entertainment are limited, leaving many children exposed to neglect and some even turning to drugs. As secretary to the director at Haggai Chile, Aracely has a passion to bring the hope of Jesus to these children in this hard-to-reach place. And so, she makes the journey each week as the sun rises to bring cake, milk, and balloons to celebrate what Jesus has done and to pray with the families she encounters. She knows that if she does not share the Gospel with them, as she has been equipped by Haggai to do, they will grow up without ever hearing about Jesus and His great love for them.
In addition to having a heart for children, Aracely has a desire to see all people set free from the bondages of sin. She remembers doing a ministry outreach at a park in Caldera, a coastal town west of Copiapo: “We went to talk about Jesus in a park and carried a little book with us of how Jesus can get you out of the prison of slavery and sin. I took one of these books to a young man who smiled at me because he had just come out of prison that day! He was preparing to travel but wanted to meet Jesus. We prayed together and he made a confession of faith to Jesus. It was beautiful… and shocking!”
The last story Aracely tells is of the favor she has gained with leaders who work with government organizations at a national level, like the Armed Forces of Order and Public Security and the Chilean Gendarmerie (Chile’s uniformed national prison service military). Having personally met several Christians from these organizations on Chile’s National Day of Evangelical and Protestant churches, and then seeing some of these same people at a Haggai Chile equipping, meant that not only were relationships already established, but there was a trust in the tools provided by Haggai to equip leaders to share the Gospel. In her own words: “It has been a big step to get to work with these leaders and be able to train coaches to go out and share the Gospel.”
Aracely is bringing the hope of Jesus into desert places and there is much rejoicing — the fruit of which we are only seeing the beginning.
Written by Carolyn Grant
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Comments
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Muchas felicidades por el servicio que realiza nuestra hermana Aracely en la colaboración de la extensión del Reino de Dios.
Dios le continúe respaldo junto a su equipo que son parte de este hermoso ministerio.
Muchas felicidades por el servicio que realiza nuestra hermana Aracely en la colaboración de la extensión del Reino de Dios.
Dios le continúe respaldo junto a su equipo que son parte de este hermoso ministerio.