God is good

All the bridesmaids at Tricia's wedding...
we had way too much fun!

So I've been home for about a month.. right? And I have to say adjusting back home has been so much better than I thought it would be! I was the maid of honor in my best friend Tricia's wedding right when I got home, God has blessed me with an amazing house in Carpinteria with girls from Reality, a great job teaching at El Montecito Elementary school in the fall, and amazing friends and family who made coming back home so welcoming and fun. Seriously He is so good! It's so fun living in here with my sister Kelsie so close, and Blake and my cousin Christian will be starting at Westmont in the fall, so some good Harper family times in SB are ahead!

I want to say thank you to everyone who read these posts, kept me in their prayers, and supported me in extending God's kingdom in Chile... it truly made the difference and God heard every prayer and blessed me over-abundantly. Thank you!

...I will keep this updated sporadically, but mostly use this blog for travel/missions so don't expect too many updates.

God is good! (All the time)

Email me, skype me, find me in Carpinteria,

Perfect Love - Hope for Chile

"Perfect love casts out all fear..." 1 John 4:18

God gave us this verse for our DTS these past weeks, and it speaks for itself. His perfect, undying, unending, untiring love casts out all our fears, every single one, no matter how big or how small. From aftershocks to figuring out what to do with our lives to not having a roof over your head, this love is pure enough and strong enough to defeat our fears.

So I have to correct my last post: from last Thursday to Friday, we experienced EIGHT earthquakes over 5.0 and over 200 aftershocks. One out of every eight Chileans is without a safe, secure place to live. Did I mention that? If not, here it is again. But there is hope for this nation, the ruin and destruction will not overcome the salvation and the praise to the living God.

One sad example of the affects of this was seen in a YWAM family that works here every summer, whose home fell down in the first 8.8 quake. They had just recieved a new loan to keep paying off their house, but have 18 years left to pay it off. Without a good insurance system here, the family is left to pay off, for the next 18 years, something that they can't see, they can't touch, and has absolutely no use or value to them; an invisible house that lies in ruins on the floor. Our base is helping them rebuild in these next few days, but the reality of their payments for a house that doesnt exist won't be erased so easily. Thank God we can come alongside them and rebuild with them, God's provision and hope for this family will replace the destruction.

Isaiah 60:18 was the theme verse for the entire school, and I have to admit when they announced it and put it up on the wall in January, I did not see the relevance. But the Monday after the earthquakes when we were mourning the loss of lives and homes here in Chile and praying together, I looked up and saw it written on the wall and thanked God for His authority, wisdom and sovereignty. When you read it you will see why:

"No longer will violence be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destruction within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise."

God's plan is a plan of hope for this nation, which overnight went from being one of the leading, most respected, most economically sound nations in South America, to a pitied nation crumbling in ruins. His plan is a plan of hope and life.

As I get ready to come home in a couple of days, I've been thinking about how faithful God has been every minute of this time. How truly immense and great He is. How BIG he is. And how His perfect love really does have the power to cast out our ALL fears. So bring on the aftershocks, my God is bigger!

Hold still earth!

The house we helped clear the debris out of last Saturday. We prayed with the family and sang with them, brought them clothes and toiletries and blankets... its so sad because they have to demolish their house their father built out of mud bricks and rebuild completely. With the cold winter season coming soon, they only have until the end of May before the rain sets in so they need all the help they can get.

Hanging out one of the many bonfire nights (if there's no electricity and nothing to do but wait for the next earthquake, might as well have a bonfire party!)

YWAM team helping a work crew pulling things out the the rubble

My friend Marta in front of what used to be all the shops along the beach... the wave just washed all the kiosks up, carried them about 300 meters and smashed them against the restaraunts and shops on the other side of the street. It's sad to see these all destroyed, we knew some of the shop owners, and most of them had all their lives' work in their little shops.

The night of the BIG one - waiting in the dark while the people ran past yelling tsunami... but we were praying and singing and hanging out... even the dogs took refuge with us!

Hold still, earth! That is the thought that keeps running through our minds these last two weeks – the ground seems to be constantly moving and rolling and shifting, and we are definitely tired of it. We had another BIG earthquake Thursday morning, a 7.8 with an epicenter only 20 minutes away, so it actually felt bigger than the first one (which was 8.8 with an epicenter 8 hours away). It happened in the morning when we were in class on the second floor of the DTS building, which is not the most stable building in the world, and let me tell you IT MOVED. Like seriously shifted back and forth and up and down, for about a minute. We all stood up and freaked out, some girls running down the stair screaming (and falling – running down stairs while the whole building is lurching back and forth is generally not the best idea, just for future reference), some people hit the floor. I mostly just froze where I was (in front translating – whenever a tremor comes I freeze and wait for it to pass and so they all watch my face to see if it lasts longer and if I freak out, they freak out… so I try to just pause and smile then keep going so no one panics. But this time, it was genuinely scary, I remember thinking the building was going to fall and crash in. But it eventually ended, we went outside and everyone was ok. So it was like take two of earthquake: power went out again for a couple days, it keeps cutting in and out, we set up camp again, people took refuge in the hills and on the base again, baking bread every meal in a brick oven we have from the 80s on the base.. it feels like a creepy, eirie replay of last week. But this time we are more stressed and more on edge, waiting for the next aftershock. They happen every 20 minutes, sometimes up to 7.5… which is technically an earthquake. Apparently we had 15 full-fledged earthquakes (above 5.0 I think qualifies as an earthquake, not just a tremor) Thursday, with about 100+ tremors, and our region is officially a "catastrophe zone". We’re still feeling seasick, dizzy and stressed from always being tense and waiting for the next tremor, sleeping very lightly, some people sleeping in clothes and shoes, waiting to see if its just a tremor that stops after a few seconds, or if it keeps going. Then there is the question of the electricity, feeding 200+ people, if there is a tsunami alert or not, getting in touch with family (especially family members here in Chile when cell service goes out after a quake it’s stressful for everyone trying to see if their family is ok), not to mention all the emotional stress of planning on leaving for outreaches, teams traveling, etc… basically we need a lot of prayer for peace, tranquility, trust in the Lord and in His plan, and wisdom for administering the resources God is providing here. God has a purpose for all of this, and we are trusting in Him for His plan and what He wants to reveal through these circumstances. But God is working to raise up resources to help His people here…

The good news is, teams have been coming in from other YWAM bases, from Home with Hope, from churches, from Operation Mobilization, and individuals wanting to help, and we are currently getting things ready to start a Homes of Hope project here on the base, complete with a mass-production home construction workshop where we can create more homes in less time and transport them to areas in need of shelter. The guys have been chainsawing down trees and clearing out their beloved soccer field (sad day! but worth it) to create an area to start to create this mini house-building-factory, investors from the States were helicoptered in Thursday right after the earthquake to talk about backing up this project, and churches are already asking how they send teams and begin supporting the relief efforts. I will be in contact with the project leaders when I am home again, so if there are people who want to come down to Chile and help Homes of Hope, let me know – they will be accepting teams starting Easter week. God is giving us all a peace from His hand, even when there is a lot of fear and tension an stress from everything that’s been going on the 2 weeks, and we know He is bigger. This whole experience has given us a new sense of how awesome and mighty our God is, how helpless we are without Him, how much we depend on Him, how even His creation is so powerful and awe-inspiring, how fleeting life really is, how we can work our whole lives for something and lose it in an instant, how the Lord gives and takes away, how he calls us as leaders in times of crisis to bring others hope…. But mostly just how our God is so HUGE!

Please pray for continued peace, for safety, for administration of resources, for wisdom, for travel mercies, for electricity to come back and stay on for good, for clear communications, for Homes of Hope to get up and running, for the government of Chile to be prudent and effective in this time of crisis…. For God’s purpose for all of this to be revealed and people would come to know Him through all of this.

update

UPDATE:

Thank you again for your prayers, I talked to Teresa today FINALLY and she is fine, her and her whole family are in their house in Concepcion, in the neigborhood that got hit the hardest, but their house is fine... they have no electricity internet or running water, but they have cell service, candles, and a little food the police are bringing them day by day. It's really dangerous in their city, people are ransacking all the stores, setting fire on the businesses, robbing everywhere, so the police are patrolling all the time and they aren't allowed out of their house from 6pm-sunrise. It's crazy. Keep them in your prayers please! They sounded very stressed and scared but they know they are in God's hands. They went through a terrible three days after the earthquake because they couldn't find their grandmother, and finally found her alone three days later, I don't know details but I know it was traumatic. Keep them in your prayers, but thank God they are all alright. Daniela and her family are fine too, I havent talked to her but I know she is alright and with her family. Thank God.

The base here is starting to organize resources and teams to start building long-term housing and short-term shelter and do clean-up, relief efforts, etc, here in town and throughout Chile. If anyone wants to get in contact with the director of the base here, Mitch Anderson (who is from Santa Cruz, California, is a total surfer Calvary Chapel guy, went to CC Santa Barbara for years and years and is an amazing man of God with a heart for Chile and transforming society to reach people for Christ), let me know, I can get you connected to him to send resources, teams, equipment, finances, whatever. Thanks for your prayers and support!

As the death count rises here (803 as far as I know), we are covering Chile in our prayers, asking God for His provision, protection, quick rebuilding, wise management of resources and aid, as well as remembering Haiti here and how the corruption and roots the country was founded on (apparently the Haitians dedicated their island to Satanism in "exchange" for freedom from French colonialism... so they basis the country was founded on includes lots of slavery, withcraft, Satanism, child prostitution and human trafficking for slavery, prostitution and organ sales - these cultural and spiritual elements in Haiti are really making rebuilding difficult... keep praying for the power of Christ to set people free and bring light, hope and rebuilding to Haiti, and that Chile can avoid that corruption in the relief efforts and inflow of volunteers and resources and finances. Thank God the country here has a much more sound government, with a lot more regulations and checkpoints the money will have to pass through, and will evangelical and Catholic roots the people are going back to now. It's heartbreaking to see this country I love so much hit so hard with this disaster, but I know God has a plan and is bringing hope here already... I personally have talked to many people who thank God for their safety and are turning back to their roots as Christians or Catholics and leaning on the Lord in a time of crisis... He is working...

Love you all, thanks for your prayers!

8.8

Hi everyone!

I am alive! Thanks for your prayers, I am safe and sound in the YWAM base still in Pichilemu... God definitely protected us and had His hand over our base the whole time because we didnt suffer any injuries, deaths or even damage, only a few broken glasses that fell off the shelves, but it was pretty scary and intense... Ok wanna hear what happened?

So here is my story...

We were obviously all sleeping at 3:34 am when it happened, and it started off slowly like rumbling underground, then picked up in intensity.. the 10-year daughter of a DTS student who sleeps below me started screaming for her mom, and I hung down over my bed and told her to give me her hand, I told her it would pass (thinking, "I am from California, I know earthquakes"), but it DIDNT PASS it got worse and worse! So I was hanging off my bed, yelling, "Give me your hand! It will end soon!" but I was falling off my bed so I changed to, "LET GO OF MY HAND!" I had to pull myself back on the bed and hold on for dear life, things were falling and breaking in the kitchen and chairs and tables were falling upstairs in the classroom, which made it sound like the roof was caving in. It lasts 2 or 3 minutes (I actually just read on Google News that scientists are saying it was so strong the earth's axis was shifted 3 inches and the day was shortened by like a milisecond! what??) But we were fine, we all went outside, and the earth was cracked outside the house, everyone on the base gathered in front of our house, we checked to see if everyone was ok... then the panic started...

All of a sudden hundreds of people started running up into the base, past us, and into the hills, dragging crying kids behind them, yelling, "RUN! TSUNAMI!", which freaked some people out, but we were already at one of the higher points of Pichilemu, so we stayed put, sang praise songs and prayed as everyone ran past us. That night no one slept, we stayed outside and prayed, and people filled the hills behind us and had bonfires all over the hills in the following days, which was crazy and also caused a lot of worry for robbery and violence... but nothing happened, it was fine. We heard crazy rumors ("Hawaii is underwater from a tsunami! Los Angeles suffered an even bigger earthquake than here! Japan and China and the whole Ring of Fire suffered earthwquakes and volcanic activity!"), but we had no news or any way to contact the outside world, and all roads had closed by the morning, so we just prayed and hoped it wasnt the end of the world as it sounded like.

We were without water, electricity, internet and phone service until today... we never ran out of food because God KNEW we would need it and we happened to have food stored (which we NEVER have because we run on a day-by-day payment basis and basically buy our food three times a day before every meal since we never have extra money sitting around to stock up, plus there arent really Costco's around town if you know what I mean).. so it was honestly a miracle we had 25 kilos of flour sitting around to make bread by hand for the whole base (150+ people for 3 days), since the supermarket was flooded and shut down and the roads and bridges were out (the bridges were literally out, almost all the bridges in Chile fell down), so God provided for us which was amazing... we also were told the water would run out since the whole town uses a tank system, so we filled every bucket pot and pan on the base, but apparently so many people fled town the first hour or two when the roads were open, so there was enough water for everyone who stayed in town. Apparently a lot of people were hurt and missing and unaccounted for who left town, so it was much better to stay put.

The town of Pichilemu didnt suffer much damage from the earthquake, but a tsunami did reach the town center, which is about 150 meters inland, and destroyed all the little beach houses and shops and restaraunts along the beach, they are all flattened and filled with sand and dead fish and totally destroyed. I heard one fisherman who was drunk sleeping in his boat did die, but we havent heard of other deaths. Really Pichilemu was spared most of the damage, I'm sure you have all heard news and seen pictures of all the destruction throughout Chile. There are lots of big cities without light, food, water, internet, phone service, with lots of robbery and violence and skyscrapers that are going to fall soon so they are clearing out the neighborhoods, the supermarkets are ransacked and empty and the Chilean special forces are bringing in flour and emergency kits to the towns...

We are still having lots of aftershocks (some up to 6.3 on the Richter scale) which last for about 2-3 second, and we all stop whatever we're doing, hold our breaths, look around and wait to see if it lasts longer than 4 seconds before we run outside... it keeps us on edge a little bit, some girls couldnt sleep at all and wouldnt go in the house the first two nights, some people (including me) are still dizzy and off balance and feel almost seasick because it's like the earth is constantly moving under our feet as it all readjusts and settles in after the earthquake, it's a weird sensation and I feel like I'm in a boat, but hopefully it will end soon and the earth will be solid ground again! We started classes again, which is great to have something relatively normal, and when I am interpreting and an aftershock comes, I try not to freak out but I grab the podium and close my eyes, and wait for it to pass, its kindof funny though...

I have heard from Daniela, my friend from my DTS, and she and her family are fine and staying with family, but their house could collapse soon so it is very stressful obviously and scary. I havent heard from Teresa at all so PLEASE PRAY for her and her family, they are in Concepcion which is very close to the epicenter and Teresa lives in the area which suffered the most damage. A tsunami did reach inland and kill many people, it is still an tsunami watch... be praying! Over 800 people are said to have died, so pray for all the families and all of Chile - for comfort, for provision, for food, for strength... it's so sad, I love this country, and it's so sad to see it in such pain.

Thanks again for all your prayers, God had His hand over us and protected us and provided for us in every way (we even had hot showers the day after!), but Chile is in shambles and needs a lot of prayer. The base is helping bring truckloads of clothes and supplies and food to the next town over which is completely flattened, and we are cancelling the next DTS to bring truckloads of supplies to nearby towns to start building houses, and helping people on the beach sort through their buisinesses that are totally gone... God is working here, the day after the earthquake we had an impromptu service here and prayed for people (one person was saved! whoo hoo!).. interesting side note: a girl in the June DTS here on the base had a vision/prophecy about "pain coming from the coast to Chile" which would break people's pride and bring them back to the Lord... so be praying this comes true and brings people back to Him! Also Friday morning a girl in our DTS had a vision in her quiet time of a very very low tide on the beach and a sun that was a different color, and trees falling over, and she recieved the verse in Romans 8:22 which says all of creation is groaning in birth pains waiting for Christ to return... so God was telling us ahead of time what would happen. It's been amazing to see how everyone comes together in a crisis situation and how God provided for us and guarded us from harm.

He is good, He is faithful, He protected us 100%! Thanks for your prayers!! Love you all, I am still coming home March 18th, pray that the airport and runways are repaired by then!

Brooke

Read Psalm 46:2 - it was our theme verse for this weekend!

Baptism and Crazy Horses

DTS highlight = baptism of 7 students

beautiful day for a baptism

with Rosy after her baptism!

Horseback riding on valentine's day.. I was a little nervous because my horse was a bit independent-minded, but it turned out to be fun! That's not me in the picture by the way.

Aaron's date

oh gosh.. I always get the crazy horse

It was a fun v-day, except I missed my sister on her birthday! Happy 20th TJ!

Diving In...

So it's been about a month-ish since my DTS 2.0 started up, and I have to say it's going amazingly well! I love being a leader, even though I am sooo busy... between interpreting classes 3 hours in the morning, helping with worship, interpreting the intercession and services Wednesdays and Fridays for the whole base, teaching drama and dance class, English class and leading sports time... I am booked! But we have a team of 12 staff members, so we cover all the bases (the bummer is only Lindsey and I speak English so one of us has to be at every single event every minute of the day to interpret - busy!). The base is absolutely full to the maximum, with a School of Grace underway (first ever in South America! God is setting this UP!), another DTS, sports DTS, counseling school, and kids camps going on all at once. Wait till the swim meets start coming along, then I won't be able to find a place to sit and eat my lunch! And no, I am not going to repeat last year when I found out I was swimming in the meet against the little girls division. No thanks.

As we dive deeper and deeper into the DTS, God is continually challenging me to step up as a leader, work harder than I have before, and be an example... in a process I just went through myself one year ago! It's been a little bit difficult to be a disciplinarian and draw the line when I myself barely followed all the rules and was always late to class when I was in my DTS... but by God's grace I am learning how to lead. We have some students that I swear are trying to be the death of me: some days I feel like half of the girls are here to gossip and go on vacation at the beach, and half of the guys are here to flirt with us girl leaders, but overall we really do have a group of young people (or people young at heart!) who truly want to seek the Lord more and follow His will for their lives. It's amazing to be part of the process, and in the meantime I am trying to learn how to be a firm, steady, wise leader who also has compassion, understanding and a sense of humor. I'm not there yet, but that can be my goal :)

We had an amazing small group time today actually, and some of the girls started opening up about things they have never shared before, and there are some intense issues in this DTS that the Lord is already healing: abuse, rape, parent's infidelities, heartbreak, anorexia, depression, suicide attempts, family members murdered... please be praying for God's sweet mercy and grace to rain down on each students' heart as we seek Him more and press into Him. Only His character, truths, love and purpose for each of us can truly bring healing, that is my prayer for each student here.

We had one intense moment a little while ago when a student found out through a casual conversation that her classmate was the brother of a girl whose horrific murder was sensationalized throughout Chile in 2007. She had been brutally raped, tortured and buried alive by her university professor, who was only given 14 years in jail for this, after first being let free and finally retried when Chileans protested his release. When this girl who is now in our DTS heard the news, she cried for days and prayed that God would give her an opportunity to meet the girl's family, pray with them and hug them. God heard her prayer, because two years later (last week) she was able to hug her classmate and pray for him and his family to be filled with more of God's grace and healing and peace. He is the last student you would this this has happened to, because He is truly filled with love and forgiveness, its amazing to see. Our God is a God of details, and tender mercies like a caring Father... I am in awe of what He is doing in the students' lives and character here, and this is just one example of His faithfulness!

On a lighter note, we've had some fun, like on the banana boats, and going downtown as a group, although I am always a little worried about little Rosy. She's so sweet and quiet, and the boys here all love her, but I'm always afraid she'll get lost or accidentally get whisked away by someone because she doesnt speak any Spanish and just nods and smiles a lot so I'm afraid someone will ask her if she wants to go to Santiago with them and she'll nod and smile and be gone. Gotta put a GPS on that girl. Actually the one who needs a GPS is Myriam, this six foot tall Swiss girl who is freakin hilarious and always running around and getting lost, especially because she is now on super strong painkillers which make her hyperactive and verifiably loca... last time we went to the grocery store and she was literally running around, trying on hoodie-towels with Bart Simpson on them, throwing anything and everything into the cart, only to get to the front with a FULL cart of imported American and European food and candies, to realize her card doesnt work here and she couldnt buy anything. I told her she is such a sweetheart but if you're on crazy pills you gotta stay home. If I had to stay home on my crazy strong painkiller happy pills, you do too Myriam!

Please pray for:

-Health (living with a bunch of sick girls is not exactly helping me stay healthy, and interpreting ALL the time is not good for the throat - but don't worry mom I am drinking tea with lemon and honey every day)

-Energy, wisdom, guidance, patience to be a godly leader

-Continued strength and help from the Holy Spirit to be able to interpret well and communicate His Word to everyone

-For each student to be open-hearted and ready to be molded according to God's plan for this time - for His healing, for new habits to be formed, for a new generation of workers in His kingdom to be raised up!

Thanks for being part of this journey with me, love you all!