Deans Back in U.S.
September 2008
September 2008
We have moved back to the U.S. but the work in Santiago is by no means over! Denise and I decided that we needed to seek release from the work in Santiago and be back in the United States for a number of reasons. One reason was the health of our son, Pierce. We've been back since April and Pierce has only gotten obstructive bronchitis one time and the episode only lasted a day and a half! Denise desired to be closer to her parents to facilitate seeing them more often since her mother's health is slowly and steadily declining. I'm glad to report that she has been able to see her parents on three different occasions in the last five months. Lastly, we have felt for quite a while that the church in Santiago needed us to go. None of the members would ever say that, they would not think that our absence is to their benefit. But that is exactly what they needed and still need. Denise, our sponsoring church, the missionaries still in Santiago and I all believe very firmly that for the Santiago congregation to truly flourish, the physical presence of the missionaries needs to diminish and finally disappear.
This does not mean that we will ever withdraw our love, support and assistance to them, however, the Providencia congregation will never grow to maturity in Christ until they spread their own wings and fly, so to speak. Our philosophy has always been that we would work ourselves out of a job and we will hold true to that ideal until it is accomplished. Our "phase-out" is one of many more that needs to happen in the near future for the church plant to be complete. The current missionaries are working diligently to come up with a plan for the remaining workers to phase-out.
We have settled in Midland, Texas where Mark plans to accept a job as Golf Course Road's church plant coordinator in hopes to plant 37 faith communities in the cities with a population of 2000 or more within a 100 mile radius of Midland. Denise is currently working towards renewing her nursing license and should be able to start practicing again by January. The kids are now back in school and loving it! We try to maintain as much contact as possible with our church members and the missionaries and plan on going back for a visit in March of 2009.
Returning to the United States has not been easy, on the contrary it has been extremely painful and difficult. Fortunately, we were prepared for what to expect long before actually arriving in the U.S. which has made the transition slightly easier. Thanks to the excellent research by Dr. Clyde Austin and many others we have been spared many of the hardships experienced by missionaries who thought that coming back to the U.S. would be a breeze. At times, our families and friends do not understand how we feel. We do not even understand how we feel at times which makes the process that much more confusing and difficult. However, with the help of the Holy Spirit and the support of our friends and families, we will pull through this tumultuous time and our wounds will indeed heal. If you would like to contact us personally or know more about what is going on in Santiago please write us at chiledeans@gmail.com or go to the Santiago church's Spanish website at www.idcp.cl
We would love to hear from you! Have a blessed day!
Mark, Denise and kiddos