Santiago, Chile - Rodrigo Olivares was introduced to our congregation through a friend and began attending my small-group Bible study. He had been searching to find truth and direction for almost four years and had been involved with Catholics, evangelicals, Pentecostals, Buddhists, and agnostics. After attending for about four months, Rodrigo became aware that, although he had been involved in “religion,” he didn’t have a foundation for his beliefs.

After studying with one of our missionary interns, Terry Acker, and my teammate Kelley Grant, Rodrigo decided to be baptized into Christ. He picked a day when family and friends could attend, and he picked a place that served as a testimony to his decision. He chose to be baptized in the Mapocho River, where the water is fresh runoff from the snow and glaciers in the Andes. Although the day was marked by drizzling rain, Rodrigo’s mother and sister came up from the coast. About 20 of our brothers and sisters from the congregation also attended.

Rodrigo and his family rode up to the mountains with me and as we started the trip Rodrigo asked me to explain the significance of Christian baptism to his family. I had a Bible in my truck, so I handed it to his sister and asked her to read. They had lots of questions about the church, the difference between biblical Christianity and their state religion, about faith and belief, and fellowship with God and each other. They read a lot of scripture along the way!

When we arrived at the river, Terry took Rodrigo’s confession of faith and baptized him into the Lord for the forgiveness of his sins. On the way back to Santiago, we all stopped for lunch and the Chilean Christians offered words of encouragement to Rodrigo. Those comments had a strong impact on his family.

They told me that they had never experienced a love like they saw among our brothers and sisters. I took that as an opportunity to tell them about the congregation in Vina del Mar, where they live.

On Sunday, I accompanied Rodrigo and his family, including his dad, to the church in Vina. They were impressed with the warmth of the congregation, and again they sensed something different than that to which they were accustomed. After worship, we went to lunch and spent about three hours talking about Christianity, and the transformation that God effects in his children.

God continues to call more and more people into a saving relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Pray for Rodrigo’s family.

- Jeff Ellis