Greg's Newsletter, November 2012

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! As I write this letter on Thanksgiving Day in Chile, I can not let this opportunity pass without telling you all how thankful we are for you. The past 2 years have been filled with amazing challenges but we serve an amazing God who has provided for our needs through your support and prayers; so this Thanksgiving we give thanks for you!

FIRST: We found out last week that the room we were going to rent for our Fuego Urbano services is no longer available to rent. That was both a bummer and a surprise, since the owner never mentioned anything about any issues before, so we began looking immediately for another room but without much success. Then just today we spoke with the manager at a nearby hotel who was really excited about us being there and reserving one of their rooms. It fits about 100 people and the hotel has incredible geographic location: about 100 yards from the beach and right next to the biggest landmark in all of La Serena, so everyone knows exactly where it is. It is also about a 5-10 minute walk to the university campuses, so it would be really close for university students as well. All in all, the room would be great, but it would be a little more then double the price of the room we were going to rent. All things considered, it is still fairly cheap compared to other rooms, and the geographic location is a huge plus. So please pray that all goes well in this reservation process, as we could meet with the person to finalize everything as soon as tomorrow (Friday, Nov 23).

SECOND: Last Friday Henry & I went to Santiago to skate the highest bowl in Chile. Henry and I have always talked about making trips to skate different skate-parks, and since both of us love skating in bowls, we have always wanted to go skate the bowl at ‘Parque O’Higgins’ because it is the highest bowl in Chile. We traveled through the night, arrived around 8am and skated all day until coming back home around 7pm. We were absolutely exhausted when we got back but all in all it was an awesome time together. Just so you know: the bowl there starts around 9ft and goes up to about 12ft, and next time we go we will bring a few others along, now that we know how to arrive ok. Below is a picture of one of the local skaters at Parque O’Higgins as he flies about 6ft above the bowl:

THIRD: We continue to be amazed by the hunger, openness, and genuine desire to know God by those who come to the Surfers’ Bible-Study. In fact one of our regulars, who is also one of the managers at the local surf-school, was invited by Chile’s Olympic Committee to go to Peru to compete for Chile in an international surf & beach-games competition. He was invited to represent Chile as a long-boarder, since that is what he specializes in, and did not have to spend one peso since he was invited by Team Chile. Please continue to pray that those coming to the bible-study would continue to open their hearts and minds to Jesus and his Kingdom, and that through this group of surfers we will be able to have a major impact on the whole beach and surfing culture of La Serena this summer. If we are indeed able to get this new room at the hotel I mentioned above, we will be able to do massive amounts of outreaches all over the beaches this summer, and since the hotel will be close by, it will be easier for people to come to Fuego Urbano straight from the beach.

FOURTH: We are still firming up our team of Fuego Urbano elders so please pray God would guide that whole process. We should know within the next week who will be on that team, but please pray God would lead just the right people to step into those roles, as they are crucially important going forward. The idea is that the elders will form part of a pastoral-team with Pepe and I, in that we will all work together to guide and care for the flock of Fuego Urbano. This will be extremely important as we continue to move forward and grow in numbers and ministries.

FINALLY: As always there are 3 ways you may give financially to Fuego Urbano. For Automatic Monthly Online Donations you may sign up for amounts of $25, $50, $100, or $200 per month. Just go to the right side of my Blog (http://greghaugh.blogspot.com) where it says ‘Recurring Donation’ and adjust drop-down menu to the amount you’d like to give each month; then click ‘Subscribe’ and it will take you through the process. One-Time Online Donations are available as well: click the ‘Donate’ button on my Blog just below where it says ‘1-Time Donation’ and it will take you through the process. Or if you prefer Personal Checks you can make them out to ‘Fishers of Men Fellowship’ and mail them to: Fishers of Men Fellowship, PO Box 9284, Newport Beach, CA 92658.  And all donations are fully tax-deductible.

Thanks so much!! We give thanks for you this Thanksgiving!!

Greg Haugh & Jose, Gislaine, Gabriel, and Gean-Felipe Eyzaguirre