LA LLAMA: September 2010

("The Flame") 

 

WELCOME to my first newsletter as part of Fuego Urbano !! I still haven’t left for Chile but will on October 13^th, and I wanted to give you all an update on how everything is going so far.

FIRST: you can see the name of my newsletter is ‘La Llama,’ which doesn’t mean ‘the llama’ as in the animal in English! In Spanish ‘llama’ means ‘flame,’ and since the church and ministries I’ll be launching with my ministry partners Jose (Pepe) & Gislaine Eyzaguirre are called ‘Fuego Urbano’ (meaning: Urban Fire), I thought the name ‘the flame’ would be an appropriate title. Just as a flame is a small part of a larger fire, I hope this newsletter will allow you to get a small but clear picture into the bigger fire we hope to ignite in Northern Chile! My hope is that it will keep you connected on how things are going with Fuego Urbano, including how you can pray for us, partner further with us, and continue to support us in different ways, as well as give you an insiders peak into my life and how I am doing individually through this whole process and adventure.  

SECOND: I want to let you all know just how grateful Jose (Pepe), Gislaine, their son Gabriel, and I are to all of you for your decision to partner with us in this!! Gabriel especially (see the photo directly below) wanted to say MUCHAS GRACIAS!!! And so do I. Truly, this would be absolutely impossible without your partnership through prayers, resources, donations, and financial giving, and I want to thank you all so much for partnering with us in whatever ways you are.

THIRD: Many people have asked me where I stand financially at this time. The grand total of our Fuego Urbano budget for 2010-2011 is just about $60,000. So far we are about one-third the way there, so we have made lots of progress but have a long way to go as well. I especially want to thank those of you who have chosen to invest financially in Fuego Urbano or donated various resources to us. I realize in this very difficult economy just how difficult that is for many of you. Many have given not out of abundance or wealth but out of scarcity and personal sacrifice; I want you to know that I am aware of this and that I do not take it lightly. I am humbled by your generosity and financial investment in Fuego Urbano, and from the bottom of my heart I say to you all: Thank You so very much!! I would also like to encourage all of you to pray about committing to some amount of monthly or bi-monthly giving so we can have a clearer picture of our financial situation and how much more we still need to cover our costs and expenses. 

FOURTH: There are 2 more easy ways you can support Fuego Urbano through October 31^st:

 Lou’s BBQ

-is giving 15% of all sales to Fuego Urbano if you eat there

                         & present the flier below (see pg.3) through the end of 

                         October. Just print it as many as you'll need and go as 

                         many times as you can before Oct 31st!

Almond Surfboards & Designs

-is giving 15% of ONLINE sales to Fuego Urbano thru Oct 31

-Go to www.almond.bigcartel.com & get some rad old-school

  50’s-70’s style, surfboards, equipment, & clothes, &

  help Fuego Urbano in the process.

FIFTH: I ask that you would continue to pray for me during this transition time, as well as for Pepe, Gislaine, and their son Gabriel. Please pray that God will open the doors for us and prepare the way for us, so that we might prepare the way for Him to reach the thousands of young people there who do not know Him or His love for them. Please pray that He will give us grace in the eyes of other pastors and church leaders, as the kinds of ministries and church we will launch will be totally outside the box of traditional forms of doing church in Chile, so it’s quite possible we’ll receive some resistance as we begin but we are prepared and ready for it. Still, I ask you all to pray with and for us, as we are closing in quickly on our launch-day.

SIXTH AND FINALLY: I thought I would let you know a bit about how I’m feeling. I’m excited more than anything but also a bit nervous. I know this is the culmination of years of preparation for me; from Spanish to missions to sports to theology to ministry…it seems like this is the thing God has really been preparing me for and like I can finally put it all together for His glory. So for that, I’m extremely excited and can’t wait to get going. 

Thanks again so much for all your love, support, prayers, and encouragement! I hope this is just the start of years of partnership with you, and I hope you’ll all come along for this ride, challenge, and calling that God is guiding us towards together! 

Greg Haugh

Fuego Urbano