0

CHILEAN CHALLENGE
APR.

51976

2555 Meridian Avenue

San Jose, Ca. 95124

March 30, 1976

Woody & Nelda Phillips
Missionaries to Chile

Richard L, Bourne
Box 177

Kempton, Indiana
Field Address:

Casilla 21119

Dear Brother Bourne,

Correo 21

Santiago, Chile

There are many exciting things happening in today's world, but

Forwarding Agents:

none more exciting to us than the opportunities for making

disciples in Santiago, Chile! Our hearts have been captured

Bryce & Jo Jessup

by this small Latin American country, and we have decided to

6188 Lean A venue

go.

We believe you will also be interested.

San Jose, Ca. 95123

You are one who followed the work of the Christian Information

Committee as we worked in mass communication and correspondence

course followup in the San Francisco Bay Area,

Since the

completion of that experiment in 1973, Nelda and I have lived

in San Jose and I have served happily as Associate Minister

of Central Christian Church,

As you can see in the enclosed brochure, the work in Chile is

similar in concept to what CIC did, but the results are even

greateractually, fantastic! The Lord has prepared a field

which is right nopipe for harvest, and we want to go and
help. We believe that our work with Central Christian Church
and the Christian Church of Fremont combines with the experience
of CIC to adequately equip us for this work. And, we are gen
uinely thrilled about this door the Lord has opened.

Our needs are for sufficient finances and solid prayer support.
We would be honored by your participation with us in the
Chilean ministry. Please lay our needs before the Father.

Yours in Christ,

Woody Phillips

y4p^

(^liqllenge

Woody, Nelda, and Jeremy Phillips

Recruits to Chile

THE WORKERS

Ed and Sarah Holt began the

work
were

A stQall but effective team

missionaries has been work

ing in Chile for the

years

past four

in presenting the gospel

through the mass media.

Inter

ested Chileans respond in great

numbers

to the

invitation

to

study the ^Ible by correspon

dence, and.Contacts have been
made

all over the

great

number

live in

in 1971, eind
by Jeff and

CM

Judy Myers. A plea for help in

1973 brought four additional

od

couples,

THE OPPORTUNITIES

of

in Santiago
soon joined

country.

of the

students

Santiago (the mission

aries' home base), and followup has begun .1 Many of the thir
ty thousand students have com
pleted the course, and hundreds

and a

the States by one of these (the

CtekS-DeWelt family) has resul
ted in

are

seven

more couples who

now<^--mak-fng^f>Iahs to join

this exciting work.

Will these be enough to

take care of the follow-up of
the "El Encuentro" correspon

dence

course?

Additional

Probably

advertising

not.
could

easily push the student total

to 100,000.
This, of course,
could mean literally thousands
of graduates--all needing fol
low-up and teaching. The pos
sibilities of

hundreds

of new

churches starting could signal

the beginning of an indigenous

are willing to open their homes

for further personal Bible stu

Christian movement in the lower

dy.

half of South America.

Of

lessons

those who

in

the

finish five

home, 90% re

ceive Christ I and are baptized.

New Christian^

are then assis

ted in forming home churches

and the emerging leaders of
groups are trained. Over forty
churches are now functioning
through thesei efforts, and the

missionaries there believe that

hundreds

mor^

can be

immediately. |The

started

only hold-up

is a shortage of workers.

Ad

ditional missionaries mean that

Santiago can' be reached for

Christ, and

of Chile

other

urban areas

sooiji penetrated

with

the gospel. In addition, the

plans call for sending another
team to Argentina in the near

a.

recent tour in

Going with Woody and Nelda

in_j^jgust are two couples from

'SSfr^'J^fe--Jira, and , Lynn_^daras

and Jeff and Kathy Phillip^ (no"
relation
these

to

Wo'bd^".""^ Fesides

three families,

brother

Woody's

and his wife Col-

.-have

decided

to

go

to

Chile and are making plans to

work with this newly emerging
unit of recruits.

The internship will be with

the
missionaries already in
Santiago, but when this is com

pleted,

the "CalUgmift .tftfllli"..

tentatively hopes to work

nearby

urban area.

in a

O)

More defi

nite plans will be made in 1978.

CM

future.

God is raising up workers

now to meet Ithis unusual and
exciting opportunity in Latin
America.

Tiie

teaching,

leadership

need for

Bible

develop

ment, writing, and new church

planting is being met as sever

al couples are stepping forward

to meet the "Chilean Challenge'.'

Ck;
D_

<

vmo ARE l^E?

^ Woody and Nelda Phillips are

one of the seven couples recent
ly

recruited

Chile.

for

the

They plan to

work in

be on the

field soon to join others in

this great adventure for Christ.

_->iaQdy

is a 1969 graduate of

Cfeark Bible College,

his MA (1975)

from

and

holds

the Univer

sity of Santa Clara in Counsel

ing.
Besides experience in the

youth ministry (Nkiskogee and Sapulpa, (Sclahoma) and a student

pastorate (Lebanon,
Missouri)
while in
as

school,

minister

of

he has served
the

Christian

Santiago and begin working with

the missionaries already there.
They should be able to begin
teaching almost immediately.
After eighteen months they
will return briefly to the US
and evaluate

yqg^T-

this

initial two-

i r|rpmRtvin..

When they re

turn to Chile, their plans are

to go with a team

ples

and

open

of other cou

up

the work of

evangelism and church planting

in another xjrban area--iiOS2iiily~
Buenos Aires, Argentina, a city
of eight million people.
Woody and Nelda intend to

leave

the States

the,.J.as4^ week

,^^nf August so they can begin "lan-

-Church of Fremont, California,

and is presently the Associate

^~'gb:^e"~^ch"ool in Costa Rica the

Minister with the Central Chris-

they will be completing their

work at Central and securing the
necessary support.

"tian

Church

of San Jose, Cali

fornia (until June, 1976). Help

first of

September.

Until then

ing to equip him for the work

was a two-year experiment in
mass media evangelism in the San

OUR NEEDS

Francisco

Each month we will needJ

Bay

in which he

work

Area (1971-1973)

did

much

the same

being carried on in Santi

ago.

(The work referred to was

done

under the

Woody

$600

name "Christian

Information Committee".)
dition,

$600

SALARY
WORK FUNDSVf

has

$1200 per month

In ad

been an in

structor in "Mass Communication"

To get to Chile we needi

at San Jose Bible College.

-.Jiel^a is

a graduate of the

Northeastern State University in

TRAVEL EXPENSES

$1500

SHIPPING

$1500

Tahlequah, Cklahoma, and grew up

$3000 to go

in the First Christian Church of

Muskogee,

working

Oklahoma.

as

Besides

speech therapist

for five years, Nelda has been

preparing herself through clas
ses at SJBC and some practical
experience in ministry.
Jeremy is an active three-

*Work funds

go to pay for print

ing, advertising, office help,

transportation, teaching supplies,
occasional property
purchases,

and other costs of the ministry.

year-old (July, 1976) and can't

wait

to get to

his new home in

Chile where he can talk by the

short-wave radio to his grand

(This estimate of needs came from

the missionaries already on the

field in Chile.)

parents.

Checks are tax-deductible-if

OUR PLANS

made

out

to

"CehtrraT**Cfiristian

Church" and marked for the

the

To be effective in Spanish,
Phillips will spend
the

first

months

Having

learned

" qiiate conversational

they will enter the

ade-

Spanish,
field in

wctrk

These may be sent toi

in intensive

language study in San Jose, Cos-

_^,_Rlea.

in Chile.

CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH

2555 MERIDIAN AVENUE

SAN JOSE, CA 95124

^anX/iaS.

(^wieK

2655 MERtOlAN tAOBi 264>745

SAN JOSZ

CA4.irdnNIA 95124

Central Christian Church has consented to spoii&of Woody and

en

Nelda in! the mission field of Chile, and do not hesitate to re

commend; hfro highly to any church...The elders feel he has an ex

cellent! background in the field of missions and mass communications

CM
Qi
O

which vijll serve him well in the field he has chosen to serve...

His zeal, for the Lord's work abounds, and his integrity is above

reproach!.
Yours in Christ,

[y

Lyle Ottinger
Chairman of the Elders

Itlhas been my pleasure to have Woody Phillips, Jr., working

as ray A.isociate for the last two years at Central...I have found

him toi ipompetent and efficient in every task he has undertaken...

Woody is uniquely trained for this kind of ministry with his gifts

and interests in the area of mass communications...! wholeheartedly

endorse him and Nelda and commend them to you, with the expectation
that Christ's church will be rapidly growing in Santiago, Chile,

them...The opportunity in Chile is the greatest open door

through

for the gospel that I have known in my lifetime.

Yours and His,

Bryce Jessup, Minister

I believe that Woody and Nelda Phillips are well

suited for work on the mission field in Chile. He is

Institute
For

Christian
Resources^
Inc.

especially able in mass communicating the gospel and in

teaching by correspondence; this was demonstrated in his
work in California...Woody and Nelda are both faithful
in their service to the Lord and with His body...Their

decision to go to Chile is surely of the Lord.

And they

are certainly worthy of financial support for the work

they are setting out to do. I commend them to you.
Sincerely,

Willard Black

Director, I.C.R., Inc.

Note i

Due to shortage of space, the above are excerpted and

condensed from the original letters.

Address Correction Requested

Central Christian Church

2555 Meridian Avenue

Non-profit Qrg.
U.S. POSTAGE
--PAID--

San Jose, CA 95124

San Jose, CA
Permit No. 999

CHILEAN
laime

402

CHALLENGE

Mulberry St

KcsvOirno, Ind,

46901

WoMy & Nefda PhiUigs^

life

Casilla 21119
Correo 21

-Smtiago,-Cfrite-

Forwarding Agents:
Bryce & Jo Jessup

October 5, 1976
Newsletter No. 3

The terrific early-morning send-off at

the San Francisco Airport brought both
smiles and teeirs as we boarded the plane, and was followed by a
smooth and relaxing flight to Costa Rica. We made a stop in L.Ao to

We made it!

pick up Jeff and Kathy Phillips (and a few others) and flew directly
to Guatemala City where we chsinged planes. By six that evening we
had landed in dark and rainy San Jose, and with no problems in cus
toms we were soon greeted by our "big brothers" who took us to our

homes. (These are students at the school who give special assistance
to incoming students, such as finding housing, meeting us at the air

port, and helping us find our way around for the first few days.) We
had about a week before language school started, and this gave us
time to unpack, explore.the town, go to the market and set up houseOur little house is a one-bedroom near city center and the Insti
tute, with maid's quarters where Jeremy sleeps. With forty buses an
hour lumbering and sputtering past our front door, it is not very
conducive for study, so we try to do much of our work away from the
house.

The house, like most, has no

hot water, but

the shower is

equipped with a streinge electrical contraption which heats the water

just before it trickles our the nozzle.
With water pressure so low

here, it takes a while just to get wet!

And speaking of water, good

old parched California could use some of the rain we have here--dai
ly showers which would cause flash floods in some places. We had to

buy good umbrellas almost before we were unpacked!

es a lot, and are pleased at the fare--five cents.
have to

hold on

for dear

life, since

We ride the bus

Once aboard, we

most of the drivers seem to

have aspirations to be stunt drivers in Hollywood. Going to the

beach last weekend was an experience, too. A two-hour bus ride v
brought us to a little coast town with dark sand beaches receiving
the gentle and warm Pacific waves.
Going back to San Jose we rode
the train, a flashback to pre-Depression commuter lines in Chicago..
It's a milk-run and takes 3-4 hours to go the 70 miles, but the;

country we saw

was gorgeous--lush

green mountains

punctuated with ;

banana-plantations, little towns and many rivers snaking through the I

deep valleys.
We enjoy the clean air and blue sky which greet us every morning
as well

as the

colorful

markets

full of exotic fruits and native

crafts.
The Costa Rican people are gentle and loving folk who are
eager to please and easy to love.
The days are warm and our neigh
bors friendly, and we are surrounded with good friends at the school
Costa Rica is a stable democracy, and even though Robert Vesco is on
his way to owning it, it seems to be a good place to live.

This place

where

we

have come to study is a mixture of beauty

and filth, wealth and poverty, sun and rain, pickpockets and smiling
faces, good and evil.
It's different from what we are used to in
California, but we like it.
The list of drawbacks and the lack of
conveniences are diminishing in their importance, and we don't no
tice them so much now.
Even after only a month, San Jose is begin
ning to be "home" to us.

The reason

No comprendo. in Chile

we are

here and not

is language. We heard
before coming here and had it confirmed by many that this is the
We are learning rapidly but the
best school for learning Spanish

road to fluency is still long, and j^eems to stretch endlesslyo (Who,

me impatientO

We have two hours ojf Conversation, one of Phonetics,

and one of Grammer every day, as wel.l as Chapel. All classes are in
Spanish, so there have been some frustrating times while we struggle
to underStcindo

There are about 200 missionariejs here studying, so we are meet

ing some very nice people. The sctiool also provides some occasional
seminars

on

Latin

American

culture which are very helpful.

Last

week, for instance, two experts on jl:he family lectured each day. We

are learning a lot, but also finding out how ignorant we really are.
We study in the afternoons,
try to use our Spanish in the

stores, on buses, and with the natii^re people we meet here and there.
In this Latin American culture we cire forced to learn to speak Spa
nish just to be able to get alongJ

R 6\/0 nH

brought some good Christian

been a genuine blessing.

When we receive letters from family and
friends, we are lifted and encouragid.
A tape from our home church

(Central, San Jose) this week sent us soaring, as much of a special

praise service was recorded and inlclividuals sent special greetings
during a pot-luck following. We ali-e held up to the Father daily by
the prayers of so many,

and we

are really grateful.

those who can are helping financially.

In addition,

Thank you for your part in

getting us here and keeping us here,

God is good, and we know He is at work.

We came here because

He led us, and we remain here becjause He sustains us. Costa Rica

is a good place to learn that happrrjiess doesn't depend on having hot

water, television, or a car. Happijiiess is internal--a gracious gift
from
a loving God. We learn slowlyj, but we are learning,

Jeremv savs
Iforgetschool
up liveryatday
at about
*
seven.
I gosix
to and
theleave
pre
school at the same place where Mom 'cind Dad go, and I really like rt.

My new friends are Corey, Debbie, l|9mmy and Melanie

help us cook and clean, and I stayj with her in the

Zaira comes to

afternoons.

She

is nice, but I can't understand her very well yet

Today we went on the bus to a nice swimming pool. The water was
real cold so Dad wouldn't get in, but I went in the kid's pool and
had lots of fun with my friend Tomm}^
(This was an all-school out

ing.) We went on the big slide, top.

I miss my grandparents and my friends,
Rica real well.

but I

like it in Costa

Adios!

Please ask the Fdither...

...that we will continue to adjust to the Latin culture, and understand it more. We've had some time^ of discouragement and homesickness, and need God's help to see us| through each one.

rThatwe wingraspSpanishwell enough

...that our co-workers here and we |

in- our-^time-hereto--be

Also that we will have a desire

able to teach when we get to Chile,

for regular daily study

will

be

formed into a cohesive

unit which enjoys a rich fellowship together

...that our family life will be mutually satisfying. We are some

times short and impatient with each other and with Jeremy, and need
God's grace to meet each other's nd(3ds and grow together in Christ.
...that the work in Chile with Holtp

Myers and

DeWelts will conti-

nue to see many come to Jesus and c lurches started all over Santiago.

...that our support will continue ip 0

come in well, and

that the ad-

ditional amount we need will be sup plied while we are in Costa Rica.