Thursday, November 24, 2016

THANKSGIVING.....outside of the USA...In CHILE

I know on the calendar it says, "THANKSGIVING DAY IN USA" But here in Chile, it's just November 24, 2016. It feels really weird knowing that my entire USA family is together giving thanks to God for all HIS goodness and enjoying the BOUNTIFUL food blessings in each place. Texas, Florida and North Carolina. Oh YES I wished I had some Turkey breast (with your brine Uncle Tom Dooley) and cornbread stuffing and pumpkin pie (jack-o-lattern pie) and green bean casserole and a large tossed salad with all the fixings OK I'M DROOLING HERE!! What am I thankful for this day? So many things ... 
               ONE :   GOD IS FAITHFUL AND TRUE
               TWO:   I have parents (Bob and Margaret Derebery) who Love HIM and all of us kiddos                            and grand kiddos and GREAT grand kiddos
             THREE:  That even though my brother, Randy, is in prison, his chains have been broken
                               and  he has been set free IN JESUS. 
             FOUR:   IN THIRTEEN MORE DAYS I'LL BE HUGGING ON MY KIDS AND 
                           GRANDKIDS!!!
            FIVE:    The sun is shining in Santiago Chile and I LIVE HERE!!! 
            SIX :    THE 30 YEARS I WAS A PART OF BILL DOOLEY'S LIFE AND HE A PART 
                         OF MINE!!
            SEVEN:    Lucy, Ramey, Liam and Seth...my WONDERFUL GRANDCHILDREN!! 
            EIGHT : Will and Mandy Dooley Brian and Joy Morykon....my AMAZING adult children 
                              who Love Jesus!! 
            NINE:  Being a part of W.A.R. International (www.warinternational.org)

SO PASS THE TURKEY AND CELEBRATE THE CREATOR OF IT ALL!!

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

IN THREE SHORT YEARS ........... 2013 THRU 2016

I still remember when I received my first phone call from Becky McDonald, president and founder of W.A.R. International http://warinternational.org/...it was so awesome to re-connect with her after about 15 or 20 years.  I knew that she was involved in some type of new ministry, but wasn't quite sure what it was.  I had been praying and asking the Lord if HE wanted me to go into some type of ministry...sort of unsure and shaking in my boots for real.  Becky extended an invitation to me to come to Grand Rapids, MI. and see the ministry (and her too!) with my own eyes.  I told her that I would love to, but also explained that I would have to bring my equipment to work some hours as an Over-The-Phone English/Spanish Interpreter while I was there as well.  
 I have to say my experience of working over the phone while I was there was nothing short of unique.  I had to use a landline phone for my work and they only thing they had was the line IN THE ELEVATOR.  Seeing this ministry with my own eyes  began a stirring in my heart for this  ministry to help abused and trafficked women and children...but I wasn't quite sure HOW that would happen.  I came home with THIS TOTALLY ON MY MIND...











"ADVENTURE IS CALLING AND I MUST GO" I had NO IDEA that in less than 2 years I would be returning to Chile to live AND MUCH LESS that in January of 2016 I would be accepted as a Bi-Vocational Missionary with W.A.R. (see right side bar on blog please)
Stay tuned for more "adventures" as God and I, with W.A.R. reach out to help these women and children in CHILE, SOUTH AMERICA..

UNEXPECTED death of a Son...Please Pray

Anthony Mollano is the son of one of our dear brothers in Christ (Enrique) at the church. He and his other son Jonathon are the only believers in the family. Please pray for this family as the funeral is today and Tio Oscar is going to preach tonight. This young man had been involved in narco trafficking and gang stuff. Just last Thursday at church Enrique asked for special prayer for his family as they were going through a very difficult time. I had no idea that his entire family had been threatened by opposing gang members of impending death. Enrique went to talk with some of those gang members pleading for his (Enrique's) wife, his grandchildren and his daughter. They told him they wouldn't kill any of them, but his son, Anthony was a marked man. Because all of the government offices here in Chile have been on strike (the county morgue as well) it has been difficult to get the body released, but it was finally done this AM and Pastor Oscar had to go and recognize the body as well as dress him as Enrique nor Jonathan could do that (due to grief). Since Sunday night I thought I kept hearing a bunch of fireworks going off close by and they haven't stopped. IT WASN'T FIREWORKS..it was gunfire as the gang members of the deceased son show their grief and remorse at what has happened while  screaming out words of REVENGE. The opposite gang members are answering back with the same gunfire.  I can't believe this is happening AND DON'T BE SCARED...we are safe...but our MAIN PRAYER is for HIS LIGHT TO BE SHONE IN THIS WICKED DARKNESS. And for strength for Enrique and Jonathan.  Anthony's Mom's name is Raquel and our church has been praying for her for years and you can imagine that she is broken completely. Up til now she hasn't wanted to have anything to do with God or the church...we are praying that this tragedy may change her heart.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

THE WORD OF GOD IS TRUE.....I BELIEVE




 You may be asking WHY would I title this like I did and then show you a picture of people standing in the ocean???   Settle down and let me tell you a story that has been in the making for  about 21 years.  Today I saw God complete a promise He made to me in  1997....The two people on the far left..I don't know them....but the next one I DO....his name is Jose Luis Cortes...then the other dude going from left to right I don't know either...but then the guy on the end is a beloved friend of mine, by the name of Patricio Oliva...he is the President and co-founder of the Chilean Mission Agency here in Chile by the name of ADELPHOS. Adelphos in Greek means, "brother"
So I knew WHERE they were logistically...but when I read the caption under the picture that said, "Our firsts baptism in Antofagasta" I literally FROZE.... Leaving Antofagasta, Chile  in 1997 for me was VERY DIFFICULT. I loved the place so much ( I even dream sometime of going back) Bill and I had only been there for 3.75 years and were just beginning a church plant. Bill was well known on the local TV channel "Telefam" as he had a short devotional (10 min) every night called "Reflections"....I thought this is where we would retire.  The name of the city is pronounced "ant to fah gahsta" and it is 830 miles north of the capitol city of Santiago, Chile.
Ok...so one of the reasons why our family moved to the desert north (Antofagasta) is because the year before our good friends, Jose Luis Cortes and his wife Pollyanna Morales (the women here don't take their husband's last name when they get married) had just moved up there too. More background...he was led to the Lord by one of our other ABWE missionary families here and he fell in love with Pollyanna....Pollyanna is the eldest daughter of the VERY FIRST CHILEAN FAMILY to leave Chile as missionaries to go to Mexico City with ADELPHOS.
So it was either return to the USA at that point in our lives or head north....and we headed north TO WORK WITH JOSE LUIS AND POLLYANNA. He is an AWESOME Lawyer by profession btw, and she has a heart and a passion for souls....BUT we discovered that even though we loved God and we loved each other as families things just didn't seem to be  going smoothly in our "team".  Of course we were all younger then and I think we all wanted to be "chiefs" and not "indians" if you get my drift.  We made the decision to continue our work without them..never knowing what was around the corner.....


Our son, Will, was 12 years old when we moved from Santiago some 800 and "something" miles north to the desert and he was leaving all he knew and loved. He kept quiet, but inside he was in major turmoil. Once we got to Antofagasta he became very depressed and talked about "Maybe God just ought to take me out of  here, because I'm a hindrance to the ministry here"....he never would go into detail, but I knew he wasn't happy. Since then I have read that at that age in a child's life it is not a good idea to move...hind sight is 20/20. I tried everything with him...I learned how to fish from the rocks on the ocean so that we could go fishing as much as he wanted...we only lived 1/2 block from the ocean. We went into business together with "Dooley's Donuts" I made them and he delivered them. I sent him back to the states for a month with my parents in Texas....It was a rough time...

When he turned 16 knowing that one of the things we had made a part of our lives was that if we needed to have a family "pow wow" we would say, "ok...time for the family to take a walk on the beach and talk.   So this one particular night he said,"Dad, Mom...I need to have a pow wow with you both on the beach"  Bill and I went and we sat down on a bench, while Will sat in the sand in front of us and we listened to him and he began to sob.  He said, "I HATE Chileans and I HATE CHILE...PLEASE TAKE ME BACK TO THE STATES!"  You can imagine our surprise at that since he had been in Chile since he was 2.5 years old.  We were literally blown away. Our Pastor, stateside, at that time had only been at our sending church for maybe 6 months???  But we called him anyway to ask for counsel as well as both of the Chilean Pastors that we worked with here in Chile...it was unanimous...they all said, "Your family is much more important than Chile...take that boy to the states!!.  Oh and we had just began an English Speaking Ministry in Antofagasta as well....long story short...we came back to the USA.

Ok..so   fast forward from there...when we had to make that tough decision I thought we were returning home so that Will could finish High School and get some professional help for his depression.  Just knowing that before long we would be back in our beloved Chile.  However let me make it VERY CLEAR HERE...I WAS ANGRY AT GOD AND DID NOT WANT TO BE IN THE STATES.
About a month after we arrived I was at church, Heritage, and pouting on the inside of course and I honestly don't know if Pastor Boulet was preaching from this particular passage or not...

https://hbclakeland.com/staff-1/
but I do know that I was WHINING  Big time to God for taking us away from Antofagasta and my heart was breaking for the people we had left "high and dry" WHEN THIS PASSAGE STOPPED ME IN MY TRACKS...
                                                                 HEBREWS 6:10-12
He told me that the work wasn't ours to begin with and this showed me that HE would continue the work and not forget what we had done. I just happened to notice today what it says in Bold Print underneath, "The CERTAINTLY of God's Promise" Today in picture form...I saw the baptism of the new work that Jose Luis and Pollyanna have started, partnering with ADELPHOS!!!


AND Jose Luis has been studying by distance learning at a Seminary, even though he continue to practice as a lawyer, but in December he graduates from Seminary and the plan is in March  of 2017 he will become an ordained minister. THE PASTOR OF THE WORK IN ANTOFAGASTA.  My heart soared.....what an AWESOME God we have....some of my deceased husband's ashes were scattered in this VERY OCEAN.  All in all....
THE WORD OF GOD IS TRUE.....I BELIEVE

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Sherry Miller IS WHERE?

http://www.sherrychairs.com/

Does anyone know what a BLAST from the past is like????  I do and so does my daughter, Joy!  So let's back up in time to 1979.   I was VERY pregnant with my daughter, Joy, at the time and we lived in an apartment complex in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. in the summertime and it was hot and so was I.  One day at the community pool I met this young Mom and her ????3 year old son Jeff.  We hit it off and before long she and her husband were at our apartment having dinner with us.  HA..I remember "Pastor Bill" (that was my husband who is now in heaven) had even gone into our church nursery to make sure we had toys for Jeff to play with.  That night Sherry and her husband, Steve (who is no longer with her) prayed to receive Christ as their Savior.  Sherry and I were  immediately kindred Spirits. When Bill and I went to Chile as missionaries for the first time in 1984 I don't know who cried the most...our parents or SHERRY!!  How wonderful is our Heavenly Father that the VERY same loving arms that hugged me good-bye from Miami, FL...were there to receive me in 1987 when we once again stepped on USA Soil!!...AND YOU LITTLE SNEAK...SHERRY...You even had a BIGGER surprise for me...you and my father had some how conspired for HIM to be there too as you and I rounded the corner in the Miami airport.  Now come on??? WHO does that...my "MRS. M"
>>>>>FAST FORWARD>>>>>



October 22, 2016  My daughter, Joy, and her sweet family are in Lynchburg, VA. with her in-laws and Brian (that's my AMAZING Son-in-law) had planned a free musical concert at the Grace EV Free Church where we all used to attend.  
http://music.morykon.com/

About 2 weeks before the date I messaged Sherry (she and her sweet hubby, Richard, now live in Lynchburg) and WHAT???  what??? WHAT???  They attend Grace EV Free Church.  You guessed it...they went to the concert...I saw pictures and they sat on the front row!  Here is what my daughter had to say about the experience..... 
"This is Sherry Miller. My mom met her when she was pregnant with me. Mom led her to Christ. Hadn't seen her in 20yrs or more. What a fun night to reconnect. She is precious. (Just happen to be living in Lynchburg and goes to the church where we went for 10yrs and had the concert tonight!)"
Thank YOU God for giving us pieces of heaven right here on earth....AND THANK YOU SHERRY MILLER (YOU TOO RICHARD) FOR CONTINUING TO LOVE GOD AND MY FAMILY)

Saturday, October 22, 2016

What makes me SMILE????

I know....he is absolutely ADORABLE.  His name?  Seth Craig Dooley and right now he is 6 months old.  NO, I haven't seen him physically...but guess what ...

I will be with him on the 7th of December...JUST 45 MORE DAYS!!  Seth is my fourth grandchild, BUT THE FIRST FROM MY SON AND MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW.  Of course the fact that he is my grandson makes him SUPER SPECIAL...BUT..the fact that doctor's told Will and Mandy they wouldn't be able to have biological children and GOD PROVED THEM WRONG...makes him even that more special!!  I'm sorry...I didn't hear you?? Did you say you wanted to meet my other grandchildren...well of course....  I thought you would never ask!!
                                                                                                                           

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Getting Legal THIS TIME (2016) Getting legal LAST TIME (1985-ish)

Today is Tuesday, October 18, 2016Oh so you want to get permanent residency in Chile AGAIN?   (This time was VERY DIFFERENT for me than the last time (1985-ish).  WHY you may ask???  Well first of all I was married (I'm a widow now) and secondly I was a missionary (along with my husband) with ABWE (Association of Baptist for World Evangelism) and they had an individual doing all the footwork...paperwork...preliminary stuff.  Mostly we just had to sign papers and when the time came get our pictures made, thumbprints taken and PRESTO-CHANGO....we had our legal documents.
SO THIS TIME...I am the footwork person...I am the making appointments person, I am the getting the right thing paid at the right place person....can I just say after seven months..I'M TIRED...but I am closer to that coveted one year Visa. WHEW.....More later....



Today is Saturday, October 22, 2016 and I can't believe what showed up on my FB yesterday entitled "What You Were Doing On This Day"....in 2015....Get ready...I was just beginning the paperwork to get my ONE YEAR VISA GOING.....So on Wednesday (the 19th) I went back downtown with what I thought was ALL THE PAPERWORK I NEEDED....I had finally gotten my One Year Visa Paid for ($478 USD) and when they called my number and I presented the paperwork...I was told (several times a bit sarcastically) "All these papers are in English and we ARE IN CHILE and we need them in Spanish" ...like I didn't realize where I was???  I had called the  Chilean Embassy in Miami, FL. and was told that as long as my documents were legally apostatized that Immigration would accept them.  NOT....now I have to write up a document in Spanish stating that the US Embassy has verified that my documents are true and this is what they say...only $50 USD more!!!  At this point with all the fees I had to pay stateside for the documents to be apostatized, shipped here via Fed Ex, fees in Chile and now the $50 USD...I'm up to $736 USD.  I was so tired after having gone downtown Tuesday and Wednesday...A TON OF WALKING...I was outta commission physically from 6 PM Thursday evening until this AM (Saturday 22nd of October).  One positive thing is I get to go and visit my Embassy and I'm going to take my absentee ballot with me to see if they will fax it to the states for me while I'm there.


Thursday, October 13, 2016

I'm REALLY doing this?!?

I looked back at my OLD blogger and the last post was in October of 2010...not too bad...ONLY 6 years ago.  I must take a moment to THANK MY DAUGHTER, JOY MORYKON....for lovingly prodding me into entering "blogger-land" (don't know if that is a real thing or not??)  So, um..yea...I am BACK IN CHILE... I hope I didn't cause anyone to faint or have a heart attack!!  I came back in February of 2015 to "try it out"  As my Blog Title says "In GOD"S Hands"  that is where I'm at, one step at a time, learning and living once again in Santiago, CHILE.

AHEM....we were champs this year too!!!   I know...it's CRAZY...but WONDERFUL as well.  Ok...so I did it and there will be more to come as I try and "rewind" for you all...HOW IN THE WORLD DID GOD DO THIS......