Meet the Team

Dear Friend,

Hello from Chile where we are expecting snow later on this evening here in Santiago – something that happens only every ten years or so!.

A little over a week ago all of the national staff workers and missionaries with Campus Crusade here in Chile got together for a time of studying God’s Word, training and seeking the Lord as a new semester of ministry begins. I wanted to introduce you to them and ask that you pray for us as a team as we seek to bring the life-transforming message of Christ to students and professionals here in Chile.

Pictured from left to right are the full-time Campus Crusade staff here in Chile:
· Israel Vilches – Israel comes from a family that was involved in the leadership of Campus Crusade in Chile for many years. In fact, his mother was the first student to receive Christ when Campus Crusade arrived in Chile for the first time in the late 1960’s. He’s a journalist and has been working full-time with college students in Santiago for 1 ½ years
· Mark and Amanda Essenmacher – Mark and his wife Amanda (to the left of Mark in the picture in the back) are Americans serving as missionaries in the Campus Crusade national office. The Essenmachers have 3 beautiful girls. Their youngest, Megan, was born here in Chile in June. Mark is in charge of finances for the ministry.
· Maria Jose Diaz – Maria Jose (known by many as Cote) has been working with us full-time for almost 7 years. She is helping to direct the team in Concecpion. Cote studied English translation.
· Veronica Carrera – Veronica studied to be an English teacher, and after four years of teaching joined the staff of Campus Crusade four years ago. Vero spent 6 months in Spain and North Africa working with Muslim women in 2005. Currently she is preparing to take a team of 5 students with her to this part of the world on a missions project in January of 2008.
· Blanca Mordeo & Christian Maureira – Christian and Blanca were blessed with their first child, a baby boy, Santiago Alonso, last February. They both served for many years in Mexico with Campus Crusade and returned to Chile 2 years ago. Blanca studied accounting and Christian sociology in Mexico. Christian is the Associate National Campus Director and they work with the team in Santiago.
· Marion Schulteiss – Marion is a missionary from Germany who is here with us for 1 ½ years. She studied Public Relations in Germany and earned a Masters degree in the U.S. a year ago. Marion makes some great strudel!
· Carla Ramirez – Carla comes to us from Mexico where she studied to be a publicist. She will be working with us as a missionary for two years. Carla first came to Chile four years ago as a student on a missions project and decided to come back after graduation to invest a couple of years in the lives of Chilean students.
· Veronica Cuevas & Juan Carlos Lorca – Juan Carlos is a graduate from the University of Concepción where he studied English translation & his wife, Verónica, studied the same at the University of Santiago. As a young teenager Veronica was diagnosed with MD and a few years later began using a wheelchair. She is currently doing well and they are praying that the Lord would bless them with a child. Please join in praying with them.
· Not pictured are American missionaries George Phillips, who leads one of the teams in Santiago here, and Kurt and Melissa Adams, who help lead the team in Concepcion, and their two sons (their youngest Mori was born just a little over a month ago). Both are in the US currently working on ministry partner development. Please pray that God would provide for the needs of these missionaries so that they can continue reaching Chilean students for Christ with us.

Please pray for these great folks that God would keep them close to Himself, that we would all work together unified in purpose and spirit, and that we would be used by God to reach Chilean young people and professionals with the life-transforming message of Christ.

Bendiciones,

Doug & Carey