The Inspiration for the Trip

 

Photo from 1994? (Before Lisa was born)

    Joe and I (and our daughter Joy) were missionaries in Chile from 1989 to 1996. We lived mostly in Pichilemu and worked on establishing a Christian Surfers ministry there. Our two younger children were born in Chile (Silas in 1992 and Lisa - a.k.a Asa - in 1995).

    Sadly, Joe died of a brain tumor on October 31, 2023, after having been ill for only 6 months.





    In December, my family and I visited Chile, where we rekindled relationships with those we had known and loved, enjoyed seeing all that God has done through the seeds we planted, and celebrated the life of my husband and their father with the people of Santiago, Rancagua, and Pichilemu. We were only in Pichilemu for 5 days, though, and I left with the desire to return and stay longer.

in the airport

in front of the house we lived in for several years



Parque Ross (This bridge is on the cover of our "Sing for Joy" cassette)
https://www.mccroskeymusic.com/#singforjoy





Celebration of Life, Paddle Out, and sprinkling ashes in Pichilemu

Painting by a local Pichilemu artist - Nacho Vargas
__________________________________________

    In Joe's absence, I have taken on a leadership role with Christian Surfers 831, our Santa Cruz chapter of an international ministry. (He started the chapter in 2021.) Christian Surfers United States (CSUS) is planning a Surf & Serve trip in April, 2024 to serve doing construction work at Youth With A Mission YWAM Pichilemu in Pichilemu, Chile.
    I plan to stay 2 more weeks in Chile after the CSUS team leaves, and then
continue my journey with a trip to New Zealand at the end of April and then on to Australia in May. The focus of my time in NZ and Australia will be connecting and building relationships with Christian Surfers contacts there and learning about how CS New Zealand and CS Australia operate so that I can bring new ideas for ministry and organization to our local chapter and possibly even to the National Organization (and perhaps share some useful ideas about what we do here with them).
    I will attend Camp Widow® Australia 2024 in Brisbane on the last weekend of May.

    I am 63, a retired teacher, and a beginning surfer. Surfing is not a big priority for my trip,

but if there is a good place for beginners to learn, I wouldn’t mind going out. 



June, 2021

I would really appreciate your prayers for this adventure! If God leads you to support me financially, you can contribute directly through Venmo @josephmccroskey (100% goes to me), or choose a specific part of the trip to support at https://www.myregistry.com/giftlist/chile-nz-australiatrip

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