National Missionary Partner Helmuth Aguilar has been stranded in Chile, South America for many months because of COVID-19. In early March he departed from his home and wife Hilda in El Salvador, Central America. He planned to teach six workshops in three cities during March, April and May then return home. However, he will not be able to return home until October 1, and then only if all the necessary airports are open. But he has made the most of his time during the long delay.
Helmuth began teaching Workshop 3 in person in the city of Osorno, Chile on the eve of the country’s shut-down in late March. Unfortunately, by the time the workshop was finished, the airports were closed and he could not return home. Fortunately, since he grew up in Chile, his elderly mother is still living in a nearby city. So he hunkered down with her for the next several months.
After the quarantine was underway and everyone was isolated in their homes, he began hearing from the students who had just completed Workshop 3. They were anxious to complete the fourth and final workshop of the series, and they did not want to wait another year until he could return.
Though he knew that it’s preferable to teach Timothy Two workshops in person, he gradually developed an alternative method to teach the final workshop. First, he printed the workbooks and had the workshop coordinator distribute them to the students in their homes. Second, he instructed the students to study the twenty-one lessons privately, write a summary of each lesson and write out the answers all the review questions and application questions. This they did during April and May.
Third, he had observed that the host church was using Zoom to conduct their worship services. So he decided to conclude teaching Workshop 4 using Zoom. He met online with the students during June and July for one hour each evening for twenty-one days to discuss with them the content of the lessons as well as their answers to the review questions and application questions. They met for only one hour each time because many of the students’ homes had no heat. (It’s currently winter in the southern hemisphere.) Fourth, he selected three of the lesson topics for each student to write out a reflection paper to use in prayer meetings, ladies’ meetings and Bible study meetings. Each student then made an audio recording of their papers and delivered them to Helmuth. Finally, in August he held a virtual graduation ceremony in which each student was awarded a certificate to celebrate and confirm the completion of the entire series of four workshops.
Following are excerpts from the speech of one of the students during the graduation ceremony.
Continue reading Stranded Timothy Two Missionary Completes Workshop Series in Chile
y have all suffered from COVID-19. Though the worst is now past, they are still recovering from the effects of the virus. For that reason, and because the virus is continuing to spread in Peru, he has postponed teaching workshops he began last year. However, his spirit is undaunted because of his faith in Christ. Read the account of this experience in his own words below. 
