WD Mission's News and Reviews: ~Featured Missionary and Country of the Week

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Dan and Debbie Barkley

Region(s): South America
Field(s): Chile
Poster: download PDF
Website: click here to visit

Bio: Dan and Debbie Barkley have always loved the work of God. He was a member of the International Youth Corps in 1973 and 1974. After pastoring for several years in southern Indiana, the Barkleys returned to Richmond, Indiana, to work with Endtime Ministries (EM) and traveled extensively in the U.S. teaching prophecy. He designed and laidout the ministry’s internationally known Endtime magazine. His greatest achievement while at EM was the website, possibly one of the most visited sites of its kind in the world, receiving as many as two million hits per day. She served as tour coordinator and head of bookkeeping at EM and handled the accounting for the Richmond church. The Barkleys labored in Argentina as associates in missions before being appointed as missionaries to Chile in March 2004. He serves as an advisor to the national board and is active in leadership development and in seminars throughout Chile.

Chile

Republic of Chile/República de Chile
Area Coordinator: Joseph A. Bir
Superintendent/President: Juan Rios Caballero
Population: 16,400,000
Area: 292,135 sq. mi.
Capital: Santiago
Languages: Spanish
Religions: Roman Catholic, 89%; Protestant, 11%

Chile, a narrow land some 100 to 250 miles wide, occupies 2,650 miles of South America’s Pacific coast. Chile’s length almost equals the width of the United States. Northern Chile contains the Atacama Desert. Central Chile has agricultural land. Southern Chile has forests and grazing land. The Andes, which include some of the world’s highest peaks, form Chile’s eastern boundary. The James Dotsons planted the UPC in Chile in 1964. The church has 2,650 constituents, 56 ministers, and 36 churches and preaching points. The United Pentecostal Church of Chile is under the leadership of a national president along with the national board. These officials are freely elected by the ministerial body. A new Bible school endeavor has opened the possibilities for future development throughout the country with 10 extensions. The Bible school is under the direction of Pablo and Rosario Rios.

Additional information and photos:

Chile is in Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru. The Pacific Ocean forms the country's western border, with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage at the country's southern tip. Slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana.

Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians inhabited central and southern Chile; the latter were not completely subjugated by Spain until the early 1880s. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-84), (below: Naval Combat of Iquique - The sinking of the Esmeralda)

Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern lands. A three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador Allende was overthrown in 1973 by a dictatorial military regime led by Augusto Pinochet, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.

13 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Atacama, Bio-Bio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica.

Economic Overview: Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio AYLWIN - which took over from the military in 1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government. Growth in real GDP averaged 8% during 1991-97, but fell to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies implemented to keep the current account deficit in check and because of lower export earnings - the latter a product of the global financial crisis. A severe drought exacerbated the recession in 1999, reducing crop yields and causing hydroelectric shortfalls and electricity rationing, and Chile experienced negative economic growth for the first time in more than 15 years. Despite the effects of the recession, Chile maintained its reputation for strong financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. By the end of 1999, exports and economic activity had begun to recover, and growth rebounded to 4.2% in 2000. Growth fell back to 3.1% in 2001 and 2.1% in 2002, largely due to lackluster global growth and the devaluation of the Argentine peso. Chile's economy began a slow recovery in 2003, growing 3.2%, and accelerated to about 5% per year in 2004-06, while Chile maintained a low rate of inflation. GDP growth benefited from high copper prices, solid export earnings (particularly forestry, fishing, and mining), and stepped-up foreign direct investment. Unemployment has exhibited a downward trend over the past year, but remains fairly high. Chile deepened its longstanding commitment to trade liberalization with the signing of a free trade agreement with the US, which took effect on 1 January 2004. Chile signed a free trade agreement with China in November 2005, and it already has several trade deals signed with other nations and blocs, including the European Union, Mercosur, South Korea, and Mexico. Record-high copper prices helped to strengthen the peso to a 6½-year high, as of December 2006, and added investment in the mining sector will boost GDP in 2007.