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contacted Richard B. Craig in Argentina. He contacted W. H. Thurston and A. B. Stauffer in Brazil; he also worked with E. W. Snyder, who was sent to Paraguay and later canvassed in Argentina. From Chile he highlighted the valuable work of Thomas Davis, F. H. Bishop, Eduardo and Víctor Thomann and C. A. Nowlin.41 He supported Eduardo Thomann in extending his work in Bolivia and Peru, and Thomas Davis in moving to Ecuador.42 In 1897, pastor Nelson Z. Town began a missionary publication of 12 pages in Spanish entitled El faro [The Lighthouse]; pastors J. Vuilleumier and F. H. Westphal were its first directors.43 In Chile, Westphal devoted efforts to insure the building of church offices, publishing association and print, located in the city of Valparaíso. He visited 11 companies before finding one willing to cover the risks. A short time later a fire destroyed everything and with the insurance money a new property was bought. When a devastating earthquake shook the city of Valparaíso in the year 1906, neither the building nor the staff or the tasks were affected. On this matter, Westphal wrote: “We went to work immediately on the publication of a special issue of ‘Señales de los tiempos’ [Signs of the Times], presenting the issue of the earthquake and pointing to its meaning as a sign of the coming of Christ.”44 He said: “Our blessed books rescue people.”45

Westphal noted and highlighted the aspects of the work relating good health. In 1897 he wrote: “The issue of temperance is also being established in our work here.”46 In the first days of the church in Entre Ríos, he presented the need to avoid drinking alcoholic beverages. The answer was: “Everybody joined in quitting liquor and prohibiting it in their homes.”47 When expounding the principles regarding the care of the human body as temple of the Holy Spirit to the Kalbermatters, he mentioned that tobacco and liquor contain substances damaging to health.48 Ignacio Kalbermatter wrote that pastor “Westphal knew when was the time to make us see how harmful smoking was to Christians. So, on Saturday, after having talked to us about the harmfulness of this vice, at the end of the meeting, we decided, the four brothers and dad, to hang our pipes and thank God we did not go back to that vice.”49

Westphal noted that “in Argentina, the city of Mendoza, located in the Andean region, is in a district with vast fruit orchards.”50 Likewise, he estimated that “water is of the first class in Chile”51 and that “in the central part it has a pleasant climate, a land of plenty and flowers.”52 On visiting Ecuador traveling to Quito it caught his attention that “fields of pineapples and orange trees, banana tree bushes and the big forests of walnuts form a beautiful landscape.”53

The Westphals placed their interest and dedication in the development of Adventist education, intended for the children and youth of the church, for the good of their training for life and specially in the preparation of missionaries. During the year 1893, in Estación Solá, south of Buenos Aires city, it began the first Adventist school in South America. Mrs. Craig was the first teacher taking care of a great number of students. When the Craigs returned to the United States, the new teacher was Edelvina Threadgold, who had accepted Adventism thanks to the ministry of the Craigs. Classes moved to one of the rooms in the house where the Westphals lived. His house was a school. During the school year, some students fell with measles and scarlet fever. The daughter, Helen Westphal, became seriously ill and died. His brother, Carlos, saved his life miraculously. The mother waited for the arrival of her husband from his first visit to Brazil to share the pain of the events.54 Event with these grave difficulties, the Westphals gave their backing and support to the school.

The Westphals also began the first school in the province of Entre Ríos, Argentina. In the plots of land rented from the Racedos, near the Ander Egg waterfall, still in 1901 there lived the families Roscher, Bernhardt, Keip, Brunner, brothers Jorge and Federico Maier, while others had already moved.55 There taught the first Adventist teacher in Entre Ríos: Ana Saller.56 Her daughter Ema mentioned that her mother was transferred to the school in Crespo by the Westphals. She arrived with part of her furniture from Buenos Aires and was introduced to the good brethren, who in that time lived in very humble abodes.57 She was a widow of only 27 year with three small children under her care.58 the school was open during 1896-1989, until Anna Suller married the widow Jorge Lust, that by that time had already offered the first lands of what today is the campus of the Universidad Adventista del Plata.59

Frank Westphal placed his decided interest in the emergence of the current Universidad Adventista del Plata. At a general meeting of Adventists held in Crespo, Entre Ríos, at the end of September of 1898, with the presence of missionaries and the brethren that were able to attend, at the beginning of the last session, a young Luis Ernst arrived from Nueva Helvecia, Uruguay, with the purpose of attending an Adventist college. This had such an impact on the delegates that they decided to begin a school to train future missionaries.60

School activity in 1899 took place in Las Tunas, Santa Fe. With great efforts and trusting God, on April 20, 1900, classes began in Entre Ríos, in the 17 hectares donated by neighbor Jorge Lust.61 Egil H. Wensell wrote: “It was proper to give Francisco Westphal the title of father of the River Plate Adventist College. It can be said that, also, that he was the first teacher as Luis Ernst was the first student.”62

When Frank Westphal returned to the United States, it was his brother, pastor Joseph W. Westphal, who arrived to the college on October 8, 1901, with his family, when there was only one building.63 He supported resolutely the development of the college by living in the same place during 1901-1927.64

Just like in Argentina, Frank Westphal was an active participant in the origins of the current Chile Adventist University. In 1901, Carlos E. Krieghoff offered as donation his family property for the building of a school, realized the following year by giving 20 hectares located in Púa.65 On his arrival, Westphal “gave decided support to the creation of the school,” bringing along donations from his country and Argentina.66 There in Púa, on August 6, 1905, was born the youngest daughter of the Westphals, Grace Hazel.67 In a tour with Eduardo Thomann, Westphal sold 22 volumes of Christ’s Object Lessons by Ellen G. White, setting the money aside for the future college.68

On April 15, 1906, began the first school year, Carlos Krieghoff being the dean and teacher and his wife was the girls’ dean.69 In 1907, Westphal wrote he was teaching in Spanish classes of Spanish, Bible and general History “along with the work of the Conference.”70 During the years Westphal stayed in Chile, he kept steady his backing and support for the college.

Frank and Mary Westphal gave a valuable contribution to medical activity backing the academic training of their son Carlos Edgardo Westphal (1890-1965), realized after seven years of study with his graduation from the Chile University as physician on August 18, 1919.71

      Dr. Marcelo Hammerly, who succeeded Dr. Carlos Westphal when he retired, stated:

      In 1920 came to work to the River Plate Sanitarium and Hospital, institution he served during 35 years. El Dr. Westphal worked with Dr. Roberto Habenicht, but when Dr. Roberto Habenicht had to return to the United States, he took up the responsibility of director of the Sanitarium until March 1955.

      During a period of 15 years he was the authorized physician of the Sanitarium, he had to act in a difficult time of economic crisis that devastated the country with the rest of the world in 1930 and the following years. One of the great merits is to have kept alive the Sanitarium, with much struggle, during that period.

Pioneer whose noble character, medical calling, spirit of sacrifice and life devoted to the study of the Sacred Scriptures can confirm all of us who know him well.72

      Qualities and Motivation

Héctor J. Peverini stated that by sending Frank Westphal, the challenge was that he be “a man having conditions of an authentic pioneer, humble, sincere and determined, a really decent person, that would not back down in the desert nor sink in the sea; that respected the humble and would not fear the great, that loved his neighbor and trusted in God.”73

Joseph W. Westphal wrote of his brother Frank the “he was an ardent missionary from the beginning of his spiritual experience”.74 Ignacio Kalbermatter stated that “good pastor Westphal... was very prudent”.75 Santiago Mangold declared that he “was a very devoted and persuasive man” and Guilherme Stein

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