Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.   And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.  Therefore confess each other’s sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  –James 5:13-16

The United States was built on a Christian foundation by Christian founding fathers.  Twenty-seven of those fifty-six men, for example, had Christian seminary degrees and George Washington himself was a strong Bible-believing Christian.  There is a painting of the 1^st Continental Congress in 1774 depicting the entire Congress in fervent prayer.  What a heritage!

As we share our main July prayer needs we remember the great weight upon their shoulders.  Our founding leaders practiced prayer and knew its power.  Christianity, Christian ministry and Christian mission were designed by God to work with prayer, as God answers and receives glory for it all.  We again thank you for joining in prayer on behalf of God’s good purposes in Chile and in the United States!

Prayer for Milla:  She just finished her next series of chemo treatments and has not had adverse reactions  (up until now at least!) that put her previously in intensive care for six weeks.  As of today (July 2) she is expecting to be released again around July 4^th until her next round of chemo.

Prayer for our work with children:  We continue to make good, regular progress in readying the mission site for children.  This generally means two people working outside on scaffolding on exterior surfaces and two people working inside, which includes chair repairs and even re-upholstering.  On the legal side of things, we had been regularly trying to make contact with the attorneys assigned to help us in the filing and processing of papers for the new foundation.  In being unsuccessful in those attempts, we re-contacted the main Pro-Bono organization, who did their own “investigation”, determining that new attorneys are needed.  We met with Pro-Bono coordinators yesterday and the process will now again begin.  We are most probably looking at October as the finishing date of our foundation identity.  At the same time we continue to meet as a director board, addressing different aspects of the renewed work.  Thank you, Lord, for leading us through these steps.

Prayer for the Church:  During elder/pastor meetings in June it was decided to change the structure of the church to one based in “house” churches.  Our small congregation is wide-spread geographically and we have lost some of the “relational” aspects that a local church holds with its neighborhood.  At the same time, Mike (a fellow elder/pastor) and Tabi Boyce now live even farther south of where we meet on Sundays.  They have initiated in recent months a weekly home group for “non-believers.”  It’s been very successful and now several attend.  The whole idea between the Boyces and a Christian neighbor couple was to introduce non-Christian neighbors to God and see what he says in the Bible about modern, hard issues.  They started with the Gospel of John.  Please pray for this major transition for our church as it unfolds in July and August.  Our prayer is to establish home churches within our members’ neighborhoods.

Prayer for our impending 9-day trip south:  Jack, Jeff, & Emily will be leaving in the morning, July 5^th for a 9-day trip south to visit three Chilean churches/works.  They will be presenting/guiding a workshop, interacting with children, teens, and young adults, preaching, and otherwise connecting to and encouraging each group.

Prayer for a house to live in away from the mission property:  Thanks to you all for continuing to pray that we’ll be able to locate a house to live in outside of the mission property.  We are also seeking properties/homes that we might even purchase, instead of rent.

Praising, praying, and fasting with you  in our “Prayer-based” God,

Jack & Janine