“WON’T YOU BE MINE??”

February brings with it a focus on love and relationship—both of which that God himself first brought to us all and has demonstrated in the hugest way possible…. on a cross.  Which of the above valentines would you choose in your heart to follow?  Many of you remember Millarai, who died from bone cancer here in Chile at the age of fifteen, but not before she was baptized and had reproduced our son Julian’s tattoo on her own arm in the hospital with a permanent marker.  

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  1 John 4:7-10

How can we Christians not fully serve him who sacrificed it all for us? 😊  We so appreciate your ongoing prayers for us and for Chile Mission!  Here below is our February update.

IN CHILE

Thanks again for your continuing prayers for the following:

• Jack spent a week with Abraham & family on our land in middle Chile.  First “steps” are going forward.  New inner roads have been completed by the excavator and we now have received from the electric company the price of roughly $11,500 U.S. for increasing our voltage with a larger transformer and for relocating the electric poles currently in place in the middle of the area that we will develop into a lake.  All in all, the cost is very worth it.  The construction of a roofed parking area is also underway and Abraham continues to clear more land of trees and thick brush.
• Jack & Abraham met with Rosa about re-surveying the borders of her property located at the entrance to ours.  Progress was made and she shared that the surveyor she had hired admitted to making some mistakes in his points of reference.  She will schedule him to come out again as soon as possible to correct those mistakes.  That is good!  The only hitch is that towns and cities in Chile continue to comply with changing covid-19 restrictions and his small town is now newly in full quarantine.  Ai yai yai!  😊
• Jack, Domingo & Sandra, Renata, & Paola were able to have a good meeting regarding the best Foundations structure for the future focus and approach to our combined works in rural Chile.  They already have the Luz en el Campo (Light in Rural Chile) board of directors formed, along with how they want to approach the work of their Foundation.  We had talked about one of us being on their board of directors and one of them being on ours in what we do in the country.  It was decided to keep the two Foundations separate and to not directly be a part of each other’s work.  This in the short and long run will be better for us all, and allow us to help each other when needed and also allow us to approach our works as each group sees fit.  We remain close friends and we all are at peace with our decision to not combine the directing of the two groups.
• Paola & Jack are making good progress toward an up & running Spanish web site for Chile Mission.
• Related to this effort, Paola has just now submitted the necessary paper work to the government to change the name of our Foundation Residencia Familia Cristiana (Christian Family Residence) to Misión Chile (Chile Mission).  The name change reflects our intention to add further Christian works to the current works of which we are a part.  The change also includes making changes to our board of directors to better enable the Foundation’s effectiveness and impact to grow.  We are excited by the name change and are praying that it is approved.
• APEM, the Christian pregnancy center that operates in our Santiago mission property, has the opportunity to present a project to the Presbyterian church one block away to use their next door building as a house where pregnant women can stay, if necessary.  This would be a great addition to the center’s ability to help such women in need.  This is the same building that used to house the children’s home that Janine directed in 2000-2002.  The main denominational board of the Presbyterian churches is now the owner of the property.   Please pray with us that this opportunity is approved by them.
• Jack will spend another week on the camp property beginning February 1.

Here are some photos of God at work at the camp land:

IN THE U.S.

We are grateful that Janine was able to locate and purchase a house two hours outside of Los Angeles.  This will still leave us relatively close to Jonathan’s & Jordan’s families.  The prices of homes farther away from Los Angeles are also quite a bit lower!  The purchase means that we will be able to complete the sale of our Indiana house and have a place to ship furniture, etc.  Thus, Jack will return to the U.S. in March to help with the whole “moving project”, and the goal will be to return to Chile in May.

Praising, praying, and fasting with you in the Eternal love of God,

 Jack & Janine