“Faithfully doing our work”

From him (Christ) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.  –Eph. 4:16

In Chile we extend Jesus in different ways as missionaries.  What a privilege!  Wherever this prayer letter finds you, you do the same in carrying out your part of the work of Jesus’ church.  In all cases we are all called to FAITHFULLY DO our respective parts.  We have lots to report on this month for you to continue to pray for.  We so appreciate your prayers, as prayer is one “part of the work of the church” that we ALL share in!  Thanks so much!! 😊  All of the below-mentioned works need prayer, giving God gratitude for all progress made already.

First, news from the camp property in middle Chile:

–relocating the electric lines.  Good progress has been made.  The electric company Coelcha has given final approval to the project and has even agreed to reduce the cost from $11,500 US (see our last month’s prayer letter for more detail) to just under $9,000 US. TYL!!  In addition, it’s a requirement with such projects to hire an electrical engineer to represent us and we were able to find a well-recommended man with experience to do that for a reasonable price.  All in all, this project should be complete before winter rains arrive in mid-June.  Here is a photo of the large area that will be developed into a lake, once the electric poles are removed.  The area in question comprises roughly 20 acres and the lines of dead trees and brush that you see will be burned as winter nears.

—Abraham has made good headway in the construction of a covered parking area directly behind their house.  Many different types of wood are involved, but it is starting to all come together.  He hopes to have it completed soon.

—Friend and fellow missionary Mike Blackless visited the property to begin investigating methods of construction, growing plants, and devising cost-effective water systems and alternative energy sources.  God may be calling Mike to join the team living and working on the property. 

—The issue of re-surveying Rosa’s property to correctly mark it’s dividing line with ours, although seemingly already agreed upon, seems far from over.  We will see what March brings, but please continue to pray for an amicable final solution.  We will keep you posted, as we’d love to put this behind us.

—Abraham & Cata continue to build good relationships with those that live near.  Pictured are Pedro and Raquel, having a meal with us. Left to right are Cata, her brother Isaac, Jack, Pedro, Raquel, and Abraham.  They are hard workers and have been able to take some of Abraham’s wood to use as firewood in the coming winter. They, too, have helped Abraham & Cata in different ways.  Raquel and Abraham have an appointment to talk with the mayor of Quillón, the town responsible for public road access for residents living where we do, to improve the public road in certain key trouble spots.  Pedro and Raquel are long-time residents of the area and both are definitely “doers” and not just “talkers”! 😊

                                                     

We hope you also enjoy the photo of some of the produce taken from Abraham’s homemade greenhouse.

In Santiago other good headway is being made:

—Change of ministry site personnel.  Valentina, one of the two young women living on our mission site and coordinating our Santiago-based ministries, is moving to Valparaiso near the west coast of Chile to take on a new teaching position.  Paola, whom we pay to supervise and help our Chile Mission work go forward, is taking Valentina’s place, adding to her other duties. We will miss Valentina, but are blessed to have Joherlit and Paola in this position.  We will evaluate everything again at the end of 2021.  Pictured from left to right are Valentina, Paola, and Joherlit.  All three are “Kingdom gems”.

—We are still waiting to hear from the government regarding our Foundation’s name change to Misión Chile (Chile Mission in Spanish).  They have told Paola to expect their answer in March.  Regarding the Foundation please also pray for our upcoming director meeting this month.  We need to meet to go over the direction of Chile Mission’s ministries in 2021 and ask Tamara and Juan if they will be willing and able to continue on the board with us. Although Janine is in the States, she will participate via Google Meet.

—A friend of Paola familiar with the development of websites is now helping with the final development of our website in Spanish. This is a praise and we hope to have more news at the end of this month.

—As mentioned in February’s Prayer Letter, APEM, the Christian pregnancy center that has an office on our ministry site, is still waiting to hear if they will be able to occupy a building of the Presbyterian Church very near us as housing for pregnant women.

—Our car has been with our mechanic for one full month, as he and others look for the replacement air conditioning compressor needed for repair.  Due in part to covid, used car parts are hard to come by in Santiago.

Lastly, covid19 restrictions and lockdowns in Chile are much more restrictive than in the States.  Churches don’t have “in person” services, most restaurants only offer take out and outdoor seating, and schools are just now opening to student-present classes (it’s fall in Chile) and all on-site school personnel must have been vaccinated.  All travel from one region of the country to another requires a government permission downloaded by cell phone, and each town and city receive lockdown ratings dependent on their new number of covid19 cases.  Interesting to say the least for everyone and of course, masks are required outside of one’s residence.

Jack returns to the States in mid-March to work with Janine to finish readying our Indiana house for sale.  She in turn is planning a trip to Chile this U.S. spring.  We will keep you posted.

In the U.S., between two houses:

—Janine has had quite a job on her hands renovating and repairing the house we purchased in CA.  It’s in a good area and the necessary repairs and changes will be well worth it.  She’s also gotten to know and employ some area homeless men and some great neighbors who work construction, etc.  As a BIG PLUS she took three of the men to church services with her recently.  Definitely worth praying about.  With God’s blessing, the house will be our new residence when not in Chile.

—Beginning in mid-March we hope to work to finish readying our Cedar Lake, IN house for sale.  This will include selling and giving away furniture and other items and shipping other furniture, etc. to CA.

As written at the outset of this Prayer Letter, all prayers are greatly appreciated!  Thanks so much!

Praising, praying, and fasting with Jesus’ Church as they all faithfully do their part,

Jack & Janine