“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good!”

Thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever. 

Fourteen verses giving thanks to the Lord appear in the Psalms, with 5 of those written in Psalm 107.  How appropriate a theme for our November “Thanksgiving” prayer & gratitude letter.  Have you considered using one day every week to give thanks to God, especially for family members present and past and for people’s lives in general?  All mankind owes God total thanks and praise for salvation & restored relationship with God through Jesus and for so much more!  We, too, give you thanks for your prayers for us and for Chile Mission!!

FIRST – Janine’s return flight to the States 

Thank you for praying for Chilean government permission for Janine to leave Chile with Jack on our scheduled flight to the States on October 7^th.  As it turned out, she never did receive the “mobility pass” allowing her to exit Chile, but she was able to go to a police office on the very day of our flight with a doctor’s letter referring to her important scheduled medical appointments in the States.  Giving Janine the special permission she needed, the woman at the desk told her that three others had recently come to the office with the same need to travel and no possibility with their mobility passes now hung up in Chilean bureaucracy.  TYL!!  Looking toward our flight back to Chile on Dec. 30, Janine will keep trying to get her mobility pass, hopefully with better results. 

SECOND – the camp property in middle Chile

We seem to be well on our way to being able to construct the first building needed.  It will be a two story large workshop with room to work indoors on projects and ample space for the storage and parking camp-related equipment and vehicles.  We have met several times with a local architect, Matías, and feel we have the right person to help with the project.

In addition, the electric company can now take down the old power lines (as the new ones are already relocated and operating).  Once we have our new bodega (storage and workshop) done, we will be able to tear down the present large adobe structure used for storage and build some picnic shelters with the upcycled materials.  With the old power lines removed along with low rainfall this past winter, this Chilean summer’s (Jan-Mar) main goal will be to dig out the lake area and prepare it to receive and contain water.  This will include taking a good look at how to divert water from the public access road, which annually floods with the rains. Our dream would be to use the lake for a variety of water sports, as well as stocking it with fish.

Our optimist hope is to have the above completed before July—all depending on the availability of materials and workers, when winter rains begin in the middle and southern parts of the country.  We hope we have sufficient funds to do these two major projects!!  Then on to the next level!!   Thanks for your prayers!

Abraham is currently making inquiries regarding the timing for purchasing and bringing farm animals to the land, along with the planting of selected crops and further clearing of land to receive them.

THIRD – in Santiago

We received word from the municipality of Las Condes (where our Foundation was initially registered) that the Foundation’s name change has been officially submitted and that we should hear back within one month.  That was good news and we are praying for its acceptance.  Once the new name is official, Patricio Curinao will replace Tamara on the board of directors and we will begin the needed next steps within the Foundation.

During our October time in Santiago we were able to discuss the work being done on the mission’s property, especially in terms of specific necessary steps to take in increasing the number of parents coming to stay at the property while in Santiago for medical treatments of their children.  Covid has been a factor, but much more can be done to increase our visibility and improve our relationships with sending hospitals and clinics.  We hope to also increase use of one of the mission’s houses by other Foundations in need of office and meeting space.  

FOURTH – this year’s ICOM

Starting on October 31 and continuing into December, we will be visiting with supporting churches and participating in this year’s ICOM missions conference at the Richmond, VA Convention Center November 18-21.  It’s a true celebration of God at work in the world, with excellent general sessions as well as break-out workshops, along with many exhibitors, including us with the marble people.  We’ve been blessed to participate with our Chile Mission booth for many years and always look forward to it.  Please consider putting aside that Saturday or that weekend and come be a part.  There are children’s activities and a separate youth convention going on simultaneously.  Please also be a part of the ICOM’s prayer support.  The ICOM website is www.theicom.org

Praising, praying, fasting, and giving THANKS to the Lord for he is good and his love endures forever!!

Jack & Janine 

“It’s God who makes things grow!”

⁶ I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. ⁹ For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.  1Cor. 3:6-9

In 1 Corinthians we find Paul rebuking the church in Corinth for being divided between different leaders instead of being united in serving Christ together, recognizing God as the one totally responsible for the results.  We must keep both our focus and purpose clear, as God truly IS the one to look to, in and between ourselves and with others.

Thank you for your prayers for Chile Mission and especially for our current trip to Chile, ending October 7!  It’s been an excellent trip and we apologize that this Prayer letter in coming to you a little late, but it does include all progress made in our time in Chile.

In entering this prayer and gratitude letter we have a special prayer request.  Janine has still not received the “mobility pass” issued by the Chilean government that allows people to leave the country.  Thus, we pray that she’ll be issued it today or tomorrow so that she can leave Chile tomorrow on our scheduled flight.  A government failure to be sure, that we’ve been addressing since we entered the country in mid Sept.  Thank you for praying with us about this technicality!   

We arrived in Santiago on Sunday, Sept. 12 and went immediately into our 7-day quarantine—Jack in our house on the mission property and Janine in a hotel approved by the Chilean government, because she had not received their official “mobility pass” designation.  She could not leave her small room, but instead received food daily, including some food that Jack was able to send with Joherlit, one of our mission property workers.  It was what it was and we were all glad to have her with us one week later!  After quarantine we spent two days in Santiago in meetings and then left for the camp property in middle Chile and several days more in southern Chile with Abraham & Catalina.  Paola also joined us there for three days.

We’ve had specific purposes and goals for this trip (please see September’s prayer letter J), and God has blessed our time in various ways….

The camp land in middle Chile

It’s amazing to think that exactly two years ago we closed on the purchase of the camp land!  It’s a beautiful property that we are all too happy to be now ready to develop.  The future camps and retreats will all be key in extending our creator Jesus to children, youth, and adults.  Please give thanks and pray for the following:

• Jack signed the final contract required by Coelcha, now enabling them to connect the new electric lines installed for us and for our neighbor’s property. We hope that they will soon finish this last step. It has been over a year since this process started.
• Matías, the architect, came to the land to spend an afternoon with us, walking most of the entire property with Abraham looking at all possibilities and ideas for timing & placement of the upcoming construction of structures. He also joined us in southern Chile for a day to further discuss initial plans so that when we return to Chile at the end of December we can move forward with construction.  **  Note—Chile is experiencing much higher prices of building materials , and most think that prices will not come down!
• We talked with Abraham & Catalina about the purchase of chickens, cows, and some other animals and the placement and planting of additional fruit trees, grapes, & vegetables.
• We also discussed having some young adult work teams to come and help complete specific projects this coming Chilean summer (Jan. – Mar.). As always, those time periods will also focus on spiritual growth.
• Lastly, we visited another Christian camp in southern Chile to gain information and exchange ideas. It is interesting to us that we have a better handle on networking with others than our Chilean counterparts.

These photos picture the above, with the last photo being of our visit to the other Christian camp in southern Chile.

In Santiago

• High on our Santiago action list was to meet with the other board members Juan and Tamara to discuss the Foundation’s direction & priorities, and sign needed legal documents. We resubmitted our request to change the name of the Foundation to “Fundación Misión Chile”.  The new name will better reflect the various ways we work in the country of Chile.  The last year and one half of covid pandemia slowed down Chile’s legal system even more than normal.
• Once we have a new name we will enlarge the board from four to five members. In terms of our present board, Tamara is resigning, as she has little free time to continue with outside responsibilities.  We are pleased to announce that Patricio Curinao, pastor, song writer, & singer, will be taking her place.  We have a long-standing friendship with “Pato” and he and his wife Johanna are involved in various ministries that blend well with those of our Foundation.
• We are scheduled to return to Chile on December 31 to continue helping make progress in all of the above areas, both in Santiago and in rural Chile.

Thank you again to YOU ALL for your prayer support.  Looking ahead to November, we are looking forward to this year’s ICOM mission conference to be held in Richmond, VA November 18-21.  We will be there with our “Chile” exhibit booth and would love to see you there.

Praising, praying, and fasting to our All-enabling, True God,

Jack & Janine