“IN STEP” WITH GOD

^{By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.   Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.  –Ex. 13: 21-22}

God has always guided his children, be it through his Word and Holy Spirit, or even through a pillar of cloud and pillar of fire.  We see this as well in Proverbs 16:9, “In his heart man plans his course, but God determines his steps.”  As such it’s important to remember that WE are now his children!  Thus for us, Frank Sinatra’s song “I did it My Way” is definitely out of the question!  🙂

We and Abraham & Catalina gleaned much good information, tips, and encouragement of different types during our two-month tour of Christian camps in the States this past U.S. summer!  They returned to Chile August 1^st and we now fly to Chile Sept. 4^th, staying through to Oct. 19^th, where much of that time will be spent on the camp property in middle Chile with them to assess and plan next steps forward concerning the development of the land.  These three photos tell the next steps:

During our recent two months of visits to camps we received lots of valuable advice on first steps to take in Chile.  We are hoping that Kevin (one such long-time camp worker), who has been responsible for all the physical plant development of his camp over the last 40+ years (WOW!!), can come to Chile this coming January (Chilean summer) to walk our property and discuss first hand our overall plan of land development.  His (and others’) biggest advice of all?  “Be sure to not get ahead of God in all you plan to do, but be patient and attentive to his leading, and he will guide you and the Christian camp & retreat center WILL BECOME A REALITY!  You can COUNT on it, including the raising of every bit of needed finances.”  With good reason we firmly know that your prayers have been yet another central reason for these great developments!

Chile camp property

Abraham, Catalina, and Abril arrived home safely to heavy winter rains that have rendered the public road outside of the camp property impassable from time to time.  Still, they are glad to be home and he is working mainly indoors, finishing the new bathroom/bedroom addition begun months ago.

When we arrive in Sept.

• we will work with him to specifically identify upcoming developmental steps and issues needing to be addressed now and during Kevin’s short visit in January.
• Abraham will also continue to search for a Chilean certified architect to be our needed go between with the Chilean government to proceed with building plans on the property.
• We plan and hope to follow up on the purchase of a used excavator for sale. It was the property of a relative of Chilean friends.  He since has died, but used this equipment in his work and his children want to sell it.  If it’s in good operating condition and the price is reasonable, it represents a very good and needed purchase, given the amount of work we will have for it on the camp land.

Once Kevin visits and the architect is located at a reasonable cost, we will be in a better positon to project the cost of upcoming construction of buildings, along with other work: i.e., digging the lake and proceeding with wells, septic, interior roads, and buildings, etc.

Thank you for your prayers for our upcoming visit!

In Santiago

We look forward to visiting with Carolina & family to discuss God’s ministries taking place on the Chile Mission site.  This will include talking over hospital and clinic contacts, internal policies & reports, and interactions with those staying on the property for medically-associated reasons.  She is committed to doing a good job, which is central to going forward well.  The latest information she has is that baby Dominíc, whom we’ve mentioned as needing prayer in his fight for survival in our two last monthly Praise & Prayer Needs letters, continues making steady, slow progress at home.  Thank you Lord!

In addition, Jack must renew his Chilean identification card, a process that is always automatic and not difficult, but the government advised us that they cannot confirm his residency status.  On the other hand, Janine’s came through slowly but fine—she had extended her visa during covid, but Jack had traveled back twice.  It should be a “fun” process!!  Instead it is just another use of time and effort that we have to spend time on.  Hard to believe that Janine has her new identification card, considering that she is “under” Jack’s approved status!!

We will also be meeting with Chile Mission board members to discuss progress and ministry outreaches.  There are, in addition, further legal steps necessary to make needed changes to our Foundation’s by-laws.  These basic changes have been previously applied for, but still not terminated.

Lastly, we are still seeking a Chilean to take charge of developing our Spanish Chile Mission website.  We do have a web “server”, but the actual work has much farther to go.

In all of the above we seek and give thanks for your steady prayers and gratitude!!

Praising, praying, fasting, to OUR “STEP-LEADING” GOD OF ALL!!

Jack & Janine