Our PRAYER ROOTS: JESUS, the BATON-passing, & the FIRST CHRISTIANS

–But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.  –Luke 5:16

–“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message”.  –John 17:20

–They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.  –Acts 1:14

–The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  –2 Cor. 10:4

Sometimes, it’s good to stop and reconnect to our PRAYER ROOTS.  Where did the Christians’ need to pray come from and how important is it??  God’s clear question for each of us is “Do you fight on your knees or go without me??”

With that said, we and Chile Mission VERY MUCH need and appreciate your prayers, just as we pray for each of you!  So many details and facets, both current and planned, of Chile Mission are constantly in play and you accompany us in many ways.  THANK YOU!!

—Eduardo is now a full member of the Chile Mission team, having spent two weeks in May on the camp property with Abraham and one week in Santiago getting a handle on administrative and legal issues for the mission.  PTL!  As you can see from the photo with Abraham, he came to the camp property ready to work. 🙂

—One important on-going prayer need that we as a team focus on is God’s protection and blessing over the mission’s two properties (rural and in Santiago), along with his protection and blessing of every member of the Chile Mission Team, both in the States and in Chile.  Regarding the properties, stealing is very common in both rural and urban Chile, as we have written about in past prayer letters.  Nothing is safe!  On our Santiago mission property several years ago, someone came over the roof one night and stole a heavy duty dolly and a long ladder.  During the fires at our camp property, someone also stole a 55-gallon barrel full of diesel fuel—no small task!!  Security is an ongoing concern at both locations.  Thank you for your prayers with thanksgiving for God’s protective hand.

—The long-awaited brain surgery to remove a tumor from the pituitary gland of Julia, the mother of Abraham’s wife Catalina is scheduled for Monday, June 3^rd.  We’ve been praying for several months for her health and for her peace about the surgery, as God handles all related details.  They and we thank you for your prayers!  Our constant need for prayer to bless the many people who pass through our Santiago property are always necessary and welcome as well!

—We again implore you to pray for all possible teams of individuals and churches to plan a mission trip to come to Chile and help especially in our physical development of the camp property.  It’s so easy to “gloss over” this repeated request and not respond, but it represents a VERY REAL ongoing need of ours.  We would love to talk with you more and visit you as well this year to put such a mission trip in motion.  We will be in the Chicago area and in the eastern states this fall, and we also are willing to fly to other locations.

—With God’s blessing both of us will be going to Chile in August for two weeks.  There are legal documents to sign, and we are excited that Elena will be with us, the college student we met last summer at the Christian camp in Ohio.  She will be doing a trip with us in her path to seek God’s direction on how to best serve him with her life.  She’s full of energy and initiative, and we are very much looking forward to her trip to Chile with us, no matter how the Lord might shape her future.  Thanks for praying this upcoming trip forward!

This might seem to be a very brief Prayer & Gratitudes letter to you, but it’s focus on prayer runs deep in its impact upon every facet of life for every Christian—especially those intent on extending Jesus in this world!!

Praising, praying, and fasting to our PRAYER-CONNECTING ONE, TRUE GOD, 

Jack & Janine

Our MORE THAN CAPABLE, OVER ALL GOD!!

The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created.  He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.  He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.  Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him.  For when he spoke, the world began!  It appeared at his command.  The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes.  But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.  -NLT

The above verses from Psalm 33:6-11 more than tell the story of our One, True, MORE than Capable, Purpose-filled and driven God of All who leaves no detail undone to reach one more person through his Son Jesus!  Every culture, language, and tribe is FULL of children, youth, and adults who don’t yet know him.  No wonder that God is moving toward them THROUGH JESUS’ CHURCH!!

CHILE TEAM-BUILDING

We’ve been asking for your prayers toward the growth of CHILE MISSION team and God brought some new potential team members to the Santiago mission site the first week of April prior to our return to the States.  We met with one individual and one family, both interested in helping in the development of our large, rural tract of land in middle Chile.  TYL!!

• Eduardo has worked years in the construction of buildings on the Santiago YWAM property. While at this time he will not be moving to live on our rural property, he envisions bringing small groups of YWAM discipleship participants for one to two weeks at a time to work the land and pursue their own spiritual growth.
• Another Eduardo, with wife Lorena and daughter Lía also met with us. Eduardo is a pastor and accountant, with construction experience as well.  Recently, their family has been instrumental in helping people in a poor sector of Santiago, and he has experience in developing contacts with municipal groups and raising public funds.  As a family, they are focused on being used by the Lord as “missionaries” and at some point they look forward to moving to our rural property.  At present, Lía is a sophomore in her Santiago high school, so any move to rural Chile will probably be postponed until after 2026.  We are ready to move forward with Eduardo—finishing up salary conversations as we enter May so he can begin.  He will work with a three-week cycle—two weeks living on our camp property and one week working in Santiago on administrative needs–earning just under $1,000 per month, and will be getting back to us regarding his exact start date in May.  We have known that Abraham has been stretched in every direction recently, so this will be a great help for him in moving forward.  We are all grateful and all-too-happy to welcome Eduardo and family into the CHILE MISSION team!  Here below is a selfie group photo of us, Abraham, and Eduardo & family:

In the meantime, Abraham & family were able to move in April to Cabrero, the nearest town roughly 30 minutes away from our property, and he will continue to travel to the camp property to work.  As we mentioned, Chilean winter rains will soon be upon them and with Facundo at 7 months old and Abril at almost 5 years they will not be able to walk to their pick-up truck parked 1 ¾ miles down the road as they have done these last few years.  Even in this detail God has provided to their specific need.

Thank you so much for your ongoing prayers for our work on the camp property and for God’s provision of teammates to make it all possible.  TYL!!  We so look forward to solid headway in the clearing of a tent-camping area with bathrooms and to the construction of our very first workshop/storage/offices building as weather permits.  Eduardo will also be able to help Carolina with our Dulce Refugio administrative work in Santiago.

Please now allow us a special space in this month’s Prayer Needs & Gratitudes letter…

A friend had a question for us recently.  He asked if it was more important to give funds so that our work on the camp land can be financed to hire Chilean workers, or more important to put a team together and go from the States to help.  God’s answer??  “Pull out all the stops, because I have gone first!!  My Church is designed to be mobilized and “I AM” will always provide all needed resources to complete MY work!”

Now is the ideal time to schedule a mission trip to Chile in 2025!  Several of our supporting churches, along with other non-supporting churches and groups of individuals, have made mission trips to Chile in years past.  Please consider another trip!  We, in turn, can arrange to meet with you this year while we are in the States.  So many of you have important skills and energy, and we’re not just talking MEN here! 🙂 🙂  There is much to do.  We have included a plea for physical help in our last ten prayer letters, and of course we need and appreciate your prayers that MANY would respond.  THANK YOU!!

YES– we do need the help of mission groups from the States and YES we will continue to need special one-time donations from churches and individuals alike to see the completion of the camp to fruition.  We all know that mission trips act as a main catalyst in many areas of the church.  We also just received word from the church in Ohio that had hoped to come to Chile earlier this year but had to cancel, and they are planning to come to Chile with a team of workers early in 2025.  TYL!!

IN SANTIAGO

We continue to mention specific patients and families that come to Santiago for complicated medical situations and treatment.  Last month we mentioned Bruno & sister Norma, along with Calixto and soon-to-be wife Trinidad, pictured below from left to right.  Bruno is battling leukemia, having received a bone marrow transplant from his sister Norma in October.  They have been residing at our Casa de Acogida “Dulce Refugio” ever since, waiting to be released to go home to far southern Chile, and PTL!!  They were able to leave Santiago the first week of April.

Likewise, Calixto, suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, had a device implanted in his head in late March and is due to be soon released to go home to northern Chile.  Newly baptized, he and Trinidad are planning on marrying in July and we all rejoice in how God has moved them to accept Jesus as Savior & Lord of their lives.

Thank you for your prayers!!  Other current residents on our mission site include a mother with her son, who are in Santiago for the third time for treatment with complications since receiving a kidney transplant.  He has had kidney problems all of his life and is 21 now.  Another person formerly staying on the site is in Santiago for a scheduled control after her hip replacement surgery.  Dina even walks now without her characteristic limp!

Julián continues to be in contact with the Foundation’s attorney in completing legal changes, etc.  Also, Catalina’s mother’s condition remains stable as she awaits the surgery to remove a tumor from her pituitary gland, scheduled for June 3^rd.  Thank you again for your prayers!

IN THE STATES

Janine is planning toward a return trip to Chile in August, to accompany a young friend who is planning a short-term internship with us.

In the meantime, Jack has been in a month-long battle with a deep-seated sinus infection, but the good news is that he is slowly making progress and is on the mend.

Praising, praying, fasting through our MORE than Capable, Over ALL GOD, 

Jack & Janine