“New Every Morning”
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are NEW EVERY MORNING; GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.” –Lamentations 3: 22-24
There are many references in the Bible to both how God/Jesus makes all things new and also how our own decision to die to our old person (through baptism) through Jesus’ crucifixion and raise up our new person as he was raised from the dead makes us a “NEW CREATION” with a new purpose in life. Both are equally important as we all enter 2025!
The prophet Jeremiah (also referred to as the “Weeping Prophet”) was charged by God to bring warnings to the kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. In fulfilling that charge he experienced countless hardships, including being thrown into a deep well and having a yoke put around his neck. The O.T. book of Lamentations recounts his constant laments, but even more God’s deep lament for the disobedience and fall of his Chosen People of Judah. As we read above in chapter 3, in spite of it all Jeremiah always looked to the Lord. With God the dawn always follows the dark night.
We and our Chile Mission team wish you all a “God making new every morning” 2025!! There are so many, many victories to celebrate and at the same time, God’s great love and compassion carry us all through so many challenges and hard circumstances to live through and recover from. Our mutual prayers are SO POWERFUL and IMPORTANT in all we would hope to realize in the Lord, as they draw on God’s faithfulness and limitless power. Thank you so much for your steady prayers for us and for Chile Mission in 2024, as we now enter 2025 together!!
Speaking of how dawn always follows the dark night, we have a great Chile story to share….
In May 2023 we posted a photo of Jordan & Laura holding their sick baby boy. Matías was 6 months old, but was the size of a 2-month-old baby. He was being seen in Santiago for a rare virus and then died shortly thereafter. It was a tragic loss for them to be sure. We now have received the good news that Laura recently gave birth to a healthy baby girl and we are excited for them. Here below is the original photo of them with baby Matthias and alongside is the new photo of their baby girl. Every life is valuable!
We continue to be grateful for our ministry to those staying at our Santiago mission site while they or their children are being treated for serious medical conditions. The opportunity to pray with them, make them welcome, and help them in other ways go a long way through the power and movement of the Holy Spirit.
In looking back at 2024 and those years before, we and our entire Chile Mission Team again thank you for helping take Chile Mission forward with your prayers!!
In middle Chile Abraham, Catalina, Abril, & Facundo are in the process of moving back to the camp property house, where they intend to stay instead of living in the nearest town (30 minutes away) for the winter as they did this past year. We really can’t say enough of Abraham’s capabilities in heading up the development of our large 90-acre land into a much needed Christian Camp & Retreat Center! He in turn will be CAMPO VIVO’S first director.
We so look forward to three church mission teams’ visits in January to April this new year to help with construction, but first we now have the blessing of having a yet another team of six helping through the Mennonite Mission headquartered in Columbia. WOW and TYL!!
Shown here on the left of Abraham are Josh, Chris, Leroy, Jack, Triston, & Rodney. They arrived on December 28th and plan to be with Abraham through the first week of January. Several of the team have had construction experience, so imagine the value of “18 more willing and able hands” to help get things done! J
For our part we travel to Chile on January 15th to spend three months divided between Santiago and the camp property. While we are able to stay up-to-date with our Chilean teammates through cell phone video calls, our physical time with them is so worth it in connecting to converse and pray and share in person.
We next look forward to the arrival of a team of 9 from Dover First Christian Church in Ohio. They are due to arrive in Santiago on January 22nd for 8 days and we give God another TYL!! for them. Our summer time in Chile will definitely be busy!!
Meanwhile, Abraham will be working with a small Chilean construction team these first weeks of January to put in place the footings and other technical preparations needed for the construction of our maintenance building that the Dover team will help work on.
We are praying all for all of the work teams, giving God thanks for them and praying for all preparations, travel, and time in Chile and we SO appreciate YOUR ACCOMPANYING PRAYERS as well!!
We asked last month for prayer for Raquel, diagnosed recently with liver cancer. She and her husband Pedro are good friends and neighbors of Abraham & Catalina living near our camp property. She just recently had an exploratory surgery and the surgeon decided not to take out her tumors, as they are in other parts of her body as well. Instead, she now in January starts chemotherapy treatments. That was hard news for Raquel & Pedro to end 2024 with. Please continue praying with us for a miracle through God’s touch.
God truly does make every morning new and GREAT is his faithfulness!!
Praying, fasting, and giving thanks to our “NEW EVERY MORNING” One, True God,
Chile Mission 