“God, the Eternal Filler & Sender of People AND Shipping Containers!”

 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. ²³ And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.  –Eph. 1:22-23  NLT

The Old and New Testaments are both full of references as to how God filled those he was sending with the Holy Spirit, as are we too (Romans chapter 8).  We couldn’t help but think of how God is also blessing his FILLING OF OUR SHIPPING CONTAINER with needed items to be used both in the development of the Christian Camp property in middle, rural Chile and also in its operation!

As you can see from the photo, we have begun filling it and hope to complete the process before the end of August, so please “stay tuned” to receiving next month’s Prayer & Gratitude update with a photo of its final filling, complete with the SKID STEER (Bobcat) with its several attachments purchased from and to be brought to us this month by a Christian brother in Tennessee.  God not only FILLS US with his Spirit, but also everything that comes with our calling.  We continue to have help from church groups to help us pack the container as well, and if you are able-bodied with time to help, as we said this past month, “COME ON DOWN”!!  🙂  

We’ve already received over 50 single bed mattresses through a Christian ministry in Decatur, IL and steel zip-line cable and other accessories from Little Galilee Christian Camp near Clinton, IL.  In addition, we are soon due to receive 95 chairs from our supporting church in Wilmington, IL.  Talk about God’s ability to fill and send a shipping container designated for HIS purposes and plan!!

One unfortunate rental truck side note….  On our way in the 26’ rental cube truck to Illinois State U. to pick up all the mattresses the road took us under an old “very” solid railroad bridge.  It looked “passable” and we slowed down to go under it, but while we entered okay, in exiting the road angled upward a bit and the underpass scraped off part of the top front portion of the truck’s storage space. Oops!  We were fine in the truck cab, but the truck sure wasn’t! (:   Just a little bit of extra unneeded complications to round out the day!!

We backed out of the underpass and proceeded to the university, and according to their policy the truck company towed the truck to a body shop.  We, in turn, rented a different truck and returned without incident to Cedar Lake with the mattresses.  Oh well!  It didn’t turn out to be the straightforward trip we had prayed for, but the insurance companies have taken over and we and Cedar Lake Ministries are grateful for the mattresses.   

For their part, CLM (the conference grounds where our Indiana house is located) received 41 mattresses for their camp bunkbeds fully in use every summer with campers from all over the Chicago area. WOW– God is good!  As you can see from the photo, they wasted no time in getting the mattresses ready for use.  Our Chile-bound mattresses each have a plastic cover to keep them dry and clean inside the shipping container.  Another “BLESSING”!

The container process is somewhat involved and expensive, including all the container’s transportation and shipping details, and we are extremely grateful for the assistance of a Christian shipping agent and for your continuing prayer and financial support!  As God’s Word tells us over and over, prayer really does make a real difference!  THANK YOU!!

Meanwhile, Chile Mission’s Santiago ministry site continues to receive people arriving from other parts of the country for complicated medical conditions—either theirs or of a hospitalized family member.  As most people in Chile do not know or follow Jesus Christ, we are grateful for Carolina’s attention to their needs and also for every opportunity she has to pray and interact with them.  Our ministry site is called “Dulce Refugio” (Sweet Refuge).

Amongst those recently staying on our property was Jacqueline, the mother of a 19-year-old rushed to Santiago badly burned in an explosion. He died in the hospital and we are praying for her in her loss. Also currently staying at our ministry site are Edison and Rodrigo.  Many of those recently staying at our site are in Santiago to undergo bone marrow transplants, like Edison.  Pictured below in the left-hand photo standing between Julián and Carolina, he suffers from leukemia and recently received a bone marrow transplant. Rodrigo, on the right, has throat and other cancer in his body.  Thanks for your prayers!                                                            

The VERY good news is that both men are attending Sunday church services with Julián and Carolina, who also meet once per week with all those staying on our site to give them an opportunity to know each other and to pray together.  As with most of our guests, these men have no church affiliation, but Carolina tries to find churches for all of our visitors near where they live in Chile that can follow up with them.

Finally, we give God thanks for each and every opportunity that we have while in Indiana and the States to share CHILE MISSION with churches, individuals, and campers.  The photo is of our recent presentation to day camp children participating in the Cedar Lake Ministries camp program.  Unfortunately, the camp office was unable to include photos of our fun interactions and Chilean soccer cheer with the kids.  Every single learning experience & encouragement that children have at camps is so worth it, as some of them come from non-Christian families and/or hard circumstances.

We are both doing well health-wise as we continue to work at getting our Indiana house ready for sale.  Thanks for helping us with your prayers!

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our “Eternal Filler & Sender of People AND Shipping Containers” One, True God,

Jack & Janine