“BAPTIZED INTO DEATH AND LIFE”
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. –Romans 6:1-4
How significant are the events of this week culminating with Easter Sunday!! The beauty of the first 14 verses of Romans 6 is found in how our own baptisms connect us directly to Christ’s death and resurrection:
(Baptizo (βαπτίζω): This verb literally means to immerse, dip, or submerge. In secular Greek, it could describe immersing a garment in dye or a vessel in water. In the New Testament, it is used specifically for the ceremonial act of baptism, symbolizing cleansing, purification, or initiation into the Christian faith.)
Once we (Jack & Janine) understood God’s design for baptism found in the Bible, our own baptisms completely changed our approach to life, and the events of this week as Jesus’ death and resurrection took on a whole new meaning. Regardless of your denominational background we pray the same for your own JESUS relationship! We also give you MANY THANKS for your continuing prayers for us and for CHILE MISSION!
We enter the month of April with praise and gratitude for God’s steps of progress both in Santiago and on the Camp property in middle Chile. Our past two months have been more than busy, and here we thought we were half retired-haha! This Chilean summer (Jan – March) laid the foundation for April.
- We sent photos this past month of the work accomplished to be ready to begin constructing our maintenance/workshop/storage building. All preparations have fallen into place regarding the completed structural engineering plans, the ordered materials, and our constructor Alex ready with his crew to begin construction the second week of April. TYL!! Alex estimates that he and his crew will be able to complete the entire metal structure with roof within two months, right on top of Chile’s winter rainy season. Thanks for your prayers to help us get to this point and please pray with us for his successful work to completion! The estimated cost will be just under $60,000 and we are VERY grateful to have the funds ready! Its dimensions are 9 X 24 meters (30’ X 79’). Seen in the two photos, several metal parts were delivered on March 31 to Alex’s large work structure to be assembled there ahead of time. Alex is standing directly behind Abraham in the right-hand photo.
- We also have been able to recently purchase another older 4×4 pickup truck. It is a 1990 Toyota double cab with larger tires and older drive train design more adaptable to the very muddy winter conditions by the camp. The plan is to now correct the electrical problems in our newer truck. The replacement truck even came with an electrical winch on the front (another useful benefit), and as seen in the photo, Abril wasted no time in inspecting the “new arrival”.
- Another HUGE step forward in motion is the hopeful joining of Cesar & Shlomit and 7-month-old daughter Liz to be teammates of Abraham & Catalina. The plan to incorporate them is moving forward well but there are more issues to meet with them about, including the underlying concept of becoming a part of God’s KINGDOM PLAN AND GOOD PURPOSE for the camp Campo Vivo (the countryside “Alive”). It will be a true “Missionary” change for their family and not just a change of jobs and location so to speak, and as you can see from their photo, little Liz is ready to go! 😊 Again, thanks for your prayers! We will include more about them in the coming months.
The tentative plan is for Cesar to leave his current job and begin working with Abraham in September. Shlomit will remain in Santiago until the end of the year when summer begins and schools let out. She is a teacher. Meanwhile, Cesar will make periodic trips home. The maintenance building will have in it a small apartment complete with living, dining, and kitchen areas and with 2 bedrooms, bathroom, and a laundry area. In the future this will be our office with break area and staff bathrooms. They will live there as a family and ASAP we plan to construct them a house on the property.
- Lastly, we greatly appreciated and benefitted from the week-long visit of Dave and Tyler from Broadway Christian Church in Mattoon, IL. They worked hard for three full days on the camp property and then helped with needed garden work on our mission site in Santiago. They are looking forward to returning next year with others and Tyler is even considering coming back for a longer period of time later this year. We are praying for both of these intended plans! They dug holes with an auger and inserted over 100 fence posts now ready for barbed wire to mark the line between our property and that of our neighbor. The photos show the beginning stage of their work and the end with all accomplished. Thanks again, guys!!
- The other photo was taken at the end of their time in Chile during a meal we had together in Santiago.
Seated next to Jack is Juan, now 21 years old. What a pleasure to have him with us for the day, as he was turning 7 years old when he came to live on our mission sitio in Santiago as part of the nine children who were “children of the state” arriving to live in two of our houses. Juan was 9 when our children’s residence was closed. Janine keeps in touch with the kids who now almost 13 years later are all adults, and she and Fabiola (our hired psychologist to work with the children throughout those years) continue to look for opportunities to encourage and counsel them. Juan is an excellent young man that appreciates good advice and his relationship with us. Unfortunately, like most of the kids, he has no relationship with his own family. This is where we can fit in to work with them and counsel them.
Next to Juan at the table is Tyler and across from him is Dave. Carolina and sons Abdías & Esteban are also at the table and her husband Julián took the photo.
These first 2026 three months for us in Chile now come to an end in mid-April, as we head to California to attend our oldest grandson’s graduation from Grand Canyon U. in Phoenix, AZ. Grand Canyon is the largest Christian university in the U.S., with almost 100,000 students on and off campus and undergrad through doctoral studies. We’re proud of Joshua, who already has been hired to be a kindergarten teacher in the fall.
In addition to all the points covered above we have one more GREAT reason to celebrate and thank God for this new month of April, when on the 17th we celebrate our 55th wedding anniversary! We’d be right to say that God both carried and protected us for years and now continues to guide and uphold us through every single step of the way!! We love each other and together celebrate and serve God, family, and his work through us. We continue to be so blessed!
Here are two photos: the first on our wedding day and the second in the spring of 1992, getting ready to leave the U.S. that August for one year of language school in Costa Rica and then on to Chile. It wasn’t until one year after our baptisms on March 2, 1986 that we opened ourselves up to God’s future beautiful plan for us with our family. Jack was almost 39 and Janine almost 36. We continue to follow God’s plan, learning from Jesus and his Word as our center posts.
We’d like to end our Easter April with a tribute on how to “follow Jesus”, found in Philippians 2:1-4….
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
The passage goes on through verse 11 describing Jesus’ humility and mission. Thanks again for your prayers!!
Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our “One True “Death & Life FOR ALL” JESUS,
Chile Mission 