“OUR GO TO GOD!!”

Have you never heard?  Have you never understood?  The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.  He never grows weak or weary.  No one can measure the depths of his understanding.  He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.  They will soar high on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint.  –Isaiah 40:28-31

We have much progress to share with you this month, and its ONE AND ONLY Source is as always God!  As you will read and see in this month’s photos, God continues to bless and take CHILE MISSION forward and we thank YOU as always for your steady prayer support!!

IN SANTIAGO we have shared about Rodrigo’s throat cancer treatments and we give thanks that he now is finally scheduled for surgery this month of August to remove the new tumor on one of his kidneys.  He (and we!) are thankful as this seems to be the only place that his cancer has spread.  There is also a woman now staying at our Dulce Refugio Refuge House that is awaiting treatment for pancreatic-uterine cancer.  Thank you for continuing to pray with us for God’s healing touch for them both.

In the meantime, Cesar’s wife Shlomit continues to live with her mother in Santiago and he was able to recently return to Santiago to celebrate their little girl Liz’s first birthday.  She is one-year-old already and they look forward to the completion of the house/office space in the maintenance building so that their family can be together and live permanently on the camp property.

 

Carolina has also shared with us about the unusual heavy rains and flooding in several northern areas of the country.  Santiago has also recently had some very heavy rains that have flooded streets, and unlike in the States, Chile’s cities have no storm sewers.  Once several years ago we remember one occasion when many underpasses and even some below-ground metro stations flooded.  And that is nothing compared to the huge loss of life and buildings occurring in various parts of the world due to natural disasters.

THE CAMP PROPERTY BEING DEVELOPED IN MIDDLE CHILE is also now full of rain, but not before the construction crew of four were able to complete the maintenance building with walls and roof and cement floor!  TYL!! and TYL!! too for your prayers in all of this important progress!  Alex and his crew have now finished their part of completing the outside and inside supporting structure and we are very grateful for their skill and follow-through.  On several days they worked well into the night, as seen here in these photos:

   

We have another HUGE gratitude to share regarding the government’s recent work to improve and alleviate the flooding of the one and only access road that connects us and other neighbors to the paved highway three miles away.  They put down and graded rocks and gravel and widened the sides of the road as well, and during their days of work Abraham gave them permission to leave their heavy equipment on our property.  Out of gratitude, they recently also dumped rocks and gravel outside of our new maintenance building and then graded it smooth and level.  What a double blessing, and now Abraham & Cesar can work on the remaining worse areas of flowing water across the road with our own excavator and skid steer.  Here are a couple photos of the improvements to the areas adjacent to the maintenance building:

     

IN THE STATES Janine & I continue to contact friends, individuals, and churches on behalf of CHILE MISSION inviting small teams to come to Chile to help make progress in the development of our camp property and help work toward the ongoing construction of new structures and buildings.  This includes any number of skills and jobs.  If you happen to know how to operate an excavator or skid steer, this also means YOU!! 😊  AND if your talents are few and far between, we still have many ways that you can help us in Chile!!

The ideal time to plan a trip is the Chile summertime months of January through April.  Not only will we be there to receive you and travel with you, but trips to Chile are easy flight-wise and relatively inexpensive. There is plenty to do for all, with at a total cost of just over $1,000 for 8 to10 days, including airfare, room & board, and all bus transportation.  Call us at 949-394-8282 or email us at chilemission1@gmail.com

Secondly, we seek one-time larger donations to help in our ongoing construction costs.  Our maintenance building in progress, for example, is costing roughly $60,000.  We now will work to finish its interior, including the office/living space for Cesar & Shlomit.  We will be in “construction mode” at the camp for these next several years to come.

Thirdly, we are very much on the lookout for industrial kitchen components to send to the camp in another shipping container.  The Decatur IL mission that donated 50 mattresses for the camp that were shipped in our first container this past year have 50 more to give us to complete our need for mattresses.  It would be great if the industrial kitchen appliances and equipment can be located in the Illinois/Indiana or Phoenix, Los Angeles area.

Fourthly, we still seek a website savvy person to help us improve our marble people website (marblepeople.com), our Facebook pages, and our Chile website as well.  REALLY, we are serious!! 😊

Blessings to you all with a BIG THANK YOU for your CHILE MISSION prayer partnership!!

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our One True “GO TO” GOD, 

Jack & Janine

“LIVING OUR FREEDOM GRATITUDE!!”

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  –2 Cor. 5:14-17

On July 4^th we celebrate the independence of our country from England.  SO MANY have given their lives for our freedom in the United States and it’s not to be taken for granted!  Jesus also gave HIS life for an ETERNAL freedom for all those that believe in him.  It’s a freedom that we can never repay except by giving our lives back to him in gratitude as his lights in this dark world and in this short earthly life–a spiritual calling of all those who accept it.  Yet, the world would have none of such a purpose or calling, leaving many that don’t know or follow Jesus. 

We of CHILE MISSION are so grateful for your steady prayer support, financial support, and short-term trips as we extend Jesus in Santiago and also develop a CHRISTIAN camp in the middle of a country that does not know Jesus Christ!  How cool it is to live Christ’s Calling together out of gratitude!!

WE ARE GRATEFUL for continued good progress made in the construction of our 2-story maintenance/workshop/storage building on the camp property.  We are well on our way, as these photos show:

Once complete with outer metal walls and roof, Abraham and Cesar (our new CHILE MISSION TEAMMATE working on the camp property with Abraham) will work on the inside of the building to construct the enclosed office space that will initially be used as housing for Cesar and his family.  It will consist of two bedrooms, kitchen & living space, bathroom, and laundry facilities.

Pease pray for continued safety and progress of the construction crew and for Abraham’s and Cesar’s initial coming together this month as teammates.  He will begin working with Abraham this month of July.

Speaking of Cesar, WE ARE ALSO GRATEFUL for God’s expansion of the CHILE MISSION team!  With your help we with our team in Chile have been praying for several years for more Chilean teammates.  As Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, “two are better than one” and with God in the middle, “a cord of three strands is not easily broken.”      Thank you Lord for bringing Cesar & Shlomit be part of CHILE MISSION!

IN SANTIAGO WE ARE GRATEFUL that our Dulce Refugio Refuge House can continue to extend shelter and Jesus to all who stay with us such as Rodrigo.  As mentioned in June’s letter to you he now is in further treatment for cancer in other parts of his body and he’s very grateful for the care that he continues to receive through Carolina, our CHILE MISSION team member, and for all of our combined prayers.

For our part, Janine & I ARE VERY GRATEFUL to be able to travel within the U.S. to visit many friends, individuals, and churches on behalf of CHILE MISSION.  We are specifically looking for:

• Anyone that can come to Chile in small teams or even as individuals to help make progress in the development of our camp property and in helping work toward the ongoing construction of new structures and buildings.  This includes any number of skills and jobs.  If you happen to know how to operate an excavator or skid steer, this also means YOU!! 😊 

We make the most construction-related progress between January through April (Chilean summer!) and we will be there with you.  We certainly can receive people outside of these months if that is better.  There is plenty to do for all and it’s very doable financially at just over $1,000 for 8 to10 days, including airfare, room & board, and local bus transportation.  Call us at 949-394-8282 or email us at chilemission1@gmail.com

• One-time larger donations to help in our ongoing construction costs.  Our maintenance building in progress, for example, is costing roughly $60,000.  We now will work to finish its interior, including the office/living space for Cesar & Shlomit.  We will be in “construction mode” at the camp for these next several years to come. 
• HELP!  as we also are looking for industrial kitchen components to send to the camp in another shipping container.  We are VERY grateful to the Decatur IL mission that donated 50 mattresses for the camp that were shipped in our first container this past year, and they have 50 more to give us to complete our need for mattresses.  Also, the FCC in Wilmington donated almost 100 “church” chairs for future use. We are very grateful for funds already given by many to make this first stage possible.  It would be great if the industrial kitchen appliances can be located in the Illinois/Indiana or Phoenix, Los Angeles area.
• A website savvy person to help us improve our marble people website (marblepeople.com), our Facebook pages, and our Chile website as well.

In closing this month’s prayer needs and gratitude update, here are two photos of one of Jack’s favorite coffee mugs that focuses on God’s “LIFE CALLING” of ALL of us:

Blessings to you all with a BIG THANK YOU for your CHILE MISSION prayer partnership!!

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our One True “LIBERATING, LIFE CALLING” God,

Jack & Janine

“SET APART & CALLED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SENT OFF BY JESUS’ CHURCH”

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work to which I have called them.” ³ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.  –Acts 13:1-3

It’s always good to stay connected to God’s biblical designs for everything, as in his designs we find his perfect order of things and his Holy Spirit empowerment to go with it.  The above verses speak of the Holy Spirit’s moving power, the God-centeredness of the Church, and the “availability” mindset of Paul & Barnabas.  It appears from verse one above that the two men were actively involved in the congregation.

How many, many times since the first churches has this pattern been followed– it applies not just to foreign  missions and missionaries, but to ALL of us as part of GOD’S GRAND RESCUE MISSION!  It’s just that we have different roles to play.  We remember when we came to know Jesus as Lord at Deer Creek Christian Church.  We, too, were actively involved in the church, which was also very God and Bible-centered.  Without a doubt it was the Holy Spirit who led us to look back on our two-year experience of living in and traveling in Germany several years before and then making other later trips to different countries.  The Holy Spirit also gave us the assurance that we could remove “any and all obstacles” in seeking to serve him in the ways he had been preparing us.  We only needed to be “available”.  The rest of our story continues to unfold in Chile.

Cesar & Shlomit are now in 2026 repeating God’s Holy Spirit/Church send-off.  They are actively involved in their local church, YATSAR, in Santiago.  Through a series of visits to help at our camp property and a growing personal relationship with Abraham & Catalina, they too have been called and set apart to become MISIÓN CHILE teammates specifically as part of God’s Christian Camp CAMPO VIVO.  In the same way that Jack was ordained and we were sent off as missionaries for God’s work in Chile, Cesar & Shlomit are being sent off by YATSAR for missionary service in middle Chile.  

Cesar’s last day at his present job will be June 30, freeing him up to start working with Abraham in early July.  Shlomit will continue to live at her parent’s house in Santiago through to the end of the year, with Cesar making periodic trips home to see them.  They moved out of their apartment two months ago and their church is temporarily storing their basic furniture.  Thank you for continuing to pray with us all for their new Kingdom Work call and relocation in process!  

In fact, thank you for your steady prayers for us and for the whole CHILE MISSION team!  THANK YOU!!  As we always add, we, too, are praying for you!  We give God all the thanks for the growth of the CHILE MISSION team as we pray for the provision of the increased salary cost of Cesar!  

Speaking of CAMPO VIVO, steady progress on the building of the 2-story maintenance building continues to move forward and we are all thrilled.  We are also very grateful for dry weather these past weeks, allowing the cement truck to make several trips in on the camp’s one lane road of sand and dirt.  NO MUD!!  TYL!!  Here below are some photos of progress made.  The newly poured cement base for the building will need to cure one more week and then the construction crew can bring in the supporting metal pillars that they are assembling and put them in place for the walls and roof.  As we said, we all are thrilled and grateful!

For our part IN THE STATES, we arrived at our house in Cedar Lake, IN in mid-May to visit different churches every Sunday (as is usual for us 😊) arranging to meet with the person(s) most involved in the mission outreach of each church.  We do not seek regular monthly mission support per se, but rather the desire and ability of churches to send a small team of individuals to come help us for a week or just over (or even more 😊) during U.S. winter months, January through April.  It’s ideal summer weather in Chile and being fully in “construction mode”, there is something for everyone to do!  We sincerely SEEK YOUR HELP and THANK YOU for your prayers!  Please pray for responsive churches and individuals!  The HOLY SPIRIT IS ALWAYS AT WORK!!

While in Cedar Lake, in addition to traveling to churches this fall prior to participating as always in the ICOM missions conference this year held in St. Louis in November, we will seek to sell our house on the Cedar Lake Ministries grounds.  It’s been our “furlough” house for 34 years, but since our four children and their families now live in other States, we will live in our house in CA where two of them live when we are not in Chile.  We will also continue to be in the Cedar Lake area each October-November to visit supporting churches and travel to the annual ICOM.

Our other goal while in Cedar Lake this year is to seek 50 more mattresses, along with industrial kitchen appliances, for the camp in Chile.  We are VERY grateful to the CICIM mission (Central Illinois Christians In Mission) in Decatur for their past great help and donations for the camp!  The source of such kitchen equipment will be restaurants and other institutions going out of business or upgrading appliances.  Please pray with us for God’s provision!                                                                                                                                             

IN SANTIAGO CHILE MISSION’S site, Dulce Refugio, continues to provide housing for, help, and pray with all those coming to Santiago for severe and complicated medical situations–either their own or of a family member.  Each and every person arriving has a name and God knows them and their loved one by name, and as always, Jesus is extended by word and deed

We have written about the throat cancer of Rodrigo before.  The malignant tumor was removed and he has been in treatment since, but the doctors have recently just discovered another malignant tumor growing on his hip.  Please continue to pray with us for him.  His impending hip surgery should happen in the next couple weeks, and he VERY much appreciates our and your prayers.

We again “roll out the WELCOME mat” to any of you who can come early this next year to help us continue to develop our beautiful land into the Christian Camp that God has planned. Most people in Chile do not know Jesus and the Camp’s focus and goal is to introduce MANY children and teens to him!! Our email is chilemission1@gmail.com and our phone is 949-394-8282.

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our One True “HOLY SPIRIT EMPOWERING” God,

Jack & Janine

“40 + 10 = Launch JESUS’ CHURCH”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates that the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. –Acts 1:7-9

In the 40 days following his resurrection before ascending into heaven the gospels share several accounts of Jesus’ appearances to others, and Luke tells us in verse three of Acts chapter one that after Jesus appeared to his disciples for a period of those same 40 days, giving them special instructions including to stay in Jerusalem to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit before going out into the world to be his witnesses. We know that day as PENTECOST SUNDAY (50^th day after Jesus’ resurrection).  The events of Pentecost are incredible, just as is our task as his BODY/CHURCH in the world!!!  WE’VE BEEN “LAUNCHED” EVER SINCE THE VERY FIRST PENTECOST SUNDAY with the SAME HOLY SPIRIT POWER INSIDE OF US and it’s that launching that takes us to Chile and to everywhere else and to right where we live and work.

This year, May 14^th marks Jesus’ Ascension and May 24^th marks Pentecost Sunday.  May we ALL feel renewed by HOLY SPIRIT POWER, that the whole world may know and follow Jesus Christ.  It takes a lot of prayer, to be sure, and we so give God thanks for your steady prayers for CHILE MISSION and for the whole CHILE MISSION TEAM!  THANK YOU!!  We, in turn, are praying for you!

First and very important, we give thanks for the impending new CHILE MISSION team members to work with Abraham & Catalina on the camp property.  Our CHILE MISSION board of Directors recently met (via Google Meet) and we approved Cesar’s hiring.  We included a photo last month of Cesar, Shlomit, and their little girl Liz.  Cesar and his family will be visiting Abraham & Catalina later this month.  The tentative plan is for Cesar to start working with Abraham in July, making periodic trips back to Santiago where Shlomit will postpone her and Liz’s move to the south until after the winter rains are done and the apartment space inside of the maintenance shed is complete.

Significant prayer points include:

• Understanding their move as a specific kingdom calling to be a key part in the development of this important Christian Camp in the middle of Chile.
• The ability of Abraham and Cesar to define their work and team roles in line with their individual giftings in being team together, along with the adjustment of the two families.  We pray for their team solidarity.
• Prayer coverage over all of them against Satan’s hatred of Jesus’ gospel message.  We’d LOVE to begin receiving children and/or teens this next year!
• Continued open doors at every turn in opening and maintaining good, needed merchant & personal relationships in the surrounding area.  
• Finances needed to cover the new salary of Cesar and increased salary of Abraham.  Each will be earning just over $1,000 per month as take-home pay.  We already pay Abraham, but he will receive a slight raise.  We so give God thanks for our steady prayer AND financial support, especially now in the construction phase we are now entering.

Speaking of Camp Teams, we have new photos of the maintenance building project now ready for its cement base and supporting pillars.  Thank you for praying with us for the safety and successful work of all involved in the construction, including Abraham.  

IN SANTIAGO

The CHILE MISSION Refuge House Dulce Refugio for Chileans coming to Santiago for treatment of themselves or of a family member continues to be a blessing for Chileans arriving from various parts of the country.  We recently gave God BIG THANKS for Dominíc’s celebrating his FOURTH BIRTHDAY!!  We started including him in our prayers and prayer letters just over four years ago when Dominíc was born with many of his internal organs out of place, including his heart.  His parents were told to prepare to say “goodbye” to him, as he would not live long.  Here below is the last photo of him, taken 6 months ago.  TYL!! for the life he and his family have had together, as we continue to pray that his doctors would be able to proceed with the best plan for him.

  

While still in Chile in April, we had the pleasure of helping Juli celebrate her 25^th birthday!  She was one of the nine children who lived on our Santiago mission site between 2010 and 2013, ending 13 years ago and she is one of those children who are still in contact with Janine.  What a special day for Juli!  All of the nine are now adults and need prayer, as it is so hard to break “the molds and mindsets” they’ve grown up in as young children.

While in Chile Janine also helped Carolina finish repairing and re-upholstering a couch and chairs from one of the four houses.  There’s always something to work on. 😊

Finally, in returning to the States in mid-April we not only were able to celebrate our wedding anniversary, but we also attended Joshua’s (our oldest grandchild) graduation from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ.  It was a real treat for several reasons, but one standout blessing was to be able to meet several of his friends.  They all are excellent young people!  Secondly, knowing that there are many, many good universities to choose from, Grand Canyon is the largest Christian university in the country, with close to 30,000 students on campus and close to 100,000 students counting their on-line study & degree programs.

Pictured here with his parents, our son Jonathan and wife Christina, Joshua will make a SUPER kindergarten teacher beginning this coming fall! 😊 His degree is in elementary education.

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. –1 Tim. 4:8

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our One True “FOREVER LAUNCHING” God,

Jack & Janine

“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 biblical baptisms completely changed our approach to life, and the events of this week as Jesus’ death and resurrection took on a whole deeper 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!!

• Another 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 17^th we celebrate our 55^th 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,

Jack & Janine

“EVERY SUPPORTING LIGAMENT AND EACH and EVERY PART”

Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect THE MATURE BODY OF  him who is the head, that is, CHRIST. ¹⁶ From him THE WHOLE BODY, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, AS EACH PART DOES ITS WORK.  –EPH 4:15-16

Ligaments are connective tissues that join bones to other bones, and in the same way the above verses refer to “all supporting ligaments” that join and hold together the WHOLE BODY OF CHRIST—THE CHURCH.  The above verses mention God’s Truth, growing in maturity, God’s Love, and the Body doing its Work, and there are several N.T. references to the importance of UNITY of purpose and in faith toward “Acts of Service”, as mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-13.  The first church, as described in Acts 2:42, devoted itself to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, the breaking of bread, and to prayer.   

We’ve chosen the above verses emphasizing “every supporting ligament” of Jesus’ Body in the world and each part of his Body “doing its work”, to highlight our gratitude for the visits of the Visser Family and the ten-member team from First Christian Church in King, NC during the month of February, and of course for all of your on-going prayer and financial support for us and for CHILE MISSON.  Your steady prayers continue to result in God’s blessings of headway made in Santiago and in developing the camp property in middle, rural Chile.  We give God thanks for the place and importance of prayer in the first Church and in the world’s Christian Churches to this day and beyond!

There are several photos included in this month’s prayer & praise update to give you all a better understanding of what God is accomplishing. 😊 

In Santiago Rodrigo (being treated for larynx cancer) was given the green light to go home for two months, with his next check-up scheduled for April.  What great news for him, after spending the last eight months at our CHILE MISSION site Dulce Refugio in Santiago while in and out of the hospital for surgery and chemo treatments.  God loves to respond to the combined prayers of his children and those others who earnestly seek him, so thank you for continuing to pray for him.

Here he is with his niece Valentina ready to be picked up to go to the airport.  She and another niece alternated here to help prepare special foods for him to eat during his time of treatment.  She and Rodrigo are both more than ready to go home and very happy and grateful for the Lord’s healing touch.

Another mother has been staying on our Santiago site while her 23-year-old daughter is hospitalized being treated for burns over a quarter of her body due to another person throwing boiling water on her.  How sad!  Thank you for your prayers for all those we come into contact with through Dulce Refugio.

We also have MUCH to report IN MIDDLE CHILE at our Campo Vivo property in formation:

Firstly, the visit of the Visser family went very well in helping us think through several details related to the on-going development of the camp property.  We were able to walk through much of the land together.  Their boys aged 8 and 5 were constantly running and playing with Abril (6) and having a ball with Sunny the dog as well. 😊

Secondly, earlier in February Abaraham was dropping us off at a bus stop on the expressway to return to Santiago, when a man stopped a short distance from us when his pickup truck broke down.  He then approached us and Abraham asked him where he needed to go and volunteered to take him there as soon as our bus arrived.

As it turned out, Sergio (his name) lives on a large plot of ground of several hectares roughly 20 minutes away, where he grows many types of vegetables, along with avocado trees and grapes and a variety of other fruits.  We visited him with Abraham and the Vissers, and he wants to come out to our camp property to help look at the type and placement of what crops will grow in our soil and help round out our camp program with children.  What a blessing was this divine encounter with Sergio!  Please give thanks and pray with us as to how crops might come into play at some future date.   

Our third great news is that we how have the contractor, a young man named Alex, set to begin building our maintenance/workshop/storage metal building before the end of March!!  We met him when we and the Vissers were riding home with Abraham and Abraham noticed him working on a very large metal structure similar to the one we need to build.  As it turned out, Alex had built his structure by himself and he is a Christian with many of the same friends as Abraham & Catalina.

He recently visited our camp property and will be set to begin construction toward the end of this new month.  We would call this God’s plan through pre-arranging our “divine encounter” with Alex.  We’ve been praying for over two years for the building of our maintenance building and we have had prior agreements with contractors over that time that have fallen through, so we again thank you for praying with us toward this development!  The building will measure almost 10 yards x 24 yards long and one huge undertaking was the leveling of ground next to Abraham’s house of an area large enough for the project.  An architect will finish the final building design during the first two weeks of March and based on his calculations we will order the materials in mid-March.  Members of the First Christian King team leveled that ground and much more, as we describe their time with us below.    

Fourthly, as if “by cue”, the ten-member King team arrived on Saturday, Feb. 21^st and the seven guys on the team wasted no time in getting to work that afternoon, after flying all night and then taking the six-hour bus ride with Jack to the camp property.  The three women went first to our Santiago site with Janine and then traveled by bus to join the others the next afternoon.  The women did undergo one big surprise on their way to meet the bus when the hood of the Uber car they were riding in suddenly flew up and hit the car’s windshield!  The driver merely pulled over and wired it shut and they made the bus without any more mishaps. It was a new experience for Janine too!! 😊

The team worked incredibly well together, just as did our other visiting teams in 2025.  With several engineers/construction guys on the team they used the excavator and skid steer to completely dig out and level the large tract of ground needed for the maintenance building, as well as dig out a portion of the future lake area and build a dam to keep water from flooding the now-raised interior road next to it.  In addition the team sided the outside of our platform room.

The following photos show their work and progress. They are in order of leveling the maintenance building ground, working on the platform room, and digging the lake area to build a type of dam, with the righthand photos showing the completed job. Toward the bottom the right photo shows them boarding the bus to the airport. What a job they did!!

We now look forward to a week-long visit from two men from Broadway Christian Church in Mattoon, IL the last week of March to also help on the camp property before we return to Santiago to spend two weeks prior to returning to the States.  If you happen to be an excavator or skid steer operator and want to join them, please get in touch with us.  Our email is chilemission1@gmail.com and while we can’t answer regular phone calls due to cost, we can communicate through WhatsApp and FaceTime without cost which we can answer on our cell phone 949-394-8282. 

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our One True Jesus—Head of his Body in the World,

Jack & Janine

“OUR JESUS NEWNESS brings BLESSINGS and GRATITUDE!!”

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100 (above) is a GREAT PSALM of God’s love and faithful blessing and our joy, worship, and gratitude in response. It’s all part of our Jesus “newness” that drives us forward in serving him with gladness.  I recently asked a special 8-year-old friend named Peter for his favorite Bible verses and Psalm 100 was his response.

Your on-going prayers for us and for CHILE MISSION also continually bring us and our Chilean teammates blessings and gratitude!  You not only continue to pray with us and for us, but you also continue to respond to our financial needs, both in terms of on-going sometimes BIG mission expenses, and to the occasional needs of our team.  The Santiago Dulce Refugio (Sweet Refuge House) provides free shelter and special care with Jesus at the center for Chilean families dealing with real, complicated medical care of a loved one and the ongoing development of our Christian Camp property Campo Vivo (The Countryside Alive) in the middle of the country is always in motion.

Both of these main ministries are so worth it in a country where Jesus is mostly not known or followed at all. 

We are in Chile until mid-April and as such have the blessing of splitting our time between Santiago and the Camp property in middle Chile.  In both locations we thus have the added advantage of praying and working together “in person” and of attending different churches together (as we do on behalf of CHILE MISSION in the States as well) to increase awareness of area churches in the work of the mission and hopefully find a way for those churches to participate in our ministry and camp development.  While here we are also able to work in team to accomplish financial record-keeping, finalize 2026 short & long-term goals, and take care of other legal steps.  A BIG goal is to open a checking account in the name of our Foundation.  Thank you for praying with us in accomplishing the above!  We might note that it is not common for Chilean churches to connect to needs outside of themselves.

IN SANTIAGO our Chilean teammate Carolina (who coordinates and carries out the work of Dulce Refugio) and husband Julián do a group meeting once per week with everyone currently staying on our mission site in order to have them better know each other and the medical challenges that each family is facing, as well as making sure that the daily workings of each house are in order.  The meeting begins with a biblical passage and short devotional, and Julián also leads the group in brief prayers for each family.  We were in Santiago this past weekend before traveling south to the Camp property and it was a true blessing to participate in the group meeting.  There are currently five families staying on the mission site, coming from various locations within the country, and one woman is even from Venezuela.  She shared about the downward economic trajectory of their country that began with President Chavez.  Here are two photos:

Thank you for continuing to pray in general terms for all those that come to Dulce Refugio for varied lengths of time (a few for several months).  We will continue to post photos of some, but ALL are blessed and grateful for our housing and for your prayers!

CAMPO VIVO IN MIDDLE CHILE

YES, the container is on the camp property and yes, we and Abraham & Catalina are all greatly blessed and grateful for its safe recent arrival from the port!  We recently took this short video of Abraham & Jack thanking certain major contributors of items sent to Chile, but in reality their and our thanks is to ALL of you who support CHILE MISSION with prayers and finances!  We hope that the following Word Press link works in viewing the video.😊

https://chilemission.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/whatsapp-video-2026-01-30-at-10.48.00.mp4

During this past time on the Camp property we and Abraham were able to finalize the size (40’ x 60’) and location of the two-story maintenance bldg. to be constructed. Abraham continues to search for an experienced constructor of metal buildings, as the situations of those he had already spoken with have changed. Earlier this week we and Abraham did meet with another constructor, but will continue searching. We also discussed the possibility of Abraham himself coordinating the construction. The idea is to construct the metal outer housing of the maintenance building and then complete the inner office, restroom, and storage areas that will fill it.

In February and March we have the SUPER BLESSING to look forward to of the arrival of one family, two churches, and possibly some individuals these first months of 2026 (Chilean Summer) to come and help work.  The Visser Family from Tennessee arrives in early February, followed by Frist Christian Church in King, NC (their third trip to Chile throughout the years), and then in March a group from Broadway Christian Church in Mattoon, IL.  Each of these three groups/families bring certain skills and “servanthood” ready to connect, and in line with this letter’s theme, we and they are all blessed and grateful!!

Having said that, for anyone or any group wanting to come as well before mid-April, it’s not too late to contact us and come be a part!  Our email is chilemission1@gmail.com and while we can’t answer regular phone calls due to cost, we can communicate through WhatsApp and FaceTime without cost which we can answer on our cell phone 949-394-8282.

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our “JESUS SOURCE OF BLESSINGS & GRATITUDE” One True God,

Jack & Janine

“JESUS—OUR SOURCE OF NEWNESS!!”

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.  And God has given US this task of reconciling people to him.  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them.  And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.  So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.  We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” –2 Cor. 5:17-19

In the middle of New Year’s Resolutions made by many, there can be no commitment or goal greater than our re-connection to our ongoing growth as NEW PERSONS IN CHRIST and in our roles as his “Whole-World Ambassadors”.  It’s a newness without equal, no matter our location, language, age, or situation.  As we enter 2026 may we all be able to look back to see all three persons of God continually at work in our lives, and his eternal love for us knows no equal.

Thank you so much for your on-going prayers for us and for CHILE MISSION as we in turn pray for and give thanks for each of you.  Together may we ALL connect with and spread God’s love and newness in us to others, that they might experience them, too.  They are eternal!  A SUPER BLESSED NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!

We have much to celebrate, give thanks for, and pray for as we enter 2026:

Firstly, we celebrate our container’s release from the port in Chile and we even have a photo of its leaving!  Thank you for your ongoing prayers through the whole process of buying & filling the container beginning in July for two months and shipping it to Chile and now in having it finally released to us after its arrival in Chile on November 3^rd–7 full weeks of completing different requirements set by three separate Chilean authorities.

The total costs paid to each of those authorities:

• The final fees to be charged us to cover the unloading of the container from the ship, general port fees, and the total number of days that the container sat in port came to roughly $12,500. The port, however, reduced the amount (much to do with how long it took for SAG, Chile’s agricultural authority, to finish with fumigation and burning of the wood we sent inside the container) to a total of $1,100 for general port fees and $750 for daily storage, which we paid.  TYL!!
• We paid $1,100 to SAG for their inspection, fumigation, and burning of wood that they would not allow to enter the country. They found one stink bug and decided the whole container needed to be fumigated.
• The truck transport from the port to our property, including a separate truck with a crane, comes to $1,250.
• Another praise is that we received word that we were approved as a not-for-profit Foundation in Chile receiving a 100% donation from another not-for-profit entity from outside of Chile (our Chile Mission corporation in the U.S.). We thus are officially exempt from paying the 19% value tax normally charged to incoming shipments—a savings of approximately $5,000.  Another TYL!!

Abraham returns this first weekend of January to the camp property from Santiago where they spent Christmas and New Years with their families, and the truck is due to deliver the container the first full week of January.  It was kept at the trucking company’s compound at no additional cost in the meantime.  We are very grateful and the container’s skid steer, log splitter, and other tools are well-needed and appreciated!

Secondly, we are giving God great thanks for the generosity of several in response to our special recent request to help our Santiago CHILE MISSION teammates, Julián & Carolina, pay a large medical bill.  Carolina coordinates and manages CHILE MISSION’s Refuge House “Dulce Refugio” carried out on our Santiago Mission site.  Julián works full-time for a window fabricating business and brings home a monthly take-home pay of roughly $700 to $800.  It’s important to note that Chile’s large middle class earns considerably less than the U.S. typical middle class, and his pay is typical.  As such, they pay into the country’s basic national health insurance coverage, which enables them to receive free medical care at any public hospital.

Their 17-year-old son, Esteban, earlier this year went to the public hospital nearest their house with severe abdominal pain.  They simply gave him some medication and sent him home, but the pain persisted and they had no choice but to take him to a private hospital, where he spent a week in treatment.  It was good they went, as Esteban’s kidneys were in danger of totally shutting down, but amidst the prayers of many and good medical attention he fully recovered in the ensuing weeks.  The total bill came to roughly $5,000, which during the last months of this past year Julián & Carolina have been trying without success to get reduced due to the misdiagnosis they received from the public hospital.  The bill is now due, payable in full.

Both we personally and CHILE MISSION are helping with the bill and we in addition sent out a request to many of you to help, if so led to do so.  The huge good news is that the bill is now almost fully covered and we will be able to convey that news to their family when we return to Chile on January 12^th!  What a big blessing and they have no idea that this God-sent help will arrive with us.  Again, we thank you for your help and for both your prayer and financial partnership!

Thirdly, we give you special thanks for praying for those staying at our Santiago Refuge House.  We continue to include their photos from time to time, but all are in need of prayer.  We were sad to learn this past month of the passing of Edison, who came to Santiago with cancer in July to receive a bone marrow transplant.  He was sent home in August with no hope of recovery.  The GOOD NEWS is that he attended church services with Julián & Catalina during his stay at our site and was prayed with and for by several.  Thank you again for your prayers for this important ministry!

Fourthly, we likewise are giving thanks for a very good year on CHILE MISSION’s camp property in middle, urban Chile six hours south of Santiago!

• Two separate churches sent teams to help in the continuing development of the land and camp, along with three separate Mennonite small teams and two other individuals coming on their own.
• The large platform structure behind Abraham’s & Catalina’s house was fully finished, complete with a 10’ x 20’ enclosed room to house 4 bunkbeds.
• Abraham installed additional security cameras and other measures to better enclose and protect the camp property.
• Headway was made in the design of the first building to now be built in early 2026, along with progress in the clearing of land for tent camping. This coming first part of 2026 does look to be a time of significant progress in the construction and interior finishing & equipping of our 2-story maintenance/workshop/storage building, along with the final clearing of the property’s tent camping area, complete with back-to-back bathrooms.
• Leonel, a close neighbor, began helping Abraham by working 2 days a week. A very capable and hard worker very familiar with the type of work needed, we hope to now have his help more days a week or even full-time going forward.

OTHER MAIN 2026 GOALS

We return to Chile on January 12th through to April 17th to help accomplish 2026 goals, in addition to receiving two small groups from our supporting churches already to set arrive and help on the camp property.  Thank you for your prayers for safe travel and for Chile Team accomplished headway regarding the following:

1. Complete the 2025 financial summary needed to be able to open a CHILE MISSION checking account. It needs to include all money received and spent by both the Santiago and Camp Property ministries.  Also needed will be a complete inventory for both Santiago and the Camp Property.  While we already have the above information, both need to follow a certain format.
2. Establish five main 2026 short and longer-term priorities of both ministries.
3. Identify personal expenses and mission expenses for the purpose of establishing a format for the salaries of all CHILE MISSION paid staff.
4. God’s provision of a second family to live on the camp property to be teammates with Abraham Catalina. This need continues to be a prayer focus and ideally this couple or family would come from urban Chile to better be able to adapt and become part of God’s plans for the camp.  Abraham is always looking for potential teammates.
5. As written above, two supporting churches are scheduled to come help on the camp property in these first months of 2026.  TYL!!  More visits of small groups and individuals from the States are needed, so PLEASE consider and commit to making a short trip to Chile during these first four months of 2026 to come and add your giftings to the work! One week or more is ideal and you might decide to include time for a side trip—the country is beautiful!!  Our cell # is 949-919-2028 and our email is chilemisson1@gmail.com so please contact us to get started in planning.  Just over $1,000 should cover all your costs including airfare for 8 days.  BESIDES, IT’S SUMMER IN CHILE!! 🙂   We give God thanks for putting your special giftings to work!

And finally, it was a super blessing for our family to be together for Christmas and New Year’s, and as always we took a family photo of our group.  We all wish you a very blessed 2026!  From left to right are:

• Jonathan & Christina and children Bella & Joshua
• Julian holding Lyon, and Devyn holding baby Joah
• Janine & Jack
• Jayme and children Sofia, Matthias, & Havalah (wife Malia was not able to attend due to work)
• Jordan & Rob and children Ariana, Tiago, Eden, & Selah

Thank you again for your prayer and financial partnerships and may MORE AND MORE Chileans come to know and follow Jesus in ALL NEWNESS!!

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks in and to our “JESUS-OUR SOURCE OF NEWNESS!!” ONE, TRUE GOD,

Jack & Janine

Note:  All photos can be double-clicked to make them larger.

“JESUS IS CHRISTMAS!!”

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name JESUS (the Lord saves), because he will save his people from their sins.”  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).  –Matt 1:20-23

Leading into verse 20 of Matthew chapter 1, when Mary became pregnant Joseph was considering quietly divorcing her as the baby was not his, but the angel’s appearance changed everything.  Miraculously, Jesus WAS born and as his name in Greek implies, he DID COME TO SAVE ALL WHO BELIEVE from our sins.  That is exactly the message he gave his disciples (and all of us since to believe) to share and live.

We SO thank you for your prayers for us and for CHILE MISSION as we too follow Jesus into this world to extend him and proclaim him in Chile!  “JESUS IS CHRISTMAS!!”

To start our CHILE MISSION December off, our container remains at the port (since the 3^rd of November) while Abraham remains in daily contact with SAG, Chile’s agricultural authority, to yet determine if they will open the container and fumigate its contents.  We, meanwhile, are responsible for daily port fees of approximately $2,000 to this point, but they tell us that the final daily charge will be “significantly discounted”.  Abraham continues to do all he can to move everything forward, but it does appear that we will not be able to remove the container to our property to open it there to do the fumigation.  Please join us in continuing to pray for govt. requirements to be met in the least expensive way possible and for the container’s release.  Its contents represent a huge blessing to the ongoing development and equipping of the camp property!

Four young Mennonite men came in November to spend one week on the camp property.  While they weren’t able to help unload our container, they were able to completely side the outside

of Abraham’s & Catalina’s house. The original siding was in very poor condition.  What a blessing and Abraham & Leonel have been able to since also paint it.  Looking good! 🙂

We also thank you for continuing to pray with us for CHILE MISSION’S Dulce Refugio (Sweet Refuge) ministry in Santiago.  A local Church continues to send men and women to share and pray almost weekly with those staying at our site.  Rodrigo, seen sitting next to his niece in the far right photo, continues to recover from throat cancer surgery and will probably be with us until the end of the year while receiving treatments.  The woman in the photo with two women in it just had surgery to repair a cerebral aneurysm.  All guests benefit by meeting together weekly.  TYL!! and thank you for your prayers for those we are able to host and interact with!  Very few of those coming to our site know Jesus at all upon arrival.

       

Lastly, our trip to churches, friends, and to this year’s ICOM missions conference in Atlanta was very blessed.  As always, our Chilean handmade and hand-painted marble figures drew many at the conference to our CHILE MISSION booth, in turn giving us the opportunity to share with some about the mission’s work in Chile and the need for mission trip help from the States.  We were also VERY appreciative for the help in our booth of Esther, a close friend.  The conference itself was excellent as always.  The accompanying photo was taken at one of the main sessions.  Please join us in praying that one or more of our contacts during the conference will bear fruit.

   

(Double click any of the above images to increase their size)

Our 3 ½ week trip started with our first stop in Kokomo, IN, took us through two Ohio stops and to Virginia and then to churches in North Carolina.  From there we spent 4 days near Knoxville, came back through to our Asheville church and then on to Atlanta.

 We’ve had the opportunity to talk about the SUPER DOUBLE BLESSING of coming to Chile to help us make maximum progress in the development of the Christian Camp property!  

This coming first part of 2026 does look to be a time of significant progress in the construction and interior finishing & equipping of our 2-story maintenance/workshop/storage building, along with the final clearing of the property’s tent camping area, complete with back-to-back bathrooms.

All small groups from the States are MORE THAN WELCOME to come and help!! 🙂  We give God thanks for putting your special giftings to work!

On November 30 we visited our supporting church near Columbia, SC and started driving northward to Northwest IN—a definite shift in both temperatures and climate.  As the song says, “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow….”

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks in and to our “JESUS IS CHRISTMAS!!” One True God,

Jack & Janine

“FAITH, TRUST, & PRAYER”

In all of Hebrews 11 we find tremendous examples of TOTAL faith!

And Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” -NLT

Now add Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” -NLT

How many, many times have Faith, Trust, & Prayer in combination with each other come into play for us and for Chile Mission, just as it has for you over the years through to today, and as they will into the future!  God’s faithfulness continues to overwhelm us, and your prayer partnership continues to make a real difference!  THANK YOU!!

A huge current example has been the purchase, loading, and sending of our 40’ container from Cedar Lake, IN to Chile these several last months—all of which was made possible with MUCH generosity, MANY key people and MUCH help.  Abraham has made many contacts regarding our paperwork in order in to receive the container through Customs and not pay the typical very large taxes (about 20%) assessed on everyday purchases and on incoming shipments of goods.

Toward that end, Jack and Abraham recently met with a Customs official at the large mid-Chile port of Talcahuano (near Concepción) who in turn govern the incoming shipments to Coronel, Chile, where our container is arriving.  They took several supporting documents regarding our not-for-profit Misión Chile Foundation, the Bill of Lading, and the letter of donation from Chile Mission, Inc. in the States.

We had (with your help!) already been praying about the disposition of the Customs representatives, we prayed and gave thanks before leaving the house to meet with them, and then prayed and gave thanks as we entered the Customs office.  The official was totally disposed to helping us and looked all through our documentation, saying that he didn’t see any need for us to hire a professional shipping agent to handle the required port and Customs paperwork.  He also explained what to put in a letter requesting recognition of our Foundation and exemption from all taxes connected with our reception of the container.  Needless to say, God got a big “THANK YOU, LORD!!” from both of us. 🙂

To show how you never really know where you stand regarding final governmental decisions in Chile, when Abraham returned to the same office a couple days later with the letter of solicitude, a different person received him and left him with little hope that all would be approved.  In addition, Abraham just also received word that the Port Authorities might want to fumigate the container contents upon arrival and likewise, with the container now due to arrive on November 2^nd, it might take the Customs Authorities almost 10 days more to rule on our tax exemption.

But God is working…  We have been asking him to direct us through Abraham’s many recent contacts to provide us with a professional customs agent to deal with the port requirements and all needed documentation, and the agent who handles Samaritan’s Purse shipments to Chile is now reviewing our paperwork.  Another TYL!! to be sure and no matter what, with all of these unknowns in play, we thank you for your prayers and we give thanks to the Lord!

Now for the second “container” miracle being prayed for…  trucking the container from the Port to our camp property.  Winter water is still flowing, and some deep mud still covers some critical areas of our only normal access road to the toll road that connects us to the port.  Thus, it is looking quite improbable that the truck bringing the container to our camp property will be able to negotiate the road coming from that direction.  In another answer to prayer, we were able to talk with the Administrator of the town of Quillón, responsible for that part of our public access road.  He promised help and sent city workers out to our road two days later, but even with repairs, the standing water on the sandy road make safe passage for such a heavy truck unlikely.

Meanwhile, Abraham drove out of our property going the opposite direction to evaluate access to our property from there.  It will mean a longer trip for the truck with the container, but the government in charge of that section of road has begun repairs with leveling machines on the worse areas of their part of the public access road, and Abraham has also gone out with our excavator to fill in and level the road’s areas of deep ruts.  All of this almost sounds like the twists & turns of a modern reality show, but YES God is working and is faithful and YES we greatly appreciate your prayers!

The Mennonite mission based in Columbia is also sending four young men to Abraham the first weeks of November to help him with the unloading of the container, once we are able to receive it and transport it to our property.  What a blessing!

Speaking of receiving the help of that same Mennonite mission that continues to send us teams of both young women and men, Abraham was recently hugely blessed to receive three young men who helped him in several significant ways for roughly two weeks.  They finished the inside of the new 10 x 20 foot room built on the platform behind Abraham’s & Catalina’s house, they made and installed new cabinetry in the house kitchen, they poured a large cement pad outside of the house’s front door, and they cleared land and helped install a new needed barbed wire border complete with fence posts along the road.  Here are some photos of some of their work in process:

     

Lastly, a nearby neighbor, Leonel, now works for Abraham two to three days a week, helping clear land and chainsaw trees.  He is a steady worker, well-acquainted with manual labor working the land, and even lives less than a mile away.  Abraham & Catalina have been close friends of Leonel and his family these recent several years.  Another big blessing!

With all of the above blessings in motion, as we have been asking in our recent Prayer & Praise monthly updates, we sincerely ask all of you supporting individuals and churches to talk to us and plan a trip to help develop our camp property.  More small groups will continue to be needed for these immediate years to come in developing the land into a functioning, God-centered camp for children, youth, and adults well into the future.  Please pray about making another (or first!! 🙂 ) trip to physically continually being a part, and then let us help you put a team in place according to your timing needs.  Thank you!!

SWITCHING GEARS TO SANTIAGO,

Our Santiago Chile Mission “Sweet Refuge” site continues to be a blessing to Chileans arriving in Santiago for complicated medical treatments either for themselves or for their children.  It was special for us to meet several guests during our recent time in Chile, some of whom have stayed in the site previously.  Carolina not only coordinates all visits, but personally interacts with each person and prays with them as well, and she & husband Julián meet and pray with all residents weekly as a group.

She recently received word from the mother of Dominíc, now just over 3½ years old, that he continues to do well.  As we have shared in these past years, he was born in April 2022 with his internal organs out-of-place and his parents were told by doctors to plan on him dying because he wouldn’t live long.  We all have been praying for him and for his parents ever since, and here is the recent photo of Dominíc sent to Carolina by his mother.  He does need surgery to correct a hernia and will need heart surgery in the future, but God’s touch has definitely been on and continues to be on his very precious life!

SWITCHING AGAIN TO THE STATES,

We now head out on our way to this year’s ICOM missions conference in Atlanta, visiting special people and supporting churches beforehand and after.  We appreciate your prayers for safe travel and for any and all “divine people encounters” during the trip.  It would be great to see any of you at our Chile booth at the conference.  As we have mentioned, the dates of this year’s Conference are November 20^th through the 22^nd.

Finally, we can’t resist showing you the beautiful flowers and sky outside of the fron door to Abraham’s & Catalina’s house.  As with all other photos, you can double-click it to enlarge the picture.

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks in and to our “Faith, Trust, & Prayer” One, True God,

Jack & Janine