“The ETERNAL DOOR-OPENER of All Time”

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” –Luke 11:9-10

The first 13 verses of Luke chapter 11 contain just one of Jesus’ several teachings about prayer.  We are firm believers in specific, consistent prayer, because it speaks not only of God’s faithfulness to his purposes and to his children, but also of OUR part in ACTIVELY serving those purposes and extending that love.  God receives glory every single time that he can answer our asking, our seeking, and our knocking, as he truly is “The ETERNAL DOOR-OPENER of All Time”!  If we don’t ask, seek, and knock, what does that say about us?

We all have seen uniformed, hotel doormen in action in movies and maybe even in person, but as young and/or handsome as they come, they can’t open the doors that have eternal spiritual consequences in this world!   As Jesus lived and taught, prayer is powerful, and speaking about that we again thank you for your prayer partnership and financial support as well!!  As we celebrate the 4^th of July this year, let’s be sure to also pray for our country and for our leaders.  We know the future of all things will always be in God’s hands.

As you may know, Chile (and all countries below the equator) officially entered its winter season on June 21^st, and in Chile with the colder weather comes rain—especially in the middle and southern regions of the country.  The third week of June, Abraham related that they experienced a very unusual torrential rain storm with high winds that blew down nearby trees and caused other damage.  While he is still repairing structures, etc., we are very grateful that their house and other buildings suffered little damage.  Especially now through August we appreciate your prayers for safety and accessibility in leaving and returning to the camp property.  This last heavy storm left the road flooded and trees weakened (from the forest fire two years ago) and blown down across it. (Yes, the Chilean government still promises to improve our road!?! 🙂 )

In the meantime, Janine is almost fully recovered from a nasty upper respiratory infection and we are grateful indeed.  All kind of ailments were ruled out and in the end a type of z-pack steroid treatment got rid of it.  Here in the States in Cedar Lake IN, we are very much in motion cleaning out what has been our “furlough” house base in the Midwest for 33 years, and doing repairs and improvements to get it ready to sell.  “What an undertaking!!” doesn’t fully describe the work ahead, yet this month’s verses from Luke 11 continue to reflect God’s faithfulness.

Two small groups—one of adults and one of teens—came to help empty a second floor bedroom and also one third of the basement and three of our four children will be able to come and give us major decision-making help the first week of July.  We’re so grateful to truly be making progress for the first time since deciding to sell the house a few years ago, as we continue praying for more help as needed in July.  Thank you for adding your prayers to ours!  In past years we never really thought about the possibility that we would be unable to traverse the stairs with heavy boxes or furniture.  Needless to say, the volunteers made short work of a huge task for us!  Also, perhaps you live in our area and can contact us to help as well?!  In the words of the former game show Price is Right, “Come on down!!”

Speaking of asking, seeking, and knocking, God has provided an older model motor home generously donated by a good friend for us to live in when we continue to return to the Midwest each fall for church visits and to participate in the ICOM missions conference each November.  God answers prayer!

Now to relate God’s answers to two more BIG ASKS, SEEKS, & KNOCKS:

1. We are buying a 40’ hi-cube shipping container in these first days of July, to be delivered to Cedar Lake in the next couple weeks. We will be filling it with items, equipment, and furniture for Chile and then sending it through different agencies to the Long Beach CA port for shipping to Chile.  We give God tremendous thanks for fellow Christians and others who are assisting us in our buying, transporting, and shipping such a container, as God connects many dots!

In addition to items we can send from our house in Cedar Lake, we have already received news in response to our prayers for other furniture and items that we will be needing at the camp.  One great supporting church in our area is giving us roughly 100 chairs in good condition.  Also, our call to a Christian Camp in middle Illinois was answered with their willingness to give Chile Mission 200 feet of steel cable to be used in the construction of a zip line or other recreational structure, along with more chairs and other available camp items.  TYL!!

They in turn referred us to a company that receives mattresses and furniture from hotels and universities, and they have 40 good mattresses for us, along with other needed furniture.  God is faithful to his purposes, especially when we pray and pay attention to the promptings of his Holy Spirit!

2. Another very useful piece of equipment that we seek to purchase and send in the container is an older model skid steer/Bobcat, invaluable in the clearing of land, etc. In looking for one, we have gotten VERY good advice from two of the men who regularly work with skid steers and similar equipment who were part of the mission trip to Chile from a church in Dover, OH, earlier this year and they know our camp’s terrain and plans.

Two other men who were part of a team of four who recently came to help us carry boxes and furniture, have retired from companies that sell skid steers and other equipment and they and those companies are now on the lookout for the type of skid steer that we seek.  Perhaps one of you might know of such a machine for sale:

WE ARE SEEKING TO PURCHASE AN OLDER MODEL SKID STEER, with a budget of $15,000 to $20,000/ Bobcat, Caterpillar, John Deere, or Case in order of preference.

Open cab, relatively low hours of operation, rubber wheels but in addition a metal overlaid track if possible, bucket with teeth if possible, without modern expensive “bells & whistles” and extra safety shut-offs.  We will look to purchase a bush hog frontal accessory as well.

**PLEASE NOTIFY US AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IF YOU KNOW OF SUCH A SKID STEER FOR SALE IN JULY!!  This represents just one more example of ASKING, SEEKING, & KNOCKING to God’s Kingdom Glory!

Our cell # is 949-919-2028 and our email is chilemission1@gmail.com.  Here are example photos of the shipping container we are arranging for and the type of skid steer we seek to purchase.  God at work!

We SO APPRECIATE your continuing prayers (with thanksgiving) toward ALL of the above-mentioned needs and once again, THANK YOU FOR YOUR STEADY PRAYER AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT!!

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our “ETERNAL DOOR-OPENING” One, True God,

Jack & Janine

“But By MY SPIRIT, says the Lord Almighty”

 “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” –Zech. 4:6

“Who dares despise the day of small things.” –Zech. 4:10

The Biblical account of the exiled Jews’ return to Jerusalem from Babylonia under the rule of Cyrus king of Persia is pretty incredible, including their task of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem.  There was much to do and so many obstacles in their way during those several years, and the most impacting lesson we can draw from the entire account is found in the above verses.  Zechariah wrote them to Zerubbabel, hand-picked by God to lead the Jews in the rebuilding of the temple.  What we need to realize is that these verses apply to us today every bit as much as they did to Zerubbabel!   

None of us are engaged “by accident” in God’s calling of us, whether it be in Chile or exactly where we live, and although we are called to be accountable and committed to completing our calls, GOD’S SPIRIT WILL ALWAYS BE OUR ENABLER AND IN CHARGE OF ALL TIMING, not us.  Also, every work of the Lord has its beginning, even starting with nothing.  It’s his specialty so to speak!  Pictured is a small section at the front of Jack’s daily Prayer Journal.

Another eternal specialty of the Holy Spirit is PRAYER, which ties us to God and to each other.  As we mention in every one of our monthly prayer updates, we and CHILE MISSION so appreciate your prayers and your sending us off to complete God’s work marked out by His Holy Spirit!  THANK YOU once again!! 

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”  –2 Chronicles 16:9

The final design and bid process for the construction of our two-story, metal maintenance/workshop/storage building to be constructed on the camp property have taken MANY months.  What would have been a fairly straightforward process in the US, we hope, will be totally completed very soon and ready to begin building after the finish of Chilean winter rains ending in early September.  We know, though, that God’s timing is connected and we give him all thanks.  We thank you for your accompanying prayers during this process!             

In the meantime, the covered parking platform with its balcony and room with space for extra beds is now totally under roof right before our rainy season sets in, and we again thank you churches and individuals that came to Chile this year to help build it from scratch!!  Abraham finished the roof in May and then left on a VERY well-deserved vacation with his family.  They are due back these first days of June.  Very well built and utilitarian in design, it should hopefully serve the camp for many years to come.

IN SANTIAGO, Carolina continues to receive and serve those coming to stay at CHILE MISSION’s Casa de Acogida for varied lengths of time.  As an update, we are pleased and grateful to relate that their 16 year old son Esteban did mostly recover from his hospitalized urinary tract/kidney-related infection, however he continues under doctor care toward his full recuperation.  Please continue to join us in praying for him and his complete healing.

Also, both Abraham’s and Julián’s families have visited several new churches in order to build up church connections in both locations, and although church visits are important toward the future of CHILE MISSION’s work, our main encouragement to both families is to follow up on those visits.  Our weakness is that usually a visit to our work is agreed upon, but with no exact date set.  Almost always, that date “falls between the cracks” so to speak.  Please pray with us for improvement in this area, as we see the involvement of local churches to be vitally important in spreading our vision there.

IN THE STATES, we hope to spend all U.S. summer in Cedar Lake, IN with a two-fold purpose:

• Prepare and sell our house on the Cedar Lake Bible Conference grounds. It’s been our blessed “home away from Chile” for these 33 years, since August, 1992.  We will miss it, but as we continue to spend time in the Midwest every fall to visit churches and friends and drive to the annual ICOM missions conference every November, we will not need to own a home.  Our children live pretty far away, with two of them with their families living in Los Angeles, prompting us to purchase a home in the Palm Springs area.

You are ALL invited to visit, whether we are there or not! 🙂

• As with wherever we find ourselves Stateside, we continue to visit both monthly-supporting churches, along with other churches and individuals seeking small work teams that can visit Chile to help on the camp property. There are a variety of tasks to connect to, including construction, clearing land, pruning fruit trees and planting.  We were SO blessed this year by those visiting who could operate our excavator!  Yes, Abraham continues to seek the help of Chileans, but the importance of mission visits from churches and from individuals cannot be over-stated.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

We also continue to ask God to lead us to those individuals who are able to make larger one-time donations toward the development of the Campo Vivo Camp.  We are so grateful to already have funds (roughly $200,000 in total) to construct our first two-story metal building and also the back-to-back bathrooms with showers in the tent camping area, and we know that the Holy Spirit will lead forward from there.  If you are such a person and are open to receive more information, please contact us.  We also would love to meet with you.  Our Email address is chilemission1@gmail.com and our main cell phone number is 949-394-8282. With the finishing of the tent-camping area, we can begin to receive groups, and from there we will be looking at constructing the multi-purpose two-story dining hall in 2027.

We SO APPRECIATE your continuing prayers toward these above Stateside issues and once again, THANK YOU FOR YOUR STEADY PRAYER AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT!!

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our “Holy Spirit-Powered” One, True God,

Jack & Janine

“Going, Sending, & Open Doors—the ANTIOCH Example”

² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul 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 13:2-3

²⁶ From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. ²⁷ On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how HE had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.  –Acts 14:26-28

Paul’s first missionary journey with Barnabas was incredible and we invite you to read in Acts 13 & 14 about all that God brought them through and did through them, including the toughest circumstances and the biggest triumphs.  As the above verses show, isn’t it amazing what God accomplishes through his Churches in the world that pray, fast, send, and go?!  Nothing beats an entire Church involved from beginning to end, with GOD in the middle!

We and CHILE MISSION so appreciate your prayers and your sending us off to complete God’s work marked out by His Holy Spirit.  We also very much appreciate your coming to Chile to help!  A team of eleven from First Christian Church of Wilmington, IL, were with us in April, and then two good friends, Donn & Rick (from our home Church when our family left for language school in Aug. 1992), came to install electric service to the platform structure that is being finished being built.  Donn is also our CHILE MISSION teammate in the U.S.  Nine volunteers from Dover First Christian Church in Ohio got us off to a great start when they came in January.

These photos help tell the story….  The first one shows the Wilmington Church team at the small “one-room school” not far from our camp property.  It has one main professor and 10 students, first through sixth grade.  We and Wilmington visited them on their English-teaching day of the week.  We introduced ourselves, taught them games, shared, and even made S’mores over a fire—all in English. 🙂  What fun we had–with an open door to visit again in the future!  We also planted a seed toward their helping look for another couple/individual to live on the camp property and help in its development, which would be a real answer to prayer. They finished laying the floor for the outside deck, in addition to many other chores, including delicious food from the garden and pumpkin pie from scratch!!

For their part, Donn & Rick were able to run pvc electrical tubes and connect all wires to have electric lights and sockets where needed on the platform, now taking final shape—all in just three days!  Their parting photo with Abraham & family at the bus terminal is fantastic!  Abraham is now finishing the roof, just in time before the winter season rains begin in the area.  Regarding the construction of the two-story metal maintenance/storage/workshop building, Luís (with whom Abraham & Jack talked with in March) would like to visit our property to see the projected building’s exact location and soil composition, etc.  before completing his design and bid.

Raquel, Abraham’s and Catalina’s special nearby friend, did pass away from cancer in April, and we attended her wake in their home and service at the cemetery.  She and Pedro have many relatives, including other Chileans living in the area that have known them for years, and the number of neighbors and friends attending the ceremonies was well above 100 people.  The best part, though, was that Raquel was a Christian and some local church choirs and the message delivered by her pastor were listened to by all!  Chileans living in rural areas of the country do not show outward emotion, but God’s Spirit was clearly moving and working.  We pray for Pedro, Raquel’s husband, as he embarks on his life without her help and presence.

Meanwhile, as we were preparing to travel back to the States after Donn’s & Rick’s departure, Esteban, youngest son of Julián & Carolina in Santiago, suddenly become sick with a very painful urinary tract infection and was hospitalized for over a week.  His infection has been treated and his kidneys appear to be functioning without damage, and we are all thankful for God’s healing touch.  The prognosis is for complete healing as we and others continue to pray for him and give God thanks.  Julián took several days off of work and the private clinic was very expensive for them.  He was obligated to sign papers promising to pay the daily hospital room bill in excess of $500—on top of the charges for doctors, medical tests, and medicine.  Considering his low salary, they are waiting to see what payment arrangements can be made.

Our time in the States is off to an amazing start.  So far in Florida we’ve been able to visit and stay with several special long-time friends and we also attended a new church, which we pray will lead to their sending a short-term mission team to Chile next year.  Our contact with them, along with our visit to the “one room school” near the camp property in Chile are both examples of how GOD HIMSELF has always has been and always will be THE DOOR OPENER, just as He was with Paul & Barnabas!

Janine, in the meantime, finally was seen for her fractured fifth metatarsal bone in her left foot—it happened 10 weeks ago.  She has not been in pain, but the foot has been swollen.  She now sports a supportive sandal, along with a beautiful right foot counterpart. 🙂  We’re glad that’s she’s now “on the mend”!

We now just arrived in Houston, TX at the house of Julian & Devyn to meet our newest grandchild, Joah, born on March 22^nd.  What a super blessing, and Lyon is already showing to be a good big brother.

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our “Holy Spirit-Powered, Door-Opening” One, True God,

Jack & Janine

“JOY WITH PURPOSE: Reconciled & Renewed Life”

Either way, Christ’s love controls us.  Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.  He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves.  Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.  –2 Cor. 5:14-15 NLT    In verses 16 through 21 Paul goes on to identify us all as “new creations and as Christ’s ambassadors.

The above verses taken from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is a perfect way to enter April and commemorate and give REAL thanks for Jesus’ once-for-all time sacrifice of himself for all who believe in him to restore our relationship with God!  He then conquered eternal death for us all with his resurrection back to life three days later.  What an incredible achievement on both counts, and also what an incredible reason to give our lives back to him that he would reach and change others through us.  Paul’s words thus resonate with our chief calling and purpose in this world.

In our case, God was already preparing us to be missionaries before we knew Jesus as Lord through a variety of experiences, people, and friendships and, thus, we give him thanks for these past 31 years of extending Jesus in Chile together with our Misión Chile Team.  All of you who support Chile Mission in the States with your prayers and contributions and mission trips are Chile Teammates as well, and we are SUPER GRATEFUL!!  Sharing our relationship with Jesus in the best way possible will always be the bottom-line calling of Misión Chile!!

—Speaking of mission trips, the 11-member team of First Christian Church of Wilmington have arrived!  They’ll be here eight days, dividing their time between Santiago and the camp property in middle Chile.  Their team t-shirts really “hit the nail on the head” for ALL CHURCHES, don’t you think?!  On Sunday, their first full day here when they sang “Lord we lift your name on High” in the Chilean church we attended.  They also didn’t waste any time helping on the camp property when we arrived.  Thank you for praying for them and their trip!!

—Thank you for praying with us for some time for the best type of additional help to get projected buildings constructed on the camp property.  We and Abraham are convinced that we will need outside competent help to be contracted to build our first building, a 2-story metal maintenance/storage/workshop structure with an apartment on the second floor.  Unfortunately, none of us have any experience in building metal buildings.  SOOOO–Abraham has been making contacts these past several months to find such a company without result.  In Chile it is not nearly as possible as in the United States to find reasonably-priced, proven and competent construction companies.  Two weeks ago Abraham contacted an acquaintance working in the electric company who, in turn, gave him a good reference on a construction company that had built several metal buildings for them.

Abraham and Jack met with that construction company owner two weeks ago at one of the structures that his company had built and he now has the plans for our planned 2-story metal building and will be getting back to us with a projected total cost in these next couple weeks after his engineer/architect looks at them.  His company’s specialty is the construction of metal buildings and structures.  Please join us in praying for this significant step forward!!   And at a price we can afford!!

—Abraham’s neighbor Raquel is back in the hospital in her battle against liver cancer, and it appears that she is not eating and declining quickly.  We continue to pray for both her and her family in this tough time and we are grateful that they are a close family.  Abraham and Catalina are also close to the family and have shared Jesus and have prayed with them several times.  The whole family has recently been regularly attending the church that Abraham and Catalina attend.

In Santiago

—Teresa, the wife of Carlos, one of our long-time maintenance workers at our Santiago site, has recovered from her surgery to remove her gall bladder.  TYL!! and thank you for praying for her!  She does continue to have doctor appointments for certain heart irregularities.

—Our Santiago site is currently hosting Marta and her daughter for a couple weeks.  She came to Santiago for surgery to remove a tumor from her pituitary gland (Cushing’s syndrome) and is now staying at our ministry site with her daughter waiting to be released to return home.  Her situation is very similar to that of Catalina’s mother Julia, who also had successful surgery several months ago.  Both women were diagnosed with Cushing’s Syndrome.  Julia has almost fully recovered from the effects of the syndrome.  Like with Julia, we appreciate your prayers for Marta.

–Last month we were able to send you a photo of Nallely and her brother Jorshua, taken when Jorshua came with her to visit Janine here at our Santiago site.  Please reread our March letter to reconnect with their visit.

One week ago, Juan, another of our past children came to visit.  We called him Juanito, because he had just turned 7years old when Janine and Fabiola (a psychologist we hired to work full time with the children who came to live here) went to find Juan—the half-brother of Alberto, who already was living in our children’s residence.  How cool that the brothers could live together!  We are planning on having a get-together with several of the children this month.

Juan is now 20-years-old, is stable as a young person and has a good job working for an office supply company.  When he saves enough money he would like to pursue studies in a university, and he’s even a ping pong champion. J  Unfortunately, as with many of the other children, he has no good adult counsel.  His mother has mental problems and his dad is an alcoholic.  Our hearts break for all of the children with no good guidance for helping them with their futures.  In addition, Juan’s and Alberto’s extended family is not healthy for them.  We plan on helping him further in different ways and Fabiola wants to work with him “virtually” using the internet.  During his visit Janine was able to fill in a lot of his background and time with us in answering many questions he had.  As you can see from the photo, he’s as cute as a button, and we, along with Fabiola, hope to again be a good influence in his life.  Thank you for joining us in praying for him!

We wish you an extra-special JESUS Easter!!   Hard to believe we are already in April!!

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our “Reconciled, Renewed Life” One, True God,

Jack & Janine

“Partnerships made in heaven”

I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

That’s a super beginning in chapter 1:3-6 of Paul’s letter to the Philippians!  Several other letters of Paul to churches and to Philemon begin with thanksgiving, which well describes our own thankfulness for each of you in our partnership in Chile.  We, too, are right to feel this way as we share needs for prayer, receive financial support, and also receive encouragement and work teams to help with the development of CAMPO VIVO, a much-needed CHRISTIAN camp and retreat center in the middle of the country to extend the love and message of Jesus Christ!  WOW are we (like Paul 🙂 ) blessed!!

Of course, God’s good saving work in us goes forward in each of us until our last breath, which is even more reason to rejoice.  We also thank him for his steady blessing over the on-going development of the ministries of Chile Mission that he has entrusted us with, along with your own ministries he has placed in each of you.  Again, Thank You partners and Thank You Lord!

Here below are Chile Mission answers to prayer and continuing needs for prayer….

One big thank you is for the recent formerly unplanned 10-day visit of another Ultra young women’s group from the Mennonite mission based in Bogota, Colombia. They removed tools and storage units from our two storerooms so that a concrete base could be poured.  They also tackled our personal kitchen which had been used for kitchen storage upon our move to the ministry site about seven years ago and then never organized.  They cleaned the shelves and put back dishes, pans, and utensils of different kinds so that the room can be used as a kitchen.  Finally, they cleaned the kitchen in the office building and also did gardening.

Their time in Santiago was additionally blessed in getting to know several young people their age from the Christian Church in Ciudad Satélite, a church we’ve had a strong relationship with for many years.  They are led by Lucas, the oldest son of Pastor Patricio Curinao, who we brought to the States with us one year to attend the ICOM missions conference with us.  We are hopeful that several of them will serve in our summer camps as counselors.

After all of that, the girls spent two & one half days on the camp property helping Abraham & Catalina in a variety of ways, pruning trees, clearing the tent-camping area, and painting metal posts to be used in rebuilding the platform/structure behind Abraham’s house.  TYL!!

More news on Abraham’s neighbor Raquel, who as we have reported these last months, has liver cancer.  She is now hospitalized with liver problems and we were sad to learn that her cancer continues to spread in her body.  Thank you for praying for her and giving thanks with us, knowing that our All-Powerful God without limits can be trusted in ALL situations.  No matter the outcome, he loves us all so very much and he is there with her.  The six Ultra team members even had the opportunity to pray with and sing for her.

Abraham has been able to keep working on the new platform structure taking shape behind their house, following up on the metal support poles put in place by the mission team from Dover First Christian Church team that was here in late January.  As seen in this photo, the metal supporting rods for flooring for the upper area of the structure are mostly soldered in place and the next step will be to add the wooden flooring.  TYL!!

The mission team of eleven from First Christian Church in Wilmington, IL is set to arrive in Chile on March 29 and we will have plenty for them to help with as well.  Thank you for helping us pray forward their preparations and safe arrival!  As we and Abraham continue to pray for and look for more Chilean partners to help with construction, we keep our eyes on the Creator Enabling God of it all.

In Santiago

We had the blessing in February of being able to pray for and serve several sets of persons staying on our mission site with serious medical situations:

• The parents of 14-year-old Elias with brain cancer receiving two additional surgeries to remove malignant tumors from his brain.
• Hugo, an adult coming to Santiago to undergo a bone marrow transplant using his own cells instead of receiving them from a donor. His transplant surgery was carried out on February 19^th and he is scheduled to remain hospitalized in isolation for roughly three months.
• Bruno and his sister Norma were back with us for a couple days in February for him to have another two-month checkup, after receiving a bone marrow transplant from her at the end of 2023 to combat bone cancer. The tests came back fine and they returned to southern Chile for another two months.

We are grateful to have the opportunity to come alongside of such families and couples and very much appreciate your accompanying prayers for them.

Teresa, the wife of Carlos, one of our long-time maintenance workers at our Santiago site, recently had surgery to remove her gall bladder.  She also suffers from certain heart conditions.  The surgery went well and we ask for prayers for them and their family.  Carlos has worked with us for many years and while he believes in God, he says that “he likes to keep an open mind” about such things.  We continually look for opportunities to specifically share Jesus with him.

We have one more photo to share and give thanks for.  It’s of Janine with Nallely and her brother Jorshua.  They were two of the nine children that lived in two of our ministry site houses with Chilean Christian parents for just over two years ending in October 2013.  Nallely, now 23, came back to visit us last year to say thanks for Janine’s influence in her life.  This past month of February she called again and came with her brother Jorshua, who in 2012 and 2013 was a teenage con artist in manipulating anything and almost anyone to get what he wanted.  He, now 24 years old, became a Christian this past year and God is transforming him from the inside out.  He also has a good job.  TYL!!  It was good to see him again and we ask you to pray with us for him and his steady Christian growth.  God has truly begun “a good work” in Jorshua!

Jack continues to this day to pray for all nine of these “now adult” children.  WOW what good news!

Our first Foundation Board of Directors meeting in February went well and our next meeting is scheduled for mid-March.  Still not completed are the opening of a checking account in the name of the Foundation and the re-design of Chile Mission’s trifold publicity pamphlets.  Please pray for the completion of the many details that accompany our work with the mission.  Part of that is working with the team to move forward, taking more and more responsibility from us.

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our “Partnership-Making” One, True God,

Jack & Janine

“Rejoicing, praying, & giving thanks”

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  –1 Thess 5:16-18

We’ve used the above real encouragement in the past, but each time we see it, it speaks volumes of the importance of well-balanced prayer in the life of every believer and missionary as well.  As you know from our monthly prayer needs and gratitudes letters, we are constantly praying for groups from churches and from other missions (both from the U.S. and from Chile & other countries) to come for short periods of time to help in the development of our large tract of land in rural Chile into a Christian camp and retreat center.  Jesus deeply desires for Chilean children, teens, youth, & adults to know and follow him!

As a result of our and your prayers set in the middle of God’s eternal purposes in Chile, Dover First Christian Church did respond and their 9-member team did deliver BIG TIME in terms of precisely the types of work that was before us at the time of their 8-day visit ending on January 30.  Almost all of what they did involved their use of our excavator and the laser transit that they brought with them to leave with Abraham for use in perfectly leveling ground.  Sixteen 20’ long 4” x 4” steel posts were erected in the rebuilding of the parking, storage, platform behind Abraham’s & Catalina’s house, and this time it will be constructed to include a bedroom with bunkbeds for housing of workers.  Some of their team even repaired a few items in the house and others organized Abraham’s work bench area.  Janine did most of the cooking (with help for the chopping tasks).  Her arm is better but lacks strength.  She now has a few Chilean recipes in her repertoire. 🙂

The second from the right bottom photo is of all of us on their last day and the bottom right photo shows them praying and giving thanks–the same way they started day 1.  You can left-click on any photo and it will enlarge in size and then simply hit the left arrow on the top left of your screen to return to our post.

Also accomplished was the finishing of the retaining wall of the septic field, the pruning of many fruit trees, clearing in the proposed camping area with two chain saws, and the leveling of ground on the site for construction of the metal 2-story maintenance building.  The group would have liked to have begun construction of that building, but due to their attentiveness in looking over the plans for the structure, it is being redesigned in a much better way.  BUT as we’ve written above, there were many other important tasks to do anyway.  Thanks, Dover!!  Abraham still hopes to hire a Chilean construction team in February to put up the building and we, too, will go back to the property to help think it through.  God is always in charge of timing and we ARE rejoicing in the Lord and giving him thanks.

Prayers are POWERFUL and IMPORTANT in all we would hope to realize in the Lord, as they draw on God’s faithfulness and limitless power.  He loves to receive our rejoicing, prayers, and thanksgiving and we give you many thanks for your partnership with Chile Mission!

We are praying all for all future work teams, giving God thanks for them and praying for all preparations, travel, and time in Chile and we SO appreciate your accompanying prayers for them!!  First Christian Church in Wilmington, IL is set to arrive the last week of March.  We’re VERY grateful as we pray forward their arrival.

Please continue praying for our three months in Chile.  On the docket are:

• Two or more meetings of the Foundation’s Board of Directors
• Signing one or more documents for the Foundation’s attorney
• Opening a checking account in the name of the Foundation
• Re-designing and printing trifold publicity for the Foundation’s ministries
• Spending more time with Abraham on the camp property
• Purchasing more tools and supplies that he will need.

We have asked for prayer for Raquel, diagnosed a month ago with liver cancer.  She and her husband Pedro are good friends and neighbors of Abraham & Catalina living near our camp property.  She is now waiting for the beginning of chemo treatments, set to start in the coming weeks.  Please continue praying with us for a miracle through God’s touch. 

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks to our “ALL DESERVING” One, True God,

Jack & Janine

“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 28^th 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 15^th 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 22^nd 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,

Jack & Janine

“JOY TO THE WORLD”

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.   For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

For Christians, John 3:16-17 will always be the “Bottom-line, Un-worldly” reason to celebrate Christmas!  Jesus IS God’s Ultimate Gift of Love that purchased our true freedom and renewed relationship with God by sacrificing his own Heavenly position and life for every single person that believes in and follows him.  An encouragement to us all: Love is not love until it is given away to others!

Merry Christmas to One and All!!

Thank you so much for your prayer and financial support for CHILE MISSION as we pray for you as well, that we all might be worthy of God’s calling of us as we together extend God’s love through Jesus to all people.  Thank you!!

We have much to give God thanks for this month—all of it with Jesus in the middle….

2024 ICOM

This year’s ICOM missions conference was excellent as always, as its purpose is focused on extending Jesus in a full way to the whole world.  In addition to exhibitors and speakers, roughly 7,200 attended the 2 ½ day conference and our main blessing for participating with our Chile Mission booth came in the form of interactions with many special people we either saw at our booth or had meetings with.  Our Chile-made marble products also sold well, which provides profits to use for Chile Mission’s ministries and camp property development project.  As you can see, Janine’s broken arm/shoulder replacement didn’t dampen her participation and enthusiasm at all. 🙂

JANINE’S ARM & SHOULDER

Thank you for praying for Janine’s broken upper right arm.  She had surgery on November 4^th, and because she shattered the ball of her right humerus bone where it connected to her shoulder socket, the surgery turned out to be a “total reverse shoulder replacement”.  All went well and she exercises her arm/shoulder area daily.  Her recovery should take several months, but she can see slow but steady progress every day.

THANKSGIVING IN FAMILY

We had a very special family Thanksgiving week with all of our immediate family together, along with Janine’s brother and sister-in-law at their house in Flagstaff, AZ.  We only get to be together once per year, so it’s quite a special gathering.  In Chile, relationships and family gatherings are extremely important, especially during certain holidays such as Christmas.  Families usually gather on Christmas Eve with a late evening dinner and the opening of gifts, etc. into the very early morning.  Christmas morning is used for sleep and rest.  Christians, making up a minority of Chilean families, have services on Christmas Eve and then gather in family like other Chileans.  May God bless your family relationships as well.

OUR CHILEAN TEAMMATES

Abraham, Catalina, Abril, & Facundo….

Abraham & Catalina will be using December to prepare for moving back permanently to the camp property from Cabrero (30 minutes away). Their plan is to home school their children.  In the meantime, we are grateful for Abraham’s ability to do more and more required maintenance on the excavator, as well as for his knowledge in redoing the reinforcement of the sides of the septic system for the house on the property.  Your prayers are greatly appreciated for his preparations for the pouring of the cement footings for the construction of the maintenance/workshop/storage building to be built beginning in January.  These preparations mostly include the placement of water, sewage, and electric lines for the building, and for capable persons to help him.

We’re very grateful for the three short-term teams formed from different U.S. churches due to come to Chile between January and March to help with construction and we ask for your prayers for God’s blessing and protection over each person planning on being a part.  There presently are other churches seriously considering short trips as well, and we pray for God’s blessing on turning their intentions into reality.

We have an urgent prayer request for Pedro & Raquel, neighbors that live near to our camp property.  They are great neighbors and friends of Abraham & Catalina.  Raquel was just recently diagnosed with liver cancer and is currently hospitalized awaiting the results from one more test result and possible surgery.

Julián, Carolina, Abdías, & Esteban in Santiago….

We are grateful for Julián’s ongoing coordination of legal steps and filings in opening up new opportunities for our Chile Mission Foundation as it operates in Chile.  We are also grateful for medical test results for Julián, who has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, treatable with diet changes and medication.  He was losing weight with no idea as to why, so these results are much better than being diagnosed with a more serious disease or condition.

In addition, we continue to be grateful for Carolina’s dedication in coordinating our Casa de Acogida (Rest House) for those needing housing in Santiago while in town for needed, complicated medical conditions.  There is always more that can be done to widen our circle of hospital social worker contacts, but Carolina handles each visitor with personal care and interest.  Most of those who come to our property don’t know Jesus, so this is our opportunity to share Christ’s love with them.

Jesus Christ will ALWAYS be the Reason for the Season!!

Praying, fasting, and giving thanks to our “JOY TO THE WORLD” One, True God,

Jack & Janine

“TRIPLE-Directional Prayer”

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;  praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned. –Col. 4:2-3  -NASB1995

We SO appreciate and need your prayers!  There’s no substitute for TRIPLE-directional prayer:

• We pray in all things to God, our total enabler/provider, with thanksgiving
• We pray for ourselves in all things
• We pray for each other to be able to best extend and proclaim Jesus in all things

Thank you so much for your prayer and financial support for CHILE MISSION as we pray for you as well, that we all might be worthy of God’s calling of us as we together extend God’s love through Jesus to all people.  Thank you!!

PRAYERS & PRAISES MIXED TOGETHER

CAMPO VIVO: 

• Abraham & his family have been living in the nearest town to our camp property (30 minutes away) during the rainy Chilean winter months (U.S. summer months) to avoid being closed in by the impassable public access road due to flooding. Chile is now in spring (YAY! 🙂 ) and they will be moving back to the property in early January, as he continues to seek another helper to join them on the property to help with the work. 
• Here below is a photo description of the maintenance/workshop/storage bldg. to be built on our camp property in early 2025. We don’t expect to be able to finish all of its interior before June, but if it is at least erected, we can work on the interior during the rainy season. We love and are grateful for progress!
• The second development/construction goal for the first part of 2025 is the final clearing of trees and brush in the tent camping area of the property, along with the construction of two back-to-back bathrooms and showers, with sinks. It will be tremendous if both of the above two projects can be accomplished before the start of the June winter rains.

U.S. WORK TEAMS:

We are very excited to report that there are three U.S. mission work teams set to help on the camp property in early 2025, along with more teams in development for future visits to Chile.  The need is real and so many have both the experience and skill to make a tremendous impact!  As always, you can write us at chilemission1@gmail.com

SANTIAGO:

• Julián, the husband of Carolina, is going through tests to see why his weight continues to drop lately. It could be something serious and they appreciate your prayers.
• We also seem to be making better progress with the Foundation’s attorney regarding the finalization of needed revision of our statutes.

STATESIDE IN THE USA:

We’ve had an unexpected medical challenge as of late to deal with, as on Wednesday, Oct. 23^rd Janine tripped on a cord she didn’t see and broke the upper part of her right arm’s humerus bone where it enters her shoulder socket. (:  

As the bone shattered, she will be having a “reverse total shoulder” surgery on Monday, November 4^th.  It’s scheduled as an outpatient surgery and then, barring complications, will begin with rehab therapy on that Wednesday, the 6^th.  It’s been an unwelcome painful ordeal for her, but she’s now doing better and in much less pain.  On the plus side, we have been greatly blessed with some super neighbors and close by friends who have helped tremendously to supply all of her needs.

Given their help, Jack left on Wednesday October 30th for churches starting in Ohio on his way to the ICOM missions conference in Lexington, KY, but due to Janine’s surgeon’s concern (and the concern of others who have gone through shoulder surgery) over the constant care she will need both before and after her surgery, he returned home to be with her.  Our hope is that Janine will be able to travel with him to Lexington and ICOM on November 13^th.  Thanks for your prayers!

Our U.S. teammate Donn Urban and Jack loaded the mission van for ICOM with Janine supervising. 🙂 

We have highlighted the ICOM these past two months in our letter to you and we really do highly encourage anyone and everyone to attend.  It will be held in the Rupp Arena convention center in Lexington November 14^th thru Saturday the 16^th.  It’s the one, annual conference hosted by the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ in the U.S. focused entirely on the church’s Great Commission in the world.

A STATESIDE EXTRA PRAYER NEED:

One of our supporting churches, Blue Ridge Christian Church, is located just outside of Asheville, NC and they are very involved in the huge recovery operation going on in that area after the devastating destruction of the recent hurricane.  IDES is another ministry organization involved. 

In addition to praying, should anyone wish to send funds in their on-going effort, Blue Ridge’s contact information is as follows:

147 Oren Dr, Mills River, NC 28759, USA

brian@blueridgechristian.church

(828) 687-7826

Thanks and blessings again to you all!  Triple-directional prayer really does make a huge difference!!

Praying, fasting, and giving thanks to our “ALL-directional” One, True God,

Jack & Janine

“Jesus’ Mission = Our Commission”

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  –John 3:16-18

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

Until we are able to put these two short passages together, we will never be able to fully live our Christian identity, no matter where we live.  In everyday language God himself willingly suffered and died for every one of us in order to bring us back to himself forever, if only we will believe in and follow his son.  Sadly, those that choose to not accept this free gift of pardon will be lost into eternity.  That makes Jesus’ commissioning of Christians to bring others to himself is so important, as God does not want to lose even one person to eternal darkness and punishment.

It’s no wonder then why we are transforming land into a Christian Camp for children, youth, and adults in middle Chile and are receiving parents and other adults in our Santiago mission site.  Thank you so much for your prayer and financial support for CHILE MISSION as we pray for you as well, that we all might be worthy of God’s calling of us as we together extend God’s love to all people.  Thank you!!

SPECIFIC OCTOBER GRATITUDE

CAMPO VIVO: 

• The construction engineer has finished the drawings for our first camp building—the two story workshop/storage/maintenance building. That means that we can start digging holes to pour concrete foundations, etc. for the beginning of its construction.  This important step has been a while in the making and we are very excited and grateful.  TYL!!  The building will be roughly 10 x 18 meters in size.  For those of you that don’t know metric measurements, check it out!
• There are now two separate church groups set to come to help in the work on the camp property early this next year, with various other groups in formation process for a future trip. WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL and Praise the Lord for his moving and enabling!  This in addition to at least one Chilean church group committed to coming and helping in early 2025.  We in the U.S. have so many giftings and skills to offer God’s wider Kingdom. Why not join us and plan a short-term trip to Chile??!!

SANTIAGO:

• The Foundation’s attorney has now submitted our signed (with our electronic signatures no less! 🙂 ) papers to recognize our five current board members and our board positions. This is a praise, due to the seemingly extra-long time it takes for legal steps to take place.  The board consists of Jack & Janine, our long-time worker Juan, Abraham, and Julián the husband of Carolina.
• Joherlit is well under way toward the formation of our Chilean Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Thank you for praying and giving thanks for these areas of progress!!  We remain dedicated and committed to the on-going development and moving forward of all parts and directions of CHILE MISSION, knowing that it is GOD who REALLY enables and moves everything forward!

SPECIFIC OCTOBER PRAYER NEEDS

CAMPO VIVO:

• We continue to pray for more groups—both from the U.S. and from within Chile to come and help with the wide variety of work on the camp property. All contacts and opportunities are appreciated!  Our contact information remains chilemission1@gmail.com and cellphone 949-394-8282.  We have both WhatsApp and Facebook and you can message our cellphone and leave a voicemail message if we’re not able to answer.  We are happy to travel your direction to help with planning.  THANKS!!
• As we shared last month, Eduardo will not be able to continue working with Abraham at the Camp property due to his family situation in Santiago. The cycle of spending two weeks on the property (roughly six hours south of Santiago) and one week at home has been tough on them.  We’re grateful for the time he has spent with Abraham and wish them the best.  In the meantime, Abraham continues to search for someone from the surrounding area to help and live on the property.
• We still need to finish the clearing of trees and brush from the area designated for tent camping and finalize the specific location of the two bathrooms and washing area to be built for campers.
• We also continue to stress the importance for Abraham & Family to visit at least one new church once a month in order to broaden relationships and make known the development work on the camp property. These increased relationships will also be a blessing once we begin receiving groups of children in the not-too-distant future, and hopefully result in a source of additional needed help.

SANTIAGO:

• Please pray with us that Carolina would continue to improve in her resolve to contact and visit more hospitals & clinics in order to bring in a more steady flow of people to find needed housing on our Santiago mission site. She’s very conscientious in doing her job, but it remains difficult for her to go out to other places even though public transportation in Santiago is extensive and easy to use.  Janine has encouraged her in different ways and we’ve suggested a monthly calendar to help in planning.  She is capable and very good with people.
• As with Abraham & Family we likewise are asking Julián & Carolina to visit at least one other church once a month on behalf of the Casa de Acogida (Refuge House) to broaden their contacts and enable area churches to help in different ways in the Refuge House ministry.

STATESIDE IN THE USA:

We annually put in a plug for the ICOM annual November Conference on Missions.  Mentioned last month, we travel to and participate in it every year with our Chile booth, and this year it will be held November 14-16 (Thursday thru Saturday) at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.  It’s a conference specifically

dedicated to connecting the CHURCH to Jesus’ Great Commission.  Teens attending have their own speakers, music, and on-site mission project to be a part of.  After all, Christian Churches ARE Jesus’ body in the world to jointly extend hope and him to peoples’ real needs and salvation.

Please give real thought to making the trip to Lexington this year with a small group from your church.  Not only that, but we know of a certain CHILE MISSION booth that will love to welcome you with our extremely large display of ‘for sale’ Chilean made and hand-painted marble figures and sets. 🙂

SUMMARY

We constantly give the Lord thanks for CHILE MISSION and also for our partnership with each of you churches and special individuals in our work in Chile.  We are EXTREMELY grateful FOR YOUR PRAYERS as we go forward together!!  THANK YOU!!

It all comes back to salvation and life with Jesus.  He truly IS the Hope of the entire world and our one and only SAVIOR and LORD.  May we all connect and reconnect together to his love-based Kingdom Mission and our Kingdom Commission! 

Great are you Lord

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken
And great are You, Lord

It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise
It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only

All the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord!

Praising, praying, and fasting to Our One & Only JESUS’ MISSION = OUR COMMISSION God,   

Jack & Janine