Faithful prayers for Faithful work!!

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. ³ We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Thess. 1:2-3

It’s almost impossible to measure the importance of mutual thanks and on-going prayer for one another.  Paul opens his letter to the Thessalonian Christians with thanks and an encouraging reminder of his faithful prayer support for their ongoing work produced by faith, labor prompted by love, and endurance inspired by hope—all brought about by Jesus Christ.  It’s not a coincidence that Paul opens 10 of his 13 recorded letters to persons and churches with thanks for them with on-going prayers.  Many churches and individuals supported him financially as well, and it is clearly apparent that extending Jesus was NUMBER ONE on the docket.

We, too, give God thanks for you and for your faithful, on-going prayers and financial support as we also pray for you.  Like Paul, we too have been sent out from Jesus’ Church to extend him in Chile and we take nothing for granted.  Prayer should never be an “add-on” for any of us Christians, but rather, together with God’s Word, our source of God’s Holy Spirit Power.  It’s MUTUAL and we THANK YOU!!

SANTIAGO

—We’ve been keeping you up-to-date these last two months on the impending brain surgery of Catalina’s mother, Julia.  She did meet with the surgeon, known for his expertise doing removal of tumors on the pitutitary gland, and he has set a date of June 3^rd for her surgery.  All of her exam results are current.  We know that it is a complicated surgery.  God is in charge.  Again, thank you for praying with us for her.

—As we have reported earlier, among those that have arrived for free lodging at our Santiago ministry site are Bruno and his sister Norma from southern most Chile.  He has bone cancer and they arrived in late October of this past year when he received a bone marrow transplant from her.  Despite some setbacks he is now looking at being released to return home and we are all grateful for God’s powerful, healing touch.

In another situation, earier this year Calixto (who is in his 60s) arrived to be evaluated to receive a head implant to help with the effects of his Parkinson’s Disease.  He was sent home to northern Chile to improve his general health and now has returned to Santiago for his surgery, scheduled for any day now.  These types of implants help the person with their balance in walking.  One important note… when sent back to northern Chile Calixto became very depressed.  Listening to the radio, he decided to find a church and there he found love and encouragement and God’s teaching.  He was baptized and now walks with the Lord!  AND he and Trinidad will be married in July.  Thus, regardless of the implant blessing, he has a whole new purpose to live as he shares his Jesus testimony with others.  PTL!!

In the above cases of both men and others who have stayed in our Santiago Casa de Acogida, our prayers and gratitude have joined yours and those of others and God responds!  Our on-going interactions and support for all who arrive give God glory.

—We have joined Julián & Catalina in following up on developing a relationship with our new church contacts in Santiago through inviting others to our ministry site.  It’s been a blessing and we look forward to working with them in different ways to strengthen God’s work through us.

One such important new contact came by way of a friend who introduced us to a Chilean businessman who has a successful 3-D printing business.  As a result, he is currently re-designing and printing the colorful tri-folds that we leave with and send to hospitals & clinics and churches to describe our work with people.  He also is part of the WYAM (Youth with a Mission) support team in Chile and as such is setting up a meeting to be held in the afternoon of April 6^th with young people and couples that might go to help Abraham & Catalina develop our property in middle Chile into a Christian Camp and Retreat Center.  We have been asking for your prayers for additional teammates for Abraham & Catalina and we very much ask for your prayers for those that might respond to this impending meeting.  We know that God IS the “DOOR OPENER” in all of his purposes throughout the world!

—With regard to new teammates for Abraham & Catalina, through advertising this big need via Facebook Abraham has received responses from two couples, whom we also hope to meet with during the weekend of April 6 & 7.  Thank you for joining us in praying for this planned, upcoming encounter!

–Another main prayer request for the weekend of April 6 & 7:  Our Foundation board will again meet to look over progress made by the ministry in all areas during 2023 and also to define main goals for 2024.  We will look at both progress made and challenges and need for improvement.  There is plenty to talk over and pray about in striving to work with excellence.

In addition, Abraham & Catalina have decided to move into the town of Cabrero instead of remaining on the mission property with winter rains approaching.  You may remember that last year heavy rains left their one and only road to & from the property totally non-passable in parts and now with two small children they need to be able to get in and out to Cabrero, approximately 30 minutes away.  This May will mark four full years of their living on the property and they remain dedicated to the mission’s continuing development of our land.  Unfortunately, the government body responsible for improving the one and only public access road through our area has let Abraham know that they are committed to re-routing and improving the road, but that it may be a process over two years to get it done.  Welcome to Chile!

—Julián has again written the Foundation’s attorney to check on the approval of our legal changes and steps that we applied for and should have been completed by now.  Thanks for your prayers about this.

FINALLY, we have four special photos to share with you and they all speak to our 1 Thess. 1:2-3 passage!

ONE is a photo of Julián praying on top of the hill where we will erect CAMPO VIVO’s open air chapel.  It speaks of Faithful Prayer.

The above SECOND & THIRD PHOTOS go hand in hand!  We recently attended Ivan’s & Paola’s 25^th wedding anniversary held at the Christian live-in drug & alcohol center where Jack did devotionals for 25 years leading up to the COVID pandemic in 2020.  We remain in touch with the center and we also attended the wedding of Ivan & Paola in 1999.  Ivan came to Christ and was freed from drug and alcohol addiction in the early 1990s, before he came to help manage the center in Santiago, becoming its director in the early 2000s.  What a great testimony of God’s healing touch and good purposes!!  We thank you for helping pray for this center during these past years in Chile.  Ivan & Paola have two beautiful adult daughters also committed to following and serving Jesus.

The second photo shows us with Ivan & Paola, marking their 25 years of Blessed Marriage in Faithful service to the Lord.

The third photo shows them with us, marking our own almost 53 years of Blessed Marriage in Faithful service to the Lord.   Our anniversary is April 17th.  WOW! and TYL!!

We ALL know that NONE of this would have been made possible without our Faithful God!!

The FOURTH PHOTO was taken days ago during the annual INT’L YOUTH CONFERENCE in Córdoba, Argentina that we are participating in during Holy Week before returning to Santiago on April 3^rd.  Thousands of young people attend this conference every year and the photo speaks of the Faithful Work of the Church in calling and preparing the next generation of Jesus’ disciples to be SENT OUT by his church.  Great conference!!

As we return to the States….

We are scheduled to fly into LA, California on April 10^th.  Our plan is to remain in CA through May 30^th, when our oldest granddaughter Bella graduates from high school.  Meanwhile there will be several end-of-school year activities of grandchildren for us to attend.

The first week of June we plan on returning to the Midwest to sell our house in Cedar Lake.  There is a lot to do, but most of it relates to emptying it of furniture and items that we stored in it when we sold our Crete house to become missionaries in 1992.  WHEW, where did that time go?!

Either both of us or Janine will return to Chile in August, and in the meantime we still seek every opportunity possible to represent our work to churches and individuals. This coming U.S. fall will be an ideal time to visit supporting churches as well.

Please continue to pray with us for God-blessed contacts and visits for us during our up-coming time in the States amongst existing and new supporting churches and individuals.  We seek funds:

• To support two more couples to work alongside Abraham & Catalina, at roughly $800 per couple per month.
• For the preparation of land for and construction of additional buildings, including 4 large cabins, a dining room and kitchen, and our open-air chapel.

As mentioned last month, we are SO GRATEFUL to have funds for the construction of our two-story workshop & storage building!!

We also are very much looking for church groups and groups of individuals that would like to plan a short-term mission trip to help us in 2025!   Please contact us at our cell #949-394-8282 or at chilemission1@gmail.com to arrange for a visit from us or to talk about the possibilities.  We and Abraham would VERY MUCH APPRECIATE your help!!

Thank you SO MUCH for praying for ALL of the above Chile Mission issues and needs!!

Praising, praying, fasting through our One Christ, Calling us to be Faithful GOD, 

Jack & Janine

The HOPE, LOVE, & NEW LIFE Christ Jesus!!

If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  It is God who justifies.  Who then is the one who condemns?  No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  –Romans 8:31-39

It’s impossible to measure the love of God for mankind, and the Bible tells us that he wants NO ONE to perish in eternal punishment for having rejected the gift of eternal life available to all who believe in his Son.  Our deep gratitude for that free gift that Jesus’ death offers us is the precise driving force for the existence of Christian churches worldwide, the HOPE, LOVE, & NEW LIFE reason for being of every Christian, and the bottom-line purpose of every Christian mission and ministry, including CHILE MISSION.  It’s staggering the number of people who live without hope or love, and those who even take their own lives for the lack of either.

As we commemorate and celebrate the HOPE, LOVE, & NEW LIFE that Jesus’ self-sacrificing death and resurrection give us this month of Good Friday and Easter Sunday, please let us look to share the same with someone(s) near us!

We, too, give God thanks for you and for your faithful, on-going prayers and financial support as we pray also for you.  Like Paul, we too have been sent out from the church to extend Jesus in Chile and we take nothing for granted.  Your Prayers are our source of God’s Holy Spirit Power along with God’s Word.  THANK YOU!!

SANTIAGO

Speaking of the Power in Prayer, we mentioned last month the upcoming brain surgery of Catalina’s (Abraham’s wife) mother, suffering from Cushing’s syndrome.  She has just completed final tests before being operated on to remove a tumor from her pituitary gland, and is awaiting a date for her imminent surgery.  Thanks for keeping her in your prayers!  She’s pictured here with Abraham’s and Catalina’s  4-month-old Facundo.

Thanks for your prayers as God continues to work in several equally-important ways:

• Concerning the people/family members staying in our ministry site while receiving medical attention in Santiago, Bruno (the man who received the bone marrow transplant from his sister in October) had a setback late in January in which he slipped into a comatose state in the hospital. There was a possibility that he had rejected the bone marrow. Initially he was intubated.  With many praying for him he has rebounded and is doing much better.  The others staying on our mission site have been either discharged or transferred to hospitals near to where they live.
• We worked at our ministry site for three weeks straight supervising, receiving, directing, accompanying, etc., etc., lots of people. At one time we had twelve people staying in the two homes—it was hard to keep their names and circumstances straight! Whew! 🙂  There were parents of burned children, mothers of newborns with cardiac problems and one born with his intestines outside of the body, a 9-year-old with tumors that eat his bones, and Bruno and Norma—who have been with us since October.  Our “clients” come from the far north to the far south of Chile!  We are thankful we have a nice place for them to come back to each day for relaxing and getting ready to face the next day at the hospital.  We weekly meet with them in group for updates and to pray for each one.
• Julián & Carolina are back to resuming his job and her mission site duties after a good vacation rest.
• We have been able to renew a relationship with Nallely, who came back to see Janine one year ago, after being one of the nine children living on our ministry site ten years before. Her picture is in our March 2023 Prayer & Praise Letter.  We are very grateful for our renewed relationship with her, as she comes without hope or joy and with a lack of self-worth.  It turns out that the New Life Christian Church that we attended last month is very accessible to where she lives, so we met her there this past Sunday and the church welcomed her and made her feel like she belonged.  It looks like Nallely will continue to attend and begin to know Jesus and his hope & love for her!  HOW COOL!  She also continues to spend time with us.
• We continue to make good progress with the Foundation’s attorney and also as a Board of Directors in defining roles with Abraham and Julián, who will become its newest members.
• The development of new social media connections in Spanish for our Chilean Foundation, such as with Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram is underway. We also are ready to develop our new Spanish website, asking the Lord to put us in contact with a Spanish speaker possessing such skills!  We do have a Word Press web domain already purchased.  Perhaps this Spanish-speaking, talented person will even be reading this Prayer & Praise letter?! 🙂 🙂

AT CAMPO VIVO

• We are presently with Abraham on the future camp property, and as always, our time and conversations with him are being blessed as we plan forward and decide on priorities. The excavator is presently having over-heating problems, but Abraham’s good mechanic hopes to look at it this week.
• We also have been in contact with two construction engineers to receive their bids in the construction of the 10 x 18 meter metal two-story workshop/storage/parking building with offices. The exact location of this first building has been decided upon.  While we now have enough funds to build this first building, we continue to ask God for one-time donors to help us move forward!
• The addition of Chile Mission team members to work with Abraham & Catalina on the camp property continues to be a huge prayer petition. Thank you for praying with us!!

2024 IN GENERAL

At present Janine is planning a return trip to Chile in August.  We are excited to report that she hopes to be accompanied by one young person interested in interning with us for almost a month.  We are also looking to meet up with another Christian lady who has been to Chile twice before and is hoping to retire here.  She has done counseling of abused women in northern Chile.

Thank you SO MUCH for praying for ALL of the above Chile Mission issues and needs!!

Praising, praying, fasting through The HOPE, LOVE, & NEW LIFE Christ Jesus!!

And have a JOYOUS, SHARED EASTER!! 

Jack & Janine

ONE IN CHRIST=ONE WITH EACH OTHER=ONE IN PURPOSE!!

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  –Rom. 12:4-5

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.  –1 Cor. 12:11-14

It’s absolutely overwhelming to think of how many, many Christians and Christian churches there are in the world, let alone just in Santiago or where you live!  The above portions of Paul’s letters to the churches in Rome and Corinth also apply to Jesus’ whole body, his Church in the world.  Today comprised of many denominations and individual Christians, our base identity has its roots in only one God and only one head—Jesus himself—furthering his good purposes through us in relationship together for the good of the world.

Relationships here in Chile are the name of the game for all that follows, which is why we work so hard to keep extending them.  January has been a month of relationships, both existing and new, beginning with our teammates Julián & Carolina and family in Santiago and Abraham & Catalina and family on the camp property.

 We even got to celebrate Julián’s and Carolina’s 25th wedding anniversary with them, as well as meet Abraham’s and Catalina’s latest arrival, Facundo, now almost 4 months old.  Enjoying our time together and praying and working together has been a blessing for us all.

On another issue, Catalina’s mother in Santiago has come up with a serious pituitary gland problem in her brain, named Cushing’s Disease.  She needs immediate brain surgery and is waiting for it to be scheduled.  Please pray with us for quick scheduling and for God’s all-powerful healing touch and protection.

—In Santiago we got to know a new church together where a close friend of Julián and Abraham attends.  Now we look forward to having the pastor & family and Julián’s friend’s family over to the mission site for a light meal.  Their church has many teens and young people.  We will invite leaders of other churches over on other days as well to reinforce relationships we already have.

—Chile vacations are traditionally taken only in the summer months of January & February, so for the first three weeks of February we will be covering Carolina’s duties while they go on vacation, overseeing the arrival & departure of adults here in Santiago for their own medical treatment or that of their child.  Some are even here for periods of more than a month.  Inside of these relationships comes the possibility of talking about God/Jesus and their faith, and praying together as well.

We are all too happy to report that our Santiago ministry site at present has 12 different people/family members staying here for medical-related reasons.  They have arrived from all parts of Chile:

• Parents of 2 separate 1-year-old children, hospitalized with severe burns due to pulling down boiling water on themselves.
• A man & his sister who donated her bone marrow to him in a transplant.
• Mother & grandmother of her baby recently born with heart problems.
• Mother of newly born baby boy, born with his stomach outside of his body.
• Mother with 1-month-old baby and 9-year-old son going through cancer examinations.
• Father of small child needing a biopsy for possible cancer.

—Julián has heard back from the Foundation’s attorney that she hopes that all legal changes and steps that we’ve applied for should be completed within a matter of weeks.  Nonetheless, we are here to sign any necessary papers these next two months.

—Below is a photo of us with Juliana, one of the children who lived on our ministry site with Chilean Christian parents with other “children of the State” in the years leading up to October, 2013, when that important ministry was shut down by the government due to lies of one of the children.  You might remember that early last year one of the “now adults” children (over ten years later 🙂 came to visit Janine and then in August of last year another came. Now at the end of January Juliana came for the day.  It was excellent all the way around and we hope to have a day while we’re here to see if as many of them as possible can visit us together.  God is ALWAYS working at redeeming and furthering important relationships, starting with himself—the KEY.  Janine was able to talk with Juliana about her faith and walk.

We have also been able to spend a week with Abraham & Catalina in rural Chile

—We began by signing the surveyor’s amended design for the subdivision of the northern third of our rural property that we won’t be using for the future camp.  Because of the way that the government works, it may take a few months to be approved.

—We attended a picnic outing of Abraham’s & Catalina’s main church they’re a part of.  Above is a photo of the river next to the picnic grounds.  It was very wide but not deep and provided an ideal location for the baptism that was part of the day.  Relationships within the church were enjoyed and deepened.

—We also walked the camp property with Abraham to view the camping area and pinpoint the location of the two bathrooms he’ll need to construct, as well as re-think the location for the 2-story workshop/storage/parking building we hope to construct this year.  The camping area (we have tents, thanks to a church donation) will be ready first.

—We talked with Abraham & Catalina about the importance of Chilean church groups being involved in helping develop the property.  It’s an issue of visiting more churches and we are all agreed on that.

—We prayed and talked about the growth of the Chilean team in rural Chile.  Yes, workers can be hired, but, unlike the U.S., it’s impossible and expensive here to have confidence in unknown, outside help.  Again, we need to rely on the importance of relationships.

Our financial situation has drastically improved over the past year due to large monthly donations from a business, as well as receiving the one-time offerings last year mentioned in our January prayer letter.  This gives us the possibility of hiring another Chilean worker to help Abraham.  Or is God perhaps telling us that a person, couple, or family from the States might come to be a part?

–Summer is the ideal time for small work groups to come from Santiago to our rural land for short periods of time to help Abraham make progress.

What’s next for Jack & Janine in the States this year

—More contacts with supporting churches and individuals to seek more one-time donors and affirm all possible partnerships with the work of Chile Mission, including short-term mission trips of groups within the church.

—One “put aside” goal for 2024 is to sell our house located on the Cedar Lake, Indiana, Ministries grounds.  We will seek an alternative place to “hang our hats” in the Midwest, as our church and friend relationships in the area will always be a top priority for us!

So many ongoing prayer issues are represented in this month’s letter to you!  Needless to say, we know that God himself put us together with you first and foremost because of our shared union and relationship through Jesus.  We are so thankful, and urge God to bless you for it and also open all doors through each of us to see the camp development to fruition and long-term life!

If you as a church or group of individuals can plan a 2024 or 2025 visit to Chile please contact us at our cell #949-394-8282 or at chilemission1@gmail.com  Perhaps we can combine some of you into one visiting team.  We also commit to visiting you to help turn your intended trip into a reality.  We and Abraham would VERY MUCH APPRECIATE your help!!  It truly IS amazing how God uses short-term mission trips to motivate and energize churches and individuals alike in terms of Kingdom and God identity.

Thank you SO MUCH for praying for ALL of the above Chile Mission issues and needs!!

Praising, praying, fasting through our Unified One Christ/Each Other/Purposes GOD, 

Jack & Janine

Looking back to go FORWARD – TYL!!

THE LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  HE makes me lie down in green pastures, HE leads me beside still waters, HE restores my soul.  HE guides me in paths of righteousness for his name sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for YOU are with me; YOUR rod and YOUR staff, they comfort me.  YOU prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  YOU anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER.

What better way to start 2024 than by looking back on 2023 with gratitude.  Psalm 23 really DOES tell the story of how God takes us all forward.  Every single sentence of David’s Psalm gives him all praise and credit!  Our gratitude goes first to him and also to each of you who partner with CHILE MISSION with both your prayers and your financial support!  We can’t give him or you enough thanks for “shouldering” his gospel work in Chile!   As Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the purpose of the Lord that prevails.”

AMEN to that and let’s go!!

2023 in review

We’ve listed here several significant steps and stages that have impacted our going forward this past year:

In Santiago

• In February our Chilean not-for-profit Foundation began receiving Pro Bono (without cost) legal assistance in making needed changes to our statutes & bylaws and in turn register them with the government. Among the changes are increasing the number of board members from four to five, register the Foundation as being able receive monetary and non-monetary donations of all types and from all sources in country and out, and also transfer all properties and assets currently under our names into the Foundation itself.  Both Carolina’s husband Julian and Abraham will be added to the Board of Directors of the Foundation.  We also will be opening a bank account in the name of the Foundation.
• Throughout 2023, the mission’s Santiago site provided housing and other assistance to many adults and children from other parts of Chile coming to Santiago for complicated medical situations and treatment. The majority of these cases were related to long-term treatment of their children.  Our Chilean teammate Carolina, who lives on the property with her family and who carries out this important work, has a personal connection with all who stay on our property and has the opportunity to provide personal comfort to them should a child die.  She also stays in touch with several families.  Lastly, she is in constant touch with Chilean hospitals and clinics to initiate and/or strengthen our relationships with them, as they are the ones who refer their patient’s families to us.

On the Mission’s land in middle, rural Chile

The development of our 90-acre property into a Christian Camp & Retreat Center is NO SMALL TASK! 😊

The property was purchased in Oct. 2019 and our Chilean teammates Abraham & Catalina have now lived on the property for 3 ½ years with their family.  2023 included several significant steps and stages:

• In February we purchased an excavator, a large machine quite necessary in all the moving of earth to level ground, fill ravines, and remove trees and brush where needed. In addition, it will be used to dig a lake for the camp.  While the machine requires constant maintenance and fuel to operate, the cost of renting such a machine costs much more, justifying its $40,000 purchase price.  We will also hopefully be able to rent out the excavator with an operator to others and use that income to offset the cost of using it on our own property.  Abraham has enjoyed learning to operate the machine, but an on-going prayer has been to find an excavator operator!
• Also in February Abraham completed a second bathroom and bedroom addition to his home for groups and workers, complete with their own exterior entrance. When not in use by others, the addition is also accessible to Abraham & Catalina by way of a new hallway door.
• January and February saw the arrival of one Chilean church and three other groups of visitors to help on the property for short periods of time. A tent camping area was cleared of trees and brush, along with other areas of the property.
• Lastly, in February a devastating forest fire raged through the general area surrounding our land, with several houses and many other buildings destroyed. While our buildings were spared, the northern third of our property lost many trees.  Abraham was able to help several neighbors rebuild, including his closest neighbor and friend, Luis, who lost the storage building used for his equipment and hay for his cows.
• Throughout the year Abraham has worked on a myriad of tasks related to the continuing development and maintenance of the property and his home, including the upkeep of interior roads and the installation of needed fencing and entrances.
• In October, Catalina gave birth to their second child, Facundo, a boy. Their daughter Abril turned four.  We celebrate with them.

With Jack & Janine

We began the year by eliminating our salary to make more funds available for the work of the mission.  We were in Chile twice in 2023, once in Chilean summer (Jan.-Apr.) and again in August.  When we’re there, we are able to touch base with the work of our Chilean teammates, help and guide in the work, and enjoy community and fellowship with our teammates.  We also signed necessary legal and other papers.  While in the States our mission’s work takes on a different look, and 2023 was very busy for us.  Our work in the States now mainly consists of reporting to supporting churches and raising awareness of and funds for Chile Mission and its work.

• For seven weeks between the beginning of June through to the first week of August we were the “in-camp missionaries” at Round Lake Christian Camp in Ohio. As such we not only interacted with almost all of the church groups that came to the camp, but Chile Mission also received all of the offerings and support that those groups designated for missions.  What a blessing to be with the children and also what a huge blessing was the $20,000+ total offerings—all toward the development of our own camp property!  During that time we also were the missionaries for two separate Ohio church VBS programs and thank God for that offering as well.
• Days after returning from the camp we headed to Chile for our second visit of the year.
• We spent three weeks of October as part of a “School of Mission” doing presentations in 17 separate churches in Oklahoma, Texas, & Kansas. It was quite a grueling schedule, but also rewarding regarding the people we met, including the other five missions who also circulated between the churches.  We were very blessed to be a part and also very blessed in terms of the offerings equally divided between the six missions.  Our share for the work of Chile Mission ended up to be almost $16,000.  TYL!!
• At the end of October we had two weeks before the ICOM missions conference (also held in Oklahoma in 2023) that we annually participate in with our Chile Mission booth so we had the added blessing of being able to visit son Julian & family in Houston and son Jayme & family in Boulder.
• Our mission year ended just before Thanksgiving with our participation in the ICOM missions conference. We were able to visit a few supporting churches and individuals in 2023 as well.

2024 is here!

We are looking forward to traveling to Chile on January 9^th for three months and as with 2023, we have expectations and plans for what we look to be part of accomplishing this new year with the Lord’s blessing and your prayers, of course!  Please pray with us for all of the following:

In Santiago

• We will hopefully be signing the final legal documents to finalize the necessary steps to accomplish all of the above-described legal issues of 2023. What a blessing it will be to have both Julian and Abraham added to the Foundation’s Board of Directors!
• Janine will work with Carolina to help her be more organized and successful in her contacts with hospitals and clinics. Our goal is to have our residence at full capacity in order to extend Jesus’ care and name to as many as possible.

On the Mission’s land in middle, rural Chile

• Sign the architect’s revised plans to separate and subdivide the northern third of our mission property into separate 1 ¼ -sized lots to be sold to interested Chileans for a place they can spend vacations at.
• Follow up with Abraham to receive final commitment of the government to re-route the worse-flooding spots in the public access road that he and neighbors use. For many years winter rains have made those areas in the road totally impassable, and the government representative responsible for the road came out to see it in 2023, making the promise to re-route those sections of the road.  About time!! 😊
• Continue clearing and making ready the new tent-camping area of the camp, along with constructing two bathrooms and showers for those campers.
• Review plans for the construction of the camp’s 2-story workshop/storage/living quarters building. It represents the first new building to be constructed and will be quite a blessing for Abraham and also provide much more space for visiting work groups. The goal is to begin construction before Chilean winter rainy season beginning in June and Abraham has made contact with the construction-certified engineer who will make the necessary design & materials calculations to insure proper construction.
• We continue to pray for an additional couple/family to come and live on the property and work with Abraham & Catalina, a VERY BIG need for them in forming a camp team and in getting more work done! Even the excavator is praying! 😊

With Jack & Janine

• In addition to visiting supporting churches and individuals, our focus in the U.S. this year will be related to coming into contact with individual donors capable of making one-time large donations toward the development of the future (but getting closer and closer) Christian Camp & Retreat Center.
• We also will be in contact with churches and individuals to plan short-term mission trips to help develop the property, if not in 2024, then in 2025.

You can contact us at our cell #949-394-8282 or at chilemission1@gmail.com  Perhaps we can combine some of you into one visiting team.  We and Abraham would VERY MUCH APPRECIATE your help!!  As we mentioned in last month’s prayer letter, it truly IS amazing how God uses short-term mission trips to motivate and energize churches and individuals alike in terms of Kingdom and God identity.

Thank you SO MUCH for praying for ALL of the above Chile Mission issues and needs!!

From our family to you and yours, we wish you all a steady, blessed 2024!!

Praising, praying, fasting through our ONE & ONLY STEADY, LEADING, BLESSING GOD, 

Jack & Janine

JESUS–GOD’S PERFECT GIFT OF LOVE & HOPE

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. –Romans 8:35, 37-39

Romans 15:12 refers to Jesus as the source of hope and verse 13 praises God for it:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

How MANY, MANY people end their lives or don’t really know or trust in God, as they live without real love and hope!!  Jesus gives us both and yet we often fail to pass him on to others in their time of need.  What Christmas gift could be more important this year than the LOVE of Christ and the HOPE that he offers us?!!  Jesus truly is God’s PERFECT JOY and PEACE CHRISTMAS GIFT!!

Speaking of God’s gifts, we are filled with gratitude for your continuing prayer and financial support!  Chile Mission will soon be entering 2024 in full swing, but it wouldn’t be the same without you. THANK YOU!!

We have just come back from this year’s ICOM annual missions conference in Oklahoma City and, as always, we were blessed to participate in it with our Chile Mission booth.  We met with so many friends and sold many Chilean “marble figures” at our booth.  We always have helpers, including several children that get their pay in marble people and we also had the indispensable help of Esther Rodawold, pictured below with Janine working in our Chilean Mission booth—many thanks, Esther!!  One of the focuses of this year’s ICOM speakers was the need for today’s church pastors, leaders, and teachers to actively guide, encourage, and support their young people toward mission work.  Please mark your calendars now to come to ICOM 2024 in Lexington, KY between November 14 & 16.  With the Lord’s blessing we’ll love to see you there!

IN RURAL, MIDDLE CHILE

—In November Abraham’s family experienced Covid—right on top of the birth of Facundo—they all survived!!.  On top of this, a mission team of 5 Mennonite young people spent a week with Abraham & Catalina, and they even arrived with two drones to take aerial photos and videos of the camp property and the surrounding area.  This was an unexpected blessing and Abraham, with the help of others, is combining it all into two videos.  One of them will be used to present to the government to—hopefully!!– get them to reroute sections of our public access road (our road can have over three feet of water in winter).  In many spots the road is one lane wide and is seven feet below the dirt walls surrounding it.  It is interesting that the public road passes through all of the properties on its meandering way to a river—so all of the owners need to give their approval to the change.  The Mennonite Mission is looking to send more teams to Chile in 2024, as is the Chilean church in Santiago who have come to help us in the past.  TYL!!

—As we look at entering 2024, we again invite and appeal to any of you as individuals or in small church teams to come to Chile, especially to help with construction, land clearing and planting, and other earth-related work on our rural, future camp property.  The need is real and is logistically do-able!  Please contact us at our cell #949-394-8282 or at chilemission1@gmail.com  Perhaps we can combine some of you into one visiting team.  We and Abraham would VERY MUCH APPRECIATE your help!!  As we mentioned in last month’s prayer letter, it truly IS amazing how God uses short-term mission trips to motivate and energize churches and individuals alike in terms of Kingdom and God identity.

—We continue to pray with Abraham & Catalina for another individual or family to live and work with them on the Mission’s rural land as team members.  We have been praying for other on-site teammates for some time, knowing that God is working toward that same goal.  We also know that God’s timing is perfect.

—We’re grateful to report that both the Mission’s pick-up truck and the excavator have been repaired and serviced and are again ready for action.  We give God thanks for Abraham’s good mechanic, Diego, and we thank you for your help as well!   Abraham has been attending “Chilean Mechanic’s school” and we know that the experience will benefit the ex-city boy in the future!!

—Abraham has made contact with a Chilean architect who will help him design and estimate total material costs for the construction of our first building early this next year during Chilean summer.  The architect is qualified and his fee is quite reasonable in comparison to others that Abraham knows and has contacted.

—While in Chile this coming January to April we also look forward to signing the finished, amended papers needed to begin the subdivision of the upper thirty acres that will not be included in the camp development.  Having the plans for the subdivision completely finalized will allow us to work on preparing those thirty acres for sale in 1-1/4 acre lot sizes next year.  There are many people that live in big cities near us that are looking for their small piece of country, and we have a beautiful setting.  Some “city-dwellers” just come to camp, while others install small in-ground fiberglass pools and construct summer cabins on their property.  We pray for good neighbors!!   The remaining 60 acres is the property we will be developing for the camp.  Needless to say, this is a HUGE project for us—lots of $$ and good planning will be necessary.

Thank you SO MUCH for praying for ALL of the above issues and needs having to do with our rural land development and for Abraham, Catalina & children!!

IN SANTIAGO

—We are set to sign more legal papers in Santiago to achieve changes to our Foundation legal statutes.  Included are raising the number of directors to 5, enabling the Foundation to receive donations of all types from all Chilean and international sources, and putting all Chile properties into our Chile Foundation’s name.

—Carolina is VERY attentive to ALL of the children, parents, and adults that come to spend time at the Mission’s ministry site in Santiago, and with the full support of her family she continues in her role as coordinator and overseer of the Chile Mission Casa de Acogida Dulce Refugio—Sweet Refuge Home.  She also continues to work at enlarging her contacts with regional hospital social workers in other parts of Chile in spite of limited and non-existent phone systems in some of those hospitals. It has been difficult for her to get current phone contacts, as well as getting through to social workers in rural hospitals due to this problem.  We look forward to spending time with her and with their family during the first months of 2024 to see how we can come alongside her in making more headway with her hospital contacts and church contacts as well.  We are VERY grateful for her family.  At present two different married couples are staying at the sitio for varied lengths of time during their medical follow-ups.

As with Chile Mission’s work in establishing a much-needed Christian children & youth camp and retreat center in rural Chile, we SO thank you for your continuing prayers for all issues and points having to do with Chile Mission’s important work in Santiago!!  Many who come to us in Santiago have no relationship with Jesus.  In the end, all of God’s work through Chile Mission is about real people and the real hope that Jesus offers them!

OUR SPECIAL GRATITUDE

We are VERY GRATEFUL for our Chile Mission Team, both for Donn Urban in the States and for Abraham & Family and Carolina & Family!  As we look forward to December and to 2024 and beyond, we are also VERY GRATEFUL for each and every supporting church and individual and for each and every prayer partner.  You’ve all played an important part in every KINGDOM victory as well as praying and encouraging us through each difficult KINGDOM moment.  Both Abraham and Julián (Carolina’s husband) are ready to become members of Chile Mission’s Chile Foundation Board of Directors.  God so amazingly continues to take us and Chile Mission forward to his glory.

MERRY JESUS CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!

Praising, praying, fasting through JESUS, GOD’S TRUE GIFT & SOURCE OF LOVE & HOPE, 

Jack & Janine

“Out of Overwhelming Thanksgiving Gratitude”

Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.  –1 Thes. 5:16-18  (NLT version)

November has for several hundred years been a month of Thanksgiving in the United States, commemorating the first harvest celebrated in Plymouth between roughly 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Native Americans in the year 1621.  The many months leading up to that 3-day celebration were marked by sickness and death of many Indians and Pilgrims alike, in which roughly half of the pilgrims lost their lives, in addition to surviving a very harsh winter.  ….and yet they had cause to celebrate life and harvest together, for they knew that God would lead them on.

The Bible also is totally“Thanksgiving” –based.  The above verses in 1 Thessalonians are clear in their admonition to all Christians, and in Psalms, Ephesians, Philippians, & Colossians we are further urged to thank God for his goodness and for answers to prayers, for salvation, & for living thankful lives.  Overwhelming thankfulness is the first place to start in addressing our Overwhelmingly Giving God, because without God’s sacrifice of his own Son Jesus, we and this world would know NO real hope of any kind!!  We, CHILE MISSION, thank you too for your prayer & financial partnership with us as we work to help extend the knowledge and acceptance of Jesus in Chile, that Chileans would also know and follow him!

OCTOBER GRATITUDES

—We first have the privilege to share a photo of Abraham, Catalina, Abril & Facundo with you.  He was born on October 5^th, a healthy boy.

—We and five other missions successfully finished sharing with 17 churches in Oklahoma, Texas, & Kansas.  Some of the churches had few members, and yet they ALL warmly received us and the other missions, encouraging us and learning about Jesus’ gospel message and work being carried out in the world.  It was a blessing to be a part of it!  Here below is a photo of us all taken at the home base of Hi-Plains School of Missions before beginning our three weeks of church visits, along with a photo of one of our presentations.  Once the trip is done, we will have added about 5,000 miles on our van!!  The combined offerings from the 17 churches will be split between all six missions.  Lastly, several people signed up to be new prayer partners of Chile Mission.  TYL!!

—Abraham has received word from the Mennonite Mission based out of Columbia that they will be sending a mixed team of three young men and two young women back to Chile early this new month of November to help him in the work of developing Chile Mission’s rural property.  Earlier this year two such teams of young women and men came separately to the property to help, and we’re grateful.

—A family has made a special donation to take care of the cost of repairing the transmission of Chile Mission’s pick-up truck.  In talking with Abraham, his mechanic has set aside the first full week of November to complete the repairs.  Please pray with us that all goes well.

—The Chilean church in Santiago that has come twice this year to help develop the camp also notified Abraham that they will soon be sending another group to help for a week.  What a blessing!

—More individuals and parents have been received and attended to in Santiago at Chile Mission’s houses.

NOVEMBER PRAYER NEEDS

—Abraham let us know that the house of his good neighbor Luis was again robbed.  Thankfully Luis was not home, but increased vigilance is needed.  Please continue to pray with us for God’s protection of all persons and properties in the immediate area.

—Please also continue to pray with us that Carolina will make more headway in her contacts with and visits to hospitals and churches in the Santiago area to increase more awareness of the service the mission provides through our Casa de Acogida in sheltering and otherwise supporting parents of sick children being attended to in Santiago.  Remember that most Chileans do not know anything about Jesus Christ, so the ministry carried out on the Chile Mission site is a perfect opportunity to present Jesus to them in a very real way.

—We continue to wait to receive follow-up information from the attorney in Santiago on our Foundation’s needed legal changes set in motion earlier this year.

—We will soon be participating in this year’s annual ICOM missions conference in Oklahoma City on November 16-18.  We pray for the general blessing and impact upon individuals and churches in attendance and for all contacts and opportunities gained through our Chile Mission booth.  It’s not too late to plan on attending!

—Last, though hardly least :), we again implore and invite our supporting churches and all others to contact us about coming in 2024 to visit us in Chile to help develop the camp property!  This might take the form of a short-term mission trip and/or a special one-time donation.  It’s amazing how God uses mission trips to energize and motivate churches and individuals alike in terms of perspective and Kingdom identity!  Please call or email us at 949-394-8282, chilemission1@gmail.com

Praising, praying, fasting to our OVERWHELMINGLY GIVING Savior & Lord GOD, 

Jack & Janine

“KINGDOM JOY”

HEAVEN JOY:

 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. –Luke 15:7

CHURCH JOY:

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in theSpirit, 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.  –Phil. 2:1-2

KINGDOM JOY is the theme of what we will be sharing in 17 different Oklahoma Churches this month of October.  How cool it is how CHURCH JOY  feeds directly into HEAVEN JOY!!   Going, sending, praying, teaching, baptizing, extending, inviting, & welcoming are all hallmarks of “Like-minded Jesus Churches”! Thank you all for your prayers and financial support that take us and Chile Mission forward in reaching Chilean children, youth, & adults and families with a real Jesus Savior and Lord—in Santiago and now with so much to do in developing the Mission’s rural property into a Christian children & youth camp and retreat center.

OUR SEPTEMBER KINGDOM JOY

The last two days of September our time in California was capped off with two celebrations:

1. A combined 40^th birthday celebration for both our daughter Jordan and her husband Rob. Most of our family was there and so was Jesus, giving testimony to his role in holding our family together and relationally close.
2. On September 30^th our oldest granddaughter Bella was baptized with us all present to share in her decision. Needless to say, we and heaven rejoiced together!

We are certain that on-going prayer has played a significant role in taking our family forward to this point and regardless of the family reality of each of you reading this, on-going prayer ALWAYS makes a difference!!

3. The Chile team in Santiago was able to provide comfort and prayer in September to parents and adults in differing medical treatments and during recovery. Please pray with us for Carolina’s more organized efforts to make contact with even more area hospitals so that more families can make use of the Mission’s Casa de Acogida “Dulce Refugio”.
4. In Chile on the camp property Catalina’s pregnancy is almost over, with their son Facundo due during the first days of October. Once again, we so appreciate your accompanying prayers in bringing her pregnancy to this point. Through them, we ALL join in their impending joy at Facundo’s arrival, as we look forward to sending you a photo of their new “four person” family.

We especially ask for your prayers as we prepare to participate in this year’s HI-PLAINS SCHOOL OF MISSIONS based near the panhandle of Oklahoma.  It begins on Thursday, October 5^th and ends on Friday, October 27^th.  We will be participating with 5 other missions in circulating between 17 different churches in Oklahoma and Texas to present the work of CHILE MISSION, as well as join two different churches each Sunday for worship on Sunday mornings and sharing in the evenings.  Please pray for our “stamina” 🙂 , as each presentation is in a different town, so we’ll be traveling between them.

While we now spend more time in the States than in Chile, our time is still focused on raising the awareness and importance of Christian camps in Chile.  The work in Chile is definitely God-sized!  (This recent summer, for example, was spent at Round Lake Christian Camp in Ohio teaching about what Chile is all about.)  What a blessing to encourage and broaden the going and sending of missionaries to different cultures, such as to Chile.  This going and sending is just ONE MORE BUILDING BLOCK of “God at work” in Like-minded Jesus Churches.  ALL churches & missions MUST stay the course, and your prayers and other support make a significant difference in the results!!

Meanwhile, we and Abraham & Family are all too glad to have the winter rainy season over and being able to use the sandy roadways to reach their home at the camp—to give them regular access to going and coming on the public road without flood waters to deal with or a 1-1/2 mile walk to their vehicle.  We do have a prayer request for final needed repairs to his pick-up truck’s transmission.  The truck represents their one mode of transportation and vehicle to get needed work done.

We are excited to report that one church, three individuals, and one family have responded so far in being interested in coming to Chile in the first months of 2024 (Chilean summer) to help with land clearing and construction on the Mission’s camp property.  We are VERY grateful, as there is much to be done!  If you are a supporting church or an individual we can also really use your help as well and invite you to contact us about the possibility of your making a trip to Chile as well.  We so appreciate all help.

LOOKING FORWARD TO NOVEMBER….

Have YOU attended the ICOM annual mission’s conference of the Christian Churches in recent years?  Please consider doing so this November and you will not regret it, with its many great workshops, speakers, and mission booths (such as ours!!).  Teens even have their own focus and speakers.  It will be held at the Convention Center in Oklahoma City, November 16-18.  Hope to see you there.

Praising, praying, fasting to GOD, our SOURCE of Church Unity and transformed lives,

Jack & Janine

“TEAM Going & Sending GOD STYLE”

The weapons we fight with are NOT the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have DIVINE power to DEMOLISH STRONGHOLDS !!  2 Cor. 10:4

Our September Praise & Prayer Needs update is focused on our gratitude for our Chilean team and for our team relationship with our sending churches.  Every person and every team face battles and challenges, but as Paul writes in Ephesians chapter six, we constantly need to remind ourselves that the real battles that we and our teams face are Satan-driven and Spiritual in nature.  Spiritual battles require Spiritual weapons, making on-going mutual prayer, God’s Word, and oneness with God and with each other fundamental to going forward in the Lord.  It’s important to remember that our battles are both internal and external and that our Spiritual Weapons WILL ALWAYS have DIVINE power to DEMOLISH SATAN’S STRONGHOLDS!!

We just returned from a short visit to Chile and all of the above once again “rose to the top”, highlighting the importance of our walking “hand-in-hand” with God, with each other, and with our supporting churches.  We so appreciate and rely on your on-going prayers as we in turn pray for you in your own spiritual strength and health.  Our mission is to pierce the ever-present darkness in Chile with God’s light!

1. Roughly 50% of Chileans identify as Catholics, but that does not include participation in a Catholic church.  For hundreds of years Chileans have been taught that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is God the Mother.  It is only necessary to find her statue and pray to her for any kind of need or despair.  Jesus, God the Son, has in turn been rendered unnecessary and for many is not Savior and Lord.  In Chile today’s adults remain unconvinced of much and today’s young people aren’t going to run to a statue, but don’t know Jesus either.  This reality creates a tremendous opportunity for us Christians and for the work of Chile Mission.                                                                                                         

2. Many Chileans believe that you can go to the site of the death of any person and pray through that person for prayer petitions. You leave a burning candle and then afterwards return with a plaque or other memento to thank the dead person for answered prayer. Dead people become automatic conduits for prayer.  Pictured above is such a wall located where a thief was shot and killed by police many years ago.  We Christians know that Jesus IS the only mediator between God and man. 1 Tim. 2:5-6

3. Chile boasts a very stable economy and democratic form of government, although its current president is communist. He, along with other past Chilean socialist presidents and socialist/communist members of congress, do not believe in God or Jesus.  This influences a large percentage of Chileans and especially young people!  Roughly 37% of Chileans identify as unbelievers.

4. The importance of Chilean culture and heritage (Sept. 18^th is Chile’s Independence Day) and even professional soccer far outweigh interest in God and religion.  False pride and “macho-ism”, especially among men, are alive and well in Chile.

All of the above realities and characteristics to one extent or another represent Satan’s strongholds that only can be demolished through the use of our DIVINE weapons, and the more unified our Team, the greater the DIVINE impact.

THANK YOU for your on-going prayers for Chile Mission’s work in the country, especially in our current work to transform 90 acres in middle, rural Chile into a Christian children’s and youth camp and retreat center.  Reaching children and young people in Chile matters, as does being the spiritual and other support for children, families, and adults coming to Santiago for needed, serious medical treatment!  Light eliminates darkness.

Moving on to September’s other prayer needs and praises….

IN SANTIAGO

The mission’s Casa de Acogida “Dulce Refugio” continues to receive parents and other adults.  One newborn, Oliver, has just had heart surgery.  His parents, Edwin & Edelsa, appreciate our prayers.

Two men suffering with Parkinson’s Disease arrived from Arica, Chile’s northern-most city.  One of the men, Omar, had a device implanted in his head and is spending roughly three weeks in our mission site recuperating.  Thank you for your prayers and thank you, Lord, for new technologies!

While in Chile we had several meetings with Carolina to be more diligent in contacting more hospitals to boost our occupancy as well as churches to be involved with our residents. Discussing productivity will always be a part of our team effectiveness.  Our idea is to develop a program of “godparents” to accompany our visitors in their hospital procedures and to invite them to participate in their church and socialize a bit.

Sadly, while in Santiago we also received news that Vicente, who as a small boy lived with his two older sisters for a year in the first children’s home that Janine directed, tragically was killed on his motorcycle by a car without license plates that in turn sped off.  He was a fine young man with a very responsible job in the army and always tried to get together with Janine when we were in the country.  He had even messaged her a couple days before he was killed that he was looking forward to seeing her during this most recent trip.  We always talked to him about his faith and had given him the Gospel of John to read.  Janine tried to get together with Vicente’s mother, too, but was unable to program a visit.

Also while in Santiago we were able to sign documents for the attorney helping us with changes to our Foundation’s by-laws.  We should now be all set with those changes, should the document be accepted by the government. Any important changes in our foundation need to be approved in the ministry of justice.  A big help will be getting a certificate of donations, which will allow us to receive donations from companies.  When a business has taxes to pay to the government, they can divert this tax to a non-profit, such as us!!.  Praying….

AT THE CAMP PROPERTY

Heavier than normal rains have continued, and we joined Abraham in walking one and one half miles to reach his pickup, parked at a neighbor’s house beyond where the road floods—up to three feet at some points.  While they are accustomed to the routine, they will be VERY glad to park the truck at their own house once the rains and road water subside. 🙂

WE AGAIN INVITE any of you individuals and church teams to come and help, as the first months of 2024 represent a key opportunity to work outside and construct as well.  Please reach out to us and we can follow-up with you.  Thank you!!

While we were at the camp, we started working on the design for our maintenance building, which will include a second floor living unit.  The idea is to transform the second floor to offices in the future.  Hopefully, we will start building this coming Chilean summer—Jan. thru Apr.

We also brought Abraham a post hole auger from the States (purchased with a special donation) and it will come in VERY handy in digging the many holes that he must dig to install a boundary barbed wire fence line around certain areas of the property. TYL!!

Meanwhile, regarding our Toyota pickup, both Abraham and his excellent mechanic keep making strides fixing mechanic issues.  We can only conclude that in spite of the 2020 truck’s perfect appearance and super clean engine, the person we bought the truck from was dishonest about its past usage.  Still, we are grateful to have it, as Abraham needs a good working vehicle, since transport to the camp is limited at this time. 

WE SO APPRECIATE YOUR ONGOING PRAYERS AND PARTNERSHIP!!

Praising, praying, fasting to GOD, the ETERNAL TEAM GOER AND SENDER AND STRONGHOLDS DEMOLISHER,

Jack & Janine

“The REAL SEED and SEED NOURISHER”

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:  It will not return to me empty, but WILL ACCOMPLISH what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  –ISAIAH 55:10-11

The above passage in Isaiah SO appropriately describes our seven full weeks of interacting with over 2,000 children and teens at Round Lake Christian Camp and also two separate VBSs in two Ohio churches!!  Just think of all the Gospel and Mission seeds that were SOWN AND WATERED in these young lives.  There are several Bible passages and parables that speak of sowing & watering seeds and of the soil they fall on, etc., but a main point of these passages is that GOD is both the SEED and the ONE RESPONSIBLE for its growth.  We love this passage in Isaiah for its message!!  Please think of the difference it would make upon all those in churches throughout the U.S., let alone churches worldwide, to see ourselves as the Lord’s SEED SOWERS in our families and in others.

It was INCREDIBLY satisfying and fun to enlarge the “JESUS worlds” of so many children and teens, and we are also INCREDIBLY grateful for your prayers for our time here!!  Everyone learned a lot about Chile and about the need for a Christian camp there.  Roughly only 20% of Chileans know Jesus as Savior.  We now pray for these young lives as they continue going forward.  This past month we included a photo of some baptisms, a MAJOR FIRST STEP OF RESPONDING TO GOD for each child/teen.  The Holy Spirit moved in many ways during the camps!  For us, it was a challenging time to adjust our time with the children every day—balancing our time between challenging them to be missionaries and making the learning lots of fun. Here are some July photos:

We also taught them songs in Spanish, including “JESUS LOVES ME”, a center post theme of God that supports all the rest.  Click on this link to view the video of the song: https://youtu.be/WfX9sNZdp5Y

Looking ahead, we leave Round Lake on August 5^th and then travel to Chile for just over two weeks on August 10^th, with lots of details to attend to in our short time there.  We are sorry to report that our friend that was due to join us on this Chile trip has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and is beginning treatment immediately, thus postponing any plans for a Chile trip.  We pray for both him and his family, that they would be assured of God’s presence and healing touch.

Speaking of CHILE’S FUTURE CAMP, look at Abraham’s homemade bridge, allowing them to leave and enter their property via the higher ground during their days of steady winter rains.  We have a BIG PRAISE to share in that Abraham’s on-going emails and calls into the office of the government official directly responsible for public roads in the area of our camp property paid off and the official finally came out to personally see the totally flooded sections of road by our camp property.  He has promised to re-route those sections of impassable conditions to higher ground once the weather conditions change toward the end of this year.  TYL!!!

During our time with Abraham & Family at the camp property we will mark boundaries for the first building to be constructed to get ready for Chilean summer this coming January through April.  WE WELCOME THE HELP FROM ALL INDIVIDUALS AND CHURCHES that are able to plan a trip to come to Chile during those up-coming months!!  PLEASE CONTACT US if you and/or your church group might be able to make the trip and PLEASE EVERYONE PRAY for this upcoming “construction/building” window of opportunity!!  We plan on being in Chile for the entire Chilean summer and would love to receive you there.  The round-trip airfares are currently below $700 and it will only take some initiative in planning forward.  We can help you think it through.  Thank you again!!

We also give God thanks that Abraham’s mechanic was able to repair the transmission on the Toyota pickup so that the 4-wheel drive works well again.

IN SANTIAGO, Carolina continues to receive adults in need of medical treatments and parents of hospitalized children from other parts of the country.  We shared last month about the passing of baby Matías, who battled a serious virus from birth.  It was a blessing to be able to extend condolences to his parents!  As you know, we are the only “Casa de Acogida” in Santiago that receives both men and women when they accompany their children.  We can do that because we have have one of our four houses on our mission site set aside for women and another house for men.

As we wrote last month, we also appreciate your prayers for being able to sign ALL needed documents to make needed changes to the statutes of our legal foundation “MISIÓN CHILE” while we’re in Chile this month.  Especially included is the ability of the Foundation to receive all types of donations from inside and from outside of the country.

Praising, praying, fasting to GOD, the REAL SEED AND SEED NOURISHER,

Jack & Janine

“TRUE LIBERTY IN JESUS, OUR WAY, TRUTH, AND LIFE”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  –John 14:6

Boy what a good verse for the nations today, including the United States, as we celebrate our independence as a country—ONE NATION UNDER GOD!!  We also have several things to celebrate and pray for this month as Chile Mission, but let’s not stop praying for our U.S. government leaders.  1 Timothy 2:1-6 is a GREAT reference for that.

As mentioned in last month’s letter, we are writing you from Round Lake Christian Camp, where we’re having an incredibly-rewarding time interacting with grade-schoolers thru high-schoolers.  Sharing videos and interesting facts & information about Chile, we are planting seeds of being him and extending him world-wide.  Below is a “selfie” of all of us after we told the kids that they had all magically graduated from high school and now needed to prepare to be missionaries in Chile.  They were very attentive and seemed surprised at all that does go into preparations for missionary service.

Also pictured are the baptisms of roughly 30 of those same kids!!  TYL!!  As different groups of children rotate weekly through the camp, we will be here through August 5^th.  Thank you for praying for the impact of our message and the teaching of others on each and every child.  Once CAMPO VIVO is ready to receive children and youth in Chile, we and Abraham & staff will be just as committed and excited to introduce each Chilean young person to a Creator, Lord & Savior Jesus!

We have to remind ourselves visiting developed camps such as Round Lake and other similar, large Christian camps in the U.S. addressing children in spacious buildings and surroundings that these camps ALSO had their own beginning vision years ago!  YES we are in stage 1 in the transformation of the land surrounding what will be known as CAMPO VIVO, along with all the construction still to come, but the vision is the same in introducing ALL that come there to our Creator, Lord & Savior Jesus!  THANK YOU for being KEY PRAYER SUPPORT patners of Chile Mission!!  It’s daunting to find ourselves in stage 1 of transforming land and constructing needed buildings on our camp property in Chile and all that this immense project entails, but we are certain that God will get it done!

Speaking of CAMPO VIVO, we have much to share and pray for:

>This year’s rains  We were surprised to see this year’s heavy rains in middle and southern Chile mentioned on David Muir’s World News Tonight program recently.  In speaking with Abraham, he confirms those heavy rains in the area by our camp property, even to the extent that the public access road by us and by our closest neighbors is totally flooded to a depth of almost 4 feet, preventing any vehicle to enter or leave.  They need to walk a long way on higher ground just to retrieve and use the pick-up truck.

The winter rains (June to August) normally do flood our local roads, but this year is worse.  Abraham and neighbors met last year with the mayor of Quillón, the town responsible for upkeep of our section of the public access road and heavy equipment was sent out, but until certain areas of the road are completely redone and raised, no other solution will work.  Please pray for a lowering of the present level of water on the road to allow Abraham’s 4X4 pickup to pass through and also that all parties will be able to work together to finally come to a workable, permanent solution.  Thank you!

Here is the link to view Abraham’s and Catalina’s latest video of CAMPO VIVO.  It’s really good!!  https://youtu.be/w1Ltw7IbAqo

>>The excavator and pickup truck  Abraham is looking for the right person to operate and help maintain our excavator.  In addition, a repair to the 4X4 transmission assembly of the pickup is needed.  While both of these needs will be met, we appreciate your prayers for the ongoing good use of our equipment.  Thank you!

>Catalina’s pregnancy  Catalina’s pregnancy is going well, with her due date still set for the end of October.  She is having a boy and his name is Facundo.  It is a name more popular in Argentina than in Chile and it refers to someone elequent in speak or that speaks alot.  Thanks for your continuing prayers.

>>Come help  In the middle of the current rains we are blessed to receive a group of four young men who are spending a week to help at our camp property.  Their program is called Edge and it is part of the same Mennonite ministry based in Columbia that sent six young women to help Chile Mission earlier this year.  We welcome their help and are praying for their experience and for their travels.  During their week with Abraham they were able to fix a water pump and also replcace the 20 plates that help make up the tractor tread that moves the excavator.  Many thanks guys!!

>>We’d like to use this opportunity to AGAIN INVITE church and mission groups and individuals to contact us about coming to Chile to help!  Perhaps another time of the year would work better for you, but round-trip airfares are typically below $700.00.  We’re excited that one friend is coming to help for just over two weeks this August, and as a reminder, we are ALWAYS looking for a couple or family to come stay and help Abraham & Catalina for a period of time, be it for weeks, a couple months, or longer as teammates of Chile Mission!  Of course, even basic Spanish will be important, but “on sight survival-language training” is provided! 🙂 🙂

 IN SANTIAGO, our prayer needs go on:

>>We are sorry to report that Baby Matías (mentioned in our May letter who contracted a virus known as CMV (Cytomegalovirus) immediately after birth eight months ago) died this evening, July 1st.  We pray  for God’s comfort and presence for his parents, Jordan & Laura, in this very difficult turn of events!

>>When we return to Chile for just over two weeks in August, we and our other Foundation board members should be able to sign the legal documents needed to make immediate changes in our Foundation’s statutes and ready it to move forward from there.  Both Abraham and Julián are due to come on to the Board of   Directors.  We continue to pray for these important legal steps.

>>Meanwhile, Carolina continues to make contacts with hospitals in making known the services we offer via Chile Mission’s Casa de Acogida.  She and Julián have also come up with a new name for the Santiago mission site: “Dulce Refugio” (Sweet Refuge).  It’s easy to remember and well-describes the ministry carried out on the mission site.

>>We have a BIG praise to share in that three of the nine children who lived years ago in our home for children on our Santiago ministry site with Chilean Christian house parents have now contacted Janine this year to thank her for teaching them important life lessons, which they now as adults appreciate very much.  Our home residence for children was closed in October of 2013 due to the lies of one of these three, but now ten years later all three are grateful adults, and Carla also asked for forgiveness for her lies.  Thank you Lord for ALWAYS working, and we will continue to try to get in touch with the others.

In the U.S. thank you for praying with us for Jayme’s recovery from ACL surgery in May.  He’s well on the road to full recovery, which should take another 3 or more months.

Praising, praying, fasting, and celebrating True “Way, Truth, & Life” liberty in Jesus,

Jack & Janine