Dear Friends and Family,
As it’s been a while since our last blog post, we wanted to
get you up-to-date on what’s been going on here in Chile and in our family:
·
Gustavo’s biological grandmother
and aunt came over to our house to celebrate his grandma’s 87th birthday (see
photos below)! It is such a blessing to
be close to his adoptive and biological family and for them to be able to see & interact with the
kids!
·
We have begun a bi-monthly young
married couples’ group in our home!
Yesterday was our 4th time together, fellowshipping, eating
snacks that everyone brings and going through an encouraging and challenging
Bible study for couples. There are 9
different couples who have made it to at least one of our four
get-togethers. Our prayer is that this
time encourages everyone in their own marriages, strengthens relationships
within the group, and challenges each to serve in the local church and
community.
·
The other drummer for worship on
Sundays has needed to withdraw temporarily from this ministry due to personal issues,
so Gus has needed to play every week this past month. This is an added responsibility but also a
way to be a blessing. Last week Gus
started a drum class to train up new drummers, and 15 people showed up, with an
age range of 7-50 years old!
·
Our monthly support has increased
in the past couple of months! We have
two new supporters, which has now brought us within $200 of covering our
monthly needs! This, along with special
gifts over the past several months, has permitted us to pay our regular expenses
without accumulating more debt. We know that God will continue to provide
through His people; we are so grateful to those who support us faithfully!
·
We have heard from four different
individuals who are giving one-time gifts toward our furlough to the U.S. next
spring-summer! We don’t know the amounts
given yet or how much total we still need for the tickets, but are very
encouraged by those who are generously contributing toward this trip!
·
As a family we have really been
blessed by the freedom that homeschooling allows: staying home on cold and
rainy days, going outside to play during school hours on nicer days, the
creative ways of playing and learning that a flexible, adaptable schedule allows... It is a lot of work some days, but a huge
blessing to have this schooling option!
·
Last Sunday in church, Karissa was
able to sing the song “Blessings” by Laura Story (translated into Spanish, of
course), as it tied into the sermon.
That song has been a good reminder to us that though many times God doesn’t
give us the answer we want in the timing we think best, He knows better than we
do and He always works good in our lives.
Even through the hard times, the silent nights, the difficult seasons, the
pain and suffering, He is still there and He can use those times to be the
biggest blessings. Let’s strive to focus
on all that God has blessed us with, in His love and mercy, and seek to be a
blessing to those around us as well. The
light of His goodness shines through us when we worship Him in the storms of
life.
We are very thankful for God’s faithfulness to us as well as
yours. Your prayers, monthly support,
one-time gifts, emails and comments are huge encouragements and blessings to
us. We are so grateful for your
partnership!
Because of Him,
Gustavo, Karissa, Jeremy, Elizabeth, & Cristina
(Gus & the kids with Great-Grandma Maria and Aunt Irma)
