Dear Partners,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Chile! We hope you are able to enjoy quality time with your families, as well as good "down" time to rest and reflect on His goodness!
This year of transition has flown by and we are so thankful for the work that God has allowed us to be a part of here. We really are blessed to be a blessing! There are exciting and new things coming, so please read to the end and pray with us!
Ministry in Santiago
This next year will entail continuing with the work we are currently involved in: Gus will continue coordinating short-term teams, organizing the sound at church, playing drums on Sundays and teaching/training up new drummers. He is also on a couple of different committees in the church and the missions organization, helping to re-structure and define vision and strategies. Karissa will continue focusing primarily on the kids' schooling, deepening relationships with other women from the church, continuing to help in the church nursery/Sunday school, and together we will keep going with the young couples' ministry and counseling individual couples. We are excited to keep serving in all of these areas and training up new people to cover these needs as well!
2015 Travels to the U.S.
Things keep coming together for our furlough from May-August 2015: Since the last time we wrote, we have received a couple of additional financial gifts as well as being offered a car to use during our time in the U.S.! We have been very blessed by the generosity of those who have given toward this trip as well as those who have offered us a place to stay while in different cities. So, thank you so much!! Our plan over the next couple of weeks is to firm up dates for visiting each place, and as soon as we have those we'll be in touch to schedule visits with as many churches and individuals as possible!
2016: Another Move!
In other exciting news, we wanted to let you know that we have been praying over the past few months, asking God if Santiago is the place where He wants us to stay long-term or if He has something else for us in the near future. And over these months, we have sensed and seen confirmation that our job here is to serve, equip and train for a couple of years, and then move on to another place with specific church-planting and project needs.
After praying, talking with our supervisors, and meeting with the pastor/project leader at the church in Lautaro (a city in the south of Chile where Gus has taken a few teams this year), we have peace that God is leading us to that location, and have committed to moving there in January 2016! The church in Lautaro has a huge vision and project that includes a school that is currently under construction, a housing facility for some of the students and a missions training program, in conjunction with church-planting goals in the many rural, indigenous communities surrounding the city. That region of Chile is the poorest and has the highest percentage of indigenous peoples, who have traditionally been shunned by other Christian communities. (See this short video from Pastor Miguel in Lautaro, sharing a bit about the vision and project: https://vimeo.com/109575711)
Our roles there will include:
1) Integrating into and serving in the local "mother" church in Lautaro,
2) Helping in the next steps needed for the school and missions training projects, and
3) Building relationships in surrounding communities toward the future goal of church-planting and leadership-training in those areas.
This move will bring new challenges in ministry and family, but we trust that God will continue to lead and provide as He always has done! We still have work to do here in Santiago, and will focus during 2015 on completing well the things that we have started, continuing to train and equip in the areas where we are serving, and seeking to be a blessing to this local church in as many ways as possible over this second year here. We look forward to sharing with you in person while in the U.S. about the work in Santiago as well as more specifics about the church and project in Lautaro!
Thank you for your continued prayers, support, gifts, words of encouragement, care & concern for our family and the ministry to which God has called us. We pray that He would bless, encourage and supply all of your needs during this Christmas season as well as all of 2015!
Because of the Savior born in Bethlehem,
Gustavo, Karissa, Jeremy, Elizabeth, & Cristina
(Photo 1: Painting ornaments and making cupcakes with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Christy! Photo 2: Lunch date!)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Chile! We hope you are able to enjoy quality time with your families, as well as good "down" time to rest and reflect on His goodness!
This year of transition has flown by and we are so thankful for the work that God has allowed us to be a part of here. We really are blessed to be a blessing! There are exciting and new things coming, so please read to the end and pray with us!
Ministry in Santiago
This next year will entail continuing with the work we are currently involved in: Gus will continue coordinating short-term teams, organizing the sound at church, playing drums on Sundays and teaching/training up new drummers. He is also on a couple of different committees in the church and the missions organization, helping to re-structure and define vision and strategies. Karissa will continue focusing primarily on the kids' schooling, deepening relationships with other women from the church, continuing to help in the church nursery/Sunday school, and together we will keep going with the young couples' ministry and counseling individual couples. We are excited to keep serving in all of these areas and training up new people to cover these needs as well!
2015 Travels to the U.S.
Things keep coming together for our furlough from May-August 2015: Since the last time we wrote, we have received a couple of additional financial gifts as well as being offered a car to use during our time in the U.S.! We have been very blessed by the generosity of those who have given toward this trip as well as those who have offered us a place to stay while in different cities. So, thank you so much!! Our plan over the next couple of weeks is to firm up dates for visiting each place, and as soon as we have those we'll be in touch to schedule visits with as many churches and individuals as possible!
2016: Another Move!
In other exciting news, we wanted to let you know that we have been praying over the past few months, asking God if Santiago is the place where He wants us to stay long-term or if He has something else for us in the near future. And over these months, we have sensed and seen confirmation that our job here is to serve, equip and train for a couple of years, and then move on to another place with specific church-planting and project needs.
After praying, talking with our supervisors, and meeting with the pastor/project leader at the church in Lautaro (a city in the south of Chile where Gus has taken a few teams this year), we have peace that God is leading us to that location, and have committed to moving there in January 2016! The church in Lautaro has a huge vision and project that includes a school that is currently under construction, a housing facility for some of the students and a missions training program, in conjunction with church-planting goals in the many rural, indigenous communities surrounding the city. That region of Chile is the poorest and has the highest percentage of indigenous peoples, who have traditionally been shunned by other Christian communities. (See this short video from Pastor Miguel in Lautaro, sharing a bit about the vision and project: https://vimeo.com/109575711)
Our roles there will include:
1) Integrating into and serving in the local "mother" church in Lautaro,
2) Helping in the next steps needed for the school and missions training projects, and
3) Building relationships in surrounding communities toward the future goal of church-planting and leadership-training in those areas.
This move will bring new challenges in ministry and family, but we trust that God will continue to lead and provide as He always has done! We still have work to do here in Santiago, and will focus during 2015 on completing well the things that we have started, continuing to train and equip in the areas where we are serving, and seeking to be a blessing to this local church in as many ways as possible over this second year here. We look forward to sharing with you in person while in the U.S. about the work in Santiago as well as more specifics about the church and project in Lautaro!
Thank you for your continued prayers, support, gifts, words of encouragement, care & concern for our family and the ministry to which God has called us. We pray that He would bless, encourage and supply all of your needs during this Christmas season as well as all of 2015!
Because of the Savior born in Bethlehem,
Gustavo, Karissa, Jeremy, Elizabeth, & Cristina
(Photo 1: Painting ornaments and making cupcakes with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Christy! Photo 2: Lunch date!)
Sounds like a lot of exciting things are happening for you all. Praying for you as you transition and travel.
ReplyDelete