Leaving Comfort Zones

Dear Friends & Family,

You’ve heard from us several times over this week about Gus’ grandma, so we’ll start off this newsletter with an update on her: 

We are so incredibly grateful to all who have been praying for Grandma María! She is recovering well, her levels are up closer to where they should be, and the doctors are pleased with her progress! And, today is her 88^th birthday!!! Spending it in a hospital isn’t ideal or comfortable, but the blessing is that she continues improving and gets to celebrate this special day with several family members who are there during visiting hours this afternoon (and receive voice & video messages from others far away)!

(the recovering birthday girl!)

Changing the subject now from family to church ministry:

Last Saturday, quite a few church members here in Lautaro worked all day in the building, working on the roof as well as cleaning & prepping a (mostly) finished new meeting room for Sunday services!

(working to get the new meeting room ready)

The old meeting room was too small for the group and also has significant leakage problems, so with all of the rain we’ve been having the carpeting has been soaked in half of the room… Not a good situation with electrical equipment and children running around. So, it was a lot of work last weekend, and there is still much more to be done (like actually seal it off better so it’s not freezing in there), but it’s dry and we had a great first service last Sunday! Some people don’t really like change (I’m sure you’ve experienced that too) but everyone has agreed that this is for the best, even if it’s not really “comfortable” yet... It was a very good time of worship & fellowship! 

(Sunday service in new room)

It was actually a special breakfast service (that happens the second Sunday of each month at the church here), and rather than having a sermon, the short term team members that had gone to Peru were able to share about their cross-cultural experiences!

They were all incredibly moved by the trip, the generosity of the Peruvians, and the very tangible needs in another part of the world. Most of them also communicated that they now feel more compelled to become more active in their own community here, to step out of their comfort zones to serve and reach others….

(Peru short-term team members each sharing last Sunday)

And speaking of actively serving, most of our home group is in Melipeuco right now, working on small projects for the church there and planning this evening’s youth outreach event! This is wayyy out of the comfort zone for several of them, so it is very encouraging to see them working hard to serve in this way, despite their personal feelings and timidity!

(work today at Melipeuco)

Gus had music classes all day today and is also responsible for leaving the sound set up this evening here in Lautaro for church tomorrow, so we as a family will head up to Melipeuco tomorrow!

Please pray: for our small group's youth event this evening, for our 2-hour drive as a family (possibly with some snow!) early tomorrow morning, for our car to make it (!), that God would bless the Melipeuco church service in the morning and the marriage seminar we’ll be teaching in the afternoon!  (We don’t know most of the couples who will be attending, so in a way that is out of our “comfort zone” as in the past we have usually taught and worked with couples we know personally... But we know God wants us to be an example, serving in this way with our small group!)

Your prayers, encouraging words & financial support are so important to the work here. It is a tremendous blessing to be connected, partnering with you in this ministry! We are blessed through you, and pray that you would be blessed and encouraged to step outside of what seems “normal” or comfortable as well, for His sake.

Because He left His comfort zone first,

Gustavo, Karissa, Jeremy, Elizabeth, Cristina & Diego Guevara

The Honeymoon is Over!

Dear Friends,

Hola desde Lautaro!  Yes, it’s true: We have now reached the 6-month mark since moving here to the south from Santiago!  So now the “honeymoon” period is over, real life has set in and we are in the groove!  Though there are still some minor adjustments to be made, we feel well acclimated to this place and as part of the local church body.  As a family we are very grateful to be serving here and continue to be excited about what is going on in ministry in this region! Speaking of which:

This past weekend our small group went to José’s home about ½ an hour away in the countryside area called Juan Bautista, to help him set up their new & improved green-house:

It was a great time of serving and spending time encouraging him, his wife Ingrid, their four children, and Ingrid’s sister Paula! Our group took some food up and they had some to share as well, so Gus was on barbecue duty for lunch:

(cooking the delicious "choripanes")

This all-day outing was the first time our small group has served together! It was a very good experience and everyone is really excited about the next scheduled event, which will be August 20^th – 21^st: we will be going to serve the daughter church in Melipeuco (a town about two hours away in the mountains) with some youth activities that Saturday, a few small projects around the church property, and a marriage seminar for church members and their invited guests!

Interestingly, the pastor of the church there, Luis, is the brother of Paula & Ingrid, the ones whose home we were just at for the greenhouse project this past Saturday! Pastor Luis just happened to be in Santiago last November the weekend we had the marriage seminar there and since he heard good feedback from church members, he has asked if we as a couple could teach that material to their group as a way of reaching out to other married couples in their surrounding community! So, we are thrilled with this opportunity to serve in Melipeuco as a family with the whole home group from Lautaro!

This month, please pray for:

·        - José, Ingrid and their children in Juan Bautista, that they would desire to deepen their relationship with God as well as seek fellowship in the church in Lautaro, as at this point they are only nominally “believers”.

·         - The weekend of Aug. 20^th & 21^st at the church-plant in the town of Melipeuco, that our small group would be a blessing and an encouragement to the church there and that the event for youth and the seminar for couples would be well-received.

·         - Clarity as we as a couple seek to give wise counsel to a few couples and singles in the church here in Lautaro who have shared individually with us about their diverse concerns & struggles.

      - A solution for our car: it is having lots of mechanical problems, we can't seem to pin-point the cause and the potential needed repairs look to be expensive... It would be excellent to be able to purchase a vehicle with 4-wheel-drive capabilities for all of the countryside and rainy weather visits, but right now we're barely making it by on a monthly basis with basic needs, so haven't been able to save anything towards that. So, prayers for needed funds are very much appreciated!

·         - Good health as a family! Yes, we’ve shared this need every time we’ve written, but local friends have informed us that “August is always the worst month here as far as illnesses go”…  So, please keep the six of us in your prayers as we continue to battle colds along with the rest of this city.

God bless you and your families! Thank you for faithfully holding us up in prayer and for your financial support for our family and the ministry in the Araucania region of Chile.

We are very grateful and humbled to be in this partnership with you!

(On a fun date last week, overlooking the neighboring larger city of Temuco: our honeymoon as a couple ended a long time ago, but that’s OK because normal life together on a daily basis is much more fun, exciting and rewarding!J )

Blessings,

Gus & Karissa & kiddos