As 2017 Draws To A Close…

Dear Partners,

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that this last week of 2017 is a time to remember this year’s blessings!  We are so thankful for all that God blessed us with as a family and in ministry over these past twelve months, and we look forward what He will do in 2018!  

(Beautiful southern Chile)

In addition to countless blessings, there have been very hard circumstances for us as a family over this past year, as there probably have been for your family as well... But through it all we see God’s goodness, love & peace shine through:

(Grandma María visiting us in February of this year… She went to be with Jesus in July)

Updates From Past Prayer Requests:

On his missions trip with Gus to Ecuador back in October, Jeremy really grew a lot, personally and socially. He was able to see a totally different reality of life as well as serve in ways he hadn’t before: helping show other kids songs and games, translating Bible stories for a Sunday school class, trying new foods…. (Stay tuned for more implications of Jeremy's spiritual growth later on in this update!) It was such a great bonding experience for father & son, so thank you so much for your prayers for that: 

(Gus & Jeremy in Ecuador)

Thank you for your prayers for the women’s retreat last month! It was an encouraging and motivating all-day event attended by over 30 ladies! They are all looking forward to another retreat in 2018 where they can invite more of their friends and family members!

(30+ women attended the retreat in November)

(Fun & encouraging times of fellowship)

(Great teaching sessions from Tia Mity from the Oriente church in Santiago)

Jeremy & Liz passed their final exams! They had fun taking their tests last month and were thrilled to find out a couple days ago that they did well on those. Thank you for your prayers for this home-school year and these exams specifically!

(Jeremy & Liz at the school before taking their final exams!)

December Happenings:

Over the past week, Karissa & the kids made 400 cookies to give to friends here in Lautaro (and Gus helped make the plates look fancier 😉)! It was a fun way to serve as a family and bring a smile to lots of friends’ faces:

(Christmas cookie plates ready to be delivered!)

This past Sunday, we had a special Christmas Eve & Baptism service at church! There were over twenty visitors present as 10 people were baptized, including Jeremy!! Besides the amazing, inexplicable blessing of seeing our son get baptized, it was also just such a beautiful and full service, with every available seat taken and a dozen people needing to stand in the back for lack of chairs! May God continue to draw people in this city and region to Himself:

(Gus baptizing Jeremy!)

(The 10 people baptized on Christmas Eve!)

Gus has continued going to Melipeuco once a week to equip and guide the leadership of the daughter-church there as they set goals in ministry for this next year. The church there had a special dinner service last Saturday, and dozens of new people came for that, so the leadership is very encouraged! We also started marriage counseling with one of the leader-couples in Melipeuco, so we hope that progresses in healthy ways over the next months!

In January, Please Pray For:

- Continued growth (in numbers & maturity) for the church here in Lautaro, even over these summer months when small groups take a break and weekend attendance tends to diminish as people are out of town on vacation or at other summer activities.

- A refreshing three-month sabbatical for Pastor Miguel and his family (who for the first time in 17 years is now taking a much-needed extended break from most ministry responsibilities) and good unity for the team of church leaders, made up of Gus and three other men. 

- The leadership team in Melipeuco as they plan and set ministry and family goals for this next year and beyond. 

- A four-day, missions-wide conference (called VIVE) which will be held at the church here in Lautaro at the end of January - beginning of February. The emphasis will be on worship, evangelism & missions (both locally & globally), organized by several of our fellow leaders in Santiago. Pray that God would bring those that need this encouragement & spiritual push, and that this conference would be a blessing to all of those in attendance! 

- Good down times as a family over these next couple months of summer, even in the midst of ministry-planning meetings, teaching, worship, and counseling responsibilities. That God would renew our strength and allow us to be a blessing to each other as a couple, to our children, and to the churches and communities we are serving. 

(In Melipeuco a couple of months ago, helping as a family with ministry activities)

You have probably noticed that we frequently call you Partners, and we mean that very seriously. We would not be able to be here in Lautaro, serving in this way, were it not for your faithful partnership. The Great Commission is about individuals growing in their relationship with God, but also in their relationship with those around them. And we do not take lightly this role of church community and of support for Kingdom work around the world! So, thank you for being essential partners of the ministry in Lautaro!

Wishing you God’s love, hope, wisdom & peace for 2018,

Gustavo & Karissa

Jeremy, Elizabeth, Cristina & Diego

September Happenings

Dear Partners,

September has been a very full month here in Lautaro! Throughout Chile in general it is an important and festive month, as it is when the country’s independence is celebrated, called the "Fiestas Patrias". Every street and home is decorated with flags, traditional music is heard and danced to, and the food…! Well, let’s just say it’s not the best month to start a new diet plan. 😉

(A special “Fiestas Patrias” party at church on September 17^th after the worship service)

The second Saturday of September we drove up to Melipeuco as a family, with several other people from the church here in Lautaro. It was a construction day, working alongside our brothers and sisters to help them with the building of Pastor Luis’ house on the new property in Melipeuco. Gus had gone up a couple weeks before with a short-term team from Riverside, CA, so this local group was able to keep moving along with that project. In the evening there was a kids' movie and a family movie shown in the church with an open invitation to the community, so it was a fun, busy day! Even some of the kids helped out with the construction:

(Jeremy and a friend doing their part to help!)

Continuing with the celebrations, this past Sunday there was a baby dedication in the service (I believe that makes five this year!). These are always such a blessing as extended family and friends who are not believers come for the special event, and we as a church have the opportunity to reach out to them with God’s love! 

(Baby Camila being dedicated… her mother, Claudia, is a believer but her father is not yet)

And this coming Sunday, October 1^st, there will be a double wedding celebrated after the worship service! Two men who immigrated from Haiti have been attending the church here for almost a year now, with one of them getting baptized several months ago, and both of their fiancées will be arriving today! It is a blessing to be a part of a congregation that recognizes the beauty of multi-culturality in God’s Kingdom.

Another exciting thing happening this Sunday is that Gus and Jeremy will be leaving for Ecuador to help a short-term team there with construction and outreach! Jeremy is thrilled to be going on his first official mission trip and is especially stoked that he’ll be going with his daddy! 😊  

In October, Please Pray For:

• Gus as he prepares for and preaches this coming Sunday (yes, the same day as the weddings and the trip!).
• A safe trip for Gus & Jeremy to Ecuador, leaving here October 1^st and returning October 18^th.
• A good 2 ½ weeks for the three younger kids and I here at home while our “men” are gone!
• Continued good weekly women’s Bible study, as we are rotating homes each Tuesday for that meeting.
• Jeremy & Liz as they continue their homeschool studies in preparation for final exams in November.
• Deepening of relationships with local believers, seekers, and their families.
• God’s continued financial provision and wisdom for using our time, energy and finances well.

Thank you for your prayers, for your financial support and for your encouragement! It is a blessing to be in this partnership with you, to further His Kingdom!

In His Love,

The Guevaras

7 Blessings in 7/2017

Dear Friends & Family,

Greetings once again from South America! We hope you all had a wonderful July! It was a huge blessing being able to see many of you in person, albeit a very short visit! Here are seven specific blessings from this past month:

1. Getting to be at Gus’ sister Lori’s wedding! We had thought we wouldn’t be able to make it because of not having the finances, but God provided the way through some dear family friends purchasing all of our tickets! We are so grateful to have been a part of that celebration and are so grateful to all those who housed and fed our large family over that five-week trip! (And to a supporting church in California that allowed us to borrow a vehicle for the whole time there and drive across four states!)

(with the newlyweds, Lori & Daniel!)

2. Gus traveling back for his Grandma’s funeral. As soon as we wrote the update about Grandma Maria’s passing and explaining that we wouldn’t be able to go to her service, the same church that lent us the car insisted on purchasing Gus a plane ticket to go back to Chile for the funeral. In the midst of the sadness, that generosity was a special comfort, allowing Gus to be there with his biological aunts and cousins for a couple of very significant days for the family...

(grateful for these sweet memories with Grandma Maria from this past February)

3. Seeing extended family and good friends! It had been two years since we were last in the U.S., which means that family and friends there hadn’t even met Diego face-to-face yet or seen Jeremy, Liz and Cristina’s growth over these couple of years. It was fantastic to catch up in person and enjoy a little bit of time together!

(a fun outing to a children's museum with Uncle Erik & Aunt Beth!)

4. Making new friends! It is always fun to meet new people with a passion to see God’s Kingdom grow and get to know them a bit better, and there was a lot of that happening on this trip, even though each visit was sadly too short and time seemed to fly by!  We look forward to seeing how God deepens those new friendships over time and uses each of us to sharpen and encourage each other to continue pressing on in His ways.

(visiting some new friends on their farm: Diego loved the turkeys!)

5. Escape to Summer!!! OK, for those of you annoyed at this point by the heat, just put yourself in our shoes: winter in Lautaro is loooong, so escaping the cold for a month of swimming pools, hot-tubs, shorts, t-shirts and flipflops was a welcome change for all of us (well, except for Gus who definitely prefers winter. 😉)!

(lots of excellent park days!)

6. Baptisms in Lautaro:  On the last weekend in July (while we were still in the U.S.), there was a baptismal service at the church in Lautaro that had been planned from back in February, and six people were baptized!! Remember how we started this year with strategy meetings with the leadership team, defining the vision and goals of the church? God is bringing Kingdom fruit out of all of that work! He is so good and His Family keeps growing!! We look forward to the next few months of ministry, which will culminate in another baptismal service in December, Lord willing! So, stay tuned! 😊

 (Special baptism Sunday on July 30th!)

7. ALL of our past Credit Debt is GONE!!!  It seems unbelievable to finally be able to type that! Honestly, we have seen God’s constant provision for our family on a month-by-month basis, we’ve seen His leading in ministry, we’ve seen the amazing things He is doing around the world… But after almost 4 years of this huge debt hanging over our heads, it feels unreal that it is gone! And yet, it's true!! There have been several people and churches who have given significant one-time gifts over the past couple of years and others who have upped their regular monthly support to help us get through and make ends meet… and then, this past month someone insisted on covering the remaining debt amount, just like that!! We have no words, except “Thank you” to all who have given generously, “Thank you” to those who continue to support us financially and through prayer on a monthly basis (our being here depends on your partnership!), and “Thank You” to our Father who provides so completely through His people…

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Because of His Love,

Gustavo & Karissa,

Jeremy, Elizabeth, Cristina & Diego

When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder…

Dear Partners,

We hope you all had a blessed Easter Sunday! Our Lord is Risen!!! The hope that truth brings us is unlike anything in the world, isn’t it? And our desire is to take the hope purchased on Good Friday and consummated on Easter Sunday to those that don’t yet know here in Lautaro, and through them, to the rest of this region, and to ends of the earth!

Today there is a nationwide census being carried out throughout all of Chile. Government employees are going house to house filling out a questionnaire about every person in that residence. The last census was taken five years ago, so it will be interesting to see what has changed between then and now!

However, for some reason, this time there is no question in the census regarding religious affiliations or beliefs whatsoever! It seems strange to not want to take note of that in a country where both animistic and catholic(-ish) beliefs have been strong for centuries, but apparently knowing those numbers is not a priority for the current government. But we know that our belief systems are not secondary to God, but rather much more important than details like where we were born or how many years of school we finished: Our entire eternity rests on whether or not we accept the Passover Lamb’s sacrifice in place of our sins and give our lives to His will. And when the "roll is called up yonder", I’ll be there… and so will you… and so will many more that are coming to Him through His Spirit’s work being carried out through His Church around the world!

(New background at the front of the church meeting room)

In our last, short prayer update we mentioned that there are several new friends we would be sharing about soon, so we wanted to tell you a little bit about some of them today:

• Óscar and Mónica: Mónica is Pastor Miguel’s youngest sister, and she and her boyfriend Óscar just moved to Lautaro from Santiago a few months ago with their baby girl. Óscar is from Colombia and the only evangelicals he knew there were basically sect-like in their way of life, so this is a first for him to see Jesus followers who are actually serving the community and yet still striving to live by Jesus’ standards. We’ve had them over for dinner as a couple, and Gus has been able to share with Óscar personally many times: They’ve worked side-by-side at the jobsites on multiple occasions and now Gus is also teaching him drums once a week and has been using that time together as an opportunity to share more about God’s truth with Óscar.

• Ricardo and Fabiola: this young couple just moved into the little apartment next door to us. Her family lives in the countryside and has attended the church here several times, while Ricardo is from Brazil. They have both heard the gospel, but are not currently living according to Jesus’ way. Ricardo started coming to our new home group on Friday nights, and has been encouraged in that setting. Fabiola is resistant right now, but Ricardo hopes that she will want to join in too in the near future.

• Violeta and Daniela: both of these women have been attending the Bible study that I (Karissa) have been teaching the past few weeks. Violeta the mother of one of the ladies from church (Tita) and Daniela is Tita’s coworker and good friend. Violeta was a Catholic (into saint worship and no real relationship with God) but has seen through Tita’s example that she needs something different in her life. And Daniela says she has never believed in anything, but knows that something needs to change in her life. I have had good conversations with both of them after our Bible study times and good talks with Tita as she encourages them to continue seeking the Truth.

So, we had wanted to tell you about those friends last week, but ended up postponing our more detailed update until this week... Well, on Easter Sunday, Óscar, Ricardo, Violeta and Daniela all raised their hands saying that they had prayed to accept His forgiveness and give their lives to Jesus!! We know that this is not the “end” but rather a first step in a whole new direction for each of these friends, so we ask for your prayers for each of them, for us and for the rest of the church as we encourage them in their new growth! We are thankful for what God is doing in each area of ministry in the church right now, and pray that He would continue to lead us all in the direction He wants us to go.

(Easter Sunday Service, with over 90 people in attendance!)

This week, please pray for:

• Gus’ adoptive family, the Kallestads and specifically his dad, as Doug’s brother Steve passed away on Monday, after an unexpected heart attack/stroke last Thursday. This sudden loss has shocked the family; Uncle Steve’s immediate family members are not believers. Please pray that God would use Doug and Kyle (Gus’ brother) to shine His peace, hope, love and truth in the midst of this tragedy.

• Spontaneous Trip: Gus is traveling to Ecuador this Friday for 10 days! It was a last-minute decision, but he will be attending our mission organization’s board meetings there and communicating how ministry is going here in southern Chile. Please pray for a safe trip for him as well as a good week and a half for the kids and myself here at home, as we continue with homeschool assignments, as I lead two home-group meetings in Gus’ absence and continue teaching the weekly women’s Bible study.  Pray for grace and energy, and for opportunities for both Gus and I to share the hope of Jesus with those God has put around us!

• Financial needs, as we continue raising money for the "new to us" used car we are purchasing as well as continue paying off the credit debt from 3 years ago. We are so grateful for the faithful support of those who give on a monthly basis as well as the generosity of the one-time gifts to help with special needs!

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow…. Because He lives, all fear is gone…. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.”

That is the truth: His death AND resurrection changed everything! Our deepest desire is that our lives would help draw others to this resurrected Lord who changes lives and fills them with Eternal Hope! Thank you for being a foundational part of this missions work. God bless you!

In His Love,

Gus, Karissa, Jeremy, Elizabeth, Cristina & Diego

February Blessings

Dear Partners,

We hope you and your families are doing well!  Here are a couple of updates on the prayer requests from our last email, well as some additional news:

• There are now only four non-contained wildfires remaining in the central regions of Chile, which is a significant improvement from the 70 fires that were raging at one point. Please continue to pray for those affected and for those continuing to battle fires.

• Gus’ trip up to Santiago at the beginning of the month was short & sweet, as he was able to accomplish all he needed to and return safely! The kids and I had a good time, despite Daddy being gone. (smile)

This past weekend we had the blessing of family visiting us! Specifically, Gus’ aunt, cousin, and Grandma Maria! It was such a special time with them, especially Grandma, who doctors had said wouldn't make it to 2017. Yet, here she was visiting us, and everyone had lots of fun:

(Great-Grandma Maria with Diego)

(Great-Grandma loved watching the kids play in the pool)

(Gus & his Grandma who raised him)

Gus had the blessing of leading worship this past Sunday, and I got to sing with him too! Most of the worship team members are out-of-town on vacation, so the gap in available musicians gave us this fun opportunity as a couple:

(Sunday morning worship)

Our next-door neighbor moved out last week in order to be closer to her work across town, so the rental agency asked us if we wanted to rent that little apartment that connects directly to our kitchen! We don’t have “extra” funds for that, but realized that if Gus teaches private drum classes three times a week, that would pay the rent of that place (and anything beyond that would help toward our monthly deficit)! So, we said “yes” and are setting one room up as Gus’ personal office/music production space and the other main room with instruments for music classes! One of Gus’ friends from church is so excited about the opportunity to record his own songs, as well as help teach music classes in order to reach out to the community! We know that this space will be a huge blessing in many different ways:

(Gus’ new office / music production room)

(New music classroom almost ready for use!)

This month, please pray for:

• A meeting that I (Karissa) will have tomorrow (Thursday) night with the group of single young women from church, who seem to have unresolved personal issues among themselves that affect the dynamic and potential for growth of this group. Please pray for wisdom, openness and reconciliation.

• On Friday, there is a short-term team arriving from the Seattle area! They will be working on a construction project for the school, go visit the church in Melipeuco, and the women will bring a craft and message of hope to share with our local ladies! Please pray for blessing and protection on their trip and work, as well as that they would be an encouragement to believers and seekers here in Lautaro.

• A nice, relaxing week of “stay-cation” for us as a family the first week of March, before all of the normal weekly ministry activities and responsibilities start up as summer comes to an end.

• Continued provision as we seek to be good stewards of the time, energy, finances and opportunities God has given. He is always good and always provides in His perfect time!

Thank you so much, as always, for your faithful support, 

your prayers and your words of encouragement! 

Your generosity is such a blessing to our family and a huge part of the ministry here in Lautaro... Blessings on you and yours!

In His Love,

Gustavo & Karissa,

Jeremy, Elizabeth, Cristina & Diego

(After a special Valentine’s Day lunch date!)