Hello Dear
Friends & Family!
We hope you
and your families had a wonderful Christmas, celebrating the birth of our
Savior! What a life-changing, hope-granting Gift!
Well, 2019 is
almost over! I feel like we say this every December, but this year seemed to
fly by, right? Here’s a recap of many of this past year’s highlights for us (it's so easy to forget all that's gone on in 12 months!), and then we'll close with prayer requests for
the next months:
January -
Technically, this photo is from December 2018, but we did ring in the New Year too with Karissa’s family in the U.S, even though there's no photo to prove it (wink):
Helped with the VIVE conference, at a retreat center just south of Santiago:
Lots of packing... and moved into our new home in the countryside:
February -
Moved furniture and people around in our unfinished home as construction/installations were being completed:
Gus worked in Melipeuco with a couple teams that month:
Karissa made her first batches of homemade jams and preserves:
March -
Adopted an abandoned mommy dog and her puppies:
Gus went to teach a sound workshop in Santiago:
There was a blazing wildfire that came within yards of our home:
We celebrated Liz’ 9th birthday on that same day anyway:
April -
We finished building our woodshed:
Gus helped with a music team in Santiago:
We celebrated Easter in Melipeuco:
May -
Lots of apple-picking and relationship-building with a very kind neighbor:
(We had many visitors at our house, both human and animal😉:
Spent a weekend in Ralco and Los Angeles for ministry meetings:
June -
Gus played a concert with a secular band in a city further south:
(We went to Melipeuco as a family for leadership meetings and a women’s Bible study:
Celebrated Gus' birthday & our anniversary:
Gus worked with a team in Ralco:
Taught a worship workshop in Los Ángeles:
Karissa & the kids dug the100-foot trench for the waterline while Gus was away as a surprise:
July -
Karissa got a special day away with some friends to a hot springs:
Gus worked with another team in Ralco:
We celebrated Jeremy’s 11th birthday:
Prepared a birthday bbq for Amador in Ralco:
Road and water problems on the land:
Finally got the well running:
August -
Karissa & kids went to Melipeuco with a couple friends for a women’s Bible study:
We had several weekend guests:
Traveled to Ecuador as a family to serve at the VIVE conference and meet our sponsored girls:
September -
The “18 de Septiembre”, Chile’s independence day:
Several different families came to stay for a couple of nights throughout the month:
We spent another Sunday in Melipeuco:
October -
We celebrated Diego’s 4th birthday with the family in Santiago:
Gus went on a missions trip to Iraq:
Our neighbor helped Karissa & kiddos plant our first vegetable garden:
A social crisis explodes in Santiago, affecting all of Chile... Unrest, violence & lack of unity still continue in many regions more than 2 months later:
November -
We celebrated Karissa’s birthday:
Gus worked in Melipeuco again with a short-term team:
Kids took their final exams to wrap up our home-school year:
We celebrated Cristina’s 7th birthday:
December -
Attended a special lunch celebrating a rural waterline that hundreds of families (including us) will be beneficiaries of this next year:
Building & painting shelves:
Baking & delivering cookies together:
Special Pre-Christmas service & lunch in Melipeuco:
And yesterday we attended a neighbor’s birthday, where we were the only non-family members invited:
Prayer
Requests for 2020:
- Please
continue to pray for the socio-political situation in Chile: there is most
likely an impending recession, there have been thousands of jobs lost, and this
affects everyone here in Chile, directly or indirectly. Some are waiting for
the perfect solution or a savior of sorts, but we know politics are messy,
people tend to be greedy and selfish, and Jesus is the only one who can really
save, bring justice and real freedom. Please pray for peace, generosity and love to be shown especially by believers in this country!
- Gus will
have strategic planning meetings for 2020 with leaders in Melipeuco, Ralco and
Los Ángeles in the next few weeks. Prayers for wisdom & guidance in
starting off this new year well in all three of those locations!
- We will be
traveling to Santiago in a couple weeks for the VIVE 2020 Conference (taking
place January 15th-18th). Please pray for safe trips for all of those who are
traveling to be there and for God’s leading in all that takes place that week.
- After VIVE,
we’ll be hosting several guests in our home. Pray that those would be relaxing
times for these families to get away from their normal routine and enjoy the
countryside in the south.
- In
February Gus will be working with at least two short-term teams in Melipeuco and
Ralco. Please pray for the construction and evangelistic projects they will be
carrying out, Lord willing.
- Please
pray for Pastor Geovanni & his family (from Ecuador) as they are currently preparing
to move down here to the south of Chile in March! We look forward to working as
a team with them in this region after their period of adaptation.
- Pray for continued
relationship-building over the summer months: As weather is nice and kids are
out of school, there are many opportunities to get to know and deepen friendships
with neighbors!
- Prayers
appreciated for good health for our family over the summer. This month we’ve dealt
with bouts of heatstroke, a flu bug and some seasonal allergies too... Please
pray that all 6 of us would have good health and energy for everything going on
in January and February!
Thank you
so much for your prayers: we feel uplifted & protected knowing that
you are standing in the gap for our family. Thank you for your words of
encouragement: hearing from you means so much to us and seems to close the
physical distance gap! And thank you for your regular monthly support, as
well as your one-time gifts sent to help with specific needs this year: we
are humbled & honored to be able to serve in this region, and your faithful partnership
allows that to happen!!
It may
sound really cliche, but one of the best ways we could sum up 2019 is with: #blessed. In spite of the manifold changes and
challenges, it was a truly, extraordinarily blessed year...and we are so grateful
to YOU for joining us in this work and being a part of our international family.
So, bring on
2020! In His grip and in partnership with you, we are ready for any craziness
this year brings!
Happy New Year, from our family to yours!!!
Because His mercies are new every morning (and each year),
Gustavo & Karissa,
Jeremy, Elizabeth, Cristina & Diego
