So Much Thankfulness at ICI Lautaro... And New Opportunities!

 Dear Friends,

The past few weeks have been FULL of Reasons to be Thankful!!

On November 23rd, we hosted the very first “ReUnidos” all-day retreat with all four ICI churches in the south: Melipeuco, Ralco, Los Ángeles and Lautaro (with help from several friends and family from Santiago!):

There were about 130 people who participated in this special day of beautiful worship, encouraging workshops, fun kids’ activities, relationship-building opportunities and so much yummy food! Everyone agreed that this needs to be a yearly event to continue strengthening relationships between these sister churches!

 That Saturday was also the date chosen for Gus’ official ordaining as Pastor and Ruben’s appointment as Elder! That ceremony took place during the all-church service in the evening. It was such a blessing to have our missionary brothers and sisters from the other southern ICI churches present during this special moment! And our prayer is that it would serve as an example and encouragement to their churches to take steps toward seeking official leadership appointing as well.  

Immediately following that very busy weekend, we hosted a work team from ICI Los Heroes (in Santiago), who came for a week to build a real stage for our church meeting room and start on the cabin for the drum-set! 

They also helped us finish up the Sunday school rooms! All the walls were sanded and painted, proper doors were installed and, as a bonus, each room now has a special mural!

We are so blessed by the hard work put in and love shown by this team of dear friends...

Now we invite you to join us in PRAYER for this next month’s needs and opportunities:

-         This past Friday, the buyer of the first acre-plot and Gus (representing the corporation) signed the official closing of that sale! Those documents should be processed this week, and then we’ll be able to start using some of those funds to keep advancing with construction and implementation of this space at ICI Lautaro. Please pray as we keep moving forward with this. And there are now people interested in seeing the back plots for sale on the church property. Please pray for God’s leading in future sales as well!

 

-         Most families at church (including us) are still in various stages of being under the weather. Please pray for complete healing and restoration of strength & energy, so we could all finish the year well!

 

-         As you probably are too, we are in Christmas mode at ICI Lautaro! Planning, decorating and rehearsals are in full swing. Our special Christmas service will be on Dec. 22^nd, so just 2 weeks left!  Please pray for this busy and blessed time: may God be glorified, may the church be encouraged and may seekers encounter the real Reason for the season!

 

-         The first week of January, we’ll be hosting a team from ICI Oriente (in Santiago) that will come to primarily help us put on evangelistic campaigns in a few plazas in town! They’ll bring puppet shows and other fun stuff for kids of all ages and their families, and we are SO looking forward to what God will do here in Lautaro in and through this Oriente team!! Please pray for the team members that are preparing to come, for their finances, health and protection.

 

-         Believe it or not, our Mitsubishi is back in the shop… While showing it to a potential buyer, he noticed an oil leak, and when the mechanic checked it out, he said it wasn’t a superficial issue. Unfortunately, he said it’s another result of the improper reinstallation done by the previous mechanic six months ago. This is like a bad joke that wouldn’t end... There is good interest in the vehicle, but we need to have it running properly to sell it for a decent price and be able to purchase a more reliable vehicle for our family and ministry. So, we’re waiting again for the mechanic to finish the repairs, and then back on the market it goes! Thank you for continuing to pray and thank you so much to those who have given to this need!

 

Speaking of needs, over the past few months as ministry has grown there have been many extra expenses. Though it has been very tight at times, and we weren’t sure how we’d be able to cover things, God has always provided through generous friends! We are so grateful to those who support this ministry monthly or through occasional one-time gifts.

If you feel led, here's an opportunity to give to several different needs (in ministry and family) that we can’t cover with our current income:

-         To start off 2025, we’d love to be able to host a nice meal for our team of servant leaders from ICI Lautaro, to thank them for all their hard work, dedication and sacrifice. The team is committed to keep moving forward into what God has for our church, and we want to continue being encouraging and show our gratitude in special ways. A gift of $100 or more would allow us to fix something special for the team!

 

-         There are a few low-income church members we wish we could sponsor to go to VIVE, our missions’ yearly conference next month! It costs about $200 to sponsor one person, covering the 4-day conference expenses.

 

-         This year (2024) we were planning to get braces for Liz. Our 14-year-old is very self-conscious about her smile and really wants straight teeth like her big brother! However, the recurring car issues this year have taken financial priority.  But we do need to get her braces as soon as possible next year! If anyone would like to give toward that initial expense (it’s about $1,200 to install them), we would really appreciate any help!!

 

-         Finally, in an effort to get more regular exercise this summer and next fall, we’d like to do maintenance/repairs on the 5 bicycles we have. That will probably be about $400 to replace broken parts and get the bikes back in good shape, if someone would like to contribute to this need!

 

If you feel led to give a tax-deductible donation for one of these specific needs or a general donation, here is how that can be done:

Online, please use the link below and scroll to “Gustavo Guevara” under the “Fund” tab: https://pushpay.com/g/iamchilenationalworkers?src=hpp&r=monthly

Through regular mail, please make checks payable to “IberoAmerican Ministries”, designate to “Project: Guevara - Chile”,
and send to:
IberoAmerican Ministries
P.O. Box 1493
Monroe, WA 98272

 

Thank you so much for your prayerful consideration and your generosity!! (If your donation is toward a specific need, please let us know so that we can plan accordingly, since we won’t receive the funds for a few weeks!)

 

Friends, this is a very exciting time of life and ministry, and it’s easy to get absorbed by the busy-ness of it all. But it’s so important to step back and really see the big picture of who God is, who we are as His children and what He is doing in, through and around us. 

And in that stepping back perspective, as always, we personally can’t help but thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your faithfulness in prayer, in encouragement and in financial support. This truly is a partnership that God is using to advance the ministry in Lautaro. We are encouraged and held up by your faithfulness, which God uses to bless us daily. Thank you for walking this walk and fighting this fight alongside our family and our ministry team. May the Lord encourage, strengthen and fill you with exceeding joy in this special season!

Because of Jesus,

Gus & Karissa, 

Jeremy, Liz, Cristina and Diego