Blessings All Around

Dear Friends and Family,

As it’s been a while since our last blog post, we wanted to get you up-to-date on what’s been going on here in Chile and in our family:

·         Gustavo’s biological grandmother and aunt came over to our house to celebrate his grandma’s 87^th birthday (see photos below)!  It is such a blessing to be close to his adoptive and biological family and for them to be able to see & interact with the kids!

·         We have begun a bi-monthly young married couples’ group in our home!  Yesterday was our 4^th time together, fellowshipping, eating snacks that everyone brings and going through an encouraging and challenging Bible study for couples.  There are 9 different couples who have made it to at least one of our four get-togethers.  Our prayer is that this time encourages everyone in their own marriages, strengthens relationships within the group, and challenges each to serve in the local church and community.

·         The other drummer for worship on Sundays has needed to withdraw temporarily from this ministry due to personal issues, so Gus has needed to play every week this past month.  This is an added responsibility but also a way to be a blessing.  Last week Gus started a drum class to train up new drummers, and 15 people showed up, with an age range of 7-50 years old!

·         Our monthly support has increased in the past couple of months!  We have two new supporters, which has now brought us within $200 of covering our monthly needs!  This, along with special gifts over the past several months, has permitted us to pay our regular expenses without accumulating more debt. We know that God will continue to provide through His people; we are so grateful to those who support us faithfully!

·         We have heard from four different individuals who are giving one-time gifts toward our furlough to the U.S. next spring-summer!  We don’t know the amounts given yet or how much total we still need for the tickets, but are very encouraged by those who are generously contributing toward this trip!

·         As a family we have really been blessed by the freedom that homeschooling allows: staying home on cold and rainy days, going outside to play during school hours on nicer days, the creative ways of playing and learning that a flexible, adaptable schedule allows...  It is a lot of work some days, but a huge blessing to have this schooling option!

·         Last Sunday in church, Karissa was able to sing the song “Blessings” by Laura Story (translated into Spanish, of course), as it tied into the sermon.  That song has been a good reminder to us that though many times God doesn’t give us the answer we want in the timing we think best, He knows better than we do and He always works good in our lives.  Even through the hard times, the silent nights, the difficult seasons, the pain and suffering, He is still there and He can use those times to be the biggest blessings.  Let’s strive to focus on all that God has blessed us with, in His love and mercy, and seek to be a blessing to those around us as well.  The light of His goodness shines through us when we worship Him in the storms of life.

We are very thankful for God’s faithfulness to us as well as yours.  Your prayers, monthly support, one-time gifts, emails and comments are huge encouragements and blessings to us.  We are so grateful for your partnership!

Because of Him,

Gustavo, Karissa, Jeremy, Elizabeth, & Cristina

 (Gus & the kids with Great-Grandma Maria and Aunt Irma)

Past, Present & Future

Dear Partners,

First off, thank you to those who have been praying for Gus’ neck, shoulder and arm!  It has been feeling much better these past few days.  He has seen a doctor, who does think it’s probably a cervical herniated disc, but is getting an MRI today to confirm that.  And praise God, the cost for the MRI has been covered by a specifically designated gift we received for that!

Second, we are very blessed and encouraged to be serving in a church that really seeks to be a blessing to the community around us.  Last Sunday Gus was able to do the sound for a special event for about 20 children and youth with physical disabilities (photo below). Those from the church who helped out were able to show God’s love to these kids in touching ways.

And third, we also wanted to let you know that we are looking at the possibility of having a family furlough to the U.S. from April-July, 2015!  Karissa’s youngest brother just got engaged, so he and his fiancée are planning a summer wedding in Oregon!  At the same time, Karissa’s sister was planning and saving to come visit us here in Chile over Christmas, but with the news of the upcoming wedding, she has offered to instead give us that money toward one of our tickets! 

We would love to be there with the extended family for this special occasion, as well as visit & share with supporting churches and individuals, since we haven’t had a furlough in over 4 years!  However, since we lost almost half of our monthly support in our transition to Chile, we’ve been just getting by on a monthly basis but have not been able to save anything toward furloughs or other projected expenses.  So, we’d like to ask if you would like to join us by giving a one-time gift toward this furlough to the U.S. in 2015!  With Karissa’s sister’s gift, one ticket is down, so only 4 more to go! 

We really appreciate you prayerfully considering helping us with this family need!  And we would love to be able to visit you and your church in the U.S. next late spring-early summer, to update you in person about what God is doing here in Chile!  Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and financial support for our family and ministry.

Blessings,

Gustavo, Karissa, Jeremy, Elizabeth, & Cristina

On a Wing and a Prayer

Dear Partners,

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family as Kris & Cristina were in the U.S.  Their time there was very blessed as they were able to see many extended family members and friends!  A fun and special highlight was the five-generation photo we are sharing at the bottom of this update (Karissa’s great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother were all there!).  And now we are happy to all be together again at home in Chile.

We have two specific challenges to share with you today, and ask that you would please join us in bringing these requests before our Father:

1 – The couple that we shared about several weeks ago is again going through tough times.  It seems as though the husband is giving up on trying to work things out, with a very immature attitude from what we and others are seeing. He says that he wants to move out of their house for a while to sort out his thoughts and feelings.  We, and others, have counseled him against this and have tried to encourage other ways of working through things together, but he is currently rejecting godly counsel and seems decided in the matter.  So we ask you to pray with us that the Spirit would convict him, challenge him to grow in maturity, and truly restore their marriage and family.  At the same time, please pray that no matter what the husband ends up deciding to do, that God would protect the wife and their two children, surrounding them with godly friends to encourage, help and comfort them.

2 – On a totally different subject, Gus’ neck, shoulder and arm have had a lot of pain and tension the past couple of weeks, getting progressively worse.  A massage, pain killer or muscle relaxant help temporarily, but the pain returns shortly.  Because of the symptoms we think it might be a cervical herniated disc (unrelated as far as we can tell to the herniated disc in his lower back), so he has an appointment scheduled with a specialist on Wednesday.  Please pray for God’s healing touch on Gus’ neck, shoulder and arm, as well as wisdom for the doctor to give him helpful suggestions on what should be done.  We are expecting that a CAT scan and MRI will probably be needed, as well as perhaps some physical therapy depending on what the actual diagnosis is, so please pray as well for the finances needed to cover those extra expenses.  We don’t have health insurance (our current low support rate hasn’t allowed us to afford it), and paying into the Chilean social security system only covers a small percentage of medical expenses.  

Thank you, as always, for continuing to stand in the gap with us.  We know that God is on His throne, in control, and always working good in the lives of those who love Him.  Thank you so much to those who pray and give faithfully, allowing us to serve here in Chile.  May you be blessed as you bless others in His Name! 

 (Kris' grandma, Great-Grandma, Kris, Cristina, and Kris' Mom!)

Time to Travel

Update from Kris:

This past week included lots of fun celebrations, with Father's Day, Gus' birthday and our 8th anniversary!  We are so grateful for all of God's blessings to us as a couple, as a family, and with our extended family and friends as well...

Speaking of extended family, this next Monday, June 23^rd, Cristina and I are going to the U.S. for two weeks!  My parents, siblings, grandmas, and a couple of family friends all chipped in and bought the ticket so we could be there for the wedding of one of my cousins!  I haven’t been back in the Pacific Northwest in almost 4 years and Cristina has never been at all…, so it will be great to catch up with extended family and friends and introduce them all to our ‘baby’! 

There are two short-term teams here right now, so over these two weeks that I’ll be gone, Gus will continue coordinating details for those and other teams, working from home and arranging for other full-time workers to be on-site with the teams so that he can be with Jeremy and Liz. 

So, please pray for a safe, good trip for Cristina and I, as well as protection on Gus, Jeremy and Liz here at home in Chile.  Please pray for good times for the three of them here, that it would be a fun, special bonding opportunity as Jeremy and Liz get more concentrated time with Daddy! 

(Father's Day photo)

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Update from Gus and Kris:

These past few weeks have been full with church ministry responsibilities as well as organizing the details for short-term teams and getting lots of family paperwork done!  In addition, three weeks ago we started marriage counseling for a couple from the church who was on the verge of divorce.  There is deep hurt and lots of miscommunication on both sides, and they have two small children affected by their struggles too.  But by the grace of God it now seems like they are both very willing to take the steps necessary to work through their issues and restore their relationship.  We are meeting with them on Thursday nights going through some marriage counseling material and Karissa is also doing a women’s Bible study with the wife on Wednesday afternoons to help encourage her.  Please pray with us for this couple as well as their children, that God would restore what has been broken, protect their children, be glorified in their family, and give us the words to encourage and challenge them through this process.  And please pray for strength, energy, and wisdom for us as a couple as we are spending lots of time preparing these studies, being available when one of them has needed to stop by to talk through something specific, and just in general shifting around our family and work schedule in order to counsel this couple during these difficult weeks.

On a completely different note, thank you so much to one supporting church as well as three individuals who gave special one-time financial gifts that have helped us out so much over this past month!  These were answers to prayer: we are completely humbled by your generosity and continue being amazed at how God provides and covers our needs in ways that we cannot anticipate.  Please continue praying with us for new regular supporters to cover our monthly financial needs.  And to all who currently support us financially: Thank you for your faithfulness, for allowing us to serve, and for being a part of what God is doing in the churches here in Chile!

One Body, Many Parts

 Update from Gus in the South of Chile:
 
The same team that worked on the Libertad church last week is now with me in Lautaro, a city about 8 hours south of Santiago.  The IberoAmerican church here has a great vision to reach its community through very practical ways, including a huge focus on the indigenous people group of this region (the Mapuches), who are rejected or shunned by many churches in the area. They also have great discipleship and training for believers, with a good focus on preparing for missions work.  Our main project this week is to prepare the ground and lay the foundation for the grade-school that the church is constructing with the support of like-minded churches and the help of short-term teams!

Something we've been talking about a lot this week is how we are a multicultural group, with different backgrounds and different giftings, but we are all members of the same Body serving together right now, each with different functions.  Christ is our Head and we all do our part to keep moving forward in the work He gives us each to do.  This school project is just beginning and will take the work of many more teams coming to give their time, energy and resources over the next several months.  But when it is done, this school will bless over 600 children and their families and allow this church to continue being a witness to the Gospel of Jesus in new, practical ways for the people of Lautaro!

Repairing a wall... changing lives!

Update from Gus:

Hi Friends!  Thank you for your prayers!  We just finished up the first work week with the short-term team that’s here.  They did a bunch of patching jobs, primarily fixing up one of the walls of the Sunday school classroom at the church called “Libertad”, because it was leaking really bad and flooding the room during the rainy season. (Not a very inviting situation to have little kids in!)  So, the team worked hard and it’s looking great now, as you can see in the photos below! 

This church was the first one in our movement here in Chile and has special meaning for me personally.  You see, I was 15 years old, living on the street, a depressed drug addict, and ended up going to a concert at this church even though I’d sworn I’d never set foot in a church again.  But God had a plan, and none of my party plans for that night worked out, so I ended up going to this church, hearing great music, and listening to a testimony from an American guy whose life sounded strangely like mine, except that now he had hope because Jesus had changed him.  And on that night, God touched my heart and I felt compelled to make the biggest decision of my life and give everything to Him.  It was a long process after that, and many more miracles, but that night at that church is what God used to start my conscious walk with Him.

So, this team may have “only” been working on fixing a leaking wall for most of this week… but God knows what little boys and girls are going to be in that room over this next winter, warm and dry, hearing about Jesus’ real, personal love for them for the first time!  No job is too small or unimportant with a God that changes the ordinary into extraordinary and the common into supernatural!