A Very Full Week in Lautaro

Hola from the Araucania region of Chile! We have been in Lautaro for over two weeks now and are getting settled into our new home and church family!

Our new rental home!

prepping the wall panels

We've hit the ground running! Though a couple more suitcases & boxes still need to be unpacked, we are already in the throes of ministry: a construction team of fourteen has been here the past 10 days (they just left this morning), so Gus has been with them all day almost every day, working, translating and transporting! The classroom walls are going up in the school being built at the church, so that’s very exciting, visible progress!

and they're up!

We hosted two people helping with the construction this week in our home, and we also had a spontaneous 5-day visit from two of Gus’s aunts and a 6-year-old cousin from Santiago! So, our mostly unpacked and barely set up house has been quite full and sleeping quarters have been tight! (smile)

Now there’s a 2-week break from construction work, but another team comes March 5^th-14^th and then a third team arrives one day later, staying from the 15^th – 24^th! So most of March is going to be busy, busy, busy!

the cut is healing well

Prayer requests:

- For physical health (against colds and other illnesses as we’ve changed climates) as well as physical protection (i.e. Gus split his finger open on the work-site with a switch-blade that wasn’t properly locked! Thankfully one of the team members is a nurse and was able to stop the bleeding, bandage the cut and check on the daily healing progress.)

- For continuing to adapt well as a family to the weather, this house and the ministry here;

- For good relationships to continue to be built with members of this community;

- For provision for our monthly budget needs.

Thank you for your continued support through prayer and financial gifts! We are excited about what God is doing in this city and region of Chile, and are blessed to be sharing in this work with you!

Because of His Name,

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

P.S.: Now that we’re here in Lautaro, our goal is to write a new blog post every week or two to keep you updated on current happenings. So, please subscribe to this blog if you haven’t yet and/or check back regularly for updated news! (wink)

After a Few (Thousand) Miles...

Dear Partners,

We are back in Chile, where it is winter! (It’s hard to imagine that, isn’t it?)  Here’s a short summary of what the past few months have looked like:

Time in the U.S.

• We drove over 5,000 miles across nine states, visiting and sharing with people from 17 different churches!
• One family lent us a car for the whole three months, fourteen different families hosted us in their homes, and countless others invited us over or out for meals and sharing times.
• We were blessed to be a part of Karissa’s brother’s beautiful wedding, including all the pre- and post- wedding time with extended family!
  
  (Jeremy’s birthday party at the coast with lots of family!)
• The kids were great sports adapting to all of the driving, staying in different houses, trying new food and just in general having a different schedule than what they’re used to.
• All in all, we were able to spend almost three months catching up in person and spending quality time with family and friends, visiting with supporters, and sharing with new acquaintances. 
• We are very grateful for having been able to take this busy furlough and are thankful for all of you who gave to cover our needs and hosted our family so generously!  It was a huge blessing to spend time with you!!

Back in Chile

Our flights home went well, and everyone arrived safe and sound.  We have all been fighting colds, though, for the past couple of weeks since getting back, so we’d appreciate prayers to be able to completely get over these illnesses as a family.

Ministry:  We are back now into our ministry activities in Santiago: Gus is playing drums every other Sunday for worship as well as teaching drum classes again, while Karissa is helping in Sunday school.  This next week we will begin a counseling study with the married couple that desires to serve by leading, teaching and training other young couples.  We will also be reconnecting with the other families from the married couples’ ministry we started last year to see how everyone is doing.

Gus’ Family:  We were blessed last Thursday to go out to dinner with some of Gus’ biological family to celebrate his grandmother María’s 87^th birthday!  She is the only other believer on that side of the family. It was a special time to spend with other relatives that we hadn’t seen for a while. And most importantly, two of Gus’ aunts that hadn’t spoken to each other in three years both were there with good, friendly attitudes, which brought Grandma María to tears.  We have been encouraging them both over the past year to put aside their petty arguments and bitterness and take the step toward reconciliation, especially for the sake of their mom, and it was such a blessing to see that happen this week and to see the sisters laughing and joking together again!

 (Grandma María with her three daughters)

Baby:  As far as pregnancy, our newest little one is growing well!  Karissa is now 7 months along and in the latest ultrasound it was confirmed that we’re having a boy! So, Baby #4 is now officially Diego Eduardo!  Baby Diego’s due date is October 26^th, which will be here before we know it, and his older siblings can’t wait to meet him!

Move South:  The plan is still to be moving south to Lautaro as a family in January 2016!  That will be summertime here and a good time of year to make that transition.  We are looking forward to serving the Mapuche indigenous people there, using our gifts to minister in the local church, working in church-planting in the surrounding communities, and developing the missions training center. One of our goals during our recent furlough was to explain the project in Lautaro and communicate our current family and ministry needs. We were blessed to be able to share this with several churches and individuals that are not currently affiliated with the work here in Chile. We received a lot of positive feedback and prayer for the vision, project and needs.  We haven’t had specific confirmations of new support, though several have said that they will get back to us on that, so we are hopeful that, God willing, new financial partners will come out of those many conversations and sharing opportunities. We believe that God has called us to Lautaro and prepared us for this work, so we are confident that He will provide for and continue covering the needs for our family and ministry through those that He touches and calls to be a part of this work!  Thank you to all of those who have faithfully been partnering with us over the years, and thank you ahead of time to the new partners who will be joining!

Prayer Requests:

• Full recovery from colds/flu and good health for our family.
• Continued good pregnancy for Karissa and healthy development for Baby Diego, due at the end of October.
• New financial support to cover the amount we are short for the move south to Lautaro (we are currently at 50% of what we will eventually need to cover family and ministry budgets there starting in January).
• Fruitfulness as we continue teaching and training here in Santiago over the next few months.

Again, it was a huge blessing and encouragement to see and spend time with so many of you this summer!  We hope and pray that God continues to bless you and use you to be a source of blessing and encouragement to those around you, as you have been for our family!  May His peace and joy fill your lives and your homes!

In His Love,

Gustavo, Karissa, Jeremy, Elizabeth, Cristina & Baby Diego!

Summertime in the U.S.A.!

Dear Partners,

Warm greetings from sunny Liberty Lake, WA!  We are finishing up our first month in the U.S., so have two more months left.  So far our time here has involved a LOT of driving (and there´s more to come!), but it has been wonderful to be able to visit with many, many individuals and churches in several different states!  It´s been fun to reconnect with long-time supporters and friends, and encouraging to be able to share with new churches and individuals about what is going on in Lautaro, Chile and what our roles will be there starting next January! 

We really appreciate the generosity and hospitality of those who have opened up their homes and hearts to us, those who have invited us over or out for meals, and those who have taken time out of their busy schedules to visit with us for a couple of hours. We´ve felt loved, listened to, and cared for by so many already, and we´re not even half way through this furlough yet! It has been such a blessing to introduce our children to so many people and to see them loved on as well.  And we are excited for what is still to come in June and July as we continue visiting with others here in the U.S.!

Please pray for us as we continue traveling, connecting and sharing:

•    Pray that God would continue to direct and bless our time here, and use us to be a blessing to those around us as well.
• Pray for good health and energy for our whole family over these remaining two months (the kids were just sick for a week, but are now feeling much better).
• Pray for God´s continued provision for ministry and family needs.
• Pray for fun times with extended family and friends as well!

Thank you for your partnership in this work and with our family!  May God bless you as you seek to be a blessing to others!

In His Love,

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

Merry Christmas and More....

Dear Partners,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Chile!  We hope you are able to enjoy quality time with your families, as well as good "down" time to rest and reflect on His goodness!

This year of transition has flown by and we are so thankful for the work that God has allowed us to be a part of here. We really are blessed to be a blessing!  There are exciting and new things coming, so please read to the end and pray with us!

Ministry in Santiago

This next year will entail continuing with the work we are currently involved in: Gus will continue coordinating short-term teams, organizing the sound at church, playing drums on Sundays and teaching/training up new drummers. He is also on a couple of different committees in the church and the missions organization, helping to re-structure and define vision and strategies.  Karissa will continue focusing primarily on the kids' schooling, deepening relationships with other women from the church, continuing to help in the church nursery/Sunday school, and together we will keep going with the young couples' ministry and counseling individual couples.  We are excited to keep serving in all of these areas and training up new people to cover these needs as well!

2015 Travels to the U.S.

Things keep coming together for our furlough from May-August 2015: Since the last time we wrote, we have received a couple of additional financial gifts as well as being offered a car to use during our time in the U.S.!  We have been very blessed by the generosity of those who have given toward this trip as well as those who have offered us a place to stay while in different cities. So, thank you so much!! Our plan over the next couple of weeks is to firm up dates for visiting each place, and as soon as we have those we'll be in touch to schedule visits with as many churches and individuals as possible!

2016: Another Move!

In other exciting news, we wanted to let you know that we have been praying over the past few months, asking God if Santiago is the place where He wants us to stay long-term or if He has something else for us in the near future. And over these months, we have sensed and seen confirmation that our job here is to serve, equip and train for a couple of years, and then move on to another place with specific church-planting and project needs.

After praying, talking with our supervisors, and meeting with the pastor/project leader at the church in Lautaro (a city in the south of Chile where Gus has taken a few teams this year), we have peace that God is leading us to that location, and have committed to moving there in January 2016!  The church in Lautaro has a huge vision and project that includes a school that is currently under construction, a housing facility for some of the students and a missions training program, in conjunction with church-planting goals in the many rural, indigenous communities surrounding the city.  That region of Chile is the poorest and has the highest percentage of indigenous peoples, who have traditionally been shunned by other Christian communities. (See this short video from Pastor Miguel in Lautaro, sharing a bit about the vision and project: https://vimeo.com/109575711)

Our roles there will include:
1) Integrating into and serving in the local "mother" church in Lautaro,
2) Helping in the next steps needed for the school and missions training projects, and
3) Building relationships in surrounding communities toward the future goal of church-planting and leadership-training in those areas.

This move will bring new challenges in ministry and family, but we trust that God will continue to lead and provide as He always has done!  We still have work to do here in Santiago, and will focus during 2015 on completing well the things that we have started, continuing to train and equip in the areas where we are serving, and seeking to be a blessing to this local church in as many ways as possible over this second year here.  We look forward to sharing with you in person while in the U.S. about the work in Santiago as well as more specifics about the church and project in Lautaro!

Thank you for your continued prayers, support, gifts, words of encouragement, care & concern for our family and the ministry to which God has called us.  We pray that He would bless, encourage and supply all of your needs during this Christmas season as well as all of 2015!

Because of the Savior born in Bethlehem,
Gustavo, Karissa, Jeremy, Elizabeth, & Cristina

(Photo 1: Painting ornaments and making cupcakes with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Christy!  Photo 2: Lunch date!)

 

 

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!)