Our Busy Summer is Almost Over!

Dear Partners,

Wow, it’s March already! January and February seemed to pass by in a whirlwind! Here’s an overview of the main happenings here:

Monse, Kendi and Hannah came to serve as interns in Lautaro for a month, (mid-Jan to mid-Feb). Among many other things, it was so helpful to have them teach the Sunday School class during the five Sundays they were here and take turns serving on the worship team too!

We also had a very special visit for a few days mid-January from Gus’ sister Lori, her husband Daniel and their baby Anderson! 

On Jan. 21^st, several of us from Lautaro went to Melipeuco to put on a Worship Workshop that morning and then a special Worship Service that evening! It was a very encouraging time of fellowship and learning together with our brothers and sisters in Melipeuco!

Most of our energy the last couple weeks of January went into preparing for ICI Lautaro’s 1^st Bilingual Kids’ Camp, with the help of the interns! There were 22 kiddos in attendance, almost half of which were not from the church! Some of the new kids were friends or neighbors of church members, but most had no connection and had just received a physical invitation or seen one on social media. We ended the camp with a closing awards ceremony, inviting their families and friends. The response was excellent and all the kids want to participate again next year! One new family of six attended church a couple weeks after the camp finished and said they would be back to church in March!

In mid-February we drove up to Santiago to be with family there to celebrate Gus’ brother Kyle’s wedding! It was a beautiful ceremony and fun reception, and just so special to spend time with friends and family there over those few days!

That Sunday we were able to attend the Oriente church in Maipu, which Karissa and the kiddos hadn’t visited in over 3 years! It was such a blessing to see brothers and sisters there, including two young guys getting baptized... And as an added bonus, Gus got to play drums!

That following week, we had a 5-day family vacation at the beach! It was our first immediate family vacation in five years, so we got some good r&r and had a blast together!

In not-so-fun news, in the middle of January our Mitsubishi’s turbo quit, so the car has been at the mechanic ever since. Thanks to generous one-time gifts from a couple of you, the turbo is now being repaired! By next week we should know if there are any other issues that need fixing before we can get the car back. We are grateful for your financial help, your prayers, and also for having been gifted that “backup car” last year that has again been our only running vehicle for over a month now.

(The 5-passenger Kia with no a/c that we squished in to get to Santiago and back!)

On a very intense note, a situation that’s been going on since the end of January at a regional level is burning of fields. Not the normal yearly field-burning after harvest that sometimes has gotten out of control in this agricultural area, but rather purposefully destructive and coordinated fires being started all over for political or ideological reasons. Unfortunately, government response has been lacking, only a couple of arrests have been made, and fires continue to spring up in areas all around towns and cities here in the south.  All firefighters in Chile are volunteers and are very overworked and exhausted right now. Along that same line, there are some local rural shops or plots of land that are again being threatened by violent groups (with the excuse of trying to “reclaim” them for indigenous families)...  

(a huge fire on Feb 4th about 7 miles from our home)

(How the situation looked in these 3 regions the first week of Feb.)

Prayer Requests for March:

-         Please pray for safety, real solutions, and peace for this region. We know that ultimately, only Jesus can truly heal and bring peace to hearts that are divided and antagonistic like this.

-         Pray that our car’s turbo would be fixed in the best possible way and that any other mechanical issues would be repaired, so we can have a dependable vehicle again!

-         This Saturday, Rubén (one of the leaders at ICI Lautaro) and his wife, Clara, are going to celebrate their “church” wedding! They were legally married years ago, but only ever had a civil ceremony, never a religious one. Rubén has finally taken to heart the advice from Gus and others in leadership over the years, so he and Clara decided to use this as an opportunity to reach out to non-believers in their family and friend circle, as well as be an example to current church members as well! Please pray for that special day, that God would be glorified and that He would bless this couple as they seek to honor Him.

-         This Sunday evening, a short-term team from California will fly into Temuco, so Gus, his dad and a couple other guys will pick them up from the airport and drive straight up to Ralco to work for a week there! Pray for God’s protection over travels and the work in Ralco!

-         We will be starting up again with marriage counseling sessions that have been on hold over these summer months, so please pray for those to continue well, that these couples would progress well, and their marriages would be healed/strengthened.

-         In a couple weeks we will have a church planning meeting to organize this year now that summer is ending: starting up with home groups again, planning special event Sundays, sharing about short-term teams coming to Lautaro this year, talking about new ministry opportunities and goals... Please pray for good participation and energy from church members as we kick off this new season!

-         We will also be starting up another homeschool year as a family, so as always we really appreciate your prayers as we balance ministry, school and family life!

 

“See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and stream in the wasteland!”

(Isaiah 43:19)

Lautaro isn’t a physical wilderness or wasteland by any stretch of the imagination! But we could definitely use some rain these days to put out fires or wet the dry grass and chaff so new fire-lighting attempts can't spread... However, more importantly, there is a spiritual, emotional and socio-political wilderness here in the south of Chile that fervently needs quenching... We know the only Living Water who can satisfy that deep need and are so blessed & honored to be serving in this place, sharing His hope!  

Thank you for your support in so many ways, for standing in the gap, for giving generously, for writing words of encouragement, helping us in this Kingdom work!

In Jesus' Love,

Gus & Karissa

Jeremy, Liz, Cristina and Diego

 

Gratitude, Peace & Hope

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Southern Chile! This year has been a whirlwind of events and has seemed to just fly by! And as we reflect back on all of the happenings, in both ministry and family life, our hearts are filled with enormous Gratitude, first and foremost to GOD for His never-ending love and provision, for filling our hearts with Peace & Hope even during the hard days...  And gratitude to YOU for standing in the gap faithfully for our family and for the work here in Lautaro, through prayer and financial support!

As it probably has for you as well, this past month here in Lautaro has been very busy with guests, planning, work-days, special events, etc. Thank you for all of your prayers! Here are some photos and explanations from the last few weeks, followed by prayer requests to start off the new year!

First off, we had a great visit with Monse from Santiago, who was a huge help and encouragement during the 12 days she was here with us! (Including helping out with baking over 450 Christmas cookies to give to friends at church and neighbors!) Monse wants to come back again to help with a kids’ summer camp in a few weeks! (more details about that in the prayer requests below)

The first youth-group meeting was a fun get-together! The plan is to have a regular monthly meeting for the 10-to-17-year-olds starting in 2023:

This month, we started marriage counseling with some church friends and have really enjoyed spending time with them and their boys:

There were a couple good church workdays cleaning, prepping, and decorating for Christmas:

The evening Christmas Service on Friday the 23rd was a very special event with new songs, a children’s play, cool scenery, lights and candles! All the kiddos did an excellent job and we had lots of good help putting everything together this year, praise God!

It was so encouraging to see our brothers & sisters bringing their friends and neighbors, as there were several first-time guests! What a meaningful way to celebrate God sending His Son, our perfect Light, into the world!

Yesterday evening (Friday the 30^th) was our last church service of the year, with a focus on Gratitude for 2022 and Hope for 2023. Almost half of church members were out of town for this long weekend, but it was a blessed time for those in attendance. And we finished the night off with a White Elephant Gift Exchange! 😊

In January please pray for:

-          Bilingual Kids’ Camp that we are planning to put on for a week at the end of January/beginning of February! Pray that the details come together, that church members are on board with helping and hosting, so that this can be a fun evangelistic event to draw kids and their families to the church!

-          Church growth: Continue to pray for good healthy church growth here at ICI Lautaro, for the members to use some of their free time this summer to become more involved in  outreach and service, continuing to grow in spiritual maturity. The church membership has grown by 25% this past year and giving has increased almost 50%, which has allowed the church to host more events and be more generous! So we pray that a spirit of service and active ministry participation would grow in the members at that same rate as well!

-          Youth: We want to plan out a new strategy this year for children and youth ministries, to address in relevant ways the many issues of family problems, depression and anxiety, violence, and general moral decay that are all so prevalent among young people today. May the church be a place of hope, healing, peace and truth for these kids and their families! And may God bring those who need Him and show us how to reach out to them in ways they can understand!

-          Other churches in the South: please continue to pray for the other ICI church plants at different stages here in the south of Chile, for their leadership, and for good unity, communication, accountability, and teamwork between all of the missionaries/church planters here in this region.

-          Hosting: As it is summer here now, we will have several guests coming to visit over the next few months, which always makes for a busy yet very fun time!

-          Car: We still have not been able to properly fix our car’s current issues and need wisdom in what the best use of finances and time would be for a long-term solution, as the advice and estimates we are getting from a few different mechanic friends vary pretty significantly.

-          Health: Pray that we as a family would all continue in good health and specifically pray for Gus’ allergies which are acting up a lot this time of year.

-          Finances: We are so grateful for the regular financial support that several of you have been sending monthly for years now, and for the two new supporters who have joined this partnership recently! Our current income is still about $300/month short of where it needs to be in order to cover regular ministry and family expenses, so we have needed to use special one-time and year-end gifts to break even. Please pray for this deficit to be covered this year so that we are able to move forward in family and ministry without accruing more debt. And thank you SO MUCH again for your generous giving which allows us to continue serving here in Lautaro!

For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of his government and peace

    there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

    and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

    with justice and righteousness

    from that time on and forever. 

(Isaiah 9:6-7, NIV)

With so much chaos, confusion and confrontation in the world right now, we really need the “Prince of Peace”, bringing true justice and righteousness to our countries, cities, neighborhoods, families, and hearts. May the Peace & Hope of Jesus emanate from each of us to those around us, and may they come to know Him too! 

Hugs to you and your loved ones this last day of the year, and may you have a Blessed 2023!!

With Gratitude, because of Jesus,

The Guevara Family

 

Light Shining in the Darkness

 Happy October, Dear Friends!

We hope you are doing well! Thank you for your prayers for our health in the changing of seasons; there are lots of bugs going around here right now, but we as a family are all feeling much better! 

Days are getting longer as spring takes off here in the southern hemisphere, and we sure are enjoying the extra hours of natural light after the dark of winter! This whole month of October I'm sharing about “Light” with the kids in Sunday school, memorizing verses about God’s light and doing related activities or games, like Blind-Man’s Pictionary. It’s not easy to draw in the “dark”! 

 (kiddos started a few feet away from the board, but quickly all crowded around to try to guess what their friends' "blind" drawings are supposed to be)

(memorizing last Sunday's Bible verse)

We've been working on several new worship multitracks for Sundays as well as for other special events, and that's been busy but fun work! Well, by "we" I mean mostly Gus, but I have helped out a bit on a few tracks too! ;) He has really enjoyed working on his new desktop computer that so many of you contributed to as a surprise 50th birthday gift in June!

(Adding guitar to a worship song's multitrack is so much easier with a computer that doesn't crash!)

A song that we'll be singing here for the first time this coming Sunday is "Tremble" by Mosaic (of course we'll sing it in Spanish). The chorus says, "Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble, Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear", and part of the bridge says, "Your Name is Light that the shadows can't deny, Your Name cannot be overcome!"  The Name of Jesus IS the Light that those living in the darkness of this world around us so desperately need... Lord, help us to see and seize those daily opportunities to shine Your love and Truth through our words, attitudes and actions!

Praises:

-   As a church, we've recently hired a van to drive a pick-up and drop-off route so that members without vehicles have a more consistent way of getting to the Sunday service! This has been a blessing already and we pray that it would open new doors for people who haven't been able to make it church regularly before...

(the hired van waiting to take church members home after service!)

-    Last week, instead of having small group on Wednesday at our home, we had it at our friends' Claudia and Werner’s house! Claudia has been a believer since she was a teenager, but Werner is only just opening up more to the gospel recently. This was a first for them to host the group in their home, and we are hoping and praying God does a new work in Werner’s heart and through him, in his extended family!

-    No more masks! As of last weekend, wearing masks is no longer required in Chile (except in medical facilities)! This is a huge praise as it really changes the dynamic of worship time to have everyone singing louder and seeing each other’s full faces!

-  A family that had left the church (and mission organization) over two years ago has asked to join the newly re-launched church in Lautaro! We had a good, long talk with Jorge and Rita on Sunday after lunch at their home (while our kiddos played with theirs) about past issues and a renewed commitment to what God is doing... He is most definitely our Way-maker, Miracle-worker, Promise-keeper and Light in the darkness!

(Jorge and Rita, and their twins, Jorgito and Eduardo)

Prayer Requests for October:

-     Our kiddos have been VERY busy this week taking practice tests at home because they'll be taking their homeschool validation exams October 11th thru 18th! This has been a super short school “year” and everyone is extra nervous, so we really appreciate your prayers for all 4 of them! (Yes, Diego will be taking the exams for the first time too!)

("Sooo many practice tests, Mom!" But it'll be worth it to be ready for the official ones!)

-    On Monday, Oct. 24^th we will hopefully be driving to Santiago as a family for a couple of mission organization meetings. It will be a quick drive up and then back Tuesday night probably. Please pray for a smooth trip and an encouraging, productive time there!

-    The Lautaro church is planning a “Light Festival” for Friday, Oct. 28th! The idea is a fun costume party in the gym with karaoke songs, games and prizes, so please pray as we're organizing all the details for that fun evening and most importantly that God would bring new visitors that maybe haven’t ever been to a church event before, that they could see His Love and Truth through all of us!

-    Continued prayers for Sunday meetings and weekly small groups. Several of those in attendance have been dealing with very painful situations recently. As a church we're going through the “Purpose Driven Life” study (both on Sundays and in mid-week home groups), and that has been super relevant for newer attendees as well as regular members...

-    Please pray for Rubén, a leader at the Lautaro church, and his wife Clara, as unfortunately last week their business was broken into and a significant amount of cash and merchandise was stolen... This of course is a blow financially, but also a frustration for their clients who will not be getting their orders any time soon... Pray for them and for empathy from their clients. They cling to the fact that God works all things together for good!

-    A huge "Thank You" to those who have reached out saying that you are sending a one-time gift to help with our current financial struggles! We are so very grateful for your generosity!!  At the same time, we have been advised to actively pursue new regular monthly support commitments to cover our family and ministry deficit. So, would you please pray with us for TEN new financial partners, willing to contribute $50/month to bless our family and the ministry God has called us to here in Lautaro? And, if God puts it on your heart to become 1 of those 10 new financial supporters, please let us know so we can thank you personally and answer any questions!

 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)

Friends, we are only jars of clay: imperfect, cracked, and definitely not the fanciest material. But His Light is AMAZING, and it lives in us and shines through us!! We are so humbled and honored that God would give us as a family the privilege of serving Him here in Southern Chile... And we are SO grateful for your encouragement, prayers and financial support that permit us to continue pressing on!

In order that others may come to the True Light,

Gus, Karissa, Jeremy, Liz, Cristina and Diego