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Quick Links
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Tino
web page (blog, photos, prayer requests)
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Quick Fact
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July 16th is a national holiday in Chile. What is the celebration, you ask? It is the Virgin of Carmen day. These kinds of holidays show the deep Catholic roots in Chile, and also show that there is a lot of evangelistic work to do! Here is the meaning of the Virgin of Carmen, according to the official description: "The Most Holy Virgen del Carmen is invoked in our country as Queen and Mother of Chile, Patron and General Overseer of the Armed Forces. These titles give homage to the protection given by the Mother of God throughout our history."
Notice in the picture how Mary has the larger crown, while Jesus is an eternal baby on his mother's lap. This picture is a pretty accurate representation of the roles of Jesus and Mary in the lives of the Chilean people.
We've got a lot of work to do!
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Prayer Requests
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* Give thanks to God for Isabel, who has decided to join our church and who is excited about serving the Lord with her gifts!
* Pray for Maria, Luisa, and Andrea, as the Spirit continues to work in their hearts and lives. They recently completed an evangelistic Bible class (see article).
* Praise God that all of our children have summer jobs!
* Join us in asking the Lord to be with Veronica, who will be having surgery at the end of this month for a shattered bone in her foot.
* Pray for Ben, who will return to Jacksonville University in August for his senior year.
* Pray for the Lutheran Ladies of Chile! Several ladies (including Liisa) are in Argentina this week for their national women's gathering, which draws about 900 Lutheran women from Argentina. They hope to bring back some ideas to Chile for making a similar organization here.
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"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2:10)
Everyone loves a surprise! Well, not everyone. While some people loved being surprised, there are others (like me) who prefer not to be surprised. We like to know what's coming up so we can be in the right frame of mind. Knowing what's next gives us the illusion of control.
But unfortunately for us control freaks, God doesn't want us to know the future. I am thinking that's because He doesn't want us to mess things up. You see, God has already figured out the absolute best way for us to make a difference in the lives of others - the good works that God wants us to do have already been "prepared beforehand". All we have to do is walk with Jesus - and get ready to be surprised!
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New Life - New Faith!
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We were surprised by the people God brought to our first evangelistic Bible study called
Hacia Una Nueva Vida
(Towards a New Life). This 7-lesson course is produced by the Latin American division of Lutheran Hour Ministries, known as
Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones
(Christ for all the Nations).
Four women completed the course, and each of them has professed faith in Christ in their own way.
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| Jim teaching Hacia Una Nueva Vida |
Please pray for Maria, Luisa, Isabel, and Andrea as they decide on their next steps in their walk with Christ. Isabel has
already asked to join our Lutheran congregation!
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Let the construction begin!
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We were surprised (well, not too surprised) by how long it has taken to finalize the purchase of land for the church we are planting in Santiago. Just last week, the purchase got through the last legal hurdle and was registered in the name of the Lutheran church! We are super excited to get going on the next step, which is CONSTRUCTION! Of course, we have no idea where the money will come from, but we are confident that God knows and that He will provide. Click here to read more about this project and how to support it.
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Rising from the ashes
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We were very surprised by God in another project that we are involved in, in the city of Valparaiso. Last year, a lower-income community was destroyed by fire. The Lutheran church has been working there ever since, providing needed relief, material goods, and spiritual care. We made the decision to establish a community center in the affected area, and Lutheran Disaster Relief provided a grant. We found a great property, but the cost was considerably more than the grant.
The building we wanted to buy had been purchased by a couple two weeks before the fire - they were planning to use it as a hotel. The building was damaged in the fire, which brought the hotel plans to a halt. After putting the building on the market, they agreed to sell it to the Lutheran Church for - you guessed it - the amount of the grant! - which was about a third of what they had paid for it. They said, "This has been devastating for us personally, but we believe that God has a higher purpose and we believe in what you are doing." The building will need extensive renovation before we can open the community center.
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Personal Update
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We are so thankful to God for you, and especially appreciate the many of you who have showed concern for us and asked how we are doing. Like anything else, there are good days and bad days, but the good outnumber the bad! It is a new challenge for us to live so far from our children and the rest of our family. We did the "empty nest" thing kind of backwards - instead of the kids leaving home, the parents left home! So that has been, well, weird. On the other hand, Liisa and I very much enjoy serving in ministry together. For too many years, Liisa did her ministry as a teacher in one church, while I did my ministry in another place. Here in Santiago, we are both serving the Lord with our gifts in the same place! So that is awesome.
I (Jim) have continued to serve as the director of Global Lutheran Outreach (GLO), and that is going very well. We continue to help people from every country find a way to serve as missionaries in places all around the world! To keep up with the latest news from GLO, 'like' our facebook page. If you feel God calling you to be a missionary, drop me a line!
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OR
Mail a check to:
Global Lutheran Outreach
6709 Ficus Dr.
Miramar, FL 33023
Put "Tino" on the memo line of the check.
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