To the Ends of the Earth
 
CHILE MISSION NEWS FROM JIM AND LIISA TINO   

March 2017
In This Issue
Quick Fact
Prayers and Praise
Welcoming the Immigrant
Family News and Notes
Furlough Recap
Quick Links
+  Tino web page  (blog, photos, prayer requests)




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The "Push Factor"
Welcome the Immigrant lunch
  The reasons that people decide to move to a new country can be summarized as "pull" and "push". "Pull factors" are things like: a new job, family who is already there, or better climate. "Push" factors are things like: poverty, starvation, or persecution.  Many Venezuelans feel "pushed" to immigrate. But as more and more arrive, the "pull factors" kick in, and immigration increases! Look at how many Venezuelans immigrated to Chile each year:
2014 = 2300 immigrant
2015 = 7400 immigrants
2016 = over 23,000!

Prayers & Praise
*Praise God for a wonderful furlough in February! We are thankful for the opportunity to see family and friends.
* Praise God for the attitude of "Cross of Christ" Lutheran Church in Santiago to welcome the immigrant!
* Pray for wisdom as the Lutheran Church of Chile seeks the best way to respond to the Venezuelan migration to Chile.
* Pray for Ben as he graduates, and for him to clearly see where God wants him to serve as a missionary!
* Pray for Jim, as he struggles to keep up with the demands of being the director of Global Lutheran Outreach while also serving as a missionary in Chile.
* Pray for healing for Liisa's sister Loreen, who broke her clavicle in a nasty spill from her bike.
* Thank God for a wonderful Youth Gathering in Brazil! 5 youth from our congregation participated (plus us old folks!).
* Pray for Isabel, Moises, and Elianeth, who will be starting new member instruction!


"When the immigrant comes and prays toward this temple, then listen from heaven, where you live, and do everything the immigrant asks. Do this so that all the people of the earth may know your reputation and worship you..." (I Kings 8:41-43) 

 

     Immigration is a hot topic - in Chile! Just like in the USA, the people of Chile are struggling with immigration. Questions of national pride and the desire to protect our way of life (culture) compete with issues of hospitality, courtesy, and lending a helping hand. Liisa and I are very much a part of this issue, since we are living as immigrants in Chile. We can see at least a bit of both sides of the issue.

     For us, though, the more important question is: What is God doing here? The book of Acts tells us that God determines the times and boundaries of the inhabitants of the nations, and He does it so that "they should seek God" (Acts 17:26-27). God is always looking for a way to reach lost humanity, and one of the ways He does it is by moving people around! When your life is in upheaval - as it is in the case of many immigrants - a kind word, a helping hand, or an act of friendship is appreciated far more than normal. When God moves the nations, we have an opportunity to reach out with the love of Christ!
Welcoming the Immigrant
     Believing that "hospitality" is an important way to show God's love for all people, our congregation in Santiago hosted a "Welcoming the Immigrant" Sunday last weekend with a special worship service,
Worship service begins
followed by lunch. As each guest came into the church, they were presented with a lapel ribbon with the colors of the Chilean flag. Each new family was also given a Bible, dedicated to them by one of the members of our church. Afterwards, we enjoyed a lunch of fried fish, rice, and salad, along with good fellowship, laughter, and love!
     In all, we welcomed 15 people who attended our church for the first time: 6 Venezuelans, 3 Haitians, 4 Brazilians, and 2 Chileans! Other immigrants present who are already "regulars" at our church included 7 Venezuelans, 1 Haitian, 2 Argentinians, 1 Peruvian, and 1 from the USA (me!). All of those are in addition to our regular Chilean members. One member (a Chilean) commented afterwards: "I want to be an immigrant so I can be treated this nicely!" Ha!


Family News and Notes 
        We have to say, seeing so many of our family members
Our granddaughter Kyla
was great (see "Furlough Recap"), but it made us miss everyone even more! We are so proud of all of our children. Soni and husband Tyler continue to "hold down the fort" in Miramar, Florida. Soni continues to teach middle schoolers at Shepherd of the Coast. Gabi and Daniel (Phoenix) have adjusted well to life with as new parents! Gabi continues to teach 5th grade at Christ Lutheran school. Nika is in her 2nd year of chiropractic school (Logan University, St. Louis) and recently traveled to Washington D.C. to lobby on behalf of Chiropractic medicine. Ben is more than halfway through his student teaching in Jacksonville, and will graduate from Jacksonville U with a degree in Music Education this April! Ben has also decided to serve as a missionary with GLO, and is seeking the Lord's direction. He has two invitations to serve as a music missionary: Chile and Guatemala. Please pray for him as he struggles to make a decision!
Furlough Recap!
At St Paul in Weston Florida
     We praise God that we had the opportunity to visit with so many of you during the month of February! It was a hectic month, as we visited 6 congregations, 7 states, and attended three  conferences - all in five weeks! We visited churches in Boston, New Hampshire, Michigan, Florida, and California. We also promoted Global Lutheran Outreach at the Association of Lutheran Mission Agencies conference (ALMA) in St. Louis, and the Best Practices for Ministry conference in Phoenix. While in Florida, Jim also met with new GLO missionary Kenneth Green (Uruguay) for his orientation. We are thankful that we were able to see all of Liisa's family, all of Jim's family, and all of our children! 

   We praise God for each of you,  our "mission partners". Our furlough was great, but it did "drain the budget" a bit. While we are careful to keep our travel costs as low as possible, our mission partners are spread out all over the USA, so that does present a challenge.

To support our ministry online, go to  www.Global Lutheran Outreach.com/ blog/Tino and click on the "GIVE" button. One-time or automated contributions are available.
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Mail a check to:
Global Lutheran Outreach
6709 Ficus Dr.
Miramar, FL 
(Put "Tino" on the memo line of the check.)

Global Lutheran Outreach is a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by the Internal Revenue Service.