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

March 2018

Photo: Meeting our new grandson, Calvin Shane Sipp! (born Feb 24)
In This Issue: Global Impact!!
Prayers and Praise
...from Chile to Venezuela
... from Venezuela back to Chile
from Minnesota to Constitucion
Our Mailing Address
If you are planning to mail us something (or visit us!), our address is:
James y Liisa Tino
Las Nevadas 2988
Providencia
Santiago, R.M.
Chile
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Choice Dollars charitable grant funds make a world of difference to missionaries through our 
Global Missionary Fund , which supplies dollars to missionaries who experience a shortfall in funding. 
Directing Choice Dollars is easy. Simply go to:
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Fun Fact:
Araucaria,
the National Tree of Chile
Have you ever heard of the "monkey puzzle tree"?  Nicknamed by the British, since it looks like a challenge for even a monkey to climb, the Araucaria is the national tree of Chile.  This evergreen conifer has a spiny trunk and branches arranged in whorls.  It has a very long life and can grow up to 150 feet tall.  As it matures, the lower branches fall off leaving it with an impressive "Jurassic Park" look with an umbrella type crown.  The cones contain seeds that take 18 months to mature and result in "piƱones" (like pine-nuts) which are delicious boiled or roasted! Learn more about it here or here.

Prayers & Praise

* Thank God for the safe delivery of our 2nd grandchild, Calvin Shane, and for good health for him and his mother, Gabi.  He was welcomed to God's family through the waters of baptism on March 10.


 

* Praise the Lord for the many brothers and sisters who have given both money and time to send medicine to Venezuela.  Pray that this project reaches many who are in desperate need.


 

* We praise God for touching the lives of several new "future GLO missionaries".  We pray for their preparations to follow God's calling in the world.


 

* Pray for daughter Sonrisa's health as she carries our 3rd grandchild and prepares for parenthood with her husband Ty, in June!


 

* We ask the Lord to direct us to individuals who can support the scholarship fund at our rehab center for youth with handicaps, Casa Betesda.


 

* We pray for Jim's trip this month to Argentina as he makes a presentation on the "priesthood of all believers" at the national Lutheran Church's annual convention.


 

* Ask God to bless the efforts to reach new people in the downtown area of Santiago with the life-changing news of Jesus' death and resurrection.


 

* We are thankful that Ben has met his first goal of support discovery and will soon be heading to Guatemala!  Pray that all his funding for the year will soon be complete  so he can serve God's mission full-heartedly.

 


"He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth."
(Isaiah 5:26)
 
What a fascinating verse from Isaiah! I can't help but think of the image of a master whistling for his faithful dog, who comes running at the sound.  God moves the nations! Liisa and I are often overwhelmed as we see God's plan unfolding in our lives. When we left Venezuela so many years ago, we thought that God would use our experience in that country to perhaps minister to Venezuelans in the US (many live in Florida). It never happened. Who could know that 13 years later, the Lord would move us to Chile where we would be able to offer a welcome and helping hand to Venezuelans who are fleeing the country in droves? God whistled. The nations move. Will you partner with us in serving the nations in Chile?
Global Impact: From Chile to Venezuela

Lutherans in Venezuela receive medicines from Chile
     In a previous newsletter, we talked some about the number of Venezuelans who are immigrating to Chile. The horrendous situation in Venezuela has only gotten worse over the past year. Hyperinflation (over 2600% in 2017) has eroded the purchasing power of citizens and has caused many industries to abandon their operations. As a result, food is scarce or priced out of reach of the average Venezuelan, and medicines are non-existent. Even simple items like aspirin are no longer available. The lack of medicine creates a crisis for those who suffer from "routine" infirmities such as high blood pressure or diabetes and creates a life-or-death situation for people with more serious conditions such as epilepsy.
Church volunteers in Santiago sort and package medicine for shipment to Venezuela
      Last year, in partnership with Lutheran World Relief and the Lutheran Church of Chile, we initiated a project to send medicine from Chile to Venezuela. It is an enormous undertaking! We receive requests from the congregations of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela; we purchase the medications in Chile, package them, and mail them to each congregation in Venezuela, where they are distributed to the "patients". We have received so many expressions of gratitude, it is truly heartbreaking. All of this is managed through our small mission congregation in Santiago! To learn more about the project, you can click here. Please pray that we can also give the "medicine" of the Gospel to the immigrants in our midst!

Global Impact: From Venezuela back to Chile! 
Our mission congregation in downtown Santiago
   As a result of the Venezuelan crisis (see previous story), the out-flow of Venezuelans continues. In Chile, this has proved to be a blessing as all of our congregations have received immigrants from Venezuela as new members. Another blessing the Chilean Lutheran Church has received from Venezuela is pastor Adrian Ventura. Global Lutheran Outreach is facilitating the service of pastor Ventura in Chile as a pastor/missionary to our mission in the coastal town of Constitucion. Meanwhile, our new church planting ministry in downtown Santiago is reaching primarily Venezuelan immigrants, some of whom we previously knew from when we served as missionaries in Venezuela! Please pray for our ministry to the Venezuelan immigrant population in Santiago, that we would be able to connect with more and more people with practical assistance, and with the life-giving Gospel of Jesus!

Global Impact: From Circle Pines, Minnesota to Constitucion, Chile!
     One of the partners of Global Lutheran Outreach is the organization called Lead A Child, which supports Gospel-focused educational ministries around the world. Recently, Lead A Child connected a Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Circle Pines, Minnesota with a new project that is being launched in Constitucion, Chile. It is an after-school program - the first of its kind in that city. At the end of February, Dr. Phil Frusti, the director of Lead A Child, brought a team of three men to help us get the site ready for launch! Jim translated for the team (and shoveled a lot of dirt, as well!) as they leveled the lot, laid sod, built a playground, and painted the building. It was the global Body of Christ at work, as our full team of workers included people from Chile, Venezuela (pastor Adrian Ventura and family), Argentina (pastor Omar Kinas), and the United States! 
The multi-national team at Constitucion, Chile
Global Impact: From St. Louis to Cambodia!
     At the end of January, Jim and Liisa attended the annual conference of the Association of Lutheran Mission Agencies (ALMA) in St. Louis. Present were representatives from more than 40 Lutheran mission organizations, congregations, and others. It is always a great conference, but what really makes it worthwhile is networking with others. One of the connections Jim made this year was with the Lutheran Heritage Foundation, which translates Lutheran books and print 
Missionary Viya Stoltenow works with the street children at the Ray of Hope center in Cambodia
materials into many languages. Jim asked if they had any children's materials in Khmer, which is the language of Cambodia. The reason is that GLO missionaries Joe and Viya Stoltenow have a ministry to street children in Battambang, Cambodia and they are in need of material to teach the Bible to the children. Well, Lutheran Heritage Foundation has translated the well-loved "Children's Garden of Bible Stories" in Khmer! A connection was made, and now Cambodian street children will be hearing the treasures of Scripture in their own language!

   We praise God for each of you,  our "mission partners". We are hoping that the dollar has "bottomed out" now in comparison to the Chilean peso, as the devaluation over the last few months has been brutal for us. Still, through you God has been faithful! We trust the Lord that He has a plan to provide for His mission in Santiago!

To support our ministry online, go to  http://www.globallutheranoutreach.com/support-tino.html.  One-time or automated contributions are available.
OR
Mail a check to:
Global Lutheran Outreach
6709 Ficus Dr.
Miramar, FL 
(Put "Tino - Chile" 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.