The plans He has for us!

We didn't think someone would actually take us up on the "visit us" invitation, but someone did! We were SO HAPPY to welcome Marcos and Susan Contreras who "dropped in" to visit us in Santiago and to join in some church activities!

Quick Links

+ Tino web page (blog, photos, prayer requests)

+ Support Corner

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Fun Fact:

FIGS!

Fig trees are common in the Bible...and also in Chile! We even have an "Higuera" (fig tree) at Casa Betesda (above picture). Now that this tree has received some pruning and regular watering, it is thriving!

Fig trees here have two harvests. We just gathered the first figs, or " brebas" in January.

The rehab students participated in a cooking workshop where they learned how to prepare " dulce de higo" (candied fig). After cleaning the figs, they were ground up and then cooked for a long time until reaching a pudding-like texture. The result was similar to the sweet, gooey filling of a "fig newton". The next crop of "higos" (figs) should be ready in March!

Prayers & Praise

* PRAISE GOD for his provision for all that we need as missionaries in Chile. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU who made generous donations in December and January!

* Pray for the community in which we live....that we can share the Good News of Jesus with more and more people.

* Pray for church member, José - not only is he waiting on surgery to help replace the disintegrated bone in his hip, but this week his sister died. Pray for the whole family!

* Thank the Lord with us for a good first semester of activities in our Rehab Center, Casa Betesda. We are so thankful for a GREAT team of teachers and staff, Pray that He guides us in the preparations for a new year of operation and for funds to support the ministry.

* Pray for the GLO missionaries currently raising funds to be able to serve in the foreign mission field. Specifically, for the Ventura family serving in Constitucion, Chile; for Ben Tino called to serve in Guatemala; for Lumembo and Kalangu Tshiwaka called to serve as a professor in Ethiopia; and for Aaron Farrow planning to serve in Valparaiso, Chile.

* We praise God for our two new grandsons that are "on the way", and pray that God would watch over our daughters, Soni and Gabi, and prepare them with their husbands for the challenges of parenting.

* Please pray for our efforts to reach out to this community. A lot of discipleship is needed since most people have NO HABIT or DESIRE to go to "religious activities".

* Pray for travelling mercies as Jim and Liisa attend the annual conference of the Association of Lutheran Mission Agencies! Liisa will then continue on to Phoenix to be with Gabi for the birth of her son, while Jim returns to Chile to carry on the mission.

* Pray for Venezuela, as the crisis becomes more severe every day! We have a major project underway to ship medicines to Venezuela from Chile for distribution through the local Lutheran congregations in Venezuela.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Happy New Year! OK, it's a little late, but not too late to have a happy new year, right? Often, a new year starts with hopes and dreams for the upcoming year, promises (or resolutions) made to oneself or to others (or even to God), ideas for making things better for us or for others. By the end of January, a lot of those plans have been forgotten, and by February, some of us will be saying, "I can't wait for this year to end!"

God has plans for you - for your good and for your future. He hasn't forgotten them. He hasn't given up on them. In fact, He is making His plans for you happen, right now, even today! We often don't see His plan until it has already been accomplished, but you can be sure that God is "working His plan" in your life!

In this month's newsletter, we want to share bits and pieces of God's plan as it is unfolding here in Chile!

Music Therapy Classes

It's a new year! Time for new activities.


	Liisa teaches music therapy

Liisa began teaching music therapy classes at our reha b center, Casa Betesda. Currently there are 11 clients ran ging from 12 to 70 years old! Most of them are in wheel chairs, but some are able to walk. All have a variety of disabilities related to cerebral paralysis. Although it is a challenge to develop a class that includes everyone, music is a form of communication that crosses all barriers. It is a huge delight to see the students move and smile and participate in whatever way possible! Click here to see more photos of Casa Betesda!

The Kingdom of God grows!

Jim has begun teaching Hacia Una Nueva Vida (Towards a New Life)- an introductory class to the Christian faith. This is a great forum for people to ask their spiritual questions about God and Christianity. We are in the middle of summer vacation, and it's always a challenge to do ministry in these months when school is out and many people are travelling. We still continue to get visitors at our church plant, but the going is slow. Pray for our members as they evangelize family and friends by inviting them to this class.

Another way to grow the mission

Another NEW development is establishing "GLO-Chile"! We have wanted to legally register Global Lutheran Outreach here in Chile in order to better serve the mission needs of South America. It has been quite the process, but now it's done! The Lutheran church of Chile is very excited about the possibilities. GLO has several projects here in the country including building an Early Childhood center at the Lutheran school in Valparaiso, sending the Ventura family (from Venezuela) to the work at the mission in the city of Constitucion; and sending Aaron Farrow as a missionary to the city of Valparaiso.

Christmastime?

Everyone loves Christmas, right? We hope you love it enough to see a few pictures! Christmas 2017 in Santiago was packed with all kinds of exciting activities! Of course, we had a program where the Sunday school kids dressed in costumes and told the story of Christmas. The choir and bell choir did a lovely job enriching the outdoor program. This year we included students from the Casa Betesda, and also the youth from both churches presented a meaningful skit. Our small group from "Mision Providencia" even sang Venezuelan Christmas carols! Scroll down to see some pictures. If you can't get enough, you can See more photos of our Christmas program here!

The sign reads, "Christmas is Jesus"

Since our new mission includes many Venezuelan immigrants,we had a traditional Venezuelan Christmas dinner in the backyard of our house-church.

Later in the month we hosted a youth night with devotions, games and singing.

The Ladies of both congregations had their Christmas Tea at our "mother church" location in La Florida.

We also had an evangelistic Christmas cookie crusade! After delivering plates of cookies to about 6 families on our street -one neighbor visited our church and several have become more "friendly".

Phew! December was exhausting!

SUPPORT CORNER

We praise God for each of you, our "mission partners". One item that has impacted our "bottom line" is the rapid devaluation of the dollar in comparison to the Chilean peso. In the last 6 months, the dollar has lost 10% of its value here. That means that everything costs us 10% more than it did in September! But praise the Lord, we are holding steady!

To support our ministry online, go to http://www.globallutheranoutreach.com/support-tino.html. One-time or automated contributions are available.

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.