To the Ends of the Earth
 
CHILE MISSION NEWS FROM 
JIM AND LIISA TINO   
JUNE 2020  


Snow on the mountains - winter is here!
In This Issue...
Fun Fact!
Prayers and Praise
Sharing Jesus' Love in Real Ways
Life Today in Santiago
Real Ministry online?
Venezuela Update
Fall Furlough - Scheduling now!
Want to print this newsletter?
Printable (pdf) editions of this newsletter - and any of our previous newsletters - are available online here.
 
Our Mailing Address
If you are planning to mail us something (or visit us!), our address is:
James y Liisa Tino
Julio Montebruno 588
La Reina
Santiago, R.M.
Chile
Quick Links

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




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Fun Fact!
Julio Montebruno

 Blest Gana, Martin Rivas, El Greco,  Julio Montebruno ...our neighborhood is full of street names like these!  Why?  This is the "humanities" section of Santiago. The names are in honor of famous painters, sculptors, authors and poets. Our street in particular, Julio Montebruno, is in honor of a Chilean professor, historian and geographer. To his credit are several atlases and extensive works on world history. However, he is best known for his novels about two important founders for the country of Chile. How cool that we live on this street to make known the name of our Founder and Redeemer, Jesus Christ!

Prayers & Praise
+ We pray that the restrictions due to covid-19 in Chile will soon be relaxed and we will be able to meet together physically in our church.

+ Pray for many who have lost their jobs in Chile and in the USA, including our daughter, Sonrisa, and our son-in-law, Daniel, as they search for new employment during these difficult times.

+ Thank God for our "construction team" that has almost finished the new apartment at our mission site.  We praise God for being able to progress despite many challenges.

+ We praise God for his protection and provision for our families while we have been separated. 

+ Guide the doctors' treatments for both Jim's dad Dennis and Liisa's dad Edwin as they deal with cancer.

+ We thank the Lord for the beautiful testimony of Veronica, a new believer, who suffers from stage 4 breast cancer, yet above all, desires to serve God with her gifts.

+ Thank God for opportunities to meet online with almost all GLO missionaries around the world!  

+ We praise God that Yenifer Farrow, wife of missionary Aaron in Valparaiso, gave birth to a healthy baby boy at the end of May. 

+ We pray for funds to help non-North American missionaries to serve cross-culturally.

+ Thank you for the many who sacrificially give so that we can be God's mouthpiece, hands and feet here in South America.

+ Pray for our efforts to feed the hungry and offer relief to those who are suffering whilst connecting them with the true source of Peace and Joy, the Triune God.

Hey Thrivent Members!
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:
Thrivent.com/thriventchoice to learn more and find program terms and conditions. Or call 800-847-4836 and say "Thrivent Choice" after the prompt.


Psalm 91 was read in church last Sunday, and it seemed especially appropriate.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, 
w ho abides in the shadow of the Almighty, 
w ill say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress; 
my God, in whom I trust." 
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler 
and from the deadly pestilence; 
he will cover you with his pinions, 
and under his wings you will find refuge... (Ps. 91:1-4)

Where are you finding refuge? Social media? Probably not the best idea. Pining for how things used to be? The past is past. Political activism? Sometimes effective, sometimes not. The only sure and certain Refuge that we have is the Lord - who (by the way) is still the Most High! Our world right now needs front line workers who can take the hurting, the lost, the dazed and the confused by the hand and lead them to the Refuge, Jesus Christ! Will you point someone in your neighborhood to Jesus? Will you help us lead more people in Santiago to the Refuge?
Sharing Jesus' Love in Real Ways
  "I'm desperate. I lost my job 
and I  d on't  have money to pay the rent, or even to buy food. Please help me!"  This is just one of the many messages we receive on our church website or by facebook every week. Many immigrants have had their already difficult lives fall apart. They are unemployed and are often left homeless. Our mission has decided to offer food baskets to as many of these cases as possible. When the people pick up their food at church, we pray with them and give them Christian literature. We are also 
using  our "Used Clothing Store" to help out these people. Ev entually, this resale shop will provide income for the mission, but right now it's a resource for many people who are not prepared with winter clothing.
  We are also in the process of 
reconfiguring our housing options so that the "House of Refuge" can accommodate more people. Currently there are 6 people residing at "Amapolas" (the name of the street where our center is located.)  Soon, a young couple will be moving into an apartment there in order to coordinate activities at the mission. Pray for God's guidance and direction. Can we be bold enough to pray that somehow funds could be secured to outright BUY this property instead of paying the high monthly rent? May it be according to God's will !

Life Today in Santiago
    While the US is cautiously "re-opening" amid protests and violence, Santiago is moving in the opposite direction. As you may recall, Chile was rocked by violent protests in the last quarter of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. Coronavirus put an end to the protests here. As the numbers of COVID-19 cases have grown, life in Santiago has been increasingly more restrictive. Since mid-March, all non-essential businesses have been closed and a curfew has been in effect (10 pm to 6 am). Rolling quarantines were implemented next, which turned to a full quarantine for the whole city in May. As of this writing, all of Santiago (7 million residents) are under quarantine, and have been for the past 7 weeks. What that means is that you need police permission to leave your house for any reason, including going to the grocery store. The permission is obtained online using your national ID number and is good for 3 hours. Each adult can obtain a maximum of two permissions per week. Fortunately, Jim so far has been able to obtain a "safe conduct" permit for the essential workers of our mission, so we have been able to go back and forth to the church and continue ministry as best we can!

Real Ministry online?
      "Greetings to everyone on the other side of the screen!"  Jim never thought this would be his normal way to start a Sunday service! But live-stream worship from our home has become our new normal.  We're finding out this is a tiring task!  Pastor Jim also has a group of 5 confirmands studying catechism with him on-line. These last 2 weeks he has also been teaching a doctorate level class at the seminary in St. Louis, "remotely". 
      Frequently we offer other Bible studies where we encourage church members to connect and be fed spiritually. One of our members is a female doctor who has been treating patients with Covid-19. She had expressed how "battered" she was feeling from the constant stress. So we ladies of the congregation decided to meet every Friday night via Zoom to see each other face-to-face. We have a devotion, share about our lives, and pray together. It has become a lifeline for many.
     Lastly, covid-19 can't stop the music!  Liisa is busier than ever teaching on-line piano and guitar lessons!
And what about Venezuela?
Things continue spinning out of control in this once-beautiful, tropical country. We communicate regularly with friends there who explain that now it is practically impossible to get gas for cars or busses. Everything must be paid in dollars and the prices are exorbitantly high for the average Venezuelan. Yes, they are dealing with Covid-19 as well, but it's just "one more thing" and we are sure it's not being reported accurately. Medicines are still UNAVAILABLE, and that is why we are currently preparing a shipment of medicine to be mailed to our sister Lutheran churches. Click here to read about the Venezuela Relief project. The challenge now is to find a reliable courier service for delivery of the medicines. Please pray!
Fall Furlough!
Although here in Chile we are still under mandatory quarantine, the United States is beginning to loosen up travel restrictions. With that in mind, and with complete FAITH in the Most High, we have made plans to travel to the USA in September. We will be stateside for about 12 weeks. During that time, we hope to visit family, friends and supporting congregations. If you would like to schedule a time for us to visit your congregation or group, please email Jim at: [email protected]. Take note of the following tentative schedule:
  • SEPTEMBER: New England
  • OCTOBER: Michigan
  • NOVEMBER: Florida
For congregations not in the named areas, we are open to working with you to schedule a special trip!

   We praise God for each of you,  our "mission partners". In addition to providing our living expenses, your financial contributions have also been supporting many other people in Santiago who are struggling during the COVID-19 crisis! We praise God for blessing us through you!

To support our ministry online, click here . 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.