To the Ends of the Earth
From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Jim and Liisa Tino (Serving in Santiago, Chile) write:
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 don’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. Eventually, 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.
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”.
Lastly, covid-19 can’t stop the music! Liisa is busier than ever teaching on-line piano and guitar lessons!
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: revtino@hotmail.com. 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!
Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Tino!
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