Good and uplifting news

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries James and Liisa Tino (Serving in Santiago, Chile)

A lot has happened since the last time we sent a newsletter! We have a lot of ground to cover, so in this edition we are going to provide several “ministry snapshots”. Hope you enjoy them!

Return to In-Person Worship

All Saints’ Day (November 1) marked the return to in-person worship for our mission in the Providencia municipality of Santiago. We celebrated “Reformation Day” and tried out our new outdoor setting for worship. The 34 souls in attendance rejoiced at the opportunity to draw near to the Lord’s table and be strengthened by Word and Sacrament.

 

House of Refuge

We praise God that the ministry towards Venezuelan immigrants continues. New people have moved in. Others have moved out. Also at our ministry site, we have our Resale Shop which is open about two days a week. Not only is this a way to help those in need, but the hope is it will generate some cash to help fund the ministry center.

New Immigrant Residents

Andrius and Dexire have been in Chile since October 2019 when the social protests began. The social and economic unrest, combined with winter temperatures and corona virus, brought them to our house of refuge seeking a safe place to live with their 4 year old son, Carlos.

Laura also arrived in Chile in 2019. She is an early education teacher, but with schools only opened virtually, has not been able to find a job in her field. She is an energetic young woman who is struggling to make a new life in a new country.

Temporary Chapel Project

The original “chapel” (a converted garage) on the church property has been “re-purposed” during the coronavirus “Where should we hold worship services?”, was the question as Santiago began to move out of the quarantine stage. Well, immediately a few more patio tents were purchased and the space between buildings was cleaned up for outdoor worship. Next, we need to construct a “temporary” chapel – “temporary”, because this property is rented and hopefully we will one day be able to relocate onto our own land and take our chapel with us! The chapel will cost approximately $5,000. If you would like to donate to the project, click here to make your contribution to the Santiago Immigrant Ministry project.

New Members!

Juan Carlos and Luis Marcos were received as members by adult confirmation on November 15! They had the unique experience of studying confirmation with pastor Jim via zoom during COVID-19 quarantine! Veronica also completed her confirmation instruction. However, she has been battling cancer and thus is unable to circulate in public. The family would also like to baptize their daughter Florencia. Her confirmation day and also witnessing her daughter wrapped in the grace of her Heavenly Father in baptism will be a very special moment.

Medicine for Venezuela Project completes 3rd Year of Operation          

Thousands of people have benefited from this incredible project of mercy over the last 3 years. Currently we are packing and preparing to send about 60,000 pills which will be distributed to people in desperate need via our 21 sister congregations throughout Venezuela.

Unfortunately, this may be our last shipment since our funding has run out. If you feel God is calling you to help support the continuation of this project, you can make a donation HERE. Each shipment costs about $15,000!

Family and Furlough

We were blessed with the opportunity to finally see family during the months of September and October. The weeks were full of masked and socially-distanced celebrations: a wedding, anniversaries, birthdays, family get-togethers…even Liisa’s dad’s 80th birthday! What a blessing it was to see our grandchildren and all of our kids…EXCEPT Ben, who was not able to leave Guatemala.

Support Corner

The pandemic has been hard on everyone, missionaries included! Travel restrictions and limitations placed on gatherings such as worship and fellowship times have made traditional missionary visits to supporting congregations and individuals both impractical and inadvisable. Additionally, many partners have been forced to make the difficult decision to discontinue financial support for their missionaries. We move ahead in faith, knowing that God is faithful and is able to do those things that – humanly speaking – are impossible!

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Tino!