Salt of the Earth!

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Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth…” was the theme for our 4th anniversary of the Lutheran church “Divina Providencia” on the first Sunday in September! (We have now been in Chile for seven years! This is our second mission.) We were blessed with 36 people who came to worship and be fed by the Word. We can’t help but be amazed at God’s divine provision…beginning in a smaller house with a handful of Lutherans…struggling through the time of Chilean political unrest and protests…surviving almost a year of national quarantine due to Covid…always teaching, praying, outreaching! In this last year alone there have been 5 baptisms, 3 confirmations and pretty soon, another group of people are about to begin their studies. To God be the Glory!

“Salting” our community!

Every Friday afternoon we open the doors of our “Resale Shop”. Our coordinator, Elianeth, and Liisa are always amazed at the people that stop by. There are the regulars, like an older gentleman, Ricardo, who comes to check if we have received sweaters in his size; or the Peruvian maids who are on their way home from their domestic jobs and pick up some baby clothes or a “new” purse; or the recently arrived Venezuelan who needs a warm jacket or a good pair of slacks for his/her new job; or a neighbor who is just curious, and then becomes engaged when we talk about the ministry and offers to donate items for our “garage sale”. Besides providing for the needs of others, this shop draws attention to our Lutheran church.

We are grateful to Lutheran World Relief for a huge donation of quilts that were distributed in all the Lutheran churches of Chile to be used as needed. At our church, we package up the homemade quilts with info about our ministry, vacuum-seal the bag, and they are ready to go! About 100 quilts have been received by the elderly and children in small towns in the cold south. Recently, we delivered 100 to a Children’s Hospital in Santiago, and another Clinic for Children with Cancer has requested a donation. We have shared about 200 with different immigrant groups (mostly Haitian and Venezuelan) and the cozy, patchwork quilts have also been a source of comfort for families in our congregation who have recently lost a loved one.

News from the Lutheran Church of Chile

All the pastors of the Lutheran Church of Chile. (From left) Obed Coronado; Pablo Gonzalez; Omar Kinas; Juan Pablo Lanterna, president; James Tino; Adrian Ventura, secretary.

Every May, the Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile has its national convention. Because of corona virus, this was not able to happen last year and this year it was delayed until August. Finally, last month a group of about 20 – consisting of pastors and congregational representatives – met for a full day to share reports and hold long-overdue elections. We were proud of our small mission plant that has reached “congregation-size” status and chose to send the newly elected congregational president, José Vilches, as our representative! Jim has been serving as interim Secretary/V.P. for the national church, so he was very busy with the preparations and procedures of the meeting.

Besides the six churches, we heard about the four mission plants and about the various Lutheran organizations such as Lutheran Hour Ministries (“Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones”) in Chile. Another important ministry is “Casa Bethesda”, which sponsors a rehab center in Santiago for people with cerebal palsy and other handicaps; and an after-school program in the town of Constitucion run by GLO missionaries Pastor Adrian and Cruz Maria Ventura. After the new board was elected, we closed with a joyous worship service, giving thanks to our Great God.

To learn more about James and Liisa Tino, click here to read their latest newsletter!