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!

Heavy Flooding in Cambodia

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Joe and Viya Stoltenow (Serving in Cambodia):

September and October have been trying months here in Cambodia as we experienced particularly heavy monsoon season which has caused massive flooding all over the country. In Battambang the Stung Sanke River flooded and many villages were completely underwater. Fortunately most of the flooding is now gone but many of our students were affected by the flooding and had to leave their homes until the flooding receded. This also caused many families to lose their possessions and even a few to lose their jobs, crippling what little income they had.

We are incredibly grateful to our  friends and supporters who helped our students and their families by sending with donations last month. With those funds we were able to provide extra food to the families who lost their jobs and/or possessions. The kids are very thankful to both their sponsors and to their Savior Jesus. We are happy to say that all the families are back in their homes and that the rainy season has come to an end.Our center continues to revert back to our more normal pre-Covid schedule despite our neighborhood being underwater (our building is fortunately raised up and only our yard was flooded). Our students love being back at school and are very happy to get to stay at our center longer into the afternoon.

Stoltenow Family Update

We’re coming to America! The US Embassy in Phnom Penh recently reopened its visa renewal services and we were able to get Viya’s visa renewed! So look out for Joe, Viya, and Ray coming on November 14th! This trip has multiple objectives for us such as attending Joe’s sister Anna’s wedding, meeting our new neice, and visiting as many of our sponsors and churches as possible.

Life has otherwise been more of the same for Viya, Ray, and I here in Battambang. Raymond continues to grow healthy and strong and has even begun making friends with the students at Ray of Hope.

Student Spotlight

Brerm Bprey (Khmer for “Happy Kid”)

Brem Bprey is nine years old and began his enrollment at Ray of Hope just over two years ago. He lives with his mother, father, and baby brother in a small house near in a slum just north of the public hospital here in Battambang.

At Ray of Hope, Brem is very popular thanks to his almost constant upbeat attitude and boyish charm. His favorite food is Khmer BBQ’d chicken, which is fortunate for him as it’s our go-to party food here at Ray of Hope. Brem is also enjoys painting, drawing, and watching super hero movies on Fridays. His favorite Bible story is Sampson. It has been an amazing experience to watch Brem grow and learn about his savior Jesus Christ.

Click here to read more details and the latest newsletter from the Stoltenow!

I made it!

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionarie Joshua Wareham (Serving in Jos, Nigeria)

I made it. I’m here! Here I am! I made it to Nigeria! It seemed like I would never make it to Hillcrest. I was thinking, “Well, I gave it a good shot. Maybe next year I’ll make it out there. It was a long trip. I flew 6,224 miles…Wow, this is the farthest from home I have ever been, but I could not be more ecstatic to be here to serve the community in Christ’s name.

So far since I have been here, I have been quarantined to my apartment and been teaching online. I have seen a little bit of Nigeria on the drive to Hillcrest and some of Jos when I went to get my COVID test. The country is beautiful, and I am ready to learn more about it once I am allowed to leave my apartment. I have been warmly welcomed by everyone here and am starting to settle into my new apartment here. The apartment Hillcrest has provided, and it is fantastic. It has no A/C or heater, but what is wonderful about it, is I don’t need them. The temperature here is terrific! I have been here for a week now, and I haven’t closed my windows. Its not too hot and not too cold. If I want to wear a hoodie, I turn on my fan.

This was my second Nigerian meal. I had this for lunch. This is pounded yam with beef and red sauce. It was absolutely delicious. The pounded yam was a playdough consistency and texture with a tomato and beef based sauce with various spices. That is the best way I can describe it. It was delicious.

 

 

Plans

“Is today the day that the embassies will open?” – I remember thinking this everyday for the past few months, checking the embassy’s website almost every day. I thought it would never open. I prayed and prayed. After feeling like I had exhausted myself with this prayer, I said, “God, this wanting the embassies to open is just making me miserable, please help me to focus on teaching and being with the people around me. Remind me that you are in control and you will send me when you know I am ready.”

My stress about going to Nigeria quickly faded, and I was able to focus on what was important. A few days later I got a call from Samson, he was helping me with the visa process, he said, “Josh, the embassy in Atlanta is taking visa application; submit yours.”

I did all of the paper work and set up a date to submit it to the embassy. I was the going to the office the following Monday. I went and submitted my paper work; everything went perfectly and then I was told, “You will get your visa in about three weeks.”

This meant that I had time to say goodbye and be with my family and friends for a little longer. It was great. I had plenty of time to do what I needed before leaving. Well, Friday of the same week came, and I get a call, “Your visa is ready for pickup.”

The Lord blessed me with many blessings before I left. He gave me extra time with my family, extra time to prepare, extra time to reflect on His word, extra time for many other things. With this extra time he gave me, I was able to come here in confidence knowing that Christ has a plan, and He will follow through with His plan when He is ready. One week to get a visa and then the next to fly out is nothing but a miracle. Thanks be to God.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from Josh!