Missionary Update from Chile, South America

I periodically post updates from the missionaries that our church supports. This is from a husband and wife team in Chile. I am sure that you will find their communication a blessing. Again, I have redacted personally identifying information at their request, to ensure their safety.

October 16 2020

The Psalms are inspired prayers of thanksgiving, praise, and often, cries for help. In fact, about one-third of the psalms are laments, which begin with a cry or complaint to God, but always conclude with an affirmation of trust in God. 

One of the things we should learn from the psalms is that we can and should bring our requests to God, expressing the full range of human emotions. 

Many of the psalms are full of raw emotion, crying out to God in ways that might seem inappropriate in “polite Christianity.” However, Jesus Christ, a student of the Scriptures from an early age (Luke 2:46), facing the most difficult moment of his earthly life, cried out from the cross. 

And what words were on his lips? An exclamation of pain? A curse on the wretched bystanders who mocked him? No, it was the words of David’s inspired prayer from 1,000 years earlier, specifically, Psalm 22:1: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

When we pray the Scriptures we pray like Jesus. We are thankful for the access we have to God’s presence through Jesus Christ. God has continued to bless our little church, although we still are not allowed to meet in our new building. We have tried to make the most of our Zoom meetings, sending out our Bible studies ahead of time with discussion questions, and then spending our time together reviewing the studies and application, taking prayer requests, and praying together.

Just recently, our city was moved to a “transition phase,” which means during the week we can leave our homes without a permission. It’s been nice to get back outside, but we’ve really enjoyed meeting in small groups on Wednesday night in homes (we’re allowed ten people), participating in the online service together, and then praying together in person.

What a blessing! God has brought at least three new people to our online services this past month, including an unsaved young man who says he needs to know God. Please pray for his salvation.

On October 25, Chile will be voting for or against a constitutional convention to re-write the current constitution. Protestors, rioters, and looters have returned to the streets gathering support to destroy the current government. 

However the vote goes, there will be unrest and instability. 

However the vote goes, God will continue in sovereign control of all things, and his church will continue looking forward to the arrival of the true King to set up his kingdom. 

In the meantime, we will tell all we can of the King’s creative power, his perfect holiness, his merciful love and sacrifice, and his unimpeachable justice. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Thank God with us:

• For his grace in physical strength and health for each day.

• For his grace in the spiritual growth of our church family.

Pray to God with us:

• For his grace to follow Jesus, praying as he did and submitting to the Father’s will as he did.

• For his grace in the ongoing waiting process for our permanent residency documents (16 months so far).

 • For his grace as we seek to serve Jesus’ church here in ____________________.