Missionary Update From Chile

Here is another missionary couple supported by our church who are home on furlough after serving in Antofagasta, Chile for the last 4 1/2 years. They will be visiting their supporting churches, seeing their families and then returning in September to Chile. 

They have some praises and prayer requests. 

Please remember, that those who go to the mission field often give up everything at home and travel to places that are much less advantaged than America. Yet, those dear people they seek to minister to are in great need of hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

There was essentially no church established in Antofagasta but now after years of hard work, there is a very strong, growing church. 

                                                      

 Cast Your Anxiety

Peter tells his readers, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:6–7). 

Clearly, we must live humbly before God and the other authorities that He has set up (such as the elders of our local assembly, 5:1–5). Verse 6 creates a logical bridge to the famous “casting all your care upon Him” verse (5:7). 

Seen through the lens of the entire epistle, Peter writes to believers who are suffering for their faith, telling them how to respond in a Christlike way to those trials. 

When we encounter unwanted suffering, our first response ought to be actively humbling ourselves under God’s all-powerful hand. We can pray, “God, I don’t want this hardship, pain, or difficulty, but you are omniscient and see everything clearly, and you love me more than I can know. So I’m going to entrust my life to you and keep doing what you’ve commanded me to do (4:19), just like Jesus did (2:23).” 

This prayer encapsulates what it means to “cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” This month brought many opportunities to humble ourselves before God and trust his care for us. 

Many preparations and plans came together as we left our apartment to another couple, packed up our suitcases, and traveled to the United States. God has provided us with a car and safety in travel. 

He has blessed us through the hospitality and generosity of many brothers and sisters here in the United States. 

Our goals here are threefold: we want to thank God for those who have partnered with us in the gospel advance in Antofagasta (Phil 1:3–5), we want to praise God for what he has done through the gospel in Antofagasta (Acts 14:23), and we want to encourage one another in God’s Word (Rom 1:11–12). 

You can see our furlough schedule on our website. The last Lord’s Day we were in Antofagasta, at the end of the service in the park, our church surrounded us and prayed for us as we traveled to the United States. 

Of course, they prayed for safety and good health as we traveled, but they also prayed that the believers in the United States would be encouraged to hear how the gospel was advancing in Antofagasta, both in our lives and to unbelievers. 

They sent us to you as their representatives, desiring that their brothers and sisters in Christ, whom they have never met, to share in the fellowship of what God is doing in their midst. 

We were honored at the privilege and look forward to sharing God’s greatness and goodness. Please continue to pray for us as we travel and share, and please remember the resolution of our permanent visas. 

We appreciate your prayers and look forward to seeing many of you over the next several months. 

Thank God with us: • For his grace in the growth and maturing of our church in Antofagasta. • For his grace in reporting to our partners. • For his grace in physical health and safety so far in our travels to and within the United States. 

Pray to God with us: • For his grace as we share what God has done through the gospel in Antofagasta. • For his grace in travel and furlough meetings. • For his grace in the waiting process for our residency documents. 

Mark & Bekah Perry serve with a church-planting team in Antofagasta, Chile with the Gospel Mission of South America, You can visit their website at perrys2chile.com.