God Opens Doors

It's Official

Our official date for leaving the island is Friday, February 13th.  Please be in prayer while we continue to look for a house.  

My English student, Laura, came by yesterday.  One of the things I asked her to do for class was to memorize Psalm 23 in English.  She brought me by a sweet gift she cross-stitched which is a reminder, during these days, of the Lord's faithfulness:

 

Tyler and Garrett returned from camp yesterday.  We were able to attend a three-hour final meeting for their group.  Around forty kids from the island and other parts of Chile attended.  Both of the boys learned a lot and made new friends. 

 

Monday the kids went out into a neighborhood and applied what they learned.  They used choreography and drama to share the gospel.

 

We were amazed that lack of resources does not equal lack of quality in a camp for kids.  The leaders used what they had and God multiplied it. 

I'm a slacker...

I have been a huge slacker about blog posting!  I really am hoping to be more consistent this year.  I am actually taking a break from taping up the living room for Randy.  He is a huge believer you should leave a house in better shape than you found it.  Hence, we are painting the ceiling in the living room and the bathroom.  Between the smoke in the den and the mold in the bathroom, we just had to do the right thing and paint it.  The boys will return from camp tomorrow and we are trying to make the most of our time.  We have heard reports that the boys are doing great and the Lord is working in all the kids.  They are doing a drama and gospel presentation near us in a neighborhood tonight and we get to go see them. 

Arica.  What can I say.  The trip was fast.  I had a major culture clash.  A culture clash is when two folks from two different cultures have very different opinions.  The people there were really helpful and sweet. A missionary learns to grin and bear most situations.  You learn to immediately adapt to circumstances  which are frankly out of your control anyway.  Long story short, we have no house.  However, we did drive around in hundreds (probably not hundreds, but it felt that way) of neighborhoods.  In the end, we are waiting on the Lord to open a place for us.  This is tourist season for Arica so many homes are rented fully furnished by the day or the week.  Please continue praying with us as we wait for an open door.  We are leaving here the week of February 9th - about 3 weeks away - with or without a house. 

Checking In

I (Kim) am headed to Arica on Monday.   (You can pray for safe travel and on-time flights.)  The trip will have a two-fold purpose.  First, I will be looking for a house to rent.  Please pray with us as we want to be where the Lord wants us and we want a place where we can serve ministry teams.  The second reason for the trip is to travel to Tacna and meet with the missionary there.  David and Amy Lancaster with We Will Go Ministries will be bringing a team and meeting us there in March.  In addition to ministering in Peru, we will spend a few days in Arica also.  They have 9 people confirmed and we are excited about receiving them and ministering along with them. 

Tyler and Garrett leave on Tuesday for camp with YWAM.  Please pray for them that the Lord would touch them over the week and their spiritual eyes will see clearer.  Randy and Dokey will be here all week alone.  Please pray for him as he will help out YWAM with transportation, take on a few cleaning out projects, and press in to Jesus. 

Moving plans.  Praise the Lord we found a company which will ship our things that fit in boxes to Arica.  It is relatively inexpensive and they will pick up our stuff at our house and meet us in Arica.  We hope to pull out of Chiloe the week of February 9th.  Less than a month from today! 

I will update this week as I can.  We are very thankful for your prayers!

Reflections for 2008

We spent New Year’s Eve with the church.  They had a special service which included the Lord’s Supper.  Afterwards we went over to our friend’s house and celebrated the New Year together.  As we ponder this year, we are just amazed.  We are thankful.  We are surer today that Jesus Christ is Lord, He is real, and His word changes lives.  These are some of the things we are giving Him praise for this year. 

 

1.  Watching the Lord change lives here in Chiloé. 

·         A couple of weeks ago, a family who lives in a secluded area came for prayer.  Her baby was in breach position and the doctor said unless the baby turned within the week, she would have to have a C-Section.  We prayed for her and the doctor gave her the good news that the baby had turned and she could wait to have it naturally.

·         The Lord is setting children free.  The pastor’s wife here has an anointing to work with abused children and pre-teens.  I have been able to accompany her on many visits.  It has been amazing to watch the Lord bring freedom in these little lives from the terrible, awful things that have happened to them.  What is exciting is they do not have to wait until they are in their 20’s or 30’s or 40’s or even 50’s.  The Lord is touching them now, while they are less than 13 years old.

2.  This may seem kind of shallow – but – we are very thankful for our dog Dokey.  When we lost Molly after only one week, each of us thought it would be a while before we would want another dog.  However, at the right time, the Lord brought us Dokey.  He made many dreary, nasty days a lot of fun.  He has a BIG personality for his small body and he makes us all laugh.

3.  Our time on the Island of Chiloé.  We have learned many useful, practical things.  For instance: 

·         Randy knows how to run a television off of a car battery.

·         We know how to recharge regular batteries on a stove.  (It’ll work about 3 more months!)

·         Salt puts out a fire quickly and safely – especially when the pipe is turning red and the soot is backed up inside the pipe. 

·         Ash mixed with kerosene makes a great fire starter.

·         You have to be careful about how much wood you put in a heater, particularly when you have to push against the glass in the door to close it – the glass might (did) break.

·         People will eat just about anything – I’ll save that post for another day.

·         There is no need to serve salad in individual bowls; each person is content to dip out of the main bowl with their eating fork.

·         Time is NOT an issue.  We keep reminding ourselves that – it’s okay for things to start 20-30 minutes late.

·         Unless the recipe calls for cheddar or Velveeta cheese, you can just about make anything from scratch.

4.  Our time bonding as a family.  The rainy weather has allowed us to become closer.  It has not been easy, this year we will have two teens in the house.

 

We pray this year will be full of the wonders of Jesus in your life.  Let’s seek Him more than we ever have.  Jesus is coming back for His church and just a bride prepares for her groom, we need to be waiting, prepared and ready.  It will be the most important day of our lives.