“The heavens declare the glory of God,” the psalmist says (Ps 19:1). We live in an extremely photogenic spot of God’s creation where his glory is being proclaimed in extravagant ways every day (feel free to use any of our pictures as wallpaper for your phone or computer!). Creation is simply bursting forth with the glory of its Creator! At the same time, the church of Jesus Christ proclaims the glory of the One who chose, saved, and is lovingly transforming Her into the image of his Son. “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Eph 3:21). We enjoy a front row seat to the proclamation of God’s glory here in Antofagasta.

The past month has practically flown by, and we have kept busy with regular activities such as spending time with church people in their homes and ours, Sunday church services, prayer meeting every Wednesday, the monthly men’s meeting, and continuing to get to know our new home, Antofagasta. We have almost all our furniture, and we’re enjoying the wonderful apartment God has provided us and trying to use it to minister to others and build relationships for ministering God’s Word. We’ve also had some different experiences, such as a two-day bus trip to Perú to renew our tourist visas (we crossed the border to Tacna, Perú, had lunch, and returned), and Mark had the opportunity to attend a weekend pastors’ meeting in Coquimbo (about 450 miles south of Antofagasta).

We are thankful for God’s goodness and the many blessings we enjoy every day. We are very aware of our limitations and struggles (every time we open our mouths to speak) and we are regularly humbled by our ignorance of simple things that “everybody knows.” This is a great chance for us to depend on God and for him to make us more like Christ. We appreciate your prayers and ask you to continue praying that God’s glory would be revealed in us and in our church here in Antofagasta.

We are thankful for our ministry team,
and thankful for the chance to host them in our home!

 Thank God with us:

• For his gracious provision of an apartment we can use in ministry. We’ve enjoyed having many church people over for meals, and it’s been a blessing to get to hear their stories of how God has worked in their lives.
• For his gracious protection as we traveled to Perú and back as well as many bus trips around the city.
• For his grace at work in hearts and lives in the church here in Antofagasta.

Pray to God with us:

• For his grace and strength to demonstrate Christlike patience as we continue to await our residency paperwork.
• For his grace to be diligent in the uncomfortable discipline of working at communicating (understanding and speaking) in Spanish.
• For his grace as he changes us into the image of his Son through his Word.

This is our April 2018 email update. You can sign up to receive our updates in your inbox here. You can download a printable PDF here.