The apostle Paul commended Philemon for the way that the hearts of the saints were “refreshed” by his love, obedience, and spiritual growth (Philemon 7). We have been the recipients of refreshed hearts this past month because of the Christlikeness of many brothers and sisters in Christ.

We thoroughly enjoyed the 11-day visit of David, Bethany, and their one-year-old son, Isaiah from Washington. They were an encouragement to us and to many of our church families as well. We enjoyed showing them what God is doing in Antofagasta as well as God’s beautiful creation in this part of the world. They left behind many new friends who were encouraged to keep following Jesus.

Our church family is also a refreshing encouragement to our hearts (as they should be). Their hunger for the Word of God, their desire to know God’s will and do it, and their struggles to live out Jesus Christ in their homes, schools, and workplaces is exciting for us to watch and be a part of. We are thankful for God’s addition of two new baby boys in the past couple months, and we are looking forward to one more little guy in the next two weeks. As a church we are looking forward to a baptism in July, with four believers declaring themselves to be disciples of Jesus Christ publicly. In August, we are looking forward to setting up a formal membership with the believers who are saved, baptized, and in agreement with our doctrinal statement covenanting together officially. We are thankful for Jesus’ promise to continue building his church and protecting it so that even death itself cannot defeat it.

We are also thankful for the encouragement of our ministry team. This coming month, Jordan Flinck, our teammates’ oldest son, will head to the United States to begin Bible college in the fall. While this will be a new stage of life for David and Kristi, our church will also feel the loss of Jordan’s service and initiative, and several of the little guys who consider Jordan a buddy will deeply miss him too.

Finally, we thank God for you, for your prayers and partnership in the gospel. We are often reminded that we are just one small part of a much larger team, and that refreshes our hearts.

This is our May 2019 email update. You can sign up to receive our updates in your inbox here. You can download a printable PDF here.