This past month, Pastor Andrés led our church in a study through James. This epistle is full of imperatives (more than any other NT book) and focused on speech (just count up all the references to what “you say” or the tongue or “do not say”). However, the purpose of being wise in our speech is not just to be “slow to speak,” but also “quick to hear.” In James 1:21 we read, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” We must receive the Word with meekness. Thinking back over the past year, many of our brothers and sisters here in Antofagasta have experienced incredible spiritual growth, while others have not. In every case, their growth (or lack thereof) is directly proportional to their reception of the Word. The Word is able to save our souls! We must receive it meekly.

We were unable to travel to the south of Chile to meet with our missionary teammates, and yesterday, our city entered into another 24-7 lockdown. We are not excited about the prospect of watching the beautiful summer days go by from our apartment windows. Please pray for us and our spiritual, emotional, and mental health.

We did enjoy the seven Lord’s Days that we were able to meet together in small groups as a church in various houses across the city. It was a blessing to be physically together, to sing together, and to be encouraged by our brothers and sisters. We return to the all-digital format that we grew accustomed to for eight months last year, recording the Bible studies beforehand and then meeting Sundays and Wednesdays on Zoom to review the study questions and discuss them together. We are also reading through the New Testament this year together as a church, and we have started a Saturday afternoon Zoom meeting where we read the section aloud (about five chapters) and everyone has the opportunity to ask questions about what they’ve read. So far, it’s been a blessing!

We continue to pray for the completion of our permanent residency documents that we submitted in June of 2019. According to the online portal, Bekah’s is in the final inspection (the website says 90%) and Mark’s is just submitted (the website says 5%). We will continue to trust the Lord and pray that he will grant us favor to receive those documents so we can continue serving the Lord here in Chile.

This is our January 2021 email update. You can sign up to receive our updates in your inbox here. You can download a printable PDF here.