Celebrating and Growing 

September is Chile’s official patriotic month! The law requires each household to fly a Chilean flag outside their home. The week of the 18th, Chile’s independence day, is marked by family get-togethers and cookouts. In addition to the traditional activities, our churches took advantage of the week to invite friends and family to hear the gospel. Pictured to the right are two of our church families (Liberty Baptist and Cross Baptist) with many people wearing typical Chilean dress. Continue to pray for Chile and the ministry here! 

Grace Moves Forward by God’s Grace 

For several years, Grace Baptist Church has met in a community center. During the past few months, the local authorities have been scheduling other activities on Sundays. This conflict has made Grace Baptist’s ministries more and more difficult. Last month, God opened a door for us to rent a small building for this growing church plant. Lori and I were privileged to be at the first church service in the new property. The new building is right in the middle of a rapidly growing residential area! 

Ricardo Nilian is the young Chilean pastor who serves at this church plant. Ricardo’s testimony is rather amazing. He was raised in a Mormon home and attended the Mormon church faithfully. As a teenager, he rebelled against Mormonism to the point that he began to identify as an atheist. During this time, he met Matias Fernandez at school. Matias was a member of Omega Baptist Church (the second church we planted in Chile). Matias began to share the gospel with Ricardo. Eventually, he listened and was saved by God’s grace! In the following years, both Matias and Ricardo finished high school and enrolled in the Chile Training Center. After graduating, Ricardo launched out to work in a church plant, while Matias stayed back at Omega Baptist where he currently serves as the assistant pastor! What a story of God’s grace! 

Prayer Requests and Praises 

1. Chile voted to reject the new liberal constitution in last month’s special election. Continue to pray for the country’s next step as they explore more options to rewrite the old constitution.
2. At the moment of writing this newsletter, we are several days away from the youth retreat with Missionary Kason Bloom. Over 100 young people have signed up to attend. Please pray!
3. Continue to pray for property for Liberty Baptist in Santiago. We could be signing a contract in October! October 2022