Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. –Prov. 15: 22
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. –Titus 1:5
The counsel of others and the plurality of church leadership are very biblical in both the Old and New Testaments. Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 is a fantastic passage on the value of close relationships and teamwork, and the book of Acts has many accounts of the direction and decisions of the Church Council in Jerusalem.
We meet weekly as a Chile Mission team on Monday mornings with a devotional time and to plan the week and in our past work with children at the ministry site we met weekly for devotions and regular planning with house “moms” and other staff. A plurality of Chilean leadership through boards of directors is also a key element already in motion for the good going forward of both the children’s work in Santiago and the development of the Christian center & camp in middle Chile.
The Foundation for our work with children was formed over one and one-half years ago and its board has been meeting and functioning ever since. We recognize that the re-forming of the work in Santiago is taking time, but most important to keep in mind is that this new beginning is taking place under the leadership and direction of a board and not just the two of us. The Chilean work laws governing the employment of live-in staff have changed in significant ways, making it necessary for us to consider other ways and designs to keep our emphasis on children intact. Our new director for the work, Andrea Guzman, has been gathering information these past months on to how to move forward in the best way with the right design, and the board continues to play an integral part in this process.
We have also been working for over a year with Domingo & Sandra on the development of the new Christian center & camp south of Santiago, as well as investigating the purchase of additional land. We again are needing to take steps in their necessary order as we work on forming a foundation for the camp and seek further guidance from others with camp development experience. We have visited Christian camp & retreat centers in the U.S. and Donald Davis, director of Park Springs Christian Camp & Center in Providence, N.C., will be making a visit to Chile in August to see our land and make suggestions. Pictured here below is a photo of this week’s board meeting with Ross & Raquel, and also one of us with Domingo & Sandra.
PLEASE JOIN US in praying this month for the successful going forward of both these boards! God put both groups together to provide a solid base and framework for his work through us. We’ve been counseled to keep the boards themselves small, even those there are several others involved on different levels.
In the meantime, our involvement with the live-in Christian drug and alcohol rehab center for men actively remains in place through Jack, Todd, and Ross and the weekly English Club in which they also work together under Todd’s leadership has a growing group of participants. Each week we together choose a theme for the English Club time in line with what is happening during the month. The themes for May included the U.S. Day of Prayer, Mothers’ Day, Armed Forces Day, and Memorial Day—all with a Christian “twist”, and the May 31st theme centered on Pentecost and the birth of the Christian Church. Todd continues building personal relationships with English Club participants.
Praising, praying, and fasting as we all serve our “Cord of three strands” Jesus,
Misión Chile 