April, 2023
They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. Psalm 125:1.
Dear brethren and friends.
We greet you in the name of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. We hope you are doing well and enjoying the blessings of the Lord with your families.
Thanksgiving
First, we as a family, would personally like to thank you all for the unbelievable support that we receive every year. May God continue to be the source of provision for you and your families.
Secondly, we as a church are extremely excited for Malely Navarro, who has been a member of the church. She and her husband, Alejandro Barria, had to move out of Arica. Malely and Alejandro have now been integrated into a new ministry that opened in Valdivia, Chile. The new ministry, “Laguna Verde,” (pictured right) opened its doors on March 26th. Sister Malely has been assigned to be the Director of the Sunday School Service and the President of the Women’s Society. Also, Alejandro has been used to the glory of God since he is the pastor’s assistant. We are extremely blessed that this Christian couple has now the opportunity to spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in different parts of our country. We invite you to pray for them and this new ministry that the brethren from the Smirna Church in Santiago opened.
Also, we are really thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ for the Summer Bible School that took place from February 15-19 this year. Our main topic for this SBS was “I Decided to do the Right Thing.” As a church we prepared ourselves with various topics, materials, and games. However, we did not have the attendance that we expected. You see, the Chilean government has programs where they are building new apartment complexes and giving those for free to people in need (which make up the majority of our children’s families in our church). Nevertheless, we saw this as a new opportunity to spread the gospel to the new neighborhood that is currently located closest to the church. We had conducted three different classes and had a beautiful opening service with a variety of activities for the children. The children were able to make friends, play games, and have a lunch break while learning about our Lord Jesus Christ. We want to faithfully continue spreading the Gospel of our God to those children, because we know that they are the future generations, and we will do as much as we can, as a church, to bring new generations to the Lord, by His grace.
This is also the time of the year when we start up our Women’s Society, and choose new leaders for it. Sister Roxana Pozo was elected as the new president, sister Karen Bravo was elected as the new secretary, and finally, sister Rebeca Reinaldo was elected as the new treasurer. We would like to ask every single one of you to keep praying for the leadership of this group, the church, and our brethren.
The Sembrador Church
Our God also gave Pastor Jonathan the privilege to once again visit the Sembrador Church in Iquique (pictured below). Jonathan was in Iquique from March 25-26 and conducted their congregational meeting as they planned some upcoming activities such as: Christmas ministry, outdoor activities, and activities with adults and children. Then on Sunday the 26th, he conducted the installation ceremony for brother Sebastian Orehond who became an Elder of the church. Also, brother Josue Matamala is now preparing with his studies in Scripture, to become a member of the Sembrador Church.
Pray for:
- Final exams of our daughters, Melissa and Ruth, at the university
- Our Teenager Class every Saturday
- The new leadership of our Women’s Society
- The Sembrador Church in Iquique and its plan of spreading the Gospel
- Janeth Jara’s health
Once again brethren, we would like to thank every single one of you, for your investment in prayer and financial support throughout the years in this ministry.
May the Lord bless you greatly; your brethren in Christ,
Rev. Jonathan, Janeth, Ruth Meylí, Jonathan Edward and Melissa Jara