March, 2025
“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” Philippians 4:4
Dear brethren in Christ, grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
The Apostle Paul urges the brothers in Philippi to maintain sustained joy in the Lord. Despite writing from prison, it is Paul who encourages the brethren and exhorts them to maintain the joy of the Lord in their lives. How hard it is to live a life of joy in this world! But the Lord calls us to rejoice in Him, to rejoice in His work, to be fulfilled through communion with Him. Let us rejoice in the ministry of evangelism, let us rejoice in announcing salvation in Christ!
The past few months have been full of many activities. From the celebration of Christmas to reaching our first anniversary here in Punta Arenas, we have been able to enjoy the joy of the Lord in each of the activities we have carried out. Here are some things to share.
1. Interview on ITV Patagonia – Back on December 19th, by the grace of God, we had the blessing and opportunity to present the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ, for the second time, on the regional TV channel. God allowed us to invite the children to our Christmas activities.
2. Special Christmas Activity – Then on December 21st, we had a Bible Club to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We did an evangelistic activity along with games, gifts and making Christmas cookies decorated by the children themselves. We thank God for the collaboration of Sister Carolina Ojeda and Yolanda Rosas in preparing the cookies and decorating them.
3. Christmas Service: December 22nd, we had a beautiful Christmas service with many visitors. Our children from the club made an acrostic “NAVIDAD” (Christmas in English) and sang the praise: “Today is Christmas.” We rejoiced in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
4. Christian Pedagogy Institute (IPEC): From January 6 -19, Elizabeth finished her fourth year of studies at IPEC, completing her training as an evangelical religion teacher. This, in the midst of difficulties, as her father (Mr. Mariano Colpi) had suffered a stroke, which caused much anguish and worry. Elizabeth had to make an urgent trip to Santiago. He continues to suffer the physical after-effects, so please pray for his recovery, and mainly for his salvation.
5. Music Course, Smirna Church, Santiago: From January 19 to February 2, a music course was held. Daniel had the blessing of teaching the Bible class for the second-year students. Despite doing it online, it was two weeks of great spiritual growth. The course focused on biblical references to theological principles in music, instruments, and worship in the books from Genesis to Job.
6. Camp on Puluqui Island: From February 3rd to 9th, we participated in the Presbyterian Camp for young people on Puluqui Island. It was a wonderful week where Elizabeth was in charge of teaching and counseling of five young ladies.
Daniel preached during the 6 days of camp. Daniel Josías, Joaquín, and Catalina were able to enjoy the Bible lessons and share with their friends, whom they had not seen for almost a year. Daniel Josías (11 years old) surprised us all in the marathon, and got third place! We had125 young people participate, with a total attendance of 165 people, including the counselors and those in charge of food. It was a very blessed camp for all of us who were able to attend.
7. Summer Bible Club: Upon returning to Punta Arenas, we quickly began to prepare for our Children’s Bible Club, which took place from February 18 to 22. Sisters Carolina Ojeda and Cecilia Crisóstomo worked with Elizabeth in preparing the prizes, Bible story books, and activities to be carried out.
Additionally, we were blessed to receive a visit from Brother Joaquín Godoy (IPFB Genezaret of Puerto Montt) and National Missionary Pamela Ramírez, from the Missionary Society, to team up in this children’s club. Their presence was a great help and blessing for us.
It was a very exhausting, but a very beautiful week, in which we had 18 children and six adults participating. New children and families arrived, which filled us with joy. The theme of the club was: “Jesus, the Son of God.
8. Anniversary Service: The Fundamentalist Biblical Presbyterian Church group “Faro de Gracia” completed one year of activities. We are happy with what God has done in such a short period of time as we experienced the work of the Lord in which He added those who are to be saved. We had a beautiful service, with the attendance of children from the club along with their parents.
God also blessed us with the ministry of Pastor Fernando Osses Valeria, who was able to minister the Lord’s Supper. And, as a congregation, we sang the hymn, Grace, and we enjoyed a number by a choir of the children of the Bible club, and a piano and violin duo of Daniel Josías and Joaquín.
On this occasion we also recognized the most faithful attendee of the congregation. The award was received by a four-year-old child named Elías Sepúlveda Ojeda. We thank God for his parents, and for the faithfulness they have shown to our God. We also rewarded the oldest attendee, a nine-year-old boy, Dannel Brizuela. He has been participating since the first Bible club in February 2024. May God continue to bless the children of our congregation!
During this time, we have enjoyed fellowship with the brethren after each Wednesday Bible study service and the Friday prayer services. We are growing both in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in the fellowship of the Christian family. Back on December 25th and January 1st we had a trip to a wonderful place called “Laguna Parrillar”. It was a time of great joy and recreation as a congregation.
There is only gratitude in our hearts for the wonderful work that God is doing in this place and we reiterate our willingness to remain in Punta Arenas for a longer period of time, praying and waiting for God’s will to be fulfilled in our lives.
Prayer requests:
- May God continue to strengthen us and give us good health.
- May God work salvation in all the people who attend the meetings.
- Pray for the health of Elizabeth’s father, Don Mariano Colpi, for his salvation and that of the entire family.
- For the health of Cecilia and her return to work (March 3rd).
- For the health and salvation of Mrs. Fanny Pino.
- For the work of evangelization at the University of Magallanes and the Hospital.
- For the attendance of the new children: Amanda, Gaspar, Siomara, Alonso, Mateo, Boris.
- For God to provide land for a sanctuary building.
- For the beginning of catechumen classes.
We ask you to continue praying for the work of the “Faro de Gracia” Church, the southernmost Presbyterian congregation in the globe.
In the love of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Matamala Colpi Family