On Sunday, April 19th, CRISTO REY celebrated the burning of their mortgage – the building is paid for! They honored B from the Covenant Church in Birmingham who had a lot to do with the building, as well as San Marcos. And, they are paying the pastor without outside help.
On Sunday, April 26th, E was ordained as pastor under our provisional presbytery. He is a super young man, married and expecting their first child. He has been assigned as evangelist for our mission in Lonquen where he is training five men for eldership and, as I am encouraging him, one for pastor as E is looking to start another church in Vitacura, where Lois and I live. When I asked him if he wanted the help of a missionary, he said emphatically, “No”! Amazing! We are moving in the right direction! He is also not asking for financial help. Will wonders never cease!
I say that because Lois & I and B & C were just down in OSORNO to visit the mission there which has been under 2/3 mission help for five years, and is asking for more. We also visited the new Bible study in PUERTO MONTT which is being started there by a young man who has moved there from Osorno. He has had a ministry with teen age drug addicts. As a result of this trip I am impressed that C is ready to take over the proposed mission, having watched another man lead there. I asked him, “Can you do that?” He said, “Of course”. It will give him a chance to prove his call to the ministry, and the other man the chance to lead a similar study in Osorno to build the church there.
The immediate response at Puerto Montt is to give C money so he can study. My response is no, C needs an opportunity to see God provide more work and to prove whether or not he is called to this ministry. I failed to mention that the just ordained E said that it has taken him nine years to finish our requirements for ordination. Nine years! I have been praying for 15 men that have shown real interest in our work and have become pastors. Call me, I’ll tell you what happened to most of them, but it is sad and doesn’t have to be that way. In May at our next presbytery meeting maybe, just maybe we’ll be open to change - positive, cultural, Biblical change in this area.
Pastor W has rented a location 24/7 for his new work in Maipu – we are not paying his salary nor for the location! Amazing, again, amazing. A new work that Verne has come alongside has sent me a letter as Chairman of the National Missions Committee petitioning acceptance by presbytery – again, no money requested. Maybe, just maybe, we are making a move away from paternalism – to accepting the fact that God can work through His men here as well as through us?
Lois and I will be home visiting several of you in May, looking forward to it.
YOUR PRAYER IS EFFECTIVE, KEEP AT IT!
- Sam & Lois Mateer
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