Missions Update - The Armijo Family
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
What does God want with Chile? It is a question that we ask ourselves because of the latest catastrophes that have been hitting our country in recent months. First there were the floods that left thousands homeless, followed by fires that devastated large areas, leaving 131 dead and thousands of families homeless. Now again torrential rains that have once again flooded and affected thousands of families. It is difficult to give an answer, but surely the Lord wants our nation to humble itself and return to Him. In the last thirty years, along with economic growth and prosperity, an indifference to the things of God has grown. Our prayer is that God would have mercy on our country and that we, his Church, know how to take advantage of these opportunities to preach the gospel!
Family News: Our family has faced some health problems. This winter has been particularly cold and rainy and respiratory diseases have been very common. Andres and Alejandro have had to be on antibiotics to combat a strong flu that Andres had, with a very high fever for a week. Thanks to the Lord we have already gotten past that situation, and we are recovered.
This is a summary of the last few months of what God is doing in our ministry here in Rancagua, Chile:
- Still waiting for building permits: As we continue to wait to obtain building permits, we think about how slowly this type of thing moves here. We can do nothing but pray and be patient. The urgent need to be in our own church building sometimes overcomes us, it is not easy to do ministry like this, using four or five different places to do ministry.
- What progress have we made so far? So far, the progress has been closing the perimeter of the property, installation of water and electricity, sewer tank installation, the purchase and installation of a container to store tools, the design of the building, and some preliminary work on the foundation. We can't do much more, just wait for the permits to be approved by the municipality
- $32,000.00 dollars raised in four special offerings for the construction: Nearly thirty-two thousand dollars is the sum of four special offerings that we have raised in our church in Rancagua over the last ten months. These monies will be dedicated exclusively to construction details as we build. The brethren have been generous, and we anticipate a similar response to a new offering we will make in a couple of weeks.
- 21 baptisms in the last four months: It is a joy to see people joining the family of God and the family of our church. We have baptized teenagers to Amador, a ninety-two-year-old man.
- 200 people in attendance on Sundays: Although a good number of families from our church have immigrated from Chile to other countries, God blesses us and we have reached two hundred people adding together the two services we have every Sunday. Praise the Lord!
- 100 food boxes delivered: At the end of February, volunteers from our church in partnership with a local church of the affected area delivered more than 100 food boxes and evangelistic brochures to the victims of fires in the fifth region (Two hours northwest of us.)
- 76 men, on April 13th, participated in a men's retreat: It was a beautiful retreat that allowed us to encourage the lives of the men of our church and challenge them to live for the Lord.
- This year we are in the process of ordaining a new Pastor: Felipe Peña, one of our men, is preparing to be ordained. He has 5 years of theological training and has been serving with his wife in the church in Rancagua for 5 years. We are happy that at the end of the year we are going to add a national Pastor to our work team.
- 3 new deacons were elected: These three men, added to a deacon that we previously had, will be of great help in addressing areas of service in our congregation.
- 31 couples attended a marriage meeting this June: It was a good opportunity to strengthen marriages and deliver much-needed biblical principles.
- Good Samaritan hospital ministry: Every other Monday, together with a group of brothers from the church, we go to the hospital to give away coffee, tea and sandwiches. This gives us a great opportunity for us to show God's love and share the good news of the gospel.
Prayer requests:
- That building permits can be obtained soon to be able to advance with the construction work of the church building
- Wisdom to be able to assist Felipe Peña in the pastoral ordination process
- For all the discipleship of new believers that we are doing
- To continue growing in number reaching the lost
- So that the Lord takes care of our family and gives us good health during these winter months, months in which there are many colds and bronchial problems
Thank you for your prayers and support. We will keep you updated.
Pastor Alejandro & Robyn Armijo
Leading People to the Image of Christ
Romans 8:29