Lessons from the Vine

Our blog has been dormant a couple of years but our ministry certainly hasn't! This past June we completed a 5 year term in Santiago, Chile and find ourselves back in Texas support raising to return next July 2018. Our kids are experiencing and enjoying life in Texas. Texas is new to them and it is like missions in reverse for them! Naomi is in 2nd grade and doing really well. She loves her school and especially her teacher. John Mark our miracle child currently goes to PreK and this fall he got to play TBall and loved it. Caleb who was born this year before our arrival is such a joy and is busy busy trying to keep up with his older sibblings. We find our selves traveling every weekend sharing our heart for Chile and the work that still remains. God is giving us a fresh vision, new dreams and projects for the ministries we left behind. Conexion was left in the hands of our national team and they are doing an exceptional job meeting on more campuses and already planning our annual national leaders retreat in February 2018. Iglesia Bellavista the church we started almost 4 years ago is doing quite well. Martin who was reached and discipled through Conexion is leading the church and their efforts to reach the community of Providencia. We are grateful for the leadership team we left behind and their commitment to the vision of the church. Leaving Chile for this time has been challenging but necessary. Our job as missionaries in a foreign land is to invest and raise up national leaders. God so graciously reminded us that it is He who causes the growth! A few years ago Josh was given some grape vines. He decided to plant them and then build a great big grape arbor. This was quite a lengthy process as he had to care for the vines and then guide them to grow around the arbor. There were times where the vines seemed dead and lifeless but he persevered and never stopped tending to them. This last summer we harvested over 100 pounds of grapes! The catch to the story is that when we left Chile in June we had to give up our home as well as the grape arbor. It was a tough realization of the life and work of a missionary. You plant the seeds and build the structure but God bears the fruit. We won't be able to enjoy good times under the shade of the arbor anymore or make the best tasting grape jam. We handed the grape arbor over just as we did our ministries. We trust that our leaders are in the hands of God and he will make them flourish and bear such wonderful fruit!

Photo credit: Los Castro Photography



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