Time at Home...

In the past two weeks (Aug. 3rd-18th), we have been at home but have been keeping busy with visits from family and friends.


Kristi's best friend, Alisha and her family stopped in for several days, making a busy and full house Above is the group shot of all the kids at the Como Zoo.


David's sister and family also were visiting from out East.


Kaylee and her cousin at the zoo.


Watch out world...Jordan is at the wheel!


Kaylee having some "Daddy time" on the train.


Good thing the boys can't drive in Chile till they are 18.


Time with Felicia (neighbor) playing Play-Doh


Kristi with our children plus friends Alana and Logan (sitting behind Ben & Jordan).


It was Ben's turn to mow the lawn with Dad. With the recent rains this past week, it will need to be mowed again tomorrow.

Our family was also able to attend a wedding of a young lady from our home church on Sat. the 18th.

We are looking forward to the next two weeks at home...hopefully getting several things done.
-Cleaning the house
-Contacting churches
-Going through all of our clothes and getting rid of unnecessary items
-Packing up several boxes for Chile
-Shopping for several furniture items
-Reading and studying
-Celebrating Kristi's birthday
-Spending time together as a family (walks, library runs, trips to the park)
-Recharging our batteries

Come back again to hear of our last week of VBS here at our home church. We thank you for continuing to pray for our family during this time of deputation and ministry.

New Photo & Prayer Items - August 07

Specific Prayer Items for the Flinck Family:

-Wisdom (James 1:5)

-Personal Holiness (Col. 1:9-10)

-Salvation of our three children

-To Set Our Hope in God (Ps. 78:7)

-To be effective in communicating the Gospel and Biblical Truth.

-Be a blessing to others on deputation. Servant's heart and attitude.

-Discernment in deciding whether to go to language school in the States or in Chile.

-A deeper faith in God in the upcoming changes and ministry opportunities.

-The trimming our things and lifestyle as we approach the time to move to Chile. To take on a "war-time like" lifestyle and attitude.

-A trust in God to provide for some upcoming ministry (teaching materials) and family needs (new laptop/software & furniture).

Thank you for those who have been praying for our family during this time of waiting on the Lord to provide for our total support. You play a major part in this partnership of Great Commission Living in your community and in Chile.

Why is Strategic Missions Important?

I read an article online today that highlights (again) the importance for strategic planning in missions. Read the condensed article and then I will make my comments.
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Antofagasta Approves Development Of Esperanza Copper-Gold Mine In Northern Chile For US$1.5 Billion An Antofagasta company on Monday said that it has approved the development of the Esperanza copper-gold project, located in Chile 's II Region. Esperanza is a sulphide deposit, which will produce copper concentrate containing gold and silver by-product credits through a conventional milling and flotation process. Ore production is expected to average 97 thousand tons per day.

The company estimated the total value for the project is about US$1.5 billion including US$162 million for pumping, pipeline and desalination facilities to enable all the project's water needs to be supplied by seawater.

The company has anticipated the first production would be start at the end of 2010 and in its first ten years of operation Esperanza is expected to produce an annual average of about 700 thousand tonnes of concentrate containing 195,000 tonnes of payable copper, 229 thousand ounces of payable gold and 1.56 million ounces of payable silver.

The project and its timing are subject to relevant environmental approvals.
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Ok, after you read that you may say, "So, what".

Here are my thoughts on why this article caught my attention:
-Another huge mine in operation close to Antofagasta will only help the city to grow past the expected 300,000 people in the next 10 years.

-The new communities that are being built currently and in the future on the north side of the city will be seed beds for new church plants (see picture on right).

-New families = new opportunities for ministry and impact.

-The major University of the North is located in Antofagasta and this new mine will only continue to draw young people to train in mining studies at the U. A university ministry based out of a local church would be very strategic due to the fact that the young people will be moving back into their home cities and towns to work in the mining industry. Just think, if God saved these young brilliant minds and called them into the ministry, they would be the most effective witnesses of the Gospel to their own cities.

Continue to pray for wisdom and discernment as we are trying to be strategic in our ministry placement for God's glory.

VBS in Redwood Falls, MN

We were able to sleep at home after our week in Virginia for a few days before we started another week of VBS in Redwood Falls, MN. Never underestimate the blessings of your own bed!


The theme for the week was "King of Kings and Lord of Lords". The above picture was of our missions time.


The attendance grew to 30 by the end of the week. The Gospel was given each night and we pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in the children's heart to turn to Christ alone for forgiveness of sin, a right fellowship with God, and an eternal home in Heaven.


75% of this class were troublemakers.


The pastor's wife took our family to Alexander Ramsey Park one of the mornings to look at the animals and go hiking on some of the shady trails. Ramsey Park is the largest municipal park in the state of MN (217 acres).


Typically Jordan darts to the front due to his competitive nature (I am not sure where that comes from).


Redwood Falls - the water level was very low due to a very dry Summer.


The goats we the kids favorite. Careful not to get your fingers chomped off!



The VBS ended on Thursday night, and we drove home on Friday morning. We now look ahead to several weeks at home catching up with life, mail, laundry, and sleep.

In the upcoming weeks, I will try to get back to some posts on Chile culture, current prayer requests, Chile quiz #3, and miscellaneous interesting information. Thanks again for stopping by and remembering our family in prayer.

Down time on the road

VBS weeks are draining, but throughout these weeks we try to have some down time/family time in the community that we are staying. During our week in Virginia, MN, Pastor Williamson took us to the West Two Rivers Campground to go swimming and cool off.

Each day was in the mid-90's, so a dip in the lake was much needed and welcomed. It also offered time for the kids to burn off more of their endless levels of energy.


Kaylee with Daddy


(above) The boys favorite part of the afternoon was taking turns running into the water from the shore.

On another day, I took the family to the Mine View in the Sky overlook. Mineview in the Sky is a 20-story overlook that offers a panoramic view of the Rouchleau group of mines, one of the area's deepest mines. The focus of the majestic view is the open pit mine, nearly three miles long, a half-mile wide and 450 feet deep at the southern edge of Virginia.


Jordan and the "little" mine truck. Yeah right! These trucks were huge.

Benji looking back at the city of Virginia and the open pit mine.


How's that for perspective?


Our time at the overlook was not very long, but it was important to me since my Grandfather Walt used to work in the mines as the head mechanic for the big machinery. In Northern Chile, there are some of the largest open pit copper mines. We are thankful to God for giving us a family history and background in the mining culture and lifestyle.

Come back again to read of our next week of VBS in Redwood Falls, MN.

VBS in Virginia, MN - Part 2

Each child and worker received a white T-shirt with the above logo. I think it was a great idea since we were working in a public park (helps located the kids and gives legitimacy to our group)

Pastor Todd gave a missionary story each day about a boy from South America.


Kaylee's participation grew when the snacks came out. Above is the end result of a double chocolate cupcake.


The final day was "Water Day". Water balloons were flying everywhere!


The water balloon toss. Let's just say most of the balloons bounced off the ground and didn't break.


Ben during craft time.

Come back again for a post about what our family did when we weren't serving at the park with VBS.

VBS in Virginia, MN - Part 1

During July 22-26, we were in Virginia, MN helping with VBS. The catch was...the church has no children. Much prayer went into the planning of this week, and on the first day we were wondering if we would just have 3 kids...ours. Pastor Todd Williamson used to go to our home church and has been up there in Virginia for one year.

The church rented a pavilion at the local city park. The week was very, very hot and the church did not have AC. We were thankful for the building at the park to hold the Bible class inside and snack time under the shady overhang.


Each day there was a craft that went along with the verse of the day and our Bible lesson. This is an Ben's craft that he made on the first day.


Several ladies from church volunteered to keep track of Kaylee during the VBS classtime and craft time. Kaylee's favorite thing to do was sliding down the slide.


The Bible lesson time was 30 minutes long. The children we pretty good in listening even though the heat was intense.


Each day the attendance grew, which was a blessing and answer to prayer. The above picture was the shot from the last day (23 kids). Most of the children were coming from the HUD housing area of Virginia (broken homes, poor, most couldn't read well if at all).

Come back again for part 2 of our time in Virginia, MN.

When We All Get Together

July 21st was the annual Flinck family reunion held in Coleraine, MN. Our family made it a high priority to be in attendance since our time in the States is winding down. Time together with family is extra special because it may be the last time we see them for many years.

Our family with David's grandparents


Jordan playing baseball (a sport that is not popular in Chile)


Jordan


Kaylee


Ben


David's Grandparents and 6 of the 9 Aunts and Uncles


We then drove to Pengilly, MN to spend a few hours with David's second cousin and family (vacationing from Hawaii)

Pray for our family as we will soon go through the separation from family as we move to Chile. Many miles and many years may pass before we can see them again. Pray that we will trust in God's promises to meet our needs emotionally even though separated from family.