Church Bathroom Project

This past year (2010), our church has set a goal of funding and completing several projects in and around the church building. This was important, since many things needed to be replaced or installed (i.e. property fence, cement entryway, bathrooms, fire extinguishers).

We are thankful to God that the members have given of their money and their time to see many of these projects completed.

Men's bathroom (halfway finished).

Men's bathroom completed.
New sink, toliet, door, floor and wall tiles.

Women's bathroom before.

Women's bathroom completed.

Next year will bring new challenges and new projects for our little church. We trust in God to provide for future projects.

Maritza's New Bike

Recently, our church did something very special for a faithful member in need. Maritza (below), a long time member of the church, was born with hip dysplasia. Her condition has made her childhood and adulthood very difficult, due to limited mobility. She works out of her home as a seamstress and uses a bicycle to get around town. She rides her bike to church and affectionately calls it her car (mi auto). Her bike is old and falling apart. It was getting to the point where the bike repairman couldn't repair it anymore. During a prayer meeting, she simply requested prayer for God's provision to buy a new bike. She expressed that she didn't know HOW she could possible buy a new bike without God providing extra work or funds. But without a bike, she wouldn't be able to get around town to buy the needed materials for her sewing jobs.

So, our church secretly took up an offering and went out and bought Maritza a brand new red bike! Just to show you how wonderful Maritza is, she even gave some of her own funds for this special offering, without knowing why the offering was being taken.

Pastor Marcelo (L) with Maritza and the two elders of the church (Julio & Fernando)

The church body presented the new bike to Maritza after a church service. She was in total shock and wasn't able to speak at all. She was so overwhelmed with emotion, and everyone in the room was as well. A week or so later, she asked to give a testimony of thanks to God and the church for providing the timely and practical gift of a new bike.

Maritza leaving the church with her brand new bike.

"So then, as we have opportunity, let us to good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."
Galatians 6:10

Maritza has two sisters (Carmen & Viviana) and they love to sign together. Occasionally, they sing special numbers at church. Listen in as they sing...

How Corrupt is Chile?

Transparency International (The Global Coalition against Corruption) has done us a great favor by producing an interactive map explaining the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index. The less corrupt a country is, the higher the number. More corrupt countries have low numbers. Take a moment to click on the link and compare countries where you know missionary families live and serve.


The corruption question is important to missionaries in Chile and in other countries, because many times there is a direct correlation between government corruption and Gospel persecution. We are very thankful that Chile is the least corrupt country in South America. Daily life in Chile is relatively free from government and corporate corruption...but that is NOT saying that it never happens. Missionaries in Chile still have to deal with a lot of "Red Tape" when it comes to official paperwork (building permits, government documents, etc).

Speaking of "Red Tape", please pray that the building permits for the Lican Bible Camp and the Temuco Bible Institute to be approved in a timely fashion.

BI Apartment Repairs

We are please and thankful to be able to report that Daryl's apartment repairs have been completed. If you remember, they had a fire in their apartment several months ago.

What the hallway looked like immediately after the fire.

...what the hallway looks like today.
Daryl installed "floating floor" in the hallway.
It looks great!

The living room before...

...and the living room now.
New carpet and a fresh coat of paint on the walls.

We praise the Lord that the insurance company paid out a fair sum for the fire damage. This apartment not only houses Daryl & Earylnne, but it provides a place for GMSA missionaries to stay when they are traveling through Temuco.

Kid's Edition (Aug 2010)

The month of August means: Back to School!
Jordan is in 4th grade this year.

Ben is in 3rd grade.

Kaylee is in kindergarten, while Lukas is a curious observer.

The kids with their new friend, Nadia.
They recently met her while playing at the nearby park.
She comes over sometimes to play.

Watch out world!!!
Lukas is more mobile than ever.

Kaylee with cousin, Morgan.

Jordan working at the Bible Camp.

Goofin' off with the cousins at camp.

Lukas turned one years old on Aug 1st.

Kristi and Lukas at church

The Flinck family pew at church.

Listening to "Adventures in Odyssey" in daddy's office.
It's a weekly tradition.

Family & Youth Group Work Day

A couple of months ago we made two separate trips down to the Lican Bible Camp to work on the ever growing list of projects.

One major project that our family was able to help with was tearing down the old workshop to make room for the completion of the new workshop & woodshed.


David was able to cut down this dead tree and cut it up for firewood.

On another trip, David was able to take several from the church's youth group for a full day of work. We plan to go and work again soon.

Click HERE or HERE for more pictures and commentary on what work was done during these two work days.

Please pray for the Bible Camp ministry as it is gearing up for the summer camping season, starting in Jan.

Bible Correspondence Course Ministry

For quite a while now, we have wanted to share what God has been doing through the Bible correspondence course ministry here at the Temuco Bible Institute. This ministry provides Bible book courses and Bible doctrine courses for free to those who commit to reading them and filling out the questions. These courses have been able to go places we could have never imagined...more about that later.

Located at the downtown Bible Institute building, the Bible Correspondence Course office is open several days a week for people to stop by to either purchase courses, turn in their completed courses, pick up their next course, or just talk to someone about spiritual things.

Gaby Beyer, our German co-worker, has been overseeing this ministry for many years. She is in charge of the purchase, promotion, distribution, and correction of each Bible course booklet.

Above: An example of a completed course booklet. Gaby has told us that the process of correcting and answering the booklets takes a long time and is quiet a challenging ministry. There are several groups who are taking these doctrinal courses from local prisons, local Catholic and Pentecostal churches. Those who take these courses are looking for solid doctrine. Many times their own church is NOT teaching them the Bible, so they turn to the Temuco Bible Course ministry for help.

It is exciting to hear of how God is working through these courses. Every Thursday, our missionary co-workers meet for prayer time, and Gaby often tells us of new testimonies of those who have benefited spiritually from the Bible courses.

The Bible course ministry was started many years ago by a GMSA missionary (Janet Drukenbrod). The ministry has gone on ever since and, Lord willing, will continue in the future until the Lord returns.
In the back storage room, the extra Bible courses are kept and organized until orders come in for certain titles. One recent blessing of this ministry is that Mauren, one of my BI students, has been working part time with Gaby in the Bible course ministry. This has provided her a great opportunity to grow in her spiritual walk while correcting the courses and answering the questions that people write on the sides of the pages.

Click HERE for more information on what Bible courses are used at the Temuco Bible Institute.
Click HERE for the Bible courses offered in Spanish.

Please pray with us for this special and exciting ministry here in Temuco. This ministry is constantly looking for additional inventory to buy to be more effective in meeting the spiritual needs of those who stop by. For more information on how you can help the Bible Course ministry please contact us via email.

The Chilean Mine Rescue: By the Numbers

Our family, everyone in Chile, and many around the world have been captivated by the recent rescue of the Chilean miners in northern Chile. It has been quite an experience to live in Chile during this past year. 2010 has been an extremely difficulty yet historical year for Chile due to the Feb. 27 earthquake, 200th anniversary, and the San Jose mine disaster.




Steven Hoffer compiled the following numbers that sum up the amazing rescue.

700,000 tons -- Amount of rock that collapsed on the copper mine on Aug. 5.

2,041 feet -- Distance through the escape shaft from the Earth's surface to the stranded miners.

1,000+ -- Number of journalists covering the rescue from the scene.



926 pounds -- Total weight of the escape capsule.

100 degrees -- Common temperature in the collapsed mining shaft.

69 days, 8 hours -- Amount of time from collapse to rescue. Obviously no short period of time. However, compared to early estimates that the miners would not be rescued until late December -- a scenario that would have left the miners underground for approximately 140 days -- the 69-day rescue mission is an impressive accomplishment.

63 years old -- Age of Mario Gomez, the oldest of the miners.


48 hours -- Amount of time the standard emergency rations carried by the miners were intended to last. The 33 miners survived 17 days on these rations.

33 miners -- Trapped below the earth's surface.



28 inches -- Width of the escape capsule.

22 hours, 37 minutes -- amount of time to remove the miners.



(A side note on the video above: right at the end of the video the president swore in one of his "Viva Chile" shouts. When asked later on that night about why he swore he responded by saying, "It just came out without a filter. When in the heat of the moment, it was justifiable.")

13 feet -- Length of the escape capsule.

1 Bolivian man -- Among the 33 miners

1 Chilean flag --

1 white butterfly -- Credited with saving two miners, according to local Chilean folklore.



For additional pictures go to the Chile Govt. Flickr page.


Our family would appreciate your continued prayer and financial support as we labor to spread the Gospel to the Chilean people. Thank you to those who have been praying for our family and for the country of Chile these past few days.

To God be the Glory
Great things HE has done.

The BI Library project

In preparation for the upcoming construction of the new BI building, Jordan, Ben, and I worked on moving and sorting the BI library books in the temporary library room.

All the books were moved from the former BI building into the building we are currently using for the BI classes. Piles of books everywhere!

The bookshelves needed to be arranged to maximize space and efficiency in the library.

Finding and placing books on the correct shelves was the main goal for us that afternoon.


Ben and Jordan were good helpers moving books and locating the correct spots on the shelves.

The library is up and running now for the second semester classes. Every time I am in the library, I am reminded of the great need for more theological resources here at the BI. The students who are studying here at the BI and the professors who are teaching are always looking for helpful books in their studies. If you are interesting in hearing more about some creative ways to help us resource the Bible Institute library and students, contact us .