Bible Institute "End of the Year" Ministry Trip

At the end of each Bible Institute school year, there is a special outing (or gira). This year, we combined the trip to include not only some fun locations to visit or see, but an opportunity to serve a needy country church in Pedregoso, Chile.

During our long weekend up in the Andes Mts., our group was able to encourage the church by visiting families and church members in their homes. We spent time in prayer and read Scripture to them. This was great practical ministry experience for all of the BI students. As a BI professor, it was encouraging to see my students serving other people and doing ministry. I will miss my students next year, since I will not be teaching at the BI during the 2011 school year.

Each member of our group spent the nights in the church member's homes. I stayed with this couple. They were such a blessing to me.

To view the rest of the photos I took during the BI trip click HERE.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving
from the Flinck family.

Technical Difficulties....

Please forgive our lack of posting on the blog in the last few weeks. We have been experiencing some serious technical failures with both of our laptops. We have purchased a new laptop and we hope to have it up an running during the first week in Dec. We have much to catch you up on with the ministry here in Temuco, so come back again soon to read those posts.

In the meantime, please keep the following in prayer:

*The end of the BI school year. There are several BI events during the next three weeks that David (and the family) will be participating. Pray that the students will finish their semester strong.

*We have some important field meetings in the next two months. Please pray for wisdom, clear direction, and sensitivity to God's will in our lives and ministries.

*Pray for our family as we are pursuing moving to a new ministry location in the early part of 2011. We will post more details about this in the coming weeks. We are excited, but we need your prayers, since the process of moving always has it's challenges and setbacks.

Oh, so THAT'S what your name is!

When I first met our neighbor, he told me his name was Pancho. I thought to myself, "Pancho? That's a weird name." A few days later, I was talking to Kristi about this "Pancho" and she told me that Pancho is the common nickname for Francisco. Who knew? I sure didn't. Then it hit me. I was going to have to learn a long list of common Chilean nicknames if I was going to continue to work towards fitting into the Chilean culture as a missionary.

What was (or is) your nickname? Most people have one that was either given to you (Red, Hot Shot, Gunner) or based on your first name (Bobby, Jimmy, Ginger, Tina, etc). Growing up, my nickname was "Flincker". What was your nickname?

Chileans LOVE to give people nicknames. Nicknames based on a person’s given name, for the most part, fall into one of three categories: 1.) “Shortened” 2.) “Younger sibling” 3.)and “Imported”

1) Shortened: These nicknames are easy to connect to their full name counterpart, since they’re usually just the first one or two syllables of the name. They may sound confusing at first to foreign ears, since male nicknames can end in “a” and female nicknames in “o”. Examples: Fran, Manu, Pau, Rafa, Seba. In the case of compound names such as Juan José or Carmen Luz, the shortened form will usually be made up of the first syllable of each component name, producing Juanjo and Calú, respectively.

2) Younger sibling: These nicknames sound vaguely like the original, though they never have more than two syllables, and they simplify complex sounds, in much the way a child learning to talk might pronounce her older sibling’s name. For example:

Jorge changed to Coke: the /j/ is replaced by the easier-to-pronounce /k/, and the adjacent /r/ is removed.

Gloria changed to Lola: the /g/ is removed from the first consonant cluster, /r/ is replaced by the easier /l/ and the diphthong /ia/ is reduced to /a/.

3) Imported: These are Anglo-sounding nicknames, like Paty and Naty

Here is a list of common name-based nicknames. As you’ll see, several have both shortened and younger-sibling forms.

Alberto: Beto
Alejandra: Ale, Jani
Alejandro: Ale, Jano
Andrés: Andy
Antonia: Anto
Carolina: Caro, Carola
Carmen Luz: Calú
Claudia: Clau
Daniela: Dani
Eduardo: Lalo
Enrique: Kike/Quique
Felipe: Pipe
Fernanda: Feña
Fernando: Feña
Francisca: Fran, Panchi
Francisco: Fran, Pancho
Gabriel: Gabo
Gabriela: Gaby
Gloria: Lola
Ignacio: Nacho
Isabel: Chabela
Jorge: Coke
José: Pepe
José Miguel: Cote
Josefina: Jose (not José)
Juan Claudio: Juancla
Juan José: Juanjo
Leonardo: Leo
Luis: Lucho
Manuel: Manu, Manolo
Manuela: Manu
María Elena: Mane, Mae
María Eugenia: Kena/Quena
María José: Coté, Jose (not José)
María Luisa: Malú
Mauricio: Mauro, Mauri
Natalia: Naty
Paola: Pao
Patricia: Paty
Patricio: Pato
Paulina: Pau
Rafael: Rafa
Rebeca: Rebe
Roxana: Chana
Sebastián: Seba
Sergio: Checho
Sofía: Chofi
Verónica: Vero

Then, of course, there are always the nicknames that come not from a person’s given name, but rather from a physical characteristic of theirs.

The most common of these are:
Chascón (needs a haircut)
Chico (short)
Chino (Asian-looking)
Flaco (skinny)
Gordo (fat)
Guatón (fat)
Pelado (bald)
Negro (dark).

These are generally pejorative terms, but always used with some kindness (con cariño). The nicknames are often assigned by peers in primary or secondary school and can never be shaken. They stick so fast to their owners that they can often be spotted in mainstream media, followed by a surname, as though they were official.

(the majority of the above information came from THIS helpful article)

Sept 18 - "El Dieciocho"

This year for the 18 of Sept (El Dieciocho"), our family traveled down to the Lican Bible Camp to celebrate Chile's 200th anniversary of their independence.

We had an enjoyable day of relaxation, food, fellowship, and some work around the camp property.

Our family, Dan & Liz's family, and a few Chileans were around the large table that day. To view the rest of the pictures from our time at camp on the 18th, click HERE.

Kid's Edition (Sept '10)

Typical scene after church...Lukas being passed around and hugged by church members

Jordan, Ben, & Kaylee participating in a SS class skit
about King Solomon and the two mothers.

Lukas playing with firewood.

Lukas at camp.

Kaylee at camp.

Benji playing at camp.

Jordan swinging at camp.

Uncle Danny giving "the cousins" a ride.

Ben turned 8 on Sept. 27th.

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.