July Newsletter

Here at the mid-point of 2009, I see it is more than time to catch you up on what is happening with our ministry "Pan de Vida" (Bread of Life) here in Castro, Chile. I couldn't begin to mention all the daily blessings we see as the Lord continues to bless and guide us. On the practical side, we are in the process as of today to buy a small piece of land to start with some of our many future projects. A much larger piece of property we have been waiting on for many months still hasn't come through - the owners are wanting to sell it for MUCH more than we are willing to give them, and after many newspaper adds, etc, no one else has responded and so they keep hoping, ----(and we keep praying no one else will respond). This larger piece is in Castro, owned by the aeronautics of Chile, and has been vacant for 20 years. It has been a hangout for drug addicts and robbers. We were given letters of recommendation by the president of 3 neighborhood groups surrounding the property, and the local governor, in support of them selling us the land or allowing us to use it for Christian purposes. The smaller piece is about 4 miles out of Castro, and is offered by a friend at a ridiculously low price as she is in a great financial need at the moment. After praying and seeing the property, the social action group of the ministry feels we are to buy it. Recently our group morning devotional times have begun again (after many months of inactivity) and God has been blessing the new effort. Three to five people come from outside the home to join us every morning for 45 min (except Sunday). We have seen many prayers answered and a desire from all of us to learn and share. We also have Tuesday night and Sunday night Bible studies again. God has brought others to help in the ministry and this has made it possible to renew these areas that I was just too tired out to continue before with so much to do with the bookstore and house. First a couple came from Peru, with whom I lived a year 22 years ago there. We had lost contact for 19 years, and through a miracle of God, we found one another again, and they were here 3 months helping out. They had to return to Peru but plan, God willing, to come back to stay later on. Then the Lord sent a young guy from the city of Chaiten, where the volcano erupted. The people were evacuated and many relocated in Castro. One day this guy came asking the possibility of taking board and room - didn't have money at the moment, but expected to start working. I accepted, and saw his diligence and readiness to help in whatever area necessary around the house over the next month. So one day I felt I was to ask him to pray about working full-time with the ministry in exchange for board and room. Two days later, with tears in his eyes, he told me he felt this was what the Lord was leading him to do. What a tremendous blessing! He's a jack-of-all trades, and a "right-hand" in every area from bookstore, kitchen, cleaning, discipling, etc.--God responded to my prayers and gave me much more than I had asked for. He along with another one of the youth that lives here eliminated an unused bathroom in the bookstore and installed a new type of wall paneling. Now the bookstore has much more room and a much better presentation. Best of all it was all paid for by the stores' income tax return!! There has been an increase in the amount of Bibles sold over these months which thrills me - I know that something is happening in the spiritual. We have between 5-8 boarders - all youth working or studying in the area, or both. One who was here for 3 years has recently left as he was accepted as a trainee at the police academy. He was another jack-of-all-trades including waiter at a local restaurant, volunteer fireman, electrician, etc. - he came to my rescue in several occasions with the electricity! Others include a plumber, a distributor of products for pharmacies and supermarkets, an evangelist who is away days or weeks at a time when he feels called to other areas, a plant seller, and until recently, a painter. God uses them all as witnesses in their areas of work. We had a very busy summer (Dec - Feb) with several teams and many others including families and individuals on vacation and wanting a Christian place to stay. A team of dentists and children’s' workers came from the north of Chile and served many with free dental work and a great program for about 60 kids. Other teams came to split up and work in the various smaller islands. During Feb our 20 beds were full almost every night! We were very blessed to get to know many wonderful Christians from many parts. During Feb we also organized a seminar on "Prevention of Child Abuse" of which there is a big problem here. It was very good, and people were blessed and much more educated on the subject. Now we are doing one on prevention of drug abuse, taught by the Bible society and police investigations of Chile. These are done in public auditoriums, and teachers, children’s workers, local authorities, etc. are invited. Our big living room continues to be used by youth with a mission for their night school and some of their other activities since their base is a good distance from the center. A local Pastor also uses it for his Sunday services since he has no building of his own yet. Between times the guys set up the ping-pong table there, and many of their friends come by to play a few rounds. They want to organize a tournament soon! I think this catches everything up to date with activities here. If you would like to be a part of this ministry in some way, please contact us. We can always use volunteer teams or people in many areas - We are so grateful for the prayers, words of encouragement, and financial blessings of family and friends God has put in our path. It makes it possible to keep on serving. We pray for you in our morning intercession - that God will bless you, and protect you and fill you with his spirit and well-being.

Blessings,

Ellie Lowell