Greetings everyone in Jesus' name. Hoping your winter is going well for you. I (Jim) just returned from a month of warm summer weather in Chile, still working to give birth to Colegio Cristiano Conosur near Santiago.
What a roller coaster ride the last month has been! There are 'way too many things happening to include the details. Suffice it to say that I've gone from confident to despairing to shakily confident again that we are operating in God's will. It seems that the higher the stakes, the higher the demand for faith and the less God makes himself visible on a moment-by-moment basis. I just hope my heart, both literally and figuratively, can stand the stress. Please pray for Cheryl and me, as that stress is taking a toll.
Here's the news and our needs:
* The land subdivision project I wrote about last newsletter has gone on hold, as in the process of due diligence we discovered a problem with possible flooding. It's not an impossibility to build a restraining wall along the river. It's just money. But we could not bear the risk of not being able to build on 30% of the land because of 2-3 days of yearly light overflow from the river. Not a dead issue, but the Lord will have to put something very obvious on the table.
Please pray that God would give us wisdom to choose well, and that he also would provide soon the capital we need to proceed with building the school.
* I think I mentioned in the last letter that we have a new architect for the school project. She is a whirlwind and s-m-a-r-t. The bad news is that we lost about 10,000 sqft of our property to eminent domain for an exit lane on the main road along the school property. Someone should have caught this a long time ago, and thanks be to God the new architect did almost immediately. As a result, she had to do a complete re-design of the layout, taking the lost ground into account. She worked fast, and will be presenting the project to the city fathers of Talagante next week. It's a beauty.
Our architect is not a Christian. Please pray that the testimony of my life and that of my coordinator Santiago Salinas, along with contact with our church, will affect her life and desire to know true salvation. Also that the authorities would give us an approval before the new regulatory plan for Talgante is approved. If not, we basically will be dead, because the new plan will be extremely restrictive on use of the land.
* The students of Hillcrest Christian School in Granada Hills did it again! They dedicated the months of November and December 2010 to the school in Chile. I introduced the theme "Bringing Light to Chile" in an assembly, and they did the rest. The kids and a couple of adults donated enough money to buy ALL the lights for the 5800-sqft house that will serve as offices and workshops for the school. That's 44 indoor decorative lights, 24 fluorescents, 51 outdoor decorative lights, and 5 security spotlights with motion detectors. Not too shabby for a group of ankle biters (that doesn't include the adults!).
Please give thanks to God that he has youngsters who can still taste the excitement of watching him at work without worrying about the outcome.
* The church in Ciudad Satélite (www.icisa.cl) made a firm commitment to plant a new church on the grounds in Talagante, beginning immediately. This is news I have been waiting for for almost 2 years! Evangelistic teams will be going over soon, with a view toward the first official service of the church on Easter Sunday April 24. The church got all enthusiastic when we made the announcement, and I know that they will gain a great deal of ownership of the new church and the school.
WE NEED CHAIRS! The church in Ciudad Satélite is really strapped for funds. Both the mother church and the daughter need seating, about 200 chairs total. Also tables and school equipment for levels K-5, including whiteboards. I'm hoping to fill a container in the next month or so. Would you please keep your eyes open for opportunities to obtain donated, good-quality equipment, especially seating? Please keep the churches and the needs in prayer. Also, if anyone would like to participate in the grand opening, the invitation is open - please consider going down to Chile at Easter time to rejoice with us.
We have to learn over and over again -- it is the CHURCH that is the apple of God's eye. Schools and the like are tools in his hands.
* It is pretty plain that God is not providing the big-time funds we hoped to obtain for the school. I was truly despairing that the school is even a possibility. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I had another meeting with Steve Phillips, who really knows the Christian School business. He assured me that we can build for a LOT less than we had budgeted, and was kind enough to provide specific plans from a current project to our architect to demonstrate to her how it is done. With the new preliminary design, we are getting a pretty firm idea of the costs necessary to begin.
The indications are that we will be able to begin with around $220,000 capital and a loan of around $400,000. While this still seems high, the five-year cash flow analysis suggests that we will be able to expand using only cash flow, not requiring further loans. THIS IS A BIG DEAL if it holds up.
And because the construction techniques are simple, we can save 30-40% if we can get volunteer work crews to visit from February-July of 2012 to put up panel walls, work concrete, hang doors, and do finish work. We should also have a strong team of co-workers from the church by that time, including the new Christians from the new Iglesia Cristiana Talagante.
Would you and your friends please consider the enormous benefit you can be? An even bigger impact would be to buy a classroom for about $12,000 - Imagine the sense of accomplishment of providing the materials AND participating in the construction of a classroom for 30 students where Jesus Christ will be in charge!
There are only around 150 Christian schools in Chile, and many do not confess Christ. Rather, they market the name in order to gain a certain clientele. You need to be a part in fortifying this weapon to advance the kingdom of God. The needs and the solutions are now getting very specific. Again, will you be a part?
May God pour out his richest blessings on you as you prosper in kingdom matters, the only things that really matter.
Love in Christ.
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