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¿Jack and
Janine Swanson |
  Jack
& Janine Swanson are independent Christian Church/Church of Christ
missionaries sent out under the authority and structure of
Deer Creek Christian Church, in University
Park, Illinois, to Santiago, Chile, South America. Leaving
the Chicago area, they and their four children, Jonathan, Jordan,
Julian, and Jayme, spent one year studying the Spanish language
in Costa Rica, arriving in Chile in
November, 1993. They were new, “mid-career” missionaries. Their
children and their families are presently living in the Los Angeles
area. In addition to being mission team leader and participating in
ministry outreaches, Jack pastors the Iglesia Cristiana “Jesús es
El Camino”, a church planted in February, 2005. Various
members of the church help guide its ministries and groups and God
is raising up a core group of men leaders in the church, as well.
Janine is overall supervisor of construction design and progress,
along with being involved in various ministries and also being
responsible for weekday lunch planning for workers. It’s a young
church learning how to be a Jesus-centered church, and it’s exciting
to be a part of all that God is doing in it and through it.
Janine:
My heart lies with children - especially children with little or no
hope. Thus for me, it has been very rewarding to see what God has done
in the lives of the kids who participate with us. The same holds true
for the impact we are beginning to have in the lives of teens.
It's also been very interesting to me to be a part of a team of both
Chileans and "Gringos". The cultural issues are
challenging and "never-ending". This includes the
reality of how our teammates and others see us - we are educated, have
cars and live in a real house, instead of a room with a shared bathroom.
We think and act differently and sometimes I can't help but ask myself
what they really think about us or wonder about us.
Jack:
In these years in Chile I've become very aware of my spiritual
gifts and limitations, as I continue to grow as God's son and
faithful kingdom worker. I love what I do, and it is
particularly gratifying to me to be part of people's
lives--equipping, encouraging, loving, healing, and being God's
touch upon them.
I appreciate the
positive, inviting, Christian atmosphere that exists at the ministry site and within the ministry team
and church.
Nothing of what we do is taken for granted, as our work is extremely
challenging and intense at times, but so rewarding and satisfying at the
same time.
Our emphasis is on evangelism, new and renewed commitments to Jesus and
on discipleship.
God is responsible for the results!
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¿Luis and Katie Almonacid |
Luis and Katie are no longer part of the
DCCC Chile Mission Team or of El Camino Ministries. They began a new phase
in their mission work in Chile, as in February 2008 when they will
moved
to Arica, Chile, near the Peruvian border, to be part of the Church
of Christ there. Their work, as independent missionaries, will continue to be primarily
focused in teens and young adults, and, in general, help in the
development of the church, begun by Chilean Pastor José
Carlos Sepulveda and others. For anyone wishing to continue to
be in contact with Luis and Katie, her E-mail is:
katielynnhayden@gmail.com
We certainly wish them God's richest, continued blessings upon their
life and work together as He takes them forward.
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