We are doing better with just three months since our last journal entry… We pray that you have been encouraged throughout this time as the seasons have changed and the work of our Lord continues. Of course, there are many things that have happened in these three months and many more to come in our last lap of our first term in Chile.

July was full of invitations… We met the Panguipulli's students, attended a wedding in Coronel, a meeting with the Convention's board, a Youth gathering, and a vigil… We also had the privilege to take a pastoral family to the airport. Oscar Fernandez is the pastor at First Baptist Church Renacer (Rebirth) in Coronel, and he, his wife Isabel Machuca, and their teenage children, Oscar Andres (Nano) and Stefani (Fanny) were invited by the First Baptist Church of Greensburg, Indiana, their sister church, to visit them for three weeks and be a part of the WMC in Green Lake. The preparation for the trip took six months that had its ups and downs, but in all He was in charge and made things possible where for the human being it was impossible. The Fernandez-Machuca are one of those families you know them and you get to love them dearly. One of several families we have close to our hearts and will miss dearly during our US/PR assignment.

Speaking of which, remember to make sure you put your requests for our visit with your Minister of Mission Support in your region. If you are not sure whom they are click here to find out: http://www.abcusamissions.org/contact/ministers.cfm. We want to visit as many of you as we can during our year in the States.

August was our back to school month and before we did, we were in a vigil with our "godchildren," Luis and Valeria. They used to attend the same church we were a part of while in Santiago and they honored us to be their witnesses at their wedding last year, same day as Alberto's birthday. Now the Cariman-Rivera couple is leading a new congregation and invited us to their vigil. We had a wonderful time together. This new couple is also one of those we will miss a lot… Luis is a special praise and worship leader, a music minister with great potential. We pray he can record some of his music before we leave Chile.

Our new routine now includes not only the three monthly mother-to-mother breastfeeding support groups (San Carlos, Cerro Verde, and Temuco), our two Saturdays a month teaching in Chillan, and our one-week a month class in San Carlos, but also a weekend a month in Panguipulli. We are encouraged by the eight students in Panguipulli. These are men and women who seek to learn God's word to serve Him better in their congregations. In Chillan we not only had a good start, but also had to change classrooms. There was a bigger turnout this semester and we switched classrooms to fit all the new and returning students. There are a total of 19 students in Chillan who are thriving and providing a great atmosphere of scholarship and pastoral hearts. In August we also had the Institute's Day (two Sundays, actually) and a meeting with the Institute's Administrative Council.

As we prepare for our last lap of this term, we decided to run a series of Forums by Districts with the pastoral leadership in Mision Chilena. We had representation from the Convention's Board, the Institute's Administrative Council, and our missionary colleague Dwight Bolick was with us at each of the four meetings. We sought to provide a place for the leadership to express openly their comments, questions, and suggestions in terms of the ministry of the Institute since pastor Job Isla founded it, and as there has been ABC-BIM missionary presence including Steve & Sheila Heneise, Juan & Kristina Gutierrez, and us. We seek to strengthen the link between the Convention and the Institute and to plan and provide guidelines for the Institute administration for the next five to ten years.

Each meeting was different, the needs are different in each District. Each meeting was special, attendance was great, and the main goals of the meetings were achieved. As we prepare for departure, Victor Aguilar and Susan Aguilar, current colleague professors, along with Patricia Cofre, who is finishing her MTS at EBTS and will be back in Chile in June 2004, will be carrying on with the ministry of the Institute preparing Mision Chilena's leadership. Two of these Forums were in August and the other two were in September.

September was our special month with our 14th wedding anniversary and Carolina's birthday. We also experienced our fourth and last Fiestas Patrias, Chilean Independence celebrations, of this term. We absorbed as much as we could of this last Fiestas Patrias, which was wet, with rain, which in turn brought beautiful rainbows of hope. We shared this special time with the Saez-Montalba family. This is another of those families we will miss dearly. Not only have they adopted us as part of their family, but also as we celebrated this year's kid's birthdays, both Alberto and Carolina wanted to share theirs with their Chilean cousins and family! It has been a great privilege to see how bonds of love can be strengthened.

As we look to October, we are planning the Catedra Ismael Neveu, which will provide a forum to summarize the Forums. In this opportunity there will be pastoral leadership but also the students and graduates, along with all those interested in sound theological education and the future of the Instituto. At the end of October we will be joining forty Mision Chilena women at the UFBAL (Union Femenil Bautista de America Latina—Latin America Women's Baptist Convention) conference in Santiago. This is a major step for our Mision Chilena and colleague missionary Barb Bolick and I are happy to join them in this event.

November already includes a children's retreat and December is graduation time at the Institute. This year we are having a good number of our students graduating from the three programs and we look forward to the ministries these graduates will develop or continue to develop in Chile and abroad. Also in December, we will be co-hosting with the Bolicks a group from the States, we will receive Carla Colon from First Baptist Church of Caguas, Puerto Rico, to prepare a girls choir for the Convention's meeting in January and also for the Convention we will host the Coral de Varones (Men's Choir) from the same church. We are looking forward to these three groups of people; some we know and some will be new friends.

As you can see, before we know it, we'll be in our last semester in Chile. Our main goal is to continue to strengthen our relationships and friendships that we have had in this last three years. We have developed a culture of love based on Ecclesiastes 4:12 "…a cord of three strands is not quickly broken." We believe that in these loving relationships God is our main partner, our brothers and sisters in Chile are also partners, and we, as representatives of our ABC family, are the third partner. You are so much a part of what we do that without your time (in prayer), talent (offering your resources), and treasure support (providing financial support) it would make little sense for us to be in Chile as our many missionary colleagues are in so many parts of the world. Through the World Mission Offering you provide for our every day needs and also for the many projects that each missionary is developing in their country of service. We encourage you to continue strengthening these relationships so that they are not easily broken. Your partnership is very important to us. Thanks for remembering us in your prayers, with your notes of encouragement (snail and/or email), and through your gifts of love.Please continue to partner with us in this adventure of love.

Continue to pray for…

• our church Comunidad Bautista Nueva Esperanza de San Carlos,
• our pastoral family, the Saez-Montalba, Rolando, Evangelina, Bastid Arlet, and Yocheved Elisheva, and our brothers and sisters. Mama Vieja (Old Mama), is how they call Olguita, Rolando's mom. She has adopted us as their spiritual children and she now spends more time in San Carlos supporting Rolando's ministry as well as ours.
• Pray for the Fernandez-Machuca as they continue to share of their trip the States and the many things they learned in this experience, and the ministry they share in Coronel.
• Pray for the Cariman-Rivera as they grow together as a young couple and in the ministry God has given them.

These three families represent the many others that we have come to minister to and have been ministered and are ministering with. We are blessed with their love and friendship.

• Continue to pray for our fellow workers, the Heneises and the Bolicks, their families, and ministries. The Heneises are in the States in their US/PR assignment. The Bolicks continue to prepare for their departure in February 2004.
• Continue to pray for the Instituto Teologico Bautista and the Convencion de Iglesias Bautistas de la Mision Chilena and the upcoming events.
• Please continue to pray for us as a family, our growth, our health, and our daily life in Chile.

Remember that you are part of this adventure and without God's hand on us and your faithfulness we couldn't do it. Thanks for sharing with us in this journey.

With love and prayers,

Carlos and Mayra Bonilla