Loco Lynches

Additions to WEB

View our trip to Costa Rica and the United States: May 2009

View pictures of the We Tripantu (Prayer Service): June 2009

All contributions can now be sent to the new address: UWM PO Box 602002, Charlotte, NC 28260-2002

The Investigation

As we become more involved in the ministry among the Mapuches, it is becoming evident that statistical information is needed in regards to the location and health of the Mapuche church. We have come to realize that no one has a good global picture of the spiritual needs of the Mapuche church. We realize that this is a huge undertaking but we believe it will be worth the effort not just to our ministry but to all missionaries and future church planters.

Unfortunately this effort is not as simple as you may think. Because of the suspicious mind of Mapuches to outsiders, one should not enter a community without an insider introducing the missionary to the church.  Besides, in the country it is almost impossible to find the churches without a guide. Due to this fact, networks of relationships must be established to find guides into every community. Please pray for these contacts.

Not only will the investigation open doors into communities in which we have no relationships, it will also help us understand more globally the needs of the Mapuche church. With this data, we are hoping that the following will occur
* As missionaries, we can more effectively utilize our limited human resources in maturing the Mapuche church.
* We can coordinate among missionaries and other church planters, where churches need to be planted.
* We can encourage and motivate the Mapuche church to be actively involved in the maturing and planting of churches.
* We can encourage and motivate city churches, which have all the authority, to become more involved with their associated country churches.
* We can encourage and motivate future missionaries to the Mapuche field, with a clearer understanding of the needs and where they can plug-in.
* We can update global missionary databases, such as Joshua Project, with more accurate information.

Our desire in this project is to mark church location with GPS coordinates and gather demographic information regarding the church. After the data is collected, we desire to develop a database application to analyze the information and utilize mapping applications to demonstrate our finding to the church. Our prayer is that this analysis will assist in the expansion of God's kingdom among the Mapuche.

Please pray for the success of this project.

P.S. If anyone knows anything about Mapping applications or statistical analysis of information, please contact us. This is all new to us and we are on a huge learning curve. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Changing Traditions, "We Tripantu"

On June 24, we celebrated our first Christian "We Tripantu" (Mapuche New Year). The "We Tripantu" is typically a Mapuche tradition of praying to the spirits to bring in the new year. But this year, we decided to encourage the Mapuche Christians to celebrate the New Year in a form that brings glory to God. The objective of the event was to demonstrate to the Mapuche that traditions can be transformed to give God the glory. It also provided an opportunity for Chilean Christians to participate with their Mapuche bothers and sisters.

The call to worship was given on a Mapuche horn called a trutruca. The theme of the service was 2 Chron. 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” The purpose was to renew the Mapuche church for God's glory. After music, opening prayers and some videos; a Mapuche pastor gave a message which called the churches to united and become interdependent. It was a message of cooperation between the Chilean and Mapuche churches. Finally, the service ended with an emphasis on prayer with the congregation participating in the following prayers:

Prayer for More Workers
Prayer for Maturity 
Prayer for Doctrinal Purity
Prayer for Reconciliation
Prayer for Change and Hope in the midst of Hardship

It was a beautiful service. It was encouraging for the Mapuches to hear that their ministry is valued and for the Chilean church to understand the needs and spiritual desires of the Mapuche brothers.

As we wrote earlier, to transform a society takes more than hard work, planning, organizing, training, etc.; it take PRAYER. We are seeking to see changes that are greater than any human effort. Because of this, we truly value your PRAYER in making the Gospel actively involved in the lives of the Mapuche people.

Thanks for your involvement,

Chad and Ruthanne Lynch

It's Flu Season

It is winter here and with it comes the flu season.  May 30, we took Marcus in and he was diagnosed with presumed H1N1 (swine flu). He was placed on antiviral medicine and 10 days of quarantine in the house. After a few days on the medicines he began to fell much better.  Although he was very tired, it was being quarantined to the house that became the challenge the last few days.  He has now recovered and has returned to school.  Praise God that he is well and their have been no side effects. (except for an occasional snort! Just kidding.)  Nearly a third of the school was out with the flu but all have recovered. There have been 14 deaths with the flu in Chile, including a college student here in Temuco.  But overall the flu seems no worse than any normal flu but it is much more contagious. We truly are thankful that Marcus is well and the rest of us have remained healthy. We would appreciate your continues prayers for our health, especially in these cold winter months. (June-August are our winter months here).

We had a Great Time

We arrived back in cool wet Chile without any problems. Thank you for all that prayed for our travels. 8 flights in 3 weeks -- all luggage and carry-ons arrived safely . We saw a lot of masks in the airports and had been warned of thermal scans for increased body temperatures, but all went well. WE DID NOT CATCH THE SWINE FLU!!

We had a wonderful trip to Costa Rica for our conference with UWM. It was encouraging to hear what God is doing in various countries. We were challenged and refreshed. We enjoyed meeting new friends and seeing friends from previous years.

We spent time with Chad's family in the Miami area and then headed to North Carolina to see Ruthanne's family. All are well. We had a wonderful time with family and friends. Please pray for Ruthanne's father, who´s health is slowly deteriorating.

We returned to find out truck not working well. We had replaced the radiator and fan and alternator before we left but when we returned we couldn't turn off the truck and/or it wouldn't start back up. We had to push start the truck and pop the clutch to start it! ...Like college days=) Let me tell you a Chevy from college days is easier to push than a 4x4 diesel pickup truck! Finally, we replaced the battery only to have the whole electrical system go crazy (no lights, no gauges, no nothing electrical)  The truck was too dangerous to drive so Chad left it at a mechanic and he and Brandon took the rural bus home. The mechanic worked on it over the weekend rechecking the alternator but without results. Later we took the truck to the mechanic in Temuco. He simply changed the location of the ground wire of the battery and It miraculously all started to work fine!! It is wonderful to have a vehicle again!!! We don't understand what happened but we are happy it works! Praise God!