2023

Hello Everyone!

There is an idea that was repeated several times over the years while I was in Bible college: the idea that in the ministry you can’t just be flexible but you must be fluid, able to fit into any container (situation) presented.  I’ve thought about that idea many times over the years but it came to mind and was frequently put into use throughout July and August.   

Piura Trip

In my last letter I mentioned a trip to another part of Peru that some friends and I were going to take at the end of July.   The plan was to participate in some youth events that would occur during the 2 week winter break here, and get the chance to know another part of Peru.   Well, that plan changed, and changed, and then changed again.  My friend was unable to make the trip in July so the plan was then the 2nd week of August, and then the last week of August, and then the first week of September.   The trip has been “solidified” and planned for September 18th… plane tickets purchased, housing arrangements made, and events planned.   For a person who likes to plan ahead for activities and lessons and events for the ministries here having the date so unknown was quite a stretch, but we made it!  (Prayerfully!   As I write this it is still a week away from the trip and God does have a wonderful sense of humor.)

Rio Seco

As I also mentioned in my last letter, several months ago a Bible club (for kids) and Bible study (for moms) was started up in an area called Rio Seco, meeting every other Sunday afternoon.   A church located several hours away had been running the Bible club with our church.  At the end of June power was restored in the area of Rio Seco, and while attendance began to dwindle a little bit because tv’s were back on and kids weren’t as bored, it quickly rose again and we have been averaging about 25-30 kids and 7 women each event.  Sunday, August 20th was International Children’s Day – a big day of celebration here in Peru.   We started off with a few games and then I got to do a 20 minute lesson focused solely on the gospel.  Throughout the activities of the afternoon we had 11 kids and 3 parents acknowledge accepting Christ as Savior and we have been working to follow up with them.  The afternoon ended with a big program of songs, more games, Bible memorization, snacks, and gifts for the kids.  A youth group in WV had donated a bunch of school supplies which came back with me in June.  The church a few hours away then took those supplies and were motivated to add to them, and gift bags of school supplies were handed out to all the kids there that day – approximately 40!

In the weeks since, the church several hours away has turned the Bible club and study over solely to our church.   The kids have stayed faithful even in noticing about half the workers aren’t there anymore, which was a concern.  Please be praying as we continue to minister in Rio Seco and are searching for a safer and more permanent locale where we can meet.   We have been meeting at the end of a street, in front of a house which has a cement curb to sit on, but are looking for a place where we won’t be in the street, can bring in shade, places to sit, and minimize distractions.  

Manchay Teens

In July I finally got the chance to start meeting with my teen girls in Manchay again.  We did have to keep it fluid as school schedules were changing, tutoring and make up classes were being scheduled on weekends and the local school had a Saturday field trip for the teens that kept getting postponed week after week (it would mean no Bible club whatever day it finally happened).   We also found the local soup kitchen we used added new locks on some of the doors but forgot to leave us the keys, so a very enterprising young 5 year old put his small frame to use in burrowing under doors for us to get in the building and unlock it from inside!  (With permission from the caretaker when we called her that first week and then the 2 times it happened afterwards).   The girls and I have enjoyed getting to spend time together, and several of the girls have invited friends who have been faithful to join us each week as we study how to read the Bible for ourselves.   

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers as ministry opportunities about in these areas as well as in the many other areas you have given me the privilege to serve.  

Hello Everyone!

Furlough:           

For years I have been interested in missions.  I read biographies and autobiographies, learned what I could about different parts of the world and read a lot of different prayer or news letters from missionaries past and present. Still, as much as I have read and researched, I struggle in giving just a straight forward report – I like stories more than numbers.  But, I’m going to try and see what kind of story the numbers of furlough creates:

16,060 Miles flown 24 Different beds

8,879 Miles driven 20 Different churches/meetings

94 Days in the U.S. 2 Major injuries

If I look at the numbers (and share them with you) only a very small portion of the story is told… the whirlwind that was furlough.  The blessings, the joys, the love, the relationships, the serious conversations and the fun ones – none of that is seen in the numbers, and that is more important.   Yes, my furlough (March 7 – June 7) was a whirlwind of travel and busyness, but it was also jam packed with time with friends and family, meeting new people, chances to minister, counsel and teach, the opportunity to pray with like-minded people, and the chance to communicate the opportunities in ministry that God has privileged me with.  So the last three months of furlough were wonderful.  Thank you all for making my trip wonderful and taking such good care of me.

Return:

On June 8th I arrived back in Peru and began the process of jumping back into some of the ministries I was working in before my furlough, turning some of those ministries over to the people who ran them while I was away, and starting in new areas.  

I have returned to New Life Baptist Church in Cieneguilla to teach their children’s ministry classes on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, and have started helping more with the youth/teens as well.  Upon returning I took about half an hour one day to visit New Life Christian School and received excited greetings from many of the students and teachers there.  (I had substituted for the English teacher for 2 months in the prior school year.). Several of the students have asked if I will come back and teach, and while I told them I did not have plans to, they did get excited when I mentioned I would be talking with the school director about spending time at the school to teach some chapels again and other workshops.  While we haven’t set any firm dates, I am excited to get back involved in the lives of the students in the school in some way.

Two weeks ago I got to head back into Manchay, see the kids from the Bible study there, and start working with them again.  While I was gone there was a 17 year old young man from the church who has expressed an interest in going into missions, and he began to work with the kids some, and has asked to stay on, help me, and learn as we go forward.  I was thrilled to see my kids again and to hear about how things have been going the last 3 months, but I am also thrilled that God has provided help, and someone who not only wants to help, but learn how to do it on his own.  

Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to see my teen girls yet as their school schedule changed this year, dismissing at 6:30pm instead of 6:00pm.  However, we have spoken via WhatsApp messaging and in the next week will begin Saturday Bible study again.  The current struggle is half want to meet in the morning and half in the afternoon (some have tutoring in the morning, the others the afternoon), so we are trying to figure out the best way to make sure everyone has the chance to be involved as much as possible.   Please be praying as we try to work through this.

I am so excited to let you know that there is now a kid’s club (and requests for a few others) in Rio Seco.  It is an area I have been burdened for, for 3 years now and each time I was a week or two away from getting something started some obstacle got in the way.  One of the biggest obstacles is that I was alone in being available to work in a ministry there.  But during the flooding several months ago about 5 people from a church a few hours away joined up with about 3 from ours to begin a kids club.  The people involved from both churches has increased and the number of people in Rio Seco asking us to come near their homes to do a club has increased as well.  In August the other church will turn the ministry completely over to us and head to a new area.   I am so excited to be a part of this ministry in Rio Seco.   Please be praying that God gives us a smooth transition in the coming months. 

Hello Everyone!

            Sometime in October I was taking part in a Bible study with a group of friends and we were talking about ministering to others.  We had been talking about some of the hinderances in ministry I think and one person commented that we must remember we aren’t in a battle against physical circumstances, but it is a spiritual battle.  It’s one of those things we all know and consider, but that day it struck me as something I needed to focus on.   The topic came up again in other conversations that week, or in books I was reading, or in other ways – and I couldn’t get it out of my head.  

            The last time that I was in the U.S. I had bought several Bible studies for future use including one on the Armor of God.  I dug the workbook out and began to study through it.  As I was studying through it several of the women at the rehab center where I was doing a weekly Bible study and teen girls in the Bible club Manchay began asking about topics clearly related to the spiritual battles we face – things regarding the influence of media in our lives and culture, the influences that different substances have on our bodies and minds, and how to discern truth.   It was clear to me that studying the spiritual battles we face and the armor of God would be helpful in both situations, so through November, December and January we did just that.  

Through our studies there were a couple of ladies who accepted Christ as Savior – recognizing the price of their sin and need of a Savior.  Several others grew in incredible ways; some learning that just as counterfeit money looks like the real thing and not Monopoly money, the lies of Satan will look like truth or will look good and not like outright lies.  Two of the ladies began questioning some of the Buddhist teachings they were being taught at the rehab center and chose to work with a trained Christian psychologist instead (and are doing well).  

            The topic of spiritual battles and the armor of God became very real to me in other ways throughout the last few months as well.  Throughout November and December I was asked to fill in for the last two months of the school year for a teacher in our school who needed to leave.  I was going non-stop each day from 4am until 10pm between teaching and preparing lessons as well as continuing to teach the Bible 6 times a week in different Bible studies and my other responsibilities in the orphanage and my own home.   Throughout November and December I faced battles several battles – from managing expectations (my own as well as those of others), motivation, drive, and exhaustion.   By the end of December when the school year was over my brain shut down.  

            I begged God throughout that time for the energy and focus to study and teach my Bible studies (which had been reduced to 4 a week due to ministries combining for summer break) and He was gracious in giving the ability to, but the moments in between I couldn’t focus on anything.  Reading my Bible was hard. Praying was hard.  I kept at it, but it was hard.  I share this with you because you are my “supporters” – my support, I want you to know I am not a machine and I tire out, but God is gracious and gave me the rest I needed through January to jump back into the battle fully charged.

            But – the theme of the spiritual battle didn’t end.   In February a friend of mine called asking if I would come to his church and help them do VBS, the theme – Christ is my superhero.  He gave me the topics of lessons he wanted, and so the last full week of February I spent my time with kids in another sector of Manchay, several miles from where my Bible club is, talking about the villains we battle in this life including loneliness, anger and fear, and how Christ is always willing to help us when we call upon Him – Cristo Ayudame!  (Christ Help me!)

            The church was under construction so VBS was held a few miles away where the church has been temporarily meeting for awhile.  Because of that the majority of the kids who came were from the neighborhood and were not part of their church or any church.   We fought battles with loud traffic and music, but at the end of the week we saw 14 kids and 2 moms accept Christ as Savior.  A few of the kids showed up for church the next Sunday.

            Thank you all so much for your patience as it has been 4 months since my last news/prayer letter.  Thank you for your continual support and prayers, they really do make a difference.  Please continue praying as next week I travel to the US for a short furlough to update some of the supporting churches I haven’t been to in six years and visit with family.   Be praying also for the rehab center ministry specifically.   They moved locations a few weeks ago to an area over an hour away and we are working to figure out a way to continue working with them.  It is a ministry that has been so very close to my heart and while maybe God only had me in their lives for a short time and a specific purpose, I would still love to continue sharing God’s Word with them.  Thank you.