I have just returned from another incredible trip to Peru. This time I was working together with a new staff trainee, Todd Szalkowski. Todd had been on two other GMF trips prior to coming along with me last October to Tacna, Peru. Todd was a successful partner with the Ernst & Young Accounting Firm and had 19 years experience there. However, God grabbed a hold of Todd’s heart and in January of this year, he announced his intention to resign and join the staff of GoLeaders.net/GMF. Last month Todd went with me to Panama for his first staff training trip where I taught most of the conference. This weekend we were in Arequipa together and he did most of the teaching – and he did a great job I might add! My limited teaching role in this conference allowed me the liberty to spend a lot of time with our Peruvian National Director, Juvenal Bejar working on vision and strategy issues.
We had about 40 pastors and lay leaders attending our conference being trained in how to mobilize and equip their members for evangelism and discipleship that results in new churches being planted throughout the city. One part of our training that I have been working on challenges Latin Americans to send missionaries out to the 10/40 Window, which contains the least reached peoples of the world. At the close of the conference I was giving away copies of the Jesus Film that one of my good friends had donated. I had one copy that was a DVD and contained the film in 8 different languages from around the world. I was drawing names from a box and said, “I believe whoever receives this copy is being called by God to take the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth. This gift comes as a great responsibility and the “missionary” that wins it is . . .” When I called out the name of a young man there was a gasp throughout the crowd. The young man buried his face in his hands with tears flowing. As he made his way to the front someone told me that several weeks back this same young man had felt God calling him to be a missionary, but he had been waiting for confirmation! God used this to confirm that he was to move forward in preparing to be sent out to the ends of the earth. After this the crowd of attendees broke into a spontaneous worship celebration. We had been teaching for 10 hours at that point. Most would be fatigued and ready to go home, but not these people. They were just getting started and it was wonderful to join in with them in worshipping our Great God and King.
On Sunday afternoon we were back in the capital city of Lima and were traveling in a taxi on our way to lunch. The taxi driver was listening in so I decided to ask him if he knew this “Jesus” we were talking about. He replied that he did not know Jesus in a personal way, and so I began to share the gospel with him. After several questions, Hector told me that we were about 3 minutes from our destination and he did not want to run out of time so he asked me to please quickly share with him how Jesus had changed my life. So in about 2 minutes I shared my testimony and then asked Hector if he would like to experience God’s forgiveness and follow Jesus. As we approached our stop, Hector was praying to receive Christ and when we hopped out onto the busy street, Hector was glowing with joy at his newfound faith.
God revealed His goodness to me in so many ways on this trip and I want to thank you for being a part. When you faithfully pray and give, you are investing in the lives of others you may never meet this side of heaven. God is using YOU to see leaders equipped, missionaries called out, and lives changed through the power of the gospel! Thank you for your faithfulness . . . it means the world to me AND to many others you may never know.
Showing posts with label Peru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peru. Show all posts
Monday
"Divine Inconveniences" (Peru - April 10, 2005)
buenas dias from the city of lima where kevin queen and i got to add a day onto our trip. more on that later.
first, friday night was a HUGE blessing as we held the community wide rally where we had been working all week. when we arrived in the late afternoon there were already about 300 waiting before we set up. by the end of the night there were over 1000 people standing in a dirt parking lot, some hearing the gospel for the first time. the youth from crossroads did an outstanding job . . . they put together a rock band and played worship songs, they did drama, they did a childrens program. it was amazing to see each member of the team using their gifts to honor God. Kevin preached in an environment that was much like what Jesus must have experienced with the crowds of people in his day. we are not sure how many people came to faith in Christ that night but we do know that over 350 professions of faith were made in personal encounters throughout the week. nearly half of those received at least one follow up discipleship visit. many of those people were at the rally on friday.
saturday was a great time of sharing and shopping. we got to the airport in plenty of time and all seemed to be going smoothly. our team boarded the plane and as kevin and i sat talking on the plane the stewardess approached us and asked kevin if he had an infectious disease called shingles. he had been feeling rough the last few days and had a rash, as well as plenty of bug bites. when he told her he was not sure, she called the captain and he ordered kevin off of the plane. i have heard of becoming a contagious christian, but this is not what we bargained for! we were in shock as there was no opportunity for discussion or explanation at all. i jumped up and handed the mantle to diane, my coleader and kevin and i made our way off of the plane. the youth were upset to see their leader being taken off, but those guys know how to pray so they took it to God. as we stood at the gate trying to find out what our options were, God sent us an answer to the kids prayers in a man named Carlos. he was the customer service guy and he immediately acknowledged that the way things were handled on the plane was not good. so he started to go to work for us, finding options, a hotel, and all the info we need to get on the next flight. because the captain red flagged kev he had to get a medical authorization to fly so after getting to the hotel and having a couple of hours of sleep, we got up this a.m. and went to breakfast. there we met an aussie named todd that we got to share our testimonies with and pray with. God has reasons for everything that are sometimes beyond our sight. after eating we went to a clinic where the doctor immediately told us this was no infectious disease, but instead was salmonella. the doc was super helpful too and gave kev the meds he needed to clear it up and a certificate to fly.
so we are getting ready now to head back to the airport and make our way home. hopefully you wont get another e-mail from lima tomorrow . . . pray that we get home to our families and that we have more opportunities to share, like with our person of peace at the airport, carlos, who is meeting us there tonight and walking us through everything.
often times divine opportunities are cloaked in the disguise of an inconvenience. and if we lose sight of who is in control of ALL THINGS we will miss blessings untold. so today has been a great day . . . not what we expected, but great none the less. kev and i have had some wonderful talks and walks and we are looking for the next step in this journey that our loving Rabbi will take us on. may we be covered in His dust with a smile on our faces.
first, friday night was a HUGE blessing as we held the community wide rally where we had been working all week. when we arrived in the late afternoon there were already about 300 waiting before we set up. by the end of the night there were over 1000 people standing in a dirt parking lot, some hearing the gospel for the first time. the youth from crossroads did an outstanding job . . . they put together a rock band and played worship songs, they did drama, they did a childrens program. it was amazing to see each member of the team using their gifts to honor God. Kevin preached in an environment that was much like what Jesus must have experienced with the crowds of people in his day. we are not sure how many people came to faith in Christ that night but we do know that over 350 professions of faith were made in personal encounters throughout the week. nearly half of those received at least one follow up discipleship visit. many of those people were at the rally on friday.
saturday was a great time of sharing and shopping. we got to the airport in plenty of time and all seemed to be going smoothly. our team boarded the plane and as kevin and i sat talking on the plane the stewardess approached us and asked kevin if he had an infectious disease called shingles. he had been feeling rough the last few days and had a rash, as well as plenty of bug bites. when he told her he was not sure, she called the captain and he ordered kevin off of the plane. i have heard of becoming a contagious christian, but this is not what we bargained for! we were in shock as there was no opportunity for discussion or explanation at all. i jumped up and handed the mantle to diane, my coleader and kevin and i made our way off of the plane. the youth were upset to see their leader being taken off, but those guys know how to pray so they took it to God. as we stood at the gate trying to find out what our options were, God sent us an answer to the kids prayers in a man named Carlos. he was the customer service guy and he immediately acknowledged that the way things were handled on the plane was not good. so he started to go to work for us, finding options, a hotel, and all the info we need to get on the next flight. because the captain red flagged kev he had to get a medical authorization to fly so after getting to the hotel and having a couple of hours of sleep, we got up this a.m. and went to breakfast. there we met an aussie named todd that we got to share our testimonies with and pray with. God has reasons for everything that are sometimes beyond our sight. after eating we went to a clinic where the doctor immediately told us this was no infectious disease, but instead was salmonella. the doc was super helpful too and gave kev the meds he needed to clear it up and a certificate to fly.
so we are getting ready now to head back to the airport and make our way home. hopefully you wont get another e-mail from lima tomorrow . . . pray that we get home to our families and that we have more opportunities to share, like with our person of peace at the airport, carlos, who is meeting us there tonight and walking us through everything.
often times divine opportunities are cloaked in the disguise of an inconvenience. and if we lose sight of who is in control of ALL THINGS we will miss blessings untold. so today has been a great day . . . not what we expected, but great none the less. kev and i have had some wonderful talks and walks and we are looking for the next step in this journey that our loving Rabbi will take us on. may we be covered in His dust with a smile on our faces.
"End of the Week" (Peru - April 7, 2005)
The LORD is continuing to do immeasurable more than we could hope or ask for. As of Wednesday evening we have had 300 professions of faith solely from personal evangelism and half of those have received in home follow up or come to a discipleship class at the church or home of a believer. We are partnering with 8 local churches helping to plant 6 new works. Please pray that these 6 new churches be established in the faith.
Here are a few highlights from yesterday . . .
One team was doing childrens ministry in the afternoon and they asked the children to go and bring their parents back. In a few minutes a group of mothers showed up and one of our youth girls led all those mothers to faith in Christ having gained their favor through loving the children.
One of our youth had swollen feet from all the walking and when she was at a new believers house doing discipleship that she had led to Christ the day before, the new believer asked if she could wash our students feet. The student wept as the older woman as a babe in Christ washed and rubbed her dirty swollen feet!
In another area 3 generations came to Christ together as one of our youth helped lead a grandmother, mother and granddaughter all to faith in Christ!
This and more happened as our focus was on discipleship. God provided these opportunities to continue to bring new believers into the Kingdom because our people were being faithful at following up what was already given. The WORD says that if we are faithful with what we have, we will be given more. Praise God for His provision.
Pray for stamina as were nearing the end of the week and for Gods favor on the Community Rally tomorrow. Also tonight we are showing the passion in the street at one church.
God is growing His church and were glad you are a part of that!
Here are a few highlights from yesterday . . .
One team was doing childrens ministry in the afternoon and they asked the children to go and bring their parents back. In a few minutes a group of mothers showed up and one of our youth girls led all those mothers to faith in Christ having gained their favor through loving the children.
One of our youth had swollen feet from all the walking and when she was at a new believers house doing discipleship that she had led to Christ the day before, the new believer asked if she could wash our students feet. The student wept as the older woman as a babe in Christ washed and rubbed her dirty swollen feet!
In another area 3 generations came to Christ together as one of our youth helped lead a grandmother, mother and granddaughter all to faith in Christ!
This and more happened as our focus was on discipleship. God provided these opportunities to continue to bring new believers into the Kingdom because our people were being faithful at following up what was already given. The WORD says that if we are faithful with what we have, we will be given more. Praise God for His provision.
Pray for stamina as were nearing the end of the week and for Gods favor on the Community Rally tomorrow. Also tonight we are showing the passion in the street at one church.
God is growing His church and were glad you are a part of that!
"Crossroads mid-week Update" (Peru - April 6, 2005)
WOW! You must really be praying because Ive never seen such an anointing on a trip as this one. This morning as we were having our devotion the Holy Spirit was so manifested that the entire team was on our faces worshipping and laying our lives before the LORD. We are confident that He has called us to something so far beyond what we are capable, that unless He intervenes we could not do it. And so we laid ourselves before Him in submission and He showed up!
Let me give you just a glimpse of whats been happening. On Monday and Tuesday alone we had over 250 professions of faith through personal evangelism! Many of these have begun discipleship already and today we are shifting our focus almost exclusively to following those new believers up and establishing them in the faith. A few stories . . .
One team yesterday was following up a new believer and his parents were in the house. When asked if they were believers they responded, maybe one day we will be. At this our team shared the gospel with them and then helped the new believer lead his own parents to faith in Christ!
In another location our team came upon a women{s sewing group in a house. Many of the women had already received visits in their homes but had not received Christ. When our team asked to pray over them and their babies the mothers started asking how they could know the peace that our team displayed. One of our young men shared the gospel and all 12 mothers prayed to receive Christ and will likely start a bible study out of a sewing group!
In the evening one group went around and invited many new believers in their area to a bible study and 15 showed up with their children. They had a wonderful time investing in those new believers lives.
There are MANY more stories I dont have time to share. I do want to ask that you be praying as our teams do follow up today and tomorrow. Then on Friday our team is going to do a community wide rally in a park. The Crossroads Band is playing, our youth are joining Peruvian youth to do a drama, and we will have a childrens program as well. This will take place from 4 til 8 pm on Friday so please pray. We expect hundreds or more to come to this as we are distributing tickets through the area.
The Spirit of the LORD is upon us and He has anointed us to preach the good news to the poor . ..
Let me give you just a glimpse of whats been happening. On Monday and Tuesday alone we had over 250 professions of faith through personal evangelism! Many of these have begun discipleship already and today we are shifting our focus almost exclusively to following those new believers up and establishing them in the faith. A few stories . . .
One team yesterday was following up a new believer and his parents were in the house. When asked if they were believers they responded, maybe one day we will be. At this our team shared the gospel with them and then helped the new believer lead his own parents to faith in Christ!
In another location our team came upon a women{s sewing group in a house. Many of the women had already received visits in their homes but had not received Christ. When our team asked to pray over them and their babies the mothers started asking how they could know the peace that our team displayed. One of our young men shared the gospel and all 12 mothers prayed to receive Christ and will likely start a bible study out of a sewing group!
In the evening one group went around and invited many new believers in their area to a bible study and 15 showed up with their children. They had a wonderful time investing in those new believers lives.
There are MANY more stories I dont have time to share. I do want to ask that you be praying as our teams do follow up today and tomorrow. Then on Friday our team is going to do a community wide rally in a park. The Crossroads Band is playing, our youth are joining Peruvian youth to do a drama, and we will have a childrens program as well. This will take place from 4 til 8 pm on Friday so please pray. We expect hundreds or more to come to this as we are distributing tickets through the area.
The Spirit of the LORD is upon us and He has anointed us to preach the good news to the poor . ..
"I Once Was Blind" (Peru - April 5, 2005)
God continues to move in amazing ways among us. on monday the teams went out for the entire day to work with their respective churches. here are just a few highlights . . . one team is at the top of the mountain working among the poorest of the poor. as i was driving up to check on them there must have been 100 children surrounding the youth. upon arrival we learned that when they showed up the community was so excited about the visitors that they started coming to the home where the future church will be planted. the team hardly went house to house because they were bombarded by whole families that wanted to receive Christ! In all they saw over 30 adults come to Christ and were able to minister to their children as well!
when i arrived to check on another team one of the youth was leading a husband, wife and their 3 children to faith in Christ. with joy this family was changed in an instant!
many of the students have said that this is the first time they have ever led someone to Christ and in a single day they saw as many as a dozen come to faith! What a blessing to hear the reports and to see the joy on their faces. last night they shared that after just one day, they are already thinking about ways to be more bold in their witness back home. watch out Atlanta!
Finally i want to share with you a story of a man that i was able to share with. as i sat on the bus waiting for a team a 70 year old man just got on the bus thinking that it was a public transport. when he sat down he looked around and asked what all the gringos are doing here. i started to share with him. immediately he told us of a dream that he had where he was walking over a mountain and saw a single staircase leading up into heaven. when he climbed the staircase he could see God from a distance and God was asking him why he was not worshipping on his knees and that he needed to draw near to God and worship. As I shared the evangecube with him the old man realized that Jesus is the ONLY WAY to heaven and that through a relationship with CHrist he can draw near to God and worship. He placed his faith in Christ with tears in his eyes and afterward shook everyones hand on the bus in gratitude for the hope that he received. one of the local church leaders met with him and they arranged a time for discipleship in the mans home. thats just the kind of trip we are having ... God seems to be sending people to us faster than we can get out to them!
keep praying! God is using your prayers. For all you Crossroads folks, youre team is doing a FANTASTIC job. everyone is healthy and secure.
when i arrived to check on another team one of the youth was leading a husband, wife and their 3 children to faith in Christ. with joy this family was changed in an instant!
many of the students have said that this is the first time they have ever led someone to Christ and in a single day they saw as many as a dozen come to faith! What a blessing to hear the reports and to see the joy on their faces. last night they shared that after just one day, they are already thinking about ways to be more bold in their witness back home. watch out Atlanta!
Finally i want to share with you a story of a man that i was able to share with. as i sat on the bus waiting for a team a 70 year old man just got on the bus thinking that it was a public transport. when he sat down he looked around and asked what all the gringos are doing here. i started to share with him. immediately he told us of a dream that he had where he was walking over a mountain and saw a single staircase leading up into heaven. when he climbed the staircase he could see God from a distance and God was asking him why he was not worshipping on his knees and that he needed to draw near to God and worship. As I shared the evangecube with him the old man realized that Jesus is the ONLY WAY to heaven and that through a relationship with CHrist he can draw near to God and worship. He placed his faith in Christ with tears in his eyes and afterward shook everyones hand on the bus in gratitude for the hope that he received. one of the local church leaders met with him and they arranged a time for discipleship in the mans home. thats just the kind of trip we are having ... God seems to be sending people to us faster than we can get out to them!
keep praying! God is using your prayers. For all you Crossroads folks, youre team is doing a FANTASTIC job. everyone is healthy and secure.
"Crossroads Youth Headed to Peru" (Peru - April 3, 2005)
Thanks for your prayers over the last 24 hours. They have been a challenging blessing. Let me explain ... first the airport shuttle service arrived late to pick us up but I just so happened to recognize that the driver was Pakistani and from Ibad where i used to live. As we talked he was open to spiritual things so I shared the gospel with him using a method i developed recently. he was extremely interested and when he dropped us off he asked me to pray for him in the name of Jesus the Healer. I got his info and will follow up when Im back.
We got inside the airport and the wait was FIVE HOURS! We were 3 hours early but a Delta agent slipped our group of 26 into the first class line and we were through in about an hour . . . blessing number 2.
We got to the gate and realized that the flight was overbooked and our travel dept had not reserved seats . . . not happy, but we trusted. We had 14 waitlisted and waited prayerfully and patiently til only 2 were left . . . my co'leader and one other. 5 minutes before scheduled departure we prayed as a group asking God for 2 more seats and immediately 2 Peruvians volunteered to give us there seats! When we got on board, 5 of us including me were seated in FIRST CLASS! Blessing number 3.
THe guy behind me is the attorney for the 49'ers and is on his way to meet the owner here in Peru. After sharing with him he told me he had no purpose or passion in life and would give anything to go back and trade his lonely high life for what I have in Christ. I shared the gospel with him and although he did not receive Christ at the time he asked me to come to SF on his dime and share with him more next time on my way to Portland for my doctoral class. Blessing number 4!
Today we met with the 7 host churches and worshipped with their leaders. The team was overwhelmed at the poverty and yet the rich faith these people have. While our service was going on 2people walked in from the street and said they needed what we have. Pastor Juvenal led them to faith in Christ right there on the spot! If thats not enough a blind brother came up and asked me to pray for him. I felt led to call the whole group around . . . 16 h.s. students and 10 adults, and we laid hands on him and prayed in tears that God would both heal and provide. At the end we sang amazing grace ... was blind but now i see took on a whole new meaning. the man was not immediately healed but i can say that many on our team were healed of spiritual blindness and there was not a dry eye in the place.
we spent this afternoon on the beach ... not what you{ve got in mind as its quite dirty, but nevertheless its been good rest and wind down time for the team before we start working tomorrow. continue to pray that God would keep making a way where we dont see it and do great and mighty things for his glory. the team is all healthy, here and in good spirits. thanks for your prayers . . . were excited to report to you the rest of the week!
We got inside the airport and the wait was FIVE HOURS! We were 3 hours early but a Delta agent slipped our group of 26 into the first class line and we were through in about an hour . . . blessing number 2.
We got to the gate and realized that the flight was overbooked and our travel dept had not reserved seats . . . not happy, but we trusted. We had 14 waitlisted and waited prayerfully and patiently til only 2 were left . . . my co'leader and one other. 5 minutes before scheduled departure we prayed as a group asking God for 2 more seats and immediately 2 Peruvians volunteered to give us there seats! When we got on board, 5 of us including me were seated in FIRST CLASS! Blessing number 3.
THe guy behind me is the attorney for the 49'ers and is on his way to meet the owner here in Peru. After sharing with him he told me he had no purpose or passion in life and would give anything to go back and trade his lonely high life for what I have in Christ. I shared the gospel with him and although he did not receive Christ at the time he asked me to come to SF on his dime and share with him more next time on my way to Portland for my doctoral class. Blessing number 4!
Today we met with the 7 host churches and worshipped with their leaders. The team was overwhelmed at the poverty and yet the rich faith these people have. While our service was going on 2people walked in from the street and said they needed what we have. Pastor Juvenal led them to faith in Christ right there on the spot! If thats not enough a blind brother came up and asked me to pray for him. I felt led to call the whole group around . . . 16 h.s. students and 10 adults, and we laid hands on him and prayed in tears that God would both heal and provide. At the end we sang amazing grace ... was blind but now i see took on a whole new meaning. the man was not immediately healed but i can say that many on our team were healed of spiritual blindness and there was not a dry eye in the place.
we spent this afternoon on the beach ... not what you{ve got in mind as its quite dirty, but nevertheless its been good rest and wind down time for the team before we start working tomorrow. continue to pray that God would keep making a way where we dont see it and do great and mighty things for his glory. the team is all healthy, here and in good spirits. thanks for your prayers . . . were excited to report to you the rest of the week!
"Praying for a House Church" (Peru - December 13, 2004)
I just received a message from Manuel (my translator) that Filomena (remember my story of the sweet lady that said she'd been waiting her whole life to hear from God) will be hosting her first house church meeting this Wednesday night and is inviting all of her family. That is a HUGE step of faith for her because her family has many problems - divorce, rape, child abandonment, etc. - so please join me in praying specifically for the church that meets in Abuelita Filomena's house in Tacna!
"I'm a Star . . . in Tacna, Peru!" (Peru - November 2003)
Thanks again for praying for us here in Peru. The team left to head back to the States on Friday but I'll be here till Sunday late night. Kevin Queen, One of my great friends and compadres in ministry came down on Thursday to help me with a Church Planting Vision Conference we held on Friday and Saturday nights. We just completed the conference with over 60 adults in attendance, in preparation for bringing Kevin's youth group down in April.
Did I tell you all that I'm now famous in southern Peru? The Tacna tv station came to our hotel the other night and interviewed me and one of my other best friends in the world, Pat Powell. We were able to tell about our work there and give a witness to Christ. They gave me a dvd copy of the interview after it aired to nearly half a million people! Too funny!!!
One final note before I head back on Sunday night. Our team saw over 500 people pray to receive Christ in total with a couple of new churches in the works. Glory to God for allowing us to join in His work! Please pray as we preach in several churches on Sunday and for our flight back.
We love and appreciate you all!
Did I tell you all that I'm now famous in southern Peru? The Tacna tv station came to our hotel the other night and interviewed me and one of my other best friends in the world, Pat Powell. We were able to tell about our work there and give a witness to Christ. They gave me a dvd copy of the interview after it aired to nearly half a million people! Too funny!!!
One final note before I head back on Sunday night. Our team saw over 500 people pray to receive Christ in total with a couple of new churches in the works. Glory to God for allowing us to join in His work! Please pray as we preach in several churches on Sunday and for our flight back.
We love and appreciate you all!
"Filamena's Story and the Church at Her House" (Peru- November 2004)
Thank you so much for your prayers to this point. The transportation strike you prayed about failed to bring the Lords work to a halt. In fact, it accelerated it because so many natives of Tacna were unable to go to work or school so we found more people at home!
In all we have had over 400 people pray to receive Christ this week, but even more exciting is the fact that over 200 of those have either attended a home bible study/cell group meeting or received followup discipleship in their homes already. Our focus is not making converts, because that is not the Lords focus. He said, "Go make DISCIPLES" and that is what has been done this week. Which brings me to the next page in the story on sister Filomena I mentioned the other day . . .
I used Tuesdays strike as an opportunity to go and visit the other teams and make sure they were doing okay so I did not go back out to the area where Filomena lives that day. But on Wednesday when Pastor Julian arrived to pick me up he told me that the nationals that I had trained in his church went ahead and worked without me on Tuesday. He said it almost apologetically as if I would be offended that they didn't wait on me. I put my arm around the Pastor and told him that was my intention all along - to empower his leaders to do the ministry without our help. They saw 24 more people receive Christ on Tuesday and made many follow-up visits as well. However, they had not gone back to Filomenas house yet. So that was my priority. When we arrived, we went straight to her house and although she was busy chopping some kindling for her "kitchen" (in reality it was a large coffee can with a hole in the bottom that she would feed the kindling into which then served as a stove on which she was cooking soup), she invited us in as she wiped the sweat from her smiling face. We talked with her and encouraged her and she told us that for 2 days in a row she was happy because she had read God's word first thing. She spoke of the peace in the midst of trials, but this time with the sweet smile of the Spirit. Then we asked her if she would be willing to use her home as the center of ministry in her community by hosting a bible study each week. She was delighted at the offer and thus, the seeds of a new church have been planted through a person of peace (read Luke 10). When we left Filomenas house we were both a little teary eyed. I told her that she is my Peruvian "Abuelita" (sweet little grandma) and she responded with a warm embrace and a smile. Of course that's not the end of the story. The story of a house church emerging in the impoverished area of Sauces in Tacna, Peru has just begun. And think of all the other "Filomenas" out there that will find hope, peace, and salvation as a result. The story of Filomena will go on . . . . Thanks for being used of God to help "write" a few lines in that life-changing story.
By the way, the team is doing great - healthy and happy. They'll be on the way back to the States early Saturday morning.
In all we have had over 400 people pray to receive Christ this week, but even more exciting is the fact that over 200 of those have either attended a home bible study/cell group meeting or received followup discipleship in their homes already. Our focus is not making converts, because that is not the Lords focus. He said, "Go make DISCIPLES" and that is what has been done this week. Which brings me to the next page in the story on sister Filomena I mentioned the other day . . .
I used Tuesdays strike as an opportunity to go and visit the other teams and make sure they were doing okay so I did not go back out to the area where Filomena lives that day. But on Wednesday when Pastor Julian arrived to pick me up he told me that the nationals that I had trained in his church went ahead and worked without me on Tuesday. He said it almost apologetically as if I would be offended that they didn't wait on me. I put my arm around the Pastor and told him that was my intention all along - to empower his leaders to do the ministry without our help. They saw 24 more people receive Christ on Tuesday and made many follow-up visits as well. However, they had not gone back to Filomenas house yet. So that was my priority. When we arrived, we went straight to her house and although she was busy chopping some kindling for her "kitchen" (in reality it was a large coffee can with a hole in the bottom that she would feed the kindling into which then served as a stove on which she was cooking soup), she invited us in as she wiped the sweat from her smiling face. We talked with her and encouraged her and she told us that for 2 days in a row she was happy because she had read God's word first thing. She spoke of the peace in the midst of trials, but this time with the sweet smile of the Spirit. Then we asked her if she would be willing to use her home as the center of ministry in her community by hosting a bible study each week. She was delighted at the offer and thus, the seeds of a new church have been planted through a person of peace (read Luke 10). When we left Filomenas house we were both a little teary eyed. I told her that she is my Peruvian "Abuelita" (sweet little grandma) and she responded with a warm embrace and a smile. Of course that's not the end of the story. The story of a house church emerging in the impoverished area of Sauces in Tacna, Peru has just begun. And think of all the other "Filomenas" out there that will find hope, peace, and salvation as a result. The story of Filomena will go on . . . . Thanks for being used of God to help "write" a few lines in that life-changing story.
By the way, the team is doing great - healthy and happy. They'll be on the way back to the States early Saturday morning.
"A Third Generation Church?" (Peru - November 2004)
Just a quick note to let you know that nearly 200 people in Tacna have placed their faith in Jesus Christ over the last few days! The work is going well and the team is doing a great job.
One campaigner, Allen, worked last year helping to plant 2 churches in an area of Tacna. This year Allen returned with his 16 year old daughter, Sarah. They are working with those 2 churches that were planted last year and are amazed at how the Lord has established that work. Both churches are doing well and the leadership has a vision to continue to multiply. It is wonderful to see how the fruit of our labors from last year and to see those who received Christ last year, working to bring others in this year!
One quick prayer request. The city of Tacna is experiencing a 2 day transportation strike which means that taxis are limited. The good side of this is that most people are not working so they are available to share with. Pray for our teams today that they will have many opportunities and that God would use this strike for good. This is a perfect example of how God can use all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Pray that the strike will not hinder the work in any way. This is not a safety issue so dont worry.
One campaigner, Allen, worked last year helping to plant 2 churches in an area of Tacna. This year Allen returned with his 16 year old daughter, Sarah. They are working with those 2 churches that were planted last year and are amazed at how the Lord has established that work. Both churches are doing well and the leadership has a vision to continue to multiply. It is wonderful to see how the fruit of our labors from last year and to see those who received Christ last year, working to bring others in this year!
One quick prayer request. The city of Tacna is experiencing a 2 day transportation strike which means that taxis are limited. The good side of this is that most people are not working so they are available to share with. Pray for our teams today that they will have many opportunities and that God would use this strike for good. This is a perfect example of how God can use all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Pray that the strike will not hinder the work in any way. This is not a safety issue so dont worry.
"Filamena's Face" (Peru - November 15, 2004)
what a day! words cannot express all that God is doing through the team here, but I will tell one story so you can get a glimpse.
this morning i was working in a very impoverished area on the outskirts of this desert town. The first house we went to was that of Elia. She was a little shy but as I shared my testimony with her she opened up a bit. After a short while of sharing with her she indicated that she would like to receive Christ. One of the first things we ask is if they know someone else that needs to hear the gospel. She pointed across the dusty road and said that her best friend and neighbor needed to hear this. We made our way across the street and knocked on the door. The older lady that came to the door looked a bit surprised. When we introduced ourselves I was blown away by her response. The lady I later came to know as Filamena said she had been waiting all of her life for God to send someone to give her hope. And at that she welcomed us into her modest courtyard and cleaned off a bench seat. She sat down on a stool in front of me and told me that she was ready to receive what God wanted to tell her. As soon as I started sharing my testimony tears welled up in her eyes. At one point I just had to stop talking and put my arm around her. But she requested that I continue on. She eventually revealed to us what a sad life she has lived. She was left by her husband years ago. Filamena has four children, three of which have left their own children with her to raise, and the other who is abusive to her. She told us that she had never had a happy day in her life. After hearing of Gods love for her, we asked her if she wanted to place her faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and so He could change her life. She responded with an enthusiastic OF COURSE. We explained to her that she now has a family in the members of the church that we are establishing in her neighborhood. She was excited to hear what it meant to be a part of Gods family. We invited her to come with her neighbor, Elia, to our evening bible study to learn more about Gods word. She assured us she would be there.
We were to begin at 630, but we are on latin time. By 830 they had not showed up so I decided to model a cell group meeting for the church members there. We got about half way through and Filamena and Elia stuck their heads in the door and asked if it was too late to learn more about God. We welcomed them in and started over. As we studied the simple lesson on the meaning of salvation, the two women hung on every word. I noticed that Filamena had Elia writing the answers on her sheet as well as I assume she cannot write. By the end of the service I saw a big smile on Filamenas face . . . something she said she never does. As we left the meeting tonight I knew that God had done an amazing work on this day. I watched those two precious new believers going the opposite direction down the dark, dusty road and my translator, Manuel, looked at me with a grin and said, I would love to overhear what they are talking about right now. I agreed. In one day they both received hope, peace, salvation, and a new family . . . the family of God. What could be better than that?
Keep praying. There are a hundred more stories of lives changing as God works to bring glory to His Son.
this morning i was working in a very impoverished area on the outskirts of this desert town. The first house we went to was that of Elia. She was a little shy but as I shared my testimony with her she opened up a bit. After a short while of sharing with her she indicated that she would like to receive Christ. One of the first things we ask is if they know someone else that needs to hear the gospel. She pointed across the dusty road and said that her best friend and neighbor needed to hear this. We made our way across the street and knocked on the door. The older lady that came to the door looked a bit surprised. When we introduced ourselves I was blown away by her response. The lady I later came to know as Filamena said she had been waiting all of her life for God to send someone to give her hope. And at that she welcomed us into her modest courtyard and cleaned off a bench seat. She sat down on a stool in front of me and told me that she was ready to receive what God wanted to tell her. As soon as I started sharing my testimony tears welled up in her eyes. At one point I just had to stop talking and put my arm around her. But she requested that I continue on. She eventually revealed to us what a sad life she has lived. She was left by her husband years ago. Filamena has four children, three of which have left their own children with her to raise, and the other who is abusive to her. She told us that she had never had a happy day in her life. After hearing of Gods love for her, we asked her if she wanted to place her faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and so He could change her life. She responded with an enthusiastic OF COURSE. We explained to her that she now has a family in the members of the church that we are establishing in her neighborhood. She was excited to hear what it meant to be a part of Gods family. We invited her to come with her neighbor, Elia, to our evening bible study to learn more about Gods word. She assured us she would be there.
We were to begin at 630, but we are on latin time. By 830 they had not showed up so I decided to model a cell group meeting for the church members there. We got about half way through and Filamena and Elia stuck their heads in the door and asked if it was too late to learn more about God. We welcomed them in and started over. As we studied the simple lesson on the meaning of salvation, the two women hung on every word. I noticed that Filamena had Elia writing the answers on her sheet as well as I assume she cannot write. By the end of the service I saw a big smile on Filamenas face . . . something she said she never does. As we left the meeting tonight I knew that God had done an amazing work on this day. I watched those two precious new believers going the opposite direction down the dark, dusty road and my translator, Manuel, looked at me with a grin and said, I would love to overhear what they are talking about right now. I agreed. In one day they both received hope, peace, salvation, and a new family . . . the family of God. What could be better than that?
Keep praying. There are a hundred more stories of lives changing as God works to bring glory to His Son.
"A Neighborhood Transformed" (Peru - April 28, 2003)
our team of 30 north americans arrived friday night in peru all safe and sound. our hotel is about 3 blocks from the pacific ocean which i cannot wait to walk down to. saturday morning we met with the peruvian leaders who we have been coordinating with and learned that as a result of the training that we will provide later this week, they will be staging 9 peruvian only church planting campaigns throughout the rest of this year! these leaders will be going into the whole country training others with the materials and training we give them, and then they will start new churches in those areas. what a blessing to see God at work in this place and to know that He is allowing us (you and me) to be a part of it.
thank you for your faithful prayers . . . God is using them in mighty ways, even in my ability to communicate. i am speaking spanish pretty well this time and understanding even more. how exciting . . . which leads me to report that we had 10 pray to recieve christ sunday just in my group (we have 13 groups working in lima)in 2 hours of door to door! PTL! i love the church that i am working with . . . the Lord has already given me 3 disciples (people i am investing much time in to train them to reproduce the ministry here)the pastor has caught the vision on the first day so much so that he repented in front of the church sunday night for not leading them to do evangelism, discipleship and church planting! wow! i have the same translator as in february and he is now feeling called into missions and says that i am giving him good training. and the last is a missionary from switzerland that is here working in an orphanage. today she
helped with translation and came back and said that is the first time she ever led someone to christ and she was so thankful that god sent me to teach her how . . . a true missionary now!
there are over 20 people from the church that i am working with that are going out with us and i am training them on the job.
i praise God for each of you who have joined me in the battle for souls in peru . . . the Lord if Hosts has proclaimed victory and we are simply marching around the walls and going in to claim new territory (see Joshua 6)
so, today (monday) was awesome. we had 41 receive Jesus just at the church that i am working with! i trained the church in how to do cell groups and we hosted one tonight and 3 new believers came as well as 20 member who were each being trained in how to lead cell groups. it was so wonderful teaching them how to find things in their bible and how to sing worship songs. the innocence and newness was a beautiful sight. i am really enjoying training the members of this church because they are going out. today we had eight teams go out and everyone was able to lead someone to faith in Christ. some in the streets, some in the houses. i even had one receive Christ through an open window! we were walking away from the house and the young girl opened the window and yelled out at us. we went back and did a gospel presentation as she peered out her window. her demeanor changed and she joyfully received Christ. one drug addict tried to sell us some and when we stopped he asked us what we were doing. so i shared my testimony with him and then used the evangecube to share the gospel. he asked Jesus into his heart and went home to change clothes because he wanted to look different! Two young mothers received Christ in their home (2 family house) and they bothcame to the cell group together. the joy on their faces as they realized for the first time that the Bible was accesible to them and written for them.
pray that God would spread a passion for His glory among these churches and that we would be enabled to be humble servants as they step out in faith to start new churches.
thank you for your faithful prayer support! you are fighting the spiritual battle with your prayers and i cannot wait to tell you all that the Lord does because of your faithfulness.
thank you for your faithful prayers . . . God is using them in mighty ways, even in my ability to communicate. i am speaking spanish pretty well this time and understanding even more. how exciting . . . which leads me to report that we had 10 pray to recieve christ sunday just in my group (we have 13 groups working in lima)in 2 hours of door to door! PTL! i love the church that i am working with . . . the Lord has already given me 3 disciples (people i am investing much time in to train them to reproduce the ministry here)the pastor has caught the vision on the first day so much so that he repented in front of the church sunday night for not leading them to do evangelism, discipleship and church planting! wow! i have the same translator as in february and he is now feeling called into missions and says that i am giving him good training. and the last is a missionary from switzerland that is here working in an orphanage. today she
helped with translation and came back and said that is the first time she ever led someone to christ and she was so thankful that god sent me to teach her how . . . a true missionary now!
there are over 20 people from the church that i am working with that are going out with us and i am training them on the job.
i praise God for each of you who have joined me in the battle for souls in peru . . . the Lord if Hosts has proclaimed victory and we are simply marching around the walls and going in to claim new territory (see Joshua 6)
so, today (monday) was awesome. we had 41 receive Jesus just at the church that i am working with! i trained the church in how to do cell groups and we hosted one tonight and 3 new believers came as well as 20 member who were each being trained in how to lead cell groups. it was so wonderful teaching them how to find things in their bible and how to sing worship songs. the innocence and newness was a beautiful sight. i am really enjoying training the members of this church because they are going out. today we had eight teams go out and everyone was able to lead someone to faith in Christ. some in the streets, some in the houses. i even had one receive Christ through an open window! we were walking away from the house and the young girl opened the window and yelled out at us. we went back and did a gospel presentation as she peered out her window. her demeanor changed and she joyfully received Christ. one drug addict tried to sell us some and when we stopped he asked us what we were doing. so i shared my testimony with him and then used the evangecube to share the gospel. he asked Jesus into his heart and went home to change clothes because he wanted to look different! Two young mothers received Christ in their home (2 family house) and they bothcame to the cell group together. the joy on their faces as they realized for the first time that the Bible was accesible to them and written for them.
pray that God would spread a passion for His glory among these churches and that we would be enabled to be humble servants as they step out in faith to start new churches.
thank you for your faithful prayer support! you are fighting the spiritual battle with your prayers and i cannot wait to tell you all that the Lord does because of your faithfulness.
"The Ambassador to Peru" (Peru - November 9, 2004)
I recently started studying through the book of Romans and was instantly astounded with what I read: "Paul, a servant (literally 'slave') of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle (literally 'one sent out with a mission', elsewhere referred to as 'ambassador'), and set apart for the gospel of God" - Romans 1:1 We often think about what a privilege it is to be children of God, but when is the last time that you thought of yourself as His slave? A slave has no personal rights, but he is entitled to certain privileges at the Master's discretion. We were each bought with a price - the very blood of Jesus - so we are debtors to God. There is no amount of religious activity that could possibly diminish the infinite debt that we owe to God. He showed grace in making us slaves, and then more grace by appointing us to have the responsibilities of an ambassador. Think about it . . . although our debt was enormous, He has given us a position in Christ with authority. We are called to deliver the gospel (literally 'good news'). In Paul's day the Roman government had an official that would go into the public square and shout, "This is the gospel from Rome!" But in this verse we find Paul saying in essence, "This is the Gospel TO Rome!" What a privilege to announce the good news that there is life and hope and peace and salvation and redemption and sanctification and glorification - all IN CHRIST!
So I write to you today as a slave that has been appointed as an ambassador - this time to the people of Peru. And I ask you to join me in prayer as I and 15 others from around the U.S. go into the streets and proclaim the good news. You may not hold an airline ticket for this trip, but you have the privilege of taking part through waging spiritual warfare in the heavenlies. I remind you of John Piper's quote, "Prayer is a war-time walkie-talkie, not a domestic intercom." Join us on the platform before our Lord and Savior and by your petitions, proclaim with us that Jesus Christ is the benevolent ruler of our hearts. After all, our debt to Him made us slaves but He set us apart to herald the message of grace. And none can preach that message better than a slave that has been set free!
Find attached a prayer calendar to guide you in your daily prayer time. Feel free to copy this and pass it around to others. Also, be looking for our updates from the field to get the specific "coordinates" to help you call in the "Fire Power" in this war we're waging.
So I write to you today as a slave that has been appointed as an ambassador - this time to the people of Peru. And I ask you to join me in prayer as I and 15 others from around the U.S. go into the streets and proclaim the good news. You may not hold an airline ticket for this trip, but you have the privilege of taking part through waging spiritual warfare in the heavenlies. I remind you of John Piper's quote, "Prayer is a war-time walkie-talkie, not a domestic intercom." Join us on the platform before our Lord and Savior and by your petitions, proclaim with us that Jesus Christ is the benevolent ruler of our hearts. After all, our debt to Him made us slaves but He set us apart to herald the message of grace. And none can preach that message better than a slave that has been set free!
Find attached a prayer calendar to guide you in your daily prayer time. Feel free to copy this and pass it around to others. Also, be looking for our updates from the field to get the specific "coordinates" to help you call in the "Fire Power" in this war we're waging.
"A Missionary Movement in Peru" (Peru - September 17, 2004)
Thanks for your prayers last weekend as I traveled down to Peru for a Leadership Development Conference in Tacna and a Missions Conference in Lima! The Lord was faithful and everything went above all that which we hoped or asked for.
I was blessed this time to have with me, Patrick Powell, who is one of my best friends in the world and former partner from my year in Pakistan. Also joining us was brother Larry Galindo, the Latin America Director for WalkThru the Bible Ministries. The three of us flew on a different plane and slept in different beds for 4 days straight! But the Lord really compounded our effectiveness and much was accomplished.
In Tacna we worked to equip 75+ leaders from 9 different churches, each of which will be participating with us on our November Campaign. The leadership there was very excited and receptive to the train and at the end of the conference they committed to collectively train an additional 1000 people over the coming year in the principles of prayer, evangelism, discipleship, congregating, developing leaders, and multiplying churches. We still need workers to join us on that trip from November 12-20 . . . please pray about it and click here to sign up.
But the real story from this trip lay in the vision of our Peruvian National Mobilization Director, Juvenal Bejar. Juvenal is an unassuming leader who once was associated with the terrorist group, The Shining Path. Juvenal was saved out of that socialistic movement years ago and eventually felt God's call to devote his life to spreading the Truth of Jesus Christ. Now the lead pastor of a network of house churches in the capital city of Lima, Juvenal has discipled leaders and equipped them to plant churches throughout all Peru. One might think that's quite a vision - to be on the forefront of reaching his own country with the gospel. But Juvenal's vision is much larger than that! Last year Juvenal invited me to come and conduct a conference on Islam so that leaders would be equipped to stave off a rising muslim population in Peru. As we met and talked he became convinced that they were to do more than simply "defend their country" - instead he has decided to lead the way and take the offensive.
This weekend Pat and I led an evening conference at Juvenal's church casting the vision for sending missionaries to the least reached countries in the area known as the 10/40 Window. From that small church in Lima, Peru God has raised up a young couple that will soon be going to China. That couple, already fluent in Chinese, has trained 3 other young people that will join them there next year. There is another lady in Juvenal's church that has been called to work with muslims, and another that has been called to India. In all, more than 15 people came forward in a time of commitment and laying on of hands in a church of about 65 people! I spoke to them of how God is raising up the Church in Latin America to go to the ends of the earth and complete the Great Commission - and they affirmed that hypothesis with a resounding "Here I am Lord, send me!" Just as we were leaving the service to run catch a plane, Juvenal addressed the congregation with the most selfless words I think I've ever heard a pastor speak. He said, "I look out at you and see so many of you responding to God's call knowing that you're being sent out from here. But I want you to know that I do not feel a sense of loss. Instead I feel this church is gaining so much in sending you out. If God sends all of you out as missionaries and I have noone left to preach to, noone left to give an offering, that's okay. I will just have to work hard and raise up another congregation and prepare to send them out right behind you. This is "Iglesia Missionera Cristo Viene" (The Missionary Church because Christ is Coming Back) and we will raise up soldiers that are prepared for the front-lines of the battle." Please be in prayer for Juvenal as I would like to send him on a vision trip to Asia next year with a friend that has recently formed Conexion 10/40, an organization that will act as a bridge for missionaries coming out of Latin America going to the ends of the earth. I believe helping to send him on that journey where he will meet other Spanish speaking missionaries already at work in that part of the world, will only pour fuel on the fire.
A movement is at hand and it requires a God-sized vision! It is estimated that there are now more born again believers south of the equator than north. Those countries that have in the past been recipients of missionaries - countries like Peru - are going to be the driving force for the Great Commission in the 21st Century. And your prayers and support are helping to make that happen! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I was blessed this time to have with me, Patrick Powell, who is one of my best friends in the world and former partner from my year in Pakistan. Also joining us was brother Larry Galindo, the Latin America Director for WalkThru the Bible Ministries. The three of us flew on a different plane and slept in different beds for 4 days straight! But the Lord really compounded our effectiveness and much was accomplished.
In Tacna we worked to equip 75+ leaders from 9 different churches, each of which will be participating with us on our November Campaign. The leadership there was very excited and receptive to the train and at the end of the conference they committed to collectively train an additional 1000 people over the coming year in the principles of prayer, evangelism, discipleship, congregating, developing leaders, and multiplying churches. We still need workers to join us on that trip from November 12-20 . . . please pray about it and click here to sign up.
But the real story from this trip lay in the vision of our Peruvian National Mobilization Director, Juvenal Bejar. Juvenal is an unassuming leader who once was associated with the terrorist group, The Shining Path. Juvenal was saved out of that socialistic movement years ago and eventually felt God's call to devote his life to spreading the Truth of Jesus Christ. Now the lead pastor of a network of house churches in the capital city of Lima, Juvenal has discipled leaders and equipped them to plant churches throughout all Peru. One might think that's quite a vision - to be on the forefront of reaching his own country with the gospel. But Juvenal's vision is much larger than that! Last year Juvenal invited me to come and conduct a conference on Islam so that leaders would be equipped to stave off a rising muslim population in Peru. As we met and talked he became convinced that they were to do more than simply "defend their country" - instead he has decided to lead the way and take the offensive.
This weekend Pat and I led an evening conference at Juvenal's church casting the vision for sending missionaries to the least reached countries in the area known as the 10/40 Window. From that small church in Lima, Peru God has raised up a young couple that will soon be going to China. That couple, already fluent in Chinese, has trained 3 other young people that will join them there next year. There is another lady in Juvenal's church that has been called to work with muslims, and another that has been called to India. In all, more than 15 people came forward in a time of commitment and laying on of hands in a church of about 65 people! I spoke to them of how God is raising up the Church in Latin America to go to the ends of the earth and complete the Great Commission - and they affirmed that hypothesis with a resounding "Here I am Lord, send me!" Just as we were leaving the service to run catch a plane, Juvenal addressed the congregation with the most selfless words I think I've ever heard a pastor speak. He said, "I look out at you and see so many of you responding to God's call knowing that you're being sent out from here. But I want you to know that I do not feel a sense of loss. Instead I feel this church is gaining so much in sending you out. If God sends all of you out as missionaries and I have noone left to preach to, noone left to give an offering, that's okay. I will just have to work hard and raise up another congregation and prepare to send them out right behind you. This is "Iglesia Missionera Cristo Viene" (The Missionary Church because Christ is Coming Back) and we will raise up soldiers that are prepared for the front-lines of the battle." Please be in prayer for Juvenal as I would like to send him on a vision trip to Asia next year with a friend that has recently formed Conexion 10/40, an organization that will act as a bridge for missionaries coming out of Latin America going to the ends of the earth. I believe helping to send him on that journey where he will meet other Spanish speaking missionaries already at work in that part of the world, will only pour fuel on the fire.
A movement is at hand and it requires a God-sized vision! It is estimated that there are now more born again believers south of the equator than north. Those countries that have in the past been recipients of missionaries - countries like Peru - are going to be the driving force for the Great Commission in the 21st Century. And your prayers and support are helping to make that happen! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
"Striking the Match" (Peru - September 8, 2004)
At Global Missions Fellowship, we believe in making the most of every opportunity so that God receives even more glory. In November we will be joining together with churches from Tacna, Peru and working alongside them to do evangelism and discipleship that results in new cell groups or churches. In essence, we will be attempting to ignite a wildfire that spreads throughout that city and beyond.
The Analogy:
Our last home had a woodburning stove in it that taught me a great deal about starting fires. I used to strike match after match cramming the thing with logs and newspaper . . . usually to no avail. I learned that to start a fire you have to make the conditions right. By taking the extra time on the front end of arranging small pieces of kindling, I could insure that when the match was struck the outcome would be a fire. The same can be said for our trip in November. A short-term mission trip, like a match, has a very short amount of time to accomplish a much greater task. Many organizations strike the match, but never take time to arrange the kindling. Not so with GMF. For that reason, Pat Powell and I will be traveling to Tacna this weekend to conduct a Leadership Development Conference where all the pastors and leaders from the participating churches will be gathered together for a time of prayer, training, and planning. It is our desire that as we take the time to "arrange the kindling" through this conference, that when November comes and we show up to "strike the match", the results of our campaign will far outlast our presence and a wildfire of the Spirit of God will spread in our wake.
Please take the time right now to pray for Pat and I as we head out. Pray for the following:
- That God would give us travel mercies and all our flights will be on time and peaceful
- That God would assemble the churches and leaders that HE wants to participate
- That God would give Pat and I wisdom and boldness to be able to communicate effectively
- That the conditions would be made right for a church planting movement to erupt in our wake
- That God provide the finances and people on this end (in the U.S.) for each person going and to cover our budget
- That God would raise up at least 5 more people to join us on the trip so we can work with every church that has expressed interest . . . could that person be YOU? Don't answer that question . . . let God answer it for you. If God says, "GO", then click here and you can sign up for the November 12-20 trip online. The cost is $1900.
We appreciate your prayers and your willingness to follow God in this Divine Opportunity! I look forward to reporting to you all that God does this weekend.
The Analogy:
Our last home had a woodburning stove in it that taught me a great deal about starting fires. I used to strike match after match cramming the thing with logs and newspaper . . . usually to no avail. I learned that to start a fire you have to make the conditions right. By taking the extra time on the front end of arranging small pieces of kindling, I could insure that when the match was struck the outcome would be a fire. The same can be said for our trip in November. A short-term mission trip, like a match, has a very short amount of time to accomplish a much greater task. Many organizations strike the match, but never take time to arrange the kindling. Not so with GMF. For that reason, Pat Powell and I will be traveling to Tacna this weekend to conduct a Leadership Development Conference where all the pastors and leaders from the participating churches will be gathered together for a time of prayer, training, and planning. It is our desire that as we take the time to "arrange the kindling" through this conference, that when November comes and we show up to "strike the match", the results of our campaign will far outlast our presence and a wildfire of the Spirit of God will spread in our wake.
Please take the time right now to pray for Pat and I as we head out. Pray for the following:
- That God would give us travel mercies and all our flights will be on time and peaceful
- That God would assemble the churches and leaders that HE wants to participate
- That God would give Pat and I wisdom and boldness to be able to communicate effectively
- That the conditions would be made right for a church planting movement to erupt in our wake
- That God provide the finances and people on this end (in the U.S.) for each person going and to cover our budget
- That God would raise up at least 5 more people to join us on the trip so we can work with every church that has expressed interest . . . could that person be YOU? Don't answer that question . . . let God answer it for you. If God says, "GO", then click here and you can sign up for the November 12-20 trip online. The cost is $1900.
We appreciate your prayers and your willingness to follow God in this Divine Opportunity! I look forward to reporting to you all that God does this weekend.
"A Story of Transformation" (Peru - October 2003)
The Lord of the Harvest has answered our prayers for the city of Tacna, Peru by bringing forth 1273 new believers and 5 new churches using your prayers and a team of 15 North Americans combined with a team of 14 Peruvian missionaries that we trained earlier in the year! Thank you for your faithful prayers over the past week for God has surely heard and answered “exceedingly abundant above all that we could ever imagine or ask for”!
It is hard to connect with these kind of “numbers” having not been there to experience it. That’s why we focus on equipping and working together with nationals and their churches so that the ministry continues long after we have come back to the States. To help you connect, take a few moments to read the story below:
On Tuesday afternoon I was supervising at a new church start located in a remote and impoverished district of Tacna known as “New Jerusalem”. Thousands of people live in this area although the amenities are few. There are water spigots placed occasionally throughout the development but few of the homes have their own running water. Most of the houses are made from straw mats and a few from cinder blocks with corrugated tin roofs. I was excited to be a part of this initiation service for the first evangelical church in this physically and spiritually thirsty community.
At around 4 pm the mother church jumped a wire off of the power line and rigged up about 8 light bulbs around a dry little patch of dirt that will one day contain a building. They also brought out a sound system and cranked up the children’s Christian music attracting the attention of multitudes. As the children came running in, the adults of the mother church greeted them and began to teach them the songs and dance moves (yes, it is biblical to dance for the Lord!). I enjoyed being a part of that, but was eagerly anticipating the 7 pm evening service.
At around 6 pm one of my national leaders approached me and told me we needed to make a visit. I questioned him, partly because it was getting dark and its not wise for a “gringo” to wander around in the dark, and partly because I didn’t want to miss the service. After much prompting I asked why we needed to make a visit so close to time for the service. That is when they introduced me to Alesia – a short Peruvian mother wearing the traditional clothing and carrying a small baby strapped around her back using a long piece of brightly colored cloth. They told me that Alesia had prayed to receive Christ the day before and that her husband had become angry and forbid her to have contact with the church because he did not like “religion”. So there it was, a third reason why I didn’t want to go . . . an angry husband that thought that we had undermined his authority. Nevertheless, my friends convinced me and we slipped away from the loud music and began to make our way down the dusty path into the darkness.
With the music still within hearing distance we broke off from the path and made our way toward a house. Just before we got there a shadowy figure appeared pushing a bicycle. It was Alesia’s husband – Serapio. One of my friends introduced us and began to talk with the man, but it was obvious that he was not comfortable with our being there. Meanwhile, Alesia slipped behind the gate and into her small home out of sight. After about a minute of talking, my friend motioned for me to go on through the gate and I reluctantly did so. Once inside the one-room home I looked around – it was about 12 feet by 12 feet and contained two small single beds, each along separate walls. There was a dresser with clothes and things piled up on it and a few wooden stools, one of which I sat down upon. The room was dimly lit by a single candle that hung from the ceiling on a disassembled coat hanger. The husband sat down directly across from me on the edge of a bed. I got straight to the point and began to share my testimony in my feeble and broken Spanish explaining how my life had been transformed by a relationship with Christ. After that I took out an Evangecube which clearly tells the story of the gospel through pictures. I explained the pictures and noticed that the stern look on his face had not changed much.
I had just about come to the end of my Spanish when Serapio jumped in and began to explain his disillusionment with religion because his parents had been Adventists and he had never connected with that. After he shared a little bit, one of my friends began to explain the difference between religion and a relationship with God. His tense look had dissipated significantly, but he still was not convinced.
In all, we shared for about an hour – all the while hearing the service broadcasting through the loud speakers on the other side of the sand dune. I knew we were missing the service, but this guy was beginning to open up. Before I knew it, my friend looked over and said, “He’s ready to pray and receive Christ.” We led the man in prayer and when he looked up the biggest smile was on his face. We talked a little more and he was laughing and joking – a total countenance change! And then my friend challenged him to be a godly husband and father and what happened next amazed me. Serapio stood up and walked over to where his wife had been quietly sitting and breast feeding the baby. He sat down beside her and put his arm around her and apologized in front of all of us! Wow, what a transformation! When we were leaving he was still embracing her. We encouraged them both to walk up to the service, which we figured was just about to end. After all, this was now their church!
As I climbed back over the hill the sound of Pastor Bustamante preaching grew louder and louder. The little light bulbs hanging from the wire stretched light across the dark little hillside revealing about 50 adults and at least that many children all listening to the Pastor explain that this church was to be theirs – a place of refuge for the forgotten community. As the service came to a close, I looked over and there was Serapio, Alesia and their baby – his arm was still around her and now they both had smiles on their faces. After the service we mingled through the crowd and then I made my way over to the young couple to give them a Bible for they did not own one. Those of us that had been in their home signed our names in the front and wrote encouraging notes to the couple as they embarked on their spiritual journey together. All around us the children were laughing and dancing, still singing the tunes they had learned earlier about Jesus’ love. I couldn’t help but think that their generation would grow up on that dusty sand dune – but now they all had a spring of water welling up from within to quench their spiritual thirst. As I embraced Serapio one more time before he and Alesia disappeared over the dark hill, I praised God once again for the “Divine inconveniences” of life that allow me AND YOU to be a part of something so beautiful and so lasting as seeing husband reconciled to wife and both reconciled to their Heavenly Father!
Thank you for your prayers and financial contributions that made this and 1271 other stories of transformed lives happen last week in Tacna, Peru! Who knows, maybe you’ll be there with us this time next year??? Could it be that God has a “Divine Inconvenience” for you?
It is hard to connect with these kind of “numbers” having not been there to experience it. That’s why we focus on equipping and working together with nationals and their churches so that the ministry continues long after we have come back to the States. To help you connect, take a few moments to read the story below:
On Tuesday afternoon I was supervising at a new church start located in a remote and impoverished district of Tacna known as “New Jerusalem”. Thousands of people live in this area although the amenities are few. There are water spigots placed occasionally throughout the development but few of the homes have their own running water. Most of the houses are made from straw mats and a few from cinder blocks with corrugated tin roofs. I was excited to be a part of this initiation service for the first evangelical church in this physically and spiritually thirsty community.
At around 4 pm the mother church jumped a wire off of the power line and rigged up about 8 light bulbs around a dry little patch of dirt that will one day contain a building. They also brought out a sound system and cranked up the children’s Christian music attracting the attention of multitudes. As the children came running in, the adults of the mother church greeted them and began to teach them the songs and dance moves (yes, it is biblical to dance for the Lord!). I enjoyed being a part of that, but was eagerly anticipating the 7 pm evening service.
At around 6 pm one of my national leaders approached me and told me we needed to make a visit. I questioned him, partly because it was getting dark and its not wise for a “gringo” to wander around in the dark, and partly because I didn’t want to miss the service. After much prompting I asked why we needed to make a visit so close to time for the service. That is when they introduced me to Alesia – a short Peruvian mother wearing the traditional clothing and carrying a small baby strapped around her back using a long piece of brightly colored cloth. They told me that Alesia had prayed to receive Christ the day before and that her husband had become angry and forbid her to have contact with the church because he did not like “religion”. So there it was, a third reason why I didn’t want to go . . . an angry husband that thought that we had undermined his authority. Nevertheless, my friends convinced me and we slipped away from the loud music and began to make our way down the dusty path into the darkness.
With the music still within hearing distance we broke off from the path and made our way toward a house. Just before we got there a shadowy figure appeared pushing a bicycle. It was Alesia’s husband – Serapio. One of my friends introduced us and began to talk with the man, but it was obvious that he was not comfortable with our being there. Meanwhile, Alesia slipped behind the gate and into her small home out of sight. After about a minute of talking, my friend motioned for me to go on through the gate and I reluctantly did so. Once inside the one-room home I looked around – it was about 12 feet by 12 feet and contained two small single beds, each along separate walls. There was a dresser with clothes and things piled up on it and a few wooden stools, one of which I sat down upon. The room was dimly lit by a single candle that hung from the ceiling on a disassembled coat hanger. The husband sat down directly across from me on the edge of a bed. I got straight to the point and began to share my testimony in my feeble and broken Spanish explaining how my life had been transformed by a relationship with Christ. After that I took out an Evangecube which clearly tells the story of the gospel through pictures. I explained the pictures and noticed that the stern look on his face had not changed much.
I had just about come to the end of my Spanish when Serapio jumped in and began to explain his disillusionment with religion because his parents had been Adventists and he had never connected with that. After he shared a little bit, one of my friends began to explain the difference between religion and a relationship with God. His tense look had dissipated significantly, but he still was not convinced.
In all, we shared for about an hour – all the while hearing the service broadcasting through the loud speakers on the other side of the sand dune. I knew we were missing the service, but this guy was beginning to open up. Before I knew it, my friend looked over and said, “He’s ready to pray and receive Christ.” We led the man in prayer and when he looked up the biggest smile was on his face. We talked a little more and he was laughing and joking – a total countenance change! And then my friend challenged him to be a godly husband and father and what happened next amazed me. Serapio stood up and walked over to where his wife had been quietly sitting and breast feeding the baby. He sat down beside her and put his arm around her and apologized in front of all of us! Wow, what a transformation! When we were leaving he was still embracing her. We encouraged them both to walk up to the service, which we figured was just about to end. After all, this was now their church!
As I climbed back over the hill the sound of Pastor Bustamante preaching grew louder and louder. The little light bulbs hanging from the wire stretched light across the dark little hillside revealing about 50 adults and at least that many children all listening to the Pastor explain that this church was to be theirs – a place of refuge for the forgotten community. As the service came to a close, I looked over and there was Serapio, Alesia and their baby – his arm was still around her and now they both had smiles on their faces. After the service we mingled through the crowd and then I made my way over to the young couple to give them a Bible for they did not own one. Those of us that had been in their home signed our names in the front and wrote encouraging notes to the couple as they embarked on their spiritual journey together. All around us the children were laughing and dancing, still singing the tunes they had learned earlier about Jesus’ love. I couldn’t help but think that their generation would grow up on that dusty sand dune – but now they all had a spring of water welling up from within to quench their spiritual thirst. As I embraced Serapio one more time before he and Alesia disappeared over the dark hill, I praised God once again for the “Divine inconveniences” of life that allow me AND YOU to be a part of something so beautiful and so lasting as seeing husband reconciled to wife and both reconciled to their Heavenly Father!
Thank you for your prayers and financial contributions that made this and 1271 other stories of transformed lives happen last week in Tacna, Peru! Who knows, maybe you’ll be there with us this time next year??? Could it be that God has a “Divine Inconvenience” for you?
"Above and Beyond All That We Asked" (Peru - October 24, 2003)
GOD HAS SO FAR EXCEEDED OUR EXPECTATIONS WITH WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED THIS WEEK IN TACNA, PERU. I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN . . . AFTER ALL, HIS WORD PROMISES THAT HIS WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN OUR WAYS AND HIS PLANS HIGHER THAN OURS.
TODAY IS OUR LAST DAY OF MINISTRY AMONG THE CHURCHES OF TACNA. OUR TEAMS ARE LEAVING RIGHT NOW TO GO OUT AND THEY ARE EXCITED. TONIGHT WE WILL BE HAVING A CLOSING VICTORY RALLY IN THE OLD TOWN CINEMA . . . WE ARE EXPECTING IT TO BE A PACKED HOUSE! WE EVEN HAD A RADIO SPOT YESTERDAY WHERE ONE TEAM SHARED THE GOSPEL AND 10 CALLED IN TO RECEIVE CHRIST. AN INVITATION WAS GIVEN ON THE RADIO TO COME. PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR TEAMS AS THEY PREPARE FOR THE CELEBRATION . . . WHICH IS USUALLY A VERY EMOTIONAL TIME BECAUSE OF THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.
AS OF WEDNESDAY, THE LORD HAS BROUGHT 448 PEOPLE ON PERSONAL VISITS TO ACCEPT THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST . MANY MORE HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST THROUGH STREET PREACHING, RADIO MINISTRY, AND IN EVENING SERVICE ALTAR CALLS . . . MORE THAN WE COULD KEEP TRACK OF! ONE OF THE GREATEST BLESSINGS IS THAT A THIRD OF THOSE THAT HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED AT LEAST ONE FOLLOW UP DISCIPLESHIP VISIT IN THEIR HOMES. IT HAS NOT BEEN UNCOMMON THAT OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE ACCEPTED CHRIST DURING THOSE DISCIPLESHIP VISITS.
THE FOLLOWING IS A STORY FROM ONE TEAM MEMBER . . .
I HAVE BEEN AMAZED THIS WEEK TO SEE HOW THE LORD HAS MADE DISCIPLES IN OUR CHURCH. AMONG THEM IS NESTOR, A 15 OR 16 YEAR OLD BOY THAT LIVES A FEW BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE CHURCH. ON MONDAY WE KNOCKED ON NESTORS DOOR AND PAULI, ONE OF THE PERUVIAN GIRLS WORKING WITH US, SHARED THE GOSPEL WITH NESTOR. I WATCHED AS HIS FACE CHANGED FROM A DISINTERESTED BUT POLITE LOOK TO A LOOK OF INTENSE INTEREST IN WHAT HE WAS HEARING. AFTER SOME TIME OF SHARING, NESTOR PRAYED TO RECEIVE CHRIST AND WE REJOICED. THE NEXT DAY WE WENT BACK TO HIS HOUSE TO FOLLOW UP WITH HIM AND BEGIN TEACHING HIM HOW TO STUDY GODS WORD AND GROW AS A NEW BELIEVER. PAULI ASKED NESTOR IF HE UNDERSTOOD WHAT HAD HAPPENED ON THE DAY BEFORE AND HE REVEALED THAT THERE WAS SOME CONFUSION. SO PAULI AND I REVIEWED THE GOSPEL WITH HIM AND HELPED TO CLEAR UP THE CONFUSION. THEN WE STARTED WITH THE BIBLE STUDY LESSON TEACHING HIM HOW TO FIND VERSES IN THE SCRIPTURE THAT CONTAINED THE ANSWERS TO THE STUDY QUESTIONS. THAT NIGHT HE ATTENDED OUR EVENING SERVICE AND WE LOVED ALL OVER HIM LETTING HIM KNOW HOW HAPPY WE WERE TO SEE HIM. THE DISCIPLESHIP PROCESS WILL CONTINUE LONG AFTER WE LEAVE AND I AM CONFIDENT THAT HE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK IN NESTOR WILL SEE IT THROUGH TO COMPLETION. PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GRACE IN USING ME AND USING YOU, OUR PRAYER FORCE, TO SEE LIVES LIKE NESTORS CHANGED ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE IN TACNA, PERU!
TODAY IS OUR LAST DAY OF MINISTRY AMONG THE CHURCHES OF TACNA. OUR TEAMS ARE LEAVING RIGHT NOW TO GO OUT AND THEY ARE EXCITED. TONIGHT WE WILL BE HAVING A CLOSING VICTORY RALLY IN THE OLD TOWN CINEMA . . . WE ARE EXPECTING IT TO BE A PACKED HOUSE! WE EVEN HAD A RADIO SPOT YESTERDAY WHERE ONE TEAM SHARED THE GOSPEL AND 10 CALLED IN TO RECEIVE CHRIST. AN INVITATION WAS GIVEN ON THE RADIO TO COME. PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR TEAMS AS THEY PREPARE FOR THE CELEBRATION . . . WHICH IS USUALLY A VERY EMOTIONAL TIME BECAUSE OF THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.
AS OF WEDNESDAY, THE LORD HAS BROUGHT 448 PEOPLE ON PERSONAL VISITS TO ACCEPT THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST . MANY MORE HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST THROUGH STREET PREACHING, RADIO MINISTRY, AND IN EVENING SERVICE ALTAR CALLS . . . MORE THAN WE COULD KEEP TRACK OF! ONE OF THE GREATEST BLESSINGS IS THAT A THIRD OF THOSE THAT HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED AT LEAST ONE FOLLOW UP DISCIPLESHIP VISIT IN THEIR HOMES. IT HAS NOT BEEN UNCOMMON THAT OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE ACCEPTED CHRIST DURING THOSE DISCIPLESHIP VISITS.
THE FOLLOWING IS A STORY FROM ONE TEAM MEMBER . . .
I HAVE BEEN AMAZED THIS WEEK TO SEE HOW THE LORD HAS MADE DISCIPLES IN OUR CHURCH. AMONG THEM IS NESTOR, A 15 OR 16 YEAR OLD BOY THAT LIVES A FEW BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE CHURCH. ON MONDAY WE KNOCKED ON NESTORS DOOR AND PAULI, ONE OF THE PERUVIAN GIRLS WORKING WITH US, SHARED THE GOSPEL WITH NESTOR. I WATCHED AS HIS FACE CHANGED FROM A DISINTERESTED BUT POLITE LOOK TO A LOOK OF INTENSE INTEREST IN WHAT HE WAS HEARING. AFTER SOME TIME OF SHARING, NESTOR PRAYED TO RECEIVE CHRIST AND WE REJOICED. THE NEXT DAY WE WENT BACK TO HIS HOUSE TO FOLLOW UP WITH HIM AND BEGIN TEACHING HIM HOW TO STUDY GODS WORD AND GROW AS A NEW BELIEVER. PAULI ASKED NESTOR IF HE UNDERSTOOD WHAT HAD HAPPENED ON THE DAY BEFORE AND HE REVEALED THAT THERE WAS SOME CONFUSION. SO PAULI AND I REVIEWED THE GOSPEL WITH HIM AND HELPED TO CLEAR UP THE CONFUSION. THEN WE STARTED WITH THE BIBLE STUDY LESSON TEACHING HIM HOW TO FIND VERSES IN THE SCRIPTURE THAT CONTAINED THE ANSWERS TO THE STUDY QUESTIONS. THAT NIGHT HE ATTENDED OUR EVENING SERVICE AND WE LOVED ALL OVER HIM LETTING HIM KNOW HOW HAPPY WE WERE TO SEE HIM. THE DISCIPLESHIP PROCESS WILL CONTINUE LONG AFTER WE LEAVE AND I AM CONFIDENT THAT HE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK IN NESTOR WILL SEE IT THROUGH TO COMPLETION. PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GRACE IN USING ME AND USING YOU, OUR PRAYER FORCE, TO SEE LIVES LIKE NESTORS CHANGED ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE IN TACNA, PERU!
"A Church is Born!" (Peru - October 22, 2003)
THE AMAZEMENT AT GODS GRACE AND PLAN FOR THIS CAMPAIGN CONTINUES. WE ARE HUMBLED AT THE WONDERFUL THINGS THAT WE ARE HAVING THE PRIVILEGE TO EXPERIENCE. SO MANY OF YOU OUT THERE HAVE MADE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO HELP MAKE THIS HAPPEN AND WE THANK YOU SINCERELY AS DO THE CHURCHES IN TACNA. HERE IS ONE STORY OF HOW GOD IS WORKING THROUGH ONE OF OUR TEAMS . . .
THE LORD LAID A VISION ON PASTOR PATRICIOS HEART THAT IS FAR BEYOND WHAT I HAD REALIZED. OUR EFFORTS IN EVANGELISM HAVE BEEN CONCENTRATED ON AN AREA OF TACNA KNOWN AS NEW JERUSALEM. THIS IS WHERE THE POOREST OF THE POOR LIVE. THEY HAVE NO RUNNING WATER, HOUSES ARE MADE OF STRAW MATS AND CORRUGATED TIN, AND SOME CINDER BLOCK. THERE IS NO SEWAGE SYSTEM, AND NO OTHER AMENITIES . . . BUT THERE IS PLENTY OF DESPAIR. THE LORD LAID THIS AREA ON PATRICIOS HEART. IN ANTICIPATION OF THIS CAMPAIGN HE BOUGHT A SMALL PIECE OF LAND THERE ON WHICH A CHURCH BUILDING CAN ONE DAY BE CONSTRUCTED. THIS WEEK WAS THE KICK OFF OF THAT VISION. AS WE WENT DOOR TO DOOR AND MAT HOUSE TO MAT HOUSE I SAW TWO TEEN AGED BOYS MEANDERING ABOUT. I ASKED OUR INTERPRETER LOUIS TO GO WITH US AND SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH THEM. LOUIS TOLD US THERE WAS NO NEED BECAUSE PATRICIO HAD VISITED WITH THEM WHEN HE BOUGHT THE LAND. WHEN I ASKED HIM WHY, LOUIS TOLD ME THAT PATRICIO HAD BOUGHT TWO GUITARS AND ASKED GOD WHOM TO GIVE THEM TO. THE LORD LED PATRICIO TO THOSE TWO TEENAGE BOYS AND AFTER SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH THEM, PATRICIO GAVE THEM THE GUITARS AND TOLD THEM TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY BECAUSE HE WOULD NEED THEM TO BE WORSHIP LEADERS ONE DAY IN THE NEW CHURCH THERE! LAST NIGHT THEY HAD THEIR FIRST EVER SERVICE ON THE LAND IN NEW JERUSALEM. FROM 5 TIL 7 THEY HAD A SOUND SYSTEM SET UP PLAYING CHILDRENS MUSIC AND DOZENS OF CHILDREN CAME AND LEARNED THE SONGS ABOUT JESUS AND HIS LOVE WHILE DANCING AND PLAYING. THEN FROM 7 TIL 8 THE PASTORS WELCOMED ALL OF THE COMMUNITY TO A CELEBRATION OF THE NEW CHURCH. ABOUT 40 ADULTS AND 50 CHILDREN WERE THERE INCLUDING MANY OF THE NEW BELIEVERS. I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE BRINGING CHRIST TO TACNA BUT I WAS MISTAKEN. CHRIST HAS BEEN AT WORK HERE LONG BEFORE WE ARRIVED, AND FROM THE LOOKS OF THINGS, HE WILL CONTINUE LONG AFTER WE HAVE RETURN HOME.
PRAISE GOD FOR STORIES LIKE THIS . . . THERE ARE HUNDREDS MORE LIKE THEM THAT WE HOPE TO SHARE WITH YOU IN THE DAYS TO COME. BUT FOR NOW, MAGNIFY THE NAME OF CHRIST WITH US AS WE HAVE SEEN HIM BRING OVER 300 NEW SOULS INTO THE KINGDOM THIS WEEK. AND THE GREATEST THING IS THAT DOZENS OF THEM HAVE WELCOMED OUR TEAMS INTO THEIR HOMES FOR BIBLE STUDY WHERE THEY ARE BEING DISCIPLED. EVEN THERE THE GOSPEL IS STILL GOING OUT AS FAMILY MEMBERS SEE THE CHANGES IN THEIR LOVED ONES LIVES AND THEY THEN ACCEPT CHRIST! PRAISE GOD WITH US FOR ALL OF THIS.
PRAYER REQUESTS. TRISH IS FEELING MUCH BETTER TODAY AND IS BACK OUT WORKING! PRAY FOR THE DISCIPLESHIP OF NEW BELIEVERS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE TODAY. PRAY FOR OUR CLOSING RALLY THAT WILL BE HELD TOMORROW AS ALL OF THE CHURCHES COME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE WHAT GOD HAS ACCOMPLISHED THIS WEEK. PRAY THAT OUR TEAM REMAINS HEALTHY AND THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO BE AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE LOCAL BELIEVERS.
WE LOVE YOU AND APPRECIATE YOUR VITAL WORK OF PRAYER!
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING,
THE LORD LAID A VISION ON PASTOR PATRICIOS HEART THAT IS FAR BEYOND WHAT I HAD REALIZED. OUR EFFORTS IN EVANGELISM HAVE BEEN CONCENTRATED ON AN AREA OF TACNA KNOWN AS NEW JERUSALEM. THIS IS WHERE THE POOREST OF THE POOR LIVE. THEY HAVE NO RUNNING WATER, HOUSES ARE MADE OF STRAW MATS AND CORRUGATED TIN, AND SOME CINDER BLOCK. THERE IS NO SEWAGE SYSTEM, AND NO OTHER AMENITIES . . . BUT THERE IS PLENTY OF DESPAIR. THE LORD LAID THIS AREA ON PATRICIOS HEART. IN ANTICIPATION OF THIS CAMPAIGN HE BOUGHT A SMALL PIECE OF LAND THERE ON WHICH A CHURCH BUILDING CAN ONE DAY BE CONSTRUCTED. THIS WEEK WAS THE KICK OFF OF THAT VISION. AS WE WENT DOOR TO DOOR AND MAT HOUSE TO MAT HOUSE I SAW TWO TEEN AGED BOYS MEANDERING ABOUT. I ASKED OUR INTERPRETER LOUIS TO GO WITH US AND SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH THEM. LOUIS TOLD US THERE WAS NO NEED BECAUSE PATRICIO HAD VISITED WITH THEM WHEN HE BOUGHT THE LAND. WHEN I ASKED HIM WHY, LOUIS TOLD ME THAT PATRICIO HAD BOUGHT TWO GUITARS AND ASKED GOD WHOM TO GIVE THEM TO. THE LORD LED PATRICIO TO THOSE TWO TEENAGE BOYS AND AFTER SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH THEM, PATRICIO GAVE THEM THE GUITARS AND TOLD THEM TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY BECAUSE HE WOULD NEED THEM TO BE WORSHIP LEADERS ONE DAY IN THE NEW CHURCH THERE! LAST NIGHT THEY HAD THEIR FIRST EVER SERVICE ON THE LAND IN NEW JERUSALEM. FROM 5 TIL 7 THEY HAD A SOUND SYSTEM SET UP PLAYING CHILDRENS MUSIC AND DOZENS OF CHILDREN CAME AND LEARNED THE SONGS ABOUT JESUS AND HIS LOVE WHILE DANCING AND PLAYING. THEN FROM 7 TIL 8 THE PASTORS WELCOMED ALL OF THE COMMUNITY TO A CELEBRATION OF THE NEW CHURCH. ABOUT 40 ADULTS AND 50 CHILDREN WERE THERE INCLUDING MANY OF THE NEW BELIEVERS. I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE BRINGING CHRIST TO TACNA BUT I WAS MISTAKEN. CHRIST HAS BEEN AT WORK HERE LONG BEFORE WE ARRIVED, AND FROM THE LOOKS OF THINGS, HE WILL CONTINUE LONG AFTER WE HAVE RETURN HOME.
PRAISE GOD FOR STORIES LIKE THIS . . . THERE ARE HUNDREDS MORE LIKE THEM THAT WE HOPE TO SHARE WITH YOU IN THE DAYS TO COME. BUT FOR NOW, MAGNIFY THE NAME OF CHRIST WITH US AS WE HAVE SEEN HIM BRING OVER 300 NEW SOULS INTO THE KINGDOM THIS WEEK. AND THE GREATEST THING IS THAT DOZENS OF THEM HAVE WELCOMED OUR TEAMS INTO THEIR HOMES FOR BIBLE STUDY WHERE THEY ARE BEING DISCIPLED. EVEN THERE THE GOSPEL IS STILL GOING OUT AS FAMILY MEMBERS SEE THE CHANGES IN THEIR LOVED ONES LIVES AND THEY THEN ACCEPT CHRIST! PRAISE GOD WITH US FOR ALL OF THIS.
PRAYER REQUESTS. TRISH IS FEELING MUCH BETTER TODAY AND IS BACK OUT WORKING! PRAY FOR THE DISCIPLESHIP OF NEW BELIEVERS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE TODAY. PRAY FOR OUR CLOSING RALLY THAT WILL BE HELD TOMORROW AS ALL OF THE CHURCHES COME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE WHAT GOD HAS ACCOMPLISHED THIS WEEK. PRAY THAT OUR TEAM REMAINS HEALTHY AND THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO BE AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE LOCAL BELIEVERS.
WE LOVE YOU AND APPRECIATE YOUR VITAL WORK OF PRAYER!
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING,
"Stories from Tacna" (Peru - October 21, 2003)
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS THUS FAR. GOD IS DOING SOME AMAZING THINGS. ON SUNDAY OUR 6 TEAMS OF NORTH AMERICANS MET WITH THEIR HOST CHURCHES AND PROVIDED TRAINING FOR MANY PERUVIAN LEADERS IN EVANGELISM AND DISCIPLESHIP. SOME OF THE TEAMS WENT OUT ON SUNDAY AND PRACTICED BY GOING HOUSE TO HOUSE SHARING THE GOSPEL.
THEN ON MONDAY, THE TEAMS WENT OUT IN FORCE AND GOD MOVED IN INCREDIBLE WAYS. HERE ARE A FEW STORIES . . .
PAT POWELL AND RUSSELL RUO SHARED FOR OVER AN HOUR WITH ONE MAN THAT HAD MANY PROBLEMS. 2 YEARS AGO THE MAN HAD RECEIVED A VISION FROM GOD THAT HE SHOULD GO TO CHURCH BECAUSE GOD HAD A MESSAGE FOR HIM. HE NEVER WENT. THEN YESTERDAY GOD DECIDED TO TAKE THE MESSAGE TO HIM! AFTER MUCH PRAYER AND SHARING THE YOUNG MAN ACCEPTED CHRIST INTO HIS HEART AND WAS FOREVER CHANGED.
FRANK BRAND AND CHERYL GREDLEIN HAVE HAD MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE BOTH IN PUBLIC PLACES THROUGH STREET PREACHING AND TESTIMONIES AND HOUSE TO HOUSE. YESTERDAY THEY ENCOUNTERED SOME MORMONS AND ONE OF THEM RECEIVED CHRIST AND THEN CAME TO THE EVENING DISCIPLESHIP LESSON EAGER TO LEARN.
TODD S. AND KATHY AND LAUREN HULSEY HAVE SEEN AN AMAZING WORK OF GOD AS THEY EQUIPPED A CHURCH AND SENT THEM OUT. LAUREN, WHO IS 10 YEARS OLD, SHARED THE GOSPEL IN A PUBLIC PLAZA WITH 50 ADULTS SURROUNDING HER! UNLESS WE BECOME AS LITTLE CHILDREN . . .
LEE NELSON AND TRISH CONWAY HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH A CHURCH THAT IS FOCUSED ON REACHING TEENS. YESTERDAY THEY SENT TEAMS OF TEENS OUT INTO THE STREETS. LEE SAID THAT ONE MAN THEY SHARED WITH HAD AN IMMEDIATE CHANGE OF COUNTENANCE WHEN THE WORD OF GOD WAS READ TO HIM. HE THEN RECEIVED CHRIST WITH GLADNESS.
ALAN HOLSTON AND MARY ANN DONAVANT ARE HELPING TO START 3 NEW CHURCHES WITH THEIR HOST CHURCH. THEY ARE WORKING IN VERY POOR AREAS. YESTERDAY AS THEY SHARED WITH A POOR WOMAN THAT LIVED IN A GRASS HUT, SHE LEFT HER COOKING TO LISTEN. AFTER SHE RECEIVED CHRIST SHE WENT BACK INTO HER HOUSE TO FIND THAT A DOG HAD EATEN THE UNATTENDED FOOD. SHE CAME OUT CRYING AND THE PASTOR PROVIDED MONEY TO BUY THE NEW BELIEVER SOME FOOD. SHE RECEIVED BOTH THE BREAD OF LIFE AND THE BREAD OF THIS LIFE.
DON AND KIM PEDERSON AND MAY G. SHARED WITH AN ENGLISH SPEAKING MAN YESTERDAY THAT WAS VERY RECEPTIVE. WHEN THE MAN READ EPHESIANS 2 VERSES 8 AND 9 HE LOOKED SHOCKED THAT HIS GOOD WORKS COULD NOT EARN HIM HEAVEN. AFTER STUDYING MANY RELIGIONS, THE MAN FINALLY CAME TO FAITH IN CHRIST . . . AND CAME OUT TODAY TO WORK WITH THEM EVANGELIZING OTHERS! DON EVEN GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO PREACH ON THE LOCAL RADIO STATION!
AS I TRAVELED WITH OUR NATIONAL DIRECTOR FROM CHURCH TO CHURCH YESTERDAY, WE MET UP WITH A PASTOR FROM ECUADOR THAT WE SPENT THE DAY DISCIPLING IN MISSIONS COMMITMENT. THE PASTOR LEFT LAST NIGHT ASSURING US THAT HE WILL RETURN TO ECUADOR AND CAST A VISION FOR HIS PEOPLE TO GO OUT INTO ALL THE WORLD.
IN ALL, WE HAVE SEEN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE MAKE PROFESSIONS OF FAITH IN JUST 2 DAYS! TODAY WE ARE FOCUSING ON GOING BACK TO THOSE HOMES AND DISCIPLING THE NEW BELIEVERS.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR US AS WE CAST A VISION FOR MAKING DISCIPLES. PRAY ALSO FOR TRISH AS SHE HAS NOT BEEN FEELING WELL. PRAY FOR THE CHURCHES TO BE UNIFIED IN THIS EFFORT AND THAT NEW CHURCHES WOULD BE BIRTHED TO THE GLORY OF GOD.
NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANT ABOVE ALL THAT WE COULD HOPE OR ASK FOR . . . TO HIM BE GLORY IN THE CHURCH AND IN CHRIST JESUS!
THEN ON MONDAY, THE TEAMS WENT OUT IN FORCE AND GOD MOVED IN INCREDIBLE WAYS. HERE ARE A FEW STORIES . . .
PAT POWELL AND RUSSELL RUO SHARED FOR OVER AN HOUR WITH ONE MAN THAT HAD MANY PROBLEMS. 2 YEARS AGO THE MAN HAD RECEIVED A VISION FROM GOD THAT HE SHOULD GO TO CHURCH BECAUSE GOD HAD A MESSAGE FOR HIM. HE NEVER WENT. THEN YESTERDAY GOD DECIDED TO TAKE THE MESSAGE TO HIM! AFTER MUCH PRAYER AND SHARING THE YOUNG MAN ACCEPTED CHRIST INTO HIS HEART AND WAS FOREVER CHANGED.
FRANK BRAND AND CHERYL GREDLEIN HAVE HAD MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE BOTH IN PUBLIC PLACES THROUGH STREET PREACHING AND TESTIMONIES AND HOUSE TO HOUSE. YESTERDAY THEY ENCOUNTERED SOME MORMONS AND ONE OF THEM RECEIVED CHRIST AND THEN CAME TO THE EVENING DISCIPLESHIP LESSON EAGER TO LEARN.
TODD S. AND KATHY AND LAUREN HULSEY HAVE SEEN AN AMAZING WORK OF GOD AS THEY EQUIPPED A CHURCH AND SENT THEM OUT. LAUREN, WHO IS 10 YEARS OLD, SHARED THE GOSPEL IN A PUBLIC PLAZA WITH 50 ADULTS SURROUNDING HER! UNLESS WE BECOME AS LITTLE CHILDREN . . .
LEE NELSON AND TRISH CONWAY HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH A CHURCH THAT IS FOCUSED ON REACHING TEENS. YESTERDAY THEY SENT TEAMS OF TEENS OUT INTO THE STREETS. LEE SAID THAT ONE MAN THEY SHARED WITH HAD AN IMMEDIATE CHANGE OF COUNTENANCE WHEN THE WORD OF GOD WAS READ TO HIM. HE THEN RECEIVED CHRIST WITH GLADNESS.
ALAN HOLSTON AND MARY ANN DONAVANT ARE HELPING TO START 3 NEW CHURCHES WITH THEIR HOST CHURCH. THEY ARE WORKING IN VERY POOR AREAS. YESTERDAY AS THEY SHARED WITH A POOR WOMAN THAT LIVED IN A GRASS HUT, SHE LEFT HER COOKING TO LISTEN. AFTER SHE RECEIVED CHRIST SHE WENT BACK INTO HER HOUSE TO FIND THAT A DOG HAD EATEN THE UNATTENDED FOOD. SHE CAME OUT CRYING AND THE PASTOR PROVIDED MONEY TO BUY THE NEW BELIEVER SOME FOOD. SHE RECEIVED BOTH THE BREAD OF LIFE AND THE BREAD OF THIS LIFE.
DON AND KIM PEDERSON AND MAY G. SHARED WITH AN ENGLISH SPEAKING MAN YESTERDAY THAT WAS VERY RECEPTIVE. WHEN THE MAN READ EPHESIANS 2 VERSES 8 AND 9 HE LOOKED SHOCKED THAT HIS GOOD WORKS COULD NOT EARN HIM HEAVEN. AFTER STUDYING MANY RELIGIONS, THE MAN FINALLY CAME TO FAITH IN CHRIST . . . AND CAME OUT TODAY TO WORK WITH THEM EVANGELIZING OTHERS! DON EVEN GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO PREACH ON THE LOCAL RADIO STATION!
AS I TRAVELED WITH OUR NATIONAL DIRECTOR FROM CHURCH TO CHURCH YESTERDAY, WE MET UP WITH A PASTOR FROM ECUADOR THAT WE SPENT THE DAY DISCIPLING IN MISSIONS COMMITMENT. THE PASTOR LEFT LAST NIGHT ASSURING US THAT HE WILL RETURN TO ECUADOR AND CAST A VISION FOR HIS PEOPLE TO GO OUT INTO ALL THE WORLD.
IN ALL, WE HAVE SEEN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE MAKE PROFESSIONS OF FAITH IN JUST 2 DAYS! TODAY WE ARE FOCUSING ON GOING BACK TO THOSE HOMES AND DISCIPLING THE NEW BELIEVERS.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR US AS WE CAST A VISION FOR MAKING DISCIPLES. PRAY ALSO FOR TRISH AS SHE HAS NOT BEEN FEELING WELL. PRAY FOR THE CHURCHES TO BE UNIFIED IN THIS EFFORT AND THAT NEW CHURCHES WOULD BE BIRTHED TO THE GLORY OF GOD.
NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANT ABOVE ALL THAT WE COULD HOPE OR ASK FOR . . . TO HIM BE GLORY IN THE CHURCH AND IN CHRIST JESUS!
"Rolling in Tacna" (Peru - October 20, 2003)
GREAT DAY ON SUNDAY! WE SAW OVER 200 NATIONALS TRAINED AND EQUIPPED TO SHARE THE GOSPEL AND 17 PEOPLE RECEIVED CHRIST THROUGH STREET EVANGELISM AND HOUSE TO HOUSE VISITS! GLORY TO GOD IN HIS CHURCH HERE IN TACNA! THANK YOU FOR PRAYING FOR OUR TEAM. THEY ALL SEND THEIR LOVE AND APPRECIATION TO YOU AND HAVE ASKED THAT YOU CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION, FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE, AND FOR STRENGTH AND STAMINA AS WE WORK LONG DAYS. YOU ARE A STRATEGIC PART OF THIS TEAM AS YOU PRAY FAITHFULLY. KEEP IT UP!
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