Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
In just
under two months that we have been in Peru we have seen seven specific answers
to prayer! Six, we received in the affirmative, one in the “Not right now,” and
several others in the “Keep Praying” category.
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| Joshua and Steven strolling the streets of Urubamba |
Prayer Request #1: 183 days—Yes!
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We asked you to pray for 183 days to be stamped in our passports upon
arrival; the guy behind the counter gave it to us with no questions asked!
He was humbled that we had been praying for
him for a month ahead of time.
Prayer Request #2: A safe trip—Yes!
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We praise the Lord that my (Eric’s) mom could
accompany us down to Peru to help us take suitcases and watch the boys. We got the “red light” going through customs
(which meant all 11 suitcases, 4 carry-ons and our personal items had to go
through the conveyor belt and x-ray machine, but in the end I think they had
mercy on us and didn’t make us take anything out of the suitcases. Aside from
that our trip was smooth and Mom was a great help!
Prayer Request #3: Our residency—Not right
now, Keep praying!
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Our status here in the country is still
“TOURISTS.” The law that required a
10,000 member minimum for religious groups has been declared unconstitutional
(PRAISE THE LORD!), but what will be done remains to be seen. After having been
in Urubamba for almost a month, we returned to Lima to work on getting our
visas once again. We will be heading
into the lion’s den in the next few days with a lawyer friend to see if they
will grant us residency. Please keep praying!
Prayer Request #4: How do we get all this
stuff up to Urubamba?—No problem!
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One of our friends in Lima had been storing our belongings from our
previous term in Peru (3 yrs. ago), and we had no idea how we would move
everything up to the mountains nor how much it would cost. In the end, we found out that one of the
parents of a student I had taught at La Molina Christian Schools (LMCS) had a
trucking company and offered to send our things up to Cusco (1 ½ hr. from
Urubamba) FOR FREE on the next truck
going that way. THEN, another parent from LMCS told us his father had a truck
in Cusco and that God had laid it on his heart to get our things up to Urubamba
FOR FREE! Thank you for praying. We are living in a 3-bedroom apt. 4 blocks
from the Christian school where my wife and I are teaching. (We looked at the
house next to the seminary director’s house, but the uphill trek between the farms
to get to the house especially now in the rainy season was a little much for us
with the kids.)
Prayer Request #5: A quick and easy
transition to the altitude change—Yes!
Boy, were we huffing and puffing the first week in Urubamba!
Yet in the days that followed, we slowly began
getting used to the thinner air. By the way, we
did find out why they
call this town
Urubamba (Land of the
spiders).
We have been taking pictures
of the spiders we’ve been finding (and squashing) and were going to make a
border on this prayer letter of the various types, but decided against it.
(Most were Daddy Long Legs anyway…)
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| One of many little friends who like to "pop in" and visit us |
Prayer Request #6: Open doors to share the
gospel—Yes!
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On our
first night in Lima, the Lord opened the door for a redemptive conversation
and allowed me to meet a young Christian baggage carrier who had been
discouraged and away from church for a while because of false doctrine.
Thankfully one of the churches I had attended in the past is close to the
airport and he knew where it was. The
next seven weeks were also full of open doors as well! From taxi drivers to
friends waiting in hospitals, the Lord was so faithful to lead us to searching
people. We pray He will bring forth fruit.
The friends who were waiting in the hospital to receive news of their
teenager (who had been in a car accident with her mom) were especially
attentive to the gospel message. The
teen, Tammy, was one of my former students and one we had seen upon our arrival
in Lima. She passed away recently. Her mom, who had to undergo surgery, and her
father who is close to salvation are both heartbroken over the loss of their
only child. Please join us in praying for God’s comfort and direction for her
parents, Eliana and Juan.
Prayer Request #7: God’s leading in
educating our kids—Yes! But keep
praying!
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In the 2-year old Christian school “Heroes of
the Faith,” Casandra is currently the lead teacher of 15 children ages 3-6, one
of whom is our oldest son, Joshua. She
teaches in Spanish, and has an assistant who has taken charge of the 3-4 year
olds. She supplements the Spanish
teaching (of which Joshua understands little to none) with the curriculum we
brought from the States. Joshua has been having a very hard time
adjusting to hearing Spanish all the time. Since the assistant teacher in
Joshua’s class does not speak English, she cannot give him the individual help
he needs. The result has been an increase in misbehavior. We continue to discipline him for outright
rebellion yet try to be understanding of his plight. Steven on the other hand is being cared for
in the nursery during the school day and seems to be adjusting well to hearing
Spanish spoken and responding to commands. As for the prayer request, we will
keep Joshua in the Christian school for now and continue to seek God’s face as
to how to best educate our sons.
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| A parade of Quechua speakers promoting education for all |
Prayer Request #8: With so much need, where
do we serve?—No Worries! Keep
praying.
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We have been praying about where specifically to
attend church and invest our time. The
Lord has led us to New Life Baptist Church (whose property the Christian school
is using). Here we have already made
contacts with several brethren who go out once a week to preach in church
plants on the outskirts of Urubamba.
Several of these are in Quechua.
So we seek a Quechua teacher and ask the Lord to lead us.
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THERE ARE SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE HERE! At New
Life, I will be teaching a teen Sun. school class and my wife and I will be
serving in AWANA with the teens as well.
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I am currently teaching English and Bible (4
hr./wk) at Heroes of the Faith C.S. in elementary.
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One of the opportunities I am MOST excited about
is a discipleship class with one of the teachers at school. He is a three year old Christian who is
excited to serve God. He has a strong background in education, but desires to
integrate his spiritual life with his teaching career. We have been meeting for three weeks now, and
I am so thankful to be training another ME. =)
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The seminary officially began its school year on
March 11. I spoke at the opening
ceremony and am in the process of preparing for the classes I will teach in
July and August. We have around 30 students this semester, one of whom
is a friend from our previous church in Lima.
So as you can see, we are off and running. As I have
mentioned, serving God can turn into a ritual very easily if one is not careful
to guard THE HEART. Please intercede for
us to keep our heart in the right place and serve in love. We love you guys and thank our Father so much
for your prayers and partnership in His work!
