Mission Accomplished! Part 2

One of the other things that we felt like we accomplished while in Peru in November was that we distributed a lot of copies of the bible. We had given out lots of New Testaments while we were there in August. And while following up with many of these who received bibles in August, Miguel found that they couldn't do all their bible study because they didn't have the Old Testament. So we decided that we should fix that. So here are several shots of people receiving these blue Spanish bibles that we gave out in Nov. You can not go wrong distributing the Word of God, for it never comes back void, but always accomplishes what it is sent to do. One of these shots is with the mayor of Julcan, and we believe that God is truly working in his life, and are praying that he comes to Christ, and makes a bold step of a public profession soon.

Just by the way, I put all our pictures (well, the best of them) to a song, and put them in a video, and put it up on YouTube. You can see that here.

Another goal that was reached while there was that we spent some time training our Peruvian church planting team with a methodology for truly making disciples. We sat down in the town square for an hour or two working with them about how to begin discipleship triads, just like we are doing at New River BC, A Place Called Hope, & Fair Haven PBC. (If you are curious about what we are talking about, check out my blogs on Greg Ogden's Discipleship Essentials, and how well it is going at our churches here, here, here, and especially here) We are hoping that among the leadership, and among the congregations once they actually get started, disciples will be intentionally made.

While we were there, we made some great friendships with our Peruvian workers, and got to meet and spend a lot of time with several great IMB personnel who are very instrumental in our work there in the Central Andes. These are just some of the side benefits of being on mission with God to reach unreached people.

So, we already mentioned going back in March and probably late June. Several of you have inquired about going with us--and you are welcome to come; in fact we need your help. Here is what you need to know about arrangements for our next two trips. For the March trip our dates will be 13-20, 2010 and the cost will be between $1300-$1500, depending on the plane ticket costs. We need people who know baseball to come in March to help us put on a camp during the day. We need people who can teach English while we are there (as training for our Peruvians and a mode of outreach.) We also need those of you who can help us teach and baptize while we are there, for our prayer is that we begin the church in March. And we also need those of you who can help us do all these things! We don't need your money in until we leave in March, but we need to know by about Christmas if you are going for sure, so we can order tickets.
If you have any questions, feel free to email or call me, and I will do my best to answer them. If you need further info just call. We haven't had anyone have any trouble raising the funds to go. Where God guides, He provides! If you need to gain direction about going, just look here, and you will know that there are thousands of Peruvians in the Yacus and Yanamarca Valleys that are in need of a gospel witness and a self-sustaining, self-replicating church. And you could be one of those who bring it there.

Also doing a medical mission (maybe) in late June, prepare for that if that is where your gifts or your heart lie. Thanks for reading, keep praying for us and for the Yacus Valley!

Mission Accomplished! Part 1

We had a really great trip to Jauja, Peru this time. God truly showed Himself mighty on our behalf! And we felt like we accomplished much of what we intended to do. I know, it's been a little while since I've written, so what was that?

First, I think we paved the way for Craig to lead a trip down there by himself in the future. That was high on the list. We also were able to get many things in order for a couple of return trips in 2010 from New River. We talked with the mayors of Julcan and Molinos specifically about our plans to return in March and do a baseball camp, and return also in July (maybe) and do a medical trip. Both towns are prepared to rearrange the school calender to allow the kids to participate with us on our trips there. We also got several other ideas that might be helpful for future trips, like English camps.

It was also very encouraging to talk with several individuals whom I believe have become believers after our trip there in August. Many were really excited about the possibility of beginning a church there, and committed to help us. This is Leslie (to the left), very much transformed from August, and poised to help with the church in Julcan. We also met several people who were not yet born-again believers, but that were very interested in what was going on with us, and wanted to be involved.


We also got to spend a lot of time with Miguel, Sergio, Preyer, Alia, and Anyeshla, and Nehemias, which is our church planting team in Jauja. We did some training, but much vision casting about where all this is heading. And they seem to be very much committed to the advance of the gospel in the Yacus Valley. We are awaiting the first reports of follow up since our trip there a couple of weeks ago.

We really put a lot of emphasis on our March trip and the work that we will do there in addition to the baseball camp. We will be trying to teach some English classes, especially to those that we are working with in Jauja. I will also be teaching each night in March, with an emphasis on the birth of the church there. My hope is to baptize Peruvians in March in Julcan, and maybe in Molinos! Please pray to that end!

More to come, part 2 tomorrow...

Peru Trip Aug 2009 VI

So where do we go from here...that is a really great question!


Surely the beauty of Peru beckons us to return, but the spiritual need coupled with a command from our Lord and Master to go is far more compelling. Our goal is to plant a church in Julcan that will then in turn be able to plant churches in Molinos and Masma. We want to reach the whole Yacus Valley with the gospel. So how do we do it?

We realized two things while on this trip related to our future and strategy in Peru. 1) we are going to have to make more than one trip per year. The work will not gain momentum with us only being their one time a year. So, we are praying, and ask for your help praying, on when we should return. Maybe November with our partner pastor Scott, and maybe in the spring during spring break. And definitely next summer. Pray for a clear leading for us. Obviously many issues arise with the possibility of taking more trips.


2) Secondly we learned that planting churches in Peru long distance cannot be accomplished through more trips. Huh? We need to get there more, but that in and of itself will not get the job done. We must have a discipler. We must have someone who is willing to make regular trips there and make disciples in our new church plant. Or we need someone from the states who is willing to go there and stay for months as a volunteer to make disciples in between trips. So our goal while we are there is evangelism, but also leadership training. We must train this discipler how to make disciples and organize them into the church.


So that brings me to a huge thank you, and another plea for help. We are so grateful for many of you who gave to make it possible for us to go. God used you in a mighty way, and I know that you will receive many rewards when those people who heard the gospel meet you in heaven. But we still need your help. We need an army of prayer warriors to pray for clarity, provision, and direction for us, and a mighty move of God in Julcan. Of course, you can always give too, we have set up a Peru Savings Acct for money to go in all year. But we desperately need prayer!



Here are the main things that we want you to pray:

• God to build His church, and not we ourselves
  
• God to provide a discipler, there is a man there, but we are not sure he's the one
• 10 men to be saved in Julcan, including the mayor, vice-mayor, and the local priest
• Us to have wisdom and understanding of God's will for us in Julcan
• A baptistery to be built at the creek in Julcan (don't ask, just pray)
  
• Finances to come in or be allocated to make extra trips
• Laborers in the harvest, short-term and long-term, especially some college students to go there and live for a few months as volunteers, and other churches to partner with us
  
• Endurance in the work, this will not happen overnight

Peruvians in Julcan, Masma, and Molinos are dying everyday without Christ, and we have the responsibility to take Him there. He is at work there, let us labor there with Him.

Thanks for all your support. May the Lamb receive the reward of His suffering!