December 30, 2011
Dear Praying Friends,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope that each and everyone of you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season. There is something truly wonderful about this time of year. Our Christmas tree is up, the lights are glowing, a chill is in the air, our home smells of gingerbread, and family is coming together. Too much food has been eaten, and the gifts have been open all because the greatest gift was given to the world over 2,000 years ago! “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” (II Corinthians 9:15) The reason for this season, the reason for us going to Peru, the reason for our very being is what Jesus did for us. Amen!
Jessica and I had a wonderful Christmas. Realizing this would be our last Christmas with our family for a long time, we had much anticipation going into this season. I am grateful that we were able to be home this month and spend a lot of time with our friends and loved ones. I hope each of you were able to enjoy your Christmas as much as we did!
December has been a very slow month. God definitely wanted to teach me patience! Canceling all of our meetings and being home for the entire month have taught me a lot. My “stir-craziness” has given me an appreciation for my health and the “little things” in our daily routine. All in all, God knew exactly what we needed, and this has been a good month of rest and recovery. Since our last letter, we have many updates concerning our recovery. All of Jessica’s stitches and staples have been removed, and she is doing much better. She is still battling some pain as she waits for her cheek and ribs to heal properly. I underwent my second and, Lord willing, last surgery on my leg two weeks ago. I have two plates and fourteen screws in my leg and am currently in a protective boot. I will be starting therapy just after the first of the year and will still be non-weight-bearing probably through the end of February. I am very thankful to my dear wife, who although has her own injuries, has been such a help to me and my inmobility. I am so glad I married well!
Please continue to pray that we will be able to complete our deputation in a timely manner. I know that we are in God’s perfect will and on His timetable. At this time, we have canceled all but three meetings in January. My prayer is that we will be able to begin traveling consistently toward the end of January. Obviously, we are very anxious to finish deputation and get to Peru. We continue to grow closer to our goal, and I am grateful to all of our faithful supporters and especially those who have partnered with us this month: Harvest Baptist Church in Pennsylvannia and Central Valley Baptist Church in California.
For the last several years, I always looked forward to giving my “State of the Ministry” address for my bus routes, in which I would recap the year and present my vision for the upcoming year. The year 2011 has been an amazing year! As we started this journey last December, I had no idea what we were in for. God has superceded all of my expectations! It is hard to believe that in 2011 we drove 45,758 miles, flew 9,020 miles, and shared our vision with 106 churches. It makes me tired just thinking about it! In addition, God allowed 24 churches and individuals to believe in us, allowing us to reach 80% of our needed support. God is so good! And if that is not enough to praise God about, we were able to see a total of 157 people put their faith in Christ throughout our travels! The year 2011 has been amazing, and 2012 is going to be even better!!
I have several goals and prayer requests for 2012. I would love to have our support raised by the end of April. We have rescheduled many of our canceled meetings, and currently will be traveling into April. This should still allow us to reach our financial goal. Secondly, our goal is to make our move to Lima in early June. This will ensure that our health is where it needs to be, as well as give us the time needed for some intense training and to care for paperwork, shipping, and loose ends at home. Thirdly, please continue to pray for our medical bills. God has been so good to us, and I know He will continue to provide. We are working very closely with our insurance company and waiting for a response from the insurance of the other driver. Please pray that this is resolved very soon, as we have many bills already, and they will continue to grow due to my therapy. God has already answered one prayer by helping us with a new vehicle! We now have a well-maintained van that is being leased to us by a family in our church. This is a huge answer to prayer because we will not have to resell it before leaving the country and we will be able to use our insurance check toward other expenses.
Thank you again to everyone who has prayed and sent gifts, love offerings, cards, and letters. God’s people are so gracious. We are so happy to be where we are in life. I can hardly wait to see how God will continue to “wow” us in this coming year. Happy New Year!
Your ambassadors to Peru,
Junior and Jessica Martin
Romans 9:3
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