Dear Praying Friends and Supporting Churches,
Busy, busy, busy! As the holiday season descends upon us, we find ourselves busier than ever in the service of the King! While our thoughts and prayers are with our families and friends back in the States, our attention and devotion remain firmly planted right here in Lima, Peru.
God has been very good to our family in the last month. We have seen our church grow
both numerically and spiritually. We have been enjoying the challenging task of
discipling people who have been steeped in Catholicism and various cults. These people are truly hungry for the truth of God’s Word. At each Bible study and after each service at the church, men and women remain to ask questions about the Bible. We often find ourselves wearily dragging home very late into the night after these times, rejoicing that God would allow us to help these precious people learn more about Him.
Recently one of our faithful men named Pablo approached me on a Saturday morning at
the soul-winning meeting. He was on his way to the funeral of one of his coworkers and asked if I would be willing to attend with him to help him share the Gospel with the friends and family of the deceased. Of course, I was glad to do so, and soon we arrived at the house where the body of the man was being held. (They do not embalm the bodies here generally. So the bodies are kept in the house, and a memorial service is held there.) After I greeted the family and friends who were assembled, the wife asked if I would be willing to speak from the Bible to all those present. I gave a simple salvation message and then led in the sinner’s prayer for anyone who wished to receive Christ as their personal Saviour. After the prayer, I asked those who had prayed with me to raise their hands, and 13 adults acknowledged that they had trusted Christ to save them. Praise the Lord! Later the wife told me that Pablo had repeatedly asked her husband to attend church with him, but her husband had always refused to come. We rejoice that his funeral allowed many of his relatives a chance to trust Christ. We are so excited about the many souls who have come to Christ recently.
Although much of my time this last month has been occupied with working to get our
container released from customs, our family was still able to see more than 40 people
trust Christ as their Saviour. At this writing, the container has finally been released, and we are happy to report that the team families’ belongings and our church materials are safe and sound! Please continue to pray for our property search. With attendances now over 100 on Sundays, we are in desperate need of a larger facility for our main church. As always, we will work diligently to secure a location while relying on God to direct in His timing.
We hope each of you has a very Merry Christmas! May God continue to bless you.
His for souls,
Zach and Karin Foust, Zachary, C.J., and Logan
Monday, December 17, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
November Prayer Letter from the Martin Family
December 5, 2012
Dear Praying Friends,
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” Psalm 100:4 We truly have so much for which to be thankful. I know that November is not the only month that should reflect our gratitude, however, I must admit that this November gave us a lot to be thankful for! Where oh where do I begin…
Thankful for our church. God has blessed us with an amazing ministry in the heart of Chorrillos! The way that our church has grown can only be contributed to God. In all honesty (I dread even saying this), we have not tried to accelerate the growth of our church. We have not promoted or had any type of campaign, simply because we do not have the space to accommodate the growth. We go soul-winning, follow-up on our visitors, and hold 8 different Bible studies each week. But God has given us a great group of people! Just this past Sunday we had our two highest attendances to date, 109 in the morning and 93 that night! God is so good!
Thankful for our people. That is what the church truly is! As thankful as I am for the numerical growth of our people, I am even more thankful for their spiritual growth. We have seen so many miracles in the lives of our people. As Cecilia went soul-winning with my wife this past week, we both realized that incredible desire she has serve God and reach her family. Yanira is a new teenager who has humbled both of us with her sweet spirit. She too has a desire to grow and has helped us lead many of her family to Christ.
Another family we have seen great growth in is Julio and Veronique. Several weeks ago, they were able to set their reservations aside and follow the Lord in baptism. It was a great day! Every Saturday night, I have a Bible study at their house. I started the 10 week study with them 15 weeks ago (you do the math)! They can’t get enough. Lord willing, they will be helping me start another Bible study this month.
Thankful for opportunities. God has given us some great opportunities to make a difference in our area. As already stated we have 8 in-home Bible studies occurring every week. These Bible studies are averaging 68 people every week. Between 14 and 20 of these are people that do not even attend our church! In addition to this, I am glad that soul-winning still works! This last month a total of 31 trusted Christ as a result of soul-winning. An additional 32 people were saved through outreach and services, and a total of six were baptized.
The greatest opportunity for which I am thankful is the opportunity to be used. Two weeks ago, Jessica and I reflected on that opportunity. It is hard to believe that one year ago, we were both in the hospital not sure if we would have this opportunity. But God is the great physician and I am so amazed by his healing and the way He has worked in our lives. God is so good to use us!
Thankful for answered prayers. I am grateful for a God Who hears and answers our prayers. We have had so many prayers answered, but one prayer in particular has been prayed for by many of you. The Wednesday after Thanksgiving our container was released and all of our personal and ministry items were delivered to our home. This was a great day! Thank you to each and every one of you who prayed. God blessed miraculously not only in giving us our stuff, but also in the amount of taxes we payed. I serve an awesome God!
Thankful for our team. Every day, I am able to rejoice in the great group of people God has called to work alongside us here in Peru. Especially, during this holiday season, while family is far away, it is a blessing to have a group of people we can celebrate with. We had a grand Thanksgiving dinner with the members of our team and several of our church people! I could not imagine this ministry without the families God has brought together as Team Peru!
Thankful for you. Every day, we feel the loves and prayers of each of you. Thank you to each and everyone of you who make this ministry what it is. Thank you also to the Antioch Baptist Church in Michigan who voted to take us on for support this past month. I believe with all my heart that we will reach Peru through Chorrillos; thank you sharing in our burden.
Your ambassadors to Peru,
Junior and Jessica Martin
Romans 9:3
Dear Praying Friends,
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” Psalm 100:4 We truly have so much for which to be thankful. I know that November is not the only month that should reflect our gratitude, however, I must admit that this November gave us a lot to be thankful for! Where oh where do I begin…
Thankful for our church. God has blessed us with an amazing ministry in the heart of Chorrillos! The way that our church has grown can only be contributed to God. In all honesty (I dread even saying this), we have not tried to accelerate the growth of our church. We have not promoted or had any type of campaign, simply because we do not have the space to accommodate the growth. We go soul-winning, follow-up on our visitors, and hold 8 different Bible studies each week. But God has given us a great group of people! Just this past Sunday we had our two highest attendances to date, 109 in the morning and 93 that night! God is so good!
Thankful for our people. That is what the church truly is! As thankful as I am for the numerical growth of our people, I am even more thankful for their spiritual growth. We have seen so many miracles in the lives of our people. As Cecilia went soul-winning with my wife this past week, we both realized that incredible desire she has serve God and reach her family. Yanira is a new teenager who has humbled both of us with her sweet spirit. She too has a desire to grow and has helped us lead many of her family to Christ.
Another family we have seen great growth in is Julio and Veronique. Several weeks ago, they were able to set their reservations aside and follow the Lord in baptism. It was a great day! Every Saturday night, I have a Bible study at their house. I started the 10 week study with them 15 weeks ago (you do the math)! They can’t get enough. Lord willing, they will be helping me start another Bible study this month.
Thankful for opportunities. God has given us some great opportunities to make a difference in our area. As already stated we have 8 in-home Bible studies occurring every week. These Bible studies are averaging 68 people every week. Between 14 and 20 of these are people that do not even attend our church! In addition to this, I am glad that soul-winning still works! This last month a total of 31 trusted Christ as a result of soul-winning. An additional 32 people were saved through outreach and services, and a total of six were baptized.
The greatest opportunity for which I am thankful is the opportunity to be used. Two weeks ago, Jessica and I reflected on that opportunity. It is hard to believe that one year ago, we were both in the hospital not sure if we would have this opportunity. But God is the great physician and I am so amazed by his healing and the way He has worked in our lives. God is so good to use us!
Thankful for answered prayers. I am grateful for a God Who hears and answers our prayers. We have had so many prayers answered, but one prayer in particular has been prayed for by many of you. The Wednesday after Thanksgiving our container was released and all of our personal and ministry items were delivered to our home. This was a great day! Thank you to each and every one of you who prayed. God blessed miraculously not only in giving us our stuff, but also in the amount of taxes we payed. I serve an awesome God!
Thankful for our team. Every day, I am able to rejoice in the great group of people God has called to work alongside us here in Peru. Especially, during this holiday season, while family is far away, it is a blessing to have a group of people we can celebrate with. We had a grand Thanksgiving dinner with the members of our team and several of our church people! I could not imagine this ministry without the families God has brought together as Team Peru!
Thankful for you. Every day, we feel the loves and prayers of each of you. Thank you to each and everyone of you who make this ministry what it is. Thank you also to the Antioch Baptist Church in Michigan who voted to take us on for support this past month. I believe with all my heart that we will reach Peru through Chorrillos; thank you sharing in our burden.
Your ambassadors to Peru,
Junior and Jessica Martin
Romans 9:3
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