Dear praying friends,
March and April have been by far our busiest months. One of our new responsibilities we spoke of in our last letter was taking over the construction on our new church property. Many projects are still but what we have built that is in use at this point are two new bathrooms (built from the ground up), a new junior church, a new nursery, and an all purpose room. Many other restoration projects were done to the property as well. I thank God for a loving, supporting wife that has endured her husband being away from home for many 16 + hour work days. The Lord has enabled us greatly to accomplish this work. Since arriving in Peru, I have learned welding, drywall, wood and steel framing, electrical, plumbing, foundation work, masonry, and more. I had to learn this not as an employee, but as the on-site foreman. Most of our workers are our church members. We have had a few work days with more than 30 church members arriving throughout the day to work. We had work for all of them, and all of them worked hard. These are incredible people here that love their God and love their church.Many of our work days have ended in a spontaneous Bible study prompted by a Bible question. I could barely convey my point, but they are patient listeners hungry for the Word of God.
In spite of the fact that the construction work has consumed most of my time, and the time I wished to devote to learning the language, my soul winning here has improved. One day while my wife was leading two children to the Lord, a teenage boy came around the corner. He listened politely to the presentation of the Gospel but he did not think he could be saved because he was a thief. After reading James 2:10, I John 1:7, and speaking of the thief on the cross, he changed his mind and was sweetly
saved. Another man, named Silver, with a mangled arm listened patiently as I took a long time to present the Gospel. Silver now has a new arm waiting in Glory. Praise God! Sarah, of course, is on a roll with soul winning. Both of us have had visitors to church and Sarah had a convert get baptized.
The construction responsibilities have been our pleasure to fulfill. In so doing we have enabled our teammates to concentrate their efforts to move forward with both churches, now soon to be 4 churches. Our team has just secured properties in Surco and San Genaro. These 2 churches will start in just a few weeks. Concerning our existing churches, attendances are up, souls saved are up, and baptisms are up. Amen!
Please keep all of our team uplifted in prayer. We are asking prayer specifically for our permanent residency cards. Since our arrival here, the government of Peru has made the process of obtaining these more time consuming. Due to the limits of our temporary visas, it looks as if we may have to leave the country and re-enter. Of course, whatever the Lord allows is perfect, and our trust is in Him. We welcome your prayers concerning this matter.
We have had phone difficulties since we arrived. For now, our dependable form of communication is email. Our emails, rader.teamperu@gmail.com and markrader@fbmi.org, are checked every day. If you call our number (219)588-0003 we will not be able to answer, but the voicemail will be emailed to us. Also, our field address is on the 2nd page of this letter.
We can’t thank you enough for your help and encouragement. We had a great time celebrating Paul’s first birthday and Sarah’s first “age-classified” birthday. Please continue to pray for us. We live in sight of the evidence of your prayers. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. God bless you.
In Christ,
Mark, Sarah, Savannah, & Paul Rader
Our field address:
Mark & Sarah Rader
Calle Don Francisco 448 Depto 401
Urbanizacion Santa Rosa
Rosa de Surco, Santiago de Surco
Lima, 33 Peru
Our stateside address:
Mark & Sarah Rader
7812 Birch Drive
Hammond, IN 46324
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