Dear Praying Friends,
July is my favorite month of the year! As you already know, both my wife and I celebrated birthdays this last month. Thank you to the many of you who made our days special through e-mails, cards, Facebook messages, and other ways. This year my birthday fell on a Tuesday, the same night as our church service in San Genaro. At the end of the service, I called on one of our men to dismiss the service in prayer. As he came to the pulpit, he announced that they had a surprise for me—a birthday party! Several of our church ladies and my wife had conspired and planned a very special night for me. We had a blast, and it was a great blessing. God has truly knit our hearts to some very special people.
July 7 was an incredibly special day. As you already know, this was the Sunday we celebrated the one-year anniversary of our church in Villa Marina. It was an amazing and emotional day! Our church people brought a ton of visitors and encouraged many people to attend who had not come for a long time. We had our 2 highest attendances ever—245 Sunday morning and 201 Sunday night! In addition to this, 34 people trusted Christ as their Saviour in these 2 services. I am so thankful for the year God has given us here in Chorrillos.
God has also continued to bless our other 3 church plants. God is doing a great work in our church in San Genaro. Please pray that we find a new building very soon. Many people struggle finding our location, and we are currently renting a second facility for our children due to a lack of space. It is a great problem to have after only three months. Please help us pray so that we can take our church to the next level.
We also had the privilege this last month to host Pastor Xavier Lopez from La Paz, Bolivia, and five of his church men. We were able to show them all of our churches and Bible studies, as well as teach them our pattern for church multiplication. It was a great encouragement to spend some time with another like-minded pastor with a passion to start churches in all of Bolivia. Please pray for this ministry that is doing and is going to do great things for God.
Many of you remember the two college-aged men, Alan and Fernando, who spent several weeks with us in January and February. Upon returning to their hometown of Moquegua, they used what they learned to start two Bible studies in two different parts of their city. Recently one of our team men, Zach Foust, went to visit these two works, to teach, preach, and give them some items to help convert these Bible studies into churches. Little did we know that the Iglesia Bautista Puerta Abierta de San Antonio and Chen Chen were already churches (pictured below)! Please pray for these two young pastors and their church plants!
In closing, I have one story I must share with you. For about eight months, there is a bakery I’ve been frequenting that is across the street from our original church property. The sister of the owner, Jackelin, is an employee there. Every time I went there, we would always talk, and I would always invite her to church. She lives in San Genaro, so when we started our church there, I began inviting her to attend there. She always promised but never came. Two weeks ago, just before the start of our Tuesday night service, guess who walked in—Jackelin! She attended the service that night and afterwards received Christ as her Saviour! This was an incredible blessing for us. Please pray for her as she continues to come to church and grow in Christ.
Jackelin is one of the 251 people you helped us to reach with the Gospel in the month of July. Thank you so much for your investment in us through your prayers, encouragement, and giving. Please continue to pray for us and the ministry here, as I am sure that August will not disappoint!
Your ambassadors to Perú,
Junior and Jessica Martin
Romans 9:3
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