Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,
One more person closer!
My family and I have been very fortunate to help out in a new church plant that Team Peru has started. We have been able to help on the weekend with the soul-winning program. Being that the new church is in one of Lima’s nicest districts, I knew it would be a different experience. However, I didn’t think my children would notice.
There we were walking down the beautiful park path handing out tracts, soul winning, and making small talk with the residents. I could see Marco a few yards ahead of me. I continued walking when suddenly I see Marco stop and turn to look at me. That look he gave me almost broke my heart. It seemed as though all the wind had been knocked out of him; his big smile was gone. “What’s wrong?” I asked from afar. I could read his lips: “Dad, I don’t want to do this anymore,” was his whispered plea. I quickly worked my way to him. He stated that the people here were “meaner” and that they ignored him. I got on my knee and told him that the majority of the local residents aren’t mean that they only act that way because they think they have everything they need. I told him not to give up, that there is someone in this area who was waiting for a “Marco” to stop him and introduce him to God. I told him that he was getting closer to that person every time he got rejected. He smiled, and I could tell his “battery” was recharged a little. He continued his walk. He turned to look at me after he was rejected once more and mouthed, “One more person closer.” That’s my boy!
How do I make that sound cool and productive?
We were fortune to host a visiting Bolivian missionary and five of his men a few weeks ago. He was able to join us for one of our team meetings, and we were able to glean from each other. Then this question was asked to the men of Team Peru: “So what do you do for Team Peru?” There I sat thinking of an answer as they went around the table one by one. My mind had flashbacks of the most recent projects I ran for Bro. Hubbard and Team Peru. Boy, how do I make that sound cool and productive? was my
thought. Uh-ho, it’s my turn. “Well, I run the Children’s Program, and I take care of the team finances and legal processes,”
was my response. I sat there repeating those words to myself as the Bolivian men asked me more questions. To be honest, I
do feel productive, and I do feel what I do is “cool.” However, more than that, I count it a blessing to be able to work
shoulder to shoulder with the great men of Team Peru and labor in the shadows of Team Peru’s great leadership. Now how
do I say that without sounding like I want a pay raise? :)
I’d like to thank you for your continued prayers and support. We really couldn’t do what we do without you. Please know that you are also being prayed for by our family. We love and appreciate you very much.
Praises:
- One more church has taken us on for support: Open Door Baptist Church, Mesquite, Texas, Pastor Francisco J. Mendoza.
Prayer Requests:
- Safety for our family, our team leader Dan Hubbard, and the other families of Team Peru
- Additional monthly financial support
New Contact Information:
Abraham Avila (To avoid problems with our courier, correspondence must state my name and not “Avila family.”)
Caminos del Inca 2780, Block-C (Street name and house number)
Departamento 504 (Apartment number)
Urb. Prolongación Benavides (Residential zone)
Surco, Lima 15039 Perú (District, city, zip code, country)
219-378-8617
Thank you once again for your prayers and support.
Your co-laborers to Peru,
Abraham, Fabiola, Marco, Leilani, & Joaquin Avila
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
July Prayer Letter from the Martin Family
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
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
Friday, August 2, 2013
July Prayer Letter from the Kokubun Family
Dear Praying Friends,
We planned for 200. Having 200 people on our first-year anniversary would be incredible! Having a regular attendance of around 120 on Sunday mornings, we figured that planning for 200 would be plenty. All the plans and preparations were made for our special one-year anniversary and the big meal that followed. The morning came, and we were ready! We had a big choir singing
“About the Cross,” and a children's choir from our church plant in San Genaro came to surprise Preacher. What a wonderful day and service we shared. God exceeded our expectations by allowing us to have our biggest service ever that morning. We had 242 people come to celebrate our day with us, and 34 got saved! We also had over 200 in our evening service, and numerous
members of our church plant in San Gabriel came and were baptized. We praise God for the growth He has given our church this past year, not just numerical growth but also spiritual growth in each individual life.
Last month I wrote to you about Bryan and Kevin's family. While I thought we had reached their entire family, this past week one more older daughter, who was their father's child, came to church. She was sweetly saved this past Sunday! Thank you for your faithful prayers for our ministry here. What we do here would not be possible without you. If you would like to pray specifically with us, here are a few thoughts:
• Please pray for Luis, who has just recently started his own Bible study with his family in a section almost on top of the mountain of San Genaro. Pray for their study to grow and that many would be reached through their outreach.
• Pray for the growth of our believers, that they would grow in their personal faith and gain a passion for personal soul winning.
• Pray for our pastor and team. The Devil does not like what is going on here and would love to destroy anything we are able to do as a team. Pray for God's guidance as we continue following His plan.
• Please pray for our young people. Pray that God would guide them in all purity and that they would seek His heart.
• Please pray for two of the young ladies with whom we have recently been blessed. One is 15, the other 17. They will both be giving birth to children next month. Pray for wisdom as we lead these young ladies.
On a personal note, we were blessed this month to have a visit from two of my wife's siblings. It was a blessing for her to get to soak in some family time and show her siblings our life here. One day, while showing her siblings downtown and allowing them to shop for souvenirs, I had the privilege of meeting Olga. She was very curious about what had brought us to Peru, and I had the chance to share with her the reason we are here. She sweetly accepted Christ as her Saviour and thanked us gratefully for sharing Christ's free gift with her.
In His service,
Daniel and Heather Kokubun
We planned for 200. Having 200 people on our first-year anniversary would be incredible! Having a regular attendance of around 120 on Sunday mornings, we figured that planning for 200 would be plenty. All the plans and preparations were made for our special one-year anniversary and the big meal that followed. The morning came, and we were ready! We had a big choir singing
“About the Cross,” and a children's choir from our church plant in San Genaro came to surprise Preacher. What a wonderful day and service we shared. God exceeded our expectations by allowing us to have our biggest service ever that morning. We had 242 people come to celebrate our day with us, and 34 got saved! We also had over 200 in our evening service, and numerous
members of our church plant in San Gabriel came and were baptized. We praise God for the growth He has given our church this past year, not just numerical growth but also spiritual growth in each individual life.
Last month I wrote to you about Bryan and Kevin's family. While I thought we had reached their entire family, this past week one more older daughter, who was their father's child, came to church. She was sweetly saved this past Sunday! Thank you for your faithful prayers for our ministry here. What we do here would not be possible without you. If you would like to pray specifically with us, here are a few thoughts:
• Please pray for Luis, who has just recently started his own Bible study with his family in a section almost on top of the mountain of San Genaro. Pray for their study to grow and that many would be reached through their outreach.
• Pray for the growth of our believers, that they would grow in their personal faith and gain a passion for personal soul winning.
• Pray for our pastor and team. The Devil does not like what is going on here and would love to destroy anything we are able to do as a team. Pray for God's guidance as we continue following His plan.
• Please pray for our young people. Pray that God would guide them in all purity and that they would seek His heart.
• Please pray for two of the young ladies with whom we have recently been blessed. One is 15, the other 17. They will both be giving birth to children next month. Pray for wisdom as we lead these young ladies.
On a personal note, we were blessed this month to have a visit from two of my wife's siblings. It was a blessing for her to get to soak in some family time and show her siblings our life here. One day, while showing her siblings downtown and allowing them to shop for souvenirs, I had the privilege of meeting Olga. She was very curious about what had brought us to Peru, and I had the chance to share with her the reason we are here. She sweetly accepted Christ as her Saviour and thanked us gratefully for sharing Christ's free gift with her.
In His service,
Daniel and Heather Kokubun
June/July Prayer Letter from the Hubbard Family
Dear Praying Friends,
The past six weeks passed as a whirlwind! In the beginning of June, I spent twelve days in the States helping with FBMI’s Missionary Candidate School, meeting with Pastor Wilkerson, and having my annual cancer checkup at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. It was a very productive twelve days. I received the best report I’ve had since my cancer diagnosis, as none of the tumors experienced any growth in the last year! Praise the Lord! It seems that the treatment they gave me shortly before leaving for Peru worked. They gave me another treatment for this year.
Upon my return to the field, we began to plan for the one-year anniversary of our main church in Villa Marina. I am thrilled to report that the anniversary service was incredibly blessed by God. We had 242 attend Sunday morning and 201 Sunday night. Both of those attendances broke any previous records we have had. There were 30 saved in the services that day alone! The
Spirit of God was evident, and it was exciting to see our facility nearly maxed to capacity!
The four other church plants of our team are steadily growing. We could write volumes to record the testimonies of these precious people. The evening service of our anniversary was sweet, as we had representation from each of the church plants. We had a time of testimony of the blessings of God. What a joy it was to hear individual after individual testify of their love for Christ and the change He has made in their lives. The words of Christ echoed in my heart, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” (John 12:32) God alone deserves the praise and glory for the miracles we’ve seen this past year, likewise,gratitude to each of you who sacrificially give and faithfully pray for our team and our ministry.
We began our fourth week of modular Bible seminary that same week. I never tire of the zeal I see in the members of our church. They want to learn all that they can. They are so excited to be a part of all that is happening in south Lima.
We also had the privilege to host Missionary Xavier Lopez and five men from his church in Bolivia. They came to see first-hand the blessings of God upon our ministry. I believe the five days we spent together will reap eternal rewards, as Bro. Lopez is excited about church planting in Bolivia. We enjoyed sweet fellowship.
We are looking forward to this next month, as we have launched two new Bible studies that have the potential to be churches before long. My family and I will be leaving Peru for ten days in August because of the children’s visa issues. My wife and I have our residency; however, Peru changed the laws while we were working on the children’s residency, and they ended up overstaying their visas. It is not a major problem; we just need to pay a fine and take the children out of the country so that we can begin again under the new laws. Please be in prayer that all will go well with this trip.
We are so grateful for your support of our family and this ministry. We are happy to be your ambassadors to Peru. Thank you!
For His glory,
Dan Hubbard
The past six weeks passed as a whirlwind! In the beginning of June, I spent twelve days in the States helping with FBMI’s Missionary Candidate School, meeting with Pastor Wilkerson, and having my annual cancer checkup at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. It was a very productive twelve days. I received the best report I’ve had since my cancer diagnosis, as none of the tumors experienced any growth in the last year! Praise the Lord! It seems that the treatment they gave me shortly before leaving for Peru worked. They gave me another treatment for this year.
Upon my return to the field, we began to plan for the one-year anniversary of our main church in Villa Marina. I am thrilled to report that the anniversary service was incredibly blessed by God. We had 242 attend Sunday morning and 201 Sunday night. Both of those attendances broke any previous records we have had. There were 30 saved in the services that day alone! The
Spirit of God was evident, and it was exciting to see our facility nearly maxed to capacity!
The four other church plants of our team are steadily growing. We could write volumes to record the testimonies of these precious people. The evening service of our anniversary was sweet, as we had representation from each of the church plants. We had a time of testimony of the blessings of God. What a joy it was to hear individual after individual testify of their love for Christ and the change He has made in their lives. The words of Christ echoed in my heart, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” (John 12:32) God alone deserves the praise and glory for the miracles we’ve seen this past year, likewise,gratitude to each of you who sacrificially give and faithfully pray for our team and our ministry.
We began our fourth week of modular Bible seminary that same week. I never tire of the zeal I see in the members of our church. They want to learn all that they can. They are so excited to be a part of all that is happening in south Lima.
We also had the privilege to host Missionary Xavier Lopez and five men from his church in Bolivia. They came to see first-hand the blessings of God upon our ministry. I believe the five days we spent together will reap eternal rewards, as Bro. Lopez is excited about church planting in Bolivia. We enjoyed sweet fellowship.
We are looking forward to this next month, as we have launched two new Bible studies that have the potential to be churches before long. My family and I will be leaving Peru for ten days in August because of the children’s visa issues. My wife and I have our residency; however, Peru changed the laws while we were working on the children’s residency, and they ended up overstaying their visas. It is not a major problem; we just need to pay a fine and take the children out of the country so that we can begin again under the new laws. Please be in prayer that all will go well with this trip.
We are so grateful for your support of our family and this ministry. We are happy to be your ambassadors to Peru. Thank you!
For His glory,
Dan Hubbard
Thursday, July 25, 2013
June Prayer Letter from the Foust Family
Dear Praying Friends and Supporting Churches,
It often comes as a surprise that it is time again to write another prayer letter! We are actually a week late because it seems to us that time is flying. It is indeed a blessing to be involved in the Lord’s work. We love being busy serving the King of kings.
June was a very exciting month at the church plant in San Gabriel. We are so excited to report that we moved to our new building. We have been there for four weeks and have watched our attendance grow each week. We are extremely blessed to now have space to grow and a nice room for the children and babies. Last Sunday there were 18 children in class! These are largely children whose parents attend church with them, of course.
We are so excited to see whole families attending church together! We are praying that these dads, moms, and kids would continue to grow in the Lord and that our church would have a strong foundation of families built on Christ.We have started a Sunday evening service in San Gabriel. This has been a big blessing for many of our people who must work on Sunday mornings and afternoons. This service has also grown some each week. Last Sunday evening, July 8, we finished our evening service at 5:30 and then took a group of 22 people to IBI Chorrillos to help celebrate the 1st anniversary of our church there! What a blessing to see more than 200 people attend this service. Bro. Hubbard preached an excellent message reminding us to be thankful for the blessings of the year. When he asked for people to give a testimony of what God had done for them in the past year, person after person raised their hand and testified as to God’s saving grace in their lives, families put back together, and hope restored. At the end of the service, I was able to baptized 5 of our dear people from San Gabriel. What an awesome God we serve! We are thrilled to have had a part in this year of blessings!
Please, please continue to pray for Team Peru. We need your prayers, because we need God’s blessing more than ever before. We now have four churches in different parts of Lima; each of these churches and pastors need prayer support. We need prayer for those training for the ministry and those training to help as laymen in the church. We need prayer for our Bible institute. We need prayer for the families of the missionaries here as we continue to adjust to living in a third-world country and experience bouts of culture shock. We are so thankful for the prayer warriors we have supporting us; you encourage our hearts. Thank you.
One additional prayer request: I will be traveling to Moquegua by plane this month to preach for an anniversary service for a friend. While there I will be taking a look at two new churches started by Bro. Alan and Bro. Fernando, two young men who trained with us for a few months recently. These young men are doing a tremendous job. Please pray that I will be a blessing to these churches and that I will have safety in travel.
His for souls,
Zach and Karin Foust, Zachary, C.J., and Logan
It often comes as a surprise that it is time again to write another prayer letter! We are actually a week late because it seems to us that time is flying. It is indeed a blessing to be involved in the Lord’s work. We love being busy serving the King of kings.
June was a very exciting month at the church plant in San Gabriel. We are so excited to report that we moved to our new building. We have been there for four weeks and have watched our attendance grow each week. We are extremely blessed to now have space to grow and a nice room for the children and babies. Last Sunday there were 18 children in class! These are largely children whose parents attend church with them, of course.
We are so excited to see whole families attending church together! We are praying that these dads, moms, and kids would continue to grow in the Lord and that our church would have a strong foundation of families built on Christ.We have started a Sunday evening service in San Gabriel. This has been a big blessing for many of our people who must work on Sunday mornings and afternoons. This service has also grown some each week. Last Sunday evening, July 8, we finished our evening service at 5:30 and then took a group of 22 people to IBI Chorrillos to help celebrate the 1st anniversary of our church there! What a blessing to see more than 200 people attend this service. Bro. Hubbard preached an excellent message reminding us to be thankful for the blessings of the year. When he asked for people to give a testimony of what God had done for them in the past year, person after person raised their hand and testified as to God’s saving grace in their lives, families put back together, and hope restored. At the end of the service, I was able to baptized 5 of our dear people from San Gabriel. What an awesome God we serve! We are thrilled to have had a part in this year of blessings!
Please, please continue to pray for Team Peru. We need your prayers, because we need God’s blessing more than ever before. We now have four churches in different parts of Lima; each of these churches and pastors need prayer support. We need prayer for those training for the ministry and those training to help as laymen in the church. We need prayer for our Bible institute. We need prayer for the families of the missionaries here as we continue to adjust to living in a third-world country and experience bouts of culture shock. We are so thankful for the prayer warriors we have supporting us; you encourage our hearts. Thank you.
One additional prayer request: I will be traveling to Moquegua by plane this month to preach for an anniversary service for a friend. While there I will be taking a look at two new churches started by Bro. Alan and Bro. Fernando, two young men who trained with us for a few months recently. These young men are doing a tremendous job. Please pray that I will be a blessing to these churches and that I will have safety in travel.
His for souls,
Zach and Karin Foust, Zachary, C.J., and Logan
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
June Prayer Letter from the Rader Family
Dear Praying Friends,
Greetings from cool and cloudy Peru! That’s right. We are now in our winter season, but our ministry is fired-up and hotter than ever. All four churches and various Bible studies here are growing, and excitement is high. Every Sunday evening service we hear the reports from the pastors and workers of all the churches of how many came, how many were saved, and other blessings. It’s a HIGHLIGHT!
I am still in part-time language school with the construction moving full speed ahead. My wife is involved in nursery and special music. I am involved in Junior Church and special music. Bro. Abraham Avila does an outstanding job with the Junior Church. As my Spanish grows, he gives me more responsibilities. I am leading a few games, witnessing to visitors, and helping with crowd control.
Speaking of visitors, my wife and I both now have had visitors come on a regular basis, and many have been saved. One of our regular Peruvian members brought a friend two months ago named John. John was saved and baptized the same Sunday. A few weeks later, he started working with me on construction at the church. Since then he has come soul winning with me every week. In spite of my growing Spanish, I still read a lot of my written Gospel presentation, which I had translated. That first week we went soul winning together, I was a little discouraged for John’s sake. I read my Gospel presentation many times, but no one that day would quite let me finish. I did not know it at the time, but God was doing something marvelous in John’s heart. I gave my written presentation to John and asked him to study it. The next week John led his first soul to Christ. The following week he led his second soul. Two weeks later he led his third soul. He now helps with our invitations. Amen! Amen!
My wife has started training a young lady named Leslie to win souls. She is just as eager to learn as John. She went out soul winning for the first time with my wife; and later that same week, she and her mom,while out together, led their first 2 souls to Christ. Amen! Amen! Please pray for John and Leslie.
In our last letter, we mentioned our struggle concerning our permanent-residency status. It turns out that we do need to leave the country and re-enter. The cheapest arrangement we found is a trip to Ecuador in August. Please pray for the details to go as smoothly as possible. Another prayer request we have is also an announcement of one of life’s biggest blessings: please pray for the safe arrival of our third child into this world. That’s right—we’re expecting!
Many days here have been rich with blessings. May we always remember our friends back home who are helping to make it all possible. I wish you all could experience the life of a missionary, but I know we all have our part to play. Please pray that God will continue working here. We love you. Thank you for your love, your support, and your prayers. God bless you.
His for souls,
Mark, Sarah, Savannah,
Paul, & One More Rader
Greetings from cool and cloudy Peru! That’s right. We are now in our winter season, but our ministry is fired-up and hotter than ever. All four churches and various Bible studies here are growing, and excitement is high. Every Sunday evening service we hear the reports from the pastors and workers of all the churches of how many came, how many were saved, and other blessings. It’s a HIGHLIGHT!
I am still in part-time language school with the construction moving full speed ahead. My wife is involved in nursery and special music. I am involved in Junior Church and special music. Bro. Abraham Avila does an outstanding job with the Junior Church. As my Spanish grows, he gives me more responsibilities. I am leading a few games, witnessing to visitors, and helping with crowd control.
Speaking of visitors, my wife and I both now have had visitors come on a regular basis, and many have been saved. One of our regular Peruvian members brought a friend two months ago named John. John was saved and baptized the same Sunday. A few weeks later, he started working with me on construction at the church. Since then he has come soul winning with me every week. In spite of my growing Spanish, I still read a lot of my written Gospel presentation, which I had translated. That first week we went soul winning together, I was a little discouraged for John’s sake. I read my Gospel presentation many times, but no one that day would quite let me finish. I did not know it at the time, but God was doing something marvelous in John’s heart. I gave my written presentation to John and asked him to study it. The next week John led his first soul to Christ. The following week he led his second soul. Two weeks later he led his third soul. He now helps with our invitations. Amen! Amen!
My wife has started training a young lady named Leslie to win souls. She is just as eager to learn as John. She went out soul winning for the first time with my wife; and later that same week, she and her mom,while out together, led their first 2 souls to Christ. Amen! Amen! Please pray for John and Leslie.
In our last letter, we mentioned our struggle concerning our permanent-residency status. It turns out that we do need to leave the country and re-enter. The cheapest arrangement we found is a trip to Ecuador in August. Please pray for the details to go as smoothly as possible. Another prayer request we have is also an announcement of one of life’s biggest blessings: please pray for the safe arrival of our third child into this world. That’s right—we’re expecting!
Many days here have been rich with blessings. May we always remember our friends back home who are helping to make it all possible. I wish you all could experience the life of a missionary, but I know we all have our part to play. Please pray that God will continue working here. We love you. Thank you for your love, your support, and your prayers. God bless you.
His for souls,
Mark, Sarah, Savannah,
Paul, & One More Rader
Thursday, July 11, 2013
June Prayer Letter from the Kokubun Family
Dear Praying Friends,
One of the biggest joys of working in a growing ministry is getting to see our teenagers involved in the ministry themselves. The fact that we have already started three other churches means there are a lot of areas for our teenagers to serve. Many of them help with the other church plants, and some work in more than one! The young people teach children's classes, sing
specials, go soul winning, work in the nurseries, take down names and decisions in the services, serve as ushers, and clean the facilities. On Saturdays during our soul-winning time, along with visiting around our home-church area, we have also visited at all of the new church-plant locations. One weekend we went to San Gabriel, and our group was able to see 26 people saved. Another weekend we went to San Genaro and saw 14 people receive Christ! It's amazing to see the young people get
excited about reaching others for Christ.
Several months ago we had Bryan and Kevin join us for a teen activity. Soon we realized that they weren't coming for anything, and we began to hear stories of their mom, stories of how she was unreasonable and warnings to just leave her alone. In an attempt to win Bryan and Kevin back, I went one day and spoke to her. Contrary to what I had heard, she was kind and explained that her boys could attend but that she was waiting for someone to come to explain to her what our church was all about. I had a lengthy conversation with her that day, and that following weekend her boys came back to our church and were baptized. Several weeks later, she wanted to come to church. Her brother is a faithful member at our and encouraged her to come. She came, was saved, and the very next week got baptized!
By this time we had also heard stories of their dad, an alcoholic. The boys started requesting prayer for him, and not long
after that, he came and was saved. He even came back to church that night! He has continued coming faithfully, along with his wife and two sons, to each service we have. We thank God for this family! But, the story does not end there. Several
weeks ago, we had two more boys begin to attend our youth classes, and they just happened to be the nephews of Bryan and
Kevin. Both of them were also saved and actually spend the weekends with their grandparents (Bryan and Kevin's mom and dad.) Yesterday at church Bryan and Kevin's older brother and his wife came to church. They both received Christ's free salvation.
Praise God for this "whole household" that has come to the saving knowledge of Christ! God truly does miracles!
My wife and I have settled quickly into our new apartment. It's now painted with American colors (AKA neutrals—no hot pink walls for us!) and feels like home. We love being closer to the people God has called us to serve. It's good to know that our teenagers and people can walk to our home if they ever need anything.
Thank you for your prayers and giving. We indeed are most richly blessed.
Serving Him,
Daniel and Heather Kokubun
One of the biggest joys of working in a growing ministry is getting to see our teenagers involved in the ministry themselves. The fact that we have already started three other churches means there are a lot of areas for our teenagers to serve. Many of them help with the other church plants, and some work in more than one! The young people teach children's classes, sing
specials, go soul winning, work in the nurseries, take down names and decisions in the services, serve as ushers, and clean the facilities. On Saturdays during our soul-winning time, along with visiting around our home-church area, we have also visited at all of the new church-plant locations. One weekend we went to San Gabriel, and our group was able to see 26 people saved. Another weekend we went to San Genaro and saw 14 people receive Christ! It's amazing to see the young people get
excited about reaching others for Christ.
Several months ago we had Bryan and Kevin join us for a teen activity. Soon we realized that they weren't coming for anything, and we began to hear stories of their mom, stories of how she was unreasonable and warnings to just leave her alone. In an attempt to win Bryan and Kevin back, I went one day and spoke to her. Contrary to what I had heard, she was kind and explained that her boys could attend but that she was waiting for someone to come to explain to her what our church was all about. I had a lengthy conversation with her that day, and that following weekend her boys came back to our church and were baptized. Several weeks later, she wanted to come to church. Her brother is a faithful member at our and encouraged her to come. She came, was saved, and the very next week got baptized!
By this time we had also heard stories of their dad, an alcoholic. The boys started requesting prayer for him, and not long
after that, he came and was saved. He even came back to church that night! He has continued coming faithfully, along with his wife and two sons, to each service we have. We thank God for this family! But, the story does not end there. Several
weeks ago, we had two more boys begin to attend our youth classes, and they just happened to be the nephews of Bryan and
Kevin. Both of them were also saved and actually spend the weekends with their grandparents (Bryan and Kevin's mom and dad.) Yesterday at church Bryan and Kevin's older brother and his wife came to church. They both received Christ's free salvation.
Praise God for this "whole household" that has come to the saving knowledge of Christ! God truly does miracles!
My wife and I have settled quickly into our new apartment. It's now painted with American colors (AKA neutrals—no hot pink walls for us!) and feels like home. We love being closer to the people God has called us to serve. It's good to know that our teenagers and people can walk to our home if they ever need anything.
Thank you for your prayers and giving. We indeed are most richly blessed.
Serving Him,
Daniel and Heather Kokubun
June Prayer Letter from the Martin Family
Dear Praying Friends,
There is something very special about the name Pastor. With all the joy and excitement of starting a church, very quickly comes the reality of the name Pastor. Pastor is more than making visits and soul winning. Pastor is more than writing sermons and preaching. Pastor is usually always said by hurting people, people who need prayer, people who need counsel, people who need to be loved. That is the greatest part of being Pastor.
In the short life of IBI San Genaro, I have made two hospital visits and preached one funeral. For the last three Saturday nights, I have been preaching on trials and temptations to help our people realize how God is working in their lives . . . and He is! It is amazing to watch and be a part of this. God has blessed our young church.
Recently Arnol, a young man in our church, was released from the hospital after being stabbed seven times and spending seven days in a coma. I went to visit him with Jhonny Farfán, one of the men who helps me. While visiting him Jhonny was able to lead 5 of his family members to Christ! We took him home that day to meet many more of his family members and neighbors. God opened an amazing door for us, and in the next week, Jhonny should be starting a Bible study in this home. God is always working.
Last week I was also able to start a new Bible study in the home of one of our church men. José León has brought many people to church and has somewhat of “Christian” background. He has a heart to serve and a strong desire to grow. He was so excited when I offered the Bible study to him. I arrived on the first night and taught on eternal security. By the end of the night, 21 people came to hear the teaching. Please pray for this study and for this family. I believe God has something very special in the future for the León-Masgo family.
Of course, things are still booming at our main church in Villa Marina. It is hard to believe this Sunday we will be celebrating our one-year anniversary as a church. God has blessed us in a great way. We are still averaging over 100 in all of our Sunday services, and all three of our satellite churches are seeing growth. In the month of June, all of our ministries saw a total of 222 people come to know Christ.
One more story I have to share. One of the families we recently reached in San Genaro has three children. After our Saturday night service, they asked if they could come down and attend the children’s church in Villa Marina. “Of course,” I said. So, for the last three Sundays, I have been picking them up and taking them home each Sunday morning. Last week we were heading to their house after church, and Alexandra was talking to my wife. “Were you here in Peru last year?” she asked. “Yes!” said my wife. “We have been here exactly one year.” “You don’t remember us, do you!?” she said. Very surprised, my wife said, “What do you mean?” She began to tell us a story about when she and her two cousins followed a white lady around the market. She received a tract from our church and was told one day there would be a church in her neighborhood. She got her picture taken with the “white lady” and went home and wished that one day the “greingos” would have a church she could go to with her famiy. Immediately with amazement, my wife remembered! It was us. When our San Genaro church was only a dream, we met Alexandra and her cousins, never knowing our paths would cross again. Later that afternoon we found the picture taken in September—eight months before our church started! Now Alexandra, Piero, Esther, Benjamin, Ysabel, Sandra, Cristina, and Gresia are all on their way to Heaven. What an amazing God we serve!
July is going to be a great month. My birthday was today and our church’s anniversary is the end of this week. I am tempted to let you know all the blessings I have experienced already, but you will have to wait till next month! I know you love suspense (or you are already reading everything on Facebook). Besides there will be many more blessings to share.
Thank you to everyone who makes what we do possible. Your influence is making an incredible difference here in Lima and is felt in our personal lives every day. Thank you for your faithful giving and praying. Each of you are a great blessing to my wife and me. God bless you, and I cannot wait to tell you about July!
Your ambassadors to Perú,
Junior and Jessica Martin
Romans 9:3
There is something very special about the name Pastor. With all the joy and excitement of starting a church, very quickly comes the reality of the name Pastor. Pastor is more than making visits and soul winning. Pastor is more than writing sermons and preaching. Pastor is usually always said by hurting people, people who need prayer, people who need counsel, people who need to be loved. That is the greatest part of being Pastor.
In the short life of IBI San Genaro, I have made two hospital visits and preached one funeral. For the last three Saturday nights, I have been preaching on trials and temptations to help our people realize how God is working in their lives . . . and He is! It is amazing to watch and be a part of this. God has blessed our young church.
Recently Arnol, a young man in our church, was released from the hospital after being stabbed seven times and spending seven days in a coma. I went to visit him with Jhonny Farfán, one of the men who helps me. While visiting him Jhonny was able to lead 5 of his family members to Christ! We took him home that day to meet many more of his family members and neighbors. God opened an amazing door for us, and in the next week, Jhonny should be starting a Bible study in this home. God is always working.
Last week I was also able to start a new Bible study in the home of one of our church men. José León has brought many people to church and has somewhat of “Christian” background. He has a heart to serve and a strong desire to grow. He was so excited when I offered the Bible study to him. I arrived on the first night and taught on eternal security. By the end of the night, 21 people came to hear the teaching. Please pray for this study and for this family. I believe God has something very special in the future for the León-Masgo family.
Of course, things are still booming at our main church in Villa Marina. It is hard to believe this Sunday we will be celebrating our one-year anniversary as a church. God has blessed us in a great way. We are still averaging over 100 in all of our Sunday services, and all three of our satellite churches are seeing growth. In the month of June, all of our ministries saw a total of 222 people come to know Christ.
One more story I have to share. One of the families we recently reached in San Genaro has three children. After our Saturday night service, they asked if they could come down and attend the children’s church in Villa Marina. “Of course,” I said. So, for the last three Sundays, I have been picking them up and taking them home each Sunday morning. Last week we were heading to their house after church, and Alexandra was talking to my wife. “Were you here in Peru last year?” she asked. “Yes!” said my wife. “We have been here exactly one year.” “You don’t remember us, do you!?” she said. Very surprised, my wife said, “What do you mean?” She began to tell us a story about when she and her two cousins followed a white lady around the market. She received a tract from our church and was told one day there would be a church in her neighborhood. She got her picture taken with the “white lady” and went home and wished that one day the “greingos” would have a church she could go to with her famiy. Immediately with amazement, my wife remembered! It was us. When our San Genaro church was only a dream, we met Alexandra and her cousins, never knowing our paths would cross again. Later that afternoon we found the picture taken in September—eight months before our church started! Now Alexandra, Piero, Esther, Benjamin, Ysabel, Sandra, Cristina, and Gresia are all on their way to Heaven. What an amazing God we serve!
July is going to be a great month. My birthday was today and our church’s anniversary is the end of this week. I am tempted to let you know all the blessings I have experienced already, but you will have to wait till next month! I know you love suspense (or you are already reading everything on Facebook). Besides there will be many more blessings to share.
Thank you to everyone who makes what we do possible. Your influence is making an incredible difference here in Lima and is felt in our personal lives every day. Thank you for your faithful giving and praying. Each of you are a great blessing to my wife and me. God bless you, and I cannot wait to tell you about July!
Your ambassadors to Perú,
Junior and Jessica Martin
Romans 9:3
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
May Prayer Letter from the Avila Family
April/May 2013
Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,
Something special for your birthday! On May 28, I celebrated my 33rd my birthday in Lima, Peru. I had an important meeting that morning that I couldn’t miss. However, that afternoon I received a bombardment of hugs and kisses mixed with a “Happy birthday to you . . .” as I walked through my decorated apartment door. It was very heartwarming. There I stood with my book bag on my shoulder and team business on my mind surrounded by loving family. My mind drifted away to one thought, How did I get so blessed? I spent the remainder of the afternoon being lazy with my kiddos. Talk about fun!
I was sweetly and sincerely asked a question as I lay on the living room floor with my kiddos: “Daddy, when are we going to the store?” “What do you mean, Joaquin?” “Yeah, Dad, aren’t we going to buy you your toy?” What? “No, Lani, Daddy doesn’t need any toys.” “C’mon, Dad, I have money left over from my birthday. Let’s go!” “Thank you, Marco, but I think you should save your money.” “It’s okay, Dad. I want you to have it. You should have something special for your birthday.” “Oh, but I do, guys; I have my family with me.”
My family and I had been walking back home from a Bible study when we were stopped by our apartment complex security guard Peter. “You have a beautiful family!” “Thank you.” “No, for real, your kids are very respectable and obedient” “Really?!? Ummm, I mean thank you.” “You don’t understand. Not one child here has ever shaken my hand. Your children always greet me with a handshake. I also love how you don’t have to yell or chase them down when it’s time for them to stop playing at the park. All you do is call them and make a hand gesture.” “Thank you, thank you very much. Peter, can I tell you what has made a difference in our family?” Needless to say, I was able to witness to Peter on that brisk Peruvian evening. Praise the Lord!
I’d like to thank you for your continued prayers and support. We really couldn’t do what we do without you. Please know that you are also being prayed for by our family. We love and appreciate you very much.
Praises:
- One more church has taken us on for support: Open Door Baptist Church, Mesquite, Texas (Pastor Francisco J. Mendoza)
Prayer Requests:
- Safety for our family, our team leader Dan Hubbard, and the other families of Team Peru
- Additional monthly financial support
New Contact Information:
Abraham Avila (To avoid problems with our courier, correspondence must state my name and not “Avila family.”)
Caminos del Inca 2780, Block-C (Street name and house number)
Departamento #504 (Apartment number)
Urb. Prolongación Benavides (Residential zone)
Surco, Lima 15039 Perú (District, city, zip code, country)
219-378-8617
Thank you once again for your prayers and support.
Your co-laborers to Peru,
Abraham, Fabiola, Marco, Leilani, & Joaquin Avila
Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,
Something special for your birthday! On May 28, I celebrated my 33rd my birthday in Lima, Peru. I had an important meeting that morning that I couldn’t miss. However, that afternoon I received a bombardment of hugs and kisses mixed with a “Happy birthday to you . . .” as I walked through my decorated apartment door. It was very heartwarming. There I stood with my book bag on my shoulder and team business on my mind surrounded by loving family. My mind drifted away to one thought, How did I get so blessed? I spent the remainder of the afternoon being lazy with my kiddos. Talk about fun!
I was sweetly and sincerely asked a question as I lay on the living room floor with my kiddos: “Daddy, when are we going to the store?” “What do you mean, Joaquin?” “Yeah, Dad, aren’t we going to buy you your toy?” What? “No, Lani, Daddy doesn’t need any toys.” “C’mon, Dad, I have money left over from my birthday. Let’s go!” “Thank you, Marco, but I think you should save your money.” “It’s okay, Dad. I want you to have it. You should have something special for your birthday.” “Oh, but I do, guys; I have my family with me.”
My family and I had been walking back home from a Bible study when we were stopped by our apartment complex security guard Peter. “You have a beautiful family!” “Thank you.” “No, for real, your kids are very respectable and obedient” “Really?!? Ummm, I mean thank you.” “You don’t understand. Not one child here has ever shaken my hand. Your children always greet me with a handshake. I also love how you don’t have to yell or chase them down when it’s time for them to stop playing at the park. All you do is call them and make a hand gesture.” “Thank you, thank you very much. Peter, can I tell you what has made a difference in our family?” Needless to say, I was able to witness to Peter on that brisk Peruvian evening. Praise the Lord!
I’d like to thank you for your continued prayers and support. We really couldn’t do what we do without you. Please know that you are also being prayed for by our family. We love and appreciate you very much.
Praises:
- One more church has taken us on for support: Open Door Baptist Church, Mesquite, Texas (Pastor Francisco J. Mendoza)
Prayer Requests:
- Safety for our family, our team leader Dan Hubbard, and the other families of Team Peru
- Additional monthly financial support
New Contact Information:
Abraham Avila (To avoid problems with our courier, correspondence must state my name and not “Avila family.”)
Caminos del Inca 2780, Block-C (Street name and house number)
Departamento #504 (Apartment number)
Urb. Prolongación Benavides (Residential zone)
Surco, Lima 15039 Perú (District, city, zip code, country)
219-378-8617
Thank you once again for your prayers and support.
Your co-laborers to Peru,
Abraham, Fabiola, Marco, Leilani, & Joaquin Avila
Monday, June 10, 2013
May Prayer Letter from the Martin Family
Dear Praying Friends,
Wow, does time fly by! In less than two weeks, we will have been here in Perú for one year. This has been the most amazing year of our lives. It is amazing to look back at all that God has done for us over these last 11 months. This is a special time for us and we have a lot to be thankful for.
Today, was also a very special day for us personally. Tonight, we had our normal mid-week service at our San Genaro church plant. This service marked the one month anniversary of our church. I am so thrilled for the work that God has begun to do on our hill. God has blessed us with an amazing team that has jumped in and done a fantastic job. I do not know what has been the biggest blessing…the way that God is growing our church or the way that God is working in the lives of our workers. I truly believe the latter.
However, God is blessing IBI San Genaro in an amazing way. We have been averaging 40 in our Saturday night service and 20 in our mid-week service. To date, God has allowed us to see 22 people saved in our church services. God is so good to us! As an added blessing, I also was able to baptize one of our first converts at our Villa Marina church.
Three weeks ago, two of our ladies Ana and Alexandra, started our children’s program on Saturday night. This area is overflowing with children and gives us a great opportunity to reach not only these kids, but also their families. The last two weeks these ladies have had over 20 kids in their class and many saved! It is such a blessing to witness both the growth of this ministry and of these ladies.
Running full-speed ahead, on May 19, our fourth church started in the neighboring district of Surco. This was a huge answer to prayer. Ezequiel Martinez has been doing a great job with our group from Surco and now with the church. On their first Sunday, they had 28 in attendance, with two saved. Please continue to pray for this growing work.
Of course, God is still blessing our main church in Villa Marina. With all of the changes being implemented, our people have remained faithful and our numbers have been stable. We are looking to start new Bible studies in the upcoming weeks and are now preparing for our fourth week of Bible Institute that will be starting next week. Mark Rader, along with many of our church men, has continued the work of building and improving our current property in order for us to have a beautiful, first-class church.
Please continue to pray for our ministry, especially now as we are intensifying the training of our church people to fill in the voids created by the starting of these churches. God has blessed us with some amazing families with enormous potential. I am excited to see what the future holds for them.
With our eyes on the future, I do not want to forget about the present. God allowed us to see a total of 179 people saved in the month of May! This is an incredible blessing but we still have a lot of work to do. Thank you to each and everyone of you who make all we do possible through your prayers and support. Thank you for being part of our team. God bless you all!
Your ambassadors to Perú,
Junior and Jessica Martin
Romans 9:3
Wow, does time fly by! In less than two weeks, we will have been here in Perú for one year. This has been the most amazing year of our lives. It is amazing to look back at all that God has done for us over these last 11 months. This is a special time for us and we have a lot to be thankful for.
Today, was also a very special day for us personally. Tonight, we had our normal mid-week service at our San Genaro church plant. This service marked the one month anniversary of our church. I am so thrilled for the work that God has begun to do on our hill. God has blessed us with an amazing team that has jumped in and done a fantastic job. I do not know what has been the biggest blessing…the way that God is growing our church or the way that God is working in the lives of our workers. I truly believe the latter.
However, God is blessing IBI San Genaro in an amazing way. We have been averaging 40 in our Saturday night service and 20 in our mid-week service. To date, God has allowed us to see 22 people saved in our church services. God is so good to us! As an added blessing, I also was able to baptize one of our first converts at our Villa Marina church.
Three weeks ago, two of our ladies Ana and Alexandra, started our children’s program on Saturday night. This area is overflowing with children and gives us a great opportunity to reach not only these kids, but also their families. The last two weeks these ladies have had over 20 kids in their class and many saved! It is such a blessing to witness both the growth of this ministry and of these ladies.
Running full-speed ahead, on May 19, our fourth church started in the neighboring district of Surco. This was a huge answer to prayer. Ezequiel Martinez has been doing a great job with our group from Surco and now with the church. On their first Sunday, they had 28 in attendance, with two saved. Please continue to pray for this growing work.
Of course, God is still blessing our main church in Villa Marina. With all of the changes being implemented, our people have remained faithful and our numbers have been stable. We are looking to start new Bible studies in the upcoming weeks and are now preparing for our fourth week of Bible Institute that will be starting next week. Mark Rader, along with many of our church men, has continued the work of building and improving our current property in order for us to have a beautiful, first-class church.
Please continue to pray for our ministry, especially now as we are intensifying the training of our church people to fill in the voids created by the starting of these churches. God has blessed us with some amazing families with enormous potential. I am excited to see what the future holds for them.
With our eyes on the future, I do not want to forget about the present. God allowed us to see a total of 179 people saved in the month of May! This is an incredible blessing but we still have a lot of work to do. Thank you to each and everyone of you who make all we do possible through your prayers and support. Thank you for being part of our team. God bless you all!
Your ambassadors to Perú,
Junior and Jessica Martin
Romans 9:3
Thursday, June 6, 2013
May Prayer Letter from the Kokubun Family
Dear Friends,
Since the name of the game Dodge Ball in English isn't thrilling enough, someone decided to spice it up in Spanish and call it "Kill people." The young people love it here and one Friday night this month we had 30 teenagers to show up in the park to play. The kids not only had a good time, but they got to taste "Mexican nachos" for the first time. My wife made all the fixings, and after several hours of play, we invited many of the new kids to the church to eat with us.
After a time of fellowship, I divided up several of my teenage young men and we witnessed to the visitors who had been attracted by our game of "Kill people." That night, seven young men bowed their heads and received Christ as their personal Savior. One of our faithful teenage boys, Josel, (Who I wrote about in our last letter) got to lead his first two souls to Christ that day. Our teenagers got pumped that night, and between Friday night and Saturday, our group was able to see 24 people get saved! It's amazing what God is doing here.
We're excited to announce that church number four began several weeks ago in a district nearby named Surco! Bro. Ezekiel Martinez is pastoring there, and for their first service they had 28 in attendance with two people saved. We have a solid group of people from our church who come from Surco each week, so there is a good core of people who are attending this church and helping Bro. Martinez!
Our church in Chorrillos is continuing to grow! Construction is constantly underway. We now have an all purpose room we are able to use for our children on Sunday mornings, and a nursery upstairs. Previously, we have been renting locations at places nearby. It's a blessing to have both of these new rooms on site with our church. Because Lima is such a night city, Sunday
evenings are usually when our biggest crowd shows up. It's exciting to see our building fill up with people! Last Sunday night, we had 4 visitors. The Peruvians we have trained to soul win are now turning around and training other Peruvians to soul win. So when it came time for invitation, we had them separated in groups of three: the visitor, soul winner, and trainee. What a blessing it is to see growth in the lives of these new Peruvian believers.
We just recently finished our third in home Bible study. We are excited to begin our fourth in just a couple of weeks. On a personal note, we have been very busy packing up boxes and preparing for a move! God recently opened up the door for us to move into the city. The most exciting part of this move is that it will allow us to be closer to the people; the people we came here to reach.
Thank you for your continued prayers concerning our ministry. We could not do what we do without each of you.
Serving Him,
Daniel and Heather
Since the name of the game Dodge Ball in English isn't thrilling enough, someone decided to spice it up in Spanish and call it "Kill people." The young people love it here and one Friday night this month we had 30 teenagers to show up in the park to play. The kids not only had a good time, but they got to taste "Mexican nachos" for the first time. My wife made all the fixings, and after several hours of play, we invited many of the new kids to the church to eat with us.
After a time of fellowship, I divided up several of my teenage young men and we witnessed to the visitors who had been attracted by our game of "Kill people." That night, seven young men bowed their heads and received Christ as their personal Savior. One of our faithful teenage boys, Josel, (Who I wrote about in our last letter) got to lead his first two souls to Christ that day. Our teenagers got pumped that night, and between Friday night and Saturday, our group was able to see 24 people get saved! It's amazing what God is doing here.
We're excited to announce that church number four began several weeks ago in a district nearby named Surco! Bro. Ezekiel Martinez is pastoring there, and for their first service they had 28 in attendance with two people saved. We have a solid group of people from our church who come from Surco each week, so there is a good core of people who are attending this church and helping Bro. Martinez!
Our church in Chorrillos is continuing to grow! Construction is constantly underway. We now have an all purpose room we are able to use for our children on Sunday mornings, and a nursery upstairs. Previously, we have been renting locations at places nearby. It's a blessing to have both of these new rooms on site with our church. Because Lima is such a night city, Sunday
evenings are usually when our biggest crowd shows up. It's exciting to see our building fill up with people! Last Sunday night, we had 4 visitors. The Peruvians we have trained to soul win are now turning around and training other Peruvians to soul win. So when it came time for invitation, we had them separated in groups of three: the visitor, soul winner, and trainee. What a blessing it is to see growth in the lives of these new Peruvian believers.
We just recently finished our third in home Bible study. We are excited to begin our fourth in just a couple of weeks. On a personal note, we have been very busy packing up boxes and preparing for a move! God recently opened up the door for us to move into the city. The most exciting part of this move is that it will allow us to be closer to the people; the people we came here to reach.
Thank you for your continued prayers concerning our ministry. We could not do what we do without each of you.
Serving Him,
Daniel and Heather
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
May Prayer Letter from the Foust Family
May 28, 2013
Dear Praying Friends and Supporting Churches,
It certainly has been a busy time here in Lima, Peru! What a blessing it is to be allowed the privilege of serving the King of kings here in South America! As our ministry grows here, we experience the increased workload and responsibilities of caring for a great number of people, mostly new Christians. We thank God for these responsibilities and ask that you continue to pray for that we would walk worthy of our calling and that we would care for these precious ones as Christ would do.
IBI of Chorrillos has continued to grow week by week. We have now reached the stage where the Peruvian people are training more Peruvian people how to win souls to Christ. This is very exciting to watch, as it strengthens the faith of both and encourages us all to reach more for Him! Additionally, the institute has been going well. This past month we taught a class on “Teaching,” and many in the church are now showing interest in teaching Sunday school and Bible studies.
Our church in San Gabriel continues to grow. We are especially encouraged to see that the people have an appetite for winning souls. Some are now helping in the invitation time and witnessing to family, friends, and coworkers! Additionally, we are now ready to sign the contract to rent a very nice building only a block away from the house in which we now meet! We will have plenty of space to grow in our new place, and the children and nursery will have a separate room. We are praising the Lord for this great opportunity. The landlords met with us recently, and while we were viewing the building, some of our teens who were soul winning nearby came up to check out the new place. They began to sing a special that they have been practicing, “I Will Serve Thee.” Their song touched the hearts of the couple, and they came to the service that evening,
where they both trusted Christ!
Our family continues to do well. We feel the effects of homesickness at times, but we rejoice that God has allowed us to be a part of this great undertaking. The boys are doing very well. Their Spanish is coming along; they all communicate with friends here with little trouble. Logan was excited to lead his first 2 souls to Christ this month! We are happy to be serving the Lord here with our family!
Please continue to pray for us. We need your prayers each day.
His for souls,
Zach and Karin Foust, Zachary, C.J., and Logan
Dear Praying Friends and Supporting Churches,
It certainly has been a busy time here in Lima, Peru! What a blessing it is to be allowed the privilege of serving the King of kings here in South America! As our ministry grows here, we experience the increased workload and responsibilities of caring for a great number of people, mostly new Christians. We thank God for these responsibilities and ask that you continue to pray for that we would walk worthy of our calling and that we would care for these precious ones as Christ would do.
IBI of Chorrillos has continued to grow week by week. We have now reached the stage where the Peruvian people are training more Peruvian people how to win souls to Christ. This is very exciting to watch, as it strengthens the faith of both and encourages us all to reach more for Him! Additionally, the institute has been going well. This past month we taught a class on “Teaching,” and many in the church are now showing interest in teaching Sunday school and Bible studies.
Our church in San Gabriel continues to grow. We are especially encouraged to see that the people have an appetite for winning souls. Some are now helping in the invitation time and witnessing to family, friends, and coworkers! Additionally, we are now ready to sign the contract to rent a very nice building only a block away from the house in which we now meet! We will have plenty of space to grow in our new place, and the children and nursery will have a separate room. We are praising the Lord for this great opportunity. The landlords met with us recently, and while we were viewing the building, some of our teens who were soul winning nearby came up to check out the new place. They began to sing a special that they have been practicing, “I Will Serve Thee.” Their song touched the hearts of the couple, and they came to the service that evening,
where they both trusted Christ!
Our family continues to do well. We feel the effects of homesickness at times, but we rejoice that God has allowed us to be a part of this great undertaking. The boys are doing very well. Their Spanish is coming along; they all communicate with friends here with little trouble. Logan was excited to lead his first 2 souls to Christ this month! We are happy to be serving the Lord here with our family!
Please continue to pray for us. We need your prayers each day.
His for souls,
Zach and Karin Foust, Zachary, C.J., and Logan
Friday, May 31, 2013
May Prayer Letter from the Hubbard Family
Dear Praying Friends,
New life and new growth have been all about us these past two months. We are thrilled to report that my wife safely delivered our fifth child on Thursday, April 11, 2013, here in Peru! We named him Luke Daniel Hubbard. The name Luke means “giver of light.” It is our prayer that he will be reared for just that purpose. He is truly a blessing, and the family is acclimating quickly to him. He has a house full of people who love him dearly.
Likewise, we’ve seen new life in many converts who have been won to Christ in the last several months. I thrill to see “the light turn on” in the eyes of one as he understands the truth of the Gospel. I recently began a new eleven-week Bible study in yet another home of some of our converts. I’ve been able to lead many of their family and friends to the Lord since its beginning.
Our growth continues to be steady and sure in the church. We are consistently seeing souls added to the church. More people are getting involved in the Bible-study programs, the monthly Bible seminary, weekly soul winning, and other avenues of service. God has graciously answered our prayers in providing a building for both the churches of San Genaro and Surco! These are churches we requested prayer for in our last several letters. So the work continues to grow and build! Praise the Lord!
We recently got word that the two young Bible-college students who spent their summer learning from us and helping start one of our churches have begun two Bible studies in Southern Peru that will soon be independent churches! Their pastor learned of our ministry and asked if he could send two of his workers to learn about discipling and church planting. We are rejoicing, as we are beginning to see the vision unfold. They are set to begin these new works and many others!
We are excited as we look toward the future. We will be putting much work into the establishing of our next two churches, as well as continuing our investment of time and effort in our first two churches. Please be in prayer for our team, our family, and the work here in Peru. We are well aware that with the establishing of each new church, the enemy is that much more displeased. We covet your prayers.
I marvel as I look back on the ten-plus months we’ve been here in Peru . . . and all that GOD has done; and yet, as I drive
into the mountains and see the vast expanse of Lima alone, I am made aware that there is still so much to do. Thank you
for seeing our vision, investing in that vision, and remaining faithful to your commitment of prayer and giving. Truly we
are experiencing a miracle, and it is ALL fruit to your account.
For His glory,
Dan Hubbard
New life and new growth have been all about us these past two months. We are thrilled to report that my wife safely delivered our fifth child on Thursday, April 11, 2013, here in Peru! We named him Luke Daniel Hubbard. The name Luke means “giver of light.” It is our prayer that he will be reared for just that purpose. He is truly a blessing, and the family is acclimating quickly to him. He has a house full of people who love him dearly.
Likewise, we’ve seen new life in many converts who have been won to Christ in the last several months. I thrill to see “the light turn on” in the eyes of one as he understands the truth of the Gospel. I recently began a new eleven-week Bible study in yet another home of some of our converts. I’ve been able to lead many of their family and friends to the Lord since its beginning.
Our growth continues to be steady and sure in the church. We are consistently seeing souls added to the church. More people are getting involved in the Bible-study programs, the monthly Bible seminary, weekly soul winning, and other avenues of service. God has graciously answered our prayers in providing a building for both the churches of San Genaro and Surco! These are churches we requested prayer for in our last several letters. So the work continues to grow and build! Praise the Lord!
We recently got word that the two young Bible-college students who spent their summer learning from us and helping start one of our churches have begun two Bible studies in Southern Peru that will soon be independent churches! Their pastor learned of our ministry and asked if he could send two of his workers to learn about discipling and church planting. We are rejoicing, as we are beginning to see the vision unfold. They are set to begin these new works and many others!
We are excited as we look toward the future. We will be putting much work into the establishing of our next two churches, as well as continuing our investment of time and effort in our first two churches. Please be in prayer for our team, our family, and the work here in Peru. We are well aware that with the establishing of each new church, the enemy is that much more displeased. We covet your prayers.
I marvel as I look back on the ten-plus months we’ve been here in Peru . . . and all that GOD has done; and yet, as I drive
into the mountains and see the vast expanse of Lima alone, I am made aware that there is still so much to do. Thank you
for seeing our vision, investing in that vision, and remaining faithful to your commitment of prayer and giving. Truly we
are experiencing a miracle, and it is ALL fruit to your account.
For His glory,
Dan Hubbard
Sunday, May 19, 2013
April Prayer Letter from the Kokubuns
Dear Praying Friends,
One of the goals of our team is making disciples. Since day one, we have been working to not only lead many to Christ but also to train them to go and do likewise. In less than a year, we have seen God do some amazing work in the hearts of some of our members. One such family is whom I would like to tell you about today.
Mayerlomi began coming to church with her daughter several months after we had started our little church on the corner. She had been attending a different church for quite some time, but when she came to Iglesia Internacional, she saw something different. Soon Camila, Mayerlomi's daughter, received Christ and decided to get baptized. That day many of their family members came to church to see her get baptized. This included Mayerlomi's husband Luis and their two sons, Luis and Josel. At the time of the invitation, Luis, Luis Jr, and Josel all received a clear explanation of the Gospel. On the same day, all three of them got saved. God began doing a miracle in their family. They began faithfully attending our services and getting involved. Several weeks later my wife and I invited their family over for Sunday dinner. During sweet fellowship we asked them how they would feel about hosting a Bible study in their home. Two weeks later, after they had put a fresh coat of paint on their living room, we began a Bible study in their home.
This sweet family now has a major role in our church. Luis, the father, works for our church doing construction during the week. Each of them knows how to win souls and now help during our invitation time at church. They have also witnessed to many of their family members and brought them to church. Just last week Luis' sister got baptized. Their boys, Luis and Josel, are very involved in our youth group. They show up at each service and activity eager to get involved and learn. Their dispositions have changed too. When they first came, their faces were very hard. Now you can't get them to stop smiling!
After we finished doing the 11-week Bible study in their' home, they began coming with us to our next Bible study, where Luis has been learning how to lead his own Bible study. He has been growing in His walk with God and has spoken with me several times about becoming a pastor and serving God with his life.
This month one of our team members, Junior Martin, will be starting a church in an area of town called San Genaro. Luis is stepping up to the plate and assisting in this church. Please pray for him and his family as they become involved in this new church plant. Thank you for your prayers! God is doing great things in our midst!
Your co-laborers for Christ,
Daniel and Heather Kokubun
One of the goals of our team is making disciples. Since day one, we have been working to not only lead many to Christ but also to train them to go and do likewise. In less than a year, we have seen God do some amazing work in the hearts of some of our members. One such family is whom I would like to tell you about today.
Mayerlomi began coming to church with her daughter several months after we had started our little church on the corner. She had been attending a different church for quite some time, but when she came to Iglesia Internacional, she saw something different. Soon Camila, Mayerlomi's daughter, received Christ and decided to get baptized. That day many of their family members came to church to see her get baptized. This included Mayerlomi's husband Luis and their two sons, Luis and Josel. At the time of the invitation, Luis, Luis Jr, and Josel all received a clear explanation of the Gospel. On the same day, all three of them got saved. God began doing a miracle in their family. They began faithfully attending our services and getting involved. Several weeks later my wife and I invited their family over for Sunday dinner. During sweet fellowship we asked them how they would feel about hosting a Bible study in their home. Two weeks later, after they had put a fresh coat of paint on their living room, we began a Bible study in their home.
This sweet family now has a major role in our church. Luis, the father, works for our church doing construction during the week. Each of them knows how to win souls and now help during our invitation time at church. They have also witnessed to many of their family members and brought them to church. Just last week Luis' sister got baptized. Their boys, Luis and Josel, are very involved in our youth group. They show up at each service and activity eager to get involved and learn. Their dispositions have changed too. When they first came, their faces were very hard. Now you can't get them to stop smiling!
After we finished doing the 11-week Bible study in their' home, they began coming with us to our next Bible study, where Luis has been learning how to lead his own Bible study. He has been growing in His walk with God and has spoken with me several times about becoming a pastor and serving God with his life.
This month one of our team members, Junior Martin, will be starting a church in an area of town called San Genaro. Luis is stepping up to the plate and assisting in this church. Please pray for him and his family as they become involved in this new church plant. Thank you for your prayers! God is doing great things in our midst!
Your co-laborers for Christ,
Daniel and Heather Kokubun
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
April Prayer Letter from the Martin Family
Dear Praying Friends,
“It is May 10, and I haven’t written the prayer letter yet!!!” This outburst just occurred a second ago here in our living room. Okay, maybe I was a bit over-dramatic. Maybe I have said something similar to this to my wife over the last ten days. It’s been a little hectic, but busy is good. God has given us a lot of blessings to share. “. . . wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?” (Luke 2:49)
April was an incredibly busy month, especially leading into the first of May. I know I should technically wait till next month, but of course the biggest news is the planting of our third church. For many months, many of you have seen my heart for the area of San Genaro and have joined me in prayer for the opportunity to start a church in this area. On April 11 this dream became a reality, as God led us to an ideal building, and we signed the contract on April 15. This is a huge answer to prayer. Since securing the building, God has given me a great team of eleven of our church people to help me in this new work. It has been a great encouragement to me to work side by side with these men, women, and teenagers and watch them grow and serve.
May 4 was the date we set for the launching of our church. For several reasons we chose to make our church plant a different type of pattern. Our main service is on Saturday night, and our midweek service is on Tuesday night. This gives the people we reach the opportunity to attend services in our main church, as well as allows Jessica and me to maintain our involvement in Villa Marina.
May 4 came, and what a day it was. That morning we went up the hill with our team and all of the teenagers of our church and blanketed the marketplace with tracts, inviting people to our service. Church time came, and God blessed in an amazing way. We had 38 in our first service, with 4 people saved! To God be the glory! There are too many blessings to count from that first service. We had several visitors attend, as well as some families I have been working on for a while. Please continue to pray for the future growth of our young church. We have a bright future and whole lot of work to do.
God opened another door for us in April that we have been praying about for a long time. Our fourth church plant will be in the neighboring district of Surco where we already have a base of people coming to our church. This church will be under the direction of Ezequiel Martinez. Zeke currently has a Bible study here averaging over 20 each week. The exact same week I signed on our San Genaro property, God gave Zeke a great local for his church. Please pray for this work and for the Martinez family, as they will have their first church service on May 19.
In addition to all the newness, God has continued to bless our main church in Villa Marina. Our attendance has steadily increased over the last month as we have averaged 132 in our Sunday services, with our highest Sunday night attendance of 150. With all of our Bible studies and our San Gabriel church plant, we are averaging over 240 different people attending at least one of our services each week! God is amazing! Thank you for making all this possible. In the month of April, God allowed us to see a total of 182 souls saved through our ministry here. Thank you for the privilege of adding fruit to your account.
There is one story that I must tell. Since December, I have done a great deal of print and design work with a lady named Flor, who owns a print business here in Chorrillos. I have developed a great relationship with her and her employees, and she has done a great job for us. One day I walked in to get some work done, and, like always, she asked me how I was doing. Jokingly I said, “Busy, tired, but always good.” She laughed and said, “You know, you always say that. No matter what, you are always good and always happy.” I quickly realized God was giving me an opportunity that I had prayed for. I began to explain to Flor what makes the difference in my life. After several minutes in her shop, Flor bowed her head and asked Jesus into her heart. Afterwards she took one of our tracts out of her desk and said, “I have printed thousands of these tracts and read them more than ten times and never understood what the verses meant. Thank you for explaining it to me.” Since that day, every time I walk into her shop and ask her how she is doing, she answers, “Always and forever good!”
Thank you for the difference you are making here in Lima. Thank you for allowing us to represent you here in Peru.
Your ambassadors to Perú,
Junior and Jessica Martin
Romans 9:3
“It is May 10, and I haven’t written the prayer letter yet!!!” This outburst just occurred a second ago here in our living room. Okay, maybe I was a bit over-dramatic. Maybe I have said something similar to this to my wife over the last ten days. It’s been a little hectic, but busy is good. God has given us a lot of blessings to share. “. . . wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?” (Luke 2:49)
April was an incredibly busy month, especially leading into the first of May. I know I should technically wait till next month, but of course the biggest news is the planting of our third church. For many months, many of you have seen my heart for the area of San Genaro and have joined me in prayer for the opportunity to start a church in this area. On April 11 this dream became a reality, as God led us to an ideal building, and we signed the contract on April 15. This is a huge answer to prayer. Since securing the building, God has given me a great team of eleven of our church people to help me in this new work. It has been a great encouragement to me to work side by side with these men, women, and teenagers and watch them grow and serve.
May 4 was the date we set for the launching of our church. For several reasons we chose to make our church plant a different type of pattern. Our main service is on Saturday night, and our midweek service is on Tuesday night. This gives the people we reach the opportunity to attend services in our main church, as well as allows Jessica and me to maintain our involvement in Villa Marina.
May 4 came, and what a day it was. That morning we went up the hill with our team and all of the teenagers of our church and blanketed the marketplace with tracts, inviting people to our service. Church time came, and God blessed in an amazing way. We had 38 in our first service, with 4 people saved! To God be the glory! There are too many blessings to count from that first service. We had several visitors attend, as well as some families I have been working on for a while. Please continue to pray for the future growth of our young church. We have a bright future and whole lot of work to do.
God opened another door for us in April that we have been praying about for a long time. Our fourth church plant will be in the neighboring district of Surco where we already have a base of people coming to our church. This church will be under the direction of Ezequiel Martinez. Zeke currently has a Bible study here averaging over 20 each week. The exact same week I signed on our San Genaro property, God gave Zeke a great local for his church. Please pray for this work and for the Martinez family, as they will have their first church service on May 19.
In addition to all the newness, God has continued to bless our main church in Villa Marina. Our attendance has steadily increased over the last month as we have averaged 132 in our Sunday services, with our highest Sunday night attendance of 150. With all of our Bible studies and our San Gabriel church plant, we are averaging over 240 different people attending at least one of our services each week! God is amazing! Thank you for making all this possible. In the month of April, God allowed us to see a total of 182 souls saved through our ministry here. Thank you for the privilege of adding fruit to your account.
There is one story that I must tell. Since December, I have done a great deal of print and design work with a lady named Flor, who owns a print business here in Chorrillos. I have developed a great relationship with her and her employees, and she has done a great job for us. One day I walked in to get some work done, and, like always, she asked me how I was doing. Jokingly I said, “Busy, tired, but always good.” She laughed and said, “You know, you always say that. No matter what, you are always good and always happy.” I quickly realized God was giving me an opportunity that I had prayed for. I began to explain to Flor what makes the difference in my life. After several minutes in her shop, Flor bowed her head and asked Jesus into her heart. Afterwards she took one of our tracts out of her desk and said, “I have printed thousands of these tracts and read them more than ten times and never understood what the verses meant. Thank you for explaining it to me.” Since that day, every time I walk into her shop and ask her how she is doing, she answers, “Always and forever good!”
Thank you for the difference you are making here in Lima. Thank you for allowing us to represent you here in Peru.
Your ambassadors to Perú,
Junior and Jessica Martin
Romans 9:3
Monday, May 6, 2013
March/ April Prayer Letter from the Rader Family
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
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
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
March Prayer Letter from the Foust Family
Dear Pastors and Praying Friends,
Much has happened here in Lima, Peru, since our last prayer letter in March! We are rejoicing in the blessings that God has given and are anticipating even more as He works on the hearts of the Peruvian people. In the area of San Gabriel alone, more than 85 people have come to know Christ as their personal Saviour since our last prayer letter. Two new Bible studies have been started in this church plant as well. Each Bible study that we conduct in someone’s home meets for 11 weeks studying the basic foundational doctrines of the Bible. We are excited because both of these new Bible studies are being directed by Peruvian men who were trained by members of the Peru Team.
When our church in Chorrillos was started, I was privileged to lead a man named Paul Yanez to Christ. He became my soul-winning partner and a good friend. Paul worked with me in the Bible study at the house of Jose Salazar and then helped me start the church in San Gabriel. Now Paul is conducting his own Bible study in the neighborhood. He is doing a fabulous job, and he really has a heart to help the people. Recently at the end of an evening of studying God’s Word, the people at this study asked Paul
to show them how to win souls to Christ. They were anxious to witness at their places of employment and to their relatives but were unsure how to explain the Gospel effectively. Paul was thrilled to instruct them, and we are thrilled that God is using Paul to teach others to testify of God’s grace!
Another man from the church in Chorrillos also started a Bible study in San Gabriel. Bro. Jhonny went up on a Wednesday to go soul winning and to try to find someone in the area who would be willing to have a Bible study in their home. He was riding a combi (“type of a bus”) and accidently went a bit too far and got lost. He got off of the combi in an area called La Chancheria (“the pig place”) and asked a family there how to get back to the area where our church is. They were able to help him, and he then witnessed to this family, who all trusted Christ as Saviour! He then asked if anyone in the area might be interested in having a Bible study in their home and was directed to a small store because the family that owned it might know someone who would want to learn about the Bible. Jhonny entered the store and led the family to Christ, and they agreed to have a Bible study in their home! This family then came to church last Sunday! In all, about 25 people have come to Christ in the area of La Chancheria, and a regular Bible study has been established there. Please pray for these two Bible studies. We are currently looking to start another Bible study with another young man who works with us in San Gabriel.
Please also pray for our church to continue to grow and that we would find a building in which to meet very soon!
His for souls,
Zach and Karin Foust, Zachary, C.J., and Logan
Much has happened here in Lima, Peru, since our last prayer letter in March! We are rejoicing in the blessings that God has given and are anticipating even more as He works on the hearts of the Peruvian people. In the area of San Gabriel alone, more than 85 people have come to know Christ as their personal Saviour since our last prayer letter. Two new Bible studies have been started in this church plant as well. Each Bible study that we conduct in someone’s home meets for 11 weeks studying the basic foundational doctrines of the Bible. We are excited because both of these new Bible studies are being directed by Peruvian men who were trained by members of the Peru Team.
When our church in Chorrillos was started, I was privileged to lead a man named Paul Yanez to Christ. He became my soul-winning partner and a good friend. Paul worked with me in the Bible study at the house of Jose Salazar and then helped me start the church in San Gabriel. Now Paul is conducting his own Bible study in the neighborhood. He is doing a fabulous job, and he really has a heart to help the people. Recently at the end of an evening of studying God’s Word, the people at this study asked Paul
to show them how to win souls to Christ. They were anxious to witness at their places of employment and to their relatives but were unsure how to explain the Gospel effectively. Paul was thrilled to instruct them, and we are thrilled that God is using Paul to teach others to testify of God’s grace!
Another man from the church in Chorrillos also started a Bible study in San Gabriel. Bro. Jhonny went up on a Wednesday to go soul winning and to try to find someone in the area who would be willing to have a Bible study in their home. He was riding a combi (“type of a bus”) and accidently went a bit too far and got lost. He got off of the combi in an area called La Chancheria (“the pig place”) and asked a family there how to get back to the area where our church is. They were able to help him, and he then witnessed to this family, who all trusted Christ as Saviour! He then asked if anyone in the area might be interested in having a Bible study in their home and was directed to a small store because the family that owned it might know someone who would want to learn about the Bible. Jhonny entered the store and led the family to Christ, and they agreed to have a Bible study in their home! This family then came to church last Sunday! In all, about 25 people have come to Christ in the area of La Chancheria, and a regular Bible study has been established there. Please pray for these two Bible studies. We are currently looking to start another Bible study with another young man who works with us in San Gabriel.
Please also pray for our church to continue to grow and that we would find a building in which to meet very soon!
His for souls,
Zach and Karin Foust, Zachary, C.J., and Logan
Friday, April 12, 2013
March Prayer Letter from the Avila Family
Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,
The flowers are dying of envy!
On March 22, my wife celebrated her 33rd birthday in Lima, Peru. She enjoyed a great haircut and a wonderful meal. I told her she looked very pretty. She smiled and said, “Really, you think so?” “Yes, Honey, I do.”
A few days later, we were coming back from soul winning with the church, and we made an impromptu stop at the flower market near our house. I asked her to pick whichever flowers she wanted, and she gladly agreed. An armful of flowers later, we were headed back home but not before we stopped at my favorite bakery. As I finished paying for my bread, I turn around to see my kiddos and my wife talking to Jose, a nice elderly man who has taken a liking to my family and me since the first time we met. He asked us about our day, and we made small talk for a good 3-5 minutes. He complemented Faby on her flowers and told her they were beautiful but that they were dying of envy (Spanish: Se están muriendo de envidia.) She smiled, I smiled, he smiled, and then we all said good bye. Faby looked at me as we walked back home and said, “What does that mean? ‘They are dying of envy’.?” So I explained to it her. “Honey, he says that you are prettier than the flowers.” I smiled and then said, “See, I told you you’re pretty” :) Oh, my wife, she was given a compliment and didn’t even realize it. Hey, wait a minute! That elderly man was flirting with my wife!
Can you help me?
Lucas is one of the boys who has been with the church almost since day one. I remember the day he walked through the doors of the bus we had rented to house our Junior Church. I remember leading him to the Lord that day. But on this Sunday evening he raised his hand during the invitation. I walked over to him and asked if he knew why he raised his hand. He said, “I don’t know if I’m really saved. Can you help me?” I walked Lucas over to some empty chairs so that we could talk. I could tell he was embarrassed. I started to make small talk with him to put him at ease. I started showing him Scriptures on eternal security, and I started to give him an illustration. I could tell he was “getting it” when he cut me off and started to give me illustrations from my Sunday school class. He would say, “Oh, right! Like when you said in class . . . .” He went on and on for a good five minutes giving
me illustrations he had learned from Sunday school. I sat back in my chair with a smile as he said, “Don’t worry, Bro. Abraham, I am saved. Thank you for helping me remember.” We finished praying, and he walked away. I stood by the now empty chair for a few seconds and thought, He talked longer than I did and gave me more illustrations than I gave him. What did I do? Whatever it is I did, I thank God for giving me a Lucas in my class who listened carefully during the teachings. I pray he continues to pay close attention to the lessons in Sunday school and the sermons from Pastor Hubbard.
To be continued . . .
I’d like to thank you for your continued prayers and support. We really couldn’t do what we do without you. Please know that you are also being prayed for by our family. We love and appreciate you very much.
Prayer Requests:
- Safety for our family, our team leader Dan Hubbard, and the other families of Team Peru
- Additional monthly financial support
New Contact Information
Abraham Avila (To avoid problems with our courier, correspondence must state my name and not “Avila family.”)
Caminos del Inca 2780, Block-C (Street name and house number)
Departamento #504 (Apartment number)
Urb. Prolongación Benavides (Residential zone)
Surco, Lima 15039 Perú (District, city, zip code, country)
219-378-8617
Thank you once again for your prayers and support.
Your co-laborers to Peru,
Abraham, Fabiola, Marco, Leilani, & Joaquin Avila
The flowers are dying of envy!
On March 22, my wife celebrated her 33rd birthday in Lima, Peru. She enjoyed a great haircut and a wonderful meal. I told her she looked very pretty. She smiled and said, “Really, you think so?” “Yes, Honey, I do.”
A few days later, we were coming back from soul winning with the church, and we made an impromptu stop at the flower market near our house. I asked her to pick whichever flowers she wanted, and she gladly agreed. An armful of flowers later, we were headed back home but not before we stopped at my favorite bakery. As I finished paying for my bread, I turn around to see my kiddos and my wife talking to Jose, a nice elderly man who has taken a liking to my family and me since the first time we met. He asked us about our day, and we made small talk for a good 3-5 minutes. He complemented Faby on her flowers and told her they were beautiful but that they were dying of envy (Spanish: Se están muriendo de envidia.) She smiled, I smiled, he smiled, and then we all said good bye. Faby looked at me as we walked back home and said, “What does that mean? ‘They are dying of envy’.?” So I explained to it her. “Honey, he says that you are prettier than the flowers.” I smiled and then said, “See, I told you you’re pretty” :) Oh, my wife, she was given a compliment and didn’t even realize it. Hey, wait a minute! That elderly man was flirting with my wife!
Can you help me?
Lucas is one of the boys who has been with the church almost since day one. I remember the day he walked through the doors of the bus we had rented to house our Junior Church. I remember leading him to the Lord that day. But on this Sunday evening he raised his hand during the invitation. I walked over to him and asked if he knew why he raised his hand. He said, “I don’t know if I’m really saved. Can you help me?” I walked Lucas over to some empty chairs so that we could talk. I could tell he was embarrassed. I started to make small talk with him to put him at ease. I started showing him Scriptures on eternal security, and I started to give him an illustration. I could tell he was “getting it” when he cut me off and started to give me illustrations from my Sunday school class. He would say, “Oh, right! Like when you said in class . . . .” He went on and on for a good five minutes giving
me illustrations he had learned from Sunday school. I sat back in my chair with a smile as he said, “Don’t worry, Bro. Abraham, I am saved. Thank you for helping me remember.” We finished praying, and he walked away. I stood by the now empty chair for a few seconds and thought, He talked longer than I did and gave me more illustrations than I gave him. What did I do? Whatever it is I did, I thank God for giving me a Lucas in my class who listened carefully during the teachings. I pray he continues to pay close attention to the lessons in Sunday school and the sermons from Pastor Hubbard.
To be continued . . .
I’d like to thank you for your continued prayers and support. We really couldn’t do what we do without you. Please know that you are also being prayed for by our family. We love and appreciate you very much.
Prayer Requests:
- Safety for our family, our team leader Dan Hubbard, and the other families of Team Peru
- Additional monthly financial support
New Contact Information
Abraham Avila (To avoid problems with our courier, correspondence must state my name and not “Avila family.”)
Caminos del Inca 2780, Block-C (Street name and house number)
Departamento #504 (Apartment number)
Urb. Prolongación Benavides (Residential zone)
Surco, Lima 15039 Perú (District, city, zip code, country)
219-378-8617
Thank you once again for your prayers and support.
Your co-laborers to Peru,
Abraham, Fabiola, Marco, Leilani, & Joaquin Avila
Thursday, April 11, 2013
March Prayer Letter from the Martin Family
Dear Praying Friends,
For three days and three nights, His body lay in a tomb. After suffering rejection, pain, and the agony of the cross, He went to Hell to settle our debt. His perfect blood having been shed and the price having been paid, after three long days, triumphantly He arose on that Easter morning! “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” I am so thankful for Resurrection Sunday! Our hope, our salvation, our reason for being is all because He arose! Amen!
Our first Easter Sunday here in Peru was a great one indeed. The entire week was another “holy week,” with many people going on vacation and many stores closing their doors. However, the church house was definitely full. For the first time in their lives, the 100-plus people who flooded into our church realized the true importance and the awesome miracle wrapped up in the resurrection. We can rejoice! Because of the resurrection, people were saved, the altar was full, and lives are being changed.
It has been such a blessing to see our church grow. Due to summer vacations, we have had many people coming and going; but now that school has reconvened, our attendance is steadily increasing. In addition to this, we have gained many new families, especially this last month. I have been especially excited to have new families from San Genaro in our services every week. We are making progress on the construction on the church property, we have had people baptized each week, and the future is looking bright!
Speaking of San Genaro, God is opening many doors for us. Our Bible study is continuing to do well. I also have three more families interested in having their own Bible study. We are continuing to pray for God to open a door for us to start a church in this very needy area. Just this week God may be doing that. I have a few leads on rentals for the church, and I believe we will be able to start this church before the end of April.
All of our Bible studies are continuing to grow. Currently we have eight active Bible studies. We also already have four of our church men teaching in these Bible studies. One of these men, Jhonny Farfán, has one Bible study and is looking to start a new one in San Gabriel. Last week while soul winning and looking for a home for this Bible study, he led 24 people to Christ! That is what it is all about.
Watching our people grow has to be one of the greatest blessings of our ministry. To see them become more involved, grow in their commitment, and begin to share their faith is a source of constant joy. As I stated in our last letter, we had our first week of college this past month. Of course, we started off teaching on the Great Commission and personal evangelism. They ate it up! We had a total of 16 people come to our institute. Watching them “practice” soul winning and seeing their desire to learn is so exciting.
On one final note, I was blessed to have my parents and sister here with us for a week. We had a lot of fun and were able to do a lot of sightseeing. One day we went to do some shopping in the Incan Markets in Miraflores. One of the shops was owned by a lady named Luz. We spent a long time in her shop looking for something to send back to some special people in the states. This gave me a great opportunity to explain to Luz our purpose for being here. As I did, I began to share the Gospel with her. Tears filled her eyes as she listened and asked questions. After several minutes, Luz bowed her head and trusted Christ as her Saviour! God is so good to use us.
Of course, minus the resurrection, your prayers, and support, none of this would be possible. Jessica and I are honored to be your representatives in Lima. It is a privilege to add souls to your account. This month 164 people accepted the gift of salvation through soul winning and our church services. Thank you for allowing us to have the greatest job in all the world!
Your ambassadors to Perú,
Junior and Jessica Martin
For three days and three nights, His body lay in a tomb. After suffering rejection, pain, and the agony of the cross, He went to Hell to settle our debt. His perfect blood having been shed and the price having been paid, after three long days, triumphantly He arose on that Easter morning! “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” I am so thankful for Resurrection Sunday! Our hope, our salvation, our reason for being is all because He arose! Amen!
Our first Easter Sunday here in Peru was a great one indeed. The entire week was another “holy week,” with many people going on vacation and many stores closing their doors. However, the church house was definitely full. For the first time in their lives, the 100-plus people who flooded into our church realized the true importance and the awesome miracle wrapped up in the resurrection. We can rejoice! Because of the resurrection, people were saved, the altar was full, and lives are being changed.
It has been such a blessing to see our church grow. Due to summer vacations, we have had many people coming and going; but now that school has reconvened, our attendance is steadily increasing. In addition to this, we have gained many new families, especially this last month. I have been especially excited to have new families from San Genaro in our services every week. We are making progress on the construction on the church property, we have had people baptized each week, and the future is looking bright!
Speaking of San Genaro, God is opening many doors for us. Our Bible study is continuing to do well. I also have three more families interested in having their own Bible study. We are continuing to pray for God to open a door for us to start a church in this very needy area. Just this week God may be doing that. I have a few leads on rentals for the church, and I believe we will be able to start this church before the end of April.
All of our Bible studies are continuing to grow. Currently we have eight active Bible studies. We also already have four of our church men teaching in these Bible studies. One of these men, Jhonny Farfán, has one Bible study and is looking to start a new one in San Gabriel. Last week while soul winning and looking for a home for this Bible study, he led 24 people to Christ! That is what it is all about.
Watching our people grow has to be one of the greatest blessings of our ministry. To see them become more involved, grow in their commitment, and begin to share their faith is a source of constant joy. As I stated in our last letter, we had our first week of college this past month. Of course, we started off teaching on the Great Commission and personal evangelism. They ate it up! We had a total of 16 people come to our institute. Watching them “practice” soul winning and seeing their desire to learn is so exciting.
On one final note, I was blessed to have my parents and sister here with us for a week. We had a lot of fun and were able to do a lot of sightseeing. One day we went to do some shopping in the Incan Markets in Miraflores. One of the shops was owned by a lady named Luz. We spent a long time in her shop looking for something to send back to some special people in the states. This gave me a great opportunity to explain to Luz our purpose for being here. As I did, I began to share the Gospel with her. Tears filled her eyes as she listened and asked questions. After several minutes, Luz bowed her head and trusted Christ as her Saviour! God is so good to use us.
Of course, minus the resurrection, your prayers, and support, none of this would be possible. Jessica and I are honored to be your representatives in Lima. It is a privilege to add souls to your account. This month 164 people accepted the gift of salvation through soul winning and our church services. Thank you for allowing us to have the greatest job in all the world!
Your ambassadors to Perú,
Junior and Jessica Martin
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
March Prayer Letter from the Kokubuns
Dear Pastors and Friends in Christ,
March has been an exciting month for us here in Peru. While the laws seem to sometimes hinder what God wants to do, we have seen that God has an even bigger plan then we can imagine.
We started our third Bible study about a month ago in the home of a lady named Luz. One of our primary concerns about starting a study in her home was that her husband Reuben was not yet saved. However, he gave his wife permission to have our Bible study in their home, and so we began.
One Sunday morning we had our morning church service at 6:00. Crazy? You might think so; but nevertheless, that particular Sunday was voting Sunday, and the city shuts everything down because the people have to vote. Legally, we could not hold a public service between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Luz told my wife that she woke up for church that day and was getting ready when Reuben asked her where she was going. "I'll go with you," he told her, "and then we'll go vote." They came to church that morning, and after the service I walked over and talked to Rueben. Not wanting to rush things or be pushy, I began to tell Reuben about our church, about the things our church has to offer, and our schedule. Then I transitioned. "Reuben, we are here in Peru because of one thing—love. We love the
people here. Because of that, we want to tell everyone who walks in these doors about our Saviour." At that moment, Reuben was locked into every word I said. I was able to share the Gospel with him, and Reuben got saved!
Please pray for this precious family. We have also seen 4 other relatives of theirs get saved through this Bible study. Pray that many others will also come to know Christ.
This past month we began our Bible seminary in order to train more intensely our disciples to be future pastors. We are adopting the modular style for our Bible seminary, much like that which other teams from First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana, have used successfully. We will have intense teaching and training one week a month and then use the other three weeks for the students to use what they have learned. This allows laymen and others to keep their jobs and still train for the ministry.
Our first class was on personal evangelism and discipleship. I had the privilege of preaching for chapel the second night. It was the first time I have officially preached in Spanish. God blessed, and we were touched by His grace. I love the eagerness of our students to learn the things of God.
Thank you for your faithfulness to bring us before the throne of God. Because of your prayers, people just like Reuben now have their lives changed for eternity.
Your fellow laborers for Him,
Daniel and Heather Kokubun
March has been an exciting month for us here in Peru. While the laws seem to sometimes hinder what God wants to do, we have seen that God has an even bigger plan then we can imagine.
We started our third Bible study about a month ago in the home of a lady named Luz. One of our primary concerns about starting a study in her home was that her husband Reuben was not yet saved. However, he gave his wife permission to have our Bible study in their home, and so we began.
One Sunday morning we had our morning church service at 6:00. Crazy? You might think so; but nevertheless, that particular Sunday was voting Sunday, and the city shuts everything down because the people have to vote. Legally, we could not hold a public service between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Luz told my wife that she woke up for church that day and was getting ready when Reuben asked her where she was going. "I'll go with you," he told her, "and then we'll go vote." They came to church that morning, and after the service I walked over and talked to Rueben. Not wanting to rush things or be pushy, I began to tell Reuben about our church, about the things our church has to offer, and our schedule. Then I transitioned. "Reuben, we are here in Peru because of one thing—love. We love the
people here. Because of that, we want to tell everyone who walks in these doors about our Saviour." At that moment, Reuben was locked into every word I said. I was able to share the Gospel with him, and Reuben got saved!
Please pray for this precious family. We have also seen 4 other relatives of theirs get saved through this Bible study. Pray that many others will also come to know Christ.
This past month we began our Bible seminary in order to train more intensely our disciples to be future pastors. We are adopting the modular style for our Bible seminary, much like that which other teams from First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana, have used successfully. We will have intense teaching and training one week a month and then use the other three weeks for the students to use what they have learned. This allows laymen and others to keep their jobs and still train for the ministry.
Our first class was on personal evangelism and discipleship. I had the privilege of preaching for chapel the second night. It was the first time I have officially preached in Spanish. God blessed, and we were touched by His grace. I love the eagerness of our students to learn the things of God.
Thank you for your faithfulness to bring us before the throne of God. Because of your prayers, people just like Reuben now have their lives changed for eternity.
Your fellow laborers for Him,
Daniel and Heather Kokubun
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