Our Initial Goodbyes

Tonight was our last bible study with our little group so we did something a bit special for them. Unfortunately a few people were not able to join us due to their work and sick children but one of the ladies brought a friend. Her name is Esperanza and she really liked the study, she was planning to come every Wednesday not realizing that this was our last meeting. The study was especially long with many questions. We carried them over into our time of fellowship and carried on until well after 10 PM. We made bocaditos (mini sandwiches) and ordered a nice cake from Torta's Gaby (our favorite postre shop) to enjoy with the group. We are very reluctant to leave this little flock as we see their hearts so eager to receive the word and with so many questions. We have been meeting with them one on one to disciple them and try to ensure they have a place or person to fellowship with after we leave. It truly is our desire to stay here and minister to them but it seems that the Lord is not leading us to do this at this time, maybe in the future?

Marisol, Blanca (behind Marisol), Esperanza, Silvana, Jesusa and Eddy.

Josiah playing with one of the few toys left in his room. We've begun sorting, selling and giving away stuff in preparation for the big pack. This time next week we will be headed for Miami were we will visit with family for a few days before heading on to Rochester. Until then, please continue to pray for us here and the sheep we are ministering to.

Visitors, visitors, visitors!

We had our fourth visitor leave this past week, Grampie. My father (Lisa) came just in time for Hadassah's third birthday, what a nice present it was for her to reunite with her Grandpa.

The first morning he was here he was able to join Hadassah and her classmates as they sang Happy Birthday to her. It was her last day of school as they were entering into vacation for a few weeks and we will be returning home now in another week and a half. Hadassah did not want to leave Grandpa's side for the first day or so.

Another blessing for Grampie was that he was able to see Hadassah dance in her school the second day he was here. She was such a doll, as were all of the little girls dressed as mermaids.

The first three days of Grampie's trip were busy, the third one was the actual day of her birthday and we had a party here in the house for her.

We asked a girl from church to help us make a cake, it was so cute. We had a lot of the family and our friends help us out with the preparations for the party, it turn out so nice.

Hadassah with her gifts and the "two Lucianas."

When I asked Hadassah the next day what her favorite part of the party was she replied "Luciana."

A visit from "Barnabas."

Who when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.

This past week we said good-bye to our pastor as he returned home to the States. Although he spent just a handful of days with us here in Peru, we were extremely blessed and encouraged by the time we were able to spend with him. He challenged and exhorted us and left us to remember that we should cleave all the more unto the Lord our God.

Pastor Mark & Eddy in a very dense fog at Larco Mar.

It was great for us to be able to introduce him to the people whom we have been ministering with and to. He was able to share a few times with the people here and they were deeply touched by his testimony and passion for the Lord. He and Eddy told me that there did not seem to be a dry eye in the church at Santa Rosa the Sunday he shared with the people there. Pastor Mark was also able to join Eddy and Americo as they ministered to the inmates in the prison this past Tuesday as well.

Pastor Mark and Brian, Sunday morning service at Iglesia Cristiana Koinonia - SURCO.

I was especially blessed by Pastor Mark's opportunity to teach Sunday morning. After eight months of messages in only Spanish it was nice to be able to just relax and listen freely without my brain working extra hard to understand every detail. The body in Surco was equally blessed by the profound message he gave on prayer.

The church at Santa Rosa.

Santa Rosa is a village about an hour and a half from Surco. Eddy has been preaching there every Sunday afternoon now for about four months. The congregation seems to be growing every week and Eddy has become quite attached to this little flock. Almost every family there is affected by drugs and alcohol and often times share their struggles with him. After Eddy taught on Sunday afternoon he let Mark share what was on his heart. Mark sensed the leading of the Holy Spirit to share his own personal testimony and the hearts of the people were extremely touched. One young man who is addicted to drugs had been invited week after week to join the service but he never made it. Eddy gave him a special personal invitation this week and he not only came but after the service shared with Eddy that he needs to have the Lord in his life, please keep him in your prayers.

We ended the week with our home bible study. We were very excited that Pastor Mark was able to join us for this ministry. In the short time that our Pastor visited with us he touched the lives of the people here, as did his daughter and another friend, who visited us in the prior weeks. We thank them for taking the time out of their busy lives to come and minister to the flocks here and to reinforce what we have shared with the people here.

We are grateful to the Lord to allow us this opportunity to come and know His heart for the people of Peru. We continue to pray and seek Him for vision as to our future here in this country. We are very reluctant to go but at this time it seems like we should return home to continue in prayer with regard to this matter. Pray for the disciples that have been made here and for others to come in and take our place to continue in the work.

"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

Last night we paused in our study of the gospel of John to show the video Countdown to Eternity (watch it for yourself: http://www.creationists.org/countdown_to_eternity/english.html.) A few months ago we had a conversation about the last days and the signs of the second coming of Jesus with some of the people attending the bible study. Thanks to a few of you out there we were able to get this DVD to show to the people here. We made some fliers and passed them out to the people working in the near by market as well as to a few ladies in the park. Many of the people who have begun to come faithfully to the study also brought friends and family. In total we had eighteen visitors in our living room.

A couple that we have been getting to know over these past seven moths offered to help us set up and minister to the people. We made a lot of popcorn and arranged our living room into a small theatre. Eddy's brother let us borrow a bigger TV (we have just a small one that his other brother has let us borrow for the kids) and the neighbor downstairs (who has now become a regular) lent us her chairs. We were extremely blessed to see all the people file into our home last night. Three people whom we had never met came as a result of the fliers. Blanca, the lady Eddy met in the Internet location, returned again and brought a friend too. We have decided to continue showing other various Christan movies every other Friday night for the remainder of our time here. We are very excited about the next one which will be Fireproof.

After the movie we had a great time of questions and answers. We thank the Lord for bringing along Americo and Lucho to help out.

Another exciting development is that we are praying about adding an additional bible study on Saturday nights. As it stands right now many people are having difficulty making it by 7:30 PM on Wednesday nights due to work. We also would like to invest as much time as we can into these young sheep before we leave. Please pray with us for the Lord to raise up a man to stand in our place while we are away. As the time draws nigh for our departure we are beginning to see into our future and understand what the Lord has for us but continue to seek Him for all of the details. We know that He is working everything out according to His perfect plan and we are just waiting patiently on Him.

Please also pray for Eddy as he and Americo have begun witnessing in one of the prisons here. Americo had been going for about a month by himself and realized the need for an English speaking partner to share with the international prisoners. He asked Eddy to pray about joining him and the following week Eddy did so. It has been on Eddy's to take part in these kinds of ministries such as prisons or hospitals since we arrived and we are very glad that the Lord has provided an opportunity for him to take part. The day is a long one for the guys but they have had great fellowship thus far and are being thoroughly blessed by the ministry there in the prison. Two weeks from now our pastor will arrive to visit and Eddy has asked permission for him to be able to minister in the prison as well. When the sister they are working with heard this she arranged for a special meeting for them in an auditorium, so they are going to have the chance to share with the international prisoners for three hours!

Eddy asks you to pray for Christopher and Bill, they both accepted the Lord during Eddy's first visit to the prison and he was very touched by the time he spent with them.

We have felt so blessed lately as we look around and see all the Lord is accomplishing through us here in Peru. Of course with great blessings also come great trials. Please continue to pray for us for strength and wisdom.

Josiah and Hadassah testing out the new movie theatre.

Americo and Oninxha

The refreshment table, makeshift but you would never know it!

Unfortunately I could not capture all of the guests in one photo.

Yes I know, this one has nothing to do with the movie but it is a great picture of the kids playing with their friend Joshua. They were all screaming at the very top of their lungs in the stairwell, our poor neighbors, it is a wonder they still talk to us.

I missed a few weeks worth of updates but I do hope I can get back on and post about our friend Crystal's visit last week. Even more stories of how our Lord is moving in the lives of the people here. I also sent an email to some of you about sending us any used Christian or children's DVD's to bless the people here with. We can easily see from last night that the people are hungry to learn more and these materials could be put to good use. Let us know if you have anything to donate and we will arrange to have it brought to us in the next few weeks. Thank you all for your prayers and dedication to lifting this ministry up.

John 3:3

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God"

Last night Eddy taught from John chapter 3 and he focused on the response of Jesus to Nicodemus's question... how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?

Eddy had been inviting people for two weeks for this particular bible study and we were very excited to see all of the people who came to hear this message. Many people here have not even heard the term born-again and are curious to know more. Just before the bible study Eddy went to the local internet place to print his notes. The lady working there saw them and questioned him as to what this term meant, he of course invited her to come and find out. Not an hour later she arrived! She is pictured below in the purple shirt, her name is Blanca.

Eddy, Jesusa (she is hidden behind Eddy), Victor, Charrito, Lucho & Blanca.

Lucho and his father, who is visiting from Iquitos, also joined us. Lucho's father just received the Lord a week or so ago. Eddy asked Lucho to share a bit of his testimony with the group and how his life has changed since becoming born-again. Lucho has a very powerful testimony of how he was won for the Lord through the witness of love displayed through his wife.

Another lady who came for the first time is named Peluza, she is pictured below to the left hand side. One of Eddy's daughter's suggested that he invite her and so he did. He, along with Pepe and Lucho knew her from their childhood days.

Marisol told us yesterday morning that she had been praying for a friend named Milagros whom she coincidentally ran into online the night before. She shared with her about her new life and this friend mentioned to who that she had been desiring to read the bible. Marisol invited her to the study and despite the two hours it takes her to get to this side of the city, she came. She really enjoyed the study and not only would she like to come next week, but she has already invited another friend along.

Milagros & Marisol


Hadassah, Charrito, Eddy & Jesusa enjoying some pastries and tea after the study.

I was especially blessed by our time of fellowship afterward. We were so many people this week that we could not all sit at the table together. I was touched as I looked around the room and saw pairs of people sharing and chatting together.

Please pray for all of the hearts who came this week, that the seeds of salvation would grow and they would return again with a hunger to hear more of God's words.

Evangelism in the Parque San Roque

A few weeks ago the kids and I began joining Eddy for the Saturday afternoon outreaches that are held in a local park by the church here in Surco. It has been such a blessing for me to get out and witness the ministry first hand and I enjoy the fact that my children also have this opportunity as well.

The past two weeks a team of mimes from the church received permits to come and present a few skits. The dramas were very moving and provided a great way for them to share the gospel to people of various ages. Afterwards, the team witnessed to the people on an individual basis.

Setting up.

The mimos (mimes) - Jacky, Marco, Oninxha, Jimmy, Angie, Kristel y Karla.

The kids watching the drama.

The crowd.


Jacky with her new found love...

Her new found love finds another...

Jacky can't take the pain anymore...

Thank God she has a Savior!

Jimmy explains a bit to the onlookers.

Eddy shares from John 3, what it means to be born-again.

Josiah gives Carmen a kiss good-night, the show is over.

March Update

We took our trip South as planned and were blessed that it all went quite smoothly. It was a bit difficult with Josiah during the long bus rides but overall for having been on a bus more than 40 total in less than five days it went well.

We arrived in Arequipa on Friday morning and were met by Chipey's cousin who graciously showed us around the city for the next two days. She had our hotel reserved for us as well which made things a bit easier for us. The food in Arequipa was delicious and we had a great time with Chipey's family, they were very hospitable toward us.

The Plaza de Armas is very beautiful in Arequipa, most of the buildings in this city are made with a white stone which comes from the volcanic rock surrounding the city.



The volcano Misti.
Chipey's family

Family picture

We were shopping for some baby alpaca, a bit to expensive though.

We were able to take some great pictures at least.

We arrived to Tacna Sunday afternoon, grabbed a bite to eat and headed for Chile. Praise the Lord the entire process was very smooth. Pepe had arranged for his nephew to drive up from Arica, Chile to pick us up and help with the border-hop. What a blessing, this guy had all the paper work ready for us and even helped to find a decent hotel. We did everything in one day as opposed to two which worked out better as he was able to drive us into Chile and back. We had no hold-ups at the border and were even granted another 6 months to remain here in Peru... too bad our plane tickets won't last quite that long.



We spent all of about 45 minutes parked at the beach in Arica, just long enough to turn back and re-enter Peru. I have heard stories of people being hassled at the border for not having been out of the country for more than 24 or 48 hours, but nobody mentioned anything to us.

The sun setting over the Pacific.

We spent the night in Tacna and the next day we were invited for lunch at Eddy's sister-in-law's sister's house. The Lord provided for us every step of the way. Right down to the littlest of details like having one extra seat on the bus during the long journey's to and from Lima. We had decided to let Hadassah ride on our lap and buy Marisol a ticket instead, we were very glad we made this decision. It helped us a lot with Josiah as he absolutely refused to sit still and needed to be passed from person to person.

Hadassah sleeping with Lambie and Marisol.

We made Josiah a bed out of my foot rest which worked fairly well until we realized that the lady ahead of me might want to recline her seat, which would have squished Josiah, opps!

The trip home was scheduled to take 19 hours which turned into 21 after we stopped an innumerable amount of times for different customs inspections. The bus never completely stopped, meaning that we were not allowed off nor anyone else on for security reasons (often times buses that stop are robbed.) Other than Josiah being a bit rambunctious, the trip went as well as one could expect for having brought two toddlers along. Overall, we were blessed to see how the Lord guided us and provided for us each step of the way.

JACKIE'S TRIP TO LIMA

This should have been a seperate post but the photos have already been uploaded so here it goes.

Jackie arrived just a few days after we returned home from our trip. She is a sister from our home church who has taken on the responsibility to head up a prayer team for us. We were so very blessed by her visit here. She was able to absorb a bit of the culture we have come to love and meet the people we minister to and among.

She took some great everyday life photos.

Shopping day at Plaza Vea, the local supermarket.

We do part of our shopping at the supermarket and the other part in what is known as a mercado. In the mercado you can buy fresh vegtables, fruits, meats and fish cheaper than in Plaza Vea . It takes a little while to get used to the atmosphere. For some reason it always smells like dog food (I guess because they have open bags of it that they sell from in bulk). The other day I saw the meat arrive, no not in a refridgerated truck but wrapped in nothing more than a blanket in the back of a taxi. Like I said, it is different than we are used to.

Marisol preparing our refresco for Lunch (Chicha Morada.)

A close up view.

Pineapple husks, purple corn, cinnamon sticks and cloves.

Aji de Gallina, one of my favorites.

This guy comes to sharpen our knives every so often.

The ice cream man.

A touristic train ride around central Lima.

We had a little get-together in Lucho's Pizzeria before Jackie left. We had something terrific to celebrate, our new sister in Christ, Marisol.

Hadassah and I headed for school, she is growing up so fast.