Arequippa News January 2013

But he knows the way I take; when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Job 23: 10

There is great comfort in knowing that God has predestined and ordained the path set before us. There is no possibility of getting lost along the way, due to the adverse and foggy path on which we often walk. Peace and rest is assured because he knows the way, and his destined purposes will be realised; we shall come forth as gold, we shall be transformed into the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.

What will be the way for us this year? However it may be, we can rest in the knowledge that God will guide and continue to work in us, according to his good pleasure, as we humbly submit to his will. As we begin the year our hope is in him and trusting his promise to build his church for His glory alone.

Camp

We had a good camp this year with a number of new faces, including some from our outreach to Villa Magisterial. We had a married couple, Isaac & Patti. Patti has been attending the women’s meeting. They are regular in attendance on Sunday and just recently Isaac has begun to attend the mid-week prayer meeting. Also Jessica, one of our young women testified that she had backslidden, but now wanted to return to the Lord and commit herself again to the church. She has been to church regularly ever since. We also had a number of young people with us, many of who are also with us on a Sunday. Please pray for all these individuals that the work of God in them will be deep and persevering. Unlike the Lord’s complaint, through the prophet Hosea concerning Israel’s loyalty “For your loyalty is like a morning cloud and like the dew which goes away early” (Hosea 6:4) Pray that they won’t gradually be like the seed being choked by the cares of this world and drift back into sin, but rather pray that they will flourish, grow in grace and contribute to the life and fellowship of the church.

Pray too for a lady called Gladys who, at the invitation of her sister, came to camp with her young baby and gave testimony on the final evening that, just a week before camp, her husband had suddenly died from a heart attack. She lives outside the areas in Arequipa where we are working so please pray that we will be able to locate her and maintain contact and have opportunity to share the word of God.

Villa Magisterial

We started a family service here last April, and during the year had around 15 in attendance but never all together! A few came to camp, but we would ask you to pray that this would be the year when we see a number coming to faith in Christ. At the end of year service for the children’s club, we had over 60 children and parents present. Pray that this year’s visitation and evangelism will result in the Lord planting a group of believers, and a new church established in the area. We have already had a number of opportunities to build relationships, which we pray will bear fruit as we continue to share the Gospel with these people.

The Mission in Peru

The past couple of months have been particularly uncertain regarding the status of Missions here in Peru. We have been a legal association in Peru since 1999, and registered with the Justice ministry since 2004. This latter connection is very important as it means we are a recognised Evangelical denomination, as far as the Government is concerned. However recently, this status has been threatened by various changes in the law affecting different denominations, aside from the favoured Catholic Church; the Vatican State of course has favoured status, having diplomatic relations with Peru. Recently all denominations had to re-register with the Justice Ministry and those not complying by the 18th of January would be removed from the list. We recently registered again, which is not an easy process, and we still await the outcome. There are other proposed changes that could make it impossible for foreign missions to comply, so please pray with us that these problems will not result in our visas being withheld. These intrusions also cost time and money. Pray that sense may prevail, and that these silly and pointless changes will be dropped.

I write this just a few days before we take our summer break as a family. February is a time for all of us in the work here to take a welcome break, before all the work recommences, coinciding with the start of the school year at the beginning of March. Pray with us that, during this time of rest and meditation, the Lord will grant us wisdom, discernment & an understanding of his will for the work, going forward. Pray for us as a team during this year, that we will be united in heart and mind, and that God will bless us together as we seek to reach needy souls with the gospel. Someone once wisely said concerning ministry, “It is not the hard work that breaks down ministers, but it is the toil of working without power”. May the Lord grant us the oil of the Holy Spirit so that our ministry will be eternally effective in saving sinners. We would take this opportunity to thank you for your prayers and support. May the Lord grant us all the joy of seeing his kingdom come in the lives of many, and for his glory.