Language, Long Journeys, and Land
Since our move, we have been blessed to find some stability, settle our home, enjoy serving our church in small ways, and continue the battle of language learning and sharpening. For Debbie, knowing the language is a heavy burden and we are celebrating the successes as they come. For me, though I know the language, I am not yet “fluent”. Honestly, I hope to become and many have said, “you are fluent!” The truth is, being fluent in another language is difficult. I still make mistakes and strive to be humble as people help correct me, or roll their eyes, or make fun as some of it is simply hard not to. We are learning and relearning cultural norms and have certainly made our fair share of mistakes. At moments, we can tell that we are getting it and other moments, not so much.
We were recently blessed to have our friends from NEW CITY CHURCH in Ankeny visit us here. They were kind enough to shower us with some of our favorite candies and treats, as well as serve with us. I had the privilege of serving in the unofficial role of coordinator and treasurer for the group. And man, were we able to do a lot! We served with our friends Joseph and Kimberely Frerichs, sharing the gospel during soccer clubs and were able to make great connects there. Pray for Ernesto and Rosillo as I follow up on gospel conversations. It seems the Lord is drawing them to salvation. Pray that God grant them new life.
Welcome to the Andes New City!
One of the highlights was a trip up into the Andes to a small village called Ayaviri. Our friends Daniel and Heather serve there and have done the hard work of living and traveling there for many years. And by God’s grace, there are now 8 believers and a congregation of approximately 50 people who meet to hear God’s word. We were privilaged to go there and share the gospel with many on our short trip. The roads leading up were steep, narrow, and dangerous as we stopped to clean out mudslides during the ascent to nearly 14,000 FT. Pray for this work, that God would bring along a partner to work with Daniel and Heather in this work, that God would supply them a better vehicle for the dangerous trip up and down that is taken frequently, and that many more would come to faith in Christ as HE establishes His church in this region of the Andes Mountains.
Didn’t even have to pay for this mud bath! It was so exfoliating!
Scary road but great View!
Upon descent back into Lima, we were able to help out a local soup kitchen repair a building, and serve in our Church’s VBS. It was so much fun and God was gracious to bring several families from the community in to hear the Gospel, and He even saved some. Serving alongside pastor Steve and his wife Kelley is a privilege and a joy. They are kind and gracious to us even when unearned and have been patient as they work with us during this transitional time.
Soccer is an international language! Liam had no problem inviting these boys to Kids Club.
Speaking of transitions, our Church here is about to have one soon. We were informed that the facility we are renting is removing our Sunday School classrooms in 2024. That means we have to move…again! Though this is certainly not our plan, it is a good push from the Lord. Our church has a heart to replicate and church plant, but we currently have no home base of our own. We have, as a church, rented since we were started, and have been focused on missions and Church Planting. Unfortunately, each time something like this happens, we must spend much time and resource to pivot. And this time, we sense God moving us to buy our own home. Pray with us, that God would provide us a property or building to call home. Zoning here is tough, so we need prayer that God would not only provide funds and a property, but one that the City will be kind enough to allow us to rezone. Rezoning state side is hard, but here it is even more difficult. This work of finding and establishing a home is a work that Debbie and I, with our background in real estate, intend to shoulder. We see now that real estate and construction was no mistake in the training God put us through, as it is a huge need here with seeking to establish a more permanent home for our Church. Pray that God give us great wisdom and favor as we work on this in the months to come.
Goodbye New City Church! We love you!
Finally, as many of you know, the political situation here in Peru has been a rollercoaster since we have come. As a result, our visas have not yet been accepted. At present, it has been so delayed, that we are technically illegal immigrants. We were informed by the attorney presently working for us in the immigration office to stay put as they will likely look the other way on the timing since it has a lot to do with the upheaval of the government. That said, we were told to buckle up as several seasoned missionaries and Chistian workers that hold religious visas are being rejected. Even those who have been here for decades. Historically, this is very abnormal in Peru, yet reminiscent of what happened in Venezuela years ago. As a result, we are currently told that there is a 50/50 chance that ours will be rejected. I need you all to pray hard, as my own family is certainly praying we be kicked out of the country so they can see us! But in all seriousness, this could move us stateside for 3-6 months and cause us to seek other visa options for reentry, which will certainly be tedious and costly. God knows! We know he has this. Please pray with us, for favor with the immigration officials.
