Hi y'all!

Amazing that March came so fast! Well, one week before our school year starts (Thursday, March 5) the final permission for our building project was granted! As I write this the demolition is going on, and it's almost gone! But we fear they will have to finish demolishing tomorrow, which will leave precious little time to clean up and find space for the 2 classrooms that were in that building.

Teachers are working now and we have had a week of orientation with them. Bob gave devotionals for them last week and this week they will have to get their classrooms ready, get their schedules, etc. We thank the Lord for the Christian teachers we have (most all of the primary school and all kindergarten has precious believers for teachers) and pray for the new ones in secondary school, (high school) - that they truly will commit to Christ. Please help us pray to that end and please help us pray for the students and their homes.

And yes, please help us pray for the building that needs to be replaced, the patio that needs to be extended, etc. Marino and Lupe will have to block off the middle part so construction can be worked on there, making it necessary for a while to have the two entrances, one for primary school and the other for secondary. Each will have their smaller patio space till we can get the h.s. patio extended to join with the very small primary one. We can only go so far as funds are limited, but we trust the Lord will supply the rest needed in His time. Seems like the timing didn't work out, but we rejoice that finally we can start anyway. True, God has His time, and we thank Him for this big answer to prayer, even if it seems late to us. Thanks so much for praying with us. Thanks so much for all your help in sharing with us for His work.

God has blessed us with a few baptisms this past month, at least one here in our main church and some others out in the mountain areas. Bob has a trip planned to a new area above Espinar for mid March, with our worker in that area, Daniel Sayco. Bob is very busy here preparing materials and teaching, both live and on radio, etc. We thank the Lord for these opportunities and His continued strength given for all this. Bob turned 70 in Feb., finally made it to my decade (I'm 71). We both are truly thankful for health and strength to keep going - for Him!

Our Joe has to return to the U.S. so will have to leave here March 10 in the evening. We are still enjoying his stay and all the pictures he has taken of God's work here in the Arequipa region. We will miss him!

Again, thanks so very much for praying for us and sharing with us. Please help us pray for one more sponsor for a little girl in primary school. Thanks to all of you who are helping this way, we pray God's richest blessings on all of you!

Hi to you all!

Well, I had it all planned to tell you that we have a really desperate need for rain. The only rain we had this year was the last time I wrote, like real early January. But God answered again and sent a real nice rain all afternoon and evening yesterday and then again this afternoon lots of thunder showers - water all over. It does come in a couple of our windows and under the door but we are really thankful for the rain. Please help us pray for enough for the agriculture, electricity, and water needs for this big city.

January went really fast! Bob, Joe, and I went for 2 days to Camaná, on the coast, where we visited the believers and had a meeting with them. We got to go to the beach there a couple times, which was nice. Joe had to come back early to take care of needed paperwork to get his drone out of customs in Lima. Our school's director's daughter lives in Lima with her husband and she did the paperwork necessary there for this, but it was a real hassle and very very expensive - Aduanas (customs) took almost the price of the drone just to grant permission for Joe to have it while here in Perú. This country's systems are very corrupt. It was quite a problem, but we are thankful it appears to be solved now.

Joe is a real blessing to have here, he takes really nice pictures of our people, the work here, etc. He is working on developing a website for the school now too. He's been here a month and a half and maybe can stay another month. Bob and Joe went to some meetings in early January to some ranching communities near Juliaca. Joe also is accompanying some of the believers from here to the town of Yarabamba where they visit and evangelize Sunday afternoons. We thank the Lord for these outreaches, to Yarabamba and to Polobaya, a town a bit farther on. The brother who usually goes there is now with his family for a couple weeks in his wife's town in the Cusco department, hoping to see some of her family members come to know Christ.

Now I must tell you the hard part - we are still waiting for the approval of the school project in the municipality. Marino, the director, has spent 3 times what he thought he would need to spend for the paperwork for the license, for demolition of the middle building on the school property and then the required extension of the patio space, hoping to be able to eventually build the classrooms needed without taking the patio space. The first architect he went to travelled and did not do the plans right. The second one had a heart attack and was hospitalized, also his plans were rejected. This time Marino is working with the architect from the municipality and hoping - praying that finally this week the plans will be approved by the cultural committee there. We are in what they call the "historical center" of Arequipa. (I call it the hysterical center). It is swell to have transportation accessible from most points in the city, but it makes it really hard to get permission to do anything with properties.

We really thank the Lord for providing this property for the school. Since then (2008) prices have more than tripled for land and downtown properties. God is so good. We know He has plans for the school, building plans for lives - please help us pray for the needed permissions (yes, they are corrupt there too - just want bribes here and there to grant anything - and Marino has fought that all the way, making it harder to get it done). Please help us pray for the needed construction too. God will supply. Time is short as we have the month of February to at least get the demolition, and patio extension done quickly.Thanks to those of you who are helping some of our poorer children by supplying their monthly fees. This is a need for several. We try to keep the fees low for the lower economic class but we need to pay the teachers. And please help us pray for really dedicated Christian teachers this year. Some we had last year are leaving for various reasons and need to be replaced. It is crucial to have dedicated Christian teachers for elementary and high school.

Hi to all you dear ones,

Hard to believe it is January, and going fast already! The Lord is certainly faithful and we truly thank Him for the opportunity to begin another year in His service here. We were able to have almost 4 days by the ocean, wonderful. Then Dec. 31 we had a very good New Year's eve meeting here in our main church. Some of the other local churches we work with also had meetings and it was a very good time, with testimonies to God's grace this past year and prayer for continued blessing and grace, more souls saved, growth in Christ and much fruit. Thanks so much for your prayers and sharing with us here.

We are blessed to have Joe here with us. He has been a big help and we are glad to see him and his willingness to continue to help where he can, for us and for the school, all for the Lord.

Yes, our school has closed for the year. We trust the closing program was glorifying to the Lord in all ways. We are praying to be able to start the demolition and reconstruction needed so it can be done in these 2 months of vacation. Please help us pray to this end.

We have had some problems in the required paperwork for the license. You wouldn't believe the burrocracia here, but to make it short Marino has had to change architects and basically start over in the plans and presentations. Please help us pray all will be solved this coming week and we can begin.

All this has cost much more than we had planned for, and the building itself will cost more than what was originally quoted. God is able and we trust Him to supply, may it all be for His glory. Again I will explain: this demolition and reconstruction of the middle building of the school property is required in order to expand the patio space, required by law here, for security regulations. And the middle building does not have the steel reinforcements required in order for it to be used for classrooms anyway. Thank you for praying for this material need. We know the main building project is in the lives of the students, teachers, parents and/or tutors and that is our goal, to reach more for the Lord and see fruit in these lives that are entrusted to our care and preparation.Thank you for praying for us and thanks to all wo have helped financially.

One more need of the school is to see more sponsors for several students. Some who have supported students in the past are no longer able to - we thank them and understand. Also there are some newer ones who are in real need. Last year we mentioned that one of our sisters here lost her husband. Her two children were in another private school, non Christian, and her brother was helping them. However he won't be doing this for another year and she would really want the children in our Christian school. (The oldest boy did start with us several years ago, but when the school moved up by the church they did not continue, as it is a bit farther.) Now the two children are older and able to come on public transportation, and as the boy is now in adolescence and without a Dad we really would like to help this Mom and her two. The boy is in high school and the girl in later primary school still. The other two who need sponsors are both in grade school, one in first grade and the other in second. Thanks for praying with us for this need.

After almost a year of total drought here in Arequipa, God is sending rain. NOW. Please help us pray for continued rain for our agriculture and water supply. Also we are in the middle of moving back to our apartment over and behind the church meeting place. Please help us pray for this.

We should have already been moved, but some water pipes broke on the roof, the tank was cracked and water leaked into the freshly painted bedroom and bathroom and we had to get all that replaced and redone. Then the phone company kindly cut off the phone when Bob asked for the transfer, so here we are still, half in one place and half in the other. However we truly are thankful for being able to move back and the directors of the school need this apt they have loaned us for a year and a half. They have their current apartment in the building that needs demolishing, so obviously have to come here quick.

Bob and Joe are on their way home from Juliaca, from some meetings they had with the believers in the country areas near there, they say it is also raining up there. Thank the Lord for this needed rain!

Thanks so much for praying for us and sharinig with us, We trust you will have a very fruitful and blessed 2015!

Hi to you all!

Yes, December is the year's ender and it is ending quickly! We had a nice Thanksgiving and we surely have much to be thankful for! Even though last month brought more funerals, we know some of them are now with Christ, their year here on earth is over but eternity is much better. Please pray for the family of Teresa, who died of cancer. She was only 42 and left a little boy 8 and a university student daughter. Her husband, Carlos, also professed faith in Christ but he has not been in church since Teresa died.

Bob has traveled some this past month. He had a good trip to Caylloma where believers gathered from several churches in that mountain region. Now he is going to the Majes valley again. The new little groups there need prayer. Sometimes the believers don't take the time to meet together, nor to really read God's Word, and they do need this so much in order to grow in Christ. Bob needs wisdom how much time he should spend just going to encourage them. They appreciate the teaching but need to do more on their part. Thanks for praying for wisdom for both of us as we seek how best to serve the Lord here.

With that I will mention that school is starting its final week. I have tests to prepare and give and the students are really wild, vacation fever - whatever, lots of activities, etc. Please help us pray all will be for the Lord's glory. We are very thankful for the opportunity, freedom, and privilege of teaching God's Word to these students. We pray souls will be won for God.

Also there are activities as with some of the youth from our main church here we will be visiting the large state boy's home and another Christian children's home with some special Christmas bags for each one, and a testimony for the Lord for them. Pray God's Word will bring fruit there too.

Our son Joe, who does our website, should be arriving to accompany us for a couple months here! We are looking forward to him coming, taking lots of pictures, traveling some with Bob, and others. We hope to get a few days at the beach over Christmas. Please pray for this as I have a badly wounded leg now. I fell when going to visit with Bob one evening 3 weeks ago. The cuts on my leg infected and I had to take 10 days of antibiotic. It is being treated but I cannot get it wet yet, though it is better. We do pray it will be well enough for me to wave to the ocean in another 2 weeks! Thanks so very much to all of you for standing with us here! We wish each of you a very joyful Christmas! Because Jesus came -- we are here to make Him known to all we can.

Hi to you dear ones!

Yes, already November, and marching along quickly! Always we remember to be thankful, but this month especially as Thanksgiving day draws near! The English lesson for my 4th graders in school is on Thanksgiving. Not enough of them learned how to spell: "thankful"! Well, the idea is that they learn to thank God for His blessings. Please do help us pray for the school, that we can and will be faithful to teach each student God's way of salvation for them. It is more difficult as the world continues on a downward trend, less morals, less godly home life, so few who really care to know God personally. We are thankful for the opportunity we have! We must make the most of it while we have it.

Please pray for the permission to be granted for the construction that must go on starting late December. The plans have been presented to the Municipality and supposedly will be approved soon. Thanks for helping us pray for the rest of the funds needed. We have 5 weeks left of classes this year. Thanks for praying for the school, mostly that it will continue to be a true testimony for the Lord.

This last month of Oct. brought some bad dust storms at the first, trouble with our sewage in front of the church building, more problems with stinky water, etc. and NO rain. Please help us pray for rain! We really need it.

Also this past month brought some of our older believers passing into Glory. Three were from other churches we fellowship with, and another older lady whose daughter attends with us. Another older sister, Francisca, has terminal cancer and went back to her town above Cotahuasi. Another dear sister from one of our churches has terminal cancer and is in hospital. Seems kind of morbid, these 4 deaths recently, but precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. These dear ones were ready to go be with Him. Please help us pray for the ones who have to suffer here yet. Thanks.

Some more bad news: crime is really rampant more here. One dear brother in our main church had all his work material (hardware he sells) stolen out of the back of his old car. It was all his capital and he has debts. Please pray for the Lord's provision for this dear family.

Also this past month we had a couple weddings! So that is a bright spot, we pray for these families forming, to glorify God.

Bob had a fruitful trip to Culypampa, way high place, but there were a lot of believers from different ranches and places and they were encouraged in the Lord. There was one baptized too. We thank the Lord for His workers in different places - Daniel especially is reaching out to many areas around Espinar. Some of the believers from here continue to reach out to the towns of Polobaya, Agua Bueno and Yarabamba. Thanks for praying for all these. Surely we are glad for the freedom we have to spread God's Word here.

Good news: after a month of strike, our post office is again working. It will take a while for the backlog of mail to be put out in the boxes but should get caught up soon.

Truly we have many reasons to be thankful. You are some of these reasons. Thank you so much for faithfully standing with us, praying and sharing as you are led by our Lord. We pray for you too, and for your ministry and testimony for Him. May He bless you richly.

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