Hi again y'all!

Remember the old saying: "Stop the world, I want to get off!"? It seems as we get older the world does go faster and faster, and as the population increases, so does the lack of interest in God. This is sad. However there are some bright spots to encourage us!

Bob had a really good trip the last week of April to Espinar area. A new worker up there, Daniel Sayco, has seen new believers in a couple of Quechua communities where there was no work for the Lord: Checcaña and Sorocco. 6 new believers were baptized from these communities. One of them was a former catechist. He was leading "religious" instruction but not understanding the true meaning of God's Word. For sure the Lord had his heart prepared. Please do pray for him as he grows in the true faith.

Please help us pray for all the believers here, that they would stay true to God. We thank the Lord for the freedom to share His Word here but in the large cities (like here in Arequipa) there are so many wild groups in the name of Christianity that it is confusing for the new believers. Bob is kept busy teaching sound doctrine, counseling, traveling, etc. He is going to the Majes Valley often, and next weekend plans to be up with our missionary friends, the Shaw's, in Cotahuasi. We pray this might be an encouragement to them and their efforts and outreach.

In the Majes, in Central, the brothers are growing and desirous to learn. But in Aplao the believers just can't seem to take the time to meet together. This is kind of discouraging. We have worked a lot with them but they have so many things to do on Sundays it seems. We their hearts will again be moved to take the time for the Lord.

In the outreaches of our local church here, the family that visits Polobaya (a couple hours by road from here) is faithfully meeting with some really interested people, who are not yet ready to take the step of baptism and full commitment to Christ. This is also true in Yarabamba (one hour by road from here), where some of our youth go each Sunday afternoon. Thanks for praying!

Well, we have not had any shakes here but the volcano in Ubinas, in the Moquegua area, is blowing up. We have a family in our church from there, and their family members are in the area that has to be evacuated. In some parts of the Arequipa region there has been ash from this volcano but we are not directly affected here. Still, please pray for the folks in that area. Many resist evacuation as they don't want to leave their lands. But the ash from the volcano destroys their crops and contaminates the water. Our local volcano, Misti, smokes sometimes, but has not erupted for centuries.

The school year is going on, and keeps me busy. Please continue to pray for fruit for God in lives. We are thankful for the opportunity to teach His Word in the school, and thankful for some lives being changed. Please help us pray for the Mother's Day program coming up next week. May it be a challenge to the mom's to guide their children to know Christ. In many of these homes, the school is the only light for the Lord. May we stay true in presenting Him.

Thank you so very much for your prayer and sharing with us. MAY God richly bless you and give you a meaningful spring!

Hi you all!

Yes, April got off to a shaky start! Northern Chile had two huge earthquakes which we felt here. One, April 1 in the evening, was 8.2 down there and we felt it rocking back and forth for a long time. No real bad damage was done here in Arequipa, but a lot of people were scared! Then April 2 there was an aftershock of 7.6 which was also very large. There are many Peruvians down there, and Pepe's older brother, Angel, is one of them. But God worked it out that he was here on his time off during the earthquakes.

Again we ask for prayer for our homes here. So many marriages are struggling and some give up, this should not happen. Bob has visited and tried to help many. Some accept it and some don't. Thanks for praying. Then another young believer, René, was starting to raise guinea pigs and a plague got in them and several died. René's father came from the mountains where he lives and accused the believers of brainwashing his son and basically kicked René out of the house. Praise the Lord they are reconciled, but even today several new believers suffer rejection from family for the Lord's sake. We pray our faith will be firm, even when there is persecution or misunderstanding. And we ask prayer for these unbelieving family members, that they may be converted and that our believers remain faithful and strong to be a testimony of God's grace to them.

School is going strong. We are getting ready for a Holy Week presentation, and I ask prayer for the Lord to really make His Word and the reason for our Saviour's coming real during this. I am helping 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grades act out much of the events during Jesus' final week on earth and after His resurrection. It is really kind of difficult to prepare children these days. They get so excited and make so much noise that they are difficult to control, yet they are sweet and do have faith in God. Thankfully, we do have Christian teachers in the grade school, and several in the high school too. Thanks for praying with us for the school.

Also, we are very grateful that about 2/3 of the funds needed for the first phase of the final construction project for the school have been provided. We still lack around $8,000 but we are trusting the Lord and going ahead with the needed paperwork for the permission and license. Thanks for praying for God to build His kingdom in lives entrusted to us here at school. This is by far the most important building project! Thanks so much to you who are helping provide school fees for some of the needy children here.

Our little Bryan's mother is to be baptized here in church this Sunday. She is really sincere and we are praying for Bryan's Daddy, still in jail. Sounds like he may have to stay there for a while, though he is totally repentant of the attempted robbery for which he is detained. He didn't end up robbing anything, nor hurting anyone, but his intention was wrong. He has been in jail for almost 6 months, of course without a trial. The system here is not very good. Thanks for praying for him. His name is Alvaro Panibra. We are thankful little Bryan is doing so well in first grade with us, thanks for the provision for this. He is a bright testimony for God too.

Another little gal in 3rd grade happens to be the daughter of a little girl we took care of in our home years ago! This was a surprise for me! We thank the Lord for the privilege of having been able to help these little ones in their time of need, and see them in turn wanting to have their own little ones where they can know about the Lord. Thank you for your prayers and help! God bless you!

Bob had a good trip to the Majes Valley last week and especially in the town of Central there is a good little group meeting together. We see the Lord working in the other outreaches of the church here, in Polobaya and in some towns around there, as well as in Yarabamba. Thanks for praying for the interested people in these places and for our folks who are taking God's Word to them.

Hi to you dear ones!

Can't believe it is March already! February went fast and was indeed a busy month. We have bad news and good news! Sad news first: Because of our limited living situation, our son Joe has decided not to come as planned. So please help us pray that in a very few months everyone can be in their places and we will have a place where our family and others can feel free to come visit us! God is working and we think it will work out well in the end. Please do just keep praying! Thanks!

Happy news: our 10th grandchild, a precious little GRANDdaughter, was born February 4! She is Paul and Kim's 6th child, they named her Myra Noel. So I have like a "tocaya" (which means someone else with my name) now in the family. She would have been our 11th grandchild, but our Terri's dear little David did not make it past one month, he is in the arms of Jesus in heaven, and I sure want to see him there too! We pray for all our grandchildren, that each one will come to know the Lord and serve Him. Then we will have a great reunion some day! I miss them all but God has special plans for each one, and for us here too.

Talking about families, here we are seeing opposition, Satan is attacking our families. Some who have not been married very long are having real problems. God is working and we have had several sessions in counselling different ones, where thankfully God is restoring them. Still, it is evident that this is a real battle. As the world becomes more corrupt, older families fall apart, kids grow up just thinking of themselves, they don't make for good homes either. We pray God will truly transform His own and help in their home lives. Thanks for praying for our homes and families.

Along with that goes that school starts tomorrow, March 3! We are trying to get ready for it, but there is still a lot to do! We thank the Lord, He is answering and we have a good core of Christian teachers! More students are registering as well, so please help us pray for fruit for Christ in these lives. I will have Bible (Christian formation) in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, and English in 3rd and 4th grades. This is 3 hours less than last year, but still 14 class hours so I will be busy. Please pray God will bring these little ones to Himself. We thank the Lord our little Bryan who we mentioned in the last letter has been provided for. Some other needy ones are also being helped. Thanks to God and thanks to all who are sharing and helping in this way. Please also pray for the school's material needs. Thanks!

Sadly, the couple we mentioned in the last letter in Polobaya, Paul Ramos and his wife, are putting off being baptized as they have promised their unconverted family members the use of their house for the yearly idolatrous fiesta in June or July. It is so very hard to "offend" family members or break with tradition and be cut off from society. They need prayer, they still do receive the Word of God that our brethren take them weekly, and others meet with them too. Still, God has to work His transformation in their hearts. Thanks for praying for this outreach.

Bob has had some profitable trips to the mountains and is now in the province of Espinar, in one of the Quechua communities, for some meetings this weekend. Our mountain brethren need encouragement. Last trip was a three day break for both of us at the beach, that was really refreshing!

Hi to you all!

February is here, a short month, but a lot is happening here. We hear on our news that you up there are having too much snow and cold. I love the snow but enough is enough! Here it rained a lot for January and in February we are supposed to have more but it has been sunny and dry so far.

In January we had some more weddings! Two were from our Cono Norte churches and another from the main church in town. Thanks for praying for these young couples. Some of our families are going through conflicts. Our society today is very hard on the family. We teach them God´s Word on this but all around us the world is demanding differently. The children are the most affected. Christian values and Biblical roles of parents are left behind with the desire to earn more and advance in life. Thanks for helping us pray for these families.

Last month I mentioned the Lord working in two nearby towns, Yarabamba and Polobaya. Believers from our main church here go Sunday afternoons to Yarabamba and are meeting with some very interested people. Now from Polobaya a couple has decided to follow the Lord and hopefully will be baptized Sunday, February 9. The brother who was going so faithfully to Polobaya has been with his family to his wife´s home near Urubamba, in a valley of Cusco. They went to share the Lord with Emiliana´s family.

In all these towns the Catholic traditions, idolatry, and liquor are very prevalent. People are afraid to break with these customs. There is persecution and isolation of believers who leave these ways to follow the Lord. There is so much openness now in the big cities of Perú, but in these small towns it is very primitive and these traditions are enslaving and blinding. Thanks for praying for this new couple from Polobaya, Paul Ramos and his wife. Thanks for praying for Vicente and Emiliana who are so faithful in witnessing out there and are seeing fruit.

Bob is in Puno now, with believers from three Quechua ranching communities a couple hours drive from Juliaca (over roads that are not really roads) and later will visit the church in Puno itself. Thanks for praying for these folks, and for the vehicle and trip. It is raining or snowing and muddy up there now.

Thanks for praying for the school too, especially for more Christian teachers for this school year, starting March 10. There is another little guy who really needs a sponsor as God leads. He is Bryan, lives a ways out in Cono Norte, but his mother comes down every day to town as she is working in a laundry place. The father is in jail for attempted robbery but is repentant. The mom, Ana, and little Bryan, are coming to church faithfully and to the home meeting we have with Ana´s cousin and family.

Bryan is very bright and when he visited his father he asked him: "Are you in God´s ways or the devil´s ways? We are now in God´s ways!" Well, we want to help Bryan have the opportunity for a Christian education. He will be in first grade. School fees have to go up as minimum wage has gone up and the teachers have to be paid, but for the early grades 60 dollars monthly is fine. Thanks for praying for the right ones to help this little guy. Please do pray for the final construction need of the school too. God can supply.

Hi you all! Welcome to 2014!

Already a week into this New Year! May it be a very fruitful year for you as you serve the King of Kings, our Lord Jesus. Thank you so very much for your part in His work here in Southern Perú! God is blessing here.

Last month one of our teenagers, Maryori, was baptized here in the main church of Arequipa, on her 16th birthday. She has a real clear testimony of knowing and loving the Lord even though her parents are not believers. Her Dad´s father was a faithful believer way up near the high mountain ranching area of Culypampa. He was having meetings with the young believers there during the terrorist years in Perú.

The military accused him of being a terrorist and grouping their subversive forces. So they tortured him, tied him up and threw him into the freezing lake by Culypampa. This really caused Maryori´s father to be resentful against the church. But he did come to her baptism and is allowing her to be one of us. Please help us pray for the family, and for our youth who want to serve the Lord.

I will say Maryori reminds me of myself at that age. My Mom did not permit me to be baptized till I was 16. I also had conflicts in the home, but really desired to serve the Lord. And I am so thankful for God´s people who helped me, and prayed for my Mom, and it did bring fruit in the end. She is now with the Lord. So thanks for praying for others now in the same situation!

The group that is going out to Yarabamba are also seeing results from their visiting and having Bible studies there. Another dear man from our church here is going a little farther to the town of Polobaya. In both these agriculture towns, Yarabamba about 1 hour from Arequipa and Polobaya about 2 hours, there are folks who are close to being baptized, identifying with Christ. Thanks for praying for this outreach.

These days around the end of the year we have had a couple weddings, young couples who desire to form Christian homes. Bob has good messages for these weddings, and together we have a couple songs we dedicate to the couple. Please also help us pray for these young families starting out. Our society is very corrupt, and it is harder and harder to have a godly family life. How we do need God's hand in our homes!

When God blesses and folks really start going right, Satan fights it. In a few of our young families there are severe conflicts, even family feuds. This is sad, and the children are affected. Thanks for praying fervently!

School is out till March, but we will have a vacation program. I may teach English some days, and please pray for wisdom in this, in everything we want to glorify Christ. We had a good end of year program, I trust it was God honoring. Thanks for praying for the school. We have real needs of expansion of the patio and reconstruction of one of the buildings, all terribly expensive. Barring a real miracle it will be impossible to do it this year. Please pray for God's provision and timing. Also please pray for Christian teachers for the next school year. This is crucial to guiding the students and parents, and a Christ centered testimony. Thanks!

Must close - yesterday I read a quote from our daily devotional calendar. So sadly true:

I looked for the church, and found it in the world.
I looked for the world, and found it in the church.

Please pray for our churches here. We want to do God's will and have them being led in His ways.

Cannot thank you enough for all your prayer and sharing with us! May God bless each of you this year and on!

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