November Prayer Letter

Dear Praying Friends,                                                                                                                                        December 5, 2012

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”   (Psalm 100:4)  We truly have so much for which to be thankful.  I know that November is not the only month that should reflect our gratitude; however, I must admit that this November gave us a lot to be thankful for!  Where oh where do I begin ?

Thankful for our church! God has blessed us with an amazing ministry in the heart of Chorrillos!  The way that our church has grown can only be contributed to God.  In all honesty (I dread even saying this), we have not tried to accelerate the growth of our church. We have not promoted or had any type of campaign, simply because we do not have the space to accommodate the growth.  We go soul winning, follow up on our visitors, and hold 8 different Bible studies each week. But God has given us a great group of people! Just this past Sunday, we had our 2 highest attendances to date: 109 in the morning and 93 that night!  God is so good!

Thankful for our people!  That is what the church truly is!  As thankful as I am for the numerical growth of our people, I am even more thankful for their spiritual growth.  We have seen so many miracles in the lives of our people.  As Cecilia went soul winning with my wife this past week, we both realized that incredible desire she has to serve God and reach her family. Yanira is a new teenager who has humbled both of us with her sweet spirit. She, too, has a desire to grow and has helped us lead many of her family to Christ.

Another family we have seen great growth in is Julio and Veronique.  Several weeks ago they were able to set their reservations aside and follow the Lord in baptism.  It was a great day! Every Saturday night I have a Bible study at their house.  I started the 10-week study with them 15 weeks ago (you do the math)! They can’t get enough.  Lord willing, they will be helping me start another Bible study this month. 

Thankful for opportunities! God has given us some great opportunities to make a difference in our area.  As already stated, we have 8 in-home Bible studies occurring every week.  These Bible studies are averaging 68 people every week.  Between 14 and 20 of these are people who do not even attend our church!  In addition to this, I am glad that soul winning still works!  This last month a total of 31 trusted Christ as a result of soul winning.  An additional 32 people were saved through outreach and services, and a total of 6 were baptized.

The greatest opportunity for which I am thankful is the opportunity to be used.  Two weeks ago Jessica and I reflected on that opportunity.  It is hard to believe that one year ago, we were both in the hospital and  not sure if we would have this opportunity.  But God is the great physician, and I am so amazed by His healing and the way He has worked in our lives.  God is so good to use us!

Thankful for answered prayers!  I am grateful for a God Who hears and answers our prayers.  We have had so many prayers answered, but one prayer in particular has been prayed for by many of you. The Wednesday after Thanksgiving, our container was released, and all of our personal and ministry items were delivered to our home. This was a great day!  Thank you to each and every one of you who prayed.  God blessed miraculously, not only in giving us our stuff but also in the amount of taxes we payed.  We serve an awesome God!

Thankful for our team!  Every day I am able to rejoice in the great group of people God has called to work alongside us here in Peru. Especially during this holiday season while family is far away, it is a blessing to have a group of people with whom we can celebrate. We had a grand Thanksgiving dinner with the members of our team and several of our church people!  I could not imagine this ministry without the families God has brought together as Team Peru!

Thankful for you!  Every day we feel the love and prayers of each of you.  Thank you to each and every one of you who make this ministry what it is.  Thank you also to the Antioch Baptist Church in Michigan who voted to take us on for support this past month.  I believe with all my heart that we will reach Peru through Chorrillos; thank you for sharing in our burden. 

Your ambassadors to Peru,

 

Junior and Jessica Martin

Romans 9:3

October Prayer Letter

Dear Praying Friends,                                                                                                                                       November 5, 2012

Another month has passed, and God has continued to increase my faith and bless in ways I never thought possible.  October is a very unique month in Peru.  October is the Month of Purple, a “holy month” (as deemed by the Catholic church), an entire month dedicated to a so-called saint, Señor de los Milagros.  Every day we watched as men, women, boys, and girls went about their daily routines dressed in purple and white outfits as seen in the picture.  Each Sunday the large Catholic church down the street had parties, services, and parades, which many times marched in front of our church during our services!  As weird and even annoying as this month may have been, these last few weeks have opened my eyes to the sad truth, the truth of how blinded the Peruvian people are!  God is blessing us in an incredible way; however, we are barely scratching the surface!  We still have a lot of work that needs to be done!

I am grateful for the work we have been able to do.  In just a few days, our church will be a vibrant four months old!  I am so thankful for all that God has done these last four months.  Not a service goes by where we do not have visitors and people saved.  We have been able to maintain our baptistery at the Yañez house, and we are having a baptismal service every other Sunday.  In October we were able to baptize six of our converts.  God is good!  We also have eight Bible studies going on in different homes throughout the week.  

A s I mentioned in our last letter, Zach Foust and I were able to start a new Bible study four weeks ago in the San Gabriel neighborhood of Villa María del Triunfo.  It has been a great success.  We have been averaging 17 in the Salazar home and have seen a total of seven people saved.  This is such a precious family with a great desire to have a church in their neighborhood.  I believe that dream will come to fruition sooner than they realize!

Although Señor Milagros has no saving power, my God does, and His saving grace is available.  A total of 108 people trusted Christ this month through soul winning and our church services!  Amen!  A couple of weeks ago, I was visiting in San Genaro like I do every Saturday.  As I was leaving a visit, I passed by a young lady who was rushing home.  I handed her tract and invited her to church.  She was very kind and interested, so I asked her if she knew she was on her way to Heaven.  She replied, “No, it all depends on how much good we do, right?”  I told her it was not and began to share the Gospel with her.  As soon as I started, she explained to me that her mom was at work, and she had to rush home to fix lunch for her little brother before going to work herself.  Reluctantly, I asked her if I could come back earlier the next week and visit her.  She said, “Yes,” and we parted company.  The next Saturday, with high hopes, I went to her house.  When she answered the door, she said with a smile, “You remembered to come!”  I proceeded to share the plan of salvation with her, and Katy (not to be confused with the other one) prayed and asked Christ into her heart.  What an open door God has given us here!

Speaking of open doors, God has already begun to show us how we will begin to accomplish our goal of multiplying churches through Peru.  Just last week Bro. Hubbard and I sat down with two Peruvian pastors to discuss the possibility of training young men from their churches to start churches.  I also spoke with another Peruvian man this week who has a desire and wants help starting a church in Surco—where we just started a new Bible study!  God is opening doors; we just need to be ready to walk through them!

Please continue to be in prayer for several items.  First, we still are searching and praying that God will help us find a new, larger location for our church.  Second, pray for our people as they continue to grow in the Christian life.  Third, pray for our container from the States.  I have not mentioned much about this, but despite a few setbacks, we should have it in our possession by the end of this week.  This will be a huge answer to prayer.  Finally, pray that God will continue to bring men across our path, as well as call men out of our church to help us take the Gospel throughout Peru.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your faithful prayers and support.  It is truly an honor to serve in Peru on your behalf.  Each day I get to live a dream and see miracle after miracle.  This is only possible because of you.  God bless you, and we appreciate your prayers!

Your ambassadors to Peru,

Junior and Jessica Martin                                                                            

Romans 9:3

IBI First Baptism Service

Last Sunday, we had our third baptism service at Iglesia Bautista Internacional in Chorrillos.  We have had a total of 23 baptized in these services.  A fellow teammate helped me put together this video to give you a small taste of what God is doing in the lives of many of our people.  I hope you enjoy this brief video.

September Prayer Letter

Dear Praying Friends,                                                                                                                                  October 8, 2012 

Spring has sprung here on the south side of the equator!  The weather is getting warmer, the sun is shining more, and God continues to bless us here in Chorrillos.  September has been an interesting month for us, as well as one full of blessings.  Don’t worry . . . I will try to condense!

A month of achievement.  God granted many victories to us this last month.  The biggest, of course, was our first baptismal service.  I found a local man who constructed a baptistery for us out of fiberglass, and we set it up at the home of one of our church members.  His large backyard was a huge blessing, as we have no space for it at our church. At the conclusion of our Sunday morning service, we relocated everyone over to Paul’s house and baptized 14 people! This was a huge step for so many of church people.  We have since baptized 3 more and have 6 lined up for our next service.  I wish I could tell you each story.  The story of Miri and her children is especially amazing!  Please take a moment to read more about her at this link from my wife’s blog: http://happytrails365.wordpress.com /2012/09/14/faiths-real-heroes/.  

A month of accomplishment.  Another great victory comes from our church people soul winning.  In September, 6 of our Peruvian people led their first soul to Christ!  Amen!  Cecilia has already won 7 people to the Lord.  There is nothing greater than seeing that excitement in their eyes and the hunger they have as they share the Gospel.  Recently 2 of our teen girls, Katty and Esperanza, wanted me to meet one of their friends and talk to her parents about church.  The next Saturday, Jess and I picked both of them up and were then informed we needed to pick up another one of their friends.  We did and then went to make our visit.  When we got to her house, we discovered her parents were not at home, but Katty had already told her she was coming with us.  We took the four of them to lunch, and sitting around the table, I was able to lead both Estefani and Nicole to Christ.  Best of all, the girls set the whole thing up!   

A month of advancement.  Knowing that God has great things in store for us, we are moving forward with the vision God has given us for Peru.  We are currently conducting six Bible studies each week in the homes of our church people.  However, we also realized we had two great opportunities that were waiting for us.  We have two different groups of people that have been coming to our church from two different districts close to Chorrillos:  Surco and Villa Maria del Triunfo.  As these groups continue coming and continue bringing visitors, we realized we needed to start something in their district.  So this week we will be starting a midweek Bible study in each of these districts!  God has brought these families to us for a purpose.  Within time, both of these Bibles studies will evolve into churches!

A month of asking.  I am not so naïve to think that the Devil is oblivious to what God is doing here.  These last two months have truly taught us to pray.  Pray for our people for the growing pains and family pressure that come from being a new Christian.  Please also continue to pray for our space issue.  The church is maxed out in our current location, and if we are going to continue growing, we must get a new building.  I mentioned in our last letter that God had opened a door for us on a new property.  This door has not been shut, but the deal is very close to falling through.  I know that God has a place for us in His timing.  Please pray for patience, wisdom, direction, and, most of all, a permanent home for IBI that can sustain our growth.

A month of addition.  In September we also had our best attendance yet of 92.  This is incredible, especially because we still have not had a big attendance push (due to space).  However, through our church services and Bible studies, we are averaging 116 different people attending our church each week!  God is so good!  We also saw a total of 78 saved last month through our services and personal soul winning.

I never feel as if words are adequate enough to express how grateful we are to each of you.  It is your prayers and financial support that allow us to do everything we do.  How great your rewards will be in Heaven one day!  I hope one day you will be able to see the faces and hear firsthand all the stories of the lives you have touched.  I would especially like to thank the Open Door Baptist Church in California for taking us on for support this last month. 

God bless each of you and thank you again for the privilege of serving on your behalf in Lima, Peru!

Your ambassadors to Peru,

 Junior and Jessica Martin                                                                            

Romans 9:3

August Prayer Letter

 September 6, 2012

Dear Praying Friends,                                                                                                                          

Time is a funny thing.  During deputation, time seemed to creep by ever so slowly.  However, since our arriving in Peru, the days fly by!  It seems like just last week, it was July and I was writing our last prayer letter.  Now here we are in September, approaching three months on the field!  What a three months they have been!  There is nothing better than being busy about my Father’s business.

    

                                     

Busy is truly an understatement.  God has surpassed our every dream and imagination of what could be done in such a short time.  Since we started IBI (Iglesia Bautista Internacional), over 156 different people have walked through the doors of our young church.  We have had over 70 each Sunday, with a high day of 88!  I can truly say God has built this church.  We have not promoted, made a big push, or held an evangelistic campaign.  Through simply soul winning and establishing relationships with the people God has brought across our path, God has flooded our church with people who are excited and eager to learn. 

I believe I have said this before, but God likes to open doors for us when we least expect it, just to remind us we are in the right place doing the right thing.  As you have probably figured out by now, we have already outgrown our storefront building.  We have been praying and searching for some time for a permanent location that would allow us to grow and begin really “building” the church.  We thought we knew what property that would be, but God would not give us peace on it.  Then this last Saturday, a new location came up for rent!  I am sure this is just a coincidence!  The property includes a three-story house with a very large warehouse in the back of the property.  It is within our budget and only three blocks from our current location!  God is so good!  We met with the owner on Monday, and barring any paperwork and moving issues, we will move in and take possession sometime in October!  Please continue to pray that God will care for all the details and grant us wisdom.

Although our numeric growth may be limited, the spiritual growth of our people is not.  In order to execute our vision of planting thousands of churches in Peru, we must begin growing the core people whom God has already sent to us.  This has been our primary focus.  To date, we have started six Bible studies in the homes of our church people.  Each study is personal and unique and serves as discipleship, as well as a question-and-answer time.  These are such sweet and encouraging meetings and probably my favorite times of the week.                                            

Then again, the weekend is probably my favorite, favorite time!  Four weeks ago, I began teaching soul winning in our visitation meeting on Saturday mornings. This has been an exciting time, teaching and training our new converts how to share the Gospel with family, friends, and everyone they meet.  Since this started, we have had over 30 people go out each Saturday passing out tracts and sharing the Gospel! 

I always feel as if I am cramming so much into a small letter, but there is so much going on!  Another highlight of this last month was our first monthly men’s meeting and prayer breakfast.  For the first time, we sat down with the core men of our church, shared a Bible study, and cast our vision for Peru before them.  If you could have seen their faces as they heard how an entire country could be reached through them!  Seventeen men whose heart God has touched—the men who will turn Peru upside down with the Gospel!

Of course, all of this is only possible because of your prayers and support.  I hope you understand the difference you are making in a country you may have never been to.  Two Saturdays ago I was up in San Genaro, a neighborhood way up in the hills, making a visit.  The addresses there are nearly impossible to find, and a vehicle can only make it so far up the hill.  After walking three blocks up a steep hill, I was ready to turn around and go back down.  Just then, a lady came out of her house.  I introduced myself and told her the house I was trying to find.  She pointed me in the right direction, which, of course, was back where we came from.  After catching my breath, because I’m out of shape, I began to share the Gospel with Yeny.  Several minutes later, she trusted Christ!  As I began to leave, she made this statement to me:  “I know that you think you were lost, but God makes no mistakes.  I am so blessed that He brought you to my house.”  Amen!  A total of 105 people were saved this past month through our church services and personal soul winning.  Thank you for making this possible.

In closing, there are several things you could pray about:  our new building, our first baptismal service coming up this month, new Bible studies to be started, and for God to continue to bond the hearts of our men to us and to Himself.  I believe God has put us in the prime location at the prime time to reach Peru for Jesus Christ.  I cannot wait to see what the future holds!

Your ambassadors to Peru,

Junior and Jessica Martin                                                                             

Romans 9:3

July Prayer Letter

August 6, 2012

Dear Praying Friends,

I am overwhelmed and amazed at the awesomeness of my God! I wonder every month how I should begin this letter. I have thought and thought what the first sentence should be. So as I compile all my thoughts and emotions and begin reflecting on the last four weeks, I can really only say that God is great, and I am so humbled to be His servant!

Seven weeks have passed since we arrived in Lima. During this time Jessica and I have been able to move into our permanent home and purchase all of our necessary appliances and furniture. We will continue “equipping” our house little by little each month, but I am thankful that God has given us such a beautiful place that my wife can call home.

As I stated in our last letter, we started the Iglesia Bautista Internacional the day after our arrival. We spent the entire month of May planning how to launch our church and make an immediate impact in our community. Our plan is to do this in the month of September, once the majority of the team has joined us. However, as you could imagine, we were very eager to get busy doing what God has called us to do. We decided to simply start a church in the home of Bro. Dan Hubbard and see where God would lead. Since our arrival, we have been walking through the streets of Chorrillos praying for God to open a door for us. After walking several miles one Saturday, we “stumbled” across a small storefront for rent. Then God blew a door open for us! After only one phone call, the building was offered to us for only $270 a month! Four weeks ago we held our first service in the Villa Marina neighborhood. The corner that was once covered in graffiti and known for drugs, gangs, and drinking is now a church!

God has truly blessed our church. We have since already begun to look at property for sale to give us a more permanent location and to accomodate the crowd in the building we have already outgrown! In the month of July, God brought a total of 94 different people through the doors of our church and allowed us to see a total of 54 trust Christ as their Saviour! Praise God! Oh for more time and space to tell all the stories of what God is doing!

God has brought many precious people into our lives. Julio, Veronique, and Kenya were our first visitors! Veronique got saved and has become our biggest helper and volunteer around the church. They have such sweet spirits, and we are excited for what God is doing in their lives.

Cecilia also came to church our first Sunday and got saved. Right away she brought her mom and younger sister to church, and they, too, accepted Christ. The Naupari home then became the site of our first weekly Bible study! There is something special about the hunger they have for the Word of God. When we arrived for our first Bible study, Olga (Cecilia’s mom) was walking outside her home with her Bible clutched to her chest. She said, “Pastor, I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it, so I told my children that we would just sit down and read the Bible.” Oh, if we all still hungered for God like that! So far, six members of her family have trusted Christ and are faithful to church.

We knew that any endevour for God would be met with resistance from Satan. The Devil did not disappoint. But I am so glad that Jesus said of His church that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Please do keep us in your prayers. The Devil has attacked us on the homefront, here, and by attacking our people. With a church full of new converts, we have many hurting people in need of big things from God. I am so glad that “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Thank you for your love, prays, and support. Jessica and I and the people of Chorrillos owe a great debt to each of you. Please keep us in your prayers. We are trusting God to continue to do great things in the church; plus this week we are planning on launching six in-home Bible studies. I know that God has a great plan for our people and our district. After a few services in our new building, a lady walked by and asked, “Is this THE church? The church that EVERYONE is talking about?” I cannot wait till the buzz going through Villa Marina travels throughout Chorrillos and then Lima and all of Peru!

Excited about what Jesus is doing,

Junior and Jessica Martin
Romans 9:3

June Prayer Letter

Dear Praying Friends,                                                                                                                                            July 3, 2012

It’s hard to believe June has come and gone!  For months we had been counting down to our arrival in Peru, and it is almost surreal to think we have been here for exactly two weeks!  God has been so very good to us in our journey. As much as we longed for the end of our deputation, our travels taught us so many invaluable lessons that will always be with us. The churches we visited and the friends we made will always be very near to our heart as well.

Our trip to Peru was almost seamless! Our fellow teammates, the Szabatins, were so gracious to drive us up to Toronto.  The check-in process at the Toronto airport started off a little rough, as we were told none of our baggage (which was a lot) was going to make it to Peru (very long story)!  God quickly intervened, and we, along with our six totes, three carry-ons, and dog made it onto the plane.  I wish I had the time and space to share all the “I love yous” God gave us along the way.  We had a very smooth flight and then a 7½-hour layover in Bogota, Colombia.  We were not sure how we were going to care for our small dog, but security quickly fell in love with her, as did all the drug-sniffing dogs!  Once again, God showed us He was watching out for us.  We then made the short flight into Lima.  Believe it or not, we breezed through customs without a single question, retrieved ALL of our luggage, and only one tote was searched!  I think we must be in God’s will!!  Around 1:00 Wednesday morning, we were greeted at the airport by Bro. Dan Hubbard, Bro. Zach Foust, and a cup of Starbucks!  Thank you to each one of you who have been praying.   Your prayers have truly made a difference.

Our two weeks in Lima have gone by so fast.  After being in the staging home for only three days, we moved into a temporary apartment in Chorrillos.  What a beautiful area!  Chorrillos is the district where we will be permanently located and where our church will be.  We have spent a lot of time searching for the right apartment and for a church building.  Please pray that God continues to guide us and give us the wisdom needed to make the right decisions.  We have three beautiful apartments we are looking at and trying to “negotiate.”  The negotiation process is certainly different than in States, and we want to make sure we get what is best for our family.  After being without a home of her own for over a year, I am eager to give Jessica a place she loves and can call her own.

Since our arrival, we have officially started the Iglesia Bautist Internacional!  We are currently meeting in Bro. Hubbard’s apartment but are looking at an ideal piece of property.  Please pray that God will open the door for us if this is His will.  Having the church started is great, but in our current neighborhood, it is hard for the people to get to us.  I am eager to get the church in a permanent location in the midst of the people, so we can begin bringing in multitudes of Peruvian people! 

We have spent much time walking up and down the streets of Chorrillos, praying for and talking to the people.  We have been able to give the Gospel to many and have over a dozen people and/or families interested in visiting our church.  God also has already opened a door for us to begin a home Bible study next week.  Please continue to pray for the people of Lima.  I have such big dreams and aspirations, not only for our district but also for the rest of Lima and all of Peru.  In a city of 9 million people and a district alone of 260,000 people, I cannot wait to see what God will allow us to do!

Thank you to each of you for your faithful prayers and support.  Jessica and I are so thrilled to labor in Peru on your behalf.  I cannot wait to get through this time of acclamation and transition and consume myself in the ministry.  We have spent much time purchasing appliances, apartment hunting, ordering furniture, acquainting ourselves with the stores and public transportation, and working on our visas.  Although all this is necessary, I long to turn my attention solely to reaching the people of Peru.  The Peruvian money unit is called a sol.  Everytime I am asked for “just one sol,” I cannot help but think of the countless souls around me who need to hear the Gospel.  Thank you for believing in us and for praying for us.  I can hardly wait to see what amazing things will happen in July! 

Your ambassadors to Peru,

 Junior and Jessica Martin

Romans 9:3