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
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