Dear Praying Friends,
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” There
is no greater power given to the Christian than that of prayer. If there is one thing that I learn every day,
it is how amazing and how important prayer is.
Last month I mentioned many items of prayer, and it has been such a
blessing to see those prayers answered.
Technically, this is a “prayer” letter,
so let’s talk about prayer.
One
incredible answer to prayer this past month is the calling of our new pastor
back in Hammond. I am thrilled and
excited to have Bro. John Wilkerson as our new pastor! Bro. Wilkerson has a heart for missions and a
great desire to help us to get the Gospel throughout all of South America. God
truly had His hand in bringing Pastor Wilkerson to us. Thank you to all of you who have been praying
and who have stood by us through these last several months.
Many
of you have joined with me in praying for our work in San Genaro. I am still aggressively looking for a
building or a location to use when we start this church. Please continue to pray. I know that He has the right place and/or
person coming across my path very soon.
God is definitely working in San Genaro.
I am in the fourth week of the Bible study I started there with the
Rodriguez family. During this time we
have seen 11 saved and are averaging 17 in the Bible study. I also have a dedicated group of 8 helpers
from our church in Villa Marina. This
will be a great foundation to the church once it is started.
Of
course, all of this is just the fruit of your prayers for our church in Villa
Marina. This is our heartbeat and our home.
We have had a very busy February with the start of a new youth program,
a new Bible study, and a lot of construction to our property. We have had great crowds in all of our
services and out soul winning, with people being saved every service and during
the week. With our new changing rooms
complete and our baptistery up and running, we have people getting baptized
immediately for the first time! What a blessing!
All in all, God
allowed us to see 124 saved in February with 5 baptized.
With
over eight months here in Chorrillos, we are ready to begin taking our ministry
to a whole new level. With a strong
church in Villa Marina, a baby church in San Gabriel, two more churches ready
to start, and so many more opportunities coming across our path, we are ready
to begin enlisting people to serve with us.
On March 18, the Instituto Bautista Internacional will officially
launch. This will be a very non-traditional
Bible college, meeting in a modular format.
The sole purpose of this college will be to train men to start and
pastor churches. Please pray that God
will use this greatly to further the Gospel.
Also, pray that God will work on the hearts of some of our church men,
as well as men in churches in all of Peru and South America who have a desire
to do something big for God.
I
have to tell you one story about prayer.
Luz Hurtado began coming to our church shortly after we moved into the
new property. She trusted Christ her
first service. She doesn’t miss a
service, and neither does her eight-year-old daughter Nicol. Every Wednesday night, Nicol turns in a card requesting
prayer for her dad to be saved. Last
Wednesday night Nicol raised her hand in the invitation that she was not sure
she was saved. Jessica was able to lead
Nicol to the Lord. After trusting
Christ, Nicol said, “Now that I am saved, God wants me to get baptized right
now, right?” She did that night. She and her mom were both so excited. Unfortunately, her dad was not. After sharing her story with him, he began to
make fun of her and of church. She has
been so strong, as has Luz, but please pray for the salvation of Ruben Vásquez. This is just one story of how vitally
important prayer is, not only for those who we have reached, but also for those
whom we have not.
Very
simply, thank you for your prayers. Your
prayers mean so much to us and are of a great value. Prayer changes things and makes a
difference. We covet your prayers. Pray for our ministries, our people, the
lost, our vision, and for God to send laborers.
Pray that God will continue to protect us , guide us, and provide for
us. I have several prayer lists for our
church. If you would like to pray more
specifically for our ministry, let me know, and I would be happy to e-mail you
a copy of these prayer lists. You are a
vital part of our team. Thank you for
your love and support. Keep on praying!
Your
ambassadors to Perú,
Junior
and Jessica Martin
Romans
9:3
