Dear Praying Friends,
“It
is May 10, and I haven’t written the prayer letter yet!!!” This outburst just occurred a second ago here
in our living room. Okay, maybe I was a
bit over-dramatic. Maybe I have said
something similar to this to my wife over the last ten days. It’s been a little hectic, but busy is
good. God has given us a lot of
blessings to share. “. . . wist ye not that I must be about my
Father's business?” (Luke 2:49)
April
was an incredibly busy month, especially leading into the first of May. I know I should technically wait till next
month, but of course the biggest news is the planting of our third church. For many months, many of you have seen my
heart for the area of San Genaro and have joined me in prayer for the
opportunity to start a church in this area.
On April 11 this dream became a reality, as God led us to an ideal
building, and we signed the contract on April 15. This is a huge answer to prayer. Since securing the building, God has given me
a great team of eleven of our church people to help me in this new work. It has been a great encouragement to me to
work side by side with these men, women, and teenagers and watch them grow and
serve.
May
4 was the date we set for the launching of our church. For several reasons we chose to make our
church plant a different type of pattern.
Our main service is on Saturday night, and our midweek service is on
Tuesday night. This gives the people we reach
the opportunity to attend services in our main church, as well as allows Jessica
and me to maintain our involvement in Villa Marina.
God
opened another door for us in April that we have been praying about for a long
time. Our fourth church plant will be in
the neighboring district of Surco where we already have a base of people coming
to our church. This church will
be under the direction of Ezequiel Martinez.
Zeke currently has a Bible study here averaging over 20 each week. The exact same week I signed on our San
Genaro property, God gave Zeke a great local for his church. Please pray for this work and for the
Martinez family, as they will have their first church service on May 19.
In
addition to all the newness, God has continued to bless our main church in
Villa Marina. Our attendance has steadily
increased over the last month as we have averaged 132 in our Sunday services,
with our highest Sunday night attendance of 150. With all of our Bible studies and our San
Gabriel church plant, we are averaging over 240 different people attending at least
one of our services each week! God is
amazing! Thank you for making all this
possible. In the month of April, God
allowed us to see a total of 182 souls saved through our ministry here. Thank you for the privilege of adding fruit
to your account.
There
is one story that I must tell. Since
December, I have done a great deal of print and design work with a lady named
Flor, who owns a print business here in Chorrillos. I have developed a great relationship with
her and her employees, and she has done a great job for us. One day I walked in to get some work done,
and, like always, she asked me how I was doing.
Jokingly I said, “Busy, tired, but always good.” She laughed and said, “You know, you always
say that. No matter what, you are always
good and always happy.” I quickly
realized God was giving me an opportunity that I had prayed for. I began to explain to Flor what makes the
difference in my life. After several
minutes in her shop, Flor bowed her head and asked Jesus into her heart. Afterwards she took one of our tracts out of
her desk and said, “I have printed thousands of these tracts and read them more
than ten times and never understood what the verses meant. Thank you for explaining it to me.” Since that day, ever
y time I walk into her shop and ask her how she is doing,
she answers, “Always and forever good!”
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Thank
you for the difference you are making here in Lima. Thank you for allowing us to represent you
here in Peru.
Your
ambassadors to Perú,
Junior
and Jessica Martin
Romans
9:3
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