February 4, 2013
Dear Praying Friends,
Often
I wonder why God chooses to use us and bless us. My mind goes back to the first time I sat in
a living room in Chicago as a single college student and “counseled” a marriage! I thought, Why in the world would God see fit
to allow me to do all that I do? And yet
now, as a much older, seasoned Christian on the mission field, I find myself
still looking up to God in amazement at the way He blesses our efforts despite
us.
January
started out with all the thrill and anticipation of a brand-new
auditorium. What an amazing first
Sunday we had! The
chairs filled up, visitors came, people got saved, and the baptistery waters were
stirring. Service after service, our people continue to come and sit with eager
ears and hungry hearts, hanging on to every song, announcement, and
sermon. God has continued to bless IBI
and His people.
The
excitement continued to grow with the starting of our second church. On Sunday, January 27, the Foust family and a
group of our church people had their first service as the Iglesia Bautista
Internacional of San Gabriel! They had
39 in attendance, with 6 receiving Jesus as their Saviour. This church currently has services on Sunday
afternoons, Thursday nights, and a Bible study on Wednesdays. Please continue to pray for this work to grow
and reach that area with the Gospel.
Apparently, though, the Devil is not at all happy with all
that has been going on in Lima. He
wouldn’t wait long to see how serious we were about reaching Chorrillos. This last Wednesday we were sitting in the
office when the phone rang. One of our
church members frantically told us we needed to get to the church right
away. Upon arriving, we learned that
through some crooked, yet somewhat legal, dealings, over 80 properties in our
neighborhood were in litigation; and the police were evicting everyone from
those properties. One of the properties—our
brand-new church.
We
rushed to secure as much of our property as possible and began to prepare for
the church service that night. The people
came and listened as we explained the situation. That night we met with 23 of our church
people at midnight to pray. As we walked
into the church, they were sitting in a circle singing hymns. As we prayed for the next hour, I caught
myself listening to and watching them
pray with tears flowing down their cheeks, their shoulders heaving, and their
voices telling God that He was in control and that He would work a
miracle. I felt so humbled. One- to seven-month-old Christians were talking
to their heavenly Father. That is what I
meant when I started this letter—I am so humbled that God allows me to do what
I do. Please continue to pray for our
property. God did work a miracle that
night, and although all is good for the time being, we have a lot of work to do
over the next few months to ensure our future there.
Since
September I have been eager to start something in San Genaro. I have been anticipating all month writing
this letter to report to you the first church service at IBI San Genaro. However, I have learned one thing: Satan doesn’t want a church in San
Genaro. After looking feverishly for a
building and a deal
falling through on one, I decided to start a Bible study
with one of our church families there and pray that God would open a door for
us to start a church. Please pray. Eight of our church people will be going up
the mountain with Jessica and me every Saturday night to conduct this Bible
study, soul win, and pray for God to open a door for a church there.
This
has been a very different prayer letter for me.
Every “negative,” though, is two things: (1) proof that God is doing
great things, and (2) something that God has used in my personal life to help
me realize the blessings I sometimes overlook.
God has given us great people with hearts that are in tune to Him and
desire to see something great in Peru.
You cannot put a price tag on that!
Of
course, the blessings have been great this last month. In addition to starting the second church,
our main church continues to grow and stay strong. We made some changes to our soul-winning
program and have had over 40 people go out soul winning each Saturday in
January. With soul winning, church
services, and Bible studies, we have seen 110 people trust Christ as their
Saviour this last month. God is so good
to us!
Thank
you for your faithful prayers and support.
I hope you realize the great value this has to us. We can truly feel your prayers; and, of
course, your financial support makes all we do possible. The people of Chorrillos, Villa Maria del
Triunfo, and Surco appreciate the difference you are making in them and, one
day, in all of Lima and Peru
.
Your
ambassadors to Peru,
Junior
and Jessica Martin
Romans
9:3
