What never happens here?

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Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. John 15:9

God loves you and me with as much love as he loved his Son, Jesus Christ.

And we have felt your love, too, in partnering with us and making it possible for us to have our own transportation! We feel especially blessed when we can use it to transport others for church functions, take people to the doctor or hospital, etc. I picked up my driver’s license and the vehicle the same day, the 22 of February. Thank you so much for helping us with this.

We took a much needed break in March at the Norwegian Mission’s guest house close to the beach with some very close friends, Mike, Kerry, and Megan Fischer. On Sunday we visited a new church that is being planted in the city of Punta de Bombon.

Mike is also translating a course called “The General Vision of the Bible.” It is designed to help pastors especially and really anyone who reads the Bible, how to understand and teach the Bible correctly. 

This type of teaching is needed here very much! Many times the Bible is taught and application is made completely out of context. Mike plans to present this material at the Esperanza de Vida church that meets in our house.

One evening in early March the pastor Willie Froilán called me and asked me to help with a baptism the next day. One of the ladies in the church had a sister that was visiting her from Lima named Belinda. She was a believer and was following the church services that are streamed online. On her trip to Arequipa from Lima she lost her wallet that had all her money for the trip, her personal ID and the IDs of her children. Understandably, she was panic stricken because you cannot travel without ID in Peru and of course she needed the money for return bus tickets to Lima. Someone on the bus found her wallet in the restroom on the floor. She counted the money and it was all there! (This never happens here.) 

This happening made such an impact on her that as she was relating this story to her sister, her sister asked her, “So what is keeping you from following God completely and getting baptized?” So she called pastor Willie and made arrangements to be baptized before she returned to Lima. At the last minute, her son Yamil also decided to join her and they were both baptized on the same day.

We are planning to return to the states for Home Assignment in May. We plan to stop in Bogota, Colombia to visit GTO Latin America Headquarters. GTO is the mission organization that has sent several teams to Arequipa that we have hosted. We also plan to visit a cousin of mine, that is pastoring a church in Tabio, along with his family.

On our return trip we plan to make a stop in El Salvador to visit Ruth’s aunt Juanita. Her husband passed away last year so we are looking forward to stopping in and encouraging her.

• Give thanks to God for the vehicle and the blessing it is to others already. 
• Please pray for Belinda and Yamil, the two that were recently baptized. Also pray for her husband that he would come to know the Lord. Thankfully he is not antagonistic in any way.
• Pray for the bible course “The General Vision of the Bible” that is currently being taught in the church Esperanza de Vida. Pray also for the leaders of this church that they would be open to correction in the way that they present the Scriptures.
• Pray for our Home Assignment trip in May, for safety, for the connections we make on the way and while we are in the states.

Blessings, 

Stan & Ruth

commissioned missionaries by Good News Fellowship