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

Can we slow the year down? We are already 1/12th of the way though! Our year started very busy with services at both churches. The church at Jose Olaya had a regular service while Esperanza de Vida had a service that lasted until midnight, with worship, testimonies and prayer. And as usual, at midnight the skies of Arequipa erupted with fireworks for about half an hour.

The political unrest that started the first part of December restarted after a holiday truce. Before it restarted in earnest, I planned a quick trip back to the states to take care of some business while Ruth stayed here in Peru. The protest seemed to be a little worse the day before I left so I opted to take an early flight and have a long layover in Lima. I got out of Arequipa fine but it was a different story when I returned. While I was gone, the airport in Arequipa was overrun by rioters again. Land routes also had been blocked so a bus ticket wasn’t an option either. I ended up staying in Lima for 4 days until I could get a flight back.

Jose, Josef, Stan, Viviana, Hilda

I spent time in Lima with the Jose Vera family, relatives of Pastor Willie’s wife. Their hospitality was impeccable and I really enjoyed getting to know them and their cell group that they help lead. Great christian family serving the Lord in Lima!

While I was gone, Ruth kept busy with dentist appointments, fundraisers for summer camp (it’s summertime here), and leading the lady’s Bible study group here in Arequipa. One day was a little frightful for her. She went shopping in the morning but by mid day the roads getting back to our house were all blocked with protesters! She ended up walking the rest of the way, through the blockades to get to our house.

The last Sunday of January we held a baptism in Yumina, a spring about an hour’s drive away. Though it’s the rainy season, the rain held off that day until the baptism and the fellowship meal were over. Five people were baptized, confessing that the reason for this decision was that they had “decided to follow Jesus.” In this catholic culture, to believe in Jesus and go to a christian church is one thing, but to be baptized is another with some being ostracized for their commitment to Jesus.

Lucy, Marina, Fausto, Reina, Valdimir, three generations baptized.

• Please pray for this family of five that made this decision.
•  Pray for both churches: Christians in Action -Jose Olaya, and La Esperanza de Vida as they grow and mature in faith.
• Please pray also for the Summer Camps that have had their schedules interrupted because of the protest.

Blessings, 

Stan & Ruth

commissioned missionaries by Good News Fellowship

Update for December 2022

Political situation

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and concerns about the political situation here in Peru. Things have quieted down a lot after the violence the week of December 12th. The airport resumed day flights about 5 days late and night flights resumed a little over a week ago after repairs were done to the landing lights. After a truce for the holidays, protests resumed on January 4th with some roads blocked but so far nothing real extreme.

GTO team

The last part of November, GTO sent a team for 2 weeks. They helped different churches with projects including ceiling repair and painting in our church here. The church also wanted to experience a USA Thanksgiving so they helped us a lot in preparing and sharing on Sunday about the history of Thanksgiving in the States and how to apply that to our lives. After church we had a Thanksgiving dinner with the church ladies also bringing some peruvian dishes. Having a buffet with so many different varieties of food where you can help yourself is a foreign idea to them, but they really enjoyed it. I don’t think we will repeat it again though. Instead of having Thanksgiving celebration tied to USA culture, I would rather they adopt a day that’s meaningful to them and their culture if they want to celebrate a special day of Thanksgiving to God.

Paying a “tip”

Last update I shared that our long awaited visas came through. This allowed me to start the process of getting my Peruvian driver’s license. I tried to get a license transfer (which is also quite a process) of my US driver’s license, but they rejected my driver’s license report on a technicality, an error in the translation. So that meant I had to do the whole process as if I had never had a license. 

The brothers here in this church told me this is the only time when believers sin intentionally because they said it is impossible to get a driver’s license without bribing the officials. I started the process with trepidation, but relaxed after a while, hoping to get by without paying any bribes. My hopes of passing the physical driving test were pretty much shattered the day before my test when the broker offered me a chance to pass on the first try by paying a substantial “tip”. I’ll have to admit it was a temptation because I knew at that point there existed secret communication between them and the officials administering the test, and that unless God intervened, I would not pass until the 3rd or 4th attempt. The extra cost of all the attempts would eventually equal the cost of the bribe. But he told me to think about it and we would “talk” the next day before the test.

On my way home that day verses about the “eyes of the Lord” kept running through my head so when I got home I searched for reference and context. The one 1 Peter 3:12 seemed especially applicable, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

In light of the population protesting the corruption in the government and calling it evil, it seemed appropriate for me to explain this to the people in Transport also. I was prepared to share, but after refusing to pay the bribe, they rushed me through the process and I didn’t have an opportunity to share anything about why I wouldn’t pay. So I was expecting to fail but was pleasantly surprised to pass on the first attempt. I’m pretty sure the Lord intervened.

This testimony has been an opportunity to share with the believers who think that the only way to live in this culture is to pay bribes. And I’m not the only missionary attempting to get my driver’s license that has a story. Thankfully, the missionaries that I know here as a whole are against bribery and also have their own stories.

The church in our house continues to mature spiritually, which is really good to see. I have started a weekly post because of the sources and messages that sometimes appear on the church’s message group. Sometimes I write them, other times I find appropriate articles and translate them. I also plan to start preaching monthly here. And because of the growth the men have seen in their wives that participate in the ladies group, a men’s group has been formed that meets every Wednesday night.

Blessings, 

Stan & Ruth

commissioned missionaries by Good News Fellowship

About a week ago the president of Peru Pedro Castillo, in what many view as a coup, attempted to dissolve congress in violation of Peru’s constitution. The vice president took power, which makes 6 presidents in 6 years for Peru. This has led to big interruptions and protests, with many calling for new elections. 

Yesterday, along with the regular road blockades that happen here when people protest, the local milk plant was attacked and also the airport was damaged, resulting in its closure. The photos below are general photos from different news sources.

Please pray for the people to be reasonable and for peace to be restored. It seems ironic that all this is happening at Christmas when we celebrate “peace on earth”. It reminds me of one of the verses in the old carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”

And in despair I bowed my head
"There is no peace on Earth, " I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

Everyone is looking for peace but most seek it on their own terms. Everyone is looking for peace but most look for it in the wrong person. Most think it can be found in their favorite political candidate. Everyone is searching for answers of peace, but most are asking the wrong questions. Everyone is searching for peace, but most are looking for it in the wrong place.

My belief is that the answer will only be found in Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men

Then ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

We as a church first got to know Grezia in 2020 during the pandemic. She was from Ilo, a city about 4 hours south of Arequipa. She came here searching for treatment for her cancer because treatment was not available in her home city. Eliana, one of the youth girls from Jose Olaya, met her while standing in line to enter the hospital. The two developed a close friendship that resulted in Grezia eventually coming to know Jesus.

Her family are not believers, they are Catholic. Because of difficulties between her separated parents, she came alone most of the time. The people from Jose Olaya rallied around her providing love, friendship, and at times lodging and transportation to the hospital here in Arequipa for treatment. The youth of Jose Olaya especially became involved with her, including her in their group, going to visit her, and being especially close to her the last weeks of her life.

You could see the difference Jesus made in her life. She was especially sensitive to the needs and hurts of others, though she herself was suffering from much pain. Her face radiated with a smile and love for everyone. I will always remember her smile.

She passed away one week ago today on Sunday, November 6 at the age of 21. She is now healed, free from the conflicts that she lived with and safe in the arms of the Savior.

It was a privilege for me to be with the family and also to support the brothers of Jose Olaya in mediation and organization of the final arrangements. There was a viewing on Monday, the 7th. It was supposed to start at 12 pm so a meal was put together by the ladies of Jose Olaya. We waited all afternoon for the body to arrive. But because the hospital had lost her medical records, they didn’t release the body until 4 pm and it arrived at the church around 5:45 pm. Unfortunately I had to leave and could not be at the viewing because of other engagements.  

Her wish was to be cremated so some of us sat with the family through the 2 hour process, 10 am – 12 pm on Tuesday, the 8th. 

Through all of this God was at work. We saw God soften the heart of the mother. The father, who is also Catholic, invited us to go to his house in Ilo and have a service like the Christian viewing service we had in Jose Olaya. Some of his children living in other cities were coming and he had also invited his neighbors. Though we did not want to get caught between family conflicts, Brother Juan Sanz and I felt this was a clear call to present the gospel in Ilo. So Juan, his wife Glendy and I traveled to Ilo with the family on Wednesday, the 9^th and presented the gospel in this house.

Again, I saw tenderness in the mother’s heart that wasn’t visible, at least while Grezia was living. Her father also was moved by the 20 minute service that we presented to the point that he acknowledged to Juan that he knew Jesus was knocking on his heart’s door. A neighbor who was present, asked many questions and took Juan’s number so he could contact him later. We also met a Christian couple who are neighbors to Grezia’s father.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  -John 12:24

We don’t know where this will lead but we are praying that God would use Grezia’s life and death as a means of reaching her family and community in Ilo for Christ.

September/October Reflections

Reading time: 4.16 minutes

Yes we are still waiting on our visas to be approved! This got me thinking about how much of the time we spend waiting. Here are some statistics from a Timex survey on how much Americans spend waiting:

• 20 minutes average a day for the bus or train
• 21 minutes for a significant other to get ready to go out
• 28 minutes in security lines whenever they travel
• 32 minutes whenever they visit a doctor
• 13 hours annually waiting on hold for a customer service
• 38 hours each year waiting in traffic (50 hours annually in Big cities)

About 6 months of our life is spent waiting in line for things (in the United States – not in Peru), it means like 3 days a year of queuing up. The average person spends about 43 days on hold with automated customer service in one lifetime. 

And we have been waiting on our visas now for over 7 months! Several good things though- we do not get fined for having an expired visa while the new ones are in process. And we finally just found out the other day why the hold up. After making several calls and working our way up the bureaucratic “ladder” we discovered that one apostilled document from the States that we submitted in March, though it was in Spanish, wasn’t “official enough” and we have to get it translated from Spanish into “official Spanish” with their stamp on it. While it’s a relief to finally find out what the hold up was, it makes you wonder when they would have let us know. So now we are waiting for the “official” translation so that we can resubmit it to complete the process, hopefully. 

But I think waiting is good for us. It is part of the sanctification process that God uses to shape and mold us into what he wants us to be. It builds the fruit of patience in us as we wait. It also humbles us as we realize that we are not in control when there is nothing to do but wait. Another thing that I have often pondered about is that the word for wait and hope is the same in the Spanish language. So maybe waiting can also be a hope builder or at least we don’t wait hopelessly- especially as we think about “waiting for that blessed hope” in the return of our Lord and Savior.

The end of September we celebrated the 1 year anniversary of the church meeting in our house. 

Several things I would like to clarify, the first is that this is NOT the first anniversary of this church. It had been meeting in different homes as a “house church” for several years before congregating in our garage one year ago. The second thing I would like to clarify is that this is not “our work”, that is to say, we did not start this church. We have the privilege of being on the leadership team (but not as pastors) giving guidance and counseling where we can. Please pray for this little church as it struggles to find itself, and for us also- that we would have a view of the bigger picture of where it could be, and not on its current struggles.

You all have known that I have been working on a kitchen for Ruth on our main living floor. This had been an urgent project because of Ruth’s back problems so I had put almost all teaching and studying responsibilities on hold for several months. Well, I officially finished it last week! 

It’s a relief for me to have this big project done and Ruth is very happy in not having to go steps between the kitchen and dining room, carrying everything up and down the stairs. She moved in last week and already feels the difference in her back! And I’m back on the teaching schedule again.

We visited friends in Moquegua, a small city about 3 hours south of us. We stayed in a hotel room, not realizing that we were right across from where the image of El Señor de los Milagros is stored. Around 1 am we were awakened to a full brass band, firecrackers and the smell of incense and chants as the image returned to its place. 

Tradition says that during the 17th century, an Angolan slave brought to Peru painted an image of a black Jesus Christ crucified in an improvised temple in Lima, where the slaves went to pray. The devotees, mostly slaves, started to congregate around the image and began to worship it, building a small temple around it. This painting that survived several earthquakes and a tsunami is attributed with providing protection from earthquakes and was proclaimed Patron of all Peruvians by the Holy See in 2005. The image is paraded through city streets in Peru during the month of October. Many people dress in purple robes with a white rope for the whole month as an offering to their Patron.

• Pray for people enslaved to idol worship.
• Pray for the church La Esperanza de Vida and for us as we relate to it.
• Give thanks with us for God’s healing in Ruth’s back.
• Give thanks that Julia is feeling much better. (mentioned last month)

Blessings, 

Stan & Ruth

commissioned missionaries by Good News Fellowship

P.S. About 37 billion hours each year is spent waiting in line somewhere. That’s a lot of spiritual formation that could be taking place!

Yesterday November 1st marked the 5th anniversary of us coming to Peru. We have met many friends literally from around the world. Blessings to all of you who have walked with us in this journey.

All the way our Savior leads us
What have we to ask beside?
Can we doubt His faithful mercies?
Who through all has been our guide
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort
Ere by faith in Him to dwell
For we know whate’er fall us
Jesus doeth all things well

August Reflections

Reading time: 2.53 minutes

Party time!

It was great to touch bases with many of you while we were in the states for the month of July, especially in the Alabama area. We made a quick stop to my folks for several days before coming back to Peru. When we arrived back on Friday, there was a surprise! The youth from the church at Jose Olaya and Efrain and Mariel,  the couple who was caring for the house while we were gone, bought lunch! It was so good to be back and enjoy time with friends here. Saturday afternoon we had a belated birthday celebration for Mariel before they moved out that evening. Sunday was a full day of church services, Monday we were finally able to catch our breath, unpack and relax a bit from our trip. 

Kitchen and love 

One of the things we decided while in the states was that moving the kitchen upstairs was a high priority because of how working in the lower one was affecting Ruth’s back and mobility. I spent much of August getting the room ready for cabinets, doing things like installing water and electrical lines in masonry walls and then re-patching them, painting walls and installing ceramic tile. I’m a little sheepish about reporting about this project because it’s not typical “mission work” and it’s for ourselves. But I received a reminder from the cleaning lady that helps Ruth. She told Ruth that it was so good to see me doing something I love and to see me doing it for my wife. I realized that this too can be a witness to those we come in contact with. 

One of my former carpentry students…

The first student for the carpentry shop has gone on to take classes for carpentry at a local vocational school. He recently asked to come help me in the afternoons! His help has been a real blessing to me and I love seeing his enthusiasm to learn more about woodworking. It also has been a great way to continue discipling and keeping that relationship going.

Ladies meeting

About two months ago we started a ladies group, where we begin with a time of fellowship, tea and refreshments before going into the regular study time. We are blessed to have Mariel and her mother, who is visiting from Venezuela, assist with the teaching. Right now we are going through the book, ‘Every Woman’s Battle’. It’s been a real eye opener for all of us and most seem to be inhaling as much information as they can. I think what has blessed me the most is seeing the women unite in fellowship and watching relationships grow. Some of these women are putting to practice what they’re hearing and are seeing an improvement in their relationships at home. -Ruth

Restrictions are finally relaxing… a little

This may not seem like a big deal to y’all but it is to us. They have started lifting Covid restrictions! – at least a little. The kids now do not have to wear masks in school and masks are now optional for outdoors! Just a little movement in lifting the restrictions gives us hope that double masks in commercial stores and vaccination cards to enter them won’t last forever.

Prayer request

Julia Sulca, neighbor and church pillar has medical issues

Prayer that our visas would come through

Thanksgiving that Ruth’s back is healing

Blessings, 

Stan & Ruth

commissioned missionaries by Good News Fellowship

I therefore [the apostle Paul] urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the ‘vocation’ to which you have been called. Eph. 4:1

Dear friends,

I was recently challenged in my studies about how the christian life is more about living out our faith everyday in our vocations. So often we put church work and ministries in one box in our minds and our everyday work in another. And yet the gospel of Jesus changes, not only our hearts but also how we live our everyday lives. I see this missing at times here in Peru, perhaps because of the faulty example of us missionaries. The missionary mission model that we use of supporting our missionaries with foreign support (and is often required by the governments) is weak in demonstrating to the local people how Christianity works out in everyday living. This is simply an observation and one of the reasons we have the workshops.

Talking about workshops- Ruth found someone to help her teach the last class, which was a blessing for her because of her back problems the last several months. Thank you, Christina, for helping out.

Changes to the church Esperanza de Vida- we replaced the entrance doors to the garage to make an entrance to both our house and the church that is more inviting. We can now open the big doors when we have services to expose the glass entry doors. And it is much tighter to keep the cold out.

The marriage classes sparked an interest in forming men’s and women’s groups in both churches. We were hoping to wait until we came back from our US trip in July, but the brothers in the church Esperanza de Vida wanted to start immediately. So we helped them form groups and put people in charge to lead them while we were away.

We left for the states at the end of June and our sons drove from different parts of the US to meet and pick us up at the airport in Louisville, KY. We then spent a family day together at the Ark Encounter before driving up to a family reunion in PA. We had a great time visiting with Ruth’s family and then rode back with Denver to the Atmore area. We plan to visit my folks and Austin for a few days in New Mexico before flying back to Peru at the end of July.

Please pray:

• for the newly formed men’s and women’s groups
     
• for healing for Ruth’s back
     
• for the financial need of a vehicle 

Blessings, 

Stan & Ruth

commissioned missionaries by Good News Fellowship

Thanks so much to those of you who responded to the question about “the call” in the last newsletter. I wasn’t going to comment more on that but I was particularly inspired by one of your responses to respond. So I’ll share my thoughts on that below.

Baptisms

In April we celebrated 6 baptisms in the church Esperanza de Vida, which meets in our house. The church made a celebration out of it. Although there was a protest that was blocking fuel supplies and  hardly any gas stations that had gas, they still packed up and drove an hour one way to some springs on the outside of Arequipa and had the baptisms in a public parklike place. 

From my background, baptism was practiced pretty much with only believers in attendance, keeping a “holy” atmosphere. Here the church did it in a public swimming area, using the occasion as a witness to those that were there. They took food along and had a meal and fellowship afterwards. Here is a video of the occasion.

Easter

The youth at both churches put on plays for Easter. Esperanza de Vida did one depicting the contemporary pull between right and wrong and how a relationship with Jesus helps us win the temptations sex, alcohol, drugs and suicide which are very real for our youth today. The church at Jose Olaya did a shadow performance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. You can watch it here. Both were very good.

Marriage classes at JO

We were asked to do the marriage seminar at Jose Olaya so we started it the last week of April. We plan to have 6-7 sessions ending sometime in June. 

In Peruvian culture the matriarch is the backbone of the family and the father is not valued nearly as much. This is reflected in their celebration of mother’s day (more about that next month). This also is reflected in the promiscuity of the men and the “machismo” mentality that says popularity status is determined by who can have the most physical relationships with other women. At the same time women are not well protected in society and need the support and income of the man, especially in their later years. This makes for a very dysfunctional relationship.

Workshop ministry

Class participation has really dropped for the carpentry shop since school is now in session again. However, it is a blessing to see one of my students pursuing a vocation in carpentry at an official school! For the bake shop however, it is different. It has turned out to be more popular than the carpentry workshop. Ruth is trying to figure out how to take the relationships that have been formed and drive them deeper. She has found someone to help temporarily, but she may need to scale the baking classes back to focus more time on discipleship.

Ruth also has been experiencing a lot of back pain which has really slowed her down- even laying her up for several weeks. For me, I’m welcoming the break in teaching carpentry so I can focus on making things easier for her. One thing we must do is move the kitchen to the second level of our house. Right now, it’s on the first level while the dining and living quarters are on the second. Moving it to the second level will not only make it more handy for her, but also cut down on her climbing the stairs so much, something that has become difficult for her.

Prayer Request

Pray for healing for Ruth.

Pray for the marriage classes at the church at Jose Olaya.

Pray for the new believers who were recently baptized.

Blessings, 

Stan & Ruth

P.S The “call “, is simply that –  a call, a voice, an invitation to God himself. He is the destination we are looking for. And in our journey to the heart of God, we get to join Him in His work. Therefore, what we often refer to as our “ministry calling” perhaps should be thought of as simply part of our journey, and not much more.