Tag: christianity

What’s for lunch?

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What’s for lunch? Or is it for breakfast? See culture tidbit at the end…

April/May 2025

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Please pray for Ruth’s health. When we arrived from the states the 1st of April, Ruth started experiencing exhaustion and lightheadedness and at times pressure in her chest. After running different tests the doctors think she may have atrial fibrillation. This is something that they don’t recommend treating here so we are evaluating our options. She has a remote consultation scheduled with a cardiologist on June 10th.

Pastor Willie and his wife Nancy live by faith. I recently asked him if the church (of 20-30 attendees) supports him and he said sometimes someone gives him a gift. Like most pastors, his daily work is visiting people, sometimes traveling several hours to visit someones relative in a different city. Finding a job that gives this kind of flexibility is difficult.

He doesn’t talk about their economic situation much but his wife Nancy told us how one time someone called from the hospital and they needed to go visit them. Nancy thought that they just couldn’t go because they only had enough gas to get there. But Willie was confident that God would provide. As they were leaving the hospital, someone ran over to their car and gave them some money to get home.

Another time they were out visiting people and did not have anything to eat. Nancy shared that Willie again was confident that God would provide. They went into a cheap lunch place and sat down. The waitress brought them food and told them that someone had already paid for it. They never knew who it was.

During the night Willie does taxi service with Uber. I asked him how much he makes. He said that after paying for gas, he makes about $60 per week, but God always provides. (A common working man’s wage is $150-$200 a week.)

Maybe God is asking you to assist in carrying Pastor Willie and Sister Nancy’s load.

We are starting a “Support-a-Pastor” program for pastors with GNF Peru. The idea is to provide temporary financial assistance until their congregations can help support them. Please consider helping them carry their financial burden by committing to send a small gift of $30 a month. If God is asking you to do this, please send your gift through our church MCF, 245 Tenant Drive, Atmore, AL, 36502 and mention its for Support-a-Pastor.

Culture Tidbit

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” James Beard

This is especial true here. If conversation lags just start talking about your favorite Peruvian foods and they love it! The other day I was buying fruit in our local market and I walked by the meat stall and saw this:

Sheep-head soup anyone? I heard that it is very delicious and makes a good breakfast!

Blessings,
Stanton and Ruth Schrock

El hombre propone y Dios dispone.

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(Man proposes and God arranges.)

January 2025


This is common saying here and depending on the version you use, its Proverbs 16:1. We can make all the plans we want but in the end we need to remember that it is “God who works in [us], both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

We were reminded recently why it is so important to always say “if the Lord wills” we will do this or that. We had plans to return to the states December 26th, the day right after Christmas. Early Sunday morning, the 22nd, my co-leader at José Olaya, Juan Sanz, suffered a heart attack. They got him to the hospital right away and the experts said that because of their promptness, he would be fine. They stabilized him and Monday morning he went into surgery for a procedure that the doctors said was very low risk- “one in a million have side effects,” they said. During the procedure he went into heart failure and passed away soon after.

Juan was a 68 year old man that did all the right things health-wise. He ate right, often walked several kilometers a day instead of taking public transportation and was active in the community. He was ordained with me mid August as elder/pastor to take the place of missionaries Dennis and Ruth. Though we were ordained together, I leaned on him in many ways to connect with the local people. We buried him on the 26th, the day that we were planning to return to the United States.

The church at José Olaya has been through a lot this past year. Dennis and Ruth, life-time missionaries, retired and returned to Canada. They had a complete change of leadership with Juan and I being ordained in August. And now Juan past away suddenly from a heart attack.

For these reasons, we changed our plans on returning to the states. The past weeks have been full with reorganizing and putting leaders in place to carry on the work. Who knows, maybe at least part of God’s purpose is so that local leaders step forward and shoulder the work that needs to be done.

We now plan, Lord willing, to return to the states on the 20th of this month. We also are shortening our time in the states. We are not changing our return date to Peru on the 27th of March.

Please pray for:

       🙏🏻 Glendy, the widow, and her 2 sons Jairo and Benjamín

      🙏🏻 For the church at José Olaya as they regroup

        🙏🏻 For the new leaders that are stepping into the gap

We are experiencing God’s transforming presence,

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reproducing groups of authentic disciples who follow and obey the example and words of Jesus, and helping new groups of believers grow into thriving churches. -from GNF Mission and Vision Statement

“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. Mark 4:26

In reflection, we have been in Peru almost 7 years doing what the man in this parable is doing, scattering precious seed. The first 15 months we lived in the north jungle area of Peru working at a children’s home while trying to learn the language. When the Chicken Support Project for the children’s home closed while we were in the southern desert region of Peru at language school, we stayed in Arequipa waiting on God to open doors. Then the pandemic came and we were in lock-down for almost 2 years.

As the country started to open we reached out to a small home church across the road from us and invited them to use our garage for several years. We saw the Lord working in this church in many different ways, to the point where they out grew our garage space and are now renting a larger meeting place.

In July, after conversing with Glenn Weber, an overseer with Good News Fellowship, they made application and were accepted into this network of churches. We have been associated with GNF the last 15 years and are missionaries under them here in Peru.

We did an affiliation ceremony with this church, La Esperanza de Vida, at their 3rd year anniversary the last week of September, formally welcoming them into the Good News Fellowship network. Like the man mentioned in the parable, “we sleep, we rise each day, the seed sprouts and it grows, and we don’t know how.”
 

We anticipate what God will do with this church Esperanza de Vida and others that may join this network. What we are doing has not really changed, we continue walking alongside of this church and others, including individuals, scattering seed.

  • Pray for this church and Pastor Willie and his wife Nancy
  • Thank God that His Spirit is moving, saving souls and reconciling marriages
  • Pray for us as we walk alongside of Willie and Nancy
  • Pray for the church at Jose Olaya and its adjustments to the changes in leadership

    Blessings, Stan & Ruth

You may send contributions to:

Missionary Companion Ministries ⬥ PO Box 533 ⬥ Greeneville, TN 37744

Please use our assignment number 4169 in the account/memo field.

Or donate online at http://www.missionarycompanionministries.org/

We love getting mail in Peru. Our address is:

Stanton and Ruth Schrock
Apartido 1293 Correo Central
Arequipa, Peru SA 04001

The Work Continues…

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June July August 2024

Philippians 2:13 
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

This verse is a good reminder to us every day. It is God’s work and God’s strength that enables us to be His hands and feet. Not that he is powerless to do it without humans, but He has chosen this method to “reconcile the world to Himself”. We count it a privilege to be part of His work here in Peru.

Visitors From Home

In July our good friends Leonard and Sherrie Hursh and Glenn and Darla Weber visited us from our home in the Alabama / Florida area. Leonard helped install a projector at José Olaya that was donated and which has been a huge blessing.

Glenn and Darla taught two different weekends, three sessions at José Olaya and three sessions at Esperanza de Vida. They also did some marriage counseling on the side. 

Our time is split unevenly between José Olaya and Esperanza de Vida. Ezperanza de Vida has a full functioning pastor and seems to be doing well. We have been joining them in their mid-week Bible studies and occasionally on Sunday.

José Olaya is in the middle of adjustments so most of our time is dedicated there for now. Dennis and Ruth Lacoursier planted this church approximately 30 years ago. It started as a daycare/kindergarten for kids and has slowly evolved into the functioning church that it is today. 

Ruth and Dennis Leaving and Ordination
Dennis and Ruth retired in August and moved back to Canada. They left the leadership to the leadership team, of which Ruth and I have been a part of almost since we came to Arequipa. Juan Sanz and I were ordained as elders to fill the role of pastor because as of now, the church cannot support a full time pastor financially. I see this as a temporary role for me, with the goal of eventually  having a local pastor in charge. We look forward to how God will provide in this situation.

So with the different farewells and goodbye services, garage sales and extra leader’s meetings, we have been very busy and everyone’s emotions have been high. 

Baptisms
The news of Dennis and Ruth leaving sparked a flurry of baptisms. Six people were baptized in the local river one Sunday afternoon. The other Christians in Action church was invited to join us for a joint outing.

This was a first for both churches, but we hope that this joint outing won’t be the last and we look forward to working together with them.

Pray with us:

  • Pray for Dennis and Ruth as they adjust to life in Canada.
  • Pray for us in our new roles at José Olaya.
  • Pray against any unrest that their leaving might cause.
  • Thank God with us for the work he started through Dennis and Ruth, and He will complete through others. 

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

You may send contributions to:

Missionary Companion Ministries ⬥ PO Box 533 ⬥ Greeneville, TN 37744

Please use our assignment number 4169 in the account/memo field.

Or donate online at http://www.missionarycompanionministries.org/

We love getting mail in Peru. Our address is:

Stanton and Ruth Schrock
Apartido 1293 Correo Central
Arequipa, Peru SA 04001